Tag: Benedict Cumberbatch

How to Make Christmas Last with The Grinch on Feb 5th!

thegrinch
Available to pre-order on AmazonThe Grinch

In Whoville, The Grinch watches over all and before his change, he could not wait for the holidays to be over. During the yuletide season, he has plenty to bah humbug about. With the home video release on Feb 5th, fans of Dr Seuss and Grinch can reflect upon all that’s happened and realize the smiles can last year round.

The updated version owes a huge debt to its realization back in 1966, with the first animation voiced by and starring Boris Karloff. While it’s tough to beat the love for the Chuck Jones animated work and the song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch,” this update by Illumination Studios does a very respectable job. To make this release perfect, Universal should have included the original work (studio ownership notwithstanding). Not only is the song given a hip hop take by Tyler, the Creator but also new characters are introduced. Fred is particularly adorable as a very rotund reindeer which The Grinch uses to get around. The animators would not do this unless they plan on having them come back.

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The Holidays Isn’t Over Yet with The Grinch Coming Soon to VOD & Home Video

Watching The Grinch helped lift the bah humbugs on when I saw it theatrically, and now I can see it year-round.

thegrinch
Available to pre-order on AmazonThe Grinch

Enjoying what the Winter Wonderland represents can soon enjoy watching how The Grinch rang in the New Year (and the holidays) with the digital release Jan 22. The home video release is Feb 5th, 2019 and the creative minds from Illumination Entertainment show no bounds, especially when the Minions are along for the ride! Yes, these miscreants from Despicable Me are back, and no they have not teamed up with this anti-hero. I can only imagine the chaos to ensure should the day this studio decide to fashion a shared universe.

This physical release has more than 60 minutes of bonus content and personally, I cannot wait. The film was a joy to lift me from the bah humbugs over the season when I saw it theatrically, and now I can see it year-round. Immediate access to the new music videos is a nice touch. Details of the physical release are as follows:

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A Look at the Sneak Peak of Doctor Strange on IMAX 3D

doctor-strange-posterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I’m sure the numbers of how many people who attended the short preview to Doctor Strange (on a long weekend in North America) is as varied as the response to this film. While I’m excited to catch the end-product come November 4th (the 3D sequences when he’s flying through the multiverse look great), just how many die-hards can accept the movie’s obvious changes will determine its success. I’m okay with the gender-swapping of the Ancient One, and Tilda Swinton is a very respectable actress. With no successor to Mako Iwamatsu’s amazing presence, I’m guessing the producers had make changes lest they do a casting call throughout China / Tibet to find someone just as promising to fill the role.

When the introduction reveals nearly an hours’ worth of scenes are shot with IMAX cameras, the need to tease fans with what is to come is obvious — to spotlight the special effects on a box screen. I will certainly plan to see it again at the National Geographic IMAX Theatre. Sadly this operation plays these movies as a second-run product. Not every cinema has a proper screen to show off this format right.

In what is more in front and centre is Stephen Strange’s ego (Benedict Cumberbatch) which can easily rival Tony Stark’s. When he’s a famous neurosurgeon with some pent up frustrations over who he is required to operate on, the first few minutes works very well to show how conceited he is. That’s until he looks away from where he is driving to a cell phone (showing x-ray scans of his next patient instead of playing Pokémon GO) and winds up over a cliff. The slow-motion scene shows his hands getting crushed.

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Have a Dreamy Easter with Benedict Cumberbunnies

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Cumberbunny2Fans of chocolate, Easter, and Benedict Cumberbatch rejoice! The Cumberbunny will come hop hop hopping along this easter from chocolate artisan company ‘Choclatician’. The Sherlock star not only looks good on television but this stylish handmade piece will look just as good in a weaved basket this Easter. Molding Cumberbatch into chocolate is becoming a tradition to the artisans at ‘Choclatician’. The UK-based company received press last year when they made a life-size sculpture of Cumberbatch using 500 bars of Belgian chocolate. The whole affair was a promotion for UKTV’s new channel that focused on drama programmes. Artisan Jen Lindsey-Clark who was involved in last years sculpting is solely responsible for this year’s offering. Admirers of Mr. Cumberbatch, who would have little reason to meet him in real life, can at least come face-to-face with his Belgian counterpart. The Cumberbunny can keep for six months apparently, but one wonders would buyers of the Cumberbunny eat it right away or just store it only to occasionally pat its bunny bottom.

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To purchase a Cumberbunny, you can visit Choclatician’s official website here.
 


 
Source(s): Mashable, Tim Chester, and Chocolatician
Video Source(s): UKTV.

The Penguins of Madagascar: A Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest) and James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

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Ed: I have to think that the Penguins of Madagascar movie arrived far too late to make a noticable dent in the wall. If only the production went into high gear when DreamWorks realized they had a runaway product back in 2005, and it released around 2008, interest would’ve been high. To wait nearly a decade later diminished their overall appeal. As high-speed and kinetic as this film was, this animated beast was of a different colour. The story had none of the panache that introduced audiences to these merry penguins back when they first appeared in Madagascar. The the ha-ha from the television series is okay, but it did not quite work for me. I had high hopes and was let down.

James: The opportunity on marketing for this film was missed due perhaps to the length of time between projects. I saw no movie figures, no plushies of Skipper and his bunch, and I saw no limited run of Cheese Dibbles.

I wanted an all-star Penguins movie with King Julien, Mort, Marlene, et al but we were treated to an all-penguin film which would’ve been okay if the universe of the TV series was better utilized. What we ended up with were pale comparisons of their TV counterparts. And don’t get me started about the change back to using the original voice actor (Chris Miller) of Kowalski.

E: Oh good lord! More King Julien? As despised as he is by his fellow zoo animals, I don’t think I can stand a 90min film with him being prominent throughout. My friend, you have not been keeping up with the series as well as I have. Yeah, Jeff Bennett has spent more time to give Kowalski life, but I enjoy Miller’s more calculating version. However, I’m more bothered about how Skipper’s time alone in Denmark is quickly glossed over like it’s of no importance. Apparently they have never spent any time apart. That can lead to some continuity issues if everyone is going to believe the television and film series share the same universe when they do not.

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