Tag Archives: DVD Review

Studio 4°C Genius Party is Happening Oct 15th! in North America

13 Oct

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Shout! Factory & GKIDS
Release Date: Oct 15, 2019

Coming to home video in North America is Genius Party Volumes 1 & 2 (ジーニアス・パーティ) offered in one disc. Studio 4°C is behind this anthology series, and all twelve shorts are offered instead of the original Japanese editions where both were sold separately–originally released in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Anime fans who have yet to discover this bonanza will be thrilled to find many storytelling genres realized by top talents. The shorts I loved the most were the fantasy type works.

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Romulus & Remus: The First King … But Who’s the only King?

23 Sep

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Well GO USA
Release Date: Sept 24, 2019

Romulus and Remus, we know the legend about them, but have we ever seen a movie about the founding of Rome? Despite the debate over how this city truly developed (there’s another account concerning a lady named Roma), what this movie, The First King (Il primo re), by director Matteo Rovere offers is plenty of true grit. Filippo Gravino and Francesca Manieri co-wrote the screenplay with this filmmaker, and what I saw is the relationship of the two brothers as they struggle against a greater enemy–destiny–as who will ultimately be leader.

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How The Banana Splits Movie Will Ruin Childhoods…

11 Sep

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

Home Video Release
August 27, 2019

Scheduled to air on Syfy channel on September 21, 2019.

Childhoods will certainly be ruined for anyone who grew up watching The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (TV Series (1968–1970) and have no intro before seeing the new movie. Every adorable aspect we loved from the classic is turned upside down in the 2019 film which reimagines the beloved bubblegum pop band variety show as heavy metal horror mayhem. I wondered what’d this film would be like if the Arabian Nights popped into existence to save the day….

Newcomers won’t be as affected, but I can’t buy into the thought robots are inside the suits which made the anthropomorphic band come alive. Fleegle (guitar, vocals), Bingo (drums, vocals), Drooper (bass, vocals) and Snorky (keyboards, effects) looked a bit gaunt when the real production had actors in huge body costumes and voice over veterans provided the goofy voices.

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Star Trek DS9: What We Left Behind Lands on Home Video! & Review

6 Aug

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Release Date: August 6, 2019
Distributor: Shout! Factory

* Spoiler Alert

Special Offer: The special edition contains a second Blu-Ray disc with additional material, and is limited to 1,500 copies. It is only available on ShoutFactory.com

The regular home video release of the documentary Star Trek DS9: What We Left Behind includes what’s left on the cutting room floor to make this look back of this series perfect. Usually the amount of clips offered may reach up to six, and sometimes a dozen. I was dumbfounded to find 17 in all! And one of them addressed my most favourite episode, “Take Me Out to the Holosuite.” The set up at the end credits explains it all. I highly recommend watching this work completely to the end.

Not everyone will have seen this work at its limited cinema and convention screenings. When I first heard of it, I did not have the spare funds to support the Indiegogo campaign. For those who did, a bevy of exclusive material can be found in the video vault on the official website.

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