Not a lot for us this week so I’ll start with the biggest name of the bunch, Sing 2. Was a sequel to Sing necessary? No, but the first film was a pretty successful family flick in 2016 as are most Illumination Studios movies. Sing 2 ended up being a solid hit in late 2021 as well despite Covid. I missed it at the theater and watching it at home I didn’t get the buzz you would get watching it with a crowd, especially kids, but I still enjoyed it as will you and your family. That’s exactly who this movie is for, you and your family. Parents won’t hate watching it with their kids because it’s fun and filled with music. It has a similar plot as the first film, this time Buster Moon wants to put a show on in an animated, family-friendly version of Las Vegas. The plot is almost irrelevant especially to the kids. You want to hear the singing and see the dancing and spectacle of it all. You hear Taron Egerton sing. You hear Scarlett Johansson sing. And this time around you get U2’s Bono. Bono plays a reclusive singer who Buster promises he can get for the show and whose music he lies about having the right to use. I never realized I wanted to see Bono as an animated singing animal before this movie. It also makes me wonder why Bono hasn’t done much musical theater in his career. There isn’t much to say about a movie like this. It’s fun and entertaining for the whole family. The animation is gorgeous and I look forward to Illumination films as much as other animated studios if not more. Definitely recommended if you and your family like Illumination movies.
Second we have Drive-In Retro Classics: Science Fiction Triple Feature [Rocketship X-M, The Hideous Sun Demon, The Brain From Planet Arous]. This collection of black & white sci-fi flicks from the 1950s are right up my alley. Are they good movies with ground breaking effects? Oh heck no. By today’s standards they are outright laughable, but I have a soft spot for campy vintage sci-fi. I mean if you aren’t laughing at the giant brains in The Brain From Planet Arous then something is wrong with you. I outright hollered the first time the giant brain shows up. Rocketship X-M features Lloyd Bridges and is about scientists on their way to the moon, but end up on Mars. The Hideous Sun Demon is about an atomic research scientist exposed to radiation and is transformed into a reptilian creature when sunlight hits his skin, and then back into a human when out of the sun’s reach. The Brain From Planet Arous sees one man killed and another taken over by a giant brain when they investigate large amounts of radiation. The 1950s were all about radiation and nuclear accidents after World War II and these films (like many in the genre) are prime examples of what people thought would happen from atomic energy. Fun stuff if you like early science fiction.
Third we have Magnum P.I. – The Complete Series Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment. This epic box set features all 8 seasons of the original 1980s hit starring Tom Selleck for the first time on Blu-ray! I wasn’t old enough to watch the show when it first aired in primetime, but I watched it later on in syndication. My parents were big fans as were a lot of people. Selleck played Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living in Hawaii and was very much an 80s sex symbol with his mustache, Detroit Tigers hat and clothing. Of course the hot cars, hot women and beautiful Hawaiian backdrop certainly helped the series as well. It was nominated and won multiple Emmys and Golden Globes with Selleck and his co-star John Hillerman both winning individual acting awards. It’s a pretty iconic show which I’ve enjoyed watching and rewatching through the years. It looks fantastic on Blu-ray and this is a beast of a collection. Mill Creek does TV box sets extremely well and this is their latest impressive one. It comes with interviews with writers, producers, directors and the composer of the show and with commentaries and 2 episodes of The Rockford Files with Tom Selleck. If you are a fan of the show this is an absolute must have.
Last we have The Honeymooners Specials The Complete Collection which came out last week. This is a 4 special collection which is a lot of fun. First is Second Honeymoon which is classic Ralph. He throws a 25th wedding anniversary for Alice, but thinks she’s pregnant and the whole event goes full Ralph. Valentine Special finds Ralph thinking Alice wants him dead and seeing another man, but in reality she’s trying to just buy him a suit. Christmas Special is a classic Ralph scheme episode involving the lottery, Ed’s bonus and potentially losing all their savings. A Christmas Carol was a reunion special where Ralph enlists Alice, Ed and Trixie to perform with him on stage after he agrees to supervise and star in the annual office holiday fund-raiser for a charity chosen by his boss’ wife. Ralph ends up rewriting and reimagining Charles Dickens’ dramatic classic A Christmas Carol with comedic results when Ed serves as the inexperienced director. This a fantastic collection for Honeymooners fans to enjoy.
The Nerds Templar 