Natalia from HTZ Reviews Roary the Racing Car from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment

It is time for yet another HTZ Natalia review of the brand new Roary the Racing Car from HIT Entertainment and Lionsgate. She revs her engine as she shares the speed, the daring, and the thrill of the race track along with Roary and his friends!

Natalia from HTZ Reviews Gnomeo & Juliet from Walt Disney Studios

HTZ's junior reporter grabbed a copy of Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment's Gnomeo & Juliet and let us know what she thought. Grab a peek as she rocks out in her review below.

JAM Reviews Gnomeo & Juliet from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Gnomeo & Juliet: Blu-Ray/DVD with Digital Copy: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

“I remember when rock was young, me and Suzie had so much fun.”
Crocodile Rock – Nelly Furtado along with the original artist Elton John

Take two little gnomes falling in love, two families in a continuous feud, a bunch of Elton John’s greatest hits, and Ozzy Osbourne as a fuzzy fawn (?) make Disney’s brand new Blu-ray release Gnomeo & Juliet into a fun-filled fanciful adventure.

Check out the rest of the Gnomeo & Juliet review for Hollywood Teen'Zine right here!

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews Vanishing on 7th Street from Magnolia Home Entertainment

Vanishing on 7th Street: Blu-Ray & Digital Copy: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Some of the scariest experiences in horror come from what is NOT there, rather than what is. The imagination fills in when the logical side of the brain does not see what it expects, much like the mind during Vanishing on 7th Street. Psychological horror that will have you searching the shadows for what is not there, even as you see what is.

Something happened throughout the earth as a new day dawns, and suddenly nearly everyone is gone. Only a few are saved whether by the luck of wearing a head lamp like Paul the projectionist (John Leguizamo) or the striking of a cigarette at the perfect moment like Rosemary the nurse (Thandie Newton) or a backup generator at a bar Like James the 12 year-old (Jacob Latimore) or for reasons unknown like Luke the reporter (Hayden Christensen), but each continues their survival only due to the light surrounding them. Glow sticks, flashlights, candles, gasoline generated lights… Whatever they can use, they use and it keeps them safe as much as possible from the life (or is it death) within the shadows.

Psychological fear tactics as well as physical scare tactics keep the viewer on the edge of their seat as the shadows search, taunt, and track the lives they wish to steal. The shadows have some supernatural aspect to them as they track people, mimic sounds and voices, and control/extinguish daylight to make the darkness last longer. It is psychological warfare as well as just fear as doubt, fear, and distrust set in as the darkness overwhelms them physically and emotionally. Picked off one by one, they become even more distraught as the loneliness and inevitability of losing takes over.

Someone does escape the darkness at the end in an almost supernatural type reasoning, but you have to truly ask yourself did they escape, or did they just prolong the inevitable in the end. Check out the Vanishing on 7th Street to see what you think.

JAMS Ink on Vanishing on 7th Street

Remember how I said Black Death was dark? Try dealing with a horror film based on a living darkness void of all life, desiring all life. That is what this is. The horror lies in what isn’t there rather than what is. Much like a true hunter it takes on the properties of its prey, stalking and taunting them until it becomes so much like them that it is hard to differentiate.

It is kind of weird to have such a small ensemble cast play such a role in a movie that seems so large. The scope of the darkness is worldwide, and the movie feels huge even though the party is trapped in a single section of a single town. The parts played are well done, the actors playing them are great by themselves, and the movie is strengthened by it. If anything, at times it can feel overdone with the reactions to the darkness but in the ideal that everyone else is gone, how else would someone react. Nothing is the same, no one is alive, and all hope seems to be lost.

For this release, I don’t know that the Blu-ray truly did it so many favors. So much of the movie is dark and grainy that it seems that much of the power and strength of the Blu-ray seems over redundant here. The clarity remains beautiful, but there is much to work for with color differential when the movie deals with dark grainy shadows throughout. I would of course still recommend the Blu-ray just for the fact that your movie is going to much more durable and long lasting, but for image I don’t see the need.

EXTRAS

The extras provided are fairly typical for a Blu-ray release with pieces that relatively enhance the release. Audio commentary from the director gives no major insights into the film. He is willing to talk shop it seems, but not script or story. Alternate endings really just a reshoot of the final scene that really is not needed overall. Revealing and Creating are kind of cool extras with on-set interviews and a discussion of the suspense and fear within the movie. Behind the scenes is really a cool look at on set work with scenery and hardware taking center stage. The other additions are just additions, but the overall aspect of the extras helps the film release, but not so much as to make the purchase that much easier. The film is worth the buy, but the extras are not by themselves.

Bonus Features

Audio Commentary
Alternate Endings
Revealing the “Vanishing on 7th Street”
Creating the Mood on 7th Street
Behind the Scenes Montage
Fangoria Interviews
HDNet: A Look at “Vanishing on 7th Street”
Theatrical Trailer

Darkness, distrust, and dystopia combine to make Vanishing on 7th Street a psychological horror film worth a check. Don’t expect any overwhelming insights into why you will be scared, but allow yourself to feel the fear and dread as the darkness surrounds you on May 17, 2011 from Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews I Saw the Devil from Magnolia Home Entertainment

I Saw the Devil: Blu-Ray: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

In the quest for a monster, does one have to become a monster to destroy a monster?

For a man too focused on work and getting ahead, the shock of his life comes with the gruesome killing of his pregnant fiancée. Targeted by a serial killer and taken out with no mercy, her bloody death snaps something within Kim Soo-hyeon (Byung-hun Lee). Pursuing a number of leads to her possible killer he becomes detached and justifiably violent as he plows his way through the first group of suspects.

But it is when he finds the actual killer Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi) that something within him snaps. Driven for revenge, he becomes more than just a secret agent in pursuit for a killer. He becomes a version of vengeance itself, lost in the violence and retribution for the lives of his fiancée and unborn child. Pursuing Kyung-chul while violently maiming him and then healing and releasing him, Soo-hyeon makes use of a tracking device to keep tabs on this walking evil. The problem with letting evil walk is the collateral damage, i.e. lives lost, and this killer runs free, as well as the fact that evil finds a way to free itself from tethers eventually.

Torture, dismemberment, cannibalism, and more keep this movie’s dark descent continuously in a crazy psycho cycle as Soo-hyeon wants to take the life of Kyung-chul at the exact time that he feels the most fear, that the emotions are the strongest. He succeeds, but only at the cost of everything he holds dear as you find yourself pondering whether vengeance is worth the descent into the monster itself.

JAMS Ink on I Saw the Devil

I really don’t understand the desire to let the bastard that killed his wife live in order to add more pain, and how that really helps. I understand the need for vengeance but at the expense of a number of more innocents just seems overdone. Maybe that is the aspect of becoming a monster that the film is truly focusing on. The breaking of one wrist followed by the cutting of the Achilles just seems torturous and understandable, but not while allowing him release, except that it is in the action of being pursued that he wants to instill the most fear, apprehension, and weakness at the end. The pursuit of vengeance would be the question anyone would face with being faced with such a heinous crime, but the ends to which one would go is truly the question.

I remember Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe movie, and remember the character being really cool, blood thirsty, stand offish, and conceited. I guess kind of like this cop. It probably actually made my viewing better having seen him in a typical American action film before seeing this Korean film, but only because having seen his face before, it gave his character credence already to me. I already saw him as a badass before he became a badass onscreen so that I never questioned his character. I may not have agreed with his methods, but I could see him as able to do so nonetheless.

Blu-ray wise? This probably isn’t really one of those movies that you really want the best picture in, and trust me, unfortunately you get it most of the time. The morbid massacres share enhanced imagery that shocks and stays with you as you watch. There are some grainy and sketchy parts in the film, but the areas which most enhance the film whether wanted or not are right on.

EXTRAS

Only two provided, though they are fairly meaty in terms of time. Twenty plus minutes for deleted scenes which actually add to the film overall, including an alternate ending which puts even more spin on this movie. Then there is a behind the scenes look that has a focus on the production as it happens and has an extra emphasis on some of the stunt work aspects which is a lot of fun to see but not all that necessary overall. So I’d say the extras are good, but not great.

Korean action film and good versus evil are the strong points of this Magnolia Home Entertainment release while the corruption, horror, and gruesomeness of the movie leaves a bit to be desired. Check it out if you dare on Blu-ray May 10, 2011.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews Black Death from Magnolia Home Entertainment

Black Death: Blu-Ray & Digital Copy: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Death comes in many forms in this new Blu-ray release from Magnolia Pictures as Sean Bean headlines this medieval thriller dealing with plague, witchcraft, and lost love.

Sent on an expedition to root out heresy and witchcraft for the church, church sanctioned knight Ulric (Sean Bean) is in search of a small village within the desolate forests and marshes of a place untouched by the plague. Visiting a remote monastery in search of a guide, Ulric’s group find the young monk Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) quick to offer to guide them into the forest and marshes themselves, holding the secrets of a forbidden love from his brothers at the monastery.

Osmund finds that not everything is as it seems as his journey commences. The knights are not as virtuous as he would have expected, his love is seemingly lost to the wilds, and the ensorcelled town is too peaceful for words and hides its secrets underneath a façade of lies and mistruths.

Drawn in by the leader of this town, the beautiful witch (or at least deceiver played by Carice van Houten), the men find themselves tempted and destroyed by the forces which they oppose. Free from disease, seemingly able to raise the dead, and renouncing their Christianity to a hidden evilness inside that they hide behind a Pagan façade, the village and its leader find death themselves through deception and deceit as well, leaving none untouched by this evil time of plague and pestilence and witchcraft.

Black Death also has some amazing performances by Ulric’s band of soldiers including John Lynch, Emun Elliot, and Andy Nyman.

JAMS Ink on Black Death

This is dark. Any movie named Black Death that deals with the Black Death should be of course, but this was medieval gruesomeness at its rawest form. No CGI, no in your face 3D effects, just harsh reality of sword fights, torture, and the putrid pestilence of the Black Death. This was probably as true as we could imagine a film in this medieval setting with no trick arrows or thrown scimitars, no fancy stunts and staged sword fight. This was gritty, grimy, and deadly for anyone involved and the movie shares this feeling with you as you get drawn into the story. You see that things seem just not right throughout the film as villages pure and uncorrupt are determined to be influenced by outside forces, noble knights are killers in the name of the Lord yet have a hidden and necessary nobility, and true love is questioned, corrupted, and tainted all by one who may or may not have been a witch. It is a GREAT look at medieval historical actions, unless you are not a fan of bloody realistic combat, death, and dismemberment.

Blu-ray wise, the release is impeccable. The coloration and the sharp quality of imaging gives the feel of being in a medieval setting, especially during their times of travel through the lush green countryside of England (or Germany filling in for England at least). The graininess that is detected now and again often comes in the darker parts of the movie while your senses seem to be confused slightly and things don’t seem as clear, whether in battle for your life or preparing for torture and death. Overall the Blu-ray release paints a pretty picture of a horrid Black Death.

EXTRAS

The extras provided are fairly typical for a Blu-ray release with pieces that relatively enhance the release. The deleted scenes are really just extra portions of the film, neither necessary nor trash. Bringing Black Death to Life is the introspective look at the making of type documentary while the Interviews with the cast and crew is a cool insight into the film and its look at religious fanaticism and more. There are also behind the scenes footage, a HDNET promo for the film, the trailer, and upcoming trailers as well.

Bonus Features

Deleted Scenes
Bringing Black Death to Life
Interviews with Cast and Crew
Behind the Scenes Footage
HDNET: A Look at Black DeathTheatrical Trailer

Death, sword fights, and the Bubonic Plague fill the Magnolia Home Entertainment release with awesome Sean Bean goodness. Grab a copy on May 10, 2011 and enjoy the medieval aspects of a hunt for witchcraft, retribution, and more.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: Volume One and Two from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: DVD Volume 1 and 2 : Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Even as the heroes hit the big screen (Thor and Captain America) in the summer of 2011 with an eye on the Avengers movie that comes in 2012, Disney XD got the Avengers party started early as episodes of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes began airing in fall of 2010.

Check out our reviews of Volume One and Two from the first season for Hollywood Teen'Zine right here!

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews THOR from Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Studios

THOR: Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Studios
Review by JAM

Long ago and far away the gods did walk the earth
And filled themselves with meat and mead and ever jolly mirth
Protectors true against the cold and frosty giants there
And Thor did fight the giants true without a single care.
JAM ‘11

In 1962, a golden haired god entered the scene as Marvel Comics introduced the Norse god of thunder into the modern day. With a mythological history thousands of years old and the strength to move mountains with the mighty Mjolnir, Thor was an amazing addition to the Marvel canon of the Sixties, even being a founding member of the Avengers (which will make its way to the big screen in 2012 as well). Banished to Midgard (earth) by his father Odin in order to learn humility, Thor is placed in the frail mortal body of Dr. Donald Blake (a name referenced in the movie as well) and finds his way back to his godly powers while also living the life of Blake for some time. It grounded the character and made him human, even with the power of a god always there for the call. And this movie works with the same magic of Thor’s loss of power.

Check out the rest of our awesome Thor review for Hollywood Teen'Zine right here!

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

JAM Reviews Gulliver's Travels from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Gulliver’s Travels: Blu-Ray/DVD with Digital Copy: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Take one bumbling mailroom guy, one massive case of plagiarism, a trip to the always enjoyable Bermuda Triangle, and what do you get? Well, you get Jack Black in a typical Jack Black comedy in which he becomes the fish out of water, screws everything up, and then triumphs overall bad will and evil even if he bumbles his way through it. This time it is in the comedic adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels and while not obviously true to the source material, it’s worth a laugh or two.

Check out our review for Hollywood Teen'Zine right here!

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.