Following the Assassin's Creed II

Anyone who has been following the release and reviews of Assassin's Creed II will note that this review is slightly behind those on other sites.  The reason for that is distressingly simple – once the game was inserted into the PlayStation 3, this reviewer found it absolutely impossible to tear himself away long enough to put fingers to keyboard.  Assassin's Creed II is not a perfect game – and we'll certainly discuss some of its faults here – but it is absolutely bloody brilliant, a must-have for anyone who likes history-based games, platformers, sandbox games, action adventures, and people who just want to have a whole lot of fun while videogaming.

Though this game is a sequel, it is unnecessary to play the original Assassin's Creed in order to be up to speed with the new one.  The majority of game takes place during the Italian Renaissance, though that all occurs via the "genetic memory" the main character, Desmond Miles, unlocks while sitting in something called the Animus 2.0. (the original Animus being used in the original).  And that little bit of insanity is just about the worst part of the game.  Very happily, the game doesn't spend a lot of time in the near-future (when Desmond lives).  While the not-travelling-back-in-time-but-playing-in-the-past is, perhaps a necessary evil, in order for some of the high-tech things that occur to take place without destroying the illusion of the game, it is one of those weird, over-the-top moments that instantly turns off all non-gamers.  Seriously, try to explain the Animus and that storyline to anyone who doesn't play games, you'll lose them immediately, but if you solely focus on the Italian Renaissance stuff they'll be enthralled.

In ACII, while Desmond Miles may be the main character, that's only because it's his genetic memory – the memory of his ancestors which lie in his DNA – that is being accessed.  The player actually spend much of their time as Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a poor lad coming of age during the Italian Renaissance who witnesses the brutal murder of much of his family at the start of the game.  Ezio's mission is to uncover the plot that led to his family's demise, part of which has to be accomplished by finding Codex pages strewn over the country.  Desmond's mission as Ezio is to uncover the evil secrets of the Knights Templar and locate the various "Pieces of Eden" which the Knights desperately want their hands own for their own nefarious purposes.

While that is the linear plot, the gameplay itself is much more open.  Certain areas only become unlocked through playing the linear plot, but there are almost always other side quests.  In fact, one of the greatest joys in the game is picking up various short assignments around one of the numerous locations in Italy Ezio visits (Tuscany, Rome, Venice, and Florence among them).  Side quests include delivering letters, carrying out assassinations, and beating up people who completely deserve it (adulterers, bullies, those sorts of characters).  One can even just travel around the city stealing from anyone – thieves make particularly good targets – or killing guards (because the establishment is evil).

Doing these sorts of things however will, unless their done very stealthily, raise Ezio's notoriety.  Once Ezio has done enough to raise his profile in less than stellar ways he becomes "notorious," and he'll no longer be able to follow that bit of the assassin's creed that deals with stealth, the guards will spot him instantly and attack.  This can be fixed with a few well placed bribes, the elimination of wanted posters, or the killing of certain characters, but can cause momentary headaches.

Cash in the game isn't only earned by thievery and the accomplishment of various tasks, Ezio is placed in charge of his uncle's villa and the surrounding city, and can earn money by purchasing various improvements for the area and finding different items across Italy.  Investing in various shops – tailor, doctor, blacksmith, etc. – not only earns Ezio cash, but discounts as well, and there is much to purchase in the way of armor, weaponry, and ancillary items.

Ezio moves around in kind of a Parkour Prince of Persia style – jumping from one ledge to the next, climbing walls, and swinging on anything that will allow it.  The fact that the game looks outstanding makes Ezio's rooftop running and jumping and swan dives into stacks of straw a beautiful thing to watch.   The camera is at times problematic, but can generally be made to do what one wants by adjusting it with the right analog stick.

Though the look of the cities are the highlight, the rest of the game's graphics are outstanding as well.  Characters and clothing are beautifully detailed and differentiated.  The areas outside the cities are, perhaps, a bit sparse, but still look good.  It is a bit odd that Ezio is allowed to run through small shrubs without seeming to actually touch them outside the cities, but perhaps that's because Ezio's memories have been corrupted within Desmond.  The sound, too, is good, with appropriate sound effects for running, jumping, and fighting.  And, if Ezio turns around as someone is speaking to him, the voice will move from speaker to speaker in fluid fashion.

The AI present in the game is good, but not outstanding.  It is relatively easy to take on a large group of enemies at a single time – most of them will stand around and watch as only two or three actively attack Ezio.  Different enemies are better and worse at pursuing and following Ezio across rooftops and spotting him in his hiding places.  While the best of the enemies are quite intelligent and function realistically, the lowest level of pursuer are, perhaps, slightly less mentally swift than seems plausible.

Despite the fact that Ezio and his actions may be fictional, the game is built around actual historical facts and figures – Leonardo da Vinci appears as does the Medici family and others.  Additionally, beyond real names of cities being used, some Italian landmarks are included as well.  This historical backbone to the story – and not Desmond's reality – are what help drawer one into the game and make it sure an incredibly worthwhile experience.

With the promise of a minimum of two different DLC packs coming in the new year, hours upon hours of open-world fun in the main game, beautiful graphics, and a mostly compelling story, Assassin's Creed II represents the best videogaming has to offer.

Assassin's Creed II is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language. This game can also be found on: Xbox 360 and PC.

five stars out of five

Shortcut Happy? How About a Gboard?

The ability to do more in less time drives many an innovation.  One of the latest technological shortcuts to come about – and just in time for Christmas too – is called the Gboard and the basic idea behind is quite simple.  The Gboard is a small numberpad sized keyboard which attaches to a computer via a USB port and requires no special software.  It contains 19 different color-coded buttons which function as Gmail shortcuts, thereby saving one's time by alleviating the need for a mouse in Gmail.

The color-coding certainly makes the Gboard buttons easy to locate, and the entire device a good-looking one.  Additionally, a small blue light sits at the top of the Gboard, allowing one to know when it is plugged in, and that is a crucial bit of information.

As the keys on the Gboard are hardcoded to the keyboard shortcuts within Gmail, they are actually simply duplicating various letters on one's true keyboard.  Consequently, the Gboard doesn't only allow things to happen in Gmail, it works in any program – though one will have a devil of a time trying to figure out in advance (unless one has all the Gmail shortcuts memorized) what pressing each button will do.  While pressing the "next thread" key in Gmail will flip to the next e-mail thread, in Word, it will display the letter "k" (because that's what the keyboard shortcut for "next thread" is).

Ultimately, the question that has to be answered is whether or not the Gboard will save one's time, because, after all, that is the point to – to save one's time.  In the short run, it isn't.  The keys on the Gboard are certainly laid out logically and the color-coding does differentiate the various categories, but they are not laid out in the same relationship as the Gmail shortcuts themselves.  As stated above, "next thread" is a "k," while "previous thread," which sits just below it on the Gboard is a "j," which does not sit below "k" on a Qwerty keyboard.  While those two are at least close together on a traditional keyboard, other keys Gboard have far less – or no – relation to a traditional key layout.

In the long term however, should one choose to put in the time to learn where the keys are on the Gboard, one might forget their Qwerty relatives' locations.  But, is that worth it?  Is the time one would have to put in so to learn the keys worth it – will they get that time back in their not having to move the mouse later?

Fans of keyboard shortcuts certainly might. In fact, for those who regularly use keyboard shortcuts or who tend to have issues with mice, the Gboard could work very well.  Currently available only through Gboard's website, the pad sells for $19.99 and has a wonderful feel to it.  It neither feels cheap nor shabbily made, and as with many regular keyboards, it can be made to sit at an angle.

For those who do not like keyboard shortcuts or who have no issues with mice will be far more hard-pressed to want to spend their time learning where the various keys are.  Beyond that, no matter how one feels about shortcuts, one's hand will have to be moved away from the standard home keys on a keyboard to operate the Gboard – a move which may take less time than using a mouse, but certainly more than using one's actual keyboard to utilize the shortcuts.

It may be unlikely to win many converts to the use of shortcutting, but it looks great, feels great to use, and just seems cool.  It is, at the very least, something for those who use Gmail on the web browser to seriously consider.

Come on Everybody and Ride... The Choo-Choo Express

Every year on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey and the gang get the opportunity to see Santa Claus.  This year, Mickey gets to meet the big guy as a part of a double-episode, "full-length adventure," Choo-Choo Express.

It doesn't start off with Santa though, it starts off with the ever-wacky Professor Von Drake heading off to Mistletoe Mountain to make snow that doesn't melt. Oddly enough, the Professor is successful, but he does need help getting the new "easy-freezy" snow back to the Clubhouse.  And that is where the aforementioned Choo-Choo Express comes in – Mickey and the gang have to take the train up to the mountain to get the Professor and his snow back.

It all starts off as a classic episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – an off-beat problem is presented at the opening, Mickey and friends grab Toodles and some Mouskatools, and they proceed step-by-step until their goal is accomplished.  At that point, normally, they sing the "Hot Dog," do the "Hot Dog Dance" and go on their merry way. 

Instead of that happening here, once the snow is back at the clubhouse, the gang heads out again on the Choo-Choo Express to pick up some friends for a snow party.  Again, Toodles shows up, more Mouskatools are received, and the gang goes about accomplishing their goal, and only then do they do the "Hot Dog."

Though Mickey and his friends aren't universally liked, they do seem to find their way awfully quickly into the hearts of children.  Geared for preschoolers – Mickey Mouse Clubhouse airs as a part of Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney lineup – the show is full of bright colors, great animation, and characters children either know and love or will soon know and with this as an introduction, love.  Adults will notice quite easily that Choo-Choo Express is simply two episodes put together, but the intended audience will remain blissfully unaware.  Instead, at least with the preschooler I watched, it was just special that they used a second set of Mouskatools.  The show does make some attempts to be educational, in this case teaching about things like telling time on analog clocks and different shapes.  The show doesn't linger on these moments, but they are present.

The DVD release of Choo-Choo Express contains an extra episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (only available in 1.33 format, not optimized for widescreen televisions as the main feature is) as well.  Entitled "Mickey's Big Job," it features Mickey and company helping out Willy the Giant when Willy goes off to see his mother for the day.  The bonus episode can be watched either regularly or in "Interactive Adventure Mode" which stops the episode occasionally to ask questions of the viewer.

There is something wonderfully special about Christmas, and something equally fantastic about Mickey Mouse.  When the two get put together, even if Santa and Mrs. Claus only make a brief appearance, it ends up thrilling many a youngster.  This DVD, which also features a new song by They Might Be Giants (they wrote the theme song and the "Hot Dog" as well),  is sure to delight the Mouse's youngest fans.

Concerning Men of a Certain Age

Created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, and starring Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher, TNT's Men of a Certain Age examines exactly what it title suggests – men of a certain age. In this case, the age happens to be their late 40s, or if you prefer, "middle-aged." While it may be wishful thinking on the part of these three men to think that they are only entering middle-age in their late 40s (and of the three leads, only Braugher is actually still in his 40s), if you can suspend disbelief long enough to get past that, you will actually get to experience an enjoyable show.

The three actors star as Joe (Romano), Owen (Braugher), and Terry (Bakula), three friends from college who have managed to stay close for the decades that have elapsed since their graduation. Joe is the about-to-be-divorced father of two and owns a party supply store; Owen is the happily married father of three who works as a car salesman at his father's dealership; and Terry is the single, virtually washed-up actor who works as a temp in order to make ends meet. It is a simple enough setup, and even if the characters initially appear somewhat stereotypical (and they do), the show quickly dives beyond those broad generalizations to create interesting and believable storylines for the characters.

The best of those stories over the course of the first three episodes belong to Braugher's Owen. Owen's father, Owen Sr. (Richard Gant), is an overbearing man who is disappointed in his son's apparent lack of work ethic. Senior treats his son more harshly than everyone else on the lot which, rather than inspiring his son, tends to depress him. The two have an incredibly uneasy professional relationship and consequently seem to have virtually no personal one. Braugher handles the upset about his character's job and father beautifully. Owen is upset and angry and resentful and yet still desperately wants his father's approval.

Romano's Joe, at least in the first few episodes, is a far more stereotypical character as he copes with his impending divorce and tries to find his footing in the world again. He is unsure about how to relate to his kids but does his best to be an everyday – or almost everyday – part of their lives. Joe is a good father, but as any father can tell you, being a good father isn't always the same as feeling as though one has done a good job. Even so, Joe does in fact perform admirably as a parent. From the audience's perspective, the far larger issue with Joe's character is his multi-episode, ever-building gambling problem. Perhaps the worst of the storylines in the show, Joe has had gambling issues in the past and as he is trying to rebuild his life, those issues are starting to reemerge. While being a divorcing middle-aged father has, of course, been done before, the gambling issue feels like one television cliché too many.

As with so many drama series these days, Men of a Certain Age isn't strictly a drama. Though more serious than funny, the show does manage a couple of good laughs in its first few episodes. Many of those are provided by Bakula's Terry. Terry's acting career may not have turned out quite as well as he would have liked and it is something that definitely irks him, but he still manages to coast through life without seeming to get overly concerned about it. He dates younger women, slacks off at his temp job, and still has many admirers even if he doesn't have a job in the entertainment industry.

Despite any issues the show may have with its establishing of the main characters as individuals and not stereotypes, it is the friendship between the men that makes it all work. Whatever their issues may be, the three men are always there for each other, even if it is only to make a joke at their friend's expense. Joe, Owen, and Terry all do care for each other, and are always willing to give advice to each other (though they often seem unwilling to listen when they receive advice). It is the friendship that sees these men through and it is their interactions with one another that make Men of a Certain Age worth watching. Some of their personal storylines work and some don't, but when the men come together to discuss their lives the show excels.

Men of a Certain Age premieres December 7 at 10pm on TNT.

An All-New Alice (2009)

The channel formerly known as SciFi and now known as Syfy is delivering their latest miniseries this week. Entitled Alice, the four-hour adventure is something of a re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's classic Wonderland tales. Both fun and distinctly odd at times, the Halmi-produced event is a reminder of just how much the television landscape has changed over the course of the past decade. Ten years ago this sort of big budget, beautifully produced, all-star event would have aired on a major network during a ratings sweep. Now, it will air on the NBC-Universal owned and ever more and more popular Syfy.

Written and directed by Nick Willing (he also directed SciFi's Tin Man in 2007), this version of Alice stars Caterina Scorsone in the lead role. Alice is no longer a young girl in England, but rather a 20-something karate instructor in the States. Following her kidnapped boyfriend, Jack Chase (Philip Winchester), the story rapidly finds Alice herself falling through a mirror (or, looking-glass, if you will) and into Wonderland.

Still ruled by the evil Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates), Alice finds herself learning all about this odd land which the Queen rules by bottling the emotions of "Oysters," which is their term for people from our world. The Queen's evil Suits led by the White Rabbit (Allan Gray) have been kidnapping humans for years and Alice rapidly finds herself on the wrong side of the law.

Through the course of her misadventures, our Alice meets up with the Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts), White Knight (Matt Frewer), a resistance leader named Dodo (Tim Curry), Doctors Dee and Dum (Eugene Lipinski), Caterpillar (Harry Dean Stanton), Carpenter (Timothy Webber), and the King of Hearts (Colm Meaney) among others. Or, in other words, people at least similarly named to those who figure in Lewis Carroll's tales.

The story Willing has constructed here is an interesting one, and it is certainly well conceived, but its relationship to the Carroll stories is not always an easy one. In this Wonderland there is certainly the story of another Alice, a legendary Alice, but what exactly this Alice did is unclear. It would seem impossible – or highly improbable – that the Alice of legend had the sort of interactions in Wonderland that Carroll wrote of, particularly as a version of all those characters is present here.

Scorsone is good as Alice, making the famous role (or a version of it) hers. She makes the absurd seem believable and serves as the perfect fish-out-of-water to function as a proxy for the equally confused and unaware audience. The true standouts here are Potts and Frewer, both of whom are exceptionally funny and charismatic. The rest of the cast, while obviously quite capable, are never really given as much of a chance to shine as they deserve. There are so many characters presented, and they are all somewhat different than our previous understanding of them that it may have behooved Syfy to give the miniseries a third installment just so that we could get the opportunity to get a better feel for the characters and this new Wonderland.

That is not to say that Alice's tale is not completed by the end of the miniseries, it most certainly is, but there are so many other tales present here, so many other things that Willing has conceived of, that it seems a shame that the audience doesn't get more.

Perhaps though the most unfortunate part of the tale is that of Alice's father. As this story goes, Alice's father disappeared many years before. Once the audience is made aware that the inhabitants of Wonderland kidnap humans, it becomes all too obvious that Alice's dad is among the kidnapped. Oddly, it takes Alice significantly longer than the audience to work out that her father is in Wonderland. In a story which otherwise works, and with a character who otherwise seems intelligent, the tale of the father seems unnecessarily tacked on and it feels as though Alice has a rather large blind spot.

Pitfalls aside, there is certainly more good than bad to this Alice. Willing has conceived of and constructed a new and interesting take on a beloved classic. He is blessed with a strong cast and if one of the biggest complaints of the miniseries is that one is left wanting more tales about the characters who inhabit this version of the story then he has clearly been very successful. Maybe one day he will even get the opportunity to revisit his Wonderland and provide us more tales from within his looking-glass.

Alice airs December 6 and 7 at 9pm on Syfy.

Handy Manny Braves the Open Road in Manny's Motorcycle Adventure

In recent years, the Disney Channel has managed to score with not just tweens, but with an even younger crowd as well, preschoolers. Their "Playhouse Disney" time block has managed to pump out some substantial hits for the channel, including Handy Manny. And, as with other Disney Channel fare, Handy Manny's adventures aren't only available on television, they can be purchased on DVD as well.

The latest Handy Manny adventure to make its way to store shelves is Handy Manny: Manny's Motorcycle Adventure. Touted as a "full-length adventure," the story runs about 46 minutes and features, as the title indicates, Manny going for a ride on his motorbike. The choice of vehicles seems an odd one for the series – bikes being far less safe than cars and therefore perhaps a bad message to deliver to preschoolers – but Manny does at least wear a helmet and certainly doesn't drive recklessly.

In fact, though Manny is taking a motorcycle for his trip, the trip is certainly not about the motorcycle. The story here revolves around family, and all the different types of family that one can have. Manny is driving off to a family reunion with his talking tools, who are curious about just what family means. In a semi-desperate search to find a family of his own, one of Manny's tools, Pat the hammer, goes off searching for a hammer just like himself. For a time, Pat believes he's on the right track – a company's logo has a hammer with a face just like Pat's – but instead of finding genetic brethren, Pat and a couple of other tools get separated from Manny and everyone else.

It is left up to Manny to travel out of his way on his motorbike with his less-than-full complement of tools in order to rescue Pat and the other absconders. Though he ends up missing much of his family reunion to do it, Manny doesn't mind. After all, as everyone parent knows is coming, at the end of the episode Manny explains to the tools that there are all different types of families, and that he and the tools are one.

It's a simple message and one filled with bright colors, lots of songs, and a bunch of Spanish words thrown in to, hopefully, expand a child's learning experience. As with other Handy Manny DVD releases, though there is nothing here to particularly impress or thrill parents, there is little here to annoy or bother them (save, perhaps, for Manny's riding a motorcycle). Perhaps more importantly though, preschoolers seem to absolutely love it.

The DVD comes with an extra episode of Handy Manny, "A Very Handy Holiday," which can be watched either normally or in "Interactive Adventure Mode" which pauses the episode occasionally to pose simple questions that viewers can answer using their remote. The questions are perfectly suited to be answered by the younger set, with answers that will be obvious to adults but which might cause a preschooler to pause and think. Oddly, though currently par for the course for Playhouse Disney releases, though the main feature will default to fill the screen on widescreen televisions, the bonus episodes only appear as 1.33.

Though calling it a "full-length adventure" may be overreaching, Manny's Motorcycle Adventure has everything necessary to excite and impress preschoolers. Plus, there's a holiday Handy Manny episode included and DVDs make great stocking stuffers. If you're looking for a good gift for a younger child, Manny's Motorcycle Adventure just may fit the bill.

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Lacks Rage and Blast

One of the best things about 3D (or 2D) fighters is the fighting. Nice environments, good graphics, great sound, and a decent story are all nice, but the actual fight mechanics are the most important thing. Thus, when one plays Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, the latest Dragon Ball fighter, one might find themselves momentarily impressed by the look and quantity of content included (as with some of the other DB games, there are over 70 characters), the game is ultimately a massive letdown. The fight mechanics are distinctly subpar and the entire experience suffers greatly for that.

As with previous entries into the fighting franchise, this game allows for several different kinds of attacks to be performed – smashes, melees, Ki blasts, and signature moves – but the melees, which should be a fighter's bread and butter, are woefully inadequate. The game responds sluggishly if at all – playing the game one will definitely experience several times in each battle where they swear that they pressed for a punch and nothing occurs. The emphasis within the game doesn't lie in any sort of basic attacks, it lies in the special moves, Ki blasts, and signature attacks, and even those don't always seem to work when one presses the right combination of buttons. This issue is all the more frustrating when the game actually suggests a move to perform and following the on-screen instructions nothing – or the wrong thing – happens. The instruction to perform the special move then stays on the screen, still encouraging the player to perform the action and, unintentionally, mocking them.

The game itself is divided into several different sections including Dragon Battle Collection (story mode), Super Battle Trial, Versus, World Tournament, and Online Battle. Then, in keeping with Raging Blast's desire to put quantity over quality, Dragon Battle contains several different sagas (storylines from the Dragon Ball cartoon) and "what-if" scenarios one can play through, and Super Battle Trial and Versus has several different types of battles one can engage in. Perhaps the oddest of these is Time Attack in Battle Trial. One would assume that in a battle that revolves around a time limit, that has "Time" in its very title, would show a timer. It doesn't, not until time has nearly run out at which point a timer will appear to let the player know that it's just about too late to win unless they're but a few blows from victory.

There are several different stories one can play through in the game's Dragon Battle Collection mode. While those who know the various storylines may find themselves right at home, those who don't will have to read the optional introductions to the battles to be able to figure out what exactly is taking place (except for there being good guys and bad guys and a whole lot of fighting).

The game does feature a lot of wide-ranging environments, all of which contain a large number of destructible objects, and it certainly is fun tossing an opponent into a mountainside and either seeing the mountain crumble to dust or the nefarious evildoer get momentarily dazed and stuck in the middle of the mountain as cracks form emanating out from the bad guy.

Raging Blast, though, never seems to have a pro without having a con. The massive environments are fun, but the camera and camera control is less than optimal. It is incredibly hard to figure out where one's foe might be if they're not in sight. There is a way to have one's player head directly towards their opponent, wherever they may be, but approaching an opponent and knowing where they are is not the same thing. One might definitely want the latter but not have the former forced upon them.

It is possible that Namco Bandai has realized that the game is less than stellar as they recently announced that there will be a series of over a dozen free DLC packs made available for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. The packs are set to include customized versions of characters which different powered-up abilities for use in Versus battles.

Make no mistake, the game looks utterly fantastic, beautifully replicating the cartoon series. The game also contains a ton of content, but there is little depth to any of that content – the emphasis here is clearly on quantity with little thought having been given to quality.

Fans of Dragon Ball will almost certainly embrace Raging Blast, but those who have not already invested a serious amount of time in the franchise in any form would do better to start off (or stick with) any number of other DB games that have been released through the years.

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Cartoon Violence and Mild Language. This game can also be found on: Xbox 360.


three stars out of five

The Who Dr. Seuss' Horton Heard Heads to Blu-ray with the Elephant Riding Shotgun

The genius of Dr. Seuss lies not just within his words, within his pictures, or within the sentiments those words and pictures contain. Rather, it lies within his amazing ability to combine the words, pictures, and sentiments into something both grand wholly relatable to people of all ages.  As the perfect example of this, Warner Bros. has released the 1970 animated classic Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! to Blu-ray.

The animated tale, clocking in at approximately 25 minutes, follows, as does the book, Horton the Elephant and he does his best to provide protection to an entire society of people who live on a speck of dust.  No one in Horton's jungle believes the elephant, but he is utterly insistent that there is life on the speck and that, as he puts it, "a person's a person, no matter how small."

Horton's belief, as true as it may be – a person is in fact a person, no matter their size – isn't something that the other animals in his jungle appreciate.  Instead, led by Jane Kangaroo, the jungle animals taunt and mock Horton, stealing the flower upon which his Who-filled speck of dust sits and later threatening to boil the flower in bezelnut oil.   Quite logically, it is the smallest of the small in Whoville who eventually makes the Whos' presence known, thereby saving them all and Horton to boot. 

The special features offer some great Seuss songs and a teleplay written by Seuss himself.  It holds true to all that makes the book a classic and Horton (who first appeared in Horton Hatches the Egg) a great character.  Horton is the type of person we'd all like to be, and the enemies he faces are those we all would face if we ever had the opportunity to follow in the elephant's footsteps.  Though he may be a pachyderm, Horton is who we all would ideally be, and has strength of character that many of us would not.

Originally a television special, the show looks and sounds better than one might expect on Blu-ray.  The print is relatively clean, but certainly not perfect.  There is a noticeable flicker to the background and the occasional bit of dirt or scratches on the frame.  The sound comes through loud and clear, even that oh-so-important "Yopp!" which eventually saves all concerned.

There is certainly nothing outstanding or over-the-top wonderful about the look and sound, but the main feature certainly looks substantially better than the two bonus Dr. Seuss tales included, Daisy-Head Mayzie and The Butter Battle Book.  The latter, which deals with the Yooks fighting the Zooks over the correct way of eating buttered bread (butter side up or down) was created while Dr. Seuss was still alive, but the former, which follows a girl with a daisy growing from her head, was produced based on a screenplay found by his wife, Audrey. 

While both of these tales are certainly Seussian in their absurdity, Mayzie holds together far less well than The Butter Battle Book.  Mayzie contains Seuss' whimsy and charm, but the basic plot seems a little more scattered than other Seuss tales and certainly gives the impression that he wasn't quite finished with it. 

As stated previously, neither of these two special features look remotely as good as Horton in this release.  The animation in both features terribly jagged lines that clearly are meant to be straight.  It is as though the disc attempts to output far more detail than actually exists within the frame. 

The Blu-ray also contains the full-length "In Search of Dr. Seuss."  Not quite a movie and not quite a documentary, the piece stars Kathy Najimy along with other terribly famous faces as she explores but Seuss' work and life.  It is the exact sort of hybrid piece of truth and fiction one imagines Seuss himself would be quite appreciative of.  Lastly, the disc contains a music video sing-along from Horton, and a digital copy which, in a fit of Seussian absurdity, is only Windows Media compatible and therefore can neither be played in iTunes or on an any Apple product.

Shortcomings in the bonus features aside, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who is a true classic, both in terms of its televisual age and its being the work of a master artist at the top of his game.  Seuss may have seen the world differently from the rest of us, but one would be hard-pressed to argue that his version is not far superior to ours and that his ideals should not be the ones to which we all aspire.

A Charlie Brown Christmas hits Blu-ray

One of the greatest things about the Christmas holiday is the availability of Christmas specials from years' past. Even when though specials sit on one's DVD (or Blu-ray) shelf, they really only come out once a year. These specials contain iconic moments – moments which are, perhaps, known universally. Out of all of those moments, all of those sad and happy scenes, there is perhaps nothing more iconic, nothing more memorable than Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. That sad little Christmas tree not only encapsulates Charlie Brown beautifully, but perhaps also our own Christmastime frailties. The special which brought that tree into all of our homes, the first Charlie Brown special ever, A Charlie Brown Christmas, is now available on Blu-ray.

Charlie Brown's main issue throughout the 25 minute runtime is the crass commercialism of the holiday. Charlie Brown looks around him and notices that everything at Christmas has become about purchasing gifts, about selling things, that it is no longer about the Christmas story itself. He is left saddened by what he sees all around and in the face of that he opts to purchase the saddest Christmas tree on the whole lot, hoping to salvage some sort of truth about the holiday.

As the special reminds us, Charlie Brown is, in this instance, absolutely correct. Christmas is about more than just what can be bought and sold during the holiday. It is, at its core, a religious holiday, and one that has expanded into being about love and family and hope in general. Charlie Brown's little Christmas tree can be made beautiful, all it needs is some tenderness and love, all it needs is for people to get into the Christmas spirit.

The special has been released several times previously, including last year in a "Remastered Deluxe Edition." This new Blu-ray contains the exact same material as that release, save for the fact that the main feature as well as the second Charlie Brown special that appears on the disc, It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown, are in high definition. The one other special feature, "Christmas Miracle: The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas," appears in standard definition, and the digital copy of the special is not compatible with any Apple device.

The story in A Charlie Brown Christmas is a simple one and a small one, but what makes it so endearing is the fact that it is well told and manages to resonate so well today. There may be an argument to be made here about the irony of this special getting released to DVD (and now Blu-ray) repeatedly, that doing as much is the exact sort of thing Charlie Brown rails against in the special. However, it does look exceedingly good on Blu-ray. There are still bits of dirt and imperfections in the print, and there are those odd little moments when a character's skin will suddenly change tint a few times within a single scene, but that is part of the charm of the entire affair. The dialogue here is unquestionably muffled and somewhat disheartening as well, but as the documentary that accompanies the main feature reminds us, the special was made under severe time constraints.

From the music by Vince Guaraldi; to the classic dialogue ("of all the Charlie Brown's in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest."); to the simple, unadorned story, A Charlie Brown Christmas is simply beautiful. It is difficult to contemplate purchasing this new Blu-ray version if one purchased last year's Remastered Deluxe DVD (or possibly any of the earlier DVD releases), but for anyone who in any way appreciates Christmas or anything to do with Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a must own.

Godzilla (1998) Takes Manhattan

One can't slam a monster movie for being silly – there is something inherently silly about a giant monster lumbering through a city destroying things.  Yet, in the most basic sense, Roland Emmerich (writer/director) and Dean Devlin's (writer/producer)  reimagining of the famed Toho monster, Godzilla, is silly.  Titled quite simply Godzilla, the 1998 feature moves the monster from Japan to New York City, where, in true Hollywood style the monster (and the good guys) proceed to destroy landmark after landmark.

The film stars Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko Tatopoulos, the ever-present monster movie scientist; Jean Reno as Philippe Roache, the French army specialist; Maria Pitillo as Audrey Timmonds, the love interest trying to make a name for herself; and Hank Azaria as Victor 'Animal' Palotti, the comic relief.  They are all essentially stock characters in a stock monster movie flick.

If Emmerich's Godzilla does everything one expects from a monster movie, from featuring a massive, death-defying creature to destroying world-famous landmarks to loading the film with generic monster-movie characters, why does it fail to work?  Why have, by including everything one thinks should be there, Emmerich and Devlin created such a dull, disappointing movie?

At least partially, the answer lies in the plot.  A key piece Godzilla's reimagining changes the monster from a big, lumbering slowpoke into a big speed demon.  Godzilla is somewhat less fun running and playing cat-and-mouse than he is standing and fighting (he does still get to destroy things pretty well).  Additionally, there is an extensive portion of the film where Godzilla himself disappears, and in his stead the audience is treated to Godzilla's offspring, which look and act all too like low-rent versions of Jurassic Park's velociraptors.  The mini-monsters ("mini" being a relative term) chase Broderick and company all over Madison Square Garden, destroying everything (including popcorn dispensers) in their path.  Thus, not only do the creatures look like velociraptors, but they act like velociraptors, and the those whom our raptor-wannabes are chasing act just like the kids in the dinosaur flick.  It is barely warmed over material than has been done far better elsewhere.

Perhaps it is unfair to knock the mini-Godzillas as velociraptor-esque as they most certainly do look like what one imagines the offspring of the creature termed "Godzilla" in this film would look like.  That is to say, he doesn't very much look like the Godzilla we have come to know and love at all.  Emmerich and crew very consciously chose to make a new monster and simply give him a similar origin story to the Tokyo-destroyer.  It was a bad choice.

Though the film did win some Razzies the year it was released (and was nominated for several it didn’t take home), they were most likely undeserved.  The film is not laughably bad, it's just grossly disappointing.  Emmerich does have a talent for blowing things up, and the film is certainly at its best destroying things or panning over the aftermath of the destruction.  But the rest of this film, and Godzilla's trip to New York, leave a lot to be desired. 

Without a doubt, the film looks and sounds absolutely astounding on Blu-ray.  Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have a lot of experience destroying the world in his films and, like him or hate him, the man knows how to make an explosion look good.  There are moments where the CGI shows its age as it is clear in some scenes that the human characters and monsters may be in the frame but clearly exist in different worlds.  The print, however, is free from issues and the details – be they CGI or real – are abundant.  The sound is, perhaps, even better than the visuals, with the 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack providing a completely immersive, bass-pounding, experience.  The lackluster plot (and really, who could have expected a good plot from this sort of film) falls somewhat by the wayside with the experience the Blu-ray delivers. 

The extras on the Blu-ray are in no way as exciting as the technical side of things.  There is an audio commentary provided by the visual effects team; a brief, tongue-in-cheek behind the scenes hosted by Harry Shearer as his character from the film; a music video by The Wallflowers; and a collection of some classic Godzilla fight sequences which are included solely as promotional material for other Godzilla films currently available on DVD.  The Blu-ray also comes with Sony's movieIQ feature, a PS3/PSP-only digital copy of the film, and (if one buys it soon enough) a code for a free ticket to Emmerich's latest film, 2012. 

Emmerich and Devlin's Godzilla features a mayor named Ebert whose right-hand man is named Gene.  They are a reference to the two famed critics who gave negative reviews to earlier work by the men (they even look like them).  They are something of a silly and unnecessary swipe, only serving to add to the monster film's monster 139 minute runtime.  Though the lack of restraint exhibited in the explosions and destruction here are certainly commendable, a little bit more restraint in the screenplay – and the creation of some better moments leading to the destruction scenes – would have behooved the film.