Tinker Bell
- Journey into the secret world of Pixie Hollow and hear Tinker Bell speak for the very first time as the astonishing story of Disney’s most famous fairy is finally revealed in the all-new motion picture TINKER BELL. Have you ever wondered how nature gets its glow — who gives it light and color as the seasons come and go? Enter a land of adventure and mystery as Tinker Bell and her four best fa
Born into the fantastic world of Pixie Hollow, Tinker Bell thinks her fairy talent as a tinker isn’t as special or important as the other fairies talents. But when Tink tries to change who she is, she creates nothing but disaster! With encouragement from her friends Rosetta, Silvermist, Fawn and Iridessa, Tink learns the key to solving her problems lies in her unique tinker abilities and discovers that when she s true to herself, magical things can happen.A vibrant look at the magical world of fairies and the wonder of the changing seasons, Tinker Bell is the captivating story of one of Disney’s most beloved fairies. Pixie Hollow is a land where fairies constantly create and improve upon the beauty of the four seasons and prepare to bring the changing seasons to the mainland. When Tinker Bell is born, she discovers she is destined to be a Tinker fairy; one who invents gadgets to help fairies do their jobs more efficiently, but she is disappointed with her supporting role and yearns f
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Escape from New York (Special Edition)
A thrilling landmark film that jolts along at a breakneck pace, Escape From New York leapt to cult status with high-octane action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a mind-blowing vision of a lone warrior (Kurt Russell) battling his way out of a post-apocalyptic Manhattan! Hailed as “stylish and scary” (Los Angeles Times), “dark and dangerous” (Newsweek) and “gloriously…fun” (Tyler Morning Telegraph), this fast-paced and furiously entertaining thriller grabs you by the throat and won’t let go! In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted to a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam. But when the U.S. President (Donald Pleasence) crash-lands inside, only one man can bring him back: notorious outlaw and former Special Forces war hero Snake Plissken (Russell). But time is short: in 24 hours, an explosive device implanted in his neck will end Snake’s missionand his lifeunless he succeeds!In the future, crime is out of control and New York City is a maxim
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“The name is Plisskin.”,
Back in 1981, John Carpenter released a film, set in 1997, that depicted a somewhat bleak future for the United States in that the crime rate had risen to the point where it was necessary to turn New York City into a maximum security prison by enclosing the island in giant, concrete walls, installing landmines on the access bridges, and providing constant surveillance with the threat of death for any that try to escape. Felons convicted and sent to this prison are given the option of execution rather than being forced to try and survive in this hellish, nightmare environment. Truly only the strongest and most ruthless survive behind these walls. The female narration, done by Carpenter favorite Jamie Lee Curtis, at the beginning ends with the ominous line, “Once you go in, you never come out.”
After this is set up, we learn that, while en route to an extremely important conference, the president’s plane has been hijacked, and is crashed inside the prison. The inmates recover the president, and threatening to kill him if any attempt is made to release him. A plan is formulated, one including the recently captured, ex-military, now convicted, criminal Snake Plisskin (Kurt Russell) to send him in, alone, and try to bring the president out alive, offering him a full pardon should he succeed. Only problem is, due to time constraints, of the conference, Snake only has 24 hours to complete this mission, if he accepts it. Another minor glitch…without his knowing it, microscopic implants are inserted into Snake’s neck in case he decided to skip out, and are set to go off unless Snake can recover the president and return him safely within the time allotted.
This has always been one of my favorite movies. It brings to life the perfect anti-hero, the outlaw. We’ve seen and loved this type of character before, like in the Clint Eastwood western movies of the 60′s. America loves an outlaw, and John Carpenter has brought the character into the future. Escape From New York is an excellent example of a low budget movie that is really well made, from the realistic sets and scenery, characters, casting, scripting, direction, and music, all of which was composed by John Carpenter himself. Kurt Russell plays Snake so perfectly that you’ll never picture anyone else in the role. Other actors that provide wonderful performances, many of which Carpenter uses in his later films, are Harry Dean Stanton, Donald Pleasance, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef, and Tom Atkins. And let’s not forget Isaac Hayes as The Duke of New York, leader of the most powerful gang within the prison, and the one holding the president in hopes of using him to escape. Another thing is that this movie moves. There is no plodding, the plot is clearly defined and drives the movie to its’ satisfying conclusion.
The special features included in this special edition DVD are many, and listed thoroughly on the product page. Included is the eleven-minute sequence involving Snake, a bank robbery, and subsequent capture that led him to be sentenced to the prison. This was only available before on the laserdisc version, so I am really glad it made it here. After watching it and listening to the commentary, you’ll understand why it was cut from the movie, but the gist is that it humanized the character of Snake too much. Also included from the laserdisc version is a full-length commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. Many commentaries I watch tend to be dry and boring, but it was wonderful listening to these two talk about scenes and reminisce. They go into great detail, all while keeping it interesting. Some of the other extras are nice, but probably not for everyone, like the mini comic book and the additional commentary by producer Deborah Hill and production designer Joe Alves. It’s a bit dry and boring, and probably only would appeal to the more hardcore fans. And last but not least is the quality of the picture. It looks beautiful and crisp, better than I have ever seen it. All in all, this release is truly befitting of the title ‘Special Edition’. This movie was followed up in 1996 by a somewhat disappointing sequel called Escape From LA. The elements were pretty much there for that one, but the gritty edginess that made Escape From New York so wonderful just wasn’t. Maybe too much time had passed between the movies.
Cookieman108
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|“Get a new president…”,
Hailed as a cult classic by many, John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York” is finally available in a more-than-appropriate DVD edition that does the film justice. A dark movie filled with danger, action, suspense, and even humor, this is the classic that gave birth to the ultimate outlaw and anti-hero; Snake Plissken. Now, you can relive the movie like never before.
In a post-apocalyptic world filled with crime and violence, the entire city of Manhattan has been transformed into a prison–a death sentence to most. Here, the prisoners are sent once they are banned from society and are forced to stay a life sentence to fight on their own. A crisis is before the people who are in charge of the prison, as the President has been kidnapped and is being held hostage by the very people they dedicated their lives to lock up. The only chance they have is a former war hero turned outlaw, Snake Plissken. They make him a deal that if he can bring back the President alive, all of the charges against him will be dropped. However, there’s yet another catch; the main man in charge of the prison has injected Plissken with an explosive device that will be the end of him in less than 24 hours should he not be successful, insuring that he won’t “flee” the scene. All of this leads to an exciting and thrilling cult classic that is loved by many.
John Carpenter has done a terrific job of painting a dark and bleak picture of law enforcement as we know it. At the same time, he does an excellent job of creating a successful and subtle satire of law and authority. The script is always clever and surprising. While the movie might be a little dated, it still does not take away anything from the raw effect the movie has on us. Kurt Russell is fantastic as the mono-toned “Snake Plissken.” He makes the role his own and stands out as one of our favorite anti-heroes in film. All of the right ingredients to make a successful and exciting film are there.
This new DVD edition is a lot better than the previous one. The picture has been remastered in high-definition, which truly stands out as an accomplishment. The sound is decent, but we must keep in mind that this is an old movie and the sound can only be restored so much. Extras included are commentaries, photo galleries, an exclusive comic book, featurettes, trailers, the deleted scene of the original opening; the bank robbery, and more. I can tell you for sure that I am much more pleased with this edition of the film.
“Escape from New York” is definitely one of those films that stands out from the rest. It is a cult classic for a reason, and that reason is undeniable. While it may be overlooked by some, the ones who really appreciate it for what it is benefits a great amount of deal from it. If you’re looking for an exciting thrill ride with action, suspense, and humor, this is the one to check out. A superb film on every front.
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|Seen it, LIKED it LOTS,
Saw this a week ago in Los Angeles at the El Capitan Theater. If you’re expecting a Pixar caliber story – look elsewhere. If you’re looking for Pixar artistry, this doesn’t quite reach those dizzying heights. But if you’re after quality Disney entertainment for the little ones in your family (especially the female ones) you can’t really do much better. I have a four year old girl, and this was the first movie (of three that we’ve seen together on the big screen) that she absolutely loved. She enjoyed Wall-E, but much of it went over her head. Horton Hears a Who, was also enjoyable and slightly too manic – but again, a lot of the wry humor and topical stuff she missed completely.
This movie had her enthralled from beginning to end – and I have to say was far less than painful for me to watch as well. Now this isn’t a ringing endorsement that could be afforded a Toy Story 1 or 2 or Cars (which are great films for BOTH parent and child to enjoy) but I have to say this film completely outclasses the Disney straight to DVD sequels that I’ve seen (dreck like Cinderella 3 and Alladin 2 – YUCK) and simply blows away the Barbie movies (which though excruciating to watch at times, do captivate my little girl and are surprisingly pro-female).
Tinkerbelle, ultimately, is not a film for the young and young at heart – as the great Disney movies are; but it is leaps and bounds above the usual straight to DVD product that they have been shilling for the past decade.
The visuals are also light years beyond anything previously released in a straight to video format, and hold up to and even exceed the previous Disney CG features such as Chicken Little or Meet the Robinsons.
If you’ve got a 3 to 8 year old little girl – this is a must get. Young boys will enjoy it too, there’s more than enough to sustain interest.
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|Great family entertainment!,
“Tinker Bell” has gotten a lot of online commentary, most of it negative, so I wasn’t really excited to watch my preview copy of this movie. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by what I saw. “Tinker Bell” is an enjoyable movie, perfect for children and even entertaining for adults. Based upon what I’d read previously, I would not have gone to a theater to see this; however, after watching it, I believe this movie is worthy of both big screen AND home entertainment viewing. Unfortunately, most of the banter has focused on the fact that Tinker Bell speaks. Personally, this is a minor point, as the animators have done a tremendous job of having Tinker Bell retain her spunky nature and movements that we all know from “Peter Pan (2-Disc Platinum Edition).”
The story is fairly simple; Tinker Bell arrives in Pixie Hollow, where all the Fairies have talents. It is discovered that (no surprise) Tinker Bell’s talent is “tinkering” or fixing things. However, in Tink’s opinion, this is not very exciting. She’d rather be one of the Fairies who gets to take Spring to “the mainland” (aka London). As you can imagine, Tink’s early time at Pixie Hollow is filled with figuring out who she really is and that she is just as important as the other fairies who have more glamorous talents. There is plenty of humor, emotion, and visual beauty that helps elevate what seems like an oft-told tale.
The animation is fantastic; although it is obviously computer generated, it is apparent that the level of the animators doing it is such that they focus on camera movements, lighting, color, and emotional nuances rather than just the basics. Still, the characters do still have somewhat of a doll-like/mechanical quality. The movement and facial emoting is a vast improvement over some of the early computer animation, but it does still have a little way to go.
There is also a first-rate cast behind the scenes, giving the voices to these animated characters: Anjelica Huston (Queen Clarion), Lucy Liu (Silvermist), America Ferrera (Fawn), Kristin Chenoweth (Rosetta), Kathy Najimy (Minister of Summer), and my favorite, Jane Horrocks as the sassy Fairy Mary. The Celtic-inspired score by Joel McNeely is also enjoyable and the perfect accompaniment to the film.
The extras include:
* Tinker Trainer: Hone your skills as a Tinker Fairy in this activity
* Magical guide to Pixie Hollow: Discover the Ancient Realm of Fairies with Tinker Bell
* Ever Wonder: Discover how Fairies put the “wonder” in natural wonders. Combining special effects with live action, you are “shown” how grass grows between the cracks in the sidewalk, etc. A cute little featurette.
* Creating Pixie Hollow: See how the filmmakers created this magical realm.
* All-new music video, “Fly To Your Heart,” by Disney Channel’s Selena Gomez.
* Deleted scenes include optional introductions by Bradley Raymond (director) and Jeannine Roussel (producer): “Queen Clarion’s Pixie Dust,” “Fairies Venture to the Mainland,” “Becoming a Garden Fairy,” “Tinker Bell’s Tinkering Talents,” “Vidia Tricks Tinker Bell,” “Fairies Express Tinker Bell’s Importance”
While enjoyable, they are not really missed from the film.
* Sneak previews, most notably the Blu-ray version of 1940′s “Pinocchio.” It looks fantastic! Being released March 2009.
Blu-ray exclusive content:
* Disney BD Live: Connect with Family & friends through this innovative movie-watching experience
Movie specs: on Blu-ray, 1080 HD/1:78:1 video, with English 5.1 Uncompress & English 5.1 Dolby Digital audio.
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