Coming Soon: Tooth Fairy 2

The strangely inevitable Tooth Fairy 2 sees Larry the Cable Guy donning the wings so famously fluttered by The Rock in the original. The “case worker” role once inhabited by Stephen Merchant is now played by a little girl; and Billy Crystal is now, I don’t know, a flying pig.  Perhaps most strangely inevitable of all is the directorship of Alex Zamm, whose credits include Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, Dr. Doolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Inspector Gadget 2, and the Carrot Top classic Chairman of the Board. He’s next slated to direct Eddie Murphy as the voice of Hong Kong Phooey.

Tooth Fairy 2 arrives March 6th on Blu-ray and DVD.

Tekken Tops the 3rd Annual Straight-to-DVD Movie Awards

Video game adaptation Tekken has won Best Picture in the 3rd Annual Straight-to-DVD Movie Awards, also grabbing the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy award. Other winners include Tamer Hassan who won best actor for his performance in Bonded by Blood, which also took Best Director for helmer Sacha Bennett. Romola Garai won Best Actress for her work in Glorious 39. Ballistica took both Worst Picture and Title-S0-Bad-It’s Good kudos.

Here’s the full list:

Best Picture: Tekken

Best Actor: Tamer Hassan, Bonded by Blood

Best Actress: Romola Garai, Glorious 39

Best Director: Sacha Bennett, Bonded by Blood

Worst Picture: Ballistica

Best Comedy: A Matter of Size

Best Horror: Hostel: Part III

Best Action/Thriller: The Man From Nowhere

Best Family Film: Barbie: Princess Charm School

Best Documentary: Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles

Best Sci Fi/Fantasy: Tekken

Title-So-Bad-It’s-Good: Ballistica

Out Now: The Christmas Bunny

It’s time to start thinking about Christmas, and that means an onslaught of holiday-themed movies over the next couple of months. The Christmas Bunny tells the story of Julia (Sophie Bolen) a lonely foster child who has moved in with a new family and is struggling to fit in. One day she comes across an injured bunny and nurses it back to health with the help of a woman known as The Bunny Lady (Florence Henderson, aka Mrs. Brady from The Brady Bunch). Needless to say Julia becomes attached to the bunny as well as fiercely protective. Colby French and Madeline Vail co-star as Julia’s adopted parents. Films like this aren’t normally in my movie-watching wheelhouse, but it looks like a cute holiday tale that’ll entertain kids and possibly even teach them a thing or two.

The Christmas Bunny is currently available on DVD. You can visit the official site for more details on the movie and on bunny adoption as well if you’re looking to give something special to your kids this Christmas.

Spooky Buddies Interviews: Director and Stars

Trailer Addict has posted a few video interviews from the latest entry in the Buddies saga, Spooky Buddies.  Following Air Buddies, Snow Buddies, Space Buddies, Santa Buddies, and The Search for Santa Paws—themselves offshoots of the four Air Bud sequels—Spooky Buddies serves as the Halloween-themed entry in the series.  Interviews with director Robert Vince, veteran character actor Rance Howard, and comedian Harland Williams illuminate the characters and some of what it’s like to work with puppies:

Harland Williams Interview

Robert Vince Interview

Rance Howard Interview

Roberts for President

Eric Roberts plays the leader of the free world in First Dog, the story of a foster kid (John-Paul Howard) who finds a lost dog who turns out to belong to the Commander-in-Chief.  The film was written and directed by Bryan Michael Stoller, whose two previous films—Light Years Away and Miss Castaway and the Island Girls—also starred Roberts.  Eminent character actor Tiny Lister also stars, reuniting with his Dark Knight co-star—wait for it—Eric Roberts.

First Dog is available now.

Marley & Me Sequel Finally Gets Release Date

High-Def Digest reports that Marley & Me: The Puppy Years will be released August 16th on Blu-ray and DVD.  Here’s the catch.  It will only be available at Walmart and Sam’s Club.  No word on when that embargo will be lifted.  IMDb originally had—and still has—the release date for the Marley & Me prequel pegged as June 1st of this year, but the actual date has been difficult to nail down until now.  You can pre-order the film from Walmart.

Upcoming Release Calendar Added!

For years now (has it been that long?) you’ve been clamoring (okay, asking politely) for an upcoming release calendar.  We’ve finally got one.  From here on out, you’ll be able to find it in our top nav bar, right next to “Reviews”.  It’s only got a few months so far, but we’ll add more as we go.  Check it out!  (And thanks for your patience.)

Steve Austin Said Knock You Out

In Knockout, Steve Austin plays Mr. Miagi to a kid who’s being bullied and learns to box to defend himself.  MovieWeb has an excellent interview with the writer, Evan Jacobs, who is candid about his goals for the script, the challenges of changing it from the original concept (the boy in question used to be autistic), and the possibly misleading marketing tack the distributor is taking.  Read the interview.

Knockout arrives on DVD and Blu-ray April 26th.

Barbie: A Fairy Secret Reviews: Harmless or Shameless?

The latest entry in the Barbie sub-genre of clearly-influenced-by-the-success-of-the-Tinkerbell-franchise fairy films is Barbie: A Fairy Secret.  The few reviews that exist seem split on the question of just how harmless it is.  In this installment, Barbie enlists the help of her fairy fashion assistants to help rescue Ken from a forced fairy marriage.  Tons of product placement and suggestions to go shopping ensue, none of which is lost on Common Sense Media reviewer Joly Herman, who notes:

Parents need to know that fashion and shopping are the main attractions in this Barbie story. Not only are the fashion items shown in the movie available for purchase in the real world, but role model characters encourage the Barbie characters to shop as both a form of entertainment and a way to save a friend.

The Dutch website movie2movie posts this review by Monica Meyer, which also notes the consumerist bent, but goes on to find fault with the narrative itself.  Even in broken Google translate English, the phrase, “The story of ‘Barbie: The Mystery fairy’ is a mess.” seems unmistakable.

Finally, David Johnson over at DVD Verdict doesn’t seem put off by any of this, simply noting that while it’s certainly not his cup of tea, the demographic it’s aimed at, young girls, should find it entertaining, and what’s more:

…as the father of soon-to-be young girl, I am happy to report there is absolutely nothing edgy at work here; no questionable undertones, no Bratz-like starter-slut shenanigans, just some goofy cartoon dolls flying around with pixie wings. Even Barbie’s proportions aren’t self-esteem-punchingly out-of-whack.

Barbie: A Fairy Secret is available now.

Chihuahua Outlasts Snipes, Superman to Hold Top Spot

After losing ground to the debut of All-Star Superman at the end of February, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 has since regained its crown as the top selling straight-to-DVD title in the land.  With $27 million so far in sales for the week ending March 13th, Chihuahua leads Wesley Snipes actioner Game of Death, at number two with a $2.2 million cume.  All-Star Superman has a higher cumulative total of $3.2 million, but made slightly less than Game that week and so comes in third.

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