Jem and the Holograms:
Season Two

Jem and the Holograms: Season Two comes out on DVD on February 14. Thanks to Shout! Factory, I have a copy you can win before then!

In case you’re not familiar with the show, KC did a writeup of the Complete Series when it came out on DVD last year. The Season Two set includes 26 episodes on four DVDs plus a Video Jukebox special feature, so you can hear all of the band’s tunes easily.

To enter this contest for your chance to win, post a comment here with your favorite pop song from the 80s. Winners will be picked randomly from all entries on Monday, February 13.

(U.S. and Canada addresses only. Winners will be emailed to confirm email address. If email is not answered within 24 hours or a valid email address is not provided, a replacement winner will be selected. Your email won’t be used for any other purpose.)

I’m experimenting this year, putting up this list of movies I watched this past month that I didn’t talk about elsewhere. I find it fun to share my short thoughts on these; hopefully readers will too.

Movies

Arise, My Love (1940) — I’ve liked Ray Milland since I saw The Major and the Minor; this political romantic comedy pairs him with Claudette Colbert in a little-known film notable for being co-written by Billy Wilder. It’s very much of its time, both in tackling the questions of World War II before the U.S. was officially involved and in showing a woman as an equal partner to a man, both professionally (she’s a reporter) and personally (she doesn’t take his guff).

Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile (1978) — My favorite Agatha Christie movie, with an amazing all-star cast. (I like it better than Murder on the Orient Express because I like Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot better than Albert Finney.) A nearly unsolvable mystery starring Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Mia Farrow, and Manimal (Simon MacCorkindale).

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) — the most boring orgy movie possible, but I’m not a Kubrick fan. I did expect it to be more equal between the partners, instead of being just his story. Watched it because it was a Christmas movie, and the decorations are lovely.

The Ghost Writer (2010) — I didn’t realize this was a Polanski film until it was over, or I wouldn’t have watched it. It provided what I expected from an “important” movie; it was slower than I would have liked, and at the end, not much had really happened. But Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan were in it.

John Loves Mary (1949) — A Ronald Reagan film that has him returning from the war to fiancee Patricia Neal. The premise — he married the girlfriend of the buddy who saved his life overseas in order to get her into the country, only to find the buddy didn’t really care that much about her — should have been light and frothy, but it winds up dull, and all the scenes take longer than they should. Slow and ponderous.

Just You and Me, Kid (1979) — I recall watching this I don’t know how many times on HBO one summer as a youngster, so it was interesting to revisit. George Burns and Brooke Shields star in a labored odd-couple caper. He’s a retired vaudevillian full of stories, a wonderful portrait of nostalgia. She learns to care about others, although she’s out of her depth playing a hard-boiled orphan on the lam from a drug dealer. In a supporting role is Chris Knight, still looking like Peter Brady. More interesting are the old pros who play Burns’ buddies, including Ray Bolger, Carl Ballantine, Keye Luke, and Burl Ives. Better than I feared it might be, mostly due to Burns’ character’s stories and props.

The Unguarded Hour (1936) — I don’t recall much about this Loretta Young oldie at this point. There’s some blackmail. It felt like one of those movies where the plot changes abruptly in the last 15 minutes because back then, you couldn’t have a star do anything really bad.

That Uncertain Feeling (1941) — Lesser Lubitsch. Melvyn Douglas and Merle Oberon are married, only she wants to run away with Burgess Meredith because he’s more artistic and interesting. That in itself shows one of the big problems with the film: I thought the only well-cast role was Douglas. Eve Arden is nice in a supporting role as a legal secretary.

DVDs

Bad Girls From Valley High — Julie Benz and Monica Keena are two snobby high school girls who get cursed into prematurely aging. Janet Leigh’s final movie, sadly. This was the 4th on a $5 four-pack of school movies.

The Big Bang Theory Season 4

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Very well-written and great voice cast, especially Anna Faris as the former nerd who feels she has to hide her smarts.

Community Season 2 — It’s so sad not to have more of this show available regularly. I hope NBC brings it back soon.

Dave — An amazing job by Kevin Kline playing two people who look alike but clearly have different personalties, conveyed by the way he carries himself. It’s The Prisoner of Zenda recast in the American Presidency. Hard to believe this movie is 20 years old.

Good News (Warner Archive) — This disc includes the movie trailer, two numbers from the earlier 1930 version (starring Penny Singleton, better known as the movie’s Blondie), and a deleted number, which was surprising. Classic old-school musical with huge, colorful numbers featuring a cast of 40 or so, led by the gone-too-soon Joan McCracken.

From the Warner Archive Jean Harlow set: The Girl From Missouri, Reckless, Suzy, Personal Property

Leave Her to Heaven — One of those old movies that seems surprised that beautiful women can be evil, but with gorgeous old-school production design and rich colors.

Monsters vs. Aliens — Disappointing and predictable.

The Shadow — Wow, look at young, hairy Alex Baldwin (his first scenes feature him shirtless). This is a pulp film, which makes it true to its roots, but an enjoyable trifle for a Sunday afternoon, with gorgeous period sets and costumes — and what a cast! Ian McKellan, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Tim Curry, Jonathan Winters, and more.

Sleeping Beauty

27 Dresses — I like James Marsden, what can I say?

I gotta admire the publicity people working this weekend — the game isn’t even over, and I’m already getting email about the geek movies promoted in the ads so far. (Ok, maybe they scheduled their email ahead of time, but I prefer to think they were waiting by the keyboard.)

Here’s the biggest comic-fan release of the summer — Marvel’s The Avengers, out May 4.

Neat finally seeing all the heroes in one shot, with that circle at the end.

Also from Disney is John Carter (no “of Mars”, not after their last film with that in the title), out March 9.

I don’t even like sword-and-sandals battle pics when they’re set on Earth, so that one’s not for me, but I suspect it will be hard to avoid hearing about it.

Also aired so far are trailers for Battleship and GI Joe 2: Retaliation, which look like they could be the same movie.

Warner Bros. changed its release plans halfway through putting Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated on DVD. While the first 12 episodes came out on individual discs, sold separately with four episodes per disc, this volume, labeled “Season 1 Part 2″, has the remaining 14 episodes in a two-disc set.

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
Season 1 Part 2

Personally, I enjoy the longer packages, since watching more episodes in a bunch means I pick up on more of the details. Even though there is no “Season 1 Part 1″, I hope there will be in the future, combining the previous volume-numbered discs in one package.

I’ve talked about the appeal of the show previously, when I reviewed some of the individual discs, so please read those for the basic details. There are no extras or special features on this set.

This set opens with the 13th episode, which originally aired October 2010. “When the Cicada Calls” features insect attacks. Is there anything creepier than a menacing swarm of bugs? Especially when it’s shown in such a visually interesting way, resembling at times living static. This show can be funny, but in episodes like this, it can also be pretty scary.

One of the group’s professors (Dave “Gruber” Allen), who *really* loves his bugs, is a suspect, as well as making Fred jealous of Daphne’s fondness for him. During the classroom scenes, we see that Scooby goes to class with the other kids, sitting in his own desk. I love id’ing the creative examples of voice casting; for example, in this episode, Marion Ross plays Grandma Moonbeam, a natural snack spokeswoman with a secret. You can hear her briefly in this clip:

That episode is kind of a one-off, without the allusions to other genre works I most appreciate about this show, but the next, 14th episode (which marked the show’s return in May 2011) is one of the series’ high points. In “Mystery Solvers Club State Finals”, guest stars include Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, Captain Caveman, and the Funky Phantom, plus their respective teen teams. All these Hanna-Barbera groups had the same basic premise as Scooby-Doo, mystery teen solvers with some weird mascot: dog, car, shark, ghost, etc. Here, they assemble for a competition, only for all the teens to get kidnapped, leaving the sidekicks to save the day.

Best of all, much of this episode is animated in the classic Scooby style. I love the revamp redesign, but it’s also a nostalgic kick to see the old-school approach. With all the details and gags, this is definitely an episode best watched on video, with the pause button handy. I thought it was wonderful hearing Speed Buggy’s putt-putt voice again, especially when Angel Dynamite (Vivica A. Fox) drove him up to the school’s roof.

“The Wild Brood” is another evocative blast from the past, only this time, it mashes up motorcycle movie The Wild One with monsters — well-spoken orc bikers, specifically. This episode also features the return of the season-spanning Mr. E (Lewis Black) mystery.

A love spell takes over the town (masterminded by a character played by Tricia Helfer) in “Where Walks Aphrodite”, featuring the return of the parrot Professor Pericles. “Escape from Mystery Manor” really ramps up the season-spanning secret quest, as the gang attempts to find out what happened to the previous version of Mystery Incorporated while investigating the disappearance of the Darrows and their (now booby-trapped) mansion 75 years ago. It also features one of my favorite Scooby lines: “Why does he think I’m a bird?”

An exchange student comes to town in “The Dragon’s Secret”, which opens with a sequence reminiscent of Gremlins and guest-stars George Takei. The student, Mai Le (Stephanie Sheh), and Shaggy hit it off surprisingly well, which is convenient when a wizard (James Hong) comes after her, in a battle that reminded me of Big Trouble in Little China, with plenty of eye-catching electrical effects.

Shaggy and Scooby talk to Vincent Van Ghoul

Vincent Van Ghoul (from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, but voiced this time by Maurice LaMarche, excellently) returns in “Nightfright”, which also references a number of Vincent Price movies. Shaggy and Scooby win an essay contest to have dinner with the famous horror movie star, only to be attacked by a monster. Very funny, especially in the details, such as how Vincent sets his home alarm: by playing a pipe organ. Another one of the show’s top episodes.

Disc two begins with “The Siren’s Song”, in which aquatic demons attack. Velma investigates on her own, since she’s feeling lonely, what with Fred and Daphne dating and Scooby and Shaggy gorging at a restaurant’s all-you-can-eat night. Soon, though, her friends get involved in fighting the “fish freaks” as well. There’s a cameo appearance by Flim Flam (also from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo), who’s revealed as a teenage con artist, as well as an even more famous former Scooby supporting cast member. Plus, we learn Angel Dynamite’s backstory.

Mr. E and the original Mystery Incorporated

Revelations continue in “Menace of the Manticore”, as the local carnival is terrorized, with the identity of Mr. E shown to the viewer. Favorite cameos this episode include Dylan and Brenda, returning from the first episode, and voice actress Linda Cardellini, who played Velma in the live-action movies.

“Attack of the Headless Horror” brings an Indiana Jones/Allan Quartermain-type explorer (James Patrick Stuart) to Crystal Cove, where he’s teaching school in order to give his wife (Julie Bowen) a rest from the jungle. Typical of this series, it’s a cock-eyed take on a familiar genre, one that wonders just how everyone around the super-adventurer feels about his self-centered activities. That’s what gives Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated a layer that appeals to adults, not just kids.

Dr. Spartan and the Scooby gang

Things move quickly through the final four episodes of the first season. “A Haunting in Crystal Cove” attacks Fred’s dad, the Mayor (Gary Cole), leading us to ask “if Fred is an only child, why does he have bunk beds?” Vincent Van Ghoul cameos, and this episode has my favorite monster: Evil Pizza, a possessed pie. There’s a former sheriff’s ghost in “Dead Justice” who looks like Jonah Hex, only with screaming bullets, and he’s out to force the retirement of the current Sheriff Stone (Patrick Warburton). This felt like something of a filler episode to me, since I was interested in finding out more about the modern-day mystery involving the town, but I suspect if you like Westerns or horses, you’ll enjoy it more.

“Pawn of Shadows” finally reveals the fate of the prior Mystery Incorporated group, with the assistance of H.P. Hatecraft (Jeffrey Combs), who’s trying to write a teen vampire novel, because his style of horror story is no longer in fashion. There’s a cameo by the Jonny Quest gang and a callback to episode six. The season ends with “All Fear the Freak”, which wraps up the mystery — for now — with the revelation of Fred’s secret family history. It’s something of a down note, with the group going their separate ways temporarily, but I presume they’ll be reunited for the second season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, due to return in May.

Karen Healey has started a wonderful series of essays about great teen movies and their messages. So far she’s covered Bring It On, But I’m a Cheerleader, Saved! — and all those essays are linked from the latest entry, covering one of the all-time classics of the genre, Clueless.

Her points are insightful and tackle what entertainment shows us about our culture, one of my favorite types of analysis. (Even if she doesn’t like Heathers — and I hope she tells us more about that soon.) Heck, you could just use her viewing list as a guide to the best to rewatch.

Oh, is the Super Bowl this weekend? Marvel wants you to know that they’re going to run an ad during the game, this Sunday on NBC, and here’s a teaser for the advertisement. Personally, I don’t need to see advertising for the film, since I already know I’m going to go see it this summer.