The Muppets: Wocka Wocka Fun!

Jason Segel and Amy Adams star alongside the wackiest puppets in The Muppets. Courtesy of Disney Pictures

In the 1960’s, Jim Henson created The Muppets, dawning a new era of puppet entertainment for the young, old and everyone in the middle. Twelve years after the last theatrical release, The Muppets are back in a fun new musical parody starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang.

Walter, the newest Muppet, travels to meet his Muppet idols with his brother and his girlfriend (Segel and Adams), only discover a plot by an evil oil tycoon to destroy the Muppet Studios.

It’s non-stop entertainment from beginning to end. Every member of the cast has a world of fun with their characters and jabs at movie clichés every chance they get.

Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller wrote the screenplay and all of the incredibly memorable songs (Beware: you’ll be singing them for days after watching the movie).

This super home release includes a Blu Ray, DVD, and Digital Copy, as well as a copy of the soundtrack. Could you ask for anything more? Disney thought you would, so they included a bountiful array of special features, including Scratching the Surface: A Hasty Examination Of The Making Of The Muppets, Deleted Scenes, A Little Screen Test On The Way To The Read-Through, Explaining Evil: The Full Tex Richman Song, Unreleased Theatrical Spoof Trailers, Audio Commentary with the writers and director, The Longest Blooper Reel Ever Made (In Muppet History), and Disney Intermission. Lots to explore!

They’re all self-explanatory, but the coolest feature is most definitely the Disney Intermission. This feature is automatically activated when you pause the movie, prompting fun, original skits by the Muppets that keeps everyone waiting entertained.

Bottom Line: This is a jam packed home release that will tickle everyone in your home.

Movie Grade: A-
Blu Ray/DVD Grade: A

Runtime: 103 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Some goodies for fans in this home release

Gary Oldman stars in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Courtesy of Entertainment One

The Academy Awards have long been criticized for their pretentious selections of top films in cinema. This year, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy received three nominations from the Academy, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, further warranting these criticisms.

This movie is an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel and tells the story of a British Secret Service (MI6) mole hunt. To be frank, this is one of the least interesting movies to involve any level of spy operation. The characters are highly underdeveloped and emotionally disconnected from the audience, while the story is riddled with lack-luster motivation.

Gary Oldman’s (The Dark Knight) performance is nothing more than a straight-faced intellectual from beginning to end, making the Oscar nomination and tremendous praise absolutely baffling. The best performance comes from Benedict Cumberbatch, who excellently portrays the young spy trying to cope with a great deal of stress.

Fortunately, for the numerous fans of the movie, the Blu Ray + DVD combo home release contains a decent set of bonus features for you to dive into. The bonus features include five deleted scenes, a thirteen minute featurette Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: First Look, and a full length audio commentary with director Thomas Alfredson and Gary Oldman. Both the featurette and commentary provide an interesting background on the production, while the deleted scenes, if you’re anything like me, may put you to sleep.

Bottom Line: If you’re not a fan or aren’t looking to cure your insomnia, keep your distance from this movie.

Release Date: March 20, 2012

Movie Grade: C
Blu Ray/DVD Grade: B+

Runtime: 128 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1