Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts

Wild America Review

Wild America
Average Reviews:

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If you are a naturalist and wildlife enthusiast, then this box set is for you. Includes all episodes of all 12 seasons of the high-quality series that first aired on PBS for most of the '80s and early nineties. Some of the production aspects are dated, of course, such as the orchestral arrangements for the soundtrack and haircuts and fashion, but other than that this series is a feast for the eyes and the mind. The footage is very compelling, from close-ups of the animals in dynamic behaviour to panoramic views of all wildlife sanctuaries in America, from Yellowstone, the Rockies, the Everglades, Alaska and much more! Beyond tons of great animal action and sound explanation of their biology and ecology, the series shares practical advice on how to observe wildlife in the outdoors and the importance of conservation.
While I consider this terrific family "edutainment", be informed that there are dramatic scenes of chases and predation that are bloody and often ends with the cute animal being killed and eaten by a predator. While most adult nature enthusiasts understand this is an essential facet of animal life, such scenes could upset young children. In any case, the narration consistently reminds of the ecological imperative of predation and avoids sensationalism, so in fact it might be a good way to introduce your kids to "animal violence".
This is a labour of love and a celebration of wildlife. "Wild America" was a series that always respected the natural world and the intelligence of the audience. Highly recommended!

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Marty Stouffer's Wild America was the first wildlife and nature series to focus exclusively on the wild animals and wild lands of North America. Now for the first time ever, you can own all 12 seasons of the Wild America Specials in one box set. Hosted by award-winning wildlife photographer and premier naturalist Marty Stouffer, the series featured footage of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects throughout the entire continent. Bring the guided journey into your home and witness the vast wonders and infinite diversity of nature first hand, exactly as it was originally shown on PBS. Marty Stouffer's Wild America is a family-friendly series that parents and children can enjoy together as they learn about nature.

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Dragon Hunters (2008) Review

Dragon Hunters  (2008)
Average Reviews:

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I have to admit that my first reaction to seeing this on the video rack was suspicion that this might be another Aero-Troopers, the Plan-9-from-Outer-Space-awful, worst computer animated film ever made I wasted 90 minutes of life I can never get back upon the last time I took a chance on a computer animated film I'd never heard of before. However, despite some eerie similarities in world construction, this turns out to be one of the BEST computer animated films ever made, one I can recommend without hesitation.
To begin with the world of Dragon Hunters is simply gorgeous, a world of islands floating around in the sky, upon which gravity works oddly when it works at all. But this beautiful world is threatened to varying degrees by the dragons of the title, which range in degree of threat from annoying crop stealers to terrifying world devourers, thus the necessity for hunters of same.
Twenty years ago Lord Arnold lost his sight and his health trying to stop the World Gobbler's last rampage, now he impatiently and all but hopelessly awaits the return of the knights he dispatched to try and stop his pending rampage. So his fairy tale loving niece, Zoe, decides to lend a hand by sneaking out and finding some noble knights like those in her fairy tales, but what she finds are our two hapless heroes. Can a little girl's belief in them inspire a couple of two-bit, fly-by-night, down-on-their-luck dragon hunters into succeeding where a troop of noble knights failed, into stopping the most horrifying dragon this world has ever seen?
Well, the answer is obvious, but the fun is in how we get there.
Gwizdo and Lian-Chu make for a hilariously mismatched pair, whose widely differing reactions to Zoe, the dragon hunter groupie who is not quite as naive as she appears, threaten to tear their partnership apart,...
assuming of course that anyone survives this fiasco.
Note: Some retailers package this DVD with a free Dragon Hunters comic book, which is little to get excited about IMHO; Sergio Aragones did this sort of thing much better in Groo the Wanderer. The first 17 episodes of the first season of the animated TV show, which this movie is a prequel to, have been released on DVD: Dragon Hunters: Vol. 1 It's A Dragon's Life (ep. 1-4), Dragon Hunters: Vol. 2 Dead Dragon Walking (ep. 5-8), Dragon Hunters: Vol. 3 There's No Place Like Home! (ep. 9-11), Dragon Hunters: Vol. 4 Don't Look Now (ep. 12-14), and Dragon Hunters: Vol. 5 Unwelcome Guests (ep. 15-17).

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Zoe is a little girl who believes in fairy tales. In order to help her uncle Lord Arnold get rid of a terrible dragon, Zoe decides she has to find some heroes. When she meets Gwizdo and Lian-Chu a couple of two-bit, fly-by-night dragon hunters she decides that shes going to believe in them and set out on an adventure to bring peace to the land.

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