What is a "Petrucelli Pick"?
It is, in the opinion of the quirky nationally-known media whore, something you need to watch, read, listen to, and own. Sometimes it’s a place you need to visit. It’s a must. Instant Petrucelli Picks include everything Dame Shirley CD ever recorded.
Here, this week’s Petrucelli’s Picks.
Nonconformity has never been celebrated with such charm.
And that’s the point.
Directed by Academy Award-winner Fred Wolf, The Point! (MVD Entertainment Group) tells the story of Oblio, a round-headed boy living in Pointed Village, where everything and everybody has one. Oblio, along with his dog, Arrow, is banished to the Pointless Forest. The tale is narrated by Ringo Starr and includes songs written and sung by Grammy-winner Harry Nilsson.
The songwriter/singer explains how he got the pointed idea: “I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it.’”
The Point! first aired February 2, 1971 on ABC–the first animated special to be broadcast in primetime. In its initial airing, the man telling his son the tale was voiced by Dustin Hoffman; contractual reasons of later telecasts could not use Hoffman's voice and it had to be re-recorded. What was the point?
Finally, the definitive collector's edition of the captivating cartoon arrives on DVD. The 25+ minutes of bonus materials include four never-before-seen featurettes, including Who is Harry Nilsson? and Making the Point.
In Rehearsal for a Sicilian Tragedy (First Run Features), John Turturro takes audiences on a haunting, intimate journey to his maternal homeland of Sicily. There, while exploring the island's vanishing traditions, he is taken under the wing of one of the puppet theater's few remaining practitioners, Mimmo Cuticchio, who instructs him in the distinctively Sicilian art of puppetry.
Filmed during preparations for the Sicilian Day of the Dead, this evocative, magical-realist documentary was directed by Turturro's longtime collaborator, Roman Paska, himself a world-renowned puppeteer. Both homage to the art of storytelling and a portrait of a Sicily little known to the outside world, Paska's film brings viewers to an otherworldly place, lost in time.
When a cop’s crooked past comes back to get him, can he do the right thing . . . or will he succumb to the threats of his dangerous connections?
One year ago, dirty cop Detective Callahan was shot in a drug bust gone wrong and saved by a stranger, giving Callahan a second chance to clean up his life. But when the stranger finally comes forward, seeking revenge against the men responsible for a string of assaults on young women at a local strip club, Callahan must go rogue to find the attacker in an effort to hide how his own past played a part in these crimes. His desperation to find the attacker and cover his tracks takes him down a violent road of deception and fraud. Can he play the “good cop” and track down the assailant, while still keeping his reputation clean?
We’re not telling. You’ll have to check out Anchor Bay Films’ seductive thriller Officer Down. Directed by Brian A. Miller and written by John Chase, Officer Down boasts a stellar cast including Stephen Dorff, Woods, Stephen Lang, Dominic Purcell, AnnaLynne McCord, Walton Goggins, David Boreanaz and rap superstar Soulja Boy in his feature film debut.
The Lord of the Rings is now the King of DVDs.
Kultur has released J.R.R. Tolkien, an informative and entertaining film that tells the story of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, English writer, poet, philologist and author of many stories, including most famously The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
The program describes the importance of the rural English West Midlands, where Tolkien grew up, in shaping his literary imagination and how the ancient northern languages he studied and taught throughout his life influenced his writing. These factors stimulated him to provide a context in which his own, invented languages might be spoken in an imaginary land called Middle-earth.
Accounts of the origins of The Hobbit and of The Lord of the Rings, and the phenomenal success that Tolkien somewhat reluctantly enjoyed when taken up by the counter-culture of the 1960s are included.
Welcome to the monster bash. Check in and party with Dracula, his daughter Mavis, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, the Invisible Man and the rest of the gang in Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Hotel Transylvania. Cute story: Mavis is about to celebrate her 118th birthday when Jonathan, a pesky human dude, stumbles onto the hotel grounds. Dracula and the hotel staff move into action, determined to protect Mavis, as well as the lavish resort sanctuary where monsters can vacation in safety far away from humans.
Voices sound familiar? Think Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi and David Spade.
The Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD contain plenty of kid-friendly extras, including the mini-movie Goodnight Mr. Foot; Problem (Monster Remix) music video; three deleted scenes; filmmaker commentary and more. Exclusive to the Blu-ray are three progression reels and two featurettes. Meet the Staff and Guests: Voicing Hotel Transylvania takes a look at the cast, their voices, and the fun they bring to the film. Making the Hotel features an inside look at how the filmmakers and animators created Hotel Transylvania.
What happens when superheroes are no longer super?
The answer can be found on All Superheroes Must Die from Image Entertainment. The film follows four masked avengers–Charge, Cutthroat, The Wall and Shadow–who find themselves stripped of their powers by their arch-nemesis, whom they defeated years earlier . . . or so they thought. When the sinister mastermind puts the heroes through a series of brutal challenges that are virtually impossible to overcome, they must battle the clock–and even each other–in a race to stop a deadly countdown that could mean total destruction. Will the superheroes prevail, or will they be forced to meet their demise as mere human beings?
Cupid is soon to shoot his arrow. Why not get an early start and find out just what happens what happens when love happens when you least expect it?
Image Entertainment and One Village Entertainment have released the heartfelt The Love Section, a timely look at modern dating rituals and all that that implies.
While out one night with his buddy, ladies’ man Ali has his world rocked when he meets hardworking single mom, Sandrine. She is looking for love, and although Ali has never wanted to commit to anyone or anything, things are quite different this time around. New to the “love section,” Ali will need plenty of help to become the man he needs to be for this relationship to survive. The Love Section is the perfect choice to let some love into your life this Valentine’s Day.
Comments