Bionicle: The Legend Reborn Review

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(More customer reviews)Whoever thought that a toy line would become the star of a movie franchise? (with the exception of GI Joe of course)
Years ago, when bionicles first hit the marketplace, and my boys discovered them,we always thought they would make a great film. With CGI advances,they are now here. Even if you do not know anything about the Bionicle line of toys, you will like this.
In terms of plot, Mata Nui, a great and powerful ruler at one time, helps win a monumental battle. The local population asks him to help fight the Skrall and Bone Hunters. There is bionicle action, great animation, and and excellent plot. For those familiar with bionicles, the characters transform well to film especially when it comes to their high range of motion. In one scene, Michael Dorn voices a character, and as in all animated films, reflects a Worf like pose. It would take a Trek minded viewer to see that one though.
On the DVD, the bonus features include "Bye Bye Babylon", "Metus Revenge" ending, a character gallery, and deleted scens. The embossed cover is pretty cool too.
With every film these get better. We look forward to the rest.
Tim Lasiuta

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Your favorite BIONICLE® heroes come to life in this thrilling, all-new movie adventure filled with action and excitement! Mata Nui, once a great and powerful ruler, finds himself in a remote wasteland of scrap parts and burnished metals. After winning a dangerous Glatorian battle, he’s asked to help fight the local villagers’ real enemies: the evil Skrall and Bone Hunters. Together with a brave band of Glatorian fighters and Agori villagers, Mata Nui embarks on an epic adventure to imaginative new lands where exciting BIONICLE® secrets will be revealed.

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Lego Hero Factory: Rise of the Rookies Review

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(More customer reviews)i was (and still am) a huge Bionicle fan, but I have to say this is a really great film. It is a perfect introduction into this world - it's very accessible for younger kids and there's definitely enough action and awesome looking animation for older kids. The story is not incredibly complicated, so you don't have to be an expert on the 'mythology' to watch this movie - you can just put it in and go. I'm sure we'll get to learn more about the origin of the Hero Factory and other characters as time goes by and LEGO begins to tell us more backstory, but this is a ton of fun from start to finish. The animation looks fantastic and you can tell there has been a lot of effort put into this movie, it's not just one of those junky DVD movies that other toy companies put out just to sell toys. This is a first class production with a good story, really fun characters that is totally worth watching. Also, it's got a great cast, John Schneider (Bo Duke!), Henry Winkler (the Fonz!), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker!) and Malcolm McDowell!!!! Kudos to LEGO for keeping the quality bar so high in its productions (Bionicle, Clutch Powers and Atlantis - which is included as a bonus on the DVD!).

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Welcome to the Hero Factory. A place where the most advanced and skilled Heroes in the universe are built to serve one function – saving the world from evil.Alpha team leader Stormer is the best and toughest Hero at the Hero Factory. It helps that he has Bulk and Stringer on his team, but he is driven by something deep inside of him. Years ago, when he was still just a Rookie, he was on a dangerous mission. Their leader was wounded and it was up to Stormer and his fellow Rookie, Von Ness, to save the city. But Von Ness deserted him, and Stormer was forced to go into battle alone. He succeeded that day, just like he has on every mission since then, but he still carries around the feeling that something is left unfinished.
A new Rookie team has been assigned to complete their training with Stormer and his crew. Furno looks to be the best Rookie the Factory has seen since Stormer was a Rookie himself. He takes his position as a Hero in training very seriously and yearns for Stormer’s approval, and will push himself to do whatever it takes to get it. He’s joined by fellow Rookies Breez and Surge, as they try to prove to Stormer and each other why they are ready to become true Heroes. As the six Heroes begin to work together on their missions, they start to realize that the bad guys they are fighting are working for someone. Someone from Stormer’s past, with an evil agenda to take down the Hero Factory and Stormer himself.

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LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers Review

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(More customer reviews)I have two boys 4 and 6 who are, of course, HUGE Lego fanatics. We have had this for 2 days and have already watched it 4 times. My only problem with the movie is that it uses words that I dont really like for my boys to use (idiot, stupid, fool) and I just don't think it's necessary to include these words in kids movies. There was also some mild "romantic humor" which I could have done without, but really not a big deal.
However, either way, I think it's great to have a full length Lego movie and the whole family enjoyed it. The animation is wonderful, there are alot of silly and cute jokes that made us all laugh, and they did a great job at weaving together all the different Lego products/lines into one cohesive story. It has also given my kids alot of new ideas for how to act out stories with their Legos!

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For the first time ever, see the creative world of LEGO come to life in the all-new feature-length DVD movie. Meet Clutch Powers, the best builder and explorer in the LEGO universe as he heads off on his most dangerous mission yet. Join Clutch and his team of LEGO experts as their adventure leads them from LEGO City to the Space Police prison planet to the medieval world of Ashlar where they must help the rightful heir to the King’s throne find the courage to regain the kingdom from the evil wizard Mallock the Malign. Their brick-building skills will be put to the ultimate test as they face off against Mallock’s skeleton army. Get ready for an action-packed adventure like nothing you have ever seen before, The Adventures of Clutch Powers!

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Playmobil: The Secret of Pirate Island Review

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(More customer reviews)The toy line known as Playmobil produced by Germany-based company Brandstatter Group has been a popular toyline in the United States and other countries since 1975. The toys have been one of the most innovative toylines for children as kids can buy toys based on modern jobs or athletes to pirates, knights, princesses and more.
An example of the popular playmobil toyline toys in the market
And to celebrate the popularity of the toyline, the first major DVD release titled "The Secret of Pirate Island" based on the toyline will be released under the playmobil interactive name.
In this DVD, the film revolves around a family which includes seven-year-old Jack and his older sister as they visit their grandparents. Of course, the area where their grandparents live leads to a portal where the children can experience adventures. In this latest release, the playmobil theme revolves around the pirate characters.
But in this case, using your remote control, the viewer can select which adventure to participate in. The decision can lead to an early ending to the film or a further continuation to the story. Of course, since this is a children's DVD, even if a child choose a short ending, the child will get another chance to select the other ending or if they choose not to choose anything at all, the film will automatically select the longer, continuing version. But what's so fun about this release is that there is 27 story combinations. So, for the most part, children will enjoy the chance to choose their storyline and possibly see the toy characters that they may be familiar with.
For parents, there are two versions that you can select on the menu. The interactive version of "The Secret of Pirate Island" which is more or less 90 minutes long depending on the combinations selected or "Captain Gruff's Favorite Movie" minus the interactive combinations and the movie is about 50 minutes long.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"The Secret of Pirate Island" is a 3D CG film featuring vibrant colors and captures the toyline in CG format quite well. The kids looks like the toys and the hands are like the toys but they are animated to show expression and also designed to show the characters like it's plastic counterparts. Granted, this is not a high-budget CG film, so don't expect hyper-detailed backgrounds or environments but for the most part, the animation for this title is well-done. Video is featured via anamorphic widescreen at 1:78:1.
As for audio, the film is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital and French Dolby Surround. For those with home theaters, the film is front and center channel driven as the movie is dialogue and music-driven.
Subtitles are in English, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"playmobile interactive - The Secret of Pirate Island" comes with only two special features:
* Pirate Sing-a-Long - (1:53) One of the songs used on the film featuring the band (on the pirate ship) performing a song with the lyrics ala karaoke sing along at the bottom.
* Previews - Previews for Sony Wonder releases
JUDGMENT CALL:
As a guy who grew up with playmobil toys and my son having quite a bit of a collection for himself, I found this DVD release to be quite wonderful.
The world of playmobil and the characters and the look of the characters is animated quite well and for parents looking for an interactive film, "The Secret of Pirate Island" was absolutely fantastic as there are many scenes that require the children to make a decision (there are 27 story combinations) and thus, works quite well for the child or for parents watching along with their children.
For families wondering if the film can be scary, not at all. The theme is adventure-based and there is a scene with an octopus, a mummy and skeletons but for the most part, it's never scary at all. They are animated in a way to be not offending whatsoever. So, parents shouldn't worry at all. It's a family friendly film. My 6-year-old, wasn't scared at any of the scenes and for the most part, he was really getting involved with the interactive segments.
If there is anything that I do recommend is that if you have a DVD player that has a remote that needs to be closely focused towards their player, have your child positioned in a way where the signal is clear, so he/she doesn't complain about the remote not working correctly. The interactive version of the film does give adequate time to make a decision but it's important that a child holds the remote correctly and that the remote has a clear signal.
For the playmobil collectors or parents wondering if the film is only pirate-themed, there are combinations that takes both Jack and Amelia to a medieval time or playing in their grandparents yard but those scenes are very short. The film is definitely pirate-themed and since I typically see the pirated-themed toys at the stores, I'm guessing it's a big seller for playmobil but I do hope there are more playmobil interactive releases that reflect their other toylines, which would definitely be wonderful.
There's really nothing bad I can say about this DVD, for parents who are looking for a children's interactive film on DVD, this is one of the better ones that I have seen thus far. I wish there were interactive games included on the special features but overall, for its low price and what is included on this DVD, "playmobil interactive - The Secret of Pirate Island" is highly recommended!

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Ahoy, matey!Your favorite Playmobil toys have come to life for the very first time, in an all-new swashbuckling adventure and you're invited to join them!You'll have a treasure chest full of fun with seven-year-old Jack and his big sister Amelia as they stow away on a pirate ship headed for the mysterious Skull Island - a place filled with treasure and curious creatures.Can Jack and Amelia stay one step ahead of a bunch of wacky skeletons and get to the treasure before the pirates do?Interactive DVD includes:Interactive video version (approx. 90 mins); Captain Gruff's Favorite Movie (approx. 50 mins) and a Pirate Sing-A-Long.

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Bionicle - Mask Of Light (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)We bought this movie for my five-year-old Bionicle crazy son. My husband has read him the comic books that come with Lego magazine. I didn't know much about the story. I was really amazed at how good the movie was. It had a complete story line. The graphics were excellent and I have become somewhat a Bionicle fan, myself now. I must admit fatigue from hearing about them 12 hours a day, but this movie was really fun and exciting. The animators did a great job bringing the Bionicles to life. We look forward to the next movie.

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For the first time ever, the world of BIONICLE(R) comes to life in an epic motion picture event -- BIONICLE(R): MASK OF LIGHT! Experience the action-packed adventure that has enthralled millions of fans. Discover the latest chapter in this legendary story in an all-new CGI animated movie. It's nonstop action as Jaller and his best friend Takua set off on their journey to find the 7th Toa, a mysterious guardian who will help protect their island home. With the guidance of the Mask of Light and the united strengths of the other six Toa, the brave companions must overcome the powerful Makuta and his menacing Rahkshi. They must prevail or the island of Mata Nui will be doomed to an eternity of darkness!

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