Joy Ride 2 - Dead Ahead - Buy from Amazon
A direct-to-DVD sequel to a horror film that wasn't a winner at the box office when it came out back in 2001. At least it was a good horror movie. The same can't be said here.

Why do cell phones never work in horror movies? It really doesn't matter, because this is just one of many clichés we get to have fun with in this movie, but while clichés were a problem, they weren't the main problem. Let's start at the top. I didn't think Rusty Nail was the least bit interesting as a villain, and hiding his face in shadows all the time was a joke. I know it was meant to add to the mood, but very early in the movie it because so overdone that it was laughable. Also, while one of the featurettes plays up the special effects, I found them to be quite weak. Granted, some looked good, but the rest (especially the car crash scene, which was the centerpiece of the stunt work, and the scene when Nik was killed) looked fake enough to kill any suspension of disbelief. And don't get me started on the ending, which was pure crap.

Extras are light with just a 14-minute making-of featurette, which is pretty standard stuff, a 7-minute featurette on the special effects, and finally a storyboard-to-screen comparison of the final confrontation.

Joy Ride was not a great movie, but it was entertaining in a B-movie horror film kind of way. Also, it featured some fine performances. Joy Ride 2 offers very little. I don't even think it offers enough "Boobs & Blood" to satisfy the fans of direct-to-DVD horror.

The film stars William Hurt as Luis Molina and Raul Julia as Valentin Arregui, two men who are in prison, and will be there for a long, long time. Luis is a gay man who was convicted of "corrupting a youth" while Valentin is a political prisoner tortured by the right-wing regime in the unnamed Latin American nation they live in. The film takes place almost entirely within the confines of their small cell, but throughout the film we hear Luis tell stories of his life before prison, as well as a film that he is obsessed by. Based on a novel by Manuel Puig, this is a movie that simply should not work. It's too claustrophobic, it was 100% unmarketable, and barely anything happens. However, the two leads have such amazing chemistry, and the film is able to really draw you into the story being told.

Extras on the 2-disc set include a trivia track on the first disc, which as they say early on, details the novel, the movie, the musical, and real life information. It is very well done, and while I would have preferred to have an audio commentary track, this is a reasonable substitute. The majority of the extras are to be found on disc two, and they include the original trailers, image galleries, but the heart here is a documentary called Tangled Web - Secrets of the Spider Woman. This documentary runs 108 minutes, almost as long as the movie itself, and details every single aspect of the film's long, twisted run from the novel to the screen. There are also a few smaller featurettes starting with Manuel Puig: The Submissive Woman's Role that runs 9 minutes and is about the author of the original novel, and how he was influence by his life growing up, and the movies he watched. Making the Musical: Spider Woman on Broadway is about the adaptation of the movie to the stage. Finally there's Kiss of the Spider Woman: From Novel to Film, which is a featurette that runs a hefty 36 minutes and deals with how the movie is different from the book. That's a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is fantastic for fans of the movie. Even those who were more ambivalent to the movie will want to watch all of these.

Sadly, I do not have the Blu-ray version to review.

Kiss of the Spider Woman is a movie that was almost never made, which would have been a real shame. Regardless of which format you choose, DVD or Blu-ray, it is worth picking up.

The 40-minute special starts just before Christmas as the Ponies are preparing for the Holidays, which includes making the Here Comes Christmas Candy Cane, which sits atop the Christmas tree and sparkles bright enough to guide Santa to their town. However, one of the Ponies, Minty, tries to adjust it on the tree, which causes it to fall and break. Not knowing what to do, she at first decides to play Santa by giving everyone the perfect gift. Socks. Lets hope Plan B is better.

Also on the disc is a bonus episode from the show, Dancing in the Clouds, which has the Ponies preparing for the Extra Special Friendship Ball. Twinkle Twirl needs to get the Ponies to dance properly, and she gets the help of Sky Wishes and he special wishes to do so.

Both programs are brightly animated (although there were a few flaws) and the songs are catchy enough. It should entertain younger kids, but there's little crossover appeal here.

Extras on the DVD include two songs in Sing-Along mode, while there is the aforementioned figure included in the package. The figure itself is just over an inch high and sports a removable fuzzy Santa hat, which is not quite accurate with what happens in the show, but it is cute.

If you don't have My Little Pony - A Very Minty Christmas on DVD already and you or your kids are a fan of the franchise, it is worth checking out. However, I can't image a lot of people spending $15 for the collectible figure. ... Actually, I can. Collectors tend to be obsessive when it comes to grabbing everything, and there's no reason for My Little Pony collectors to be different.

As I mentioned when I reviewed Season One, improv is the hardest form of comedy to pull off, and in the first season they didn't succeed. They still don't succeed in Season Two, but at least it's somewhat better. Allie DiMeco and Nat Wolff are still the best on the show, while Alex Wolff has improved, the rest mostly just fade into the background. There is also an improvement in the music, as it feels more mature, although it is still not exactly up to standard.

As for the individual episodes, season two starts with the double-length Sidekicks where the band is trying to figure out who to dress as for an upcoming costume ball, except for Rosalina, who is now in high school and wants to go to the prom, except she doesn't have a date. Is this a sign for Nat? Oh the torment of adolescent love... which is very similar to adult love, with no one wanting to make the first movie, lest they look like an idiot. The season ends with Polar Bears, a three-part "mini-movie" that was previously released on DVD. In this episode, the band confronts environmental issues, but an attempt to raise money and awareness goes awry when one of them makes a controversial statement at a press conference. In between they deal with road trips, double-dates, and preparing for their first tour.

Special features are all on the second disc and are mostly music videos -- six of them, in fact. There are three "featurettes", but far from being behind-the-scenes, they feel like short bits from the show.

I'm sure there is a target audience for The Naked Brothers Band, but I'm equally sure I'm not part of it. Granted, Season Two was an improvement over the previous season, but I still can't recommend it.

Then She Found Me - Buy from Amazon
This is Helen Hunt's directorial debut, and it is a film she also co-wrote and starred in. As I've said before, the transition from acting to directing is not always a smooth one, and while this film isn't perfect, there's enough potential shown here to say Helen Hunt will have a successful directing career, should she choose that path.

The film stars Hunt as April Epner, a 39-year old woman who wants to have a child. However, her husband and fellow teacher decides he doesn't want to have a child, or be married, or be a teacher any more and leaves her one evening. Shortly after her adoptive mother passes away, and into this mess steps a potential new romance, her birth mother, and further complications. Overall, this film has a low-key seriocomic tone to it that works, but is perhaps a little too low-key at times. I watch so many movies, that while I enjoyed myself watching this one, I won't be able to remember it next week.

Extras include an audio commentary track with Helen Hunt, who goes through all of the decisions she made. Next up is a 12-minute featurette on the making of the movie, with a lot of people praising Hunt's work in this movie. Finally there are four interviews with the main cast, which runs a total of 15 minutes.

Then She Found Me is a soft independent film that moves at its own pace, and depending who you talk to, this is either a strength or a weakness. It is worth checking out, but even with more extras than most limited releases, I'm not sure if it is worth picking up. Call it a solid rental, leaning towards a purchase.