Author: FCA Editor

The Pirate Fairy Combo Pack

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piratefairyFaith, trust, and Pixie dust. We’ve all heard that’s what’s needed to fly. So what happens when the Pixie dust is mismanaged? The Pirate Fairy is the most magical and adventurous movie yet in the fairies film franchise.

 

Zarina is a dust-keeper fairy. She is a little unconventional and always likes to experiment with the Pixie dust. She is described as “The Tinker Bell of the dust keepers.” When her experiment goes awry, she loses her job and leaves Pixie Hollow in a huff.

 

A year later Zarina unobtrusively returns during the magical festival and manages to put the entirety of Pixie Hollow to sleep under the spell of poppies. Well, almost the entire population of Pixie Hollow. Tink, Rosetta, Iridessa, Silvermist, Vidia, and Fawn hide and are unaffected by the poppies. When they realize Zarina has stolen the Blue Pixie Dust – the dust that is required to make more Pixie Dust – they take off after her. Their pursuit of Zarina takes them to an adventure filled with danger, excitement, and what else? Pixie Dust.

 

Since departing Pixie Hollow a year earlier, Zarina has become the captain of a pirate ship, luring the pirates with her plan of stealing the blue dust and making their ship fly. With a flying ship they will be able to plunder towns all around the world.

Tinker Bell and her friends must not let the pirates escape with the Blue Pixie Dust. Pixie Hollow needs that dust. And, the fairies want their friend Zarina back too. But this rescue is not going to be easy for the little fairies. Their magic abilities have been switched and they must learn to do different things. For instance, Rosetta is now an animal fairy and Tinker Bell is a water fairy.

 

Now, add the fact that a baby crocodile thinks Rosetta is his mother, and the pirate ship is eventually taken over by Captain Hook, and things get really interesting.

 

This movie brings in some characters from Peter Pan story and gives viewers a hint about their pasts. It’s like putting pieces of a puzzle together to create a full picture. And this film also explores more areas of Neverland than the previous fairy films ever have. The seas, Skull Rock, and more of this magical and memorable land are part of this adventure.
While this film focuses on the seven fairies, James (aka the future Captain Hook), and little Crocky, viewers are also treated to other characters from past fairy films, including Tink’s sister Periwinkle.

 

Bonus features on the Blu-ray include a look at the legend of Neverland. We all know how to find it – go to the second star to the right then on until morning. Neverland is an interesting place filled with many areas, and some are explored in this story. Little Crocky is a cute new character and a “Croc-u-mentary” is a funny yet educational documentary about real life crocodiles. A few deleted scenes (unfinished) are included as well as a featurette about voicing the characters.

 

And for fairy lovers, there are two delightful pirate-themed shorts: Aaarrgh and Treasure Chest feature some of the fairies in the movie in two cute little short films.

 

The Pirate Fairy is all about “Pixie Dust Alchemy.” This dust is amazing stuff and can do all kinds of things. Just don’t play with it or you might get into trouble, as Zarina discovered.

 

The Pirate Fairy is perhaps the most magical fairy film to date. It’s colorful, adventurous, and filled with fairy fun and charm. It’s rated G for everyone!  Argh, matey! This is definitely a keeper and an instant family classic.

 

Pirate Fairy

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

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At Middleton on Blu-ray

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middletonVera Farmiga and Andy Garcia star in this sensitive yet whimsical story of two people who meet, spend one amazing and memorable day together, then return to their own lives. At Middleton is a sweet movie filled with some great moments, especially from Andy Garcia.

 

Edith (Farmiga) is accompanying her high-strung daughter Audrey (Taissa Farmiga – Vera’s real life younger sister) on a campus tour of Middleton College. And George (Garcia) is a straight-laced cardiac surgeon accompanying his unenthusiastic son Conrad (Spencer Lofranco) on the same tour. While George is excited to have his son look at the school, Edith is apprehensive about her daughter going away to college because that would mean she would be an empty nester and alone with her husband.

 

This is an interesting romantic comedy. Through the day Edith and George leave the guided tour and spend the entire day together, exploring the college as well as their own lives. They are intriguing characters. This story of self-discovery is sure to delight many viewers.

 

The tagline is “You never know what you’ll discover on your first day at college.” How true. George’s influence on Edith and hers on him bring out a companionship neither has experienced and one that fulfills them.

 

Bonus features on this disc include an outtakes reel as well as a sweet music video with Andy Garcia singing the romantic ballad “There Was a Day,” a song for which he also wrote the lyrics. The outtakes were not impressive however the song by Garcia is very special and worth listening to and watching. The entire movie is summed up in this sensitive song.
At Middleton is also available on a DVD. It is rated R for drug use and brief sexuality.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

Pet Expo Ticket Giveaway

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petexpo completedIt’s the “Bow Wow Wow” and Cat’s Meow for your favorite furry, scaled or feathered friend. America’s Family Pet Expo (AFPE) returns to the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, April 25th – 27th. Celebrating 25 years, this “spet-acular” event boasts a menagerie of animals including cats, dogs, miniature horses, birds, and exotic reptiles, all on display providing show guests the opportunity to experience these animals in a variety of different ways. Interactive exhibits, educational shows and demonstrations, as well as the latest in pet trends and products for sale, make America’s Family Pet Expo fun for the whole family.

 

We have a voucher for a family 4 pack to giveaway. To be eligible to win a voucher for tickets for four, email us at [email protected] with “Pet Expo Giveaway” in the title. Please supply your name, address, phone number and email address (so we can let you know if you are a winner).

 

The deadline for this giveaway is April 14, 2014.

Delivery Man on Blu-ray

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deliveryVince Vaughn strays from his usual straight-comedy roles to carry this dramatic comedy on his shoulders. And he comes through with flying colors. Delivery Man shows the range of emotions Vaughn can deliver.

 

Vaughn plays David, a kind of screw up guy with no real goals in life. He delivers the meat for his family’s meat business. He has no real responsibilities other than making sure the packages get to their destinations.

 

Many years earlier David used the name “Starbuck” when donating his sperm to a sperm bank. He was in need of money and this was an easy way for him to get it. He ended up making 693 deposits in the sperm bank. To say this guy was busy is an understatement.

 

The sperm bank did something it shouldn’t have. They used David’s sperm over and over again, and he ended up being the biological father of 533 kids. Now, many years later, 142 of those kids want to know who their biological father is and have joined together in a lawsuit to make his identity known.

 

David, again in need of money, counter sues the sperm bank for putting his identity in danger. He signed anonymity documents for each time he “donated” his sperm.

 

What happens through this story is that David secretly befriends many of his “children” and gets to know them. He is a self-described “incompetent meat truck driver,” yet he suddenly becomes a “guardian angel” for many of the kids he sired. He starts looking out for them.

 

When news gets out that someone named “Starbuck” sired 533 children, the papers and late night talk shows are filled with stories, jokes, and plenty of folly as well as pointing fingers at the system. But David, having gotten over the initial shock of the situation and then having befriended many of the kids, feels something he has never felt before. He feels responsibility. But does he feel responsible enough to reveal his identity?

 

Delivery Man is a poignant story. It is filled with plenty of emotions that run the gamut from lighthearted joy to tugging at heartstrings. Chris Pratt plays David’s bumbling and insecure attorney.

 

Bonus features on the Blu-ray include bloopers and a deleted scene. There is also a look at Vince Vaughn and his improvisational talent, as well as a look at the story of the family that the filmmakers put together. Vaughn describes the film as “funny but truthful.” In fact, this dramatic comedy leans more on the drama than the comedy.

 

The movie is also available on DVD. Delivery Man is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language. It is an interesting story of what makes a family.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

The Story of the Jews on PBS

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Story of the Jews with Simon Schama: In the BeginningSimon Schama, award-winning author, filmmaker, and scholar, brings The Story of the Jews to PBS. He recently spoke with member of the Television Critics Association about this project, why he wanted to do it, and what viewers can expect.

 

At the outset, Schama wanted “to dive into the Bible [and] to dive into the Jewish past.”  He stressed to the journalists that one of the problems about making a show about the Jews in a “non‑Jewish world is that [perception] seems to be entirely about the Holocaust or entirely about the Israel/Palestinian conflict. And we don’t sidestep those things, but in keeping with the sense of my own life as a kid in the ’40s or ’50s, it’s more complicated than that. [Jewish history is] rich with exuberance [and] with vitality. Jewish comedy doesn’t come out of nothing. Jewish music doesn’t come out of nothing. The Talmud is, I promise you, full of jokes. And it’s certainly full of stories.”

 

Simon Schama says, “We are our story” which is what the emphasis of this film really is.  He stated, “You can be Jewish and not be Orthodox. To be a religious Jew has been one of those debates from the very beginning, about which there is never any particular agreement. You can have an engagement with religion. As you know, in the United States there are Conservative Jews and Ultra‑Orthodox Jews. And there’s nothing in the religion requiring you to wear a funny hat and the kind of whole Williamsburg, Brooklyn gear at all.  Ethnicity it’s not, because one thing we know about the Jews is we’re much more intermarried with other cultures than you could possibly imagine.

 

“One of the great [stories] for example – there’s an Ethiopian Jewess, a wonderful woman called Aviva Rahmani, who tells her own kind of Bible story, the Bible story of her own life crossing the Sudanese desert to try and get to Israel when she was 14 years old. She is ethnically Amharic. She’s ethnically Ethiopian. But Ethiopian Jewish culture is absolutely Jewish culture. There’s something like nearly quarter of a million Jews in Israel now who are from tropical African or South Asian origin. You would say they’re as Indian as anybody else, but they’re also as Jewish as any other Jews.”

 

Schama brings to the small screen a story that has played out over thousands of years. “The very important thing I want to say to you and, I hope, will emerge from the series, [is] Jews have never, ever, ever wished to be separate, unless they were forced to be. I’m not saying that the Ultra‑Orthodox in Jerusalem or some other places dress the way they dress, live in the areas where they want to live because they mostly live within each other, but they have always constituted a tiny minority of observant Jews, never mind nonobservant Jews. The Jews did not invent the ghetto. The state of Venice invented the ghetto in 1516. As the ghetto was being invented, there were other cities in Italy, like Ferrara and Mantua, where Jews did not have to wear distinguishing signs of dress. The Islamic world was the first to insist that Jews, and Christians, for that matter, wear signs of conspicuous dress.

 

“So in some sense a deep and powerful argument has gone on inside the Jewish tradition. Do we feel more Jewish when we’re most immersed in everybody else’s culture or less Jewish? And that’s an argument which has profound implications for the Middle East. Can we feel deeply Jewish by being part of the neighborhood, or do we need to feel mostly Jewish by being separate from the rest of the neighborhood? And that, incidentally – the last, but not unimportant, point – because there was a reason why I made this series – one of the most powerful and desperately important issues facing the world, not just Jews now, after the destruction of the planet and the gross inequalities between rich and poor, is how do people of different beliefs and customs coexist in the same country?”

 

The Story of the Jews premiers Tuesday, March 25, 2014 on PBS. The second and final episode premiers Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie Combo Pack

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dinosaursFans of dinosaurs may or may not enjoy this new film. It is beautifully photographed, however the story is a little flat. Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie takes viewers back to the late Cretaceous period and follows the life and times of a cute little Pachyrhinosaurus named Patchi.

 

This was the time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. There were all kinds of dinos and critters. The story begins in today’s time when a young boy says he’s “not really into digging up dead things” when his uncle, an archeologist, invites him to come to a site where he hopes to find the remains of a dinosaur. Then the movie switches to the story of Patchi, the runt of the litter who faces all the odds to rise to the top of his world. The entire movie is about the – to coin a phrase from another movie company – circle of life.

 

Patchi (voiced by Justin Long) is a fun-loving little guy. The film follows him from the time he is in the nest through his childhood then to adulthood. With his friend Alex (voiced by John Leguizamo), a bird, Patchi experiences all kinds of adventures – some good and some bad. As Patchi and his herd migrate south, they find beauty and danger all around them. And Patchi finds true love when he meets Juniper (voiced by Tiya Sircar).

 

Patchi puts on a brave front, being the smallest in his family, but there are signs of his insecurities too. He must find the courage he needs to save his friends and ultimately follow in his father’s footsteps to become the leader of the herd. Throughout his life, Patchi discovers how to survive one day at a time. And it is Alex who provides the lighthearted humor through the story.

 

The bonus feature is an “Ultimate Dino Guide” which is extremely educational as well as entertaining. Viewers see videos of different dinosaurs, learn facts and see an interactive map of where particular species of dinosaurs lived when they inhabited the earth. For instance, Patchi is/was a Pachyrhinosaurus, which means “thick nosed lizard” and when looking at him, it is obvious how the species got its name.

 

I have some reservations about recommending this for the entire family. There are scenes of animals being killed and eaten, and there are some sensitive scenes with Patchi and his own family. However since that was what actually happened, it is a good history lesson. I would say that viewers with sensitivity to these actions should be prepared before watching this film.

 

The Combo Pack includes a DVD, a Blu-ray, and Digital HD. Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie is rated PG for creature action and peril and mild rude humor.

 

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Like her on Facebook

The Hero of Color City

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THE HERO OF COLOR CITYEach night, when Ben falls asleep, his Crayons’ magical Crayon Box transports them to COLOR CITY, a world of dazzling hues, soaring fantasy and the whimsy of childhood.

When YELLOW is accidentally left behind in Ben’s room, she awakens two Unfinished Drawings: KING SCRAWL, a huge monster, and GNAT, Scrawl’s sidekick. They follow Yellow to Color City and claim the enchanted Rainbow Waterfall and all of its color for themselves. Soon Color City will fade and our lovable crayon characters will disappear.

It’s up to Yellow and her pals, BLUE, GREEN, RED, and the twins, BLACK and WHITE, to save the day. Meeting with fantastical creatures and fun adventures along the way, Yellow discovers she has more courage than she knew and learns to believe in herself and to count on the support of her friends.

Replete with valuable life lessons, THE HERO OF COLOR CITY will entertain and inspire.

 

Style AB-208(W) GABRIALLA® Breathable Abdominal Support Binder

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Highly recommended by Doctors as a light postpartum or postsurgical abdominal support or as a breast binder
• Helps minimize pain by providing evenly distributed pressure to the abdomen, waist and lower back
• Helps speed up recovery after a C-section, abdominal hernia or any other surgery in the abdominal area
• Helps improve balance and redistribute weight so you return to your pre-pregnancy shape sooner
• Specifically designed for a woman’s body, hugging the waist and flaring out over the hips
• 9” wide support designed with Velcro closures for better fit and easy adjustment
• Highly breathable lightweight elastic material makes it comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, even in hot weather
• Sometimes used to relieve menstrual discomfort
• Virtually unnoticeable under clothes

During the nine months of pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes tremendous changes. Stretch marks, extra fat and flabby skin are normal changes and the body will gradually regain its original shape, but it needs help. The GABRIALLA Breathable Abdominal Support Binder is made to do just that. Unlike other postpartum supports that focus on medical functionality at the expense of look and comfort or vice versa, GABRIALLA binders are designed to offer you the very best of both and come in a variety of colors! The GABRIALLA Shapewear Collection is designed to help firm up your tummy and restore your body to its original look, shape and feel. We are here to assist you from your first trimester through postpartum, because we believe that if you feel better, you’ll look better too!

Beyond the Red Carpet Book Giveaway

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Beyond-The-Red-Carpet- giveaway completedBeyond the Red Carpet: The World of Entertainment Journalists is an inside look at the life and work of those who bring to the world the inside info about your favorite celebs, TV shows, and films. If you think the lives of these hard-working journalists are all glitz and glamour, you need to read this book to find out what their jobs really entail. Some of the stories will have you laughing out loud while others will have you wondering if your favorite celeb is a winner or a loser off camera.

 

We have three (3) copies to give away. To be eligible to win a copy of Beyond the Red Carpet, email us at [email protected] with “Red Carpet Giveaway” in the title. Please supply your name, address, phone number and email address (so we can let you know if you are a winner).

 

The deadline for this giveaway is April 11, 2014.