The Red Turtle is an interesting and imaginative animated film from Studio Ghibli. There is no dialogue in the film, only the story that unfolds in an enchanting way. This movie has caused a lot of buzz and was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.’

The story is about a man who was shipwrecked and managed to find himself on a deserted island. All alone he attempts to survive then decides to build a raft to get back to civilization. He sets off but his raft is demolished by a large red turtle, not far from the island. Frustrated, he tries again and again. Each time the result is the same. Why is this turtle sabotaging his attempts to leave the island?

Then when he sees the turtle crawling onto the island, his irritation with it takes over and he flips it onto its back. Soon the turtle is in distress and dying. This is when the man realizes what he has done. In an attempt to save the turtle he sees its shell split down the center and then is inhabited by a woman. This fantasy continues with the two bonding and forming a life together on the island. Soon they welcome a baby boy. The three have a contented life and all is good.

But when the boy grows and discovers there is a life away from the island, his curiosity takes over. Should he leave and seek the outside world?

Besides the three humans, the other characters in the story are crabs, birds, and turtles. It is a fantasy in every sense of the word and it is endearing in its own way. Without dialogue it relies on visuals to tell the story, which is not the way of a typical film from Studio Ghibli, who brought us many memorable animated films like Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Castle in the Sky, among others.

The Red Turtle is unlike the others from the studio in that it was produced in France. Bonus features discuss this collaboration between Director Michael Dudok de Wit and Studio Ghibli. The three bonus features look at the genesis of the story and the animation. An AFI Fest Q&A with the director adds plenty of background to the film and viewers will understand much more about the making of this interesting fantasy story.

The Red Turtle is rated PG for some thematic elements and peril. It is good for family viewing, however younger viewers might be a little bored without any dialogue.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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.

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James Garner stars in 36 Hours, a World War II movie with an interesting plot. Garner plays American Major Jeff Pike, only one of a few people who know the facts about the upcoming Allied invasion on Normandy. He knows where and when it will happen. He would be an asset to the Germans if captured. That thought runs through his mind when he is sent to Lisbon to get one more piece of the puzzle.

His worst fears come true and Pike is captured. He wakes up in 1950 in an American hospital in Germany after the Allies have won the war and are occupying the country. He has no recollection of the past six years.

Pike is attended to by doctor Major Walter Gerber (Rod Taylor) and nurse Anna Hedler (Eva Marie Saint). They explain that he suffered an injury and are trying to help him regain his memory. In fact it is an elaborate ruse put on by the Germans to get the information about the invasion from him. It is only one day since he was captured in Lisbon, but they have gone to great lengths to put on a show to make him believe it is 1950. They even print fake newspapers. As they gain his confidence and he begins to believe them, he does reveal the facts about the invasion. After all, it was six years ago. But it wasn’t. It hasn’t happened yet.

When Pike suddenly realizes he is being tricked, he turns the tables on the Germans and they are dumbstruck. What are the facts? Is the invasion going to happen in Normandy or Calais? He has them thinking and rethinking everything he has said.

Garner is not a novice to WW II movies, having starred in The Great Escape, The Americanization of Emily, and Up Periscope. In 36 Hours he turns in an exemplary performance as a man caught up in a psychological experiment but who is smarter than his captives.

For Rod Taylor fans it is disconcerting to see him as the enemy, although in this film he is not the bad man he seems to be. He is more interested in his medical work to heal amnesiacs than in the military aspects of his experiment he was coerced into using on Americans. Still, he is more suited to being the handsome leading man than a Nazi.

36 Hours is an interesting story with a great cast. It is available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and can be ordered at their website or wherever Blu-rays and DVDs are sold.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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.

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We all know the Peanuts gang. Good Ol’ Charlie Brown, Sally, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, the little red haired girl, Schroeder, Violet, Pigpen, and of course Snoopy have been beloved characters for over 50 years. The cable TV series on Boomerang and Cartoon Network, Peanuts, animates the comic strip. This new collection of 19 episodes, Peanuts by Schultz: Go Team, Go!, captures all the fun of the gang in mostly sports-themed and outside stories.

Little kids and adults will delight in the antics of the Peanuts gang. Whether the vignettes revolve around Charlie Brown and his frustration with kites, the gang’s baseball team, Snoopy playing Joe Cool, Snoopy becoming an attorney to represent a little rabbit, Frieda flaunting her naturally curly hair, Lucy and Charlie Brown discussing being a big sister and big brother, or other things, this group of kids never fails to entertain viewers of all ages.

“Over the years, Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts characters have been brought to life in so many different forms.  These cartoons are inspired by the original Peanuts newspaper comic strips and give us an opportunity to enjoy these special characters in their most authentic form,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Vice President Family & Animation Marketing for Warner Bros. She added, “Peanuts by Schulz: Go Team Go! is a title that no Peanuts fan will want to miss. We’re delighted to offer another release of this charming series to fans.”

Over two hours of entertainment on the two discs in this new collection provide plenty of Peanuts fun, and with this gang you know there are no situations that little kids can’t see. While the set is not rated, it is suitable for all ages. And because they are all done in short vignettes, this is a great DVD to keep in the car to entertain the little ones when you’re out and about.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

We all grew up with McDonald’s. But we don’t know the story of this worldwide empire. The Founder is the story of the McDonald brothers and Ray Kroc, the people who gave us fast food hamburgers and delicious French fries.

Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) was a traveling salesman. At the time he met the McDonald brothers, he was peddling a milkshake maker. He heard about their McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California and had to see it for himself. What he saw took his breath away. It was an ingenious fast food take out eatery created by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald (Nick Offerman and John Carrol Lynch). They had perfected a way of making and delivering fresh hamburgers, French fries, and drinks the way Henry Ford created the automobile assembly line.

Deep in his heart he wanted to be part of this business. He saw an amazing future for McDonald’s. So he went into franchising the restaurants with the brothers. They were hesitant because they wanted to keep quality control at its peak and didn’t know how they could do that with several locations. But Kroc insured them he would handle everything.

What he eventually handled was the tremendous expansion of McDonald’s while at the same time leaving the brothers who started it all, not to mention his wife (Laura Dern), out in the cold.

The bonus features on the Blu-ray combo pack take viewers behind the scenes of the film. With a time-lapse video, they see the actual McDonalds that was used in the movie being built. They also learn more about the production and the cast, as well as the people on which the characters were based.

For decades the McDonald family was waiting for someone to tell the story correctly. This is their story just as much as it is the story of Ray Kroc.

Was Ray Kroc a hero or a villain? He kept the golden arches imagined by the brothers and their family-friendly atmosphere. But he also insinuated himself into the empire so much so that the brothers were swept under the rug. He built the empire on the ideas and hard work of the McDonald brothers. His vision was far greater than theirs, however they deserve just as much praise. They invented the McDonalds restaurants but Kroc brought it to the masses.

Keaton received an Academy Award for his intense performance of the man we all associate with the golden arches.

The Founder is rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

Picking up where the movie left off, Tangled Before Ever After joins Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Maximus, the king and queen, and the young princess’ new friend Cassandra as she tries to manage life in the castle. After all, she had been living in a tower for 18 years and has no idea how to live life as a princess.

This movie was made for the Disney Channel to reintroduce the characters to viewers before the new animated TV series began. The series is now up and running and enjoyed by viewers of all ages.

But the thing that, if you haven’t see this film, might confuse you is how Rapunzel’s long and magical hair regrew. If you remember, at the end of the feature film her blonde locks were cut off and she was left with short, brown hair. (She and Eugene even made a cameo in Frozen with her short hair.)

The story of how her hair became magical in the first place and how she regained it all come out in this movie. A single drop of sun is a powerful thing.

As she prepares for her coronation, things get a little rambunctious and, well, you’ll just have to watch the movie to learn how her hair came back and how it is filled with magic.

Rapunzel joins Sofia and Elena as the Disney princesses who have their own TV shows. And, these three also have magic in common.

Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi return to voice the young couple. As Rapunzel and Eugene prepare for their wedding, it is Rapunzel who decides she must first get more princess experience under her belt so the wedding is postponed and Eugene takes a position in the castle. The series will follow them and their adventures.

Included in this DVD are four shorts: “Checkmate” (a cute short in which spunky little Pascal tried to lure Maximus into a chess game), “Prison Bake” (baking by the Pub Thug mime), “Make me Smile” (a short in which Rapunzel tries everything to make a cranky woman happy), and “Hare Peace” (in which Rapunzel and Pascal baby sit – or bunny sit an adorable little rabbit).

Tangled Before Ever After is a fun way to start the new TV series and reprises that special spunk Rapunzel has and the awkward love of life that is Eugene’s signature. Plus, don’t forget the adorable and spirited Pascal.

The DVD includes a little journal for kids to keep their special thoughts or drawings.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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

Bailee Madison not only stars in the movie A Cowgirl’s Story, she is also a producer. This young actress has been nominated for several awards in her 17 years. She has starred in several TV movies and in many series. Lately, she can be seen as Grace in the Hallmark Channel’s Good Witch.

Madison plays Dusty Rhodes (as she says her parents had an interesting sense of humor), whose mother is a helicopter pilot serving in Afghanistan and whose father is an Army Ranger. They move in with her grandfather (Pat Boone), a military chaplain. Yes, this is a story definitely slanted to Christianity. It is a story of hope, family, and friendship.

Dusty stands out in her new high school. She is a cowgirl in the middle of a suburban culture. But she won’t conform. She is happy with the young woman she is and although in the beginning gets ridiculed for her appearance, she stands her ground.

She convinces her new classmates to form an equestrian drill team, which at first they do reluctantly. But in time even the snobbiest girls come to love riding horses and performing in rodeos.

Dusty’s best friend is Savannah (Chloe Lukasiak), a young girl with plenty of personal problems. Her father was killed in Afghanistan and her mother is broke and basically worthless when it comes to taking care of the house and her daughter. Savannah confides a family secret to Dusty and together they work to solve the problem that has been a thorn in the side of Savannah and her mother ever since her father was killed in action.

In the meantime, Dusty’s mother’s helicopter is shot down and her whereabouts is unknown. The town comes together to support her in this time of turbulence, especially when her father is shipped overseas as well.

As always, Madison turns in a pleasant performance and is enjoyable to watch. Her fans will definitely love to see her in this role. And take it from me – someone who has met and talked with the actress on several occasions – she is just as adorable and sweet in person as she is on screen.

While this story has a religious subtext, it is also a story of confidence and resilience. Older viewers might think it is a little saccharine-infused, however under the surface it is a touching story of faith, family, and friendship. It is also a reminder that there is a war going on and Americans are fighting and dying for freedom and their country.

A Cowgirl’s Story is rated PG for thematic elements.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. 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