The film tells the story of a team of young, crime-solving sleuths who never quite grew up. Now seniors in high school, these once celebrated local heroes have to deal with some adult-sized crimes and feelings. Donald Glover plays the leader, Jason, the team’s “master of disguise,” and along with Duncan (“the brains”), and Charlie (“the muscle”), there is no mystery too big or crime too small for them to solve. At least, that’s what they think until a little girl asks for help solving a real crime: the double homicide of her parents.

Despite their roles on the team, the trio is no A-Team; Jason’s disguises are hilarious stereotypes that include unconvincing mustaches and cheap suits, while Duncan’s well of knowledge is pretty shallow, completely outdated and irrelevant. And while Charlie may have been the toughest kid when they were 8, now he’s just tall and gangly. The juxtaposition of each character proves for an entertaining chemistry between the three and is often the source of the film’s comedy.

Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) plays the little girl’s older sister and Jason’s romantic interest, Kelly. Plaza is so used to playing the sarcastic Gen Y’er that her portrayal of a concerned and caring older sister seems a bit forced and stale at times. Along with Plaza you might recognize the film’s cast is full of comedic cameos by characters from 30 ROCK, namely Dotcom and Lutz, Bobby Moynihan from SNL, and Matt Walsh from SNL and Upright Citizens Brigade. You might also recognize Duncan (D.C. Pierson) from Community and the internet comedy short, Bro Rape: A Newsline Investigative Report.

Along with an amazing cast of comedian actors Mystery Team is infused with a plethora of one-liners and their delivery, along with the sweet naivety exhibited by the trio, is hilarious. Awesome lines like, “Sorry I’m late, everybody. My science teacher says my thesis needs to prove something… but I think listing all the dinosaurs proves there was a lot of dinosaurs” and made up curse words like “Ahh Chinese checkers!” and “Ahh cinnamon sticks!” are highly quotable and memorable. I’d give this film 4 out of 5 magnifying glasses.

OFFICIAL TRAILER:

Jack the Giant Slayer – I guess this is sort of the “big” release this week. It came and went in the theater. I think it bombed. I don’t know why, it looks good and certainly has a good cast.

The Howling (Collector’s Edition) – Shout! Factory releases a classic werewolf movie on Blu-Ray in one of their signature horror collector editions. The Howling was a 1981 movie directed by Joe Dante based on a 1977 book by Gary Brandner.  The movie is okay, if a little cheesy, but there are some spectacular scenes (like the ending) and some nice makeup work by Rick Baker, except when it’s not Baker as he left the movie part way through to do An American Werewolf in London.

Lifeforce Collector’s Edition – Another awesome Shout! Factory cult horror release. Lifeforce was from 1985 and directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Dan O’Bannon who would also write Alien and Return of the Living Dead. This movie is sort of off the charts crazy that ostensibly begins as an exploration of Hally’s Comet but turns into a space vampire invasion flick.

The Jim Henson Collection – A collection of TV shows directed by the great Jim Henson. Contains episodes of Fraggle Rock, The Wubbulous World of Dr Seuss and Mother Goose Stories.

Wonder Women – Excellent sexploitation flick from 1973.  PI Mike Harber is hired to investigate the disappearance of many top-level athletes.  His investigation leads him to the evil Dr Tsu who is running an organ transplant operation on a deserted island under the protection of a deadly all-girl army.

The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse – Based on the Dynamite comic series about John Romero who dies only to be reanimated as a zombie. In a frenzy, John mistakenly kills his wife and daughter before he regains consciousness and realizes what he’s done. He manages to save his son and begin protecting humanity from the evil forces that roam the night.  This actually sounds pretty cool, I’ll have to check out that comic.

I still fondly remember the premiere of Warner Bros.’ Road Rovers. The night before (primetime Friday), the WB unveiled the first episode of Superman: The Animated Series, the first in the two-parter “The Last Son of Krypton” origin story. On the Saturday morning that followed, the WB repeated the episode – a potential ratings smash – and directly after they premiered an unknown superhero comedy called Road Rovers. Being the hardcore Superman nut I am, I re-watched the Superman TAS episode and tuned in for what followed.

Road Rovers is admittedly a very goofy and absurd cartoon, even for the studio that gave us Animaniacs, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun to sit through. I enjoyed the premise specially-trained dogs from Earth’s most important, international politicians becoming bipedal man-sized soldiers who engaged in all kinds of wacky and action packed adventures… usually fighting terrorism and other criminals while their owners do the work of the government.

Led by Hunter, an inept but well meaning American mixed breed, the teams consists of Colleen, a frisky Collie from London; Exile, a blustery Siberan husky; Shag, a Chewbacce-like sheepdog with super strength; and Blitz, an egomaniacal German soldier with a chicken heart. The centerpiece of laughter in is definitely Blitz, who scares easily and is prone to screeching like a girl whenever he’s frightened or met with a horrifying obstacle. Jeff Bennett voices the character with immense zeal, stealing most of the scenes from the other characters and giving Blitz a real life to the show.

There’s also the running gag of another teammate named Muzzle, a very angry and violent dog kept restrained in a Hannibal Lecter type get up for most episodes. Only when the team really needs him is he unleashed, and most of his vicious attacks are left off-screen as the team watches and reacts with cringes and groans of disgust and horror. To round things out, they’re all coordinated and guided by the mysterious Professor William F. Shepherd who holds the group’s technology at hand and sends out to missions.

Road Rovers never made a ripple in the Warner animated universe, and that’s a darn shame considering the series supplied consistent laughter, and garnered a wonderful voice cast including Kevin Michael Richardson, Jim Cummings and Sheena Easton as the evil dog groomer who aided main villain General Parvo in his master plans.

While there is the explanation online that the show only lasted a season, I vividly remember it only lasting about a half a season before being replaced on Saturday mornings. The entirety of the short-lived series was eventually re-aired on cable in syndication. It’s about as clever as Freakazoid! and zany as Animaniacs but sadly, the WB seemed to be in a transitional period around the late 90s.

They seemed much more interested in pure, action-oriented cartoons not to mention being on the verge of importing tons of anime for their line-up including Pokemon. So, Road Rovers became a victim of the last hired, first fired programming cycle. The odds of seeing this series on DVD any time soon is slim, especially considering the show would be a tough sell for people who barely remembered it airing on television. I hope we get a pity release someday from Warner, though. I intend to bask in its furry glory.

We all know that Bruce Lee was a badass. Apparently, so are his action figures… at least when inhabited by his ghost! That’s the basic premise of this stop motion short from 2009 by Bruno Collet, in which a pint-sized Bruce Lee toy comes alive and goes all Fist of Fury on the world around him including a “giant-sized” Chuck Norris, a robot and even himself.

Odyssey Squad

Another cartoon from Nickelodeon’s Shorts Program (alongside Zombie Brothers and Carrot and Stick), Odyssey Squad was created by Ben Adams and, frankly, it’s freaking awesome! Very much in tone with Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time or Regular Show, the short is full of 80/90s references and features the sunglasses-sporting Skid (think Pterri the Pterodactyl) and Ollie – two futuristic(?) delivery couriers who cause more mayhem then anything else.

Madder Red by Yeasayer

A truly bizarre music video for the band Yeasayer from 2010, Madder Red was directed by Andreas Nilsson and stars Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, alongside a deformed creature that could be Belial’s long lost twin from Basket Case. Apparently, from what I’ve read, the video is about a woman and her dying pet… whatever it is. All I know is that it’s hilarious seeing Bell run down the street with “it” flailing around in her arms. David Lynch would be proud.

What made That 70′s Show such a big hit, beyond FOX tapping the seventies love at the right time, was that the characters of the show could technically be transplanted into the 21st century and nothing much would change. Eric’s sarcasm, Donna’s girl next door sex appeal, Hyde’s pot-loving rebellion, Kelso’s girl crazy idiocy, and even Red Foreman’s conservative thinking and tough love doling father figure could be easily understood by a modern audience.

While I’m no fan of the series, it was just smart business to make a show set in the 70s during a time when young girls were wearing bell bottoms and large sun glasses once again and a little movie called Charlie’s Angels was a riding high on its reboot success at the box office.

You can guess what happened next. FOX, having reached a peak in the nostalgia bandwagon, decided that they’d pair their hit show about the 70s with another sitcom set during the 80s. It’s only a logical next step, right? I mean the 80s were huge, right? Surely, but FOX, like most corporations that hit gold with a trend, overplayed their hand. Still swooning over the 70s, America wasn’t yet ready for the big 80′s boom, and That 80′s Show premiered with a thud.

With a name like That 80′s Show, many implied that it had something to do with the aforementioned 70s series set in Wisconsin. In reality, the new series had nothing to do with any of those characters. It wasn’t even set in Wisconsin. Not even minor characters from That 70′s Show appeared. Any illusion that this was a spin off or continuation of FOX’s hit series was completely false. Not only that but That 80′s Show completely missed the point of what made That 70′s Show such a huge hit.

Surely, 70s kids could watch the show and think back to their coming of age during cassette tapes and Star Wars, but young audiences could also relate to the situations the teens endured. Stuff about rebelling against parents, getting your first major job, trying to get into a cool party, getting your first car, and trying to make your relationship with your girlfriend work. Sure, every guy wanted Laura Prepon to be their girlfriend during that time… but that’s beyond the point.

“That 80′s Show” was heavy on nostalgia and light on comedy and likable characters. The first minutes of the pilot features our two main characters Corey and Roger singing “Once in a Lifetime” on their way to work. After the opening theme song, we cut to Corey’s sister Katie singing along to “Love is a Battlefield” while drinking Bartles & Jaymes. By the time the third nostalgia trip came along, I found myself talking to the TV screen: “Okay. We get it. It’s the 80′s! Can we see a story now?”

Glenn Howerton stars as struggling musician Corey, a young man who works with punk rock boss Margaret in a record store, while looking to become a big musician himself. Meanwhile, Chyler Leigh is a punk rocker who is friends with Corey and sports an evident romantic chemistry with him, but she’s much too radical for Corey to even notice her. That is until she lets her hair down and reveals that–holy crap–she’s hot. Yes. Chyler Leigh is hot. Big revelation.

Not only does the show pack in the 80′s nostalgia like it’s going out of style, but there are too many sub-plots for the viewer to process in one episode. Sure, the pilot for That 70′s Show suffered the same problem, but survived because it was a funny show. The writers introduced us to gags that would become consistent and hilarious devices, like the wobbling wall, and the marijuana round table in Eric Foreman’s basement. That 80′s Show was bland and unfunny right out of the starting gates.

Yeah, it’s funny seeing someone sing along to the Talking Heads, but after a while you want to see something with more substance. Corey and his sister Katie have nothing interesting to offer, and Brittany Daniels as Corey’s ex-girlfriend had nothing to offer beyond sex appeal. Chyler Leigh was also unconvincing as a punk rocker and a love interest. Beyond that, there simply wasn’t a point to this series. Fans were still following That 70′s Show and I can even recall FOX considering shifting it into the 80s.

So why did we need this show at all? If FOX held out and premiered the show during 2006 when America was in the middle of the “I love the 80s” craze, perhaps it may have made it past two or three seasons and even become a cult hit. Hell, Family Guy has ridden on the 80′s nostalgia humor for nine years, so surely they could have pulled it off.

Not surprisingly though, That 80′s Show barely made it through an entire season before it was yanked off the air and has since become a passing joke. As such, it’s yet to see a DVD or Blu-Ray release. Thankfully, many of the stars went on to varying degrees of success including Glenn Howerton who pulled a short stint on ER before co-creating one of most acclaimed comedies on cable television It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia… so it wasn’t a complete loss.

Sure, The Hub’s tried to keep the spirit alive with their pre-teen targeted Haunting Hour series, but it’s not the same. It’s also not as scary as those other shows were growing up, at least in hindsight. But you know what is? Bloody Cuts.

A series of 13 short horror films, which will ultimately form an anthology, Bloody Cuts is currently on Episode 8 and every one of them boast some really creative monster designs and makeup effects despite their low budget. Although not the latest film, Suckablood, is one of the best episodes to start with. In the word’s of series creator Ben Franklin, “it mixes a Grimm’s Fairytale, Dr Seuss and maybe even a dash of Goosebumps.” All with an R-rated flair, naturally… count me in!

Oz the Great and Powerful – I’m sort of an Oz dork. I’ve read and reviewed the first 14 Baum books on my blog. I own the MGM movie on DVD, Blu-Ray and Laserdisc. So, I sort of HAVE to see this movie. It’s like my duty.  And I’m excited to see it because it looks great.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Cut) (Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – I want to see this movie for several reasons. One, I’ve been really digging Jeremy Renner lately. Two, I think the premise of this movie sounds fun. I like these mashup movies because there’s so much potential for weird fun. I really hope they nailed it. It looks very similar to that Brothers Grimm movie with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger that I liked but didn’t love.

Ninja III: The Domination – And BOOM goes the dynamite.  It’s here.  On Blu-Ray.  To kick your ass into a greasy spot on the floor.  This is possibly one of the weirdest and most awesome ninja movies of all time.  Get it.  You’ll thank me later.

Snitch – I say YES to the Rock in more action roles. He’s kicking all kinds of ass lately in stuff like the Fast & Furious and GI Joe movies.

Sneakers – I love this movie. Great ensemble cast that seem to have a lot of fun.  Sort of a tech/heist movie.  Robert Redford owns a firm that breaks into companies to test their security systems.  But Redford’s team stumbles upon a monumental discovery that several other groups would kill to have and threatens to expose his checkered past.

Set to satisfy the monster kid in all of us, the book actually began as an ambitious drawing exercise for Sparrow who – much as the title implies, committed himself to illustrate 100 movie monsters in 100 days. Now that the series is complete he’s looking to transform the experience into a book that features all 100 beasties plus some fun mock monster ads, puzzles and bonus art materials.

One of the most fun aspects of Sparrow’s project is actually naming all of the films each creature is from. I’ve highlight a few personal favorites below – can you name them all?

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If you’re interested in learning more or to see how you can help support this project, be sure to stop by the 100 Monsters IndieGoGo page.

It’s funny to think how things continually come full circle here at the clubhouse. For instance, this demonically awesome music video was done by Swedish Director/Animation duo HannesJohannes who we first discovered back in 2011. Back then I likened their work to the glory days of Liquid TV and that comparison still seems accurate (though now shared with the likes of Adult Swim as well).

One Girl; One Sandwich

Directed/animated by YouTube user Zeurel isn’t what you might think. At least… I don’t think it’s what you think it is… that is to say, well, it’s just worth watching. The title is obviously a spoof on the infamous Two Girls, One Cup video from 2007 but that’s where the references really end. Suffice to say the ending is NOT what you expect.

Moira & Me

**VIDEO OF THE WEEK** Like a time capsule from some lost 70s TV series, Moira & Me (directed by Darian Brenner) documents the tragically odd life of a girl and her monster over the course of one week. Despite being almost 6 full minutes, by the end of this short I actually found myself wishing it were a web series. Of course, once you reach the end of this piece you’ll see why that’s not quite possible.