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The Secret Life of Pets, Blu-ray 3D (2016)

The Secret Life of Pets, Blu-ray 3D (2016)

by | Dec 9, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Another great family animated film, and in 3D! The Secret Life of Pets, Blu-ray 3D (2016) Voice-overs: Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper Director: Chris Renaud Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy Studio: Universal Studios 61181890 (2 discs) [12/6/16] plus digital HD and Ultraviolet Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, color 3D Audio: English DD 2.0, French DD 5.1 Subtitles: French, Spanish, English SDH No region coding Extras: Three mini-movies, All About the Pets, Animals Can Talk: Meet the Actors, Hairstylist to the Dogs, The Best of Snowball, How to Make an Animated Film,  Anatomy of a Scene Length: 174 min. Rating: **** This animated film answers the question of what our pets do when we are not home.  When the owners leave for the day, all sorts of pets from the building get together and gossip with their friends, satisfy their sweet tooths, and throw fantastic parties. When a pampered little dog (played by comedian C.K.) and a new huge brown roommate from the pound (voice of Stonestreet) get themselves lost in the urban jungle of NYC, they learn to put aside their differences in order to survive the epic journey they must make to get back […]

The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite – Cuneiform

The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite – Cuneiform

by | Sep 12, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The Claudia Quartet shares musical sketches from life incorporating travel, song, news, movies and more. The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite [TrackList follows] – Cuneiform, Rune 427, 47:21 [6/24/16] ****: (John Hollenbeck – drums, percussion; Red Wierenga – accordion; Matt Moran – vibraphone; Drew Gress – acoustic bass; Chris Speed – clarinet/tenor saxophone) Some writers prefer the conciseness and tight structure of short stories to the length of novels. There’s a nebulousness to characters and pensive situations where the reader has to fill in some details. One of Raymond Carver’s short story collections was called Short Cuts, and that’s an apt analogy to drummer/composer John Hollenbeck’s 47-minute Super Petite, the eighth release with his long-standing Claudia Quintet. Whereas some jazz artists gravitate to making albums or musical projects prolonged and larger, Hollenbeck took the opposite approach and focused on penning shorter compositions (although one piece on Super Petite is over eight minutes). Hollenbeck states in his liner notes, “Many of these compositions came from studies or ideas that I wanted to practice or explore—and through further exploration, they organically evolved into musical portraits or musical shorts.” Hollenbeck’s work has been and continues to be modernistic, and spans contemporary jazz and […]