Saturday, August 18, 2018

DVD SCREENINGS SPECIAL: 3 LarryBoy Videos (Vol. 1 of SUPERHERO POWER PACK Collection)

(Suiting up for Movie Night!!!)



So as always...
LarryBoy Fanatic= LBF
Whatsoever Critic= WC

Main Menu
LBF: "So it either says 'Play All,' or we play these movies one at a time."
WC: "Yep."

(When we selected "Play All," and sat through the Veggietales opening theme, it became apparent that we were starting with LarryBoy and the Bad Apple, rather than the Fib from Outer Space video. In other words, "Play All" suggests that the DVD won't play the videos chronologically.)
LBF: "Huh?"
WC: "What?"
LBF: "It's starting with Bad Apple?"
WC: "I guess so."
LBF: "But we want to do this chronologically!"
WC: "So that means the DVD is gonna order the movies from 2006 to 1997? Because that seems like the order that it displayed on the main menu."
LBF: "Well, that's not right."

(So after going back to the main menu on the DVD, we decided that we click on the movies MANUALLY, so that we could see each one chronologically. So...)

LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space
(Title card appears as soon as LarryBoy races to the rescue)
LBF: "You know, that font would've worked for the entire franchise. But then again, the Impact font that they've been using for so long now... that font looks pretty good. There's nothing wrong with it."

(Small Fib makes ZERO impact on Earth)
WC: "Really?"
LBF: "You'd expect the biggest crash to Earth ever. But no."

(Fib introduces himself to Junior)
LBF: "Yeah, let a stranger in the house, and let him talk to you. That sounds logical!"

(Junior sings about Laura breaking the plate)
WC: "Why is he singing?"
LBF: "Doesn't the dad know that singing equates to lying?"
WC: "And he's just standing there listening to his kid sing."
LBF: "And never questioning it in the slightest."

(First time LarryBoy misses catching the Fib)
LBF: "Oh my gosh! The Fib was right there!"
WC: "Unbelievable!"

(Junior lies the second time)
WC: "And still no one's questioning the validity of Junior's claims. Shouldn't singing be an indicator?"
LBF: "That would be the best lie detector test ever. Hey, if someone is singing if you ask them about something, then that means that they're lying."

(Fib acts questionable...especially after the close-up)
(This pic was from a previous blog post, but this is just to show you how AWKWARD this scene is...)
WC: "Don't ever do that again..."

(Fib praises Junior for lying)
LBF: "You're telling this kid to lie to people. How's that even good?"

(Second time LarryBoy misses catching Fib)
WC: "Oh my God! Really?!"
LBF: "He was RIGHT THERE!!!"

(Third time...)
LBF: "Wow..."
WC: "This is unreal..."

(Friends confront Junior)
LBF: "Yep. Just ignore the blue alien that just went into the dark alley."
WC: "Seriously, do other people see the Fib?"
LBF: "Well, yeah. That becomes obvious later on, when he's..."
WC: "Oh. Gotcha. Just checking."

(Third time Junior is lying...)
WC: "This is getting stupid now."
LBF: "Now he's just making up stuff..."

(The Fib is giant)
WC: "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go..."

(The Fib rampages over Bumblyburg)


LBF: "So far the Fib doing some light damage."
WC: "Maybe the studio didn't have enough budget to make him do more."

(Fib attacks a burger joint)
WC: "He probably gave that place bad reviews."
LBF: "Yeah, and now he's taking out his frustration on the building."
(both girls giggle)
WC: (mimicking Fib) "I said no onions in my burger!"
(laughter continues)

(Larry sees the town in trouble)
LBF: "Whoa. I don't remember the background noise being this loud on the VHS version of this movie way back when."
WC: "Maybe there's better sound quality on the DVD, instead of the VHS tape."

(LarryBoy shows up)
LBF: "Okay, here we go! Some action!"

(Weird Fib angle)
(Again, pic was from previous blog post)
WC: "Do you still feel weird about that angle?"
LBF: (sigh) "Sadly yes. I don't know, it just rubs me the wrong way."

(Larrymobile racing to water tower)
WC: "There are no stop signs on this street."

(Larrymobile becomes a plane, along with the weird face LarryBoy makes)
LBF: "Okay..."
WC: "What's with the dang close-ups in this movie?!"
LBF: "Yeah, this movie just banks on suspense."

(Fib squeezes LarryBoy)
LBF: "Oh. Things just got serious."
WC: "That would've crushed him to death."
LBF: "This movie knows nothing about biology..."
WC: "Don't you mean anatomy?"
LBF: "Yeah, that one."

(Fib contemplates who to eat first)
LBF: "How about NO ONE?"

(Fib brings LarryBoy to his mouth)
WC: "Get ready for some vore."
LBF: "No, we're not doing any vore. I don't want it."
WC: "It's just soft vore."
LBF: "NO!!!"

(LarryBoy in Fib's mouth)
LBF: "Please don't show that..."
WC: "Anybody can take that the wrong way. Just saying..."

(Junior finally tells the truth)
WC: "At this point, nobody cares who broke the plate. This was all for nothing. NOBODY CARES."

(Junior's parents say that being with the Fib was "punishment enough")
LBF: "Oh my gosh! Why would you say that?! You expect all this mayhem to have him learn his lesson?! That's bad parenting! These are horrible parents!"

(LarryBoy poses at the end)

WC: "You know, that would be the best thing that LarryBoy did in this movie, was THAT POSE right there."

(Red Fib appears)
WC: "Nope, that's not sequel-baiting..."

(Video immediately cuts to end credits after Bible verse is read, and LarryBoy says "Oh, is that right!")
LBF: "Whoa. Wait a minute. Doesn't the music video come after this?"
WC: "Oh my God! They cut out the music video!"
LBF: "Why would they do that?"

LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed
(LarryBoy emerges from the darkness)
LBF: "Awesome!"
WC: "Now we're talking!"

(LarryBoy wrestles with Milk Money Bandit)
LBF: "Things got serious right away!"
WC: "So strong!"
LBF: "So brave!"

(LarryBoy knocks over flower pot)
WC: "Now he's just throwing things off that building! Didn't you see how he put the Milk Money Bandit through that cop car?"

(Title card, along with the Rumor Weed smiling)
WC: "Ugh!"
LBF: "Yeah, that's a little...Um... I don't know."

(Blank screen after theme song is played)
WC: "Um..."
LBF: "Don't worry. That's part of the movie."
WC: "Why not have something there? It makes it seem like there are a few frames missing."

(Alfred makes that "recharge my batteries" comment)
LBF: "I bet you anything that those kids don't understand figure of speech. And that's how this movie's conflict got started, because no one thought it would be a good idea to tell the kids about figurative speech."

(The Rumor Weed Introduces Herself to Junior and Laura)
WC: "Not only is this weed saucy, but she also has that lip job. It's like in your face."
LBF: "And like last time, these kids are none the wiser."

(Neighbors listen to the rumor)
LBF: "No one is questioning why there's a talking weed in their yard?"
WC: "I guess not."

(Rumor Weed song)
LBF: "Hang on! I don't want acid trips in my movies!"
WC: "Me neither!"
LBF: "Get it together, movie!"

(LarryBoy tries to take down weed with a weed-wacker)
LBF: "The neighbors are just standing there, like this is cool."
WC: "It's like 'What did you do, Mr. Nezzer?'"
LBF: (mimicking Mr. Nezzer) "Well, this talking weed showed up in my yard, and started talking about somebody. At least she gave us some LSD when she started singing to us."
WC: "Well, somebody needs a lobotomy."

(The weed pulls LarryBoy's ear)
LBF: "You're a real toddler, Rumor Weed."

(LarryCave scene)
LBF: "You know, this was my introduction to photosynthesis back then."
WC: "Really?"
LBF: "Yeah, I looked about photosynthesis by watching this movie."
WC: "So, is this your favorite scene in the movie?"
LBF: "Why?"
WC: "Because you did a video on this scene."
LBF: "I don't know. I just thought that this scene was interesting, because it ultimately drives the rest of the plot."

(LarryBoy and Alfred discover the Mother Weed)
WC: "Why do I have the feeling that this is gonna take a dark turn?"
WC: "Is this actually happening?"
LBF: (laughing)
WC: "This is melodrama at its best!"

(Shot of Larrymobile turning into a plane)
WC: "Animation being rehashed."

(LarryPlane loses its wings while still up in the sky)
WC: "Are you kidding me?!"

(Alfred reassures LarryBoy that this is "all part of the plan")
LBF: "How is any of this okay?"

(Alfred puts on screen where LarryBoy is going to fall to)
LBF: "He even shows where he's gonna fall into!!!"
WC: "You don't do that!!! Why, man?!"

(LarryBoy says "I'm still alive!?")
LBF: (mimicking Alfred) "Uh, no. You're in purgatory."
WC: (laughing)

(Alfred explains more of the plan to LarryBoy)
WC: "Dude, I'm not listening to any more of what you're saying. You just scared the crap out of me."

(Mother Weed reemerges from darkness)
LBF: "Um..."
WC: "That looks creepy."
LBF: "Yep."
WC: "What was the rating for this movie again?"
LBF: "Uh... G? Or TV-NA?"

(LarryBoy gets hurt)
LBF: "This is really unacceptable. Him getting beat up so easily..."

(Rumor Weed's weird laugh)
(both girls laugh)
WC: "And this weed was supposed to be scary?"
LBF: "Apparently not! Her coming out of the darkness earlier? How intimidating she was? Instantly out the window!"

(The crowd continues to confront Alfred)
WC: "These people are crazy!"
LBF: "AND gullible! They'll believe anything!"

(Woman yells "Our children are in danger!")
WC: "Shut up!"
LBF: "Yeah, you sound like a man doing that voice! Is a man doing that voice?!"

(Mother Weed pops out from the sewer)
WC: "Wait. Didn't she have lipstick on?"

(Mother Weed reaches the top of City Hall)
WC: "Now the lipstick is back."

(Mother Weed rats out Junior and Laura for starting the rumor)
LBF: "Karma!"
WC: "They deserve it."

(LarryBoy and Alfred explain Proverbs 12:18)
WC: "They don't bring it up again."
LBF: "What?"
WC: "The fact that Alfred is crazy."
LBF: "Well, sure. It's like 'Yeah, he put me on a plane, made me go through hell and back, made me take on a sewer, I got busted big time--I have the bandage on my head to prove it--and now everything's hunky-dory.'"

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple
(Countertop Scene)
LBF: "It's cool that he gets to stay in character throughout the majority of this movie. Loving it!"

(LarryBoy races to the rescue)
LBF: "This is soooooo amazing!"

(Romantic/Spiderman moment)
WC: "It's sad that they don't get together in this movie. That's the negative that I have so far in this movie."

(LarryBoy confronts Choco Bandits)
LBF: "Everything looks amazing! The buildings! Heck, even the sky is awesome!"

(LarryBoy brags about his chocolate to Alfred)
WC: "$10 for a box of chocolate?! Screw that!!!"

(Petunia talks to Mayor Blueberry)
LBF: "So right now, we're setting up characters."
WC: "Can they be THAT important to this movie's plot?"
LBF: "Yep."

(LarryBoy drowsily gets out of his vehicle and heads to the restroom)
WC: "Are you sure he's addicted to chocolate? Or did he stop and have a few drinks between scenes?"
LBF: "Come on, there's no alcohol in this movie."
WC: "That's probably what they want you to think."
LBF: "Oh stop it, Critic!"

(Bad Apple plotting and scheming)
WC: "So this is our villain?"
LBF: "Yep. Fun fact: when I first heard about this movie back in 2006, I was speculating what the Bad Apple was gonna look like before actually watching it. Part of me thought that the Bad Apple was gonna be a guy. Is it weird to say that?"

(Temptation song)
LBF: "Ugh! Part of me wants to sing this, but it's so wrong!"
WC: "I know, right?"
LBF: "I feel like if I die and go to heaven, God's gonna be asking me, 'Why is LarryBoy and the Bad Apple your favorite movie? And why were you singing the Bad Apple's Temptation song? (pause) And why did you make that comment about that weird angle in the Fib from Outer Space video?"
(both girls laugh)

(Bad Apple meets with the Mayor and leads her into temptation)
LBF: "So now, I get the idea. The Bad Apple is gonna lure people into temptation, and then take over Bumblyburg."
WC: "Exactly."
LBF: "My problem is that these people are gullible. In every single video that we've just seen tonight, that was totally the case. It's like nobody questions anything in this universe!"

(Bad Apple winks at guy; and the guy's wife hits him with her purse)

WC: "Did that just happen?"
LBF: "That guy was checking out the Bad Apple! I wonder if anyone else who's seen this movie caught that!"
WC: "Wow. She must be a bimbo in real life!"

(Petunia is led astray next)
LBF: "Come on!"
WC: "This woman is bad news, and you're not questioning whether or not---"
LBF: "No pun intended."
WC: "What?"
LBF: "Get it, 'bad news,' because Petunia's a reporter?"
WC: "Oh. Right."
LBF: "See how funny that was?"
WC: "Yeah. Anyway, that reporter's not questioning the Bad Apple. She's like 'Oooh! She has video games! Come on in!'"

(Bad Apple plans to get LarryBoy next)
LBF: "I'll give credit to the Bad Apple. She has a really good voice actress playing her."

(Larry gives Bad Apple "security clearance" by asking a SIMPLE question: "Promise not to tell anybody about my secret cave?")
WC: "Wow. And that gets her in!"
LBF: "Yeah, but more so the promise of chocolate."

(Bad Apple tempts LarryBoy with chocolate... PHYSICALLY)
LBF: "Whoa! Keep this G-rated. Get away from him."
WC: "I wonder who greenlit that part of the script. Who thought it was a good idea to let the villain be that close to our hero like that?"

(LarryBoy is distracted with the chocolate bar)
LBF: "He's not even noticing the creepy spider apple that's talking to him right now."
WC: "If I was him, I would've threw down. Tell her to leave."

(The Chocolate Room scene)
WC: "And now this became a Willy Wonka parody."
LBF: "Why doesn't he just make a break for the stairs? He can dodge her easily! Nothing's stopping him! Well, except her, but... he can still take her. I can take her!"
WC: "Really?"

(Bad Apple brings LarryBoy to her side)

LBF: "Stop grabbing him! It's driving me bats!"

(LarryBoy gets consumed by temptation)
LBF: "Huh? Whoa... What's this weird feeling in my heart?"
WC: "We're going to hell..."
LBF: "Shut up. We're not... Ugh..."

AFTER PAUSING THE MOVIE TO GET LARRYBOY FANATIC BACK... BECAUSE THE CHOCOLATE ROOM SCENE HAD FREAKED HER OUT...FOR SOME APPARENT REASON...

(Thanksgiving film resumes)
WC: "So that's the uncle that the Bad Apple was talking about earlier?"
LBF: "Yeah. (pause) I'm sorry, I'm still recovering from the previous seen."
WC: "It's all good. Don't worry."

(Alfred motivates LarryBoy to save the day)
LBF: "You know, I should've been in this movie, so that I could rescue them both, and help out in saving the day."

(LarryBoy saves Petunia)
LBF: "This scene is awesome! Look how colorful it is! He's got the moves!"
WC: "I take it you feel better?"
LBF: "Yes."

(LarryBoy v Bad Apple)
LBF: "Here we go! The final boss battle! Let's do this!"
WC: "You betcha!"
LBF: "The first two videos have nothing on this!"

(LarryBoy charges at Bad Apple)
LBF: "He's gonna do it! He's gonna do it!"
LBF: "Boom! Headshot!"
WC: "Dude, if there was popcorn, you'd be having it fly everywhere at this point..."

(LarryBoy stops the funhouse from crushing a mom and her baby)
LBF: "This is awesome..."
WC: "Another Spiderman reference."
WC: "Dang! Did you see how close he was to getting impaled by that statue's shovel?"
LBF: "Yeah."

(Countertop scene immediately cuts to end credits after the characters say good-bye...THUS SKIPPING THE "ROCK ON, LARRYBOY" MUSIC VIDEO!!!!!)
LBF: "Wait. What?!"
WC: "Where's the music video?!"
LBF: "They left out the music video!!!"
WC: "NO FRIGGIN' WAY!!!"
LBF: "Why would they do that?! This is supposed to be the best LarryBoy video collection out there!!! It's called POWER PACK!!! 7 videos in one collection!!!"
WC: "At least it came with the soundtrack as a separate disc."
LBF: "But that doesn't excuse this collection from leaving out the 'Rock on, LarryBoy' music video!!! That has to be the biggest crime that this collection has committed! How dare you, Power Pack collection! How dare you! You had the balls to leave out both music videos!"

DISCUSSION:
LBF: "I couldn't have asked for a better night than this."
WC: "My thoughts exactly."
LBF: "It was nice to see these movies in chronological order, even though the DVD won't do that with its 'Play All' option. What was up with that?"
WC: "Yeah, the problems with this collection were so obvious."
LBF: "I don't see why they would omit both music videos--the one for Fib from Outer Space, and ESPECIALLY the one for 'Rock on, LarryBoy.' You just can't do that, and that was got me fired up just now."
WC: "And this was supposed to be the collection that was supposed to have both the CGI episodes and the Cartoon Adventures series all in one place. Never mind that this collection was split into two volumes; this was supposed to be the ultimate collection for LarryBoy. And to see them sacrifice stuff like the music videos, and have the soundtrack CD put in the Volume 1 box as a means to compensate for the fact that this pack had left out the music videos..."
LBF: "I know. It's upsetting."
WC: "So when are we going to do Volume 2 of this Power Pack?"
LBF: "Never."
WC: "Why is that?"
LBF: "Well, to see the Cartoon Adventures series in its entirety--all four episodes--It's gonna go bad, I promise you. We'll be going through a death-spiral--that's what it's gonna be like. It'll be way worse than that plane ride that LarryBoy had in the Rumor Weed video. WAY WORSE THAN THAT."
WC: "So, final thoughts on Volume 1?"
LBF: "I enjoyed it. Except for the fact that they left out good material. And they didn't give us the material the right way---CHRONOLOGICALLY."
WC: "I enjoyed it too, with the exceptions of what you just mentioned."

Sources: (from LarryBoy Superhero Power Pack collection)
LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space (1997)
LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed (1999)
LarryBoy and the Bad Apple (2006)

Courtesy: Big Idea

Whatsoever Critic

Sunday, August 12, 2018

ANNOUNCEMENT: DVD Screenings SPECIAL!!!

Hey guys! Whatsoever Critic here with a special announcement!

This Friday on August 17, 2018, LarryBoy Fanatic and I will be viewing three LarryBoy DVDS:
1. LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space
2. LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed, AND
3. LarryBoy and the Bad Apple

It'll be like a movie night for the both of us. That would be cool.

And then we'll post about it the next day on Saturday, August 18, 2018.

So be sure to stay tuned!

Whatsoever Critic

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

TV SCREENINGS: Sesame Street "The Count's Counting Error" (Season 48, Ep. 35)

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic, and I review just about anything. And today, we're back with another SCREENINGS segment: This time, instead of DVD SCREENINGS, today we're doing a TV SCREENINGS that we originally intended to post about on this blog on July 14, 2018; and here's why...
On July 14, 2018, HBO premiered the Season 48 finale of Sesame Street, and the episode was entitled "The Count's Counting Error." Now, seeing that both me and LarryBoy Fanatic like the Count (he's our favorite character in the series), we were anticipating this episode since we heard about it a week prior to the premiere.

So we watched the episode on July 14; however, we weren't able to get the visuals, because it was live TV, and we were busy digesting everything that happened in the episode. Luckily, we recorded the episode on our TV, so that we could watch it again. And this time we got stills, so that we could show you with our initial reactions.

And another reason why we couldn't get this out sooner, was because we had other obligations, which I will talk about on July 25, 2018.

But until then, I hope you enjoy this installment of TV SCREENINGS. This was what happened on July 14, 2018…

(Episode starts with the Count and Elmo counting butterflies)
LBF: "I'm so glad that the Count is in this episode."
WC: "Me too. About time, HBO!"

(The Count counts the sandwiches, and the cow interrupts him, making him miscount)
WC: "Can't believe it!"
LBF: "So the so-called 'counting error' wasn't really his fault."
WC: "Yeah, this is part of Customer Service 101: customers telling employees to hurry up. That's one of the reasons why I hated my cashier job, because of jerks like that."

(After vowing to never count again, the Count leaves and does a weird movement with his arms indicating his leave)
LBF: (giggling) "Okay, what was that?"
WC: "I don't know. Is that how people said good-bye back in vampire-medieval times?"

(The Count tries working in construction)
WC: "I have a feeling that there's gonna be some costume changes in this episode..."
LBF: "And for some reason, they kept the fact that he wears a cape."
WC: "Yeah, it's the same kind of cape, but with a different color."

(Elmo and Chris are worried about the Count)
WC: "I'm still expecting this episode to get weirder."

(The Count plans to go into space)
WC: "New costume change... and it got weirder."

(The Count quits astronaut job and leaves in his space suit)
LBF: (singing) "Waddle away..."
(Both girls laugh)
WC: "He's not in space, so why do they have him slow-walking?"

(The Count realizes that his "counting mistake" was no big deal)
LBF: "Well, that got resolved real quick."

(The story ends with the Count and Elmo counting cupcakes)
WC: "Wow. Great. Everyone's happy... Yay."

("Game of Thrones" parody)
LBF: "So that's what happened to the Count's castle. It's being used to film a Game of Thrones parody."
WC: "Oh. That might explain why they couldn't use that physical set for the Trick or Treat on Sesame Street DVD. Instead they used CGI."

(How Many Cookies Today SONG; and the Count appear saying "Everybody steady!")
WC: "Well, it's business as usual for the Count, after that little incident at Hooper's Store."

(Elmo's World segment- Counting)
WC: "Wow, the Count doesn't even show up in Elmo's World."
LBF: "Eh..."

(The Count ends the episode)
WC: "Okay, that cowgirl wasn't even in this episode, and yet she's like 'I sure did! I sure liked what happened today!'"
LBF: "She wasn't even part of the story!"

DISCUSSION
WC: This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It also wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. Like, I was expecting this episode to go downhill in some way, like the Count would try so many different jobs, instead of just those two--the construction worker and the astronaut stuff.
LBF: I found this episode hilarious.
WC: Why is that?
LBF: Mainly because the problem was started by something trivial. In fact, this was a story that you can figure out quickly. Like, you know what people might say, what they're gonna do, and when they're gonna do it.
WC: Yeah, it was an easy story. And speaking of "trivial," yesterday we wrote out a list of predictions for this episode, and here's what we had:
1. Problem started over something TRIVIAL.
2. How many jobs will the Count try? THREE
3. "The Song of the Count" will be sung by Matt Vogel
4. This will be like "Count on Elmo" DVD
5. Costume changes
6. The Count's castle makes a cameo.
7. The Count gets "fired" from his counting gig
8. Number of the Day is either 0 or 13
9. Money is somehow involved in this episode
10. Someone is trolling the Count...
11. Special announcement at the end of the episode (a surprise ending)
We only got two of these right: the fact that this whole thing got started with something trivial, and the fact that there would be costume changes. That was it.
LBF: As for everything else--He tried two jobs, not three. We didn't get a song during the story part.
WC: The story took place on Sesame Street the whole time.
LBF: Number of the Day was 5, not 0 or 13.
WC: Now as far as someone trolling the Count... the cow may have messed with him...?
LBF: Maybe, maybe not--all she did was interrupt him while he was counting, making him mess up.
WC: But that's not trolling, that was just a slight annoyance. But still, that part got me mad, because that's what cashiers deal with on a regular basis--having to deal with people egging them on, and telling them to hurry up. Like, when I was a cashier, there was this one woman that grabbed the changes from me when I was trying to count it so that I wouldn't short-change her.
LBF: Wow, really?
WC: Well, all I got to say about that is that if I short-changed her at that time, then oh well. She wanted her change then and there.
LBF: Okay, um... Going back to this episode, what's the verdict?
WC: Harmless, I think. I'd watch it again just 'cuz.
LBF: Me too. I liked it, even though it was short; but then again, the new runtime is 30 minutes instead of being an hour long like it used to be. You can play LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space or LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed during that time.
WC: So yeah, I can't wait until this episode becomes available on iTunes or something.
LBF: That would be great.

Whatsoever Critic