ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur GET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Follow Movies , Bob Hope , Ryan Gosling , Animation , Cartoons , Disney , Don Bluth , Dvds , Entertainment News 1 25 0 8React Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyDVDs: Before Pixar, There Was Bluth MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 WATCH: Two New Yorkers Take A Taxi To Los Angeles 9/11 Responders Warned They Will Be Screened For Terrorism Ties (EXCLUSIVE) Jerry Seinfeld, Donald Trump Rip Each Other In HeatedFOLLOW USBIG NEWS: Tribeca Film Festival | Celebrities | Britney Spears | LeAnn Rimes | Personal Finance | More...</p><p> PHOTOS: The Funniest People Not On TwitterMiranda Kerr & Orlando Bloom Step Out To 'The The Funniest Someecards For Easter 2011Weekly Roundup of eBay Vintage Clothing Finds News Web Like 276K April 24, 2011 | Log In | Sign Up Get Alerts Like 1 Posted: 04/20/11 07:19 PM ET SHARE THIS STORY Submit this story Get Entertainment Alerts Sign UpPHOTO GALLERIES Like 2K Like 20K FRONT PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCALTHE SECRET OF N.I.M.H.</p><p> ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN N ($19.99 each on BluRay; MGM) -- If you love Pixar, tip your hat to Don Bluth .</p><p> He -- along with Ralph Bakshi and other rebels -- saw the sad, slow decline of Disney in the 1960s and 1970s and finally had enough.</p><p> Bluth broke away and began creating new movies that honored the legacy of Disney by being bold and adventurous instead of sticking to a safe, bland formula.</p><p> His moviesalso include The Land Before Time and his best work An American Tail.</p><p> They tackled unusual topics and despite the difficulties of building an animation studio from the ground up, Bluth was so successful thatit lit a fire under Disney that led to their renaissance.</p><p> Both N.I.M.H. and Dogs led to sequels and spin- offs, as did almost all his films; that's how hungry people were for family fare made with passion.</p><p> Ultimately, Bluth also blazed a trail for Pixar which has now brought it all full circle by taking over Disney's animation department.</p><p> A happy ending and that would please Walt.</p><p> THE ERNIE KOVACS COLLECTION ($69.97; Shout) -- This has been a long time coming.</p><p> Kovacs was an early TV pioneer, fiddling with the medium even before most people had the slightest idea whatto do with it.</p><p> His work is revered by insiders, but little seen.</p><p> Now, finally, Shout presents a 6 DVD set Political War Of Words Shelterpop: Unplugging Appliances: Do I REALLY Have to Do This? AOL Real Estate: Prince William and Kate to Live in Royal Mansion Noam Chomsky Is the World Too Big to Fail? The Contours of Global Order The Real Reason You're Not Married (And What To Do About It) TV Squad: Maria Menounos Relives Her Paparazzi 'Wardrobe Malfunction' on 'Lopez' (VIDEO) Popeater: Brad and Angelina's Strict Nanny Requirements DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5 Sam Waterston Saving Easter Island’s Marine Ecosystems David O.</p><p> Russell FDR Said it All in 1936 -- Who Will Follow in His Steps Today? Like 4K Like 1K Like 61 Like 3K Like 247 Like 55 Like 1K Lindsay Lohan Is 'Angry' About Jail Sentence READ MORE Antoine Dodson Arrested READ MORE with everything you could hope for: his morning shows, his late night shows, his primetime specials, commercials, shorts, even a greatest hits DVD.</p><p> It doesn't have the immediate classic punch of the work on Your Show Of Shows, I must admit.</p><p> But you can actually see Kovacs figuring this stuff out, playing with the camera, toying with the expectations of the audience and practically inventing a form of ironic commentary on TV itself that feeds right into current humor found all over the dial. (There's a quaint word: "dial.") If you want to know where The Daily Show came from, start right here.</p><p> THE KING'S SPEECH ($39.99 BluRay or $29.98 regular DVD; Anchor Bay) -- This deserved Oscar winner tells the story of George VI, a reluctant king who was always in the shadow of his glamorous brother and beloved if tradition-bound father.</p><p> George (Bertie to his family) also suffers from a terriblestutter, which makes it painful to fulfill his obligations as a member of the Royal Family in the 30s.Thanks to his wife (a spot-on Helena Bonham Cater), Bertie finally finds a speech therapist who can helphim: the eccentric Aussie Lionel (Rush).</p><p> In Lionel's home, under terms of equality and respect, Bertieslowly and with difficulty starts to master his stutter.</p><p> This is pure Masterpiece Theater, with both actorsrelishing the many comic moments in the script (cursing helps one avoid the stutter, it should be said) and the drama in Bertie's situation.</p><p> When his brother abdicates for the woman he loves, Bertie is thrust onto the throne just as England needs a king to rally around for World War II.</p><p> Tom Hooper's film is abroadly appealing, very funny and quite moving.</p><p> RABBIT HOLE E ($29.95; Lionsgate) -- I missed the Broadway run of the acclaimed play Rabbit Hole, which is a shame.</p><p> It's always a shame to miss theater but I would also love to compare Nicole Kidman inthe feature film with Cynthia Nixon in the play.</p><p> Both played grieving mothers mourning the accidentaldeath of their four-year-old son.</p><p> Kidman is married to Aaron Eckhart, who for a change gets to play adecent guy and does it quite convincingly.</p><p> The dominating mood is awkwardness.</p><p> Kidman feels awkwardat group therapy, feels awkward around her mother (played by Dianne Wiest, who keeps comparing thedeath of her son -- a 30-year-old heroin addict that ODed -- to Kidman's little boy running into traffic), feels awkward in the grocery store, around friends, and even in her own home.</p><p> The heart of the film is Kidman's tentative approach to the high school boy that drove the car that killed her son, a boy whoclearly wasn't speeding or drunk -- the child just jumped out into the road and that was it.</p><p> Miles Teller TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 10 Lindsay Lohan Back in the Slammer Beckhams In, Obamas Outat Royal Wedding Olsen's Wacky Fur Outfit MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1 of 2 HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3 More Celebrity News at People.com More Celebrity News at Popeater.comStefano Langone RevealsHis Relationship Status READ MORE Zach Braff's New Role:Drug Dealer Backstage, Emotional Lady Gaga Cries and Prays Royal Wedding Guest List Revealed: Who's Going? Lindsay Lohan Quickly Released From Jail LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian Married Viral Star Antoine Dodson ARRESTED Like 5K Gwyneth Paltrow Is Right.</p><p> We're All Jealous. (Of Her and George W.</p><p> Bush.) Like 4K (the teen) and Kidman are good in their scenes.</p><p> But surely the whole film and especially those moments should feel wrenching and dangerous and sad, with an almost unbearable tension.</p><p> The movie is directednicely by John Cameron Mitchell and the performances are solid.</p><p> But for some reason, it doesn't havethat frightening edge to it, where you feel the pain at every moment.</p><p> I don't quite know why that is, butthere you are.</p><p> THE BOB HOPE COLLECTION VOLUME TWO ($34.93; Shout) -- It's not that strange to make a career out of playing a loser or a drunk or a hobo. (I know an actor who keeps getting work playinghomeless people in movies and TV and short films; I've never seen him indoors.) So Bob Hope playing acoward and a weasel is not surprising.</p><p> But as a leading man? But his appeal is easy to spot even in theseminor flicks.</p><p> Once you get beyond the Road movies with Bing Crosby and the flicks in Volume One, thepickings are slim indeed.</p><p> But for hardcore fans, this is gives you a chance to watch movies that don't evenget screened on late night TV anymore.</p><p> GULLIVER'S TRAVELS ($39.99 BluRay or $29.98 regular DVD; FOX) HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2 HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Gabrielle Giffords Russia Libya Protests Michele Bachmann 2012 Economy Interest Rates Civil Rights Eat The Press Tribeca Film Festival MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » mayhemstudios RT @sbeasla : What happens when you tickle a little penguin? http://j.mp/dEZjCM via @huffingtonpost twsuccess Antoine Dodson Arrested For Marijuana Possession http://huff.to/edLaIo THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER ($39.98 BluRay or $29.98 regular DVD; FOX) -- Two almost-franchises probably end here.</p><p> The Narnia series started off with a bang commercially but audiences soon ray away.</p><p> The fatal mistake was in believing that C.S.</p><p> Lewis had penned an action adventure franchise when nothing could be further from the truth.</p><p> Every attemptto pump up the excitement -- a problem magnified on this film by tackling the book they felt offered themost chances for this -- simply pulled the movies away from the gentle, Christian parable at the heart of the story.</p><p> On Gulliver , it seems like they had the somewhat amusing idea of casting Jack Black as Gulliver... and then thought their work was done.</p><p> MYSTIC PIZZA LARS AND THE REAL GIRL ($19.99 each on BluRay; MGM) -- Let's end with some good news: two winners.</p><p> Mystic Pizza is best remembered of course for turning Julia Roberts into a star.</p><p> She lights up the screen so easily it's no wonder everyone knew Roberts was destined for big things.</p><p> But the movie is acharmer in its own right, with Lili Taylor and Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio as stand outs in a fine cast tellingthe romantic but realistic story of three young women just out of high school and enjoying their last summer of freedom before college or life takes over.</p><p> Lars and the Real Girl is a real gem.</p><p> It's premise is so outrageous -- a lonely guy (Ryan Gosling) suddenly starts "dating" a blow-up doll he got in the mail and treats like a real person -- that you just assume it's raunchy and edgy and envelope-pushing.</p><p> Far fromit.</p><p> This movie feels like a Frank Capra fable where a town comes together to support this sad sack anyway they can.</p><p> Think of it as the modern equivalent of Harvey , the movie where a drunken Jimmy Stewart insisted his best friend was a giant, invisible rabbit.</p><p> Maybe in some alternate universe Harveyand that doll (named Bianca) are a couple.</p><p> Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the co-host of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews .</p><p> NOTE: Michael Giltz is provided with free copies of DVDs to consider for review.</p><p> He typically does notLindsay Lohan Quickly Released From Jail After... 'The Hangover 2' Trailers: New TV Spots...</p><p> Kendall & Kylie Jenner At 'Prom' Premiere... 'Teen Mom' Jenelle In A Bikini, Surrounded...guarantee coverage and invariably receives far more screeners and DVDs than he can cover each week.</p><p> Also, Michael Giltz freelances as a writer of DVD copy (the text that appears on the back ofDVDs) for some titles released by IFC and other subsidiaries of MPI.</p><p> It helps pay the rent, but does notobligate him in any way to speak positively or negatively of their titles.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz More in Entertainment...</p><p> Buy a link here Sponsored Links SHOCKING: 46" LCD TVs for $54.09 Today ONLY: Unique site sells 46" LCD TVs for up to 98% off retail price.</p><p> SmartStyleLiving.com Mom Is 55, Looks 30...</p><p> Her clever $5 wrinkle therapy angers Botox Doctors.</p><p> Find Out How! FDXNews8.com SHOCKING: Apple iPad 2 for $12! Auction site to give away 1,000+ iPad 2s for $11.96 EACH! NewsChannel7.com Trade Free for 60 Days.</p><p> Plus get up to $500.</p><p> Apply at E*TRADE Securities. www.etrade.com/tradefree Loading comments… Buy a link here Sponsored Links SHOCKING: 46" LCD TVs for $54.09 Today ONLY: Unique site sells 46" LCD TVs for up to 98% off retail price.</p><p> SmartStyleLiving.com ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.</p><p> All rights reserved.</p><p> Get AlertsFRONT PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCAL
