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THE GOOD DINOSAUR asks the question: What if the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs missed? Well, apparently the answer is that the dinosaurs would have learned how to talk, build houses, plow fields, and raise giant chickens, all without the benefit of any evolutionary advances like opposable thumbs.

Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) is the titular dinosaur, the runt of his nest. But his family loves him nonetheless, despite his overwhelming fear of the giant chickens. (I know they're something else, but I'm not a paleontologist, and they are treated like giant chickens so I'm calling them giant chickens.) But until Arlo can pull his weight on the farm, he can't make his mark on the grain silo his father built. So his Poppa (Jeffrey Wright) gives Arlo a special mission -- put an end to the "critter" who is stealing corn from their silo.

Turning the characters and setting of THE LION KING into a series is something that's far past due for Disney. In THE LION GUARD, viewers once again meet Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and Zazu -- however, they are minor players in the story, as the focus shifts to the next generation.

In this introductory pilot, THE LION GUARD: RETURN OF THE ROAR, we meet Simba's son, Kion, who's happy that he's not in training to take over as ruler of the Pride Lands (that honor going to his older sister, Kiara) so that he can play with his friend Bunga, the honey badger. But their games take them to where they shouldn't be, putting Bunga in danger of attack by the hyenas -- and when Kion tries to warn them off with a roar, it's more than anyone anticipated.

Disney Junior Buccaneer Jake and his crew of Neverland Pirates are in for another adventure when Captain Hook looks for the treasure of the shipwrecked Colossus when, at the same time, the mer-wizard Lorth Fathom (Malcolm McDowell) escapes his imprisonment and looks to take over the Never Sea. In fact, it may be more than Jake and his crew can handle -- so they get help from Captain Flynn (Josh Duhamel), Captain Frost (Harland Williams) and Captain Beatrice Le Beak (Teri Hatcher).

The film FROM DUSK TILL DAWN was such a cool event for me.  Think about it, this was the team up of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.  At the time, it seemed otherworldly and more akin to a comic book than a movie theater.  As a film, it was wasn't perfect, but it was funny, featured great performances, and was a hybrid of action and horror.  If nothing else, it was unforgettable.

When a crew of masked criminals set to work, they're attacked by a bat-like caped figure. But it's not Batman who's making the scene but a new player: Batwoman (Yvonne Strahovski). And she's a far less merciful fighter than he is! However, when Batman (Jason O'Mara) does show up, it's just in time for Batwoman to see him blown to bits, making her the last person to have possibly seen Batman alive as the days turn into weeks with no appearance from the Dark Knight in Gotham.

Batwoman -- aka Katherine Kane -- has no one to turn to but her father, Colonel Kane (Geoff Pierson), to tell her story. But when the Batmobile rumbles down the street, she pursues it and quickly deduces that the Batman role is being filled by the former Nightwing (Sean Maher), accompanied by Robin (Stuart Allan) who also returns to Gotham after hearing about Batman's disappearance.

This contest has ended.

The randomly selected winning entry is: JANAN C. from RIVERWOODS, IL.

Is there anything that amazing Minnie Mouse cannot do? In this DVD from Disney Junior, Minnie's dream of singing onstage is about to come true -- until her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse backup band pals discover that their musical instruments are gone! Now the race is on to track them down and reach Melody Mountain by sunset. But even if they find the missing instruments in time, should Minnie sing the blues, croon a country tune, or boogie to a disco beat? It's going to take help from YOU -- plus a few Mouseketools -- to get Minnie in the right groove to totally rock out!

Bursting with fun, surprises, additional episodes and two delightful "Bow-Toons," Pop Star Minnie is simply song-sational!

"The Ritchie Blackmore Story" on DVD from Eagle Rock Entertainment chronicles the long and storied career of one of the greatest rock guitarist of all time. With a career spanning over 50 years and running the gamut from Hard Rock to Heavy Metal, from “commercial hit” Rock to Medieval Renaissance music, and considered by many to be one of the most spectacular visual guitar players, Ritchie Blackmore is also the one guitarist most people probably know the least about.

DEATHGASM on Blu-ray disc from Metal Heads / Dark Sky Films is a Heavy Metal gore fest horror/comedy that is as serious as its name implies. What I mean is that when you read the title of this movie, the first thing that comes to mind is not “This is going to be scary, and terrifying.” No, the first thing that is going to come to mind is probably what came to mine: ”I bet this is a hoot!” And, my friends, it is.

Filmed in New Zealand with mostly local actors, DEATHGASM tells the story of a would-be headbanger, Brodie (Milo Cawthorne), who is sent to live with his straight-laced uncle and his family after his mother get arrested. He is immediately disliked by his jock cousin and his friends at school because he’s a headbanger and listens to what they call "devil-worshiping, heavy metal music."

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd, PARKS AND RECREATION) is just getting out of prison for burglary -- but of the social justice kind, so that makes it okay. The particulars of his case -- as well as his character and skills -- bring him to the attention of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who wants him to break into a vault to steal back technology Pym invented that is being prepped for military use and sold to the baddest bad guys in the Marvel Universe, Hydra.

Should someone 70 years old be able to play the guitar like this? Should Vladimir Horowitz have been able to play the piano the way he did in his 80s? While you may have to sacrifice a little finesse, when you’re the master of your instrument age really does become nothing more than a number.

What can be said about Eric Clapton that hasn’t already been said before? Even that line has been said before! I have often found it very interesting that, when guitarists talk about Jimi Hendrix, they say he was the best ever, and they invariably follow up with "I can play him perfectly." Oddly enough, though, I have not heard such banter spoken about Eric Clapton. Yes, there are many that will say, and perhaps justifiably so, that he is the best ever, but I have never heard anyone say they could play him perfectly. Why is that?

The hunt is on for Ethan Hunt in the latest installment of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise. With recent events in the IMF history, the CIA, headed up by Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), is keen to have the force defunded and folded into CIA operations. But Hunt (Tom Cruise) is now personally involved in unmasking the existence of an anti-IMF team calling itself The Syndicate. No one believes that this Syndicate exists, and when Hunt is callled in, he goes to ground, becoming the CIA's most wanted.

When Hunt is finally ready to make a move against the Syndicate leader (Sean Harris), he needs to call in favors from his friends, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) -- all of whom live under constant and intense scrutiny by the CIA for any chance that they might betray Hunt's location.

Growing up, the holiday season was a time to look forward to for all of the obvious reasons.  Receiving gifts was a huge part of childhood, all the decorations, visiting Santa, and spending time with extended family was something to look forward to.  Another big thing were all of the holiday specials on television.  When I grew up, especially in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, you didn’t get but one chance to see these shows each year.  It might seem impossible to people even a little younger than me, but there was no DVR, and I didn’t have a VCR until 1983, so I had to check my TV GUIDE and get my arse in front of the television at the appropriate time.  If you missed your favorite there simply wasn’t a second chance!

If you've already seen Will Ferrell's ELF, then you will notice very quickly that ELF: BUDDY'S CHRISTMAS MUSICAL is the condensed version of the same story, squeezed into a lesser running time by eliminating extraneous characters like Bob Newhart's Papa Elf and merging other characters into single ones, as is the case with Mr. Greenway, who is the publisher but with the characteristics of Peter Dinklage's author character.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the grown-up viewer walking away feeling as though they were given less than expected.

THE LEFTOVERS, an HBO series, is a complex story that takes place three years after an “event” happens where 120 million people -- 2% of the world’s population -- disappeared in an instant. It centers on the town of Mapleton, New York where 100 people disappeared and the local sheriff, Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux), is trying to hold his family together while simultaneously trying to keep the peace and help people get on with their lives.

Some people said, and still say, that the event was the Rapture, while some say it isn’t that because not everyone was a good person that disappeared. Others still look to some sort of scientific physics-based explanation to the phenomenon.

I was going to say that INSIDE OUT is not your average cartoon. But then, what Disney*Pixar film ever is? Rather, then, INSIDE OUT is not your average movie, period. It's subject matter is funny, easy to relate to, and completely captivating from beginning to end. However, on an even deeper level, INSIDE OUT is a film worthy of study for a college psychology course.

The majority of the film takes place in the mind of a prepubescent girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), where we meet our main characters: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). These are the core emotions Riley has, and their interactions form her young personality. However, there's an imbalance; Riley believes that she must be happy all the time for the sake of her parents, therefore Joy takes charge, and pushes Sadness to the fringe. After all, what good does Sadness bring? Who wants to feel that emotion?

One of the staples of my childhood television schedule was THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW. I was often too young to get some of the humor, and I'd sometimes watch the dance numbers and wonder what was supposed to be funny about them (because I expected the entire thing was meant to be comedy, not variety). But even so, it was something I watched as often as I could catch it.

Now grown (and with a greater appreciation of the arts), I can catch it whenever I wish, thanks to the sorcery of digital video discs. And while the entire series has yet to see any sort of collection, TIME LIFE has put together quite a few mini-collections, including this one: THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW: THE LOST EPISODES -- so called because they come from the first five seasons, and are episodes that had very few -- if any -- reruns.

BATKID BEGINS isn't an overly lengthy documentary. However, it did take me several atempts to watch it. I blame a manufacturer's defect in the disc, that caused the image to go blurry after five minutes or so of watching it (and which somehow made everything else I looked at blurry as well until I wiped my eyes).

Okay, I admit it -- I'm turning into a lachrymose old softie in my old age. Part of it has to do that I have a young boy of my own now, and when I see stories like this it's easier to put myself into their roles.

The story centers on young Miles, a little boy diagnosed with leukemia. During his treatment, he ends up qualifying for the Make-A-Wish program, and his wish is to be the real Batman. Superhero wishes are things that Make-A-Wish has worked out in the past, but this time they decided to think big -- and transform San Francisco into Gotham City for a day.

Never mind Matt Damon. The Martian at the top of my list will always be Exigius 12 and a half -- but every else just calls him Uncle Martin.

With his lengthy and historical life span, his pithy wisdom of the ages, and his technology that was so advanced as to be indistinguishable from magic (HT: Arthur C. Clarke), MY FAVORITE MARTIAN was a trendsetting show. While it only lasted three seasons, it predated both BEWITCHED and I DREAM OF JEANNIE -- shows with similar constructs, similar effects, and featuring producers and directors whose names also conveniently appear from time to time in the credits of MY FAVORITE MARTIAN. (In the third season, Martin's "levitating finger" is put out of commission, so he decides to try using his nose -- something he says he saw on one of our American television shows.)

In the past few weeks Paramount announced they were developing a remake of the THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE.  Say what you want about all of the remakes cinema churns out these days, most of them are pale copies of the originals.  Occasionally, though, you get a film that’s of comparable quality or even superior to the original.  I don’t know what the future holds for the VALANCE remake, but I’ll tell you, if the producers make a film that even approaches the original, well, look out, there’s a spectacular film in the offing.

Cartoon Network's Adult Swim knows how to blend nostalgia with cutting edge (some might even say 'inappropriate' humor). With MIKE TYSON MYSTERIES, the team has successfully mixed the opening of JONNY QUEST with the framework of SCOOBY-DOO (although I lean more toward THE FUNKY PHANTOM). And bringing the actual Mike Tyson in to voice himself was just icing on the cake. Mike Tyson: Voice Actor. There's a job description nobody saw coming.