13 Exciting DVD Collector’s Sets * Highlighting Major League Baseball Teams
Featuring Intimate, Classic & Rare Interviews With Many of the Greatest Icons in Sports History

Hosted by Broadcasting Legend Ed Randall
Volume #1 of Each Team Collection Available June 7th

Ed Randall has spent the better part of a lifetime in and around baseball, chronicling and celebrating the game, its players and history with the devotion of a fan and the observant eye of a reporter.
— Bob Costas

Talking Baseball With Ed Randall is a DVD collection of intimate and rare, one-on-one interviews with the greatest that Major League Baseball has to offer, including the game’s most iconic players, managers and announcers.

From Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams to Bob Gibson and Ernie Banks – and dozens of other renowned players from 13 major league teams – this unique anthology celebrates the legends, legacies and heroes of the diamond (on and off the field) that have made baseball America’s #1 national pastime in major cities across the country.

Featuring select interviews with some of baseball’s most extraordinary legends—insightful, compelling and entertaining personal portraits that can only be delivered by a broadcasting pro like Ed Randall. One of the foremost journalists in the history of baseball, Randall is host of Ed Randall’s Talking Baseball on New York’s WFAN-AM and on Sirius XM Radio’s MLB Home Plate channel and hosted a television version of the show for more than 15 years on what later became FOX Sports Network.

These memorable interviews, culled from over 500 Randall-hosted broadcasts, are an extraordinary archival library covering more than nine decades, digitally restored and being released for the first time, in any format, since their original broadcasts.

Collector’s Sets Include: Atlanta Braves * Boston Red Sox * Chicago Cubs * Cincinnati Reds * Detroit Tigers * Los Angeles Dodgers * Minnesota Twins * New York Mets * New York Yankees * Philadelphia Phillies * Pittsburgh Pirates * San Francisco Giants * St. Louis Cardinals

Talking Baseball is the perfect gift for baseball enthusiasts of all ages for Father’s Day, birthdays, holiday gifts … or just because.

Any baseball fan wants to win this giveaway. It’s exciting with extraordinary stories for the great baseball players of all time.

To enter this giveaway and win the whole set, post your name and we will pick the winner June 15, 2011.

We’ve picked up a lot of good quality material from the folks out at Discovery proper, and so I was definitely interested when I saw a copy of Two Weeks In Hell arrive from them for review.

Two Weeks In Hell, you see, was a special kind of miniseries out at the Discovery Channel that followed an SFAS candidacy session. SFAS stands for Special Forces Assessment and Selection, which basically equates to the training course or Special Forces, or Green Berets. The process is a two week long ordeal of testing and training in which a variety of skills and fitness and similar traits are measured for fitness to join Special Forces. And you’ll get to see a whole lot of it.

When they said Two Weeks In Hell, they may have meant it figuratively, but they meant it. In no uncertain terms, they meant it. This is a really thorough course, and most of the time, people fail. If you’ve ever seen the show Ninja Warrior, that’s reasonably similar to what it’s like here. Most people will fail this. It’s entirely possible that a whole crowd of people will fail, and that makes the whole thing a little anticlimactic to watch. It’s definitely not the kind of thing that you’ll be really entertained by, but you will be amazed by it.

It’s a strange thing to comment on–you’ll watch this once, certainly–maybe you’ll make it an annual affair; it’s a great thing to bust out for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. But it’s not going to be like a lot of Discovery Channel shows, where you can watch this and then come back in a week. It covers one thing, in depth, for a good hour and a half. That’s a little unusual for Discovery Channel stuff from what I’ve seen. It’s an amazing thing to watch, but it’s actually rather painful, in its way.

It’s not an easy thing to watch, and if you can stand it, it’s going to be worth it, but not very often.

The Screenhead Ten Scale, in turn, gives Two Weeks In Hell a seven out of ten. It’s a vastly better rental than an owner, it’s painful to watch, and even more so to actually go through. While it goes a long way toward giving you a new respect for these people who actually try, and succeed, it’s still not the kind of thing you’re going to want to watch every Saturday.

Documentary fans, strap in, because the folks out at Lions Gate sent over a copy of The Cove, and if you like documentaries, water scenery, or the environment, you’re going to be all over this one like Shark Week on chum.

The Cove follows a group of free divers and environmentalists, especially former dolphin trainer on the set of Flipper Ric O’Barry, who’ve made a horrible discovery out in a secret cove in Japan, near the town of Taiji. And what they find going on in there has deep ramifications for huge swathes of the ecosystem as we know it. But their discovery isn’t without risk, and there are those who want to keep this find silent. But The Cove exists as a monument to those who wouldn’t remain silent, despite the dangers around them.

The first several minutes of The Cove are actually profoundly confusing. Something very, very significant is going on in front of us, but we don’t know just what that something is and won’t know for quite some time into the movie. And we know it’s significant; they keep beating around the bush, describing how O’Barry’s colleagues are dying off, and how shady events are going on, sometimes tied to major names like Sea World.

And when The Cove isn’t being oblique, it’s downright beautiful. There are plenty of amazing scenes of underwater vistas and dolphins moving in rapid fashion, and it’s really impressive to see. But this beauty almost seems contributory to many of the issues that end up facing dolphins. By the time you figure out what Taiji’s secret is, and how it relates to everything else that’s going on, it’s not hard to end up feeling downright horrified by what you’re seeing.

But in the midst of your horror, you’ll also get some really exciting moments in which you watch the environmentalists fighting back, using bizarre and outlandish methods.

The end result is an attention-grabbing concept that melds espionage, outright action, and a beautiful oceanic documentary in one fell swoop. It’s impossible not to follow this obsessively, and does a magnificent job of compelling attention.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives The Cove a full ten out of ten. It’s hard not to enjoy a movie like this that not only manages to pack a bit of action and adventure into a documentary about dolphins, but also create a compelling, haunting piece that will keep your attention very nicely throughout the entire piece. Even the run time, around ninety minutes, is just right. Everything about this is just right.

You remember, not so long ago, when we covered Ice Road Truckers. Well, the folks out at the History Channel have stepped up the game, and they sent a copy of IRT: Deadliest Roads for me to review. And if the Ice Road left your  blood running cold, rest assured, Deadliest Roads will blow your mind.

IRT: Deadliest Roads takes us from the Dalton, or the Ice Road, in the frozen north to the wilds of India, where some of the Ice Road drivers find themselves in a whole new world. Driving trucks with wooden frames in highly dense traffic onto nightmarishly tight mountain passes to conduct valuable goods to hydroelectric construction projects in the areas around the Himalayas.

Where Ice Road Truckers made your blood run cold with endless expanses of white and cold and ice and worse, IRT: Deadliest Roads makes things even worse by offering a whole new set of hazards. For instance, you might remember Alex as the “King of the Ice Road”, a man who made all sorts of deliveries down the hazardous Dalton. But here, he manages to have multiple accidents before even leaving New Delhi. There are incredibly tight mountain passes that crumble before your very eyes, three-figure temperatures, and trucks that develop weird mechanical problems at a drop of a hat.

Seeing how people drive in India is also somewhat of an unusual cultural experience. I hate driving in major cities myself, but driving in India would likely drive me…insane.  Watching them crawl over these hairsbreadth passages, sometimes in the dark, surrounded by the twisted metal wreckage of other cars is a harrowing experience unlike any other.

And yet, the Ice Road Truckers manage to pull off load after load. And frankly, it’s hard to believe they do it. I tell you this, even just the first episode wracked my nerves pretty good just watching it. When Lisa–you’ll remember her from the original History Channel program too–actually said “I want to go home to the Dalton, where it’s safe”, I knew we were up against something fundamentally different than anything we’d seen before. And we were.

Folks, you’ve got to see this to believe it, and if you haven’t already seen it, this is exactly what you need to see. It’s mind-bending, nerve-wracking stuff, and frankly, I got goosebumps on more than one occasion.

If you want a terrifying experience in some downright beautiful scenery, this is exactly where you need to be.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives IRT: Deadliest Roads a full ten out of ten for giving us an experience I thought would never come out of television: actual scares.

An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, “African Cats” captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the Savanna.  Narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson, the story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion and his sons.

I spoke with the co-director of African Cats, Keith Scholey about the movie before it was release. Scholey and I talked about how the movie was filmed, which still resonates in my mind. He told me that the movie took two years to produce. The crew had no idea where the story was going to go. They just followed the cats all day. If you have seen the movie, you know that how fantastic the experience is watching the story of the two cat families.

With that said, we did pick a winner for the giveaway! Our winner is Dave L. He says, “We love nature films and have been looking forward to this one. Thank you for the fun giveaway.”

You are welcome and congratulations! I hope you and your family enjoy the two African cats books – Sita the Cheetah and A Lion’s Pride.

One more thing, which I think is awesome, Disneynature announced that its “See ‘African Cats,’ Save the Savanna” campaign will help protect more than 50,000 acres of land in Kenya’s Amboseli Wildlife Corridor on behalf of the moviegoers who came out to see Disneynature’s motion picture “African Cats” during its opening week (April 22-28, 2011). A portion of the proceeds from the opening-week ticket sales will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to ensure the future of lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, giraffes and a host of other animals in the vibrant African savanna.

The area to be protected equates to 100 Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Parks or more than twice the size of Manhattan. The AWF will be working to establish the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a passage between the Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills National Parks that is frequently used by a variety of wildlife.

One of the biggest films of recent memory has to be The King’s Speech. It took home a whole lot of Oscar gold and changed the way we look at speech impediments. The folks out at Anchor Bay sent out a copy of The King’s Speech for us to review, and so today, we get to see if it was worth the Oscar nods.

The King’s Speech follows King George VI, who finds himself ascending to the throne in a time of great turmoil. With the royal family rocked by scandal from within and a growing world war from without, George VI must find a way to overcome his greatest challenge, a lifelong speech impediment, to gain the throne, heal his ailing land, and get them ready for some of the greatest challenges Great Britain would ever face. A speech therapist of unusual method is brought in, and soon, things begin looking up, even in the face of horror around the world.

Folks, I’ll say this much: for those of you who think that “Oscar movies” are inherently dull, pompous, self-righteous affairs that exist for no other reason than to feed the already overinflated egos of the sociopathically self-indulged, let The King’s Speech serve as a stark reminder that that just plain old isn’t always the case.

The King’s Speech is patently amazing, a picture of twentieth century history at its deepest, and yet at the same time an incredible portrait of a tiny part of history that might well have gone overlooked, yet was the lynch pin of perhaps most of the twentieth century. It’s an incredible subject for a movie, and the end result is potent stuff with just a little bit of humor thrown in.

And even more, the performances here are terrific. In fact, there’s not a bad one in the lot. Everyone is so thoroughly believable that I was quite convinced, by the end of it all, that I might well have been watching the actual events going on in front of me. Believable, eminently watchable, and an unparalleled treat on all fronts, The King’s Speech is a fine example of film at its absolutely greatest.

The Screenhead Ten Scale in turn gives The King’s Speech an unqualified ten out of ten because it is simply too good to receive anything but. With fine performances around an excellent script that moves quickly and holds interest in a perfect hammerlock, a magnificent, spellbinding piece that’s well worth watching.

An epic true story set against the backdrop of one of the wildest places on Earth, “African Cats” captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the Savanna. Narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson, the story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion and his sons. An awe-inspiring adventure blending family bonds with the power and cunning of the wild, “African Cats” leaps into theatres on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

As the April 22 opening of the awe-inspiring “African Cats” approaches, Disneynature is tapping into the true power of social media by building awareness of its “See ‘African Cats,’ Save the Savanna” program. During the film’s opening week (April 22-28), a portion of the proceeds from that week’s ticket sales will be donated to AWF through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund to protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor, a passage between the Amboseli, Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills National Parks that is frequently used by lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, giraffes and a host of other animals in the African savanna. For more information about the movie and the “See ‘African Cats,’ Save the Savanna” initiative, check out Disney.com/AfricanCats.

Giveaway:
•Two African Cats Books – Sita the Cheetah and A Lion’s Pride

To enter the giveaway, post your name and Screenhead will pick the winner April 29, 2011.

U.S. Residents Only

I am very happy and proud to share with you an all new video clip, Save the Savanna from Disneynature’s African Cats, opening on Earth Day, April 22, 2011! My daughter and I are going to the movie that day, knowing we are supporting Save the Savanna. I hope you go too. African Cats looks like a beautiful, well-made movie.

I first heard about this movie when I spoke to one of the producers last year. This is a wonderful movie to help spread awareness of this fun way to help Save the Savanna!

African Cats is still more than two weeks from opening on Earth Day, but moviegoers have already bought $1.7 million in tickets to see the movie during its opening week (April 22-28) and save the African savanna in the process.

Thanks to the “See African Cats, Save the Savanna” initiative teaming up with the African Wildlife Foundation, Disneynature’s pledge to make a contribution in honor of everyone who sees the film opening week already translates to more than 9,500 acres of land within Kenya’s Amboseli Wildlife Corridor—and that number continues to rise.

I am truly excited to announce the Oliver Stone Films’ release On Demand including Xfinity and for Download including iTunes are available now.

Actually, I am rather giddy over the fact that Warner Bros. Digital Distribution honors the legendary film director Oliver Stone with the release of ALEXANDER: REVISITED for the first time On Demand and For Download in addition to other favorites he directed including Natural Born Killers, Any Given Sunday, Heaven & Earth and JFK.

The release also features films that Oliver Stone personally selected as his favorites including A Clockwork Orange, The Departed, Casablanca, Gran Torino and more. See the complete list of Oliver Stone’s flicks and his picks available now and the reasons why he selected them on iTunes.

Along with the release, Screenhead is sponsoring a giveaway that offers one of our readers a chance to win five films for Download on iTunes. It’s like being in a candy store of Oliver Stone films.

You will have the chance to win a Download of each of the following Oliver Stone Films: Alexander: Revisited, Natural Born Killers, Any Given Sunday, Heaven & Earth and JFK in celebration of the release.

The giveaway will run until April 15, 2011. To enter the giveaway, post you name and we will pick one winner.

All week fans can find more on Facebook at Alexander: Revisited, including an exclusive interview where Oliver Stone answers Facebook Fan Questions, plus film clips and more contests. See you on Facebook!

Seems like a lot of movies are kicking off with disclaimers lately. This time we get “This film contains scenes with very large, very loud 3-D creatures, which may not be suitable for younger viewers. Parental discretion is advised.” We’re talking today about Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia, which the folks out at Image Entertainment sent out for me to review.

Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia is about exactly that: dinosaurs. We’ll follow their history, their evolution, and their eventual extinction as best regular people can piece it together. And of course, we’ll be doing it in mind-blowing 3D.

A word about that before we carry on into the movie itself–everything about this movie screams. More specifically, it screams both “big” and “loud”. This was originally geared toward IMAX presentations, but it’s been scaled down, just a bit, for our consumption. Naturally, this means that things will be very loud, and things will go flying at your monitor, sometimes screeching at you.

When we went diving into Panthalassa, I jumped just a bit. It was definitely a surprise, and worth watching.

But despite the big nature of what we’re watching here, there will be more than a few problems. Frankly, Donald Sutherland is hit or miss as a narrator–sometimes he’s downright compelling, and sometimes he sounds like he’s just so sick and tired of reading this script that he just wants someone to cut his check so he can get out of there. And backup narrator Dr. Rodolfo Coria  occasionally manages to sound like a man reading a script at gunpoint.

As for the graphics themselves, which are substantial portions of the movie (after all, they’re not going to get actual dinosaurs to play this) are no Jurassic Park, and Jurassic Park was around about fifteen, twenty years ago. It’s a dark sign that a big 3D movie actually features less believable dinosauria than a twenty year old adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel could pull off.

Oh, and one more thing–this has a total run time of forty minutes. It’s a little bit short, in all honesty, and though it’s certainly taking full advantage of 3D capability, it’s not putting up a whole lot in general.

If you’ve got kids who are dinosaur enthusiasts, you might do well here, especially if you have the proper home theater system to handle the 3D and the incredible soundtrack. Otherwise, you’ll likely want to skip this one.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia a five out of ten. It’s good, and for a variety of reasons, but there are entirely too many conditions to meet for many people to actually be able to enjoy this. You need the right components and the right audience in order to get the most out of it, and movies that come with strings attached just can’t get that much of a recommendation. Still though, if you’ve got the hardware, or something near it, it will make a decent rental.