StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

David Roggenkamp The Venture Bros. was a series I first heard of not by cable, but actually via a gaming buddy. He had an avatar of someone named "Brock Samson"; he remarked that the series was hilarious and I made it a point to watch it. Nearly nine years later and I've seen the series in full and I have a review.What I will say is that the series definitely feels at home on "Cartoon Network"; the Venture Bros. follows with the new style of animated comedy shows that rely heavily on dialogue as well as inside jokes based on spoofing older shows. As it just so happens this series predates many of those that became the clichéd 'trite and redundant'; I would argue that "The Venture Bros." was the first staple of this type to appear. The show regularly has references to "Johnny Quest" either by deliberately inserting a traumatized character that looks like him and shares his name, or plays on older spy style shows and other elements of those shows from the 60s. Further the show also includes the current setting and characters as both holdovers from the previous era along with throwbacks to such. This show takes place in the present though and has a few references to modern era as well - I can distinctly remember hearing Youtube come up in an episode that was dated around '08/09.The show follows a one "Rusty" Ventura that is the son of a more famous "Dr. Venture". His father sets the stage for everything to be created, and then his son must live in his image. Rusty has one body guard by the name of Brock Samson and two sons whom the show is named after - do note that most of the time the show may follow the boys around, but the plot usually focuses on Brock and Rusty or some element thereof. Rusty Venture is usually whiling away the time on some top secret invention to make money, trying to cash in on something his father created, or he is busy trying to deal with the many enemies he has made. This is where Brock comes in; Brock is quick to the point and will kill anything that threatens the Ventura family. This is where the boys as a plot device come in; they are quite deliberate spoofs of Johnny and Haji from "Johnny Quest", but far more bumbling and for comedic effect. They are usually the target and the cause of much trouble for the Ventura family.The show also features a number of super villains; most notable is the "Monarch" and his girlfriend (future wife) "Dr. Girlfriend". The Monarch has several problems with Rusty and this feud has been going back to at least their college days. The Monarch, typical with many of the villains in this series is fully dressed in a costume to his name, has several henchmen in similar attire and also has a warship simply called "The Cocoon". There are other villains that get some brief screen time, but they tend to be oneshots with the exception being "Underbite" and "Phantom Limb"; the only reason they get so much screen time is the fact they have a history with Dr. Venture. Most of these villains are also a part of something called "The Guild" which sets rules for how villains are to engage protagonists in the series.Lastly, the series also has a number of off characters, such as a Necromancer in a Triad, his daughter, some side characters as part of Venture Industries, as well as some irregular characters that also seem to be the center of plots in the series. For that matter, any characters integral to the plot seem to get their own episode on occasion, despite these episodes having almost no references or screen time to the Venturas. I can recall at least one episode where the off characters and the Monarch go at it, with the main characters not being present.The series does have some good screen time, as well there are a number of spoofs and other elements that keep the series entertaining. There are also a few episodes which are just bad and can be safely skipped. Anyone wanting to see what Cartoon Network was like in its heyday before it turned into what it is now; will be quite impressed by this series.Review originally posted to Orion Age (http://www.orionphysics.com/? p=10462)

gmurnan1 One of the great challenges for entertainment creators catering to an adult audience is that adults are harder to amuse. The Venture Brothers does a great job of always delivering material that is uniquely entertaining. The show uses a combination of absurdest elements, sci- fi, and action to keep every episode just as wonderful as the first. Animation can often be a less dynamic medium which makes it less appealing to adults. However, the Venture Brothers' excellent writing and voice acting will hold your attention and make you hungry for more. If you are a fan of "Archer" I would strongly recommend you check out the Venture Brothers. Like Archer, there is strong character development, action, and comedy that will keep you entertained.

scarletminded I originally started watching this show because Foetus did the music, well, the great man who is Foetus does the music. I've been listening to Foetus since 1986 or so. It was good to hear that underground musicians can eventually rise into areas where they can actually make money. Gives me hope with my own artistic pursuits.But, I am not sure if it was my TV at the time or what, the J. G. Thirlwell soundtrack overpowered the audio of the voices in the cartoon when I first tried to view the show. I waited for a while to buy the DVDs, because this chaotic audio setup made it impossible to hear what was going on. Sometimes I would just listen to the Foetus music anyway, the muttering voices underneath creating a nice surreal environment for me to make jewelry or paint by. The cartoon became silent filmy as far as plot.I bought the DVDs not too long ago. It was only then I realized that Doc Hammer was Eric Hammer of Mors Syphilitica and RIW fame. Yes, it took me awhile. I never heard his voice before the new Weep CD came out, so now I assume his natural voice sounds like a guy in the mafia and has a cigar dangling out of his mouth at all times. I mean, I am thinking maybe the true voices of all those neo-Victorians in the 80's-90's goth scene in NYC like Rasputina and Dame Darcy are Dr. Girlfriend deep throat type gangster voices. Must make for great parties.Anyway, the addition not only Eric Hammer, but his ex wife (I am assuming this since IMDb can be mysteriously sketchy) Lisa, made this a must see for me. I mean, people in goth bands or people who do underground art shun the whole selling out thing in their 20's but then their 30's come around (or 40's in Foetus' case) and then you really want to eat and get a job that can offer you retirement. Oh, so you are saying by now, you like music, but what about the cartoon itself? It varies from very good (the peak of this being for me the Klaus Nomi henchmen of David Bowie, the wedding crasher) to the amusingly OK (a lot of the 3rd season). I can actually tell if Doc Hammer wrote the episode or Christopher McCulloch wrote it. The insert of certain words over and over denotes the Hammer episodes. I won't go further because I don't want to insult the writers, since I am a writer myself. I think it is best when both of them write and bounce ideas off each other. I like the wit and parody of the series, reminding me of many cartoons I watched in the 70's and 80's as a kid. The look of the show is fantastic. There is a plot line that goes through all the episodes, yet you can watch them out of order and not be lost, since Adult Swim doesn't show them in order once the initial new play is done.This is probably a cartoon best enjoyed by those my age (gasp). I'd say I am probably Doc Hammer's age. It would help to be well read and have a good record collection, yes records. I doubt 15 year olds, unless they are precocious, would get a lot of the references and I wonder if the 3rd season wasn't an effort by Adult Swim to widen the audience by making it less witty. Or maybe it's losing steam, I don't know. There aren't enough shows that feature Devo references (I mean General Boy here) or Aleister Crowley/Oscar Wilde references (via their take on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), so to have this in a cartoon is delightful. I like how the character of Dr. Venture isn't super successful, living under his dad's shadow. There is a lot going on in the show, but I do have a wonder-filled affection for Dr. Girlfriend, since she has the voice of a man and dresses like Jackie O. I'm not a huge fan of Hank or Dean, but I like Brock Samson who is voiced by the very talented Patrick Warburton.It takes a lot for me to watch Adult Swim shows. I like their current Brit shows, like Mighty Boosh (again with its jazz and Gary Numan references) and Look Around You, along with Family Guy, Lucy the Daughter of the Devil and Robot Chicken...but other than that, I watch shows on there only once because they aren't that imaginative or smart. But the Venture Bros. was good enough I bought the first two seasons on DVD and probably will buy the 3rd. I hope it lasts a few more seasons without it having to cave into dumbed down syndrome (DDS).

metal-geo I'm having a hard time imagining people actually voting for this below an 8. It may very well be the most perfect cartoon I've ever seen.When I was vacationing in America, I had the chance of seeing The Venture Bros. on Adult Swim. After watching only one episode I already decided to buy the DVD. I've been in love with the series ever since.The humor is everywhere. It's in the dialogue, it's in the story, it's in the characters. The show contains many and many parodies of movies, comics and other cartoons. Sometimes there are even straight rips. And yet, The Venture Bros. cartoon manages to stay unique and original.I recommend this to everyone.