“The Nightmare Before Christmas” DVD & Blu-ray Review

Available at Amazon.com. Wow, wow, and wow...the Blu-ray version of this film blows all the others away. I have recently converted to Blu-ray, so I am still basking in the glow of the clarity of this new format, so bear with me! Inspired by the classic Rankin-Bass stop-motion animation Christmas classics & “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” Tim Burton’s film tells the tale of Jack Skellington, a kind mis-guided soul who falls in love with Christmas, and attempts to put his own Halloween spin on it, wreaking havoc when the two holidays collide. The characters are memorable: Sally (a Bride-of-Frankenstein-type rag doll who attempts to escape her maker, the twisted Dr. Finklestein), Jack’s ghostly pet dog, Zero, the evil Oogie Boogie (a green sack-like boogie-man addicted to gambling), the Mayor of Halloween Town (who actually has two faces that spin around according to his mood and what he wants to show the town!), and Lock, Shock, & Barrel (mischievous trick-or-treaters who kidnap Santa!). The emotion that is able to be achieved by Burton’s crew through the puppets is nothing short of astounding, and Burton’s Germanic-stylized sets are a visual feast.

Bonus features include:

New! "What's This? Jack’s Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour.” This featurette takes you through Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion from start to finish with the Nightmare Before Christmas Holiday Overlay. Options of watching the featurette with or without trivia popups (which are very fun and interesting).

New! Tim Burton’s original NBC poem narrated by legendary horror actor Christopher Lee.

New! Film commentary by producer/writer Tim Burton, director Henry Selick, and composer Danny Elfman (also of Oingo Boingo fame!).

New! Tim Burton introduction to "Frankenweenie”. If you've never seen this early Tim Burton short, you will love it! Way out and wacky homage to "Frankenstein," stars Shelly Duvall and Daniel Stern. Burton has filmed a new intro to this short and tells how he is in the process of creating a stop-motion animation version of this movie. Sketches are shown as well.

"Making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas" - available on previous editions, this behind-the-scenes documentary gives you a greater appreciation of what went into making this classic. Models had to be moved by the crew 24 times for each second of film...do the math!

"The Worlds of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”: see the creation/sketches of each of the lands from the movie: Halloween Town, Christmas Town, and The Real World.

Deleted Scenes, Storyboard to Film Comparison, Theatrical Trailers/Posters, and complete stop-motion animation early Tim Burton short “Vincent,” narrated by Vincent Price.

Exclusive to Blu-ray version: Special introduction by Tim Burton

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“The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Beginning” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. I found this movie to be very well done. Is it worthy of a big screen release? Not necessarily; it is a low-key story, but nonetheless, a VAST improvement over some of Disney's previous direct-to-dvd movies. The story is a prequel to "The Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)," and explains how King Triton banned music in his kingdom when his wife was killed. We learn how Sebastian became the music conductor for King Triton, and how Ariel & Flounder met. Naturally, it is the full-of-life Ariel who helps bring music back to her father's life. Although the villain is not as fun and nasty as the legendary Ursula, Marina Del Rey (ably voiced by Sally Field) is plenty of fun as the evil governess for King Triton's daughter. Not content to be a governess, she plots to usurp Sebastian's position, even if it means getting rid of Ariel. The one odd character in the movie is Marina's sidekick, Benjamin. His style of animation looks like something out of Barney. It is particularly jarring since the animation on this film is SOOOO good! It does not look like your typical straight-to-dvd release; in fact, I would go so far as to say that it is on par with the original feature. Jodi Benson returns as the voice of Ariel. In both singing and acting, she is fantastic and totally believeable as the songstress under the sea. As Sebastian, Samuel E. Wright returns...who else could voice this classic animated character? There are seven musical numbers in the film, and the fact that it was directed by a choreographer (Peggy Holmes) is a plus. The movement of the characters in the film AND the dance numbers is fantastic.

Extras are also great. 2 backstage Disney featurettes: "Splashdance" is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie, hosted by director Peggy Holmes. "The Little Mermaid: Under the Sea and Behind The Scenes On Broadway" gives a backstage look at the Broadway musical production, featuring interviews with the cast. There are 2 deleted scenes (shown in storyboard form), "Music & More" (where viewers can directly access the musical numbers AND watch them karaoke-style with the words on the screen), and the game "Mermaid Discovery Vanity Game," where you can learn about each of King Triton's daughters by clicking on the personal items on their vanity/makeup tables.

Overall, a wonderful DVD for children of all ages. Definitely a quality production!

“Smart People” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. This refreshing movie definitely has an "indie" feel to it. Lawrence (Dennis Quaid) is a widower who teaches literature at Carnegie Mellon University; he sleepwalks through life, still in a funk over the loss of his wife, and unable to connect to his 2 children or any of his students. Enter Lawrence's lazy but perceptive adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church); he moves in with Lawrence and his teenage daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page), and the changes begin to occur. Vanessa is as controlled and uptight as her father; Chuck does his best to unwind her...almost too successfully, as she begins to develop a crush on him. Meanwhile, Lawrence meets Janet, an ER doctor (beautifully underplayed by Sarah Jessica Parker) who begins to unravel him as well. There are no breathless on the edge of your seat scenes; but many subtle laughs (mainly from Thomas Haden Church, who steals the movie from the rest of the cast) and interesting characters that will stay with you well after the movie is over. It is interesting to see SJP in a role outside of her "Sex and the City" Carrie Bradshaw personna; gone is the over-the-top neurotic hijinks of that character; instead, we see a more refined and controlled character. Quaid gives an excellent performance as the lonely and lost widower; Ellen Page is perfectly cast as the conniving bitter daughter.

The DVD contains a number of deleted scenes (interesting to watch, but not really central to the movie), bloopers (your typical gag reel), feature commentary by filmmaker Noam Murro and writer Mark Jude Poirier. There is a making of featurette as well that includes interviews with the cast as well as info how Carnegie Mellon was picked as the school used in this movie. 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, widescreen (2:35:1, enhanced for 16x9 television), and French & Spanish subtitles. Note: this film has a somewhat muted pallette, which goes along nicely with the story and its setting. A nice little gem worth watching.

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“The Jungle Book 2 (Special Edition)” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. This 2003 sequel to the beloved 1967 Disney movie "The Jungle Book" is basically familiar territory that rarely strays far from the original as far as its characters, plot, and villains. Yet, it is an enjoyable romp that makes for a nice addition to the original. In the 5 years since its release, computer animation has come a long way, so some of the computer shadings and other effects seem almost primitive compared to what we are accustomed to; the harsh computer shading detracts a bit from the visual presentation. I don't know that I would go to a theater to view this widescreen presentation, but for a home video release, it is right on the money.

Storywise, Mowgli has been living in the village with humans for about 4 years; Baloo misses Mowgli, and Mowgli is having a hard time forgetting the jungle, despite the fact that he has become closer Shanti, the girl who enticed him to live in the jungle in the first place. Can you see it coming? Shanti's fear of the jungle causes Mowgli to renounce the village, return to Baloo, and of course, Shere Khan is not far behind. Shanti & her little brother go after Mowgli, adding two more villagers for Shere Khan and Kaa to hunt. The catchy Sherman Brothers tunes from the original are re-used ("The Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna' Be Like You") as well as a few fun new original songs, "Jungle Rhythm" and "W-I-L-D"). Closing credits have the rock group Smash Mouth doing an awesome cover version of the song "I Wanna' Be Like You." The voice talent for the movie is impressive: John Goodman fills the mighty big shoes of the late Phil Harris as Baloo; Haley Joel Osment voices Mowgli; Jim Cummings is amazing as Kaa, and seems to be channeling Sterling Holloway; singer Phil Collins does admirably as one of the vultures.

For the extras, there is a good amount of material here: Games & Activities include Mowgli's Story Time Adventure Game. This one uses the 2 dimensional shadow puppets featured in this films opening credits. Players punch the arrow keys on their remote to match what they see on screen. It's a bit of a yawn, and there are no fun prizes/extras when you complete the game. Mowgli's Jungle Ruins Maze is much better; players use their remote to find their way through a maze, and along the way they must answer questions about different animals; a nice mix of fun and education. Music Videos on the DVD include the Smash Mouth cover as well as the 2 original songs from the film, "W-I-L-D" and "Jungle Rhythm." A few deleted scenes are included along with explanation by Sharon Morrill (former head of Disney Toon Studios) and Matt Walker (Sr. VP of Music); the main reason scenes were deleted were to put the story focus back on Mowgli and not Shanti. Quick access to songs in the movie is included here, as well as a karaoke version of the movie. "Backstage Disney" includes a Reader's Digest version of the original movie and a featurette detailing the making of the movie; the featurette is really about the best bonus; it is fun to see and hear from the voice talents as well as the creative team, who does appear very excited about the movie, albeit a little self-congratulatory and over-praising.

Overall...thumbs up for the family and kids. An enjoyable film to watch with a number of fun extras.

Watch these bonus clips:

“The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Edition” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. It is wonderful that this lesser-known film in the Disney vault is getting a special edition. It has the distinction of being the last animated film to be released while Walt was still alive. Narrated by the loveable Sebastian Cabot, it is a truly entertaining tale about magic and coming-of-age. Central to the story is the relationship between Merlin the magician and a boy named Wart, the future King Arthur. Merlin grooms the boy and takes responsibility for his education, culminating in the scene where Wart attempts to pull the (unbeknownst to him) legendary sword from the stone. "The Sword in the Stone" cleaned up at the box office but was not really a hit with the critics. However, it holds up very well, and despite what others have called "cheap animation," it is a beautifully drawn film that obviously patterned itself after "Sleeping Beauty." The xerox method used in "Dalmatian" is used here again; it doesn't have the same pristine & clean quality of "Peter Pan," yet it does preserve the fresh sketch quality of what was originally drawn. Just a difference in style; neither better nor worse. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score, although the songs in the film are definitely less than memorable.

Extras include the usual Backstage Disney assortment, such as from "Walt Disney Presents: Fantasyland - All About Magic," an excerpt from the BW TV Show, with Walt having a ball going through the Magic Room of the "basement," playing with all kinds of different parlour tricks. The decapitated princess is a little eerie, but it's all very fun. Nice cameo by Snow White's Magic Mirror, too. The Production Notes section gives fun facts about the development of the film (including the fact that Bill Peet based his characterization of Merlin on Walt!). There is also a wonderful scrapbook gallery of images from concept to publicity, with explanatory text. 2 bonus color movie shorts: Mickey Mouse in "The Brave Little Tailor" and Goofy in "A Knight for a Day." For the music sections, the Sherman Brothers are in a featurette "Music Magic" where they discuss the development of the songs for "Sword in the Stone," as well as tunes that were discarded. The songs from the movie are also able to be accessed directly from this section by name. The least of the extras on this DVD is the Merlin's Magical Academy Game. Your basic answer a few questions to "win." There are also a few parts to the game where you must hit the arrows on your remote control to match the arrows on the screen; this part is a little confusing, as there is no way to know if you are playing correctly or not; the arrows do not change color or shape when you hit them, so until you get to the end of the game, you have no idea if you are doing it right. And the "prize" at the end is a little bit of a snoozer, just like the game itself. Overall though, the extras are more than what has been advertised and a very nice selection, too.

Definitely a nice special edition!

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“The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Lip Synchin’ In the Rain” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. This DVD contains 4 episodes of the Disney Channel series, "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." The show is set in the Tipton Hotel in Boston. Regular characters include identical twins Zack and Cody (Dylan and Cole Sprouse), hotel heiress London Tipton (Brenda Song), as well as candy counter girl Maddie (Ashley Tisdale), single mother Carey (Kim Rhodes), and the hotel's manager Mr. Mosbey (Phill Lewis). The four episodes featured on this DVD begin with: "Lip Synchin' In The Rain," which has the gang putting on their version of "High School Musical." Inside gag is that Ashley Tisdale starred in the actual HSM as Sharpay, however in "Zack & Cody," nobody sees that Maddie looks anything like Sharpay. Even though Maddie is the best singer and dancer, rival London gets the role of Sharpay because her dad is rich. Of course there is a happy ending and the gang works together to make the show a hit. #2 is "Arwin That Came To Dinner." Arwin is the hotel repairman/engineer who is distraught that his mother has moved out of the apartment that they share...and Arwin is clearly in his thirties. The twins and their mom help Arwin get over his mom fixation and find true love by converting his apartment into a cool bachelor pad. #3 is "Orchestra," which features a Russian Violin prodigy in the high school orchestra who comes between Cody and his girlfriend Barbra. 1970's blonde bombshell Susan Blakely has a role as the orchestra conductor, Mrs. Madigan. #4 is "A Tale of Two Houses." Zack & Cody's dad is back in town due to a play he is performing in. The twins scheme to crash his new apartment with their girlfriends while dad is working, and unbeknownst to them, they pick the same evening. 4 is a definitely a crowd, and even more people decide to drop in.

Extras include "Twin-Tastic," a featurette with the twins getting interviewed by Brenda Song (London), telling what it's like to be twins. No great revelations here, but it's still nice to see how natural the kids are what a nice rapport they have, even off camera. It is also interesting to hear about identical twins...the truths, the myths, and the entertaining stories that the boys share. A gag reel with bloopers and blunders is also included for good measure, as well as a number of Disney sneak Movie and DVD previews.

This show is definitely aimed at kids and teens and is thoroughly enjoyable; lots of physical humor and pratfalls, juvenile humor, and an ensemble cast that plays well together. Although Zack & Cody are obviously going through puberty (and trying to get the girls), there really aren't any scenes that would not be safe for kids to watch.

Watch these bonus clips:

“Minutemen” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. This Disney Channel movie about time travel is really very well made and will hold your attention. 3 high school geeks band together to create a time-travel machine. Initially, one of their first attempts to use it is to buy a lottery ticket that will make them rich. I thought, "What a snooze; same old story, same old schtick." However, they are quickly foiled, and decide instead to help geeky kids be popular by preventing the humiliating experiences often thrust upon them by the popular set. There are lessons learned along the way, and our heroes soon find it is best to let life play out the way it is supposed to (cause a big Black Hole is about to swallow up the world due to their time machine). The cast is great (includes Jason Dolley from "Corey in The House") and has good chemistry. This movie is "safe" for the whole family; great to see a movie that doesn't have to rely on violence, nudity, or profanity. The Director, Lev L. Spiro, seems to have a very good understanding of fun and what makes a light and breezy movie such as this. This DVD also includes a featurette "The Making of Minutemen," which gives you details on how the movie was made (including the stunts and special effects). There is also a music video by Corbin Bleu ("High School Musical") of the song "Rung It Back Again." The usual batch of Disney DVD/Movie previews are also here. The movie is 92 minutes. Thumbs up for this great family fun movie!

View the trailer: http://www.totaleclips.com/Player/Bounce.aspx?eclipid=e38760&bitrateid=17&vendorid=3&type=.swf

“Cory in the House: New & Improved Edition” DVD Review

Available at Amazon.com. This Disney Channel original TV show (a spin-off from "That's So Raven") is about Cory Baxter (Kyle Massey), the son of White House Chef (Rondell Sheridan). Cory's best buddy is Newt Livingston (Jason Dolley), the Chief Justice's son, and Meena Paroom (Maiara Walsh), the daughter to the Bahavian Ambassador. The 3 teen leads in the cast have great chemistry and work well; my one gripe is that Maiara Walsh just can't seem to get a grasp on her accent; it comes and goes during dialogue, but is most definitely gone whenever she is singing. Can Disney hire a dialect coach for this girl? Minor point, as they all seem to be having lots of fun in this family show that is safe for all to watch together. The episodes on this disc are: "The Presidential Seal," "Through the Roof," "Lip Service," "Peace Love and Misunderstanding" which was unaired. "Peace Love" is probably one of the best ones, as it gives a good lesson in being tolerant of other's beliefs and not making snap judgments based on stereotypes. Saruza Zamuti (Natalie Amenula) is a new love interest of Cory's who turns out to be from a country at odds with Meena's country. Cory finds himself stuck in the middle of the two girls. Kudos to Natalie for doing much better with her accent!

The extra featurette, "Breakin' Down Cory In The House" is really very good (about 12 minutes); it is a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making "Cory in the House," including writing the script, doing the sets, wardrobe, camera angles, editing, stunts, what the cast does when they "hang out," and a taste of what being in the audience during filming is like. Very informative for youngsters not familiar with what goes into putting a sitcom together (hey kids, know what a "table read" is? you will after watching this!). DVD previews of other upcoming Disney movies are also included.

View the trailer: http://www.totaleclips.com/Player/Bounce.aspx?eclipid=e38708&bitrateid=17&vendorid=3&type=.swf

DAVELAND “NATIONAL TREASURE 2” DVD REVIEW

“NATIONAL TREASURE 2” (2007), available at Amazon.com. On the movie: I am just not a big fan of this series so far. I am a history buff and was really wanting to enjoy this movie; like the first one, the same flaws remain in #2. Nicolas Cage is just bad casting. It is difficult to like him. However, the supporting cast is fantastic; Diane Kruger as his love interest Abigail and Justin Bartha as the sidekick are happily on board for this installment, as well as Jon Voigt as Ben Gates' (Cage) dad. Helen Mirren is a welcome addition to the cast as Ben's mom who still carries much bitterness for her ex (Voigt).
This time, the catalyst for the treasure hunt is the recent accusation that Ben's great-great-grandfather was part of the plot to murder President Lincoln. This leads to a search for the Presidential Book of Secrets which leads to trying to find the Lost City of Gold. This time the film goes international; London, Paris...but even with some exotic locales, the film just does not generate the excitement that it should.

Although this film attempts to pattern itself after Hitchcock (stated by Director Turteltaub himself on the commentary), it fails. There are many fantastic individual scenes that just don't gel together as a whole. Hitchcock was a master at elevating and dropping the audience with suspense and hot romance ("North by Northwest" is a classic example); not so here. Cage may be trying to channel Cary Grant (again as Turteltaub tells it) but he comes nowhere near close; and even though I truly like Diane Kruger, her chemistry with Cage is not like Grace Kelly & Grant of old. The leaps to clues and the thought processes behind them are just as hard to believe as before; you REALLY need to suspend disbelief to buy into this movie. Ed Harris as the villain is a poorly written character; selfish and rotten throughout, his last minute redemption is hard to believe.

Now to the DVD itself; picture/audio are fantastic (especially if you have a surround sound system). The extras are also excellent. Mercifully, Disney decided not to put all the hunt and peck methods that were on the National Treasure One DVD. This time, you just pop in Disc 2 and access whatever you want to see. Disc 1 has commentary by Voigt & Turteltaub. Even Voigt comments on the fact that most likely nobody else was available for the commentary; still, it is interesting to hear the behind-the-scenes stories. The deleted scenes were trimmed for the right reasons; a film that jumps around like this one needs tight editing, and the scenes shown here really don't add at all. One of my fave extras is "Inside the Library of Congress" which shows some of the rare collection there (photos of John Wilkes Booth and the men being hung for the Lincoln murder). "Cover Story: Crafting the President's Book" shows how the actual book was created for the movie and the attention to detail that makes it look authentic. "Knights of the Golden Circle" left me wanting much more; it is a very short featurette talking about the real-life group of people who wanted to keep slavery going and annex Mexico; their need for gold/money thwarted their efforts. "Evolution of a Golden City": this one will surprise you for two reasons: to see just how much was actually built as a set, and then to see what was created by CGI (the ability to create objects that appear to be handled by actors shows just how far this technology has come). "Treasure Reel: Bloopers & Outtakes" is the usual assortment of guffaws that show errors and cast camaraderie. "The Book of Secrets: On Location" is a wonderful travelogue of all the different locations, describing what was actually shot on location and what was CGI. Turteltaub/Bruckehimer definitely pushed the limits of trying to use the real spots, often thwarted by regulations, especially in DC at the White House (snipers on the roof of the White House?!? ouch!). Very interesting to watch the "rehearsals" of the chase sequence in the "Street Stunts" featurette. "Underground Action" shows the behind-the scenes for the City of Gold and the Balancing Platform, achieved through the use of a gimbal. "Secrets Of A Sequel" talks about the thought process behind coming up with this installment and the importance of reuniting the original cast and crew. Overall on these extras, there is much talking about how the ending and much of the script was made up along the way. This really comes as no surprise, and confirms for me that had there been more planning, a cohesive resulting plot would have made a much better film. Easter Eggs: Including a conversation about Beverly Hills High School with fellow alums Nic Cage and Jo Turteltaub, and a look at the White House lawn scene as filmed in front of a blue screen.

So-so film that is watchable; just a real bummer that some more story planning wasn't done ahead of time. The DVD itself is excellent and a marked improvement over the first.

NOTE: Although some were looking forward to having the new Goofy cartoon that was shown in the theaters with this movie, it is not on the DVD, unless there is some extra-hidden Easter Egg. Sorry folks, you'll have to find Goofy somewhere else!

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