DVD Review Round-Up for Holiday Giving- Part 3

So many DVD's...so little time. As the holidays sneak up on us again, think about gifting yourself or your loved-ones with their fave DVD. There are tons of varied and entertaining titles now on shelves for holiday buying. We continue our kick-back-and-O.D.-on-the-special-features review extravaganza! We've got more TV treats, recent and classic movies for you to check out...

From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Big Fish: Special Edition

This quirky Tim Burton film is one of his best and most entertaining. Do your relatives tell big fish stories about their exciting pasts that you get tired of hearing? What if you had to actually live one...or several? Maybe you would find a treasure trove of enchantment to pass on to your own kids!

In Big Fish, William Bloom (Billy Crudup) is beyond embarrassed when his dad Edward (Albert Finney) keeps telling everyone his tall tales. Dad manages to pull focus to himself even when the night is supposed to be all about William. William walks out and moves to Paris and doesn't talk to his dad for three years until he gets that dreaded call from his mom (Jessica Lange) that dad is dying and William should get home and make peace before it's too late.

William asks dad to be straight with him. What was his life really like? Edward lets loose with the "truth"?; in colorful tales of giants, a circus, Siamese twins and the twisted story of Edward's (Ewan McGregor in flashbacks) courtship of William's mom (Alison Lohman in flashbacks). William may or may not believe, but the tales are worth passing on to his own kids.

The DVD packaging includes a cute little storybook called "Fairy Tale For a Grown Up" that includes some of the best lines of dialogue from the film backed up with very delightful illustrations.

Video:1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This very colorful world needs a great picture and it looks great here. Strong, warm colors, very sharp detail, no grain or scratches that I could see. The circus scenes are really colorful and flesh tones seem realistic. Good job.

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1. Danny Elfman's soundtrack comes through crisply as do sound effects. Clean, well-balanced sound and clear dialogue. I missed some lines in the theater so this is an improvement for me.

Special Features: Under "The Filmmakers' Path", Director's Commentary-Tim Burton is interviewed about his work and overall career. With shy Burton, this works great and he chats about casting, production and developing the characters, shooting and going "real" rather than CGI whenever he could. Good stuff.

"Fish Tales" can be turned off or on while watching the film and by clicking on a pop-up icon, you can get a featurette on the making of that part of the film. Fun.

More featurettes include "The Character's Journey" which gives you short pieces on Edward Bloom's world, Danny DeVito's character and a "Fathers and Sons" section with cast and filmmakers talking about the father and son relationship. Informative and a kick to watch.

In "Tim Burton: Storyteller", you get Tim talking about how his creative process works and the backstory of how Big Fish was created. Really quirky and interesting. "A Fairy Tale World" tells you how important fairy tales and myths were to the making of the film. A fun blast to your childhood. In "Creature Features", you get a look at the Stan Winston critters created for the film. Fascinating. In "The Author's Journey", you learn about bringing the movie from the pages of a book by Author Daniel Wallace to the screenplay by John August.. more on the inspiration for the unusual story. Also interesting.

"The Finer Points" is a trivia quiz that's a kick for buffs of film detail and there are the usual trailers for the film and several others from the studio including the delightful animated "Triplets of Belleville".

Wrapping Up: Big Fish is a really magical movie that makes you want to go ask all the elders in your family about their lives.. maybe there is a gem in there that will fascinate you! This DVD looks and sounds great and all of the special features are worthy of collecting. Great gift for those who didn't discover the film in theaters and those who loved it. It's fun for the whole family. Oh, and there is at least one Easter egg.

From Universal Studios Home Entertainment

The Blues Brothers: 25th Anniversary Edition

This DVD has been out for a while but shouldn't be forgotten for holiday giving. It is Dan Aykroyd and the late, great John Belushi of TV's golden era of "Saturday Night Live" at their comic peak and rates 5 out of 5 stars on the laugh-o-meter!

The basic plot of The Blues Brothers is simple. Jake (Belushi) has just gotten out of prison. He and his bro Elwood (Aykroyd) want to put their old band back together and are recruited to raise money to keep the orphanage where they were raised from closing. Of course these guys are trouble magnets as they try to gather up old band members. They manage to piss off the law, a group of Neo-Nazis, an angry country western band and Jake's really angry old girlfriend (played by Carrie Fisher) who is after him with a bazooka and rocket launcher! The music from this film is legend.. appearing in person Aretha Franklin, in an hilarious musical number, Ray Charles in a street party scene and it goes on from there. The Blues Bros are on a "mission from God" and you've just gotta come along!

Video: This is a 1980 movie so you might notice a little grain in darker scenes but it's presented in Widescreen (1.85:1) anamorphic and it looks really great.

Audio: You get two versions of the film on the disc. The extended cut has a great Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track but the theatrical gets Dolby Digital 2.0 treatment. Weird. Both are good but the 5.1 really makes the music sound better. Watch both!

Special Features: There was another DVD of this film out and the really great hour-long "Stories Behind the Making of The Blues Brothers" is rolled over to this new DVD. Tons of recollections and insider tales from Aykroyd, John Landis, producer, editor and cinematographer and some of the band members are offered. A really complete "how did they do that" featurette that is fantastic.

New stuff just for this DVD offers a short intro by Dan Aykroyd, "A Day on the Blues Brothers Tour" gives you a wacky behind the scenes look at the guys on tour with their Blues Bros act. "Transposing the Music" presents Aykroyd, Landis, Jim Belushi, John Goodman, John's widow etc. talking about the many spin-offs that the movie and characters launched. Really interesting. Sadly, John Belushi died way before his time and the nine-minute "Remembering John" tribute is a great feature including some of the people that knew him best and their fave moments and memories of the comic genius.

Also on the disc are some production notes, the original trailer and a menu that lets you jump to the various great music scenes in the film. There are also filmographies and a big photo gallery. Not "must-haves" but they add to the enjoyment of the Blues Bro experience.

Wrapping Up – This was one of my favorite comic movies of all time. It's a classic. It's over-the-top in jokes, action and it's a wonderful musical treat. No skit or character from "Saturday Night Live" ever did as well when translated to film... and, in this case, stage, as The Blues Brothers. This DVD will get you laughing, singing along and should not be missed as a gift or for your own collection!

From Dreamworks Home Entertainment

Madagascar

It's the lion, the zebra, the hippo and the giraffe teaming with the escapist penguins on a trek to the wild!

In the CGI animated movie Madagascar, New York's Central Park Zoo animals are getting restless. There is the lion Alex (voiced by Ben Stiller), zebra Marty (Chris Rock), giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer) and hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith). It's Marty's 10th birthday and mid-life crisis time. He sees the zoo penguins making an escape for their natural habitat in Antarctica and is inspired to get back to his "wild" roots. He takes off at night and his pals go looking for him only to be trapped by zoo officials and a swat team. It is decided to "free" the critters by shipping them back to Africa!

When the escaping penguins take over the ship the guys are on, their crates go overboard and they end up in Madagascar which is populated in the film largely by lemurs, including King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen). Big trouble among the friends starts when Alex starts reverting to his jungle self and seeing his friends, especially Marty, as dinner!!!

Video: Madagascar is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The style of the animation isn't as detailed as in some other recent features but the vistas of Madagascar look first rate, sharp and very crisp.. Nothing to complain about tech-wise here. Looks beautiful.

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Sounds fine. You don't get much surround sound other than a few jungle noises but the music and dialogue come through fine.

Special Features: The best is the inclusion of the all new short feature called The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. The penguins follow their youngest member the Private into town where he is mistaken for a Christmas chew toy by a cranky old lady who gives him to her killer poodle! The waddling guys must attack and rescue him! Very cute and well worth buying on its own.

There is a commentary from directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell, who talk about their choice of design for the film and the influence of the fantastic island of Madagascar on the filmmakers, various animation challenges they faced, etc. Cute and interesting. There is also a short commentary track from the Penguin characters that goes over their scenes but, although fun, it's not as funny as it might have been.

There are animation bloopers; the usual showing weird mistakes that are visually funny. An Easter egg feature asks you to "Crack the Code" as the penguins pop up and leave footprints.. You follow the prints and get some additional info on the film. In "Meet the Wild Cast" we get intros to the characters and the voice actors playing them. Okay fun, especially if you are fans of the actors. In "Tech of Madagascar" there is more on the actual animation of the film. Good if you are still in the dark on some of the CGI animation techniques. "Enchanted Island" is sort of a cool travel featurette that tells you all about the really unique island. A colorful travel experience. "Behind the Crates" more on story to screen insider info.. more of the same but interesting.

More aimed at the younger set is the "I Like to Move It, Move It" music video, but I found this one really fun!

There are various Set Top Games which are quite cute to play once for older teens and young adults and over and over for the pre-teen and kiddie set. The DVD also includes some printable activities and iron-ons etc. from a DVD–Rom feature.

Wrapping Up – Madagascar isn't necessarily a classic but the animals are very winning and there are some clever and very visual jokes and stunts. The voice actors do a fantastic job of bringing these little critters to life. And with the excellent video and audio presentation and wide range of special features, the DVD is well worth collecting or giving to pals...especially those with younger siblings to please this holiday season.

From Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Herbie: Fully Loaded

That old VW Bug gets all hot and bothered when it gets purchased by Lindsay Lohan!

In "Herbie", Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan), is a race car driver wanna be who saves Herbie the bug from the junkyard car masher. With her mechanic friend Kevin (Justin Long), she fixes up the little guy for the track and learns that he's got a mind of his own. Her dad (Michael Keaton) forbids her to race but Maggie is challenged by road race king Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon) to a big race. Will Maggie get to drive? Will Herbie come through?

Video: Very clean 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Sharp mostly with a little edge enhancement seen at times. Colors are saturated. Outdoor shots seem overly bright but it's a clean transfer.

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 is good quality. Not a lot of surround sound here but clean. The pop music soundtrack comes through nicely and I didn't miss any dialogue ...even at the race track.

Special Features: Tons! The blooper reel is really cute and Lindsay freaks out and screams a lot. There are some Disney sneak peek trailers of course and seven Deleted Scenes with optional commentary and an alternate opening sequence. Kinda easy to see why this stuff wasn't used but interesting to see another take none-the-less.

Lindsay's music video for her song "First" is included and Lindsay looks hot.. seemingly posing with Herbie in a more PG-13 version of Paris Hilton's sexy car commercial (or... what is she advertising anyway?).

Featurettes include "A Day at the Races" which takes you behind the race scenes with Lindsay, real race car driver Deborah Renshaw and Herbie at a real NASCAR race. The best part is the crew prepping for shooting the film. Next is "Breaking the Rules: The Stunts From Herbie Fully Loaded" which is a breakdown of some of the stunts the little car does during the movie; which Herbies were digital and which were real on set etc. Interesting.

Another featurette "Bringing Herbie to Life" is more on making Herbie 'talk' and efforts to really make him lovable, as filmmakers tried to stick as closely to the original Love Bug as possible.

Audio Commentary by Director Angela Robinson gets pretty technical as she talks about her difficulties while filming and in production. With no one else on the track to banter with, it can get kinda dry but Angela is informative at least.

Wrapping Up – Herbie was big in your parents' era so you can probably watch this one with them in the room. The story is really predictable and cartoonish but the car is still cute and I enjoyed Matt Dillon as the bad guy and Lindsay's fans will enjoy her. The audio and video is good and the extras will please fans at least. Good gift for a Lindsay fan especially.

Sky High

Talk about geeks and freaks at school. The kids at Sky High are sons and daughters of superheroes. Way too much pressure to succeed!

Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is the son of The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston), hottest couple in the superhero world. Most of the kids who enter the exclusive floating-in-the-stratosphere Sky High high school, have already gotten their superpowers but not Will and he's doing his best to hide that fact. At school, a kid is assigned as a "hero" or a "side-kick" (i.e. Batman or Robin) by what powers he or she possesses.

Will's friends are supposedly side kicks but they have some cool powers. Layla (Danielle Panabaker) controls all kinds of vegetation, Magenta can shape-shift (but so far only into a guinea pig) and Zach sort of just "glows". When the kids at school find out that Will's parents are superstars, they expect a lot from him. Will eventually gets his powers and alienates his pals by hanging with the hero kids (i.e. jocks) but learns to ditch the labels and choose his true friends over the snotty heroes and the pretty girl in school ...who is really bad news.

Video: Excellent! Really bright vibrant crisp colors in widescreen (anamorphic, 2.35:1). All the color and pop you expect from a superhero movie.

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 is well balanced with the dialogue, sound effects and the score coming through very clearly.

Special Features: An "Alternate Opening" runs a little over 3 minutes and was better replaced. It is kind of too weird and reveals a little too much too fast but it's fun to watch. The "Super Bloopers" are silly but I love bloopers so they are fun. Bowling for Soup's cover of "I Melt With You" is a fun music video and "Welcome to Sky High" is a 15 minute behind-the-scenes compilation with the usual cast and crew interviews and on-set fun. Better than the usual "sell the movie" feature.

"Breaking Down Walls: The Stunts of Sky High" is a seven minute piece on the wire work and the on-set effects that provide some of the best action in the film. This is kinda kick-butt and really fun to watch.

You get a bunch of trailers for several other Disney films as usual.

Wrapping Up: A director or actor commentary would have been nice.. especially one featuring Michael and the other young actors just sittin' around reliving their fun experiences. Since this film is aimed at teens, this would seem to be a "natural" to me. But, the movie is cute and you can identify with a lot of the high school cliques and forced social structure. The whole family can watch this and enjoy without groaning. Good gift for the families on your list!

Do we have more DVD's to dish on? You bet! Check back in for Part 4 of our massive DVD Review Round-Up for Holiday Giving....

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.