DVD Review Round Up

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Nanny McPhee – (PG)

This tale of fun and terror follows a mysterious woman with magical powers while she attempts to take control of the seven Brown children. The children, who are very, very, very naughty, have managed to drive away 17 other nannies but will soon discover that their misbehaving doesn't fly with Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) .

Special Features:

Gag Reel – with 7 children on set you can imagine just how many bloopers and re-takes there were. Some of the funniest bloopers are captured for you to watch. Surprisingly, it's mostly the adult characters in the film that make the most goofs!

"Deleted Scenes" features seven scenes edited from the movie as well as an extra-long opening sequence. Fun to watch but you'll be able to tell why most of them were cut. Watch out for a scene included in the movie that gets a whole new "look" in this section.

"Village Life" is a behind-the-scenes look at how the whole Nanny McPhee set was created. A very cool look at how the entire set was built from the ground up to make the village come to life.

"Nanny McPhee Makeover" Check out how beautiful Emma Thompson gets scary in this cool feature that shows you the step-by-step process to perfecting the Nanny McPhee look.

"Casting the Children" looks at the long process of casting all 7 Brown children. You'll see each actors' audition and the directors also discuss the trials and tribulations of working with children and animals. Worth a peek.

"How Nanny McPhee Came To Be" looks at the life of Christianna Brand and Edward Adrizzone who created the book "Nurse Matilda" which was the inspiration for Nanny McPhee over 100 years ago! Very cool to see old illustration styles and find out how the story itself originated.

Two Commentaries: The first with Kirk Jones (Director) & the Children and the second with Lindsay Doran (Producer) & Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee). Both are interesting but if you're looking for a more informative look at the film go with Kirk and the children and for a non stop giggle-fest, watch Lindsay and Emma's commentary.

Audio/Video: Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1). The colors and sounds on this DVD are excellent. Dialogue and songs sound clear and colors are so vivid and bright they feel, well... magical.

Nanny McPhee could be called this generation's Mary Poppins, but, unlike its sugary counterpart, this story explores the dark side of childhood before it turns on the magic. This wickedly charming tale might not be everything nice but it's sure to entertain the whole family. There are lots of special features included so it's worth buying this DVD if you enjoyed the story. The beautifully decorated cover will look nice on your DVD shelf.

MTV and Paramount Home Entertainment

All You've Got

In the spirit of Bring it On, All You've Got stars Ciara, Efren Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite), Adrienne Bailon, Daniella Alonso("One Tree Hill") and is a comedy centered around the competitive sport of high school volleyball. Things heat up when three top players are forced to play on the opposing team after their private campus burns down. What follows is romance and rivalry as the girls battle it out on and off the courts. This is an original MTV Studios presentation making its debut on DVD.

Special Features:

"MTV's Making the Movie" is a behind the scenes view at how this movie came to be. It includes scenes from the movie and commentary by Ciara, Adrienne, Efren, Director Neema Barnette and others. You'll watch as scenes are filmed while the actors get some tips and direction from Neema. This is a fun and in-depth look at the making of this movie.

Cast Interviews (English/Spanish) - Here you have your pick of over a dozen interviews with the major players in this movie. There are lots to see and listen to here so pick your favorite characters from the movie.

Deleted scenes - Most of the 5 cut short scenes lead to side story involving Lauren's character. Not particularly interesting and were probably cut for time or to keep the movie more focused on the whole team.

"Bump, Set, Spike" is the girls' training and rehearsals sessions with real volleyball players. Quite short but fun to watch nonetheless.

"Serve it up" - this looks like a bunch of left over bloopers from behind-the-scenes. Pretty dull but at least the audio track makes you want to dance.

The DVD also includes previews for other MTV shows coming to DVD like Nick Cannon's "Wild and Out" and "Laguna Beach". You've probably seen both of these promos during commercial breaks on MTV.

Audio/Video: Presented in widescreen format with dolby digital(english) and 5.1 Surround (english, spanish). The audio on this disc is fine but the video seemed grainy and had a tv movie look. The colors look better on the cover than they do in the actual movie.

Fans of Ciara's will no doubt rush out to buy this DVD to catch her debut performance. Overall, the movie carries a good message, plays an awesome soundtrack and has a few special features worth checking out. I'd recommend renting over buying as the DVD quality isn't great.

20th Century Fox

Tristan & Isolde

Set during the dark ages of Medieval wars, the movie explores the love story between an English warrior (Tristan played by James Franco) and an Irish princess (Isolde played by Sophia Myles) who cross-paths under purely fateful circumstances. Knowing their union is strictly forbidden and will cause a feud between their kingdoms, Tristan & Isolde pursue a Romeo & Juliet style doomed romance while they try to make the age old decision between love and honor.

Special Features:

"Love Conquers All: Making Tristan & Isolde" - A making of featurette that looks at the decisions Ridley Scott and Kevin Reynolds made while making this film. A camera catches many of the Director's emotions and challenges and difficulties of making a period film. You'll get an up close and personal look while Kevin Reynolds experiences the challenges of directing a period film. A great feature to watch for all you aspiring movie makers. There's also some really cool tid-bits about the journey this movie went through before it actually made it to the big screen. 30 minutes worth of cast and crew explains everything from script, set design, fight choreography, costumes and the final transition to the big screen. Everything that went into creating this film is here.

Gavin Degraw: "We Belong Together" music video. Both the long and short version are on the DVD. Very similar videos except that one is two minutes longer. I don't remember this video getting much airplay so if you liked the song, you'll probably think it's cool that it was included on the DVD.

The "Image Galleries" feature photos of the actors behind the scenes, as well as photos of production design and costume design. Similar to any "production still" feature on websites promoting the film but with many more photos.

Audio/Video: The film is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen, and the image quality is stunning. Appropriate for the "dark ages' theme the film's rich color palette of greens and golds looks amazing. Audio is available in both 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital Surround and the sound is great. The disc provides clear dialogue, effects and music.

Unfortunately this film received less than desirable reactions from critics and audiences during its stint on the big screen. I thought the story was interesting enough and after watching the special features I could really appreciate the hard work the cast and crew put in to bring this film to life. If you enjoyed the movie, this DVD is worth buying for your collection.

Cheaper By the Dozen 2 – (PG-13)

Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate (Bonnie Hunt) find that their oldest children are growing up and moving out. With one daughter moving to Houston and the other leaving for New York, the parents decide to bring the Baker dozen clan back together again for a summer holiday. There, they find themselves pitted against the rival Murtaugh family, led by Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy), in one "friendly" competition after another.

Special Features:

"Camp Chaos" – Here the actors talk candidly about the chaos on set that comes hand in hand with a dozen child actors. You'll also see how much fun director Adam Shankman had being a big kid on set.
"Comedic Trio" – The actors talk about the comical chemistry between Steve, Bonnie and Eugene. The feature also includes some of the funnier clips from the movie.

Audio/Video:You can watch this movie in both full screen and widescreen versions. The colors are bright and vivid, perfect for summer. Audio is balanced perfectly between dialogue and soundtrack. Excellent transfer to DVD.

Commentary - Adam Shankman talks about working with such a young and large cast. He also talks about some of the effects in the film but tends to talk a lot about what we are seeing on screen. Unless you're a big fan of commentaries, I'd skip this feature all together.

The sequel isn't as much of a gut-buster as you may hope but it's a good family movie none-the-less. The Special Features are kept short and sweet so you won't spend hours looking for that one fun extra. If you own Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 will be a good addition to your DVD collection. Otherwise, save your money and rent instead.

Big Momma's House 2 – (PG-13)
Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is still adjusting to his new role as a family man since foiling a bank robbery in Big Momma's House. When his mentor is murdered he has to keep his wife and the FBI in the dark as he once again goes undercover as Big Momma. This time he's back as a southern Nanny in the name of National security.

Special Features:

"Big Momma's Secret Featurette" is a look at the special effects. Scenes are shown here in pre-special effects and post-special effects format, you'll see lots of sequences that you never would have guessed were SFX. It would have been interesting to see the actual process involved in creating the "look" but the before and after were a cool addition. Overall, it was probably the best special feature I've seen included on any DVD.

Commentary - featuring director John Whitesell, producer David T. Friendly and actor Zachary Levi. The three comment on scenes, sets, props, characters and why certain scenes were edited. Zachery Levin cracks a few jokes but overall doesn't have much to comment on. Overall, not worth your time.

Deleted scenes – shows the few scenes that were taken out of the movie because, as director John Whitesell explains, they weren't necessary for the "movement" of the plot. Fun to watch.

Audio/Video: The DVD is presented in both widescreen and full screen format on a flipper disc, with English Dolby Surround 5.1 and Spanish and French Dolby Surround, and English and Spanish subtitles. The video quality was good and the soundtrack was entertaining and not overbearing.

Overall, this movie wasn't much different from the original Big Momma's House. It earned a hefty $70million at the box office which must mean that many of you enjoyed it. I wouldn't say you need to buy this DVD but the "secret featurette" makes it worth a rent.

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