DVD Review Round-Up

Stuck at home a lot this summer? Don't have a summer job to pay for those expensive dinners and movies out? Don't despair. We'll keep the DVDs for rental or buy coming atcha. All the better for a cozy evening in front of your TV with the BFFs. This round-up offers a fun, sun-kissed romantic adventure, a romantic comedy, an action-filled yet romantic blast to the past, a sci-fi stunner and a tale of a once unpopular teen who ends up ruling his school....

From Universal Home Entertainment

Definitely Maybe

Ryan Reynolds (yeah, the one who is engaged to Scarlett Johansson) is Will Hayes, who gets served his divorce papers. His adorable daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) wants dad to tell her how he met mom. Maybe by doing so, he'll learn what went wrong. Dad decides to make it a game. There will be more than one woman involved. He's changing the names and she'll have to guess who mom is. The flashback tale includes college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), her friend Summer (Rachel Weisz), a journalist living with a bigtime writer and April (Isla Fisher) a kinda dingy but sweet worker at a campaign headquarters. Who is mom material? You'll be guessing.

Video/Audio: The widescreen picture offers good color, a kind of soft focus that suits the romantic story. Not amazing but fine for this type of film. Sound is Dolby 5.1. Ambient sounds outside and in are very real and sharp. Dialogue comes through very well. No probs!

Special Features: You get a complete audio commentary with writer/director Adam Brooks and star Ryan! Some of the track is a little too laid back but Reynolds comes off as a cool dude who relays his thoughts and backstory moments with some humor. He reveals that Isla Fisher evidently swears like a sailor and dialogue with Abigail was crisp and great etc. A nice track.

You get four deleted scenes on the same subject with more Abigail and Ryan exchanges. Very charming and worth a look-see.

In "Creating A Romance" Director Brooks talks about casting; especially his different female leads and says that everybody can identify with Ryan, an "everyman" type. The cast checks in and Isla gets to zing Ryan back for his "potty mouth" comment. Nothing earthshaking but quite enjoyable.

"The Changing Times of Definitely, Maybe" offers more interviews with more of a nod to filmmaking; the sets and 1992-era costumes to present etc. The costume and production designers, cast and crew weigh in. We get more insight on Ryan's character from director Brooks. Enjoyable. Hey you also get a trailer for the upcoming musical "Mama Mia". Fun!

Wrapping Up: I enjoyed this fun romantic comedy. The tale is told with a twist.. hummm, who is Abigail's mom? You start rooting for one woman or another to win out! Some of it is corny but believable. Your guy pals can at least relate to Ryan and watch along with you. A definite rent and a buy especially if you are an Abigail or Ryan fan. Their exchanges are witty, candid, warm and fuzzy and funny! Very creative film with good performances from a worthy cast to add to your collection.

From Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

10,000 B.C.

On Earth in pre-historic times, young D'Leh's (Steven Strait) dad supposedly abandons his tribe of hunters for unknown lands. He's called a coward so his son is shunned. Evolet (Camilla Belle) an orphan girl with super-blue eyes shows up, is taken in and wins D'Leh's heart. The village wise-woman predicts evil omens.. a bad hunt and an attack. Scary guys from another tribe do arrive and take prisoners, Evolet among them. The elder also predicts a savior to right all these wrongs...D'Leh, who is totally unprepared but he gathers up a few warrior/hunters and they are off to find the kidnappers, ending up gathering an army, fighting an evil "God" and freeing a ton of slaves... and his girl Evolet.

Video/Audio: On this DVD you get a choice of widescreen and full screen but you've gotta chose the widescreen or half of the impressive vistas and fight sequences will be cut off. There are a lot of very dark scenes in the movie, forcing me to crank up the brightness on my HD screen. The huge desert city, however is golden and super bright. Looking really good overall. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix does pump sound out of all your speakers. Every time a wooly mammoth stomps the ground, the whole room will reverberate! Dialogue is also clear. Soundin' good too!

Special Features: Not many. You do get an alternate ending in which narrator Omar Sharif, dressed as a weird old geezer/storyteller many years later, fills in the blanks on what we've just seen and tells us that the evil city of the bad God disappeared in the sand. We see the unfinished computer-generated proof. Okay to watch.

"Additional Scenes" are basically longer versions of what we see and we can tell why they are cut. There are a bunch of unfinished visual effects in these scenes. The longer "get to know you" scene between D'Leh and the saber-tooth kitty would have been cool to see if it were finished!

Wrapping Up: Okay, this movie was nothing like I expected. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a fantasy with lots of macho guy action but, it's a love story at the core so there is something for everybody. I enjoyed the huge vistas and pre-historic CGI animals (especially the huge, furry kitty saber-tooth tiger and all the wooly mammoths!) Critics complained that the film mixed historical eras badly.. you've got humans alive with saber-toothed tigers and dinosaur-like bird creatures but hey, it's a fantasy. Pretend it takes place on another planet and you're fine. Cute, shirtless Steven Strait (of Sky High, The Covenant and Stop Loss) isn't too bad to look at either although Camilla Belle's weird blue contacts take a bit of getting used to. The film is kinda corny but it will keep your interest with a love story, action and good visual effects. Very good for a change-of-pace rent.

Fool's Gold

Hot Matthew McConaughey is Finn and Kate Hudson is the almost ex-wife whom he still loves. The duo ends up, reluctantly, together on a Caribbean treasure hunt for the legendary sunken Queen's Dowry riches. Finn, in debt to mobster Big Bunny, wants to get his wife back and get to the treasure before Bunny and thugs get him! A sub-plot involves rich dude Donald Sutherland and his ditzy daughter played by Alexis Dziena.

Video/Audio: All the glory of the sunny Caribbean comes out clear, bright and gorgeous as do the deep blue ocean and underwater scenes. Lookin' pretty! Dolby 5.1 gives you ocean sounds, action thwacks etc. Maybe could use a bit more or stronger but dialogue is fine.

Special Features: Not a lot. You get a gag/joke reel..not really goofs or blowing lines but more behind the scenes silly stuff. Kinda cute. "Flirting with Adventure" is mostly interviews with Kate and the crew. Kate says about Matt "We fight well, and we flirt really well" but they both say this in interviews all the time. These guys are just charming and winning together and more about this or interviews and footage with them together in their weird, flirty bro-sis relationship would have been more fun.

Wrapping Up: This film was kind of silly, had a silly dad/daughter estrangement sub-plot that never really went anywhere but the locations are to die for and gorgeous Kate and Matthew, of the flat abs and toned pecs, will keep you glued to the TV screen. The duo was charming together in the romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days back in 2003. They are more annoying here but, hey if you are a fan of either, you'll probably enjoy them bickering and snuggling in this Caribbean romp. Beware the loooooong backstory scene in which Matt describes the history of the treasure in boring History-class-like detail! Yawn. I'll go with a buy for fans, a rent for everyone else!

From 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Jumper

In this sci-fi actioner, teenager David Rice (Star Wars' Hayden Christensen) learns that he can teleport himself anywhere! Wow, think of the potential in that! In love with a local girl, he never really gets to hook up when he needs to leave his abusive dad. He heads for the big city and uses his power for fun evil... like appearing in bank vaults and robbing them! A few years later, he's filthy rich and living in a hot high rise. A group of hitmen who want to kill all "Jumpers" zero in on him. Teaming up with fellow Jumper Griffin (Jamie Bell) and his childhood girlfriend (Rachel Bison), David runs from the "Paladins" or religious freak Jumper killers (headed by Samuel L. Jackson).

Video/Audio: We got only a "screener" copy of the DVD so we aren't sure how the final product looked. Colors were fine and effects looked good as far as we can tell. Sound wasn't all that speaker-wide but worked okay. I couldn't always hear the dialogue but good enough.

Special Features: Quite a few. Commentary with director Doug Liman, Writer/Producer Simon Kinberg and producer Lucas Foster is kinda funny. The trio likes to crack jokes as they take the film apart. Kinda fun

"Jumping Around the World" lets you see where David is at any moment in the movie. Okay but not really necessary. "Jumpstart: David's Story" is a narrated graphic novel that tells a whole different David story.. entertaining but not all that relevant to this picture. Fun for comics fans. "Doug Liman's Jumper Uncensored" is a good featurette in which you can follow the director around set while he does his thing and handles challenges. Actually very involving and interesting.

In "Making An Actor Jump" explores the various methods tried for the actual teleport/jumps in the film. Several tests are shown; some more successful than others. Interesting to effects fans. In "Jumping From Novel to Film" you learn how the novel was adapted to film and written to be a three-parter. Interesting. "Six Deleted Scenes" are interesting but not necessary to expand the story. You do learn one Jumper 's fate. In "Previz: Future Concepts" You get details on the planned three films as you watch animatics on some of the future action. You do get told some things you might rather wait to know.

Wrapping Up: Hayden is really pretty wooden in the movie and he and Rachel (of "The O.C.") don't have much chemistry but the story is really involving. However, since there was a hope that there would be three films, the ending is unsatisfying and incomplete. There are funny moments and plenty of close call action however. Jamie Bell is really cool. Fans of the novel were disappointed by the film. The David character does little that is heroic in the movie so it's hard to really root for him. There is such potential in a teleporting tale that isn't reached here. However, there is enough to look at and enjoy to recommend a rental.

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) is a smart but messed-up teen whose mom treats him more like an adult. Due to his creative money-making schemes, he's been in and out of a ton of private schools and would love to fit in somewhere. Finally, he's determined to make it at a public high school and finds his niche; he's the bathroom stall shrink/therapist to the school's troubled students. He is also very able, via his own shrink, to provide them with tons of prescription drugs to cure what ails them. Cute Tyler Hilton plays Murphey, once a bully, now a business partner who helps Charlie become "the man" at the school.

Charlie falls for principal's daughter Susan (Kat Dennings) and together they mount a protest against the snoopy security cameras throughout school. Even the wacky, depressed principal (Ironman's Robert Downey Jr.) is impressed.

Video/Audio: The widescreen transfer was vibrant and sharp on our screener disc so we assume it looks good on the final product. Dolby digital audio sounds fine with dialogue and music coming out okay.

Special Features: You get two Audio Commentaries; one with the director, Jon Poll and writer, Gustin Nash. Of course, this one is more informative on the making of the film, challenges, etc. Anton Yelchin and co-star Kat Dennings do the second track and you'll find that one more entertaining and relatable.

You get a featurette called "Restroom Confessional" in which the cast and crew are confessing their problems to Anton as Charlie. Anton talks about how he actually hates Charlie Bartlett. The others confess to various wacky things.. Funny but could have been funnier.

There is also a music video for Spiral Beach's "Voodoo". Okay if you are into their music.

Wrapping Up: The classic Ferris Bueller is still the winner and champion film about a cool high school slacker. It's hard to beat that one but quirky, current Charlie Bartlett is quite likable. You root for him to find his bliss and his own niche among his peers. This teen-angst film is less silly than many. You might find at least one character in the cast that you can relate to. Hipper and more modern than "Ferris", the tale is well worth a watch, especially with great performances by Anton and the amazing Robert Downey Jr. as the suicidal, depressed school principal. Definitely gather the buds, rent and watch this one. Then decide if you wanna buy.

***

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