Now that March Break has arrived here are some good DVDs to relax with. Most of these are good to watch with the whole family while others, such as 2012, aren't appropriate for younger children (it may stress some adults too!) Happy viewing!
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Home Entertainment, rated PG)
Available on DVD on March 23 is the stop-motion animated movie Fantastic Mr. Fox. Nominated for two Oscars and based on the book by Roald Dahl, this film is about Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep) who live a happy life with their son (Jason Schwartzman). That is until Mr. Fox returns to his burgling past and plots a huge theft from farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean as the victims. These are some of the nastiest farmers around and they aren't about to put up with Mr. Fox's heists. Others who lent their voices to this fun film include Bill Murray, William Dafoe and Owen Wilson.
Robin Hood: Season Three (Warner Home Video, rated PG, 5 discs)
Robin Hood on BBC was on from 2006-2009 (39 episodes). The third season of Robin Hood was recently released from Warner Home Video and it features 13 entertaining episodes on 5 discs about Robin Hood, Tuck, Little John and others as they rob from the rich and give to the poor. This season sees Brother Tuck (David Harewood) join in the fight against injustice. Others in the fun series include: Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood), Richard Armitage (Guy of Gisborne), Keith Allen (Sheriff of Nottingham) and Gordon Kennedy (Little John).
Special features include a costume featurette, "A Legend Reborn" and character profiles.
The African Queen (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated G)
It's been a long time since I've seen the 1951 movie The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. The restored and remastered film directed by John Huston is now available for the first time on DVD.
Filmed on location in the Belgian Congo, Rose Sayer (Hepburn) is a missionary who joins forces with Charlie Allnut (Bogart), a riverboat captain, to attack a German warship in war-torn East Africa.
Humphrey Bogart won an Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role."
The Neverending Story (Warner Home Video, rated PG, Blu-ray)
Children of all ages enjoy the film The Neverending Story. Well, now this 1984 movie is on Blu-ray disc with 5.1 audio. It features a boy who is given a magic book. When the boy, Bastian, reads the book he enters the story (which includes racing snails, bats, luckdragons and elves) and becomes instrumental in protecting the doomed land Fantasia.
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, The Neverending Story is a good family film.
SpongeBob's Last Stand (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated G)
If you are looking for a quality cartoon for March Break there is SpongeBob's Last Stand - close to 90 minutes of seven episodes of everyone's favourite sponge.
The episodes included are: "SpongeBob's Last Stand" where SpongeBob and Patrick try to stop a highway that would destroy Jellyfish Fields, "Pet or Pests" where SpongeBob cares for worms, "Komputer Overload" where Karen leaves Plankton, "Gullible Pants" which sees Mr. Krabs putting SpongeBob in charge of the Krusty Krab, "Overbooked" where SpongeBob makes plans with three people, "No Hat for Pat" where Patrick wants a hat so he accepts work from Mr. Krabs and "Toy Store of Doom" which has SpongeBob and Patrick getting locked in a toy store overnight.
The funny DVD includes numerous special features including "Karaoke Music Videos", "Bollywood Bob" and "How to Make a SpongeBob SquarePants."
2012 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG)
Looking for an action/adventure movie that will keep you on the edge of you seat? 2012 sees scientists discovering that the Earth's core is heating up threatening the planet's species - including humans. While governments plan on saving some from the various species to repopulate the Earth, the catastrophe occurs as volcanoes erupt, earthquakes occur and tsunamis swamp much of the planet. While governments deal secretly with the impending catastrophe, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) also learns about what is going to occur and sets out to save his family.
While there are parts of the movie that are unbelievable, it is an entertaining film. The special effects are awesome and the cast is impressive too that, along with Cusack, includes Amanda Pete, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woodie Harrelson, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton and Oliver Platt. Rest up before watching the movie though. Not only is it 158 minutes in length, but there are catastrophes occurring all of the time that will take their toll on you. Due to the intense disaster sequences this film isn't appropriate for young children.
Special features include deleted scenes, an alternate ending and commentary.
Star Trek (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated PG)
Star Trek was a movie that our family intended to see at the drive-in last summer when it was released. We missed it. Fortunately, it is now on DVD and we just watched it. It was very good.
Set in the year 2233, Romulans are causing problems. First they attack the Federation starship USS Kelvin where the ship's captain is killed. The acting captain, George Kirk, also dies while saving the rest of the crew including his wife who is in labour and who has a son, James T. Kirk, before her husband dies. Several years later the Romulans destroy the planet Vulcan killing most of the Vulcans.
The Romulans are eventually stopped by Kirk, Spock and others. During the film you are introduced to the various characters who were in the original television series and films.
The movie itself has a good plot and special effects, but it is also fun seeing where the main characters came from to join up and serve on the USS Enterprise. It was nice seeing Leonard Nimoy having a prominant role in the movie. Others in the film included: Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Eric Bana (Nero), Bruce Greenwood (Christopher Pike), Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott), John Cho (Hikaru Sulu) and Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov).
Several good bonus features are also included.
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Posted by: Plumbing | August 05, 2011 at 04:33 PM