Home Media Magazine - April 6-12, 2008 - (Page 28)

REVIEWS I WAR DANCE Street 4/15 ThinkFilm, Documentary, B.O. $0.1 million, $27.98 DVD, ‘PG13’ for some thematic material involving descriptions of war atrocities. www.homemediamagazine.com With its atmospheric, stark cinematography and the straight talk of its subjects, filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix have created a haunting look at kids forced to become adults much too soon. Some may find the techniques used here to be manipulative in raising awareness of Uganda’s problems, but it’s effective. It humanizes the subjects, showing the competition’s importance as a much-needed celebration for Patongo, which has seen years of misery. For the students, it’s especially crucial: They get a chance to take pride in something, and, more importantly, to be kids for once. Fans of movies such as Spellbound and Mad Hot Ballroom should gravitate toward War Dance. Though it’s not as sunny as those earlier releases, it’s just as memorable in showing the hidden lives of kids. – Pete Croatto I JOHN LENNON: PLASTIC ONO BAND Prebook 4/9; Street 4/29 Eagle Rock/Kayos, Music, $14.98 DVD, NR. W ar Dance looks at three students in war-torn northern Uganda — where abductions and violence are a sad norm — whose school gets the opportunity to compete in an annual music and dance festival. They are three of the 60,000 people crammed in a war zone displacement camp in Patongo, where any step outside the boundaries is an invitation for more tragedy. Softspoken Rose, 13, had both of her parents killed by rebel soldiers; xylophone-playing Dominic, 14, was forced to kill by rebel soldiers, who also abducted his brother; and Nancy, 14, takes care of the family after her father’s murder forced her mother to constantly travel for work. hose looking for a breath of warm, sweet nostalgia won’t necessarily find it in the primal-scream wailings of Plastic Ono Band. As a fascinating rock documentary, though, this new DVD chronicling the making of the Plastic Ono Band album takes us to 1970 and the beginning of the post-Beatles era. The effort is part of Eagle Rock Entertainment’s “Classic Albums” DVD series. Following the breakup of the Beatles, Lennon was looking for something completely different, creating it in a noisy, offthe-wall collaboration with Yoko Ono and several studio musicians. The documentary uses archival interviews with Lennon, plenty of live footage and extensive interviews with the musicians and producers who worked on the piece, and commentary from Ringo Starr. The songs on the album (“Mother,” “God,” “Isolation,” “Working Class T Hero”) allowed Lennon to vent his own demons for the first time, often employing a screeching singing style he had learned in his controversial primal-scream therapy sessions. Primal-scream therapy was a pop-psychology method at the time, supposedly bringing the participant peace by taking him back to the pain of childbirth. On the album, Lennon for the first time put into lyrics his feelings of abandonment as a child, and his feelings about the end of the Beatles. Mostly, he at last had the opportunity to sing about himself and nothing else. The result is an introspective documentary that will take those who remember back in time, and perhaps create some intrigue and impetus for further research for those who weren’t yet around. Extras are plentiful, especially for intense music fans, as producers and musicians who worked on the album explore the techniques and styles used in the recordings. We hear early takes and explore the musical etymology of several of the songs. – Dan Bennett I AUDUBON BUTTERFLY DVD: ESSENTIALS FOR BEGINNERS AND GARDENERS Street 4/8 Mastervision, Special Interest, $39.95 DVD, NR. Narrated by Clayelle Dalferes. T he latest in Mastervision’s series of DVDs for naturalists, Audubon Butterfly offers a lot of information about butterflies, providing a great introduction on the topic to the amateur lepidopterist. The DVD actually includes two programs — a tutorial on identifying butterflies, and an instructional video on Monarch male planting a garden to on red phlox attract butterflies. photo by Paul & Butterflies for BeginEvi Opler ners presents a visual guide to butterflies, plus a discussion of the life cycle of a butterfly, from mating to larva to chrysalis. It’s the kind of program you’d probably find playing on a loop at a nature center. The graphics are clear enough to follow, ensuring viewers would get the gist of it even if the program were on mute. This show includes a message about collecting butterflies — since some are endangered, it’s best to head to a local museum to study specimens. This leads to the opening section of Butterfly Gardening, which describes how some butterflies are threatened or were rendered extinct by the loss of their natural habitats. The idea here is to help viewers design their own bright flower gardens to help promote butterfly habitat preservation. The program offers a list of plants best suited for attracting butterflies (they prefer bright nectar plants, while flowers such as tulips are nearly useless to them). Another option is to transplant butterflies, caterpillars and eggs directly into the garden. This section also is divided by geographic regions in the United States and Canada to let viewers decide upon the best choice of plants based on where they live. The gardening section has its own butterfly gallery, repeating some of the information covered in more detail in the first program. Chapters are neatly divided into specific topics, but the menu allows direct access to only three categories per program. A table of contents on the DVD package should help viewers navigate to specific chapters when they need a refresher. For those interested in more details about butterflies, a companion video, Audubon Video Guide to Butterflies DVD: Common and Endangered, streets in September. – John Latchem 28 Home Media Magazine April 6–12, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - April 6-12, 2008

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