Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - (Page 14) REVIEWS I NIM’S ISLAND Street 8/5 Fox, Family, B.O. $47.9 million, $29.98 DVD, $39.98 Blu-ray, ‘PG’ for mild adventure action and brief language. Stars Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler. Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I THE MUMMY THE MUMMY RETURNS THE SCORPION KING Universal, Adventure, $29.98 each Blu-ray, ‘PG-13.’ Stars Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Dwayne Johnson, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr. im (Breslin) is a young girl living on a remote island din the South Pacific. She spends her days reading adventure novels by Alex Rover (Foster), while her dad, Jack (Butler), studies marine biology. While researching her latest novel, Alex contacts Jack for information about a local volcano. Since he is stranded at sea, Nim tries to help her favorite author, only to find herself in a one-girl war with “buccaneers” trying to take over the island. Of course, the group isn’t a band of pirates — just tourists looking for the island experience and a free buffet. However, Nim summons her favorite adventurer, who also happens to be insanely agoraphobic. With the help of her imaginary alter ego (also played by Butler), Alex manages to get into a cab and across the world in an effort to save her little friend. Based on the book by Wendy Orr, Nim’s Island does inject a bit of girl power into the tween scene. It’s a great vehicle for Breslin, as well as all of the girls who will surely follow her to the current big-screen adventures of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. However, watching Foster flop around like a fish out of water gets to be a bit uncomfortable. The movie starts out interesting, with a sweet story and slew of special effects. However, about halfway through, it relies too much on slapstick, focusing on Alex’s endless travels and Nim’s Home Alone-style attack on the island’s visitors. Commentaries by directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, and another with Foster and Breslin, will probably go over young viewers’ heads. Two notable extras for all viewers include the featurettes “Working on Water,” as well as “Nim’s Friends,” which spotlights the film’s four-legged stars. The Blu-ray version also includes a few games, including a “Write Your Own Alex Rover Adventure” and “Nim’s Island Trivia Track.” – Rachel Cericola N ith Brandon Fraser back in action in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (in theaters Aug. 1), Universal has served up the first three films in the franchise on high-definition. When it comes to presentation and sound, these films are excellent. The 35mm Panavision prints have all the intensity and visual clarity of the HD DVD versions, if not more. The films are presented in 1080p and the action really comes to life on a home theater system. All three films feature DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio surround, which was not available on the HD DVD releases in 2006, which used Dolby Digital Plus. Audiophiles will fall in love with these films, which offer the perfect blend of orchestral score, action and dialogue (even if said dialogue is often more cheesy than entertaining). In terms of special features, all three of these BDs have the new-and-improved U-Control picture-in-picture option that was first introduced by Universal on HD DVD. This BD upgrade, which takes advantage of the Bonus View capability (on Profile 1.1 players and all PlayStation 3 consoles), allows viewers to toggle PIP on or off any time. With featurettes consisting of cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and storyboard comparisons, this mode always has something interesting going on in the small W window, with not too much dead space. In addition, U-Control — now with a new format logo and color screen — allows fans to bookmark their favorite parts of the movies to quickly come back to at any time. The three packages contain a code that allows viewers to print a coupon to apply toward a ticket to see the new big-screen “Mummy” adventure. A common thread among this trilogy of BDs is the standard three-minute featurette promoting the new movie, as well as commentary tracks and featurettes brought over from the HD DVD and DVD versions of the films. Unfortunately, all of the extras on these BD movies are in standard definition. The one standout on the three discs is the 50-minute documentary, “Building a Better Mummy,” which explores Universal and director Stephen Sommers’ revival of the classic monster movie for the modern special effects age. For those who purchased the HD DVD versions of these films, there’s no reason for another investment. But those film fans who’ve waited for high-definition versions will get a slightly better BD experience at a good price. – John Gaudiosi I CODE MONKEYS: SEASON ONE Street 8/5 Shout! Factory, Comedy, $19.99 two-DVD set, NR. “C ode Monkeys” would make a great addition to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup alongside odd offerings such as “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “Fat Guy Stuck in Internet.” Like those shows, “Code Monkeys” is simultaneously a parody of pop culture and a loving homage to it. The animated series, which airs on the videogame-focused cable channel G4, follows the adventures of an odd-couple pair of programmers in the 1980s: the tightly wound Jerry and his prank-loving, irresponsible buddy, Dave. Everything is animated to look like a classic 8-bit video game, and the work these programmers do at the fictitious GameAvision looks like Atari 2600 nearly-no-bit graphics: blocks and pixels. The writers and animators use this unique graphic medium to mock everything from video game flops such as E.T. — The Extra-Terrestrial and hits such as Doom to modern next-gen games such as God of War. Video game fans will get every reference and thrill at guest appearances by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, Doom creator John Romero, and more. But non-video-game fans will at least get all the sex and poop jokes. “Code Monkeys” does do Adult Swim shows one better by toning down the constant irony and sarcasm and building some sympathy for the fall guys and gals: poor nervous Jerry, the token girl Clare, and the wild Texas tycoon Larrity’s stupid son. As much as creator Adam de la Peña would seem to like to kick everyone around, viewers will grow to love the characters in a way that’s impossible on many of Adult Swim’s ultra-ironic offerings. Available as CD-ROM extras on the two-disc set are printable posters, screenshots, and the hilariously bad video games Hangman and 2 Card Monte. In an interview and a walk around the office, de la Peña offers tongue-in-cheek answers to fans and an irreverent attitude toward his very irreverent show. Adult Swim fans note: Dana Snyder, the voice of Master Shake, handles voice work for the most irritating GameAvision employee, Todd. – Brendan Howard 14 Home Media Magazine August 3–9, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Contents News In Focus TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 28)
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