New On Video: 'Moulin Rouge,' 'Princess Diaries'
Also New: 'Uprising,' 'Jurassic Park III'
'Moulin Rouge' (PG-13)
In a year where many movies were easy to categorize, along came Baz Luhrmann?s ?Moulin Rouge?, a movie most would classify as a romance but would hardly be comparable to others of the same genre. Luhrmann?s innovative directing techniques bring an element of entertainment that seems more fitting for a Broadway theater production rather than the big screen -- but he pulls it off in truly remarkable style.
Ewan McGregor (known to some as the young Ben Kenobi), Nicole Kidman (?The Others?), and a talented supporting cast transports us to Paris circa the 1890s, portraying characters in the famed nightclub who are putting on "Spectacular, Spectacular" -- a performance laced with the ideals of the Bohemian society: Truth, beauty, freedom, and love. Today's songs are revamped and weaved intricately into the story, somehow fitting in when they would have been thought to take away from the picture as a whole. Kidman and McGregor (almost surprisingly) sing these tunes wonderfully, proving that movie actors can do more than speak their given lines.
DVD Features: A two-disc set includes audio commentary by multiple contributors on the film, an HBO "making of" special, music videos, extended scenes, multiple angle sequences, interviews, and more. Add in the great packaging, and this DVD can be considered as nothing other than "Spectacular, Spectacular." --Patrick Morgan
'The Princess Diaries' (G)
Sure, its "ugly-duckling-turned-beautiful-swan" storyline doesn't scream originality, but that's hardly any reason to close the book on "The Princess Diaries," a feel-good family movie in the truest sense of the word.
Anne Hathaway stars as Mia Thermopolis, an awkward 16-year-old in a private school filled with snobbish cliques. Mocked by the popular girls and harboring a hopeless crush on the school hunk, Mia feels "invisible." That, changes, though, when her estranged paternal grandmother, Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), shows up to tell Mia that her father was a prince and she's become the heir to the throne (as Clarrisse herself is the queen of Genovia). But with the change comes an unknowing change in attitude, and she begins to overlook the few people who have always seen her for who she really is.
Although it has a wonderful "Cinderella" quality to it, the message of "The Princess Diaries'" feels at times misdirected. In some small way, the film says that beauty is the answer. Thankfully, Hathaway is charming and unassuming as Mia, and the beauty element is put into proper perspective. Andrews is wonderful as Clarisse, who in a subtle way discovers her own inadequacies. It's so exciting to see Andrews on the big screen again, but what makes it more inviting is that she's not locked herself into the wholesome roles with which she's been long associated.
DVD Features: The disc features commentary by director Garry Marshall, and a special commentary section by Andrews and Hathaway, behind-the-scenes featurette, eight deleted scenes, and music videos by Myra, and Krystal. --Tim Lammers
'Uprising' (Not Rated)
Writer-director Jon Avnet ("Fried Green Tomatoes") brings to light the seldom-told, yet extraordinary story of the Jewish Fighting Organization with "Uprising," a powerfully dramatic-telling of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland during WW II. "Uprising" starts in 1939, after Germany invades Poland and the Nazis decree that 350,000 Warsaw Jews be forcibly moved into an area known as the Warsaw Ghetto. It's there they are forced into slave labor, starved and eventually deported to death camps. Perceptive to the fate of his people, a teacher (Hank Azaria) rounds together friends and family members that pass as Aryan, in a plan to fight back against the Nazis.
Originally broadcast as a network television miniseries in November, "Uprising" wields just as much power as any theatrical film, and without the aid of violent imagery to get its point across. That's not to say "Uprising's" imagery isn't powerful, in fact, it was a conscious decision by Avnet to let the viewer imagine the brutal fate of the Warsaw Jews; enhancing an already stunning narrative.
The film is also driven by a diverse cast, including Azaria, Leelee Sobieski, Rhada Mitchell, David Schwimmer, Donald Sutherland and Jon Voight as Nazi Gen. Jurgen Stoop, sent in by his commanders to end the uprising in a swift manner. All of the principal actors deliver as expected, but particularly surprising are Azaria and Schwimmer, who show range in dramatic roles.
DVD Features: Presented in a two-disc set, the "Uprising" DVD includes two separate audio commentary tracks; by director and executive producer Jon Avnet, and Avnet Sobieski, Azaria, Schwimmer and Voight. Also included are two documentaries: "Resistance" -- a historical documentary about real uprising, and "Breaking Down the Walls: The Road to Re-creating the Warsaw Ghetto," which features behind-the-scenes footage about the making of the miniseries. --Tim Lammers
Also New:
'Jurassic Park III' (PG-13)
If you were wowed by "Jurassic Park" and its first sequel, then "Jurassic Park III" should not disappoint. Sure, it's lacking in meaningful dialogue, but the mind-blowing intensity of the film makes up for it in spades. The premise of the third "Jurassic Park" has been dumbed-down considerably from the original: Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill, who reprises his role from the first film), is recruited by Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni), a couple of would-be thrill seekers to take flight over a forbidden island where genetically engineered dinosaurs roam.
The ulterior motive, though, is to dupe dino-expert Grant into guiding them on a search for their lost son (Trevor Morgan) who crashed onto the island after a parasailing accident. From there, "Jurassic Park 3" slides into your standard "people vs. dinosaur" fare that we've come to know all too well from the first two films: People get surrounded by dinosaurs; people get eaten, and survivors run until they are encountered by dinosaurs again. Predictable? Sure, but hardly boring.
DVD Features: Disc features include audio commentary by the film's special effects team; a tour of (dinosaur creator) Stan Winston studios; a visit to special effects house Industrial Light and Magic and a three-dimensional look at the creation of the 12 dinosaurs created for the film. The "Jurassic Park" boxed set, which features all three films, also includes "Beyond 'Jurassic Park,' a behind-the-scenes look at all three films. --Tim Lammers
Ewan McGregor (known to some as the young Ben Kenobi), Nicole Kidman (?The Others?), and a talented supporting cast transports us to Paris circa the 1890s, portraying characters in the famed nightclub who are putting on "Spectacular, Spectacular" -- a performance laced with the ideals of the Bohemian society: Truth, beauty, freedom, and love. Today's songs are revamped and weaved intricately into the story, somehow fitting in when they would have been thought to take away from the picture as a whole. Kidman and McGregor (almost surprisingly) sing these tunes wonderfully, proving that movie actors can do more than speak their given lines.
DVD Features: A two-disc set includes audio commentary by multiple contributors on the film, an HBO "making of" special, music videos, extended scenes, multiple angle sequences, interviews, and more. Add in the great packaging, and this DVD can be considered as nothing other than "Spectacular, Spectacular." --Patrick Morgan
'The Princess Diaries' (G)
Sure, its "ugly-duckling-turned-beautiful-swan" storyline doesn't scream originality, but that's hardly any reason to close the book on "The Princess Diaries," a feel-good family movie in the truest sense of the word.
Anne Hathaway stars as Mia Thermopolis, an awkward 16-year-old in a private school filled with snobbish cliques. Mocked by the popular girls and harboring a hopeless crush on the school hunk, Mia feels "invisible." That, changes, though, when her estranged paternal grandmother, Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), shows up to tell Mia that her father was a prince and she's become the heir to the throne (as Clarrisse herself is the queen of Genovia). But with the change comes an unknowing change in attitude, and she begins to overlook the few people who have always seen her for who she really is.
Although it has a wonderful "Cinderella" quality to it, the message of "The Princess Diaries'" feels at times misdirected. In some small way, the film says that beauty is the answer. Thankfully, Hathaway is charming and unassuming as Mia, and the beauty element is put into proper perspective. Andrews is wonderful as Clarisse, who in a subtle way discovers her own inadequacies. It's so exciting to see Andrews on the big screen again, but what makes it more inviting is that she's not locked herself into the wholesome roles with which she's been long associated.
DVD Features: The disc features commentary by director Garry Marshall, and a special commentary section by Andrews and Hathaway, behind-the-scenes featurette, eight deleted scenes, and music videos by Myra, and Krystal. --Tim Lammers
'Uprising' (Not Rated)
Writer-director Jon Avnet ("Fried Green Tomatoes") brings to light the seldom-told, yet extraordinary story of the Jewish Fighting Organization with "Uprising," a powerfully dramatic-telling of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland during WW II. "Uprising" starts in 1939, after Germany invades Poland and the Nazis decree that 350,000 Warsaw Jews be forcibly moved into an area known as the Warsaw Ghetto. It's there they are forced into slave labor, starved and eventually deported to death camps. Perceptive to the fate of his people, a teacher (Hank Azaria) rounds together friends and family members that pass as Aryan, in a plan to fight back against the Nazis.
Originally broadcast as a network television miniseries in November, "Uprising" wields just as much power as any theatrical film, and without the aid of violent imagery to get its point across. That's not to say "Uprising's" imagery isn't powerful, in fact, it was a conscious decision by Avnet to let the viewer imagine the brutal fate of the Warsaw Jews; enhancing an already stunning narrative.
The film is also driven by a diverse cast, including Azaria, Leelee Sobieski, Rhada Mitchell, David Schwimmer, Donald Sutherland and Jon Voight as Nazi Gen. Jurgen Stoop, sent in by his commanders to end the uprising in a swift manner. All of the principal actors deliver as expected, but particularly surprising are Azaria and Schwimmer, who show range in dramatic roles.
DVD Features: Presented in a two-disc set, the "Uprising" DVD includes two separate audio commentary tracks; by director and executive producer Jon Avnet, and Avnet Sobieski, Azaria, Schwimmer and Voight. Also included are two documentaries: "Resistance" -- a historical documentary about real uprising, and "Breaking Down the Walls: The Road to Re-creating the Warsaw Ghetto," which features behind-the-scenes footage about the making of the miniseries. --Tim Lammers
Also New:
'Jurassic Park III' (PG-13)
If you were wowed by "Jurassic Park" and its first sequel, then "Jurassic Park III" should not disappoint. Sure, it's lacking in meaningful dialogue, but the mind-blowing intensity of the film makes up for it in spades. The premise of the third "Jurassic Park" has been dumbed-down considerably from the original: Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill, who reprises his role from the first film), is recruited by Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni), a couple of would-be thrill seekers to take flight over a forbidden island where genetically engineered dinosaurs roam.
The ulterior motive, though, is to dupe dino-expert Grant into guiding them on a search for their lost son (Trevor Morgan) who crashed onto the island after a parasailing accident. From there, "Jurassic Park 3" slides into your standard "people vs. dinosaur" fare that we've come to know all too well from the first two films: People get surrounded by dinosaurs; people get eaten, and survivors run until they are encountered by dinosaurs again. Predictable? Sure, but hardly boring.
DVD Features: Disc features include audio commentary by the film's special effects team; a tour of (dinosaur creator) Stan Winston studios; a visit to special effects house Industrial Light and Magic and a three-dimensional look at the creation of the 12 dinosaurs created for the film. The "Jurassic Park" boxed set, which features all three films, also includes "Beyond 'Jurassic Park,' a behind-the-scenes look at all three films. --Tim Lammers
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