Monday, December 21, 2009

Tim Burton"s Alice in Wonderland coming your way March 5, 2010!!!







Wednesday, December 16, 2009

G-Force: Blu-Ray+DVD+Digital Copy Edition




G-Force: Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy Edition
Review by JAM

“Hey, I’m nine inches tall, I only see the upside” Darwin (Sam Rockwell)

When the world’s in trouble, who ya gonna call? Ok, Ghostbusters would be my first answer too, but G-Force is choice number two. G-Force is an elite group of highly trained agents who are more than they appear to be, especially since they appear to be small furry rodents. Starring an A-Team of vocal talent with Sam Rockwell, Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau, Tracy Morgan, and Penelope Cruz as the G-Force team (with Steve Buscemi providing the voice of a crazy hamster Bucky), this small yet resourceful team takes on a billionaire’s (Bill Nighy) plan for world domination, with a little issue with a mole on the team that causes a hiccup along the way.



Think of this as Mission Impossible or James Bond for kids. The action sequences are well done with a plot line that is typical secret agent movie story with the team facing insurmountable odds, a betrayal, and a world that does not understand them. Much like a James Bond movie, it also has the typical female-exiting-the-water-in-slow-motion-shot, but this time with a guinea pig. The originality of the movie comes from the idea of the little guys saving the world, and the overall theme of the movie is to believe in yourself, even when no one else does, so it gets high marks for this. Besides, how many other movies do you get to see guinea pigs save the world from a Transformer type invasion of cappuccino machines and household appliances? Give this one a try for the kids in your life, and you might just find a little enjoyment for yourself.



Extras

The DVD portion of the pack has just the movie listed on the packaging, but immediately following the credits came Blaster’s Boot Camp, G-Force Mastermind, G-Farce, Deleted Scenes, and the Music Videos. The Blu-Ray disc also has a Bruckheimer introspective on his CG work, a behind the scenes tour with the director, and a look inside the animation lab as well. There is also a Digital Copy of the film for your personal enjoyment on the go as well. The Extras definitely add to the film’s enjoyment.

Bonus Features include:

Cine-Explore with Darwin, Blaster and Their Creator
Bruckheimer Animated: A Look Back at his CG Work – Cool look at effects
Access Granted: Inside the Animation Lab
G-Farce: Bloopers and Flubs – Is it strange that I enjoy bloopers, especially on animated movies lately?
Deleted Scenes – Good set of deleted scenes.
Exciting Music Videos:
“Jump” by Flo Rida featuring Nelly Furtado
“Ready to Rock” by Steve Rushton
“Go G-Force”
Blaster’s Boot Camp – gives insight into becoming a member of G-Force. This runs at the end of the DVD copy of the movie as well.
G-Force Mastermind – Inspiration Behind the Movie. This also plays at the end of the DVD copy Digital Copy on Disc 3

G-Force from Disney scurries onto shelves on December 15, 2009. Chew, crawl, or crunch your way to the store or Amazon.com for your copy today!

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at http://www.hollywoodteenzine.com/ for teens and tweens, and at http://www.jammoviereviews.blogspot.com/ for movies of all genres and ages.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Night at The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: DVD Edition
Review by JAM

“Hang on Mr. Daley, things are about to get interesting.” Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams)

Larry Daley (played by the booming Ben Stiller) is back for a second go at the crazed antics of a mystical museum as the tablet of Ahkmenrah brings to life a new cast of characters in the Smithsonian Archives, including Ahkmenrah’s evil brother Pharaoh Kahmunrah (played by a scene-stealing, lisping Hank Azariah). In order to free his friends Larry must help Kahmunrah and his minions, Al Capone, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Ivan the Awesome (also known as the Terrible). Even with the world in peril, Larry and his museum friends, both new and old, lead the charge into battle and save the world from its pending doom. Excellent actors get to lend their talents to new museum pieces including Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt’s bust, Christopher Guest as the aforementioned Ivan, and many returning friends like Owen Wilson as Jed makes this a historic undertaking through the Smithsonian.

At the heart of the Night at the Museum movies are family values and lessons learned. While the first movie truly lead a father back to his son and the discovery of himself, this second movie finds Larry making money like crazy, but losing himself in the daily grind of his own company, and throughout the movie he finds parts of himself he had lost, whether it was the night watchman fighting style, his lost friendships, and the ability to love again. Of course at the same time, we want to see Larry put through the ringer (which he is) and come out on top (which he does). All in all, it is a good heart-felt comedy with a little something for everyone from fans of Sesame Street to Star Wars.

As a little add-on about Hank Azaria, I swore many times in the first Night at the Museum due to facial expressions that Ahkmenrah was played by Hank Azaria (the facial expressions reminded me of one of his great characters . I even had to check multiple times on IMDB to make sure he hadn’t (Ahkmenrah has been played both times by Rami Malek who also gets the Brendon Fraser look at times as well). So imagine my surprise when I saw Hank playing the older but evil brother. It’s a tiny bit of coincidence that surprised and amused me. I highly recommend this movie for a fun night of history and comedy

Extras

What can I say about the extras but WOW!!! The Alternate Ending in the Deleted Scenes, the Curators of Comedy, and Phinding Pharaoh make the movie worth its weight in gold in my opinion. And if you are a teenage girl in love with the Jonas Brothers, seeing them be put through a comedy bootcamp may be the greatest thing ever. Phinding Pharaoh gives a great insight into the ability to use Hank Azaria’s vocal range to make a character that much stronger in the movie. I do have to say that his Boris Karloff came off as a lisp to me, but it was hilarious and that’s what they were looking for with the character, an evil maniacal despot who sounded funny. The review pack also came with the Monkey Mischief DVD as well, with games and an insight into the life of monkey movie stars.

Bonus Features include:

Commentary by Director Shawn Levy
Commentary by Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon
The Curators of Comedy: Behind-the-Scenes of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian – Great look into the minds of some amazing comedians on how to make an enjoyable picture, both for the audience and the cast themselves.
Deleted Scenes:
Brunden: The Director’s Cut – extended version of museum meeting
World Twister – Funny exchange between Capone and his future self
How Many Bad Guys Can You Fit in an Elevator – self-explanatory
Moon Rover – Good scene to watch
Takin’ Em Down, Gangster Style – Ivan the Awesome with good insight
Alternate Ending – Best of the Bunch, with the return of the bad guys from the first movie.
Gag Reel – Hilarious outtakes from the set
Phinding Pharaoh – Highly recommended!!! Hank Azaria working on the voice of Kahmunrah
The Jonas Brothers in Cherub Bootcamp
Trailers
Monkey Mischief
Monkey Business
Primate Prima Donnas
The Secret Life of a Monkey Movie Star: Life Off Camera
Games
Monkey Slap
Able and Dexter’s Flights of Fancy

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian from 20th Century Fox makes a historic entrance on December 1, 2009. Prepare to be educated and amused!

Monday, November 23, 2009

I Love You, Beth Cooper: DVD Edition


I Love You, Beth Cooper: DVD Edition
Review by JAM

I think everyone has had the dream where they blurt out something they hold deep inside of them at seemingly the least opportune time. Of course for most people, it hopefully only happens in their dreams. Denis Cooverman (played by Paul Rust) decides to do just that during his valedictorian speech by professing his love for Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettierre), a cheerleading beauty he had long admired from afar. Little did he know that one decision would lead him on the adventure of a lifetime all in one night.


This movie is a fun romp through typical teen stereotype categories, with each character becoming slightly multi-faceted as the movie continues. The popular cheerleader becomes a lost little girl, the nerdy valedictorian becomes a slightly more suave defender of honor, the faithful best friend becomes a dashing hero in a wet towel snapping fight, and so on and so forth. This teen comedy may not take its place with the classics from the 80s, but it deserves a place with the teen comedies of the past decade. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Larry Doyle so check that out as well. The DVD itself gets a positive review, but the extras move it towards the top.

Extras

The extras include an interview with the writer of the book and screenplay which gives a good introspective look on where the characters came from in this teen comedy. It also includes an alternate ending which includes a twist that would have kept Beth’s old boyfriend on a collision course with Denis in the time to come. There is a music video by Paul Rust in which he extols the joy and love that comes from peanut butter toast. If you liked the character, it might be your type of thing. One other great bonus on the disc is the group interview/dialogue in which the actors all discuss character development as assigned by director Chris Columbus and interpersonal friendships which developed during the filming of this movie. Thanks to the extras, I’d definitely recommend checking out I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Bonus Features include:

Alternate Ending – Must see viewing
Deleted Scenes
I Love You, Larry Doyle – A talk with the author and screenwriter
We Are All Different But That’s a Good Thing – Interview/dialogue with the cast
Peanut Butter Toast – Paul Rust rocking out
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character with Hayden Panettierre
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character with Paul Rust

I Love you, Beth Cooper (102 minutes; rated PG-13) from 20th Century Fox makes it ways to the shelves on November 3, 2009. Take a chance on Beth!
Check out other reviews by JAM and more at http://www.hollywoodteenzine.com/.