Australia
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Average customer review:
Watching the early reels of Australia, there's certainly no doubt who's in charge: this could only be a film by Baz Luhrmann, that wacky purveyor of all things over-the-top. In this old-fashioned, 165-minute hymn to his native continent, Luhrmann travels back to the late 1930s/early '40s, for a scenario that would not have been out of place at MGM in that era. Straightlaced Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) journeys Down Under and is put under the protection of--crikey--a rugged cattle driver known only as the Drover (Hugh Jackman). When the two are forced to team up (along with a motley crew of misfits) to take a herd of cattle through the hostile landscape, their way is challenged by the dastardly plans of the local beef baron (Bryan Brown) and his elaborately evil lieutenant (David Wenham). At some point you realize that this film's main commodity is not cattle, but corn: Luhrmann piles on the melodrama and the old-school climaxes with his usual frantic glee. Employing "When You Wish Upon a Star" and the Japanese air force to make his case is not beyond Luhrmann, and he reaches big here. Those with a taste for un-ironic silliness might just go for this stuff, but even fans of the Baz will have their patience tested by the broad comedy and the absence of discernable chemistry between Kidman and Jackman. Australia does manage to skewer the culture's prejudices against the Aboriginal people, but in this context such a victory comes across as rather tinny. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews
A Great tribute to the epics of Hollywood.
Australia, with Nicole Kidman, who givbes a great performace as do all the others, reminds one that epic heroines can be created once more by great dirctors. She becomes the reason for being in Australia, and like S. O"Hara in GWTW, she epitomizes the strength and purpose of the land, and her love of it in terms of her committments to a child and her Drover lover.
The sweep of Australia is like Stevens' Giant or the better parts of Cimmaron. It has bulk and color, e.g. the rich costumes for this fabulous ball, the fires, the explosions, the cattle drives to the edges of nowhere, reminiscent of Red River, Raintree County, How the West Was Won (the better sections), and those huge Samuel Bronston films, and many more, that give you breadth, dimensions beyond three, and a beautiful musical score to match it all.
Buy this DVD and enjoy it for many seasons and reasons.
Nicole is great as always!
P.S.
Many critics did not like it; it has, like GWTW and otehr epics, the racial issue,but more so, and this is not sitting well with Americans.
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Directed by Raja Gosnell
Average customer review:
Beverly Hills Chihuahua finds director Raja Gosnell back on the talking-dog beat (following his live-action Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleased), this time in an ambitious, tongue-in-cheek comedy with a fun cast of onscreen and vocal actors. Piper Perabo plays Rachel, niece of a Beverly Hills eccentric (Jamie Lee Curtis) who spends much of her fortune pampering Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore), a spoiled Chihuahua used to pacing through this world with booties on her paws. Chloe gets dog-napped while Rachel takes a vacation in Mexico, and finds protection from a misfit German Shepherd named Delgado (Andy Garcia), who has a painful secret in his past. The two get into and out of a lot of scrapes, trying to stay ahead of a vicious dog (Edward James Olmos) working for the head of an illegal dogfight gambling syndicate. Computer effects turn the film's many four-legged characters into talking critters capable of leaping onto train boxcars and leading the heroine into the Indiana Jones-like ancestral home of the chihuahua breed. The comedy is crisp and kid-friendly, the story of Chloe rise out of silliness into canine authenticity, plus the film's surprising ambitiousness, are all very winning. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
An enjoyable and hilarious adventure film for the whole family!
Walt Disney has had success with their canine films, especially since their 1997 film "Air Bud" and recently with their "Buddies" (talking puppies) films that utilize special effects showcasing the mouth movements with the voice work.
As many of those films were direct-to-video, Walt Disney Pictures took things up a notch by having "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" as a feature film and taking things to a new level in this enjoyable, family/adventure film starring a talented cast which includes Drew Barrymore, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Lopez, Piper Perabo, Andy Garcia, Manolo Cardona, Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Placido Domingo, Edward James Olmos and many other talents.
And on one end of the spectrum, you have these well-known talented human actors but "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" probably features the most canine talent anyone probably will see in a film.
And sure enough, the film resonated well with audiences in Fall 2008 taking the #1 spot in the box office and grossing over $29 million in its first weekend beating out major heavy hitters. But can a film about chihuahuas really be that entertaining? Definitely.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
I have to give credit to Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment because their Blu-ray disc releases have been phenomenal in terms of picture and audio quality. The same can be said for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" which features the dogs outdoors quite a bit in Los Angeles and Mexico. Video is presented in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ratio of 2:40:1.
From the blue skies, amber sun, and various locations of where the film was shot, the picture quality was great!
The audio quality is also very good. At English 5.1 uncompressed (48 kHz/24-Bit) audio, the film relies mostly on dialogue and music which comes out radiantly clear on your front channel speakers but there are times where you hear the special effects utilized in the rear channels as well. You can hear the vocals clearly, so overall, the audio quality was very good!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" contains a good number of special features that are exclusive to Blu-ray.
* Pet Pals: The Voices Behind the Dogs - A very good special feature with interviews with Drew Barrymore, George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Placido Domingo, Edward James Olmos and more. The talent talk about their role and talking about the dogs that they own. Afterwards is a segment featuring Drew Barrymore and the charity organization that she works with about rescued dogs.
* Hitting Their Bark: On Set with the Dogs of BHC - This featurette goes into the making of the film and you can literally see how many dogs were used on the film and how certain scenes were accomplished. I was amazed of how bright the dog that plays Chloe was. Hitting her mark and a great job for a canine in the film. The same can be said with the others. Of course, there were challenges such as placing Chloe on top of Delgado's head/back. You could tell the dog that plays Delgado wanted none of that. But overall, a very impressive featurette because I can imagine how challenging it was to make everything come together for this film.
* More Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director Raja Gosnell - 45 minutes of deleted scenes and each scene was introduced by the director. What's amazing is that the scenes cut were actually quite major but I can tell for pacing and time reasons, they needed to really stay at 91 minutes, I don't think fidgety children would watch two hours or more. So, great idea to trim it down but the type of footage featured, I can imagine how difficult things it was to cut because one cut went into explaining more about Rachel's character and how she's been unsuccessful in finding a job. But the scenes that were largely cut were the scenes that focused on the chihuahuas and their ancestry and the original script was more on that and more spiritual in that these chihuahuas will be watched over by the ghost of their ancestors. So, a lot of deviation from the original script but the director made the right cuts.
* Blooper Scooper - Not bloopers per se but more of behind-the-scenes fun with the dogs and the cast and crew. A fun special feature.
* Legend of the Chihuahua Animated Short - A short about the history of Chihuahuas but it becomes more of a fun animated scene about the chihuahua not being denied and how far they have come for a dog species.
* Feature Audio Commentary by Director Raja Gosnell
* The following utilizes BD Live (Music Chat, Movie Mail, Movie Challenge and Disney Movie Rewards Live)
JUDGMENT CALL:
"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is a fun and enjoyable action film that the whole family can enjoy.
The film was a success grossing over $29 million in its opening weekend and $117 million worldwide (beating out the terrorism thriller "Body of Lies" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe). So, it's quite obvious that the film resonated well with the movie audience and as some film critics have mentioned, with the state of our economy, sometimes you need a lighthearted film to make you laugh.
And this film will make you laugh as it features comedic talents such as Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez and George Lopez and then you have a good amount of talent with Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore, Piper Perabo, Andy Garcia, Manolo Cardona, Edward James Olmos and many others involved. Having all these talents and also well-known Latino talent together for a Disney film, that's wonderful!
Quite a bit of Disney CG magic in this film with their technology of the canines talking and matching the actual words they are speaking. Also, certain CG such as the introduction of an actual rat who works with an iguana, an army of chihuahuas to a scene where Delgado and Chloe face off against mountain lions. But I have to admit that the crew did an amazing job because those scenes look quite realistic.
One thing I also found pretty cool was the score. Composer Heitor Pereira did a wonderful job as did the 57-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith!
If anything, I was surprised because I have been reviewed and watch the "Buddies" films with the talking canines and they typically have been direct-to-video. But to watch a feature film with all this talent, the different locations where the film was shot, musical score and of course, the amazing CG work, I was quite impressed.
Also, what Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has done to add so much of these awesome special features as Blu-ray exclusives is wonderful! The awesome picture and audio quality continues their dedication to Blu-ray and again, another great BD release!
I know it seems odd for those not familiar to the Disney canine films and wonder, are these films worth it? So, far every Disney film with the talking canines have been great family films thus far. And "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is another one that continues that tradition.
The film is rated PG and of course, a large doberman pinscher going after a defenseless chihuahua may seem scary to younger children but overall, I had my six-year-old with me and he was really enjoying the film and laughing aloud at certain scenes.
Of course, these types of films may not be for everyone but if you have children and are looking for a film that the family can enjoy together, definitely give "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" a try!
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The Inauguration of Barack Obama: A Moment in History (ABC News)
From MPI Home Video
Change Has Come:
On January 20th, 2009, millions witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of The United States. Now relive one of the most extraordinary events in American history as ABC News presents highlights of the entire day s coverage anchored by Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos from the Newseum above Pennsylvania Avenue and reported by the network s team of correspondents throughout Washington DC. These are the once-in-a-lifetime moments of unity, pride and hope that captured the heart and soul of our nation and the world.
The Commemorative DVD includes:
The Oath Of Office and Inaugural Speech in their entirety
The recitation by Elizabeth Alexander and benediction from Dr. Joseph Lowery
Aretha Franklin s performance of My Country Tis of Thee
Former President George W. Bush s helicopter departure
President Obama & First Lady Michelle Obama walking the parade route
President Obama and the First Lady attending an Inaugural Ball, an event that includes Robin Robert's exclusive first interview with President Obama and President-elect Obama's initial speech of the evening.
EXCLUSIVE Special Features:
Barbara Walters exclusive 11/08 interview with The Obamas.
President Elect Obama s Election Night Victory Speech
Bob Woodruff exclusive January 19th interview with Michelle Obama
Exclusive interview with Beyoncé
The Oaths of Office of the past 9 Presidents, from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #236 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-03-03
- Rating: NR (Not Rated)
- Formats: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Number of discs: 1
- Running time: 150 minutes
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![NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions (Amazon Exclusive) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tOT6YH67L._SL210_.jpg "NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions (Amazon Exclusive) [Blu-ray]")
NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions (Amazon Exclusive) [Blu-ray]
Average customer review:
On February 1, 2009, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first franchise in NFL history to win their sixth Super Bowl. The title was the Steelers second in four seasons. It was the first under second-year head coach Mike Tomlin. Led by a defense that ranked first in yards allowed per game (237.2), passing yards allowed per game (156.9), points allowed per game (13.9) and second in rushing yards allowed per game (80.3), the Steelers finished the regular season 12-4 to win the AFC North Division title. After defeating San Diego and Baltimore in the AFC playoffs, Pittsburgh culminated its championship run with a victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Relive all the thrilling moments of the 2008 Steelers, from Opening Day right through Super Bowl XLIII. NFL Films tells their story with action highlights and exclusive sideline and locker room sound from Pittsburgh’s record-setting season. Blu-ray bonus content includes, HD Gamecast – 4TH Quarter of 2008 Week 14 vs. Cowboys: Just as it sounds, the Fox broadcast of the 4th quarter is presented in HD without commercial interruption.
Customer Reviews
Amazon Exclusive???
This Blu-ray is also available for FREE with a 2009 Sports Illustrated magazine subscription.
Click on the Steelers Package promotion.
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7th Heaven: The Eighth Season
Directed by David Hugh Jones, Deborah Raffin, Fred Einesman, Harry Harris, Harvey S. Laidman
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #177 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-03-03
- Rating: Unrated
- Formats: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Number of discs: 5
- Running time: 816 minutes
Customer Reviews
Great Show!
This show is very good! I love the relationships and how the family grows, reacts, etc. to everything that happens. They show love, family, good relationships, patience, kindness, goodness, and many more family-honoring Christian traits. You see Christianity in action (even if it is a little watered down). I like the fact that it's a show of a pastor, his wife and family. It's the first time that I've really seen what a Christian relationship (especially between a pastor and his wife) really should/could be. What you believe (your worldview...whether it's Christianity, atheism, Islam, etc.) is a real part of everyday life...it's who you are.
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ER - The Complete Tenth Season
From Warner Home Video
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #91 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-03-03
- Rating: NR (Not Rated)
- Formats: Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Subtitled in: Chinese, English, Portuguese
- Dubbed in: Portuguese
- Number of discs: 6
- Running time: 987 minutes
Customer Reviews
Why not spanish subtitle?
Why not with spanish subtitle?
Only in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.
No spanish subtitle in one, seventh, eight, ninth, tenth..
Why?
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Wonder Woman 2009
From Warner Home Video
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #173 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-03-03
- Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Formats: Animated, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Dubbed in: Spanish
- Number of discs: 1
- Running time: 74 minutes
Customer Reviews
A real Wonder Woman for the new Millennium
DC's latest animated release is a fitting addition to the Wonder Woman mythos. The performances are uniformly strong, the animation is excellent and the script is engaging. The film weaves the Wonder Woman origin with a classic battle of the Greek gods for a very satisfying story. The cat and mouse between Diana and Steve Trevor is sophisticated and clever. A strong point of the feature. I was skeptical of "Felicity" voicing such a strong female character, but was pleasantly surprised. The chemistry between Russell and Fillion resulted in a satisfying pay-off.
As a parent of young children (7, 5, and 13 months), I'm giving fair warning of the violence level. This feature includes strong battle violence, including decapitation and sword thrusts through the chest. It's not gratuitous, but this is an unabashed PG/PG-13 film.
All in all, my favorite of the DC Universe efforts so far. This was the only of the features that left me wanting future installments. One can only hope that the forthcoming live action movie is as good.
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Wonder Woman 2009 (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy)
From Warner Home Video
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #62 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-03-03
- Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
- Formats: Animated, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Subtitled in: English
- Dubbed in: Spanish
- Number of discs: 2
- Running time: 74 minutes
Customer Reviews
A real Wonder Woman for the new Millennium
DC's latest animated release is a fitting addition to the Wonder Woman mythos. The performances are uniformly strong, the animation is excellent and the script is engaging. The film weaves the Wonder Woman origin with a classic battle of the Greek gods for a very satisfying story. The cat and mouse between Diana and Steve Trevor is sophisticated and clever. A strong point of the feature. I was skeptical of "Felicity" voicing such a strong female character, but was pleasantly surprised. The chemistry between Russell and Fillion resulted in a satisfying pay-off.
As a parent of young children (7, 5, and 13 months), I'm giving fair warning of the violence level. This feature includes strong battle violence, including decapitation and sword thrusts through the chest. It's not gratuitous, but this is an unabashed PG/PG-13 film.
All in all, my favorite of the DC Universe efforts so far. This was the only of the features that left me wanting future installments. One can only hope that the forthcoming live action movie is as good.
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