New on DVD & Blu-ray for the Week of 8/16/09

Jen's Video Picks of the Week

For the Art-House Collectors



(Note: All of the Above I Have Yet to See but They're of Particular Interest)

For the Kids



(Note: I've only caught Donald & last season's iCarly but felt LeapFrog was appropriate for Back-to-School)

For TV Lovers: Guilty Pleasures Edition

(Notes: Devoured the GG set which is gorgeous and loaded with extras-- nearly Blu-ray quality but have yet to review. DSM was a series I truly enjoyed yet missed the final episodes of following ABC's cancellation)

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Adventures of TinTin



The Beast: Season One



Big Windup: Part 1 (Episodes 1-13)



Bleach, Vol. 19



Bridge to Nowhere



Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, Part 1



Dexter: Season 3



Diary of a Nobody



Dirty Sexy Money:
The Complete Second & Final Season



Donald in Mathmagic Land



Eli Stone: Season 2



Everybody Hates Chris: The Final Season



Final Destination: Trilogy



Five Deadly Venoms (Dragon Dynasty Collection)



The Garden



Ghost Adventures: Season One



Go [Blu-ray]



The Golden Boys



Gossip Girl: Season 2



Greek: Chapter 3



Gunslinger Girl 2: Il Teatrino--The Complete Series



Hack//G.U. Trilogy



Hannah Montana: The Movie



The Helen West Casebook



How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: Deluxe Edition



Husbands



iCarly: Season 2, Volume 1



Icons of SciFi: Toho Collection



Inglorious Bastards 2: Hell Heroes



Julia



Kagemusha (Criterion Collection Blu-ray)



The Last House on the Left



The Last Starfighter



LeapFrog: Let’s Go to School



Man vs Wild: Season Three



Minnesota Vikings: Five Greatest Games



Pahappahooey Island: What About Me!?



Pete's Dragon: High Flying Edition



Playtime (Criterion Collection Blu-ray)



Ride a Wild Pony



Simon and Simon: Season 3



The Simpsons: Season 12



The Smurfs: Smurfy Tales



Sons of Anarchy: Season 1



The Strangeness



Surveillance



Swan Princess



These Old Broads



Total Drama Island: The Complete Series



True Tears



Tyson



UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida



Visions of Britain and Ireland [Blu-ray]



Visions of Italy [Blu-ray]



The Wedding Bros.



Wyvern

Music Blu-ray & DVD Review: The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience -- Deluxe Extended Movie (2009)

Now Available to Own

New for Valentine's Day 2010

Photo Slideshow

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Perhaps a little bit of Tinkerbell’s “fairy dust” was sprinkled on the Blu-ray of Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience – Deluxe Extended Movie that arrived in my mailbox for review.

For, not too long after I removed the packaging, I found myself in a sea of coincidences as though I were playing a new pop culture game called Connect The Jonas Brothers wherein—like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon—the basic idea is to link the celebrities to others in the fewest moves possible. Except in the case of Connect The Jonas Brothers, there were no degrees needed as a direct connection was made between the trio of heartthrobs and a majority of other items filling my mailbox shortly thereafter.



First, along with Jonas-- on 6/30, Disney also released the surprisingly delightful Princess Protection Program—one of their cable channel’s wildly popular original movies (that truth be told as a “film” was actually more engrossing from start to finish than this concert)—which started Disney cutie Demi Lovato whom the Brothers had not only met on Camp Rock but whom they also invited to perform a song with them on their "Burning Up Tour" captured in this movie.

Secondly—after watching The Jonas Brothers Movie and finally discovering who the super popular singers were as prior to the film I couldn’t name any band member or pick them out of a boy band lineup-- I found another connection in the form of the film’s showstopping guest performer Taylor Swift. Like the Brothers—I’d been completely unfamiliar with the work of Ms. Swift but as soon as she hit the stage I soon became a fan of the singer.

With an instant command of the audience, Swift’s brilliant use of banjos and fiddle players and sassy Shania Twain blend of straightforward, blunt lyrics produced an irresistible confection of pop-rock-country (or "PopRockCo" as I’m trying to call it, working harder than Lacey Chabert in Mean Girls to make my PopRockCo “happen” more than her character’s coined “Fetch”). Her catchy track “Should’ve Said No” stole the tour and the film away from the Brothers and it actually took them awhile to recover!



Realizing that Swift’s appearance and name were familiar not only because of her super fame but also because she was staring back at me in the cover story of the most recent issue of Glamour Magazine—I was stunned to read the article and learn about her former relationship with the Brothers' lead singer and Most Popular Pretty Boy-- Mr. Joe Jonas who dropped Ms. Swift in a twenty-seven second phone call. Further digging online revealed that he did so as to move onto the beautiful dark-haired actress Camilla Belle— and once again, Connect The Jonas Brothers ruled the day as Belle’s new film Push from Summit Entertainment shortly arrived thereafter for review.

And when I realized that I couldn’t turn on the television without seeing the Brothers on Larry King Live, hearing Kathy Griffin tease the host about them (and share their mutual fandom of my personal favorite—Kevin) as well. Likewise, I began to feel like I was transported to the Land of the Jonas especially when I had double vision and conducted a Film Intuition 2-Disc DVD giveaway when Disney was kind enough to send a second copy of the film.



Thus, I was given the unique opportunity to judge both the DVD and the Blu-ray—which actually was unnecessary since par for the course of Walt Disney’s superlative set packaging, the film arrived in Blu-ray form on 3 discs so that viewers could watch it in Blu-ray on Disc 1 in 2D or 3D (with the 4 free Jonas Brothers edition blue and red 3D cardboard glasses included), in 2D on DVD in Disc 2, or by downloading it onto their computer or portable device with Disc 3’s 2D Apple and PC compatible Digital File technology.



As for the film itself-- although it begins with an interesting and candid morning wake-up sequence as their security man, handler and stage MC (?) "Big Rob" awakens the three Brothers at 4:30 am for a full day schedule and director Bruce Hendricks pulls a “run from the screaming girls” sequence in an homage to the seminal rock film A Hard Day’s Night-- essentially it is as the title promises, “a concert movie” overall.

In this extended edition which offers four songs (two of which—“Can’t Have You” and “A Little Bit Longer”—that are worked directly into the movie adding 13 minutes to its running time) that were previously unavailable in the theatrical version-- fans are given a great view of the show and the opportunity to watch the concert in either 2 or 3D via the pristine Blu-ray quality we've come to expect from Disney.



I tested out both technical options as well as switching from the Blu-ray to the DVD for a comparison and I have to admit that while the 3D offered some cool gimmicks, overall it was distracting, headache inducing and unnecessary, dulling out the gorgeous colors of the superlative Disney Blu-ray quality. In fact, I felt that you lost so much of the Blu-ray presentation and its sheer capability by opting for 3D that I couldn't help wondering why the company hadn't offered the option to put 3D on the DVD as well since.



And this is especially because 3D masks what Blu is capable of which was evident right off the bat when I switched out of the mode-- took off the glasses and moved into a sequence in 2D where the color clarity and gorgeous contrast of the flesh tones, depth perception and heightened sense of the entire picture made the Blu-ray pop more than any glow-stick in the crowd would in 3D.



Happily to parents or those who either don't want to go for the budget priced value 3-pack which offers the film in every edition (so that you'll never have to buy it again if you switch to Blu-ray in the future), I can attest that the DVD of The Jonas Brothers Movie is of excellent quality as well. While there's a noticeable difference when you move from Blu directly to DVD and more so when I moved the disc from the up-convert capable player to my standard DVD player, it's still a terrific transfer and proof that Disney doesn't put their name on a lackluster product.



Although I must say that I wasn't a huge fan of the music of the trio since most of it sounded a bit too similar and I wasn't that mesmerized by the teenage Jaggar stylings of Joe Jonas (and actually more impressed by Nick's voice and Kevin's guitar skills)-- there's no denying that the three together put on one entertaining show with back-flips, pyrotechnics, a string section and more. And honestly, for the price of a disc in lieu of a concert ticket with the best view available for every single song-- super fans won't do better than this title, except when they watch it and play Connect The Jonas Brothers at the same time.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

Online News: Celebrate Earth Day With a Widget from BBC's Planet Earth!

Celebrate BBC's Planet Earth-- the groundbreaking, award-winning miniseries that inspired the first film from DisneyNature-- Earth-- opening theatrically today.

In honor of Earth Day, Warner Brothers and the BBC have released a cool new widget to showcase the miniseries that's "loaded with music from the film, free wallpapers, photos and unbelievable footage of Earth’s plants and creatures."

You can download yours today by visiting the site directly at http://widgets.warnerbros.com/bbcearth/ or grab it out below:



"The recipient of four Emmy Awards including Outstanding Nonfiction Series, Planet Earth was filmed in high-definition over five years by 71 camera people, in 62 countries across every continent."

"Utilizing state-of-the-art filming techniques and technologies - ranging from revolutionary aerial lens stabilization and flash strobe-systems to ultra high-speed cameras - the most expensive factual series ever created by the BBC lovingly captures our planet’s best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures in intimate moments and rare action."





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Movie News: Heartland Truly Moving Pictures Awards 4 Films in 3 Weeks

For those of you who complain that they, "just don't make 'em like they used to," 2009 is shaping up to be quite a quality year for filmgoers as Heartland's Truly Moving Pictures' Organization has bestowed a whopping four films in three weeks with their prestigious award given to works that CEO Jeffrey L. Sparks shares, "are at turns touching, heart-warming, awe-inspiring and potentially provocative."

Joining the earliest recipients in 2009-- Last Chance Harvey and Marley & Me (now available on DVD and Blu-ray)-- Sparks' organization has announced that new and upcoming theatrical releases American Violet, Earth, The Soloist and Battle for Terra have joined the ranks.

In describing the four very diverse films (ranging from animation to true stories), Sparks points out that, "they all share a common thread - the potential to inspire, engage and move audiences to look at the world in ways perhaps they haven’t considered."

To view Heartland’s complete list of Truly Moving Pictures, click here and view our Amazon Slideshow of films below that are now available for you to own.

(Note: You'll have to Excuse the Size Orientation-- there's been so many wonderful releases that I wanted to be sure to include as many as I could track down)

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