Blu-ray experience shines with 'Australia,' 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' and 'Watchmen: Complete Motion Comic'

“AUSTRALIA”

Blu-ray widescreen, 2008, PG-13 for some violence, a scene of sensuality and brief strong language

Best extra: Nine exclusive Blu-ray featurettes (all hi-def) exploring various aspects of the production.

BAZ LUHRMANN’S ("Moulin Rouge!") over the top, epic mess – part sweeping romance, part western, and part war film – never finds its footing. At 165 minutes, it wears out its welcome by the mid-way point, cribbing from everything from "Gone With the Wind," "The Wizard of Oz," and "Red River."  Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman give strong performances and the visuals are awe-inspiring, but the story just doesn't live up to its promise, spiraling into ludicrous, cartoonish melodrama.

"Australia" looks truly stunning on Blu-ray, ranking right up there with the best the format has to offer. The lossless sound is no slack either, engaging all parts of the sound spectrum (surrounds, subwoofer) during the thunderous cattle drive. Technically, it’s a marvelous hi-def disc.

The featurettes focus on nine specific jobs on the film ranging from the still photographer, to the production designer, to the cinematographer, the editor, and so forth. This is less a making-of than a look at how these folks go about doing their jobs. Also included are two deleted scenes and another short (under 10 minutes) about Australian history.

After poor test screenings, Fox forced Luhrmann to change the film's ending.  Needless to say, someone who originally died no longer does and the film suffers for it.  Expect to see Luhrmann's favored version in a much more lavish special edition in the not too distant future.

— Josh Boone

“A MOMENT IN HISTORY: THE INAUGURATION OF BARACK OBAMA”

DVD widescreen, 2009, not rated

Best extra: President-elect Obama’s Election Night Victory Speech

VOTERS IN HAMPTON ROADS woke up before dawn on November 4, 2008. Some stood in line for more than 6 hours to vote. That day, history was made.

ABC captures the moments leading up to the election, Inauguration Day and more in this commemorative DVD. With the historic Inauguration at the center of the news footage, the DVD highlights the inauguration parade, the Obama’s first dance and several interviews with the Obamas. Here, you get excellent, quality video and sound for each piece of footage.

The highlight of the special features is President-elect Obama’s Election Night Victory Speech, which includes the poll returns from Election Night. In an exclusive interview with Beyonce, the singer holds back tears as she describes the chills she felt while singing “At Last” during the Obama’s first dance.

This collection also includes the Oaths of Office of the past nine presidents and an exclusive Barbara Walters interview with the President. With over three hours of footage, this is definitely a must-have.

Blu-ray widescreen, DVD widescreen, 2008, PG for some mild thematic elements

Best extra: “Pet Pals: The Voices Behind the Dogs” includes a look at Drew Barrymore’s canines and her charity helping to find dogs their forever homes

DREW BARRYMORE first cornered the market on spunky dog voices in 1999's made for TV animated flick, “Olive, the Other Reindeer.” She does it again in this recent Disney hit.

Here Barrymore is Chloe, a pampered Beverly Hills Chihuahua owned by Vivian (Jamie Lee Curtis). When Vivian’s spoiled niece, Rachel (Piper Perabo), takes the tiny dog to Mexico with her friends, the trouble begins.

In addition to an education about Chihuahuas in the film, you get an animated history of the pets that Aztec warriors fought with, and an appreciation for the art of dog-training on a multimillion dollar set. Director Raja Gosnell’s feature-length commentary points out how scenes that looked simple to shoot, i.e. getting Chloe to jump in a car and look out a window, took a long time to shoot.

The movie features some fabulous voice acting from George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Placido Domingo, Edward James Olmos and Cheech Marin. Gosnell had them voice their parts in the same room to get that emotional contact that acting one-on-one gives.

Other hi-def bonuses including deleted scenes with optional director commentary, bloopers and BD-Live options.

The HD experience shines in Mexico, where 90 percent of the film was shot. Say goodbye to pastels and hello to deep blues, raging reds and succulent greens. Also enjoy the poignant, uplifting score by Brazilian-born Heitor Pereira.

“AIR BUD: SPECIAL EDITION”

DVD widescreen, 1997, PG for brief mild language

Best extra: “Dog-U-Commentary,” featuring Air Bud, his doggy wife, Molly, and their lovely pups, “The Buddies”

DISNEY KNOWS HOW to yank at heart strings, especially when it comes to a movie about a dog-abusing clown and a pre-teen who moves to a new town with his mom and baby sister after losing his father to an accident. The new town offers a bully and an opportunity to befriend an amazing basketball-playing Golden Retriever named Buddy.

“Air Bud,” the movie that spawned several Golden Retriever flicks, including the latest, “Space Buddies,” is worth a see, although it’s not one for the Blu-ray collection, yet.

This special edition, if you can call it that with the one bonus feature and the movie’s original trailer, is actually fun to watch with Buddy and his family’s commentary. You get Bud-dha, Budderball, B-Dawg, Mudbud and Rosebud, the pups with different personalities and varying comments.

The 98-minute movie goes by quickly with the comments and can garner a few laughs along the way.

Again, no Blu-ray here, but, with the right hi-def TV and stereo system, the movie looks and sounds just fine.

Oh, and don’t forget with your DVD purchase, you get a Buddy dog tag and a chance to save $6 when you buy Disney’s “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” on Blu-ray or DD and “Air Bud: Special Edition.”

“I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG”

Blu-ray widescreen, enhanced DVD, 2008, PG-13 for thematic material and smoking

Best extra: Seven deleted scenes with optional director commentary

YOU CAN WATCH an English-dubbed version of the film with star Kristen Scott Thomas’ voice, but “I’ve Loved You So Long” is better viewed in its original French language with, if you need it, English subtitles.

It’s the story about two sisters, one of whom has served 15 years in prison for an unspeakable crime. Upon Juliette’s (Thomas) release, she comes to live with her estranged, younger sister, Lea (Elsa Zylberstein), who helps Juliette find her way back to the living.

If you’re looking for tremendous French scenery in Blu-ray, think again. The cinematic storytelling mirrors the tone of this frustrating, heart-wrenching story of two sisters trying to rebuild a relationship shattered by Juliette’s crime, unsympathetic parents and years of silence.

Thomas (“The English Patient”) was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her performance, and rightfully so. Zylberstein also deserves recognition for showing how her sister’s disappearance from her life, and her parent’s subsequent disowning of their first born, injected an intangible vulnerability that she has never really dealt with until Juliette returns.

The seven deleted scenes are quite short and demonstrate how director/writer Philippe Claudel made the movie that ended up on the big screen.

“WATCHMEN: THE COMPLETE MOTION COMIC”

Blu-ray widescreen and DVD widescreen, 2008, not rated, violence, language, sexuality and nudity

Best extra: A short, hi-def interview with illustrator Dave Gibbons

One, it’s like Cliff Notes for people who don’t have the time for the groundbreaking, 1986 graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Their loss.

Two, it’s another way to soak more money from devotees of said-graphic novel who’ve been waiting for the big-screen adaptation that arrives today.

What it is is all 12 chapters of the book – minus the wonderful news clippings and book excerpts that added so much to the stories of this band of all-too-human masked heroes – redone (sort of) with limited animation and narration.

For the record, the Blu-ray disc serves up a rich, deep picture (the regular DVD looks pretty good, too) plus a three-minute hi-def interview with Gibbons and BD-Live access to a scene from the movie.

All in all, though, fans aren’t likely to glean anything new and newcomers may well question the fuss. But business students will learn a lesson: low cost + built-in audience = profits.

“FUTURAMA: INTO THE WILD GREEN YONDER”

Blu-ray widescreen and enhanced widescreen, 2009, not rated

Best extra:  Like the three previous "Futurama" movie releases, the disc comes with a number of interesting special features, such as a series of storyboards that amounts to the first third of the film, including sound effects and character voices.

FOLLOWING ON THE heels of this past year's three wildly entertaining straight-to-video (but soon to be aired as individual episodes on Comedy Central) "Futurama" movies, comes the fourth and final installment, "Into the Wild Green Yonder," which wraps up Matt Groening's beloved sci-fi comedy series for good. Every character from the series makes a final appearance; our heroes save the universe from a galactic-sized miniature golf course, and Fry and Leela finally have a romantic moment (and a genuinely moving one at that).

The Blu-ray is terrific, with a crisp image showcasing brilliant colors and a lossless soundtrack that will give your system a sound effects workout. Blu-ray viewers also get exclusive access to a picture-in-picture version of the party track commentary featuring Groening and all the voice actors. Everyone clearly enjoys each other's company and spends more time goofing off than providing any real behind-the-scenes info. 

There's also a series of short featurettes, only one breaking the ten-minute mark, that range from footage of the actors voicing their characters, to Groening's account of his real-life zero gravity flight, and even a tutorial on how to draw the characters in ten "Very Difficult Steps."

Highly recommended and sad to see these movies come to an end.

—Josh Boone

“VANISHING POINT”

Blu-ray widescreen, 1971, R for sexuality/nudity and drug use

Best extra: The feature “Built for Speed: A Look Back at ‘Vanishing Point’”

AN ENIGMATIC DRIVER identified only as Kowalski challenges authority as he burns rubber between Denver and San Francisco in a white, 1970 Dodge Challenger.

Folks who remember “Vanishing Point” won’t be surprised that, 38 years down the road, it plays as a proud product of its time – “a tapestry of Americana on different levels,” director Richard C. Sarafian says in his commentary.

The commentary and the U.K. version of the film (it has a scene with Charlotte Rampling as a pot-sharing hitchhiker) are holdovers from the 2004 standard DVD. The new Blu-ray, though, has been souped up with a cool roster of extras.

Chief among them is “Built for Speed,” a retrospective that brings in Sarafian; star Barry Newman; singer/fan Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave); cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (“Schindler’s List”), who cites the film as one of his main inspirations; and even Gilda Texter, credited as Nude Motorcycle Rider. Her stories about her inconvenient sunburn and making sure she never fell off – there were cactuses everywhere – are a hoot.

Newman describes Kowalski as a cowboy riding into the sunset, the “last American hero” driven by freedom. But even he can’t convincingly explain the character’s demise (no spoilers here).

Also included are the pop-up trivia track “Cops, Cars and Culture” and two extras that focus on the other star of the film: the Challenger, one of the original muscle cars. The virtual dashboard – if you can get it to work – lets you track Kowalkski’s speed and mileage and sample the soundtrack. The virtual Challenger is an interactive deal that lets you look at the car from different angles and change the body color.

The hi-def picture is about what you’d expect for a 38-year-old movie with a limited audience (i.e., restoration budget): sharp and vibrant in places, not so hot in others.

Best extra: “Writers’ Roundtable Season 2” provides a look at what it’s like to write for a hit show.

THE FIRST EIGHT-episode season of Nash Bridges was sharp and smart as a star vehicle for the charismatic Don Johnson – capably partnered by Cheech Marin and a big yellow Plymouth Barracuda – as the leader of San Francisco’s Special Investigation Unit. Season Two is just as sharp and, even better, has 23 episodes.

But while you’re enjoying this engaging cop drama, don’t miss the Season 2 Writers’ Roundtable where producer/writer Carlton Cuse (“Lost”) leads John Wirth, Jed Seidel and others down memory lane. Cruse comments on how Johnson, playing a more seasoned character in Nash Bridges, only had so much opportunity to demonstrate growth through emotional upheaval, unlike Johnson’s Sonny Crockett of “Miami Vice.” The writers talk about how they worked to throw in that believable turmoil. They also talk about how they approached Johnson and Marin to get former series partners Philip Michael Thomas and Tommy Chong to appear for the sweeps episode, “Wild Card.”

Would-be writers should enjoy hearing about the quirks of pro-writers – like facing major writer’s block unless all character names are pinned down in a script. This problem was solved by developing a giant list to draw from. The all time favorite turned out to be “Skip Osaka.”

The five disc set offers a decent picture and sound, all the better to enjoy action-packed chase downs and intimate moments. Additional extras include commentary from Cuse and Marin on “Night Train” and commentary from Johnson on “Wild Card.”

“SEX DRIVE: UNRATED”

Blu-ray widescreen, 2009, Unrated and R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, language, some drug and alcohol use, all involving teens

Best extra:  The "Unrated" cut of the film (which runs 20 minutes longer with plenty of nudity) is actually a joke on raunchy comedies that release unrated versions on home video.  It’s strange, shocking, subversive, and funny – including intentionally bad editing, outtakes and alternate versions of scenes.

IF YOU ENJOYED “American Pie” and "Superbad," the less inspired "Sex Drive" may still tickle your funny bone. It shamelessly rips off so many films you could create a drinking game around its endless steals from everything from "The Sure Thing" to "Witness." The plot, if you want to call it a plot, is the plot of every film in this vein: high school boys want to lose their virginity. That's it. It's stupid and funny – a very mild recommendation for fans of the genre.

This is a low-budget, dialogue-driven comedy so the upside to the Blu-ray edition is minor. The picture quality is good with grain apparent throughout, but the audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 and NOT, I repeat, not, uncompressed and sounds pretty terrible.

The Blu-ray includes both the theatrical cut (which is the director's cut) and the unrated cut on one disc. Bear in mind that the theatrical cut is the director's cut of the film and viewers should not watch the unrated cut first. Extras, aside from the unrated cut, are rather slim. A tongue-in-cheek EPK, "Making a Masterpiece," and a short featurette focused on James (Cyclops from "X-Men") Marsden's comic timing. A commentary with the director, writer, and producer delves into the nitty-gritty of low budget filmmaking.

— Josh Boone

“IN THE ELECTRIC MIST”

Blu-ray widescreen, 2008, R for violence, language, and brief sexuality/nudity

Best extra: The sole extra is the film's trailer.

THOUGH NOT RELEASED theatrically, Bertrand Tavernier's "In the Electric Mist," starring Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Goodman, is well worth a look for Jones fans. The film is based on James Lee Burke's bestselling novel (he also wrote the novel "Heaven's Prisoners," which was turned into the 1996 film of the same name with Alec Baldwin playing Dave Robicheaux).

Here Jones plays Robicheaux, a Louisiana detective and recovering alcoholic. He investigates a series of grisly murders of young women but finds himself sidetracked when the 40-year-old remains of a shackled African American are uncovered by Hurricane Katrina.

The Blu-ray features a flawless hi-def transfer with excellent contrast and color. The lossless soundtrack gets the job done but this is a dialogue-driven film and there's not much in the way of surrounds.

The version released in the US on DVD and Blu-ray is not the director's cut, which runs 117 minutes. This is the version that ran theatrically everywhere except the US.  What is released here in the US on home video is the inferior and less coherent producer's cut, which runs 102 minutes.

— Josh Boone

“RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.: THE FIFTEEN YEARS LATER AFFAIR”

“THE FIFTEEN YEARS Later Affair” didn’t make it into the “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: Complete Series” collection released October 2008. This feature length TV movie took – yes – 15 years to come together after the series ended. Robert Vaughn and David McCallum return as agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. Leo G. Carroll, U.N.C.L.E.’s leader Mr. Wavery, having passed away, is replaced here by Patrick Macnee as Sir John Raleigh in what should have been a perfect fit.

But this reunion piece has lost its clever tongue-in-cheek style, the hallmark of the original. It works as a nostalgia trip. It’s always great to see Napoleon and Illya together again, doing their spy shtick and saving the world from the evil of T.H.R.U.S.H., led this time by a villainous Anthony Zerbe. But as entertainment, it flops. It’s a collection of elements that should work but doesn’t.

Understandably, the only extra is the TV trailer for the film. Unless you’re a die hard fanatic, consider renting this one. Or save your bucks for the complete collection. It’s worth it, offering all of the episodes, early movies, and plenty of extras, including interviews from Vaughn and McCallum.