“Hannah Montana: The Movie” is predictable and Disney Channel-ish, but it will appeal to tween girls who like the Hannah Montana show and Miley Cyrus. It’s rated G, which is kind of refreshing in a sea of inappropriate PG and PG-13 rated movies aimed at that age group. There’s nothing to be worried about with this movie.

The plot follows the popular Disney Channel character Hannah Montana, and her dilemma of being torn between two worlds. There’s the world in California, where she’s revered and followed by hoards of tween girls wherever she goes, but her identity as Miley Stewart is kept under close wraps. That gets her in trouble with best pal Lilly Truscott (Emily Osment), because when “Hannah” is spotted headed towards Lilly’s sweet sixteen birthday party, she has to show up as the pop star, lest her true identity be revealed.

Meanwhile, Miley is being sucked into the world of make-believe and all things Hollywood, which worries her dad Robby Ray Stewart (Billy Ray Cyrus) to no end. So he arranges to have her plane to New York land in Crowley Corners, Tennessee. The trip is engineered to show Miley the things that matter most in life – namely, friends and family and the simple things.

It’s a thin plot, and you can see where it’s headed right from the beginning. But no matter, that’s not really the point. The point is to showcase Miley Cyrus, get her headed beyond the TV show and into movies, and provide yet another way for her many fans to see her. It does all that admirably. 

It also offers several new songs from Miley, and creates a little launch-pad for whatever concert tour she’ll be on this year. Taylor Swift also makes an appearance and sings a song at a barn dance. She seems to be everywhere in the peripheral at the moment (she made an appearance in the recent Jonas Brothers movie, too).

If you have tween girls in the household, then this movie is a nice, innocent outing for them. It does feature an innocent romantic relationship for Miley (with Lucas Till), and plenty of wacky antics just like in the TV show.

My main beef with the movie is the horrible miscasting of Melora Hardin as a romantic interest for Miley’s dad. She plays Jan on “The Office,” and I kept waiting for Michael Scott to show up and make some stupid wise crack.

Photo Credit: Sam Emerson, Hannah Montana The Movie, © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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I knew “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” would be a lot like “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” because, well, for a lot of reasons.

Both movies were directed by Bruce Hendricks. Both are populated with Disney stars. Both are geared for tweens. Both are based on concert tours of aforementioned Disney stars. Basically, they’re the same movie, only with different faces. The faces in this one being Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas.

After seeing the Hannah Montana movie, I kept wishing they would have had more behind-the-scenes stuff. That’s more interesting to me than the stage footage, which made up most of the movie.

Now I’m wishing the same thing for the Jonas Brothers movie. The best part, to me, was the teensy part in the trailer that showed the guys being roused out of bed for a full day of activities and events. I was hoping to see more of the behind-the-scenes goings-on, but most of the movie entailed their stage performances.

As my 11-year-old daughter said (and she wasn’t even interested in seeing the movie, if that tells you anything), “Their music all sounds the same, Mom.” That’s pretty much my feeling, too. But there were a few highlights:

- “Big Rob” Feggans – This big black guy who seems to serve as their bodyguard and house mom. He does everything from protect the boys from screaming fans to getting them out of bed in the morning.

- Guest appearances by Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift. Especially Taylor Swift. From what I gather from my daughter’s crowd, she’s the one who should be headlining the concert and movie.

- The girls in the orchestra, onstage during their concerts. They were kind of fun. Of course, I’m partial, since I’m a violinist when I’m not hammering out movie reviews.

- Part of their stage act involved the Jonas Brothers being raised up on these tiny platforms, each brother with their own platform. I’m pretty sure they were strapped on, but it looked a little scary. They were pretty high up in the air!

I would liked to have seen more of their family life, what they do when they’re not running from screaming fans, how they get their schooling, that sort of thing. If the filmmakers and Jonas Brothers were going for one long promotional spot – the kind you see in between shows on the Disney Channel – then they succeeded with this movie.

The good thing is it’s rated G, so there’s really nothing objectionable for any ages here. Given that my daughter’s age group isn’t into the movie, I’d say that maybe it’s for girls in the 7 to 10 age group.

As for the 3D effects, there were only a few times I even noticed them. For the most part, I think the movie would have been just as effective in regular old 2D.

Images: Walt Disney Pictures, 2009

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At any rate, Nick, Joe and Kevin are headed to the big screen. “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” will be in theaters this Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. It’s 76 minutes long and rated G (yay!). The film blends footage of their “Burning Up” concert tour (including guest singers Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift) with behind-the-scenes footage and lots of hyper fans. Oh, and a brand new song, “Love Is On Its Way.”

It’s being directed by Bruce Hendricks, who also helmed “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” (check out my review here). I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see more behind-the-scenes stuff with that movie, so I hope the Jonas Brothers film goes into that a little more.

Check out the preview and see what you think. And click through the jump for more videos. 

More videos after the jump…

From ReelzChannel:

Hollyscoop.com caught up with fans at the movie’s premiere. I think that little girl definitely has a future in show biz!

Image: Walt Disney Pictures, 2009

Post from: Film Gecko

I’m gearing up for their new movie, "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience," but until then, check out their appearance on Ellen’s show. The brothers each showed off their hidden talents and played a rousing game of blindfolded musical chairs with a lucky member of the audience!

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Vanessa Hudgens

But it’s unlikely she’ll get the part – at least for now.

"I’m not sure about [final] casting, but I had heard Vanessa Hudgens was going up for the part of Leah [Clearwater, a werewolf]," screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote both films, told PEOPLE at the Directors Guild of America Awards in L.A. Saturday night. "But at the moment, the part of Leah doesn’t happen until the third movie."

Ok, so she could still get it, but Hudgens’ reps have denied she was ever being considered for the role. If she does get it, she’ll have to do some heavy-duty image makeover. Many fans of the series think she’s just plain too sweet looking.

Join Film Gecko’s “New Moon Casting News and Rumors” discussion here!

Image: High School Musical 3, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2008

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Wow, I really can’t see her in the role at all. What do you guys think about this? Maybe I need to stop thinking of her in terms of the HSM movies, since those are pretty much a done deal. I mean, she has to move on, right?

The "Twilight" sequel is in the works, with Chris Weitz in as director and filming scheduled to begin in March. Look for the vampire movie to be theaters on Nov. 20, 2009.

And if you haven’t yet checked out our "New Moon Casting News and Rumors" discussion, get over there and check it out!

Image: Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron; Newscom

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Anyway, I’ve got pictures of the skinny-jeaned guys in their new movie, “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” in theaters Feb. 27, 2009. It’s directed by Bruce Hendricks, who also helmed “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert.”

The film is a mix of their “Burning Up” concert tour, including guest performances from Demi Lovato (see?) and Taylor Swift, with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, off-the-wall segments, a never-before-heard song (”Love Is On Its Way”), and of course, lots of swarming fans.

More pics after the jump…

Images: Walt Disney Pictures, 2009

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