Let’s talk about the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD. This has a bunch of bonus features: 

• Trailers: Night At The Museum 2, The Marine 2, Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side, X Men Trilogy Blu-ray Trailer, and Sons Of Anarchy Season 1
• Commentary by Director Gavin Hood
• Commentary by Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter
• The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein
• Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Anti Smoking PSA

Disc 2: Digital Copy

When I saw this movie in theaters, people were actually getting up and walking out, but I didn’t think it was that bad. Not the best movie I’ve ever seen, but still not that bad.

More after the jump…

The movie takes us back to the childhood of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). We know him from the first three “X-Men” movies, but he had a wild and interesting life before he showed up in those. Even as young Jimmy Logan in 1845, he had those spiky hands, only the spikes were crude, bony-looking things then, emerging whenever Jimmy got angry. His heritage included some daddy issues, and a half-brother named Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), complete with fangs and all.

A series of quick scenes shows the non-aging brothers fighting through several wars, including the Civil War, World War Two, and Viet Nam. We also learn that the evil Stryker (Danny Huston) is building an army of mutants called Team X. But after a particularly gruesome incident in Africa, Jimmy walks out on the group, and ends up as a woodcutter in Canada with a hot schoolteacher girlfriend (Lynn Collins).

After a devastating tragedy, Stryker convinces Jimmy to undergo a procedure that will make him indestructible. It’s an agonizing operation that injects a substance called adamantium into his skeleton. And presto-chango, he’s “Wolverine,” his once bony spikes now shiny, titanium-looking weapons of mass destruction. And Victor comes back into his life, as well.

Here’s the thing about “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”: It’s not a bad movie, and Hugh Jackman and his awesome muscles are not hard to look at. But the writing is cheesy, and they could have done more with the various characters who show up in this movie, including card-shark Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), The Blob (Kevin Durand), John Wraith (Will.i.am), and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). I mean, I get that the movie is called “Wolverine,” but most of these characters are only in the movie for a few minutes, if that.

If you’re a fan of the X-Men characters and movies, you should check this out, especially now that it’s on Blu-ray and DVD.

Note to Parents: There’s lots of action and fighting and explosions, including one awesome scene with an exploding helicopter. Oh, and Hugh Jackman gets naked from a distance in a couple of scenes. But overall, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a PG-13 movie about a mutant superhero.

Image: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, TM and Copyright 20th Century Fox Film Corp., 2009

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The first movie, 2002’s "Ice Age," was definitely the best. The second, 2006’s "Ice Age: The Meltdown," was cute, and this one is cute, too. They just seem to be losing their steam. But the animation continues to be fantastic, with every snowflake and furry animal popping off the screen at you. 

This third movie, released on DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 27, 2009, finds Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) preparing to have a baby Mammoth. Manny is nesting big-time, creating a beautiful little playground full of ice-figure mobiles, play structures, and teeter-totters.

It leaves Sid (John Leguizamo) wishing for a family of his own, and he gets just that when he stumbles upon a trio of large eggs. He doesn’t realize they’re dinosaur eggs, and their mom wants them back.

More after the jump…

Diego (Denis Leary) has his own issues. With all this family planning going on, he feels like he’s losing his touch in the wild. He can’t even chase after a nimble gazelle without gasping for breath.

When Sid accidentally falls into a strange underground world full of lush tropical foliage and creatures of every shape and size, the rest of the gang heads down to try and rescue him. They get some help from a one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg) who’s like an animal version of Crocodile Dundee. 

The journey puts the group in grave danger, especially Ellie, who’s just about ready to have that baby Mammoth.

Of course, we can’t forget Scrat (Chris Wedge), who’s still on the hunt to grab and hold onto that elusive acorn. But that dream is seriously hindered by the appearance of a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte. 

This movie is cute as all get-out, and the storyline moves along fairly well. But there’s not a lot of new ground here (well, aside from the lush new ground beneath the ice floes). If you have kids in the 5- to 8-year-old range who like cute, animated movies, this is a good choice.

NOTE TO PARENTS: The violence is mainly cartoonish, with Scrat’s quest to get the acorn and a few close calls from other characters (a gazelle being chased, but not caught and eaten). Some of the dinosaurs are pretty scary, but for the most part, they don’t inflict any real damage on any characters.  Sexual innuendoes are limited to Scrat and his new love interest, as well as Manny and Ellie acting sweet towards each other. In one scene, Sid tries to milk an animal that turns out to be male, and in another scene, he thinks a baby mammoth is a boy until Diego says, "That’s a tail." Language includes mild insults, usually directed at Sid, as well as "poop" and "barf."

DVD Bonus Features:

• Trailer: Alvin and the Chipmunks:The Squeakquel
• Trailer: Percy Jackson 
• Trailer: Aliens In The Attic
• Trailer: Night At The Museum 2
• Trailer: Glee
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Marley Meets Purina Puppy Chow

Photo Credit: Blue Sky Studios, TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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And anyone who knows me knows I usually don’t go for raunchy movies, but “The Hangover” gets a big pass. No kids allowed, though. Remember, it’s an adult comedy.

Apparently, everyone else loves it, too! “The Hangover” is now the #1 comedy of all time on DVD, with over 8.6 million units sold, including 1.5 million blu-ray discs in the U.S. and Canada. In theaters, it earned more than $467 million worldwide during its run. We’ll see how it shakes out during awards season over the next few months.

The story is about a Las Vegas bachelor blow-out that goes horribly, horribly wrong. Two days before his wedding, Doug (Justin Bartha) and three pals (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) head for Vegas for one last bash they’ll never forget.

But shortly after arriving, the three have a few drinks on the rooftop and wake up the next morning with zero memory of the previous night. Not only that, Doug is missing. The three remaining buddies embark on a fact-finding mission to learn exactly what happened. The clues include: a trashed hotel suite, a baby, a tiger, Mike Tyson, the Japanese mob, a missing tooth, and a hooker with a heart of gold.

More after the jump…

And, of course, there’s the whole thing about trying to get Doug back to his bride in time for the wedding.

If you’re just needing to escape for a couple of hours with some adult humor, I highly recommend "The Hangover." None of the characters are stereotypes, but rather real people with hang-ups and issues and strengths and weaknesses. Imagine – character development in a movie!

Highlights include:

- A guy who’s not really all there, but the other guys don’t make fun of him. They look out for him (how novel!).

- Heather Graham as the hooker who’s just trying to make ends meet.

- Bradley Cooper, who’s not hard to look at, by any means.

- Great writing and a plot that twists and turns and always has you guessing.

NOW AVAILABLE ON: 

Blu-ray Unrated Edition:

• Theatrical Version of the Film
• Unrated Version of the Film
• PIP Commentary
• "Map of Destruction"
• "The Madness of Ken Jeong"
• "Action Mash-Up"
• "Three Best Friends Song"
• "The Dan Band"
• Gag Reel
• More Pictures from the Missing Camera
• BD-LIVE
• Exclusive Content: "Iron Mike Online Teaser"
• EXCLUSIVE CONTENT: "Cursing Mash-Up"

Unrated Two-Disc Special Edition:

DISC 1

• Unrated Version of the Film

DISC 2

• Theatrical Version of the Film
• "Map of Destruction"
• Ken Jeong’s nonstop improv
• "Action Mash-Up"
• "Three Best Friends Song"
• The Dan Band performs "Fame"
• Gag Reel
• More Photos from the Missing Camera

R-Rated Single-Disc Edition:

• Includes widescreen and full-screen editions

“The Hangover” Trailer:

Image: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

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Movie: Fame * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Sept. 25, 2009
Runtime: 107 minutes	Directed by: Kevin Tancharoen
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material, including teen drinking, a sexual situation, and language	Gecko Rating:

The original 1980 movie “Fame” was rated R, and while I understand the desire to make this one PG (to appeal to the “High School Musical” crowd), it loses a lot in translation.

This modern version could have benefitted from a PG-13 rating; then they could have included more intense material, without trying to dilute it for the younger crowd. As it is, the movie is a little boring and the characters really aren’t fleshed out that well. It’s like “High School Musical,” only with more intense scenes (too intense, really, for a PG rating).

As with the original, this movie follows the lives of several students at the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The original has a famous line from Debbie Allen (who played a dance teacher in that movie and plays the principal in this movie; different character, though): “You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying … in sweat…” That line is said over the opening credits in the new movie.

The only problem is, we don’t really see a whole lot of sweat. We see a kid who doesn’t seem to have much talent in any of the arts (Kay Panabaker’s character), a not-very-good dancer from Iowa who manages to make it past the audition process, and various other talented and non-talented kids. This IS a pretty prestigious school, after all. You’d think most of the non-talented kids would be weeded out in auditions.

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The kids include Alice (Kherington Payne), a dancer from a rich family; Malik (Collins Pennie), a Harlem kid who dreams of a career on the stage; Denise (Naturi Naughton), a classical pianist whose real talent is hip-hop singing (despite the objections of her parents); Victor (Walter Perez), a budding music producer; Kevin (Paul McGill), the aforementioned dancer from Iowa; Joy (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle), an entertainer who scores a gig on “Sesame Street” in her junior year; Jenny (Kay Panabaker), an uptight actress who needs to loosen up; and Marco (Asher Book), a sweet boy who attempts to loosen her up (but in a good way).

The standouts are Book and Naughton, both of whom have beautiful voices and are a pleasure to listen to, even through the movie screen. The teachers include Kelsey Grammer (music), Bebe Neuwirth (dance, and yes, Frasier and his wife!); Megan Mullally (musical theater); and Charles S. Dutton (drama). They all have their moments of tough-love, pep talks and drama.

Despite the promising premise, this movie falls flat in just about every way – even the obligatory lunchroom number which we’re expected to believe is spontaneous (I didn’t believe that with the original movie either). Still, if you want to see something that changed pop culture, see the original 1980 movie. Since it’s rated R, kids can check out the more family-friendly TV series; seasons one and two were just released on DVD.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Some of the dances are sensuous, and there are several kisses between major characters. In one scene, an actor tries to take advantage of a female teen by pretending to film an audition scene in his trailer. (I couldn’t help but think she should have known; even the girl in front of me at the theater said, “Even my grandmother could have seen that guy coming.”)

Violence includes references to a character’s violent past, including his little sister being hit by stray gang-related bullets. A depressed character seems like he’s going to jump in front of a subway, but is stopped in the nick of time. There’s a lot of profanity for a PG movie, including “sh*t,” “a**hole,” “hell,” “goddamn,” and bullsh*t.”

Images: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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Movie: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Sept. 18, 2009
Runtime: 90 minutes	Directed by: Phil Lord
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild language	Gecko Rating:

Based on the popular children’s book by Ron and Judy Barrett, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” is a cute movie, but rather forgettable in the big scheme of things.  The graphics and animation are interesting, not to mention the idea of being able to order up whatever food you want and have giant amounts of it fall from the sky. So there’s that. But truth be told, it was more boring than I thought it would be.

Despite the impressive voice cast, there’s really only a couple of voices you’ll probably recognize. Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer of Devo, is the composer, but I never would have known that unless I looked at the credits. The music seemed somewhat canned.

The story follows a kid named Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader), who’s always been sort of a misfit. He’s a nerd who’d rather spend time in his makeshift lab inventing things than develop relationships with people. The kids at school make fun of him, and his bushy-browed dad (James Caan) would rather he work in his bait shop than on all his goofy inventions. Flint’s mom is more encouraging, but she passes away when he’s a kid, so he’s left to his own devices, so to speak.

Meanwhile, the town of Chew and Swallow is surviving on a steady diet of sardines, so Flint spends his time working on a device that will create food out of water. It isn’t going well, and Flint suffers through many embarrassing defeats. But the town makes news when his invention actually begins working, and an ambitious young weather girl named Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) is there to document it. If you saw “The House Bunny,” you’ll recognize her voice. She has just the right voice for a cartoon character – fun and enthusiastic.

Turns out that Sam is a nerd just like Flint, only she doesn’t want anyone to know it, so she hides her true self in order to make it as a weather girl. But she’s fearless and ready to help her new friend when his invention goes horribly wrong. It’s an adventure that takes them into space!

Other voices include Andy Samberg as Baby Brent, a bullying kid who has a change of heart; Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne; Mr. T. as Earl Devereaux, an over-enthusiastic cop; as well as Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, and Lauren Graham.

The best part of this movie is the creative ways food can be, well, created. Cheeseburgers fall from the sky, kids have snowball fights with ice cream, and Gummi Bears frolic like so many cute creatures. One of the best scenes is when Flint creates a giant Jello mold for Sam, who loves Jello, and the two make a giant bounce-house out of it.

But things quickly get out of control, as the machine starts making bigger and bigger food, until one pancake covers the entire school (the kids don’t mind). So action has to be taken, and a crew heads for space, where they encounter jagged peanut brittle (Sam’s allergic) and zombie-like chickens out to get them.

I would say to read the book instead, as it offers more bang for your food buck, but this movie is ok-fun, especially for kids in the 5- to 9-year-old age range. It’s offered in both 3D and conventional formats. I saw the conventional, although I would imagine this might be one of the rare movies that is actually better for being in 3D.

Note to Parents: Most of the PG rating comes from language such as “jerk,” “knuckle scrapers,” and “stupid,” as well as “hell hole.” There’s some flirting, and a kiss plays into the storyline throughout the movie. Violence includes a “perfect food storm” which threatens to wipe out Chew and Swallow, as well as other cities. Some peril involving a trip into the clouds to stop the storm, including Flint being lowered into a cavern by a string of licorice, as Sam tries to avoid being stuck by brittle (but fails, sending her into anaphylactic shock until she receives a shot). Flint creates “rat-birds,” which are creepy but don’t hurt anyone.

Image: Sony Pictures Animation

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The big screen version of Ron and Judi Barrett’s classic children’s book features the voices of Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Mr. T. Looks like good fun! Check out the trailer here, and watch the stars on the red carpet. 

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The movie is set in futuristic Metro City, where Astro Boy (voiced by Freddie Highmore) is a young robot created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive “blue” energy, Astro Boy has super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed, and the ability to fly.

The young robot goes on a search which eventually leads him back to Metro City to save everything he cares about. Kristen Bell, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, and Eugene Levy are also featured in the movie. Check out the trailer and see what you think. The animation looks fantastic.

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Here, Bradley Cooper, her co-star in the upcoming “All About Steve,” talks about how tyrannical she is to work with, while Sandra explains that it’s impossible to explain the movie in 10 seconds. Makes sense to me. Go see the movie instead. It looks like good fun.

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Willis and Radha Mitchell star as FBI agents investigating the murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate program that allows people to create “perfect” versions of themselves. These remote controlled machines assume the person’s life roles, which means they never have to leave the comfort and safety of their own home. How boring.

Check out all of Film Gecko’s “Surrogates” coverage here. The movie hits theaters Sept. 25, 2009. What do you think of the trailer?

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Movie: Bandslam * Gecko Preview *  Official Site	In Theaters: Aug. 14, 2009
Runtime: 111 minutes	Directed by: Todd Graff; Produced by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas
MPAA Rating: PG for some thematic elements and mild language	Gecko Rating:

I take back my earlier thoughts about "Bandslam." If, like me, you were expecting something akin to "High School Musical," you’d be dead wrong!

Yes, there’s a teensy bit of sap in this movie, but nothing like the volume offered up in Disney’s HSM. This is Summit Entertainment, after all, which automatically kicks it to a different level. The soundtrack includes Lou Reed’s "Femme Fatale" and Steve Wynn’s "Amphetamine," and David Bowie is an integral part of the story. You wouldn’t get that with Disney.

Vanessa Hudgens is the known star here, but it’s really an ensemble cast, all revolving around Gaelan Connell’s character, Will Burton. In the opening scene, Will is being kicked around and made fun of at his high school. He’s the class nerd and the target of bullies and jocks. And right away, we learn that he has a secret, only we don’t get to know what it is until the end of the movie.

Will and his mom Karen (Lisa Kudrow) move to a new town and a new high school, where he falls in with former cheerleader Charlotte (Aly Michalka). The fact that she befriends a nerd is another mystery, which we learn more about later in the movie.

Will also befriends a sullen Vanessa Hudgens – her name is Sa5m (the 5 is silent) –  who tries to warn him about Charlotte. But he gets ever more friendly with her and ends up managing her band, made up of other nerds. The main story revolves around a "battle of the bands" contest called Bandslam, with the winner getting a recording contract.

Charlotte’s band includes a rag-tag group of kids, including Charlie Saxton (Ray Drecker’s son on HBO’s "Hung"), Tim Jo, Ryan Donowho, Elvy Yost, and Lisa Chung.

Competing against Charlotte’s band is a band fronted by her former boyfriend Ben, played by Friday Night Lights’ Scott Porter.

How to sum up "Bandslam"? It doesn’t break any new ground in cinematic history, but it’s a good movie. I think of it as "Napoleon Dynamite" meets "The School of Rock" meets "The Breakfast Club." Funny, heartfelt, dramatic, engaging.

Music lovers will appreciate the soundtrack, which includes the aforementioned tunes, as well as David Bowie’s "Rebel Rebel" and Rick Nielsen’s "I Want You to Want Me." Nerds will appreciate the nerdy-boy-makes-good storyline. And parents will appreciate the fact that there’s more to these characters than meets the eye – something you don’t often get in a movie about teens.

Images: TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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