RSS The Buzzscene
The Buzzscene
International Editions
  • U.S.
  • Bollywood
  • U.K. — Coming Soon
  • Latin — Coming Soon
  • Japan — Coming Soon

  • News >
    • DVD Roundup

DVD Roundup

Flyboys Open Season The Guardian

Staci Layne Wilson
Editor at Large
Senior Writer

= = =
Flyboys

The Lafayette Escadrille was comprised of young Americans who volunteered for the French military, before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country’s first fighter pilots. This Dean Devlin flick has a lot of action, drama, incredible dogfights…and schmaltz.

James Franco stars as one of the eager flyboys, and Jean Reno (whose contract states he must play every Frenchman in every Hollywood movie) portrays a taciturn commander with overwrought disdain.

Cliched but entertaining enough, “Flyboys” is a decent timewaster for fans of the patriotic war genre.

DVD Features:

  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Audio Commentary by the Director and Producer
  • 15 minutes of deleted scenes
  • Short Documentary on Real Life Airmen
  • Short Documentary on the SFX
  • Miniature Stunt Pilot Feature

    = = =
    Open Season

    This cute CGI-fest follows Boog (voiced by Martin Lawrence), a domesticated Grizzly bear who finds himself stranded in the woods three days before Open Season is to start. Forced to rely on a fast-talking mule deer called Elliot (Ashton Kutcher), Boog rallies other forest animals to form a rag-tag army against the hunters. While hilarity doesn’t exactly ensure, an awful lot of chuckles and “awwww… ” moments do come up.

    While the story does not cover any new ground, the characters are good, the dialogue is funny without being too hip for younger viewers, and action montages are particularly well-thought-out. “Open Season” is definitely one of the better animal- and family-oriented animated features of 2006, so it’s worth a look on DVD for sure.

    DVD Features:

  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  • “Wheel of Fortune” Forest Edition game
  • Inside the animals’ studio
  • Making-of
  • The Voices Behind the Stars
  • Voice-A-Rama: See what the characters sound like with different accents
  • Music video
  • Deleted scenes
  • Filmmakers commentary
  • Ring tales
  • Art gallery
  • Beat boards

    = = =
    The Guardian

    In an effort to find his place in life, a troubled young man (Ashton Kutcher) enlists in the Coast Guard, where he’s taken in by a renowned rescue swimmer (Kevin Costner) who’s hardened by the loss of his team from an accident years back.

    At over two hours long, and kept afloat on a sea of cliches, “The Guardian” is passable but mostly recommended for fans of the stars.

    DVD Features:

  • Subtitles: Spanish, French
  • Commentary by: Director Andrew Davis, writer Ron L. Brinkerhoff
  • Deleted scenes
  • Alternate ending
  • “Unsung Heroes” tribute to real-life Coast Guard rescuers
  • The making of “The Guardian”

    • Related Stories: DVD Roundup, DVD Roundup, Family DVDs, DVD Roundup, DVD Roundup

    Tags: , , , , , , ,

    • |  Print  |  
    • More Film Articles