Diva Dolorosa (Peter Delpeut, 1999)

Region 1 Zeitgeist (USA)
NTSC, 1.33:1
70 minutes
Audio: DD 2.0 mono
Subtitles: English, Dutch, or Italian intertitles with optional English subtitles
Extras: Italian film diva photo gallery

Released: 25 March 2008
transparent keepcase
11 chapters

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Dutch filmmaker Peter Delpeut specializes in “found footage”. He un-earths rare or “lost” movies and re-assembles them as documentaries-cum-retrospectives. Previously, Zeitgeist Films released Delpeut’s Lyrical Nitrate and The Forbidden Quest on one DVD here in the U.S. Zeitgeist is now releasing Delpeut’s Diva Dolorosa.

Diva Dolorosa is a 70-minute collage of moments featuring Italian silent cinema’s screen goddesses. Pre-WWI cinema was new enough that performers frequently relied on techniques that they learned for stage performances. Therefore, acting trended toward the highly expressive, though in some of the later clips in Diva Dolorosa, the acting is not theatrical at all and resembles the styles with which we’re familiar today.

Diva Dolorosa isn’t a “greatest hits” compilation like the That’s Entertainment! series, though Delpeut covers a wide range of actors and techniques. For example, several clips have extensive tinting, and some clips were edited fairly rapidly. Diva Dolorosa reveals that rapid cutting was common across borders prior to the introduction of sync sound (which basically made movies stationary again for several years as cameras had to be locked down in booths for audio-recording purposes).

As can be inferred from the movie’s title, the clips focus on dramatic moments in the lives of Fallen Women, women who live in society’s upper echelons and indulge in indiscretions that drive them to heartbreak and ruin. While ostensibly morality plays, these movies basically celebrated the decadent lifestyles that people enjoyed in the 1910s and 1920s. Life could be difficult if you took romantic liaisons too seriously or if you flaunted your affairs with abandon, but in general, the rich were expected to have flings from time to time.

Of course, these films were slowly forgotten during WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII, but now that Peter Delpeut and like-minded archivists and filmmakers are re-presenting lost gems, we have a chance to appreciate film history with new perspectives.

Video:
Understandably, the 1.33:1 is not anywhere near demo quality. The film prints suffered heavy damage over the years, so you get a lot of scratches, dust, and occasional jitteriness. However, the transfer is generally very sharp, revealing quite a bit of detail that one might not expect from such mis-handled footage.

Audio:
The DD 2.0 mono track is used exclusively for classical music cues. The music is well-rendered and quite robust, though the track exhibits a significant amount of audio hiss.

The film clips are shown with English, Dutch, or Italian intertitles, and optional English subtitles translate the non-English intertitles.

Extras:
The only disc-based extra is a stills gallery.

--Miscellaneous--
An insert booklet provides an essay by scholar Angela Dalle Vacche, a statement from Peter Delpeut, chapter listings, and film and DVD credits.

The Kite Runner (Marc Forster, 2007)

Region 1 Paramount (USA)
NTSC, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
127 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary with Marc Forster, Khaled Hosseini, and David Benioff; Words From The Kite Runner; Images From The Kite Runner; trailer; previews for other movies

Released: 24 March 2008
keepcase
16 chapters

The Kite Runner is based on the acclaimed novel by Khaled Hosseini. I have not read the book, but based on my good friend John Puccio’s plot synopsis, I feel confident in opining that the movie probably improves the narrative flow by jettisoning much of Hosseini’s protracted final act. Alas, the movie still has a preposterous ending, with a retiring novelist and a young boy springing into action and successfully running away from heavily-armed Taliban soldiers.

The movie begins with two boys, Amir and Hassan, enjoying carefree times in Kabul, Afghanistan during the 1970s. The Soviets had not yet invaded their country, and Islamic fundamentalists had not yet terrorized their own people. However, neighborhood bullies rape Hassan, and Amir silently witnesses the act without telling anyone about it. Ashamed and disgusted with himself, Amir tries various ploys to force Hassan from his life.

On the surface, Amir seems like any other unreasonable jerk, but the movie does a great job of showing how guilt can turn into mis-directed anger. The Kite Runner is a moving, even powerful, character study for two thirds of its running time. However, its conclusion is so contrived that it basically lost all credibility with me.

Amir goes back to Afghanistan in order to rescue Hassan’s son. It turns out that Hassan was his half-brother. This half-assed “rescue” involves little more than the clean-shaven Amir pasting a fake beard on his face and walking up to dangerous Taliban officials in order to demand meetings. Amir and his nephew manage to escape from a Taliban compound deep inside Afghanistan without a whole contingent of Taliban fighters chasing them to the border with Pakistan.

I usually eschew plot summaries because one can discern the plot for oneself without another person’s regurgitation. However, The Kite Runner’s final third is poorly-conceived and undermines the rest of the movie’s effectiveness.

Video:
In general, this disc offers a pleasing 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen video transfer. The image is sometimes a bit soft, though this is probably attributable to standard definition’s inherent lack of resolution (or to the lack of computing power for visual effects during the kite duels). Colors are naturalistic and strong, even when they are meant to be worn and faded. This is in contrast to old movies that have not been preserved well, where even colors that are meant to bloom look tired and muddy.

Audio:
This isn’t an action extravaganza, but the primary DD 5.1 audio track is frequently a lively affair due to a jaunty music score and creative mixing during the kite duels. Stereo separation is very wide across the front, and the surrounds offer plenty of discrete wind whooshes. The subwoofer kicks in a few times during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and when the Taliban shoot their AK-47s.

You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

Before the movie begins, you get a “Public Service Announcement With Khaled Hosseini”, who provides information about NGOs helping to rebuild Afghanistan.

Next up is an audio commentary with director Marc Forster, novelist Khaled Hosseini, and screenwriter David Benioff. Mainly, the three fellas compliment each other or talk about narrative in general terms.

“Words From The Kite Runner” is a brief featurette about how the principal filmmakers developed the book into a movie. “Images From The Kite Runner” shows behind-the-scenes footage of the production as well as various post-production activities (such as creating the music score).

Finally, you get the theatrical trailer as well as previews for other movies.

--Miscellaneous--
As with other canceled Paramount HD DVDs such as Bee Movie and The Jack Ryan Collection, it’s possible that the HD DVD version of The Kite Runner was prepped and ready to ship before Paramount abandoned the format.

Bee Movie A Very Jerry Two-Disc Edition (Simon J. Smith & Steve Hickner, 2007)

Region 1 Paramount (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen
90 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 2.0 surround English, DD 5.1 French, DD 2.0 surround Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary; lost scenes; alternate endings; TV Juniors; live-action trailers; Jerry’s Flight Over Cannes; Inside the Hive: The Cast of Bee Movie; Tech of Bee Movie; Meet Barry B. Benson; “We Got the Bee” music video; DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox; The Buzz About Bees; The Ow! Meter; That’s Un-bee-lievable!; Be a Bee; Pollination Practice; previews for other movies; DVD-ROM features

Released: 11 March 2008
thin double keepcase
16 chapters

Seinfeld was a very popular show during its broadcast run on NBC, and it still has a large audience in syndication and on DVD. I never understood why it attracted so many viewers. After all, it was about four selfish, irresponsible, and in the case of Kramer, potentially mentally-ill characters. The whiny exasperation that Jerry Seinfeld offered as “humor” was greeted by stone-faced reactions from me when I caught the tail ends of episodes while waiting for another program to start.

Jerry Seinfeld’s style of comedy was already incomprehensible to me in its real-life incarnation, so you can imagine how utterly un-funny Bee Movie was for me. Like other recent animated movies such as Ratatouille and Flushed Away, Bee Movie features a lower life form frequently considered to be a pest as the hero. This lower life form has surprisingly human-like physical behavior, ambitions, and neuroses. Through the hero’s interactions with humans, viewers are supposed to see how silly and destructive we can be. Well, that’s good and all...but these scripts are over-written by committees to the point that they’re utterly banal. The youngest of children might be entertained by the frantic commotion, but intelligent kids will get much more mileage from watching National Geographic documentaries than from this sort of affair.

Bee Movie is just another “B” movie, especially when you consider how mature, insightful, humorous, and powerful animated movies like Millennium Actress and Final Fantasy are.

Video:
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is plastically shiny, loudly colorful, cheerily bright, and crystal sharp. Digital-animation movies from the major studios have super high-production values, and it’s rare to encounter one that’s transferred poorly to DVD. Of course, as animation and digital-compression techniques improve, DVD transfers also improve. From a technical standpoint, Bee Movie looks as good as recent DVDs such as Shrek 3 and Ratatouille, though aesthetically, it’s not as rich as what Pixar routinely delivers.

Audio:
I don’t want to induce groans with another pun, but I might as well go for it--the DD 5.1 English track is as busy as a bee. The Seinfeld bee is constantly in danger of being killed by loud humans, and there are plenty of whizzing sonic elements flying all over the room. Subwoofer activity is surprisingly throaty and heavy for a movie about such tiny creatures.

Those of you without surround-sound set-ups should opt for the DD 2.0 surround English track. You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 2.0 surround Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
The first disc opens with previews for other movies.

Jerry Seinfeld and various filmmakers contributed an audio commentary. There’s a convivial atmosphere with everyone talking about how great some element or other is and with everyone laughing at Seinfeld’s jokes.

There are three “lost” scenes and six alternate endings. There are also fifteen “TV Juniors”, which are TV commercials that last between one and two minutes. You also get two live-action trailers.

“Jerry’s Flight Over Cannes” details Seinfeld being flown over Cannes on a wire in a promotional stunt.

“Inside the Hive: The Cast of Bee Movie” throws kudos at the voice actors.

--Disc 2--
The second disc also opens with previews for other movies.

The extras are divided into two sections: “Special Features” and “DreamWorks Kids”.

In “Special Features”, you’ll find “Tech of Bee Movie” (which explains the animation and voice-acting processes), “Meet Barry B. Benson” (an “interactive” interview with the movie’s protagonist), a “We Got the Bee” music video, and the DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox (song-and-dance clips from various movies).

In “DreamWorks Kids”, you’ll find “The Buzz About Bees” (a bee documentary), “The Ow! Meter” (information about how much pain bees and humans can cause each other), “That’s Un-bee-lievable!” (a trivia game), “Be a Bee” (information about various bee jobs), and “Pollination Practice” (a game about pollinating flowers).

Disc 2 also offers DVD-ROM activities such as coloring pages, recipes, Sudoku games, and a videogame demo.

--Miscellaneous--
While Paramount and DreamWorks Animation canceled the HD DVD release of Bee Movie following Toshiba’s withdrawal from the high-def optical-disc format tussle, it’s possible that, given the advance time needed to manufacture and ship discs for specific street dates, Bee Movie HD DVDs exist. If you can nab one, then you’ll have a very rare item in your hands.

Into the Wild Two-Disc Collector’s Edition (Sean Penn, 2007)

Region 1 Paramount (USA)
NTSC, 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen
148 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 2.0 surround English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: The Story, The Characters; The Experience; trailer; previews for other movies

Released: 4 March 2008
thin double keepcase
17 chapters

Sean Penn takes things--life in general and himself--quite seriously. After Chris Rock poked fun at Jude Law’s not-quite-superstar status at the Oscars one year, Penn took the stage to present an award. He began by talking about how great Jude Law is, and he actually looked and sounded indignant.

It’s no surprise, then, that Penn has carved out a second career as a director of movies filled with emotional trauma. There’s nothing wrong with dramatic material, but Penn’s approach is so self-serious, ponderous, and occasionally over-blown that whatever genuine pain a scene may have is almost lost due to Penn veering into parody territory. He doesn’t mean for his movies to be parodies, of course, but when a storyteller insists that every development is a VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT, there is no sense of the relative that one feels when assessing differing situations.

Penn’s latest VERY IMPORTANT MOVIE is Into the Wild, an adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book about a man who abandons civilization after he graduates from college. Christopher McCandless is a bright youth who seems to have a promising future, but he reacts in an extreme manner against familial dysfunctionalism and materialistic capitalism. He treks into the Alaskan wilderness, where he spends many months by himself before dying of starvation. His body was found by hunters.

McCandless was neither the first nor the last person to be hurt by family arguments, and he was neither the first nor the last person to be disgusted by the American economic culture. Yet, he chose to behave in a way that seems aggressively anti-social and unproductive. While the movie doesn’t shy away from showing the failure of McCandless’s life choice, it doesn’t make enough of an effort to show how much of a tragedy his death was for his family and friends. As Into the Wild focuses narrowly on the protagonist’s travails, the movie ultimately romanticizes someone who really didn’t have a point to make.

Video:
The movie boasts frequently breathtaking outdoors cinematography, and as the movie doesn’t have to share disc space with a lot of other programs, the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen video image is about as good as one can expect with standard definition. The golden hues of sunrises/sunsets and massive wheat fields are intensely luminous, and the wilderness photography is as sharp and detailed as what we’re used to seeing with documentaries from National Geographic and the BBC.

Audio:
The soundtrack is driven primarily by dialogue and monologues, though the DD 5.1 English mix also devotes quite a bit of energy to Eddie Vedder’s singing. Stereo separation is very wide across the front, and the rears as well as the subwoofer spring to fierce action during scenes with rapid-flowing rivers.

Those of you without surround-sound set-ups should opt for the DD 2.0 surround English track. You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
On Disc 1, you also get previews for other movies.

Disc 2 offers two glossy, superficial featurettes, “The Story, the Characters” and “The Experience”, that are mainly comprised of talking-heads interviews and lots of film clips.

You also get the movie’s theatrical trailer.

Considering the relatively high suggested retail price, you should opt for either the single-disc SD DVD or the HD DVD.

--Miscellaneous--
The single-disc SD DVD is identical to Disc 1 of this two-disc set. The HD DVD has high-def tech specs (2.40:1 1080p video; DD+ 5.1 English, DD+ 5.1 French, & DD+ 5.1 Spanish audio; English, English SDH, French & Spanish subtitles) and the same extras minus the previews for other movies.

Things We Lost in the Fire (Susanne Bier, 2007)

Region 1 Paramount (USA)
NTSC, 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen
118 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: A Discussion About Things We Lost in the Fire; deleted scenes; trailer; previews for other movies

Released: 4 March 2008
keepcase
17 chapters

Things We Lost in the Fire is one of those “Let’s Invite a European Director to America and then Handcuff Him/Her With a Bland Script About Generic Socio-familial Problems” productions. American Beauty was one such movie, and it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography. I guess Sam Mendes, the British director of American Beauty, thought that he could make lightening strike twice. Mendes produced Things We Lost in the Fire, and he invited the Danish Susanne Bier to take the helm.

Things We Lost in the Fire was clearly designed as awards bait, and I guess we should be grateful that most critics and guilds ignored it. In the movie, Audrey (Halle Berry) disapproves of her husband Brian’s (David Duchovny) friendship with drug-addict Jerry (Benicio Del Toro). However, after Brian dies in an accident, Audrey invites Jerry to live with her and her children. Jerry gets along well with the kids, which upsets Audrey. Therefore, she throws him out of the house, which causes him to relapse into abusing drugs again.

As you can see, the movie’s set-ups are forced and illogical. Why would Audrey invite Jerry to live with her if he was a source of tension in her marriage? Why would she be upset about Jerry getting along with her kids? Would she prefer that he terrorized them?

Near the end of the movie, there’s a scene set around a dinner table with characters talking about Brian’s likes/dis-likes. Rather than a bittersweet remembrance of a beloved man, the dialogue feels like an interrogation. That scene is emblematic of the contradictory tonal problems that plague the whole movie.

Video:
The movie has a generally dark look aside from a few outdoors scenes (which are still dark when compared to “sunnier” movies). Also, colors in general are muted. The combination heightens the graininess of this 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen video transfer. The visual moodiness complements the gritty subject matter. Aside from the intentional grain, the picture is fairly sharp and detailed.

Audio:
A dialogue-driven production, Things We Lost in the Fire doesn’t offer a memorable DD 5.1 English track. What we get is efficient and functional, though the material yields limited dynamic range and an intimate sound field. Nothing feels constricted, but the audio is suitably low-key.

You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

In lieu of an audio commentary, the DVD offers “A Discussion About Things We Lost in the Fire”, which mixes bland talking-heads interviews with film clips.

You also get a couple of deleted scenes as well as the theatrical trailer.

--Miscellaneous--
Paramount also released an HD DVD with high-def tech specs (1.85:1 1080p video; DD+ 5.1 English, DD+ 5.1 French, & DD+ 5.1 Spanish audio; English, English SDH, French & Spanish dubs) and the same extras minus the previews for other movies.

In the Valley of Elah HD DVD (Paul Haggis, 2007)

Warner (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
121 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD+ 5.1 English, DD+ 5.1 French, DD+ 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: In the Valley of Elah: After Iraq; In the Valley of Elah: Coming Home; deleted scenes

Released: 11 March 2008
HD DVD case
27 chapters

For three years in a row (2005 to 2007), Paul Haggis received Oscar nominations for screenwriting. All three movies--Million Dollar Baby, Crash, and Letters From Iwo Jima--were nominated for Best Picture, too, with the first two winning the big prize. Casino Royale was very well-received, and Flags of Our Fathers has its share of ardent fans, too.

I’m going to be honest up front--I don’t get any of the buzz about Paul Haggis. Of the aforementioned features, I only like Letters From Iwo Jima, which was basically written by someone else (Iris Yamashita) as Haggis only has a story credit. The rest are all too long and occasionally rather sloppy. Example: people marvel that Million Dollar Baby was shot with a first draft, but I’m surprised that so many can’t see that it clearly needs heavy cutting. (Get rid of the Danger character, and there might be a decent movie.) Casino Royale is a failed attempt to make a Jason-Bourne clone (the poker scenes and the Venice finale are so bloated and tedious that I wanted to cry when I saw the movie on opening night). I’m not sour-graping about Brokeback Mountain losing to Crash; of the five nominated movies that year, I wanted either Munich or Good Night, and Good Luck. to win.

Haggis’s latest creation is the heavy-handed, ponderous, overly-didactic, self-important In the Valley of Elah, which takes the real-life tragedy of Richard Davis and turns it into a generic lesson about the disasters that result from bungled armed conflicts. Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron’s characters provide an investigative-procedural angle into the causes and effects of the murder of a soldier by his fellows-in-arms. Excepting the legitimate pain of losing both of one’s children, the movie, like Crash, offers either trite, banal answers or no answers at all to the tough questions that it attempts to confront.

My good friend Chris Long and I are both against Dubya’s Invasion of Iraq, but if movies like Elah, Rendition, and Redacted almost make us want to support the war, then maybe our friends on the left need to realize that they’re a part of the problem, too.

Video:
As one can expect with a recent theatrical release, the 2.40:1 1080p video transfer is clean and free of debris/damage. There aren’t any compression problems, though a muted palette and occasional softness reduce the movie’s immediate visual impact.

Audio:
For the movie’s original English mix, you can opt for the lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or the lossy DD+ 5.1 track. Either way, you will get a dialogue-driven, front-biased sound field. The TrueHD option sometimes feels richer and fuller in terms of ambient noises and low frequencies, but the differences are slight.

You can also watch the movie with DD+ 5.1 French and DD+ 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
“In the Valley of Elah: After Iraq” and “In the Valley of Elah: Coming Home” can be experienced as a mini-documentary about the real-life events that inspired the script as well as other social/medical problems that veterans and their families face due to George W. Bush’s Invasion of Iraq.

What’s billed as an “additional scene” is actually a short collection of deleted scenes.

--Miscellaneous—
The SD DVD side of this combo disc is the same as the widescreen SD DVD release. The SD DVD side offers reduced technical specs (2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen video; DD 5.1 English, French, & Spanish audio; English, English SDH, French, & Spanish subtitles) and the same extras plus previews for other movies.

The Blu-ray edition is practically identical to the HD DVD side.

Gary Tooze Strikes (Out) Again!

DVDBeaver.com's Gary Tooze has struck (out) again.

In his review of Lou Ye's Summer Palace, Gary is using the above graphic as the title capture. The characters in that picture stand for "Postal and Electric Service Center", NOT "Summer Palace" (which is a literal translation of the Chinese title referring to the summer retreat used by Chinese royalty during imperial times).

Between plagiarizing and rushing reviews into publication instead of verifying a language with which he is unfamiliar, Gary certainly has all of movie reviewing's bases covered.

No Reservations HD DVD (Scott Hicks, 2007)

Warner (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
104 minutes
Audio: DD+ 5.1 English, DD+ 5.1 French, DD+ 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Emeril Live; Unwrapped

Released: 4 March 2008
HD DVD case
24 chapters

2007’s No Reservations is based on the early-1990s German film Mostly Martha. In both movies, a perfectionist chef gains custody of her niece after her sister dies in a car accident. The niece doesn’t have much of an appetite even though her aunt concocts tasty dishes. However, the chef and a sous chef manage to draw the little girl out of her shell, and the chef and the sous chef fall in love with each other.

A plot synopsis makes both movies sound similarly maudlin and trite, but they’re actually rather different. I attribute their differences to cultural sensibilities. Mostly Martha felt like a Teutonic movie. I may be stereotyping, but Mostly Martha had a straightforward, no-nonsense edge. On the other hand, No Reservations is typical pandering Hollywood fare. The American re-make presents the main character as cute, lovable, and always right even when she’s being unreasonable. This is in contrast to the German version, which isn’t afraid to have characters tell the protagonist that she’s wrong about many things.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a talented, exciting actress, but she can’t carry a movie. The same goes for Aaron Eckhart, who provides great support in many movies but isn’t quite believable as a leading man. Therefore, No Reservations doesn’t quite achieve the “lift” that one senses with the best romantic comedies. To some degree, rom-coms are fairy tales; Zeta-Jones is too serious and Eckhart is too goofy for viewers to imagine themselves in their shoes.

Video:
Although a new movie, on HD DVD, No Reservations looks like an undistinguished program shot by merely competent (or bored) filmmakers. The 2.40:1 1080p video transfer is clean and smooth but dull and muted in several spots. Some outdoors scenes are flooded with surprisingly harsh sunlight. In this case, the movie itself is to blame for an un-inspired picture.

Audio:
These days, just about every high-profile movie is given the 5.1 treatment, but movies like No Reservations don’t need all that juice. The DD+ 5.1 English track is a glorified stereo mix. Dialogue and music are the main participants up front, with the rears and the subwoofer doing little work.

You can also watch the movie with DD+ 5.1 French and DD+ 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
Well, this is a movie about cooking, so Warner packaged the movie with episodes from two TV cooking shows--Emeril Live and Unwrapped. The episodes flogged the movie for its Summer 2007 theatrical release, and they’re amiable, inoffensive fluff.

--Miscellaneous--
This HD DVD was released on 4 March 2008. The SD DVD and Blu-ray counterparts were released on 12 February 2008.

The Blu-ray version is basically identical to the HD DVD version. The SD DVD version is the same as the SD DVD side of this combo disc. In addition to reduced technical specs (2.40: 1 anamorphic widescreen & 1.33:1 P&S video; DD 5.1 English, French, & Spanish audio; English, French, & Spanish subtitles), the SD DVD has only the Unwrapped episode as well as previews for other movies.