From Stacie Hougland: Looks like this August is tween-movie month, with kid flicks being the only notable DVD releases for the third week in a row--not much new for the adult set lately. This week, 13-year-olds should be thrilled, as Disney releases its massive hit Hannah Montana And Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds Concert Tour (for which Fandango sold a whopping 30 percent of its $29 million opening weekend), now the highest grossing concert movie of all time.
Now, I'm clearly not a tween, I'm not a mother of one, and I don't know any, so the Hannah Montana phenomenon was never on my radar--I didn't even know who Miley Cyrus was last year. For those unfamiliar, this film offers a fascinating look at the state of tweendom today. Who is this plasticky, Disney-fied, hair extensioned moppet, and why does she captivate gazillions of pre-teens? The offstage Miley, it seems, is one put-together 15-year-old, a poised and down-to-earth teenager with boundless energy. The onstage Miley (as her Disney TV character Hannah) dexterously works the throngs of screaming (and I mean screaming) fans as she performs her particular brand of ever-upbeat innoculous pop.
As for the video itself, it's the first ever to have both 2-D and 3-D versions. The sound, as you would expect, is top-notch, and with superb color and clarity (I watched the Blu-ray version). But novel as the idea of 3-D at home is, the technology just isn't there. Only certain parts of the movie are even in 3-D, so it's on-off-on-off with the included. chintzy red/blue paper glasses. It's not a bad feature, but the 2-D is more enjoyable and easier.
Overview: Probably not one most adults will voluntarily watch, but it's cute and fun enough that if you can drop your reservations and enjoy it with a fan, you might even find your own head bobbing.
Extras: Featurette: "The Ultimate Personal Tour" ; Two new songs, "Good and Broken" by Miley Cyrus and "SOS" by The Jonas Brothers; an interactive feature, "Sing Along with the Movie."
Also New This Week:
Prom Night: In this fairly effective PG-13 thriller that scares without much gore, Brittany Snow stars as popular, pretty Donna, who expects her prom to be a magical night spent with her high school love and best pals. What she gets, though, is a nightmare after the escaped killer of her family years ago is on the hunt again--this time for her.
