High School Musical (Encore Edition)

It's New Year's Eve when Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) meet. They're picked at random from the crowd attending a teen party at a ski lodge to sign a karaoke song. To their surprise, they actually sound great together and the sparks begin to fly.

Returning from vacation, Gabriella is starting at a new school. She's hoping to shed her geeky girl image. On her first day, she runs into Troy, who is the captain of the basketball team at her new school. He's busy getting ready for the upcoming playoffs against their rival school.

In the back of their minds is the magic that happened when they sang together. The sign ups for the school's winter musicale have been posted, and both of them are tempted to sign up. Of course, that means Troy would have to face his friends, who think he should be focusing all of his time on basketball. And Gabriella would have to deal with Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) who, along with her brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), is always the star of the school programs. Is it worth the potential social upheaval to audition?

This Disney Channel Original Movie has been getting lots of buzz, and for a very good reason. It had been on for about five minutes before I got a smile on my face, and the smile didn't leave until the movie was over. The story is fairly predictable, but the movie is lots of fun and the songs are great.

Instead of doing traditional Broadway type songs, the music here is pop. Of course, this works well with the intended audience of pre-teens and early teens. They even work in a hip-hop song and a salsa song to spice things up a little. About half the songs in this movie are auditions for the winter musicale, and they are very appropriate to the storyline. This actually starts with the karaoke song that Troy and Gabriella sing at the beginning "Start of Something New." For the climax, Sharpay and Ryan sing "Bop to the Top" which talks about getting to the top no matter what while our heroes sing "Breaking Free," a song about their desire to break out of the molds they are in.

The actors do a great job with their roles. Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens are especially great as the leads. There is a real chemistry between them that makes all their scenes so believable. I was a little annoyed by the over the top acting of Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay and Alyson Reed as the drama teacher. I know it was done on purpose, but I could have done with out it. Over all, it was a minor complaint.

The DVD features two versions of the movie. One is the regular film, but the other is the sing along edition that features the words to the songs at the bottom of the screen. The other features are ok. There are two music videos, a very brief behind the scenes featurette, and a "Learn the Moves" featurette that sort of teaches you a part of the dancing from "Bop to the Top."

While most of the bonus features aren't worth getting excited about, the movie itself is great fun. I'm just sorry I rented it since now I'll have to spend more money to buy it. - Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)

Release Date: 05/23/2006

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $17.99 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $26.99

Usually ships in 24 hours

Thirteen

It would be easy to dismiss "Thirteen" as an exploitative exercise in shock, but to do so would deny the film its hard-edged realism, phenomenal acting and powerfully unsentimental story, which culminates in one of the most emotionally raw and unforgettable endings I have ever seen. Spinning the scary tale of a perfectly normal thirteen-year-old girl, Tracy, who, with the aide of a more "experienced" rebel named Evie, slips and falls into a hellish downward spiral of every parent's worst nightmare, "Thirteen" is a stunning work, but can be difficult to stomach at times. For instance, it opens with the two girls huffing aerosol cans and, so awestruck by the numbness in their faces, they start slapping each other for kicks. This is probably one of the less shocking scenes of rebellion, as later they delve into real drugs, take up beer drinking and experiment with their fragile sexuality. Nothing, however, is as hard to take as the scenes where Tracy finds some random sharp object and begins slicing up her own arm, all to temporarily escape the pain of living.

Despite the many difficult things shown, the shock factor actually works in this movie because it all seems so horribly real. There's not a single part of this movie that couldn't be happening somewhere in this country right now, and that's what makes "Thirteen" so terrifying.

Aiding the film in its realistic approach is the camerawork by first-time director Catherine Hardwicke. She shot the movie with a digital camera, and it often has the look and feel of a documentary. She also splashes the film with vibrant colors at points to add to the sense of decadence in the girls' care-free, dangerous lifestyles. Later, near the end, Hardwicke also seems to drain almost all color out of the scenes in order to display the cold reality of life when all the drugs and sex and partying lead to their natural conclusions.

The film doesn't offer any cookie-cutter solutions on how to deal with wild teens, nor does it offer us a smiley-faced ending where it all works out and everyone winds up happy. Instead, in its final minutes, it offers only wrenching emotional truth and a quiet, subtle message of hope.

Through all of this, the entire ensemble does nothing but impress. The main star of the movie, and the one who undergoes the most changes, is Evan Rachel Wood ("Once and Again"), who plays Tracy as if this were the story of her own life. Amazing in every capacity, she proves herself a worthy successor to our current generation of A-list actresses. As well, Nikki Reed, who plays Evie (and co-wrote the film with Hardwicke), astonishes in her first performance. She also has a bright future. Meanwhile, it's a reliable veteran, Holly Hunter, who, as Tracy's mom, becomes the "Thirteen"'s shaky moral center, a recovering alcoholic with more heart than brain, so clueless as to what's going on but undeterred in her determination to keep her only daughter safe no matter what. It's a tough role, and Hunter nails it. The final moments involve an emotionally intense scene between Hunter and Wood, and watching it, you realize that there are few-maybe none-who could have handled it better.

"Thirteen" is an amazing film, which despite many uncomfortable moments, manages to stand out as one of the few great movies of the year. However, be forewarned: it is not for the faint of heart, nor is it a movie you would see to be entertained in the traditional sense. Still, whatever opinion you walk out of "Thirteen" with, you have to admit at least one thing: it stays with you, like the bitter chill on your bones during the cruelest winter. -- Brandon Jayson Ulman (OH)

Release Date: 01/27/2004

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $14.98

Usually ships in 24 hours

High School Musical 2 (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray]

Release Date: 12/11/2007

Avg. Customer Rating:

Amazon Price: $23.95 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $34.99

Usually ships in 24 hours