DVD Review: 17 Again

Rated PG13 for brief language, some innuendo, teenage sexuality

Starring Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Michelle Trachtenberg, Thomas Lennon

What if you could have a do-over? Would you?

And so is the question this movie poses.

In a similar tale to those of the movie Big and 13 Going on 30 where the main characters wish they were older, in this one, the main character wishes he could go back and redo the end of his senior year.

In 1989, Mike is the star basketball player and a talent scout is at the big game just to watch him. Do well and he has a college basketball scholarship. But then his girlfriend Scarlet makes an appearance during halftime. He can tell she's upset, so he goes to talk to her and learns she is pregnant with his child. At first he goes back out on the court, but then, after seeing her leave, he chases after her and proposes, telling her that they're in this together.

Fast forward 2 decades later, and Mike, having had another kid with Scarlet, has constantly regretted giving up his opportunity for her and they are on the brink of divorce, as she feels like he never could get past the past and build a future together.

After a strange encounter with the high school's janitor, Mike wakes up the next morning and he's 17 again. Realizing that maybe this is his 2nd chance to get that scholarship and make something of his life, he enrolls in the high school again, with the help of his lifelong friend geeky Ned (who is now a multi-millionaire, despite getting picked on in high school), whom he poses as his long lost son. ("Uncle Ned never mentioned having a kid..." Mike's teenage son points out to his 17 year old father. "Yeah, my mom didn't want anyone to know she had a kid with Ned - can you blame her?" he responses. He son accepts that, agreeing with him at the logic.)

After his first day though, Mike realizes that it's not his 2nd chance at a scholarship, but his 2nd chance with his kids, as his purpose for being 17 again must be to help them. His teenage son Alex is the school punching bag, despite having his father's natural talent for basketball and his teenage daughter is dating Alex's main tormentor, and despite having gotten accepted to Georgetown, she is planning on going to school nearby and moving in with her jerk boyfriend soon after graduation. By hanging out with Alex and getting on the basketball team with him, he is able to give him his moment to shine as the basketball and catch the eye of a cute, sweet cheerleader he's been crushing on but is too afraid to talk to.  He is also able to teach Maggie that not all guys are horny jerks and that her and her friends should have more respect for themselves. And he also gets to reconnect with his wife (who can't get over the fact how much Uncle Ned's kid looks like her husband at that age), really learning about her interests and helping out when he can (she enjoys landscape art, something he thought was dumb before).

This was a cute twist on the classic "what if..." story, despite the awkward scenes with his daughter coming onto his teenage self (think Back to the Future) and his longing for his wife despite appearing as a minor. It also has some funny "geeky" moments in a subplot that involves geeky Ned (who's home is decked out in various sci-fi, movie and gaming memorabilia) trying to date the school's principal (the eventually realize they have a common love for Halo and Lord of the Rings and can both speak Elvish).

It also really stresses the values of marriage and family, and being involved in your family and their lives. Mike was too busy wallowing about his missed opportunity for nearly 20 years that he missed all the other opportunities he could have had with his family. He had minimal involvement in his kids' lives and always made his wife feel bad for asking her to marry him.

While not necessarily for younger kids, this is definitely one to watch together with a spouse and the older kids.

Alice in Wonderland

Rated PG for some scary moments, fantasy violence

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Michael Sheen and Stephen Fry

In this Alice story, Alice is now 19 years old and her father has recently passed. For the past 10 years, she has been having the same "nightmare" where she visits a strange place. She thinks she is going crazy, however her father always told her that "the best people tend to be a little bit!" Her mother accompanies her to a formal outdoor party, which Alice soon learns is to be her engagement party to a boy named Hamish, who's father was partners with her father and now is the sole owner of their trading firm. When Hamish pops the big question in front of all the guests, Alice panics and is distracted by a strange white rabbit she had noticed several times throughout the gathering. She excuses herself and chases after the rabbit and ends up at a rabbit hole and falls in.

Arriving in a strange room, she must figure out the puzzle of how to squeeze through a tiny locked door. Once on the other side, she is greeted by The White Rabbit, a dormouse, a dodo bird, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Despite them acting like they know her, she don't recall ever meeting any of them. Confused as to whether The White Rabbit brought them the "right" Alice, they take her to Absolem the Caterpillar to let him decide. See, in this version of Wonderland (or Underland as they say it's called), the evil Red Queen has overthrown her younger sister, the White Queen and has been ruling with an iron fist, offing people's heads for reason or another. And well, Frabjous Day is coming soon and it is told that a hero named Alice will slay the Red Queen's wicked beast - the Jabberwocky, and free everyone from her rule.

"I'm not that Alice! And even if I were, I can't kill anything and I won't!" Alice cries. She also seems convinced that this just her having another one of her nightmares, as the people and place are exactly the same.

Believing that Alice is back, the Queen sends her right hand man - The Knave of Hearts - with the Bandersnatch, Jubjub Bird and solider-like playing cards to retrieve her and stop her. While they capture most of Alice's group, the Cheshire Cat shows up and helps her escape, taking her to the Mad Hatter and March Hare and rejoining her with the dormouse. The Mad Hatter is able to explain to her what went wrong, trying to get her to remember her previous time in Underland ("You were so young back then... you even kept calling this place Wonderland!"). But soon enough, it seems that everyone who comes in contact with Alice gets capture by the Red Queen's lackeys. Before being captured, the Mad Hatter gives her directions to get to the White Queen who can assist her in preparing to fight the Jabberwocky. But Alice would rather rescue the Mad Hatter and innocent beings the Red Queen has captured.

Is this Alice indeed the "right" Alice? Will she end up fighting the Jabberwocky? Will she stay in Underland?

Now some have complained that Tim Burton took the classic Alice stories and turned them upside down. Others have criticized it for being nothing like the original Disney version. What you must understand going into this one is that no, it is not a remake of the classic story nor an adaption. You could almost consider it to be "the next chapter" in the Alice story, as it takes place years after the events of the original stories (which we see in a flashback segment). The characters are all still there, however Wonderland is a much darker place than now than we may recall.

I personally loved it. The story was great, the characters were amusing and the scenery and details were definitely works of art! Oh and there's lessons for everyone that you shouldn't make choices for yourself based on what others think is best. Be responsible and make your choices for you.

Now this film is being offered in both 2D and 3D formats. We saw it in 3D IMAX and while I can't really say if the 3D enhanced it any, the IMAX was well worth it, as it really made you feel like you were in the movie, and this one of those movies where that effect really works great!

Little kids might be a little scared by the Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch, but other than that, this is a great film for a family outing!

DVD Review: Terminator Salvation

Rated PG13 for action violence, language

Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin

Set in 2018, the war between Skynet and humanity is in full force. The world has become nothing more but a wasteland and those that have survived thus far are constantly on the defense against the machine, banding together to find a way to put an end to them. Leading the Resistance from an army-like submarine is John Connor and General Ashdown. After developing a device that seems to shut down the machines, they stage a worldwide Resistance attack on Skynet Headquarters. Only as the day to strike approaches, John is informed by a strange man named Marcus Wright that a young Kyle Reese - that's right, John Connor's eventual father - has been taken captive by Skynet. If they strike before rescuing him odds are, John Connor will cease to exist, as the time to send Reese back in time has not yet happened. The General doesn't seem to care though - he's afraid that if they don't strike when they have the opportunity, they may never get another chance to destroy Skynet's Headquarters.

Can John get the Resistance to hold off firing long enough for him to save his future father and his existence? And can he really trust this strange mysterious Marcus Wright?

Unless you're a die hard Terminator fan, feel free to skip this installment. The first movie was a groundbreaking sci-fi action film and the sequel was just as good. The third installment showed how the machine takeover began. All this one does is introduce John's father as a teenager and explains the origins of the T-800. Unless the next installment actually shows us John sending Reese back in time and brings the franchise full-circle I most likely will be skipping out on it.

Dear John

Rated PG13 for military violence, brief sexuality

Starring Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Henry Thomas, Scott Porter, Richard Jenkins, Keith Robinson

At the beginning of the film, we see Special Forces Army solider John get shot. In a voice over, we hear John read a letter about the last things he remembers as he blacks out from the shot. "I heard the sound of coins and was taken back to a time when I visited the US Mint." He goes on to say how he is like a coin, minted in the US, rough around the edges, etc "And the last thing I thought of, before I blacked out, was you."

He then takes us back to where it began - spring of 2001. He is on a brief leave of duty, staying with his dad in their home near Charleston. It is here that meets Savannah, a college student on spring break, visiting her friends, family and building a Habitat for Humanity type home for a less fortunate family who's home was destroyed in a storm. The two begin a brief romance during her last week of break. Unsure of a future together, Savannah is upset at the thought of leaving John. He tells her that he only has 1 year left on his military contract and that when the time is up, he'll return, she'll be almost done with school and then they can be together forever. "A lot can happen in a year" Savannah tells him. He promises her that he'll return and they agree to write each other as often as they can. "What is one year of waiting for a lifetime after we spent one amazing week like that together?" she says.

Several months go by and they both struggle with not being able to be together in the flesh, but they still have hope. However the September 11th attacks occur and the rest of John's Special Forces team are eager to extend their contracts to fight for our country. Their captain tells them they have 2 days off and to think about their decision, as he too has family back home to take into consideration for his choice, and that since they are a team, if any one of them decides not to extend, then neither will the rest of them. John quickly goes home to his father and Savannah to spend what little time he has left, but he is hesitant to inform Savannah that if he re-enlists, it will be another 2 years or so before he's able to come home. Naturally she is not keen on the idea, despite the fact that he is clearly torn on keeping his promise to her but being loyal to his team and serving his country.

Will Savannah stay by him and support his decision?

Like all film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks' books, this one too was a bit of a tearjerker. However, while the previews and part of the film focus on the relationship between John and Savannah, who the movie really is about is John. True, Savannah does play a large role in his life during this time, (she especially helps him to understand why his father is the way he is), but she's not the sole focus of the film - John is.

Personally, I grew to really dislike Savannah, as she tried to rationale and make things all about her, not really taking into consideration John's feelings or how her actions would affect him for years to come. And then even at the end, she still tries to justify what she did, expecting John to pick up where they left off and pretend like nothing had happened. Girls like her make me roll my eyes and want to slap them upside the head for a dose of reality.

If you've enjoyed other Nicholas Sparks' film adaptions and don't mind a bit of a tearjerker (or one that makes you want to slap some sense into the female lead), feel free to check this one out.