New DVDs: 5/20/08
by Katrina Hayday Wester
Teen time travel, family treasure hunts, and saxophone playing dinosaurs round out our picks this week.
Barney: Hi! I'm Riff! , Lyons/HIT Entertainment, NR, $12.99
Barney has a new friend — an orange, 6-year-old hadrosaur named Riff. The newbie starts a “Best Friends Club” along with BJ and Baby Bop’s cousin. They get together to celebrate their individual character traits and imaginations, play music, and dance. With an adorable new character and Barney’s trademark, easy sing-alongs, this disc is an essential for any fan’s collection. It’s best used for getting toddlers up and moving!
National Treasure 2 — Book of Secrets (Widescreen) , Walt Disney Video, Rated PG, $14.99
Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) is on the treasure hunt again, and despite its lack of critical acclaim, our kid and parent reviewers thought National Treasure: Book of Secrets was great fun. Ben Gates is devastated when Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), claims that one of Gates’s ancestors masterminded Abraham Lincoln's assassination. To clear his family name, Ben pulls in his father, Patrick (Jon Voight); ex-girlfriend Abigail (Diane Kruger); and his funny partner-in-crime, Riley (Justin Bartha), to gather facts and hard evidence. Gates’s mother, Emily (Helen Mirren), is a linguist and professor who is the only person capable of translating the clues. The hunt goes from Washington, D.C., to London, and finally, Mount Rushmore, making it a cinematic sightseeing tour for your grandchildren. The start of this film could be scary for younger viewers, as they witness a boy’s father being shot, but that’s as violent as this movie gets; the rest is innocent, pot-boiling thrill, and suspense.
Minutemen , Disney, Rated G, $17.99 — Release Date, May 27, 2008
This is another original movie by the Disney Channel, the same team behind High School Musical. This DVD features a chance meeting between high school senior Virgil and two other boys, who eventually invent the ultimate time machine that will spare “un-cool” kids from high school ridicule. Chaos ensues when they inadvertently open a black hole; your grandkids will enjoy the comedic, sci-fi suspense when the boys have only hours before the black hole swallows the entire world. It’s funny, entertaining, and our kid reviewers watched it repeatedly, including the bonus features, which include a behind-the-scenes segment, and cast member profiles.
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