As you relax at home with family and friends, and even the family pet, here are some DVD titles to enjoy together.
In the romantic comedy department, check out Woody Allen’s “Magic in the Moonlight,” now available on DVD and Blu-ray. In the film Colin Firth, who once played the romantic Mr. Darcy, is cast as an acclaimed magician who dazzles audiences all over the world by his performances on stage. He can make an elephant seem to evaporate on stage.
As you relax at home with family and friends, and even the family pet, here are some DVD titles to enjoy together.
In the romantic comedy department, check out Woody Allen’s “Magic in the Moonlight,” now available on DVD and Blu-ray. In the film Colin Firth, who once played the romantic Mr. Darcy, is cast as an acclaimed magician who dazzles audiences all over the world by his performances on stage. He can make an elephant seem to evaporate on stage.
He also can vanish and reappear in the blink of an eye. He’s amazing, brilliant and also quite acerbic and full of himself. In the film Firth, as Magician Stanley Crawford, is a bit like George Bernard Shaw’s pompous Henry Higgins, open to the charms of a younger woman, much against his better judgment.
In the story, Crawford believes in the power of magic, but not in the afterlife or the occult, so when a childhood friend, who is also a magician, but not as renowned as he, asks him to debunk an American psychic and medium, Crawford readily agrees. The upcoming séance in the South of France also offers him a chance to visit with his beloved aunt who lives nearby.
Stanley is in for a surprise when he meets the lovely Sophie Baker (Emma Stone). She is wide-eyed, adorable and able to conjure up information about him that is quite amazing. But he’s sure it’s just a trick. Prior to the séance the two of them manage to spend some time alone together and Sophie is able to conjure up some charming magic of her own.
And as much as Firth wants to prove her wrong, he secretly would like to believe there’s more to life than life itself. In fact if she really isn’t a fake, he tells her, he’d be glad to be proven wrong.
Hamish Linklater plays the wealthy son of the woman holding the séance Firth has come to debunk. He can give her anything her pert and pretty heart desires, but unfortunately Sophie would also have to endure the young man’s attempts to woo her in song on the ukulele.
As in many of Woody Allen’s films, one senses he is not only telling an interesting, often funny story, he’s also exploring deeper things. In this case, perhaps Woody like Stanley, would like to believe in life after death and the power of prayer. And Woody, like Crawford and Shaw’s Professor Higgins, are older men who may actually find love with someone much younger than themselves.
There is much to enjoy about this romantic romp in the south of France. The scenery is delightful, the music of the late 1920s is pleasant and the twists and turns in the plot add to fun. DVD bonus features include “Behind the Magic” where Colin Firth and several of the film’s stars talk about working with Allen and how they personally got into their characters.
From Sony, rated PG-13 for a brief suggestive comment and smoking throughout–after all the time frame is the 1920s and smoking wasn‘t taboo back then.
**
Animal Planet’s “America’s Cutest, Season 2” will, as they say on the DVD cover, “unleash the claws, the paws and the awwws.” This two-disc collection of cute animals brims with five hours of film featuring the most adorable pets in the nation. Animal Planet scoured the web-o-sphere to find all sorts of delightful animals in action that includes baby-cuddling kittens, tuckered-out tabbies, pups with serious sports skills and some naughty dogs.
From cranky cats to chatty kitties, mischievous mutts to wacky woofers this Animal Planet treat presents some of the best clips on the internet of the most entertaining pets yet. Cat lovers, dog lovers and admirers of cuteness will enjoy the good, the bad and the fuzzy to be found in this family friendly DVD.
