Bringing Balachine Back - Buy from Amazon
A documentary about the New York City Ballet company, which was co-founded by George Balanchine after he left his homeland in 1933. The movie tells the story of the first time the company performed in Russia, which it did in 2003, 70 years after he first left, and 30 years after he died.

The film takes a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for this performance and we are given a history lessen with narration by Kevin Kline. Now there are some that might call me uncouth, but I've never gotten into ballet. Even so, I could appreciate the struggle and dedication it takes to become the best in any given art, especially one so physically demanding. For those who are already fans of ballet, this is a great film to watch. I'm not sure it will convert others, on the other hand.

Extras on the DVD include additional interviews with a number of subjects, but most of these are quite short. There is also a tour of the Mariinsky Theater, where the troupe performed in Russia.

For fans of Ballet in general, and especially fans of George Balanchine, Bringing Balachine Back is certainly worth checking out. However, the DVD lacks substantial extras, and for most a rental will suffice.

The Fairly Odd Parents has reached that point.

Granted, the two-part (Four-part?) season opener, Fairly Odd Baby, is a strong episode, but most of the rest of the episodes are hit or miss. More miss than hit, quite frankly. Mission Responsible, in which Timmy has to baby sit little Poof is also amusing. The Fairly Oddlympics is mostly amusing, if a little repetitive, but it has a great ending. The Flintstones is spoofed in Land Before Timmy while Star Wars is giving the Fairly Odd Parents treatment in The End of the Universe-ity. Timmy over-uses his wishing powers and is forced to go to the Wishing Well to become reformed. Finally, the 2-disc set ends with Poof's Play Date.

Sadly, there are no extras on the 2-disc set. There are also no subtitles and no proper chapter placements. Since most episodes are 11 minutes long and the opening credits only play once per DVD and the credits for all of the episodes are collected at the back of each DVD, this isn't a major issue.

I'm not a fan of splitting TV seasons into two volumes, and the total lack of extras hurt, but if you were happy with previous The Fairly Odd Parents releases, then Season 6 - Volume 1 should be worth adding to your collection. The show is starting to show signs of its age, but it isn't over yet.

There are five main characters starting with The Dreamer, a.k.a. April, a 15-year old who catches her step-father looking at her while she showers one too many times and decides she has to get out of there, however, it's hard for her to raise the money she needs to pay rent without taking off her clothes. There's The Musician, a.k.a. Sammy, a young singer who is homeless, but willing to take any bed offered to him, regardless if it is offered by a girl or a boy. The Connection, a.k.a. Sally, a powerful real estate agent who uses pot to help get into the good graces of her clients, while using her assistant to help satisfy her desires. Speaking of her assistant, The Dancer, a.k.a. Nathan, a dancer from Nebraska who is trying to earn a living. And finally there's The Sex Addict, a.k.a. Todd, who is an aspiring artist, which you would think would be more interesting to his character than Sex Addict. Alas, it is not. In fact, only two of these characters, April (played by Willa Holland) and Sammy (played by Erik Smith), are even as interesting as their one sentence description. This is the biggest flaw in the movie, the lack of interesting characters. The film also moves slowly and goes nowhere. One of the two positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes says the film works if you know Los Angeles. Perhaps that is true; I don't know that city so I can't comment. But making a movie that only works if you know the city that it is set in is not a recipe for success.

There are no extras on this DVD.

Garden Party is an ensemble drama in the same vein as much of Robert Altman's film, however, it just doesn't work. Add in a DVD with no extras and I can't even recommend a rental.

There are nearly a dozen games that can be played here including some that are solo affairs and others that are group games. The main game is a trivia contest where you are given 20 questions, some of which have video components. I got 12 correct. I'm not sure I should be upset that I only managed 60%, or embarrassed that I got 60% right. Next up is a sing-along set with one of seven songs and a dance-along with one of eight songs. Band Audition is a memory game like the old Simon game from the 1980s, although anyone old enough to remember that is probably too old to care about this release. Seeing Stars is another memory game, while the solo games end with a trio of personality games. (I'm a Hannah Montana Whiz Kid who is going to be a TV star, which is strange because I see myself as more of a Lilly character. )

Moving onto the multi-player games, Keep the Beat is a word association game and True Friends is a test to find out how well your friends know you and how well you know your friends. Party Play has three sections, Say Whaat?, Art Class, and Hellooo Drama!. Each one you have to get your teammates to guess the answer by either giving them clues, drawing a picture, or acting it out.

Granted, I'm outside the target demographic here, but I can tell that fans of Hannah Montana that are around 10 to 12 years old should get a kick out of the DVD Game. On the other hand, the DVD is as expensive as the 4-disc, full season DVD below, so that should be taken into account here and for some it might hold back its value to that of a rental. Although, compared to most video games, it is very cheap, so keep that in mind as well.

Of the 26 episodes from season one, nine have already been released on the various single-disc releases I hinted at above. Even if you ignore the repeats, that gives a per minute average that is on par with most TV on DVD releases, so the double-dip aspect of the 4-disc set is minimized. Looking at the episodes that are making their DVD debut this week and we have...

• She's a Supersneak - Miley and Jackson want to sneak out of the house and check out a new movie, but both are forced to stay home and study by their dad. But when they sneak out to go to the movie, they catch their father on a date with a mystery woman.
• It's My Party and I'll Lie if I Want To - Lilly's embarrassing behavior backstage results in her being not invited to a party with Miley. Miley still wants to go, but how will she let down Lilly? She'll lie. That always works.
• Grandma Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Favorites - Miley gets to meet the Queen and Mamaw's in town... to watch Jackson play in a volleyball tournament. Miley quickly grows jealous with Mamaw paying so much attention to her brother, but Mamaw has a reason for this.
• It's a Mannequin's World - Tired of getting lame gifts from her father, Miley hides in the store to help him pick out something cool. She fails. And now she has to figure out how to avoid hurting her father's feelings, while not wearing the hideous cat sweater in public.
• Mascot Love - Miley and Lilly haven't been able to spend enough time together, so Miley convinces Lilly to join her trying out for Cheerleader squad. However, their friendship is put through another test when only one of them makes the squad and the other has to play the mascot.
• Ooo, Ooo, Itchy Woman - Miley and the rest of the class have to go on a camping trip together, but after a practical joke goes wrong, Miley is left with a horrible case of poison ivy.
• O Say, Can You Remember the Words? - Miley and Oliver are partners for a drama project, but his stage fright is so bad that she drops him. However, karmic payback happens when she can't remember the words to the national anthem live on TV.
• Oops! I Meddled again! - Miley's website attracts thousands of fans who send her e-mails. Among them is one girl who confesses to having a crush on Oliver, so Miley and Lily decide to play matchmaker.
• You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Zit is About You - Lilly is forced to wear glasses after her dog ate her contact lenses, and she becomes really conscious of how she looks. Miley tries to cheer her up, until she sees her new billboard, which features a huge pimple for everyone to see.
• Torn Between Two Hannahs - Luann coming to town. Luann is Miley's identical cousin. Her evil identical cousin. ... Moving on.
• Debt It Be - Miley overspends on her 'Emergency Only' credit card and has to sell some of her clothes she was given for a video shoot... including a pair of earnings worth $250,000.
• My Boyfriend's Jackson and There's Gonna Be Trouble - A paparazzi follows Miley home and gets a picture of her, but in order to prevent her secret identity from being discovered, she claims she doesn't live there, it's the home of her boyfriend, Jackson. Awkward.
• We Are Family---Now Get Me Some Water! - Miley accidentally gets Jackson fired from his job, so she hires him as her assistant. Or Senior Vice President in Charge of Assistication. This will end poorly.
• Schooly Bully - Miley has to deal with a bully at school, so her bodyguard, Roxy, disguises herself as a fellow student to take care of the problem.
• The Idol Side of Me - Miley and Lilly are ranked as the uncoolest kids in school by Amber and Ashely, so Miley uses Hannah Montana's appearance on Singing with the Stars, a Reality TV show, to get her revenge.
• Smells Like Teen Sellout - Miley becomes a sponsor for a perfume she's never smelled before, and when she finally does... let's just say she isn't a fan.
• Bad Moose Rising - Jackson and Miley get into argument that ends with getting into a bet. Miley has to babysit the neighbor's demanding niece while her uncle is sick.

Hopefully this is a new trend for Disney Channel shows, as I would much rather have full season sets than single-disc best of releases. For fans of the show, Hannah Montana - Season One is a great deal that includes several news extras. My only complaint, and it is a mild one, is that they didn't also include the previous extras so you should keep the old releases after buying this one.

Firstly, and most obviously, this is based on the High School Musical, including all three movies, and is hosted by KayCee Stroh, a.k.a. Martha Cox. Also, there are four personality quizzes, but they all involve your future career. (I'm a teacher, pastry chef, actor, and a CEO.) That's really it as far as differences go. If you like one of these DVD games, you will like the other, assuming you like the franchise it is based on.

On a side note, I got 80% on the trivia quiz, and I haven't even seen High School Musical 3 yet. I'm quite sure I should be deeply embarrassed by that. Secondly, I was disappointed that I couldn't choose Kelsi as my avatar, which sucks because she is my favorite character. ... I'm certain I should be deeply embarrassed that I have a favorite character for High School Musical.

The High School Musical - DVD Game should be a lot of fun for fans of the movie, especially those who like to get together with their friends and watch the film and sing along with the movie. Compared to buying any of the DVD releases, there's more than enough bang for your buck here to be worth picking up.