If you're a dance fan, these are long months when neither "So You Think You Can Dance" or "Dancing With The Stars" is on TV. Fortunately, a pair of new home entertainment releases should help cover the rough patch. As you may know by now, here at IML we are big supporters of dance because of the amazing creative and self-expression outlet it can give young people, and how anyone can do it. You may want to re-visit our interviews with Lauren Gottlieb, Legacy Perez, and the "Ballroom Kids" to see what we're talking about!
So you can imagine how excited we were to be able to check out the DVD/Blu-ray combo of "Step Up 3" and the DVD of "Strictly Ballroom: Special Edition." The perfect cure for winter blahs, indeed.
"Step Up 3," like its predecessors "Step Up" and "Step Up 2," is heavy on dancing and light on story and characters, but that's okay if you accept that going in. "Step Up 2"'s Moose is headed to college in NYC, along with "Step Up"'s Camille (played by teen dance queen Alyson Stoner), and finds himself in a new world of awesomely sick dancers and heated rivalries. There's some romance and betrayal, a big competition, lots of humor, the joys of forging a virtual family among people who all love the same thing, and dancing, then some dancing, and more dancing, and extra incredible dancing...and oh yeah, great music too. You'll recognize some familiar faces along the way, including "SYTYCD" stars Twitch, Legacy, and Joshua, and "Glee"'s Harry Shum Jr.
The Blu-ray includes some cool bonus features such as deleted scenes, a faux documentary on dance by the character of Luke, a bunch of music videos from the likes of Flo Rida and Trey Songz, and "extra dance moves" that were cut out of the finished film. (The DVD has all bonus features except the deleted scenes and Luke's documentary.)
So get comfy with a BFF or two, fire up the popcorn, and turn off your brain...your heart and body are all you need for this one!
IML's Rating: B+
Back in 1992, before today's tweens were even born, a quirky Australian film about ballroom dancing made a big, sparkly splash. "Strictly Ballroom" was the first movie by director Baz Luhrmann, who went on to make "Romeo + Juliet" starring Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio and "Moulin Rouge" with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Some people say it was the film that revived a worldwide interest in ballroom dancing. Whether that's true or not, "Strictly Ballroom" is definitely a funny, heartwarming, still-fresh-and-original flick that your whole family can enjoy.
Like "Step Up 3" (and many other dance films), "Strictly Ballroom" focuses on a big competition; this time it's the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship. Our hero, Scott Hastings, has been training his whole life as a competitive ballroom dancer and it's his dream to take home this big prize. However, he wants to do it using his own personal dance style and not the "strictly ballroom" steps everyone else does. His parents are former ballroom dancers and now help run a dance studio, so the pressure is pretty high for him to win, and everyone wants him to just do the regulation moves. Everyone, that is, except awkward beginning dancer Fran, who convinces him to take her as his partner and teaches him some new moves of her own.
With all its flash and dazzle, some of it wonderfully weird compared to what we're used to seeing these days, the film explores timeless issues that you may relate to...such as: doing something to win versus doing it because it makes you happy, trying to live up to other people's expectations, and the classic Cinderella/Ugly Duckling story of a girl searching for self-confidence and identity.
The Special Edition DVD includes a "making of" documentary, a dance featurette, deleted scenes, a design gallery, and audio commentary.
IML's Rating: A
One of our favorite moments in "Step Up 3" occurs early on and sums up what people love about dancing: "I feel most like myself when I'm dancing," says one dancer. Then another says, "Dancing lets me be someone else for a few minutes." In other words, it can be whatever you need it to be!
So you can imagine how excited we were to be able to check out the DVD/Blu-ray combo of "Step Up 3" and the DVD of "Strictly Ballroom: Special Edition." The perfect cure for winter blahs, indeed.
"Step Up 3," like its predecessors "Step Up" and "Step Up 2," is heavy on dancing and light on story and characters, but that's okay if you accept that going in. "Step Up 2"'s Moose is headed to college in NYC, along with "Step Up"'s Camille (played by teen dance queen Alyson Stoner), and finds himself in a new world of awesomely sick dancers and heated rivalries. There's some romance and betrayal, a big competition, lots of humor, the joys of forging a virtual family among people who all love the same thing, and dancing, then some dancing, and more dancing, and extra incredible dancing...and oh yeah, great music too. You'll recognize some familiar faces along the way, including "SYTYCD" stars Twitch, Legacy, and Joshua, and "Glee"'s Harry Shum Jr.The Blu-ray includes some cool bonus features such as deleted scenes, a faux documentary on dance by the character of Luke, a bunch of music videos from the likes of Flo Rida and Trey Songz, and "extra dance moves" that were cut out of the finished film. (The DVD has all bonus features except the deleted scenes and Luke's documentary.)
So get comfy with a BFF or two, fire up the popcorn, and turn off your brain...your heart and body are all you need for this one!
IML's Rating: B+
Back in 1992, before today's tweens were even born, a quirky Australian film about ballroom dancing made a big, sparkly splash. "Strictly Ballroom" was the first movie by director Baz Luhrmann, who went on to make "Romeo + Juliet" starring Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio and "Moulin Rouge" with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Some people say it was the film that revived a worldwide interest in ballroom dancing. Whether that's true or not, "Strictly Ballroom" is definitely a funny, heartwarming, still-fresh-and-original flick that your whole family can enjoy. Like "Step Up 3" (and many other dance films), "Strictly Ballroom" focuses on a big competition; this time it's the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship. Our hero, Scott Hastings, has been training his whole life as a competitive ballroom dancer and it's his dream to take home this big prize. However, he wants to do it using his own personal dance style and not the "strictly ballroom" steps everyone else does. His parents are former ballroom dancers and now help run a dance studio, so the pressure is pretty high for him to win, and everyone wants him to just do the regulation moves. Everyone, that is, except awkward beginning dancer Fran, who convinces him to take her as his partner and teaches him some new moves of her own.
With all its flash and dazzle, some of it wonderfully weird compared to what we're used to seeing these days, the film explores timeless issues that you may relate to...such as: doing something to win versus doing it because it makes you happy, trying to live up to other people's expectations, and the classic Cinderella/Ugly Duckling story of a girl searching for self-confidence and identity.
The Special Edition DVD includes a "making of" documentary, a dance featurette, deleted scenes, a design gallery, and audio commentary.
IML's Rating: A
One of our favorite moments in "Step Up 3" occurs early on and sums up what people love about dancing: "I feel most like myself when I'm dancing," says one dancer. Then another says, "Dancing lets me be someone else for a few minutes." In other words, it can be whatever you need it to be!
