Bedtime Stories - Buy from Amazon: DVD, DVD + Digital Copy, or Blu-ray / DVD Combo
This is the second time Disney has released the Blu-ray / DVD Combo ahead of the DVD release. Hopefully it will work better than with Bolt, because apparently retailer confusion meant the Bolt DVD came out at the same time as the Blu-ray in a lot of places. It's hard to tell if the plan worked if most retailers didn't follow the plan. But that's not important here...

Bedtime Stories starts in 1974 with Marty Bronson narrating the story of the hotel he ran and his life with his two kids, Wendy and Skeeter. Sadly, while he was a great father, he wasn't a good businessman and he was bought out by Barry Nottingham on the condition that, if Skeeter showed promise, he would give him a chance to run the place when he grew up. Flash forward 25 years and Skeeter is working as a handyman in the hotel and still waiting for his chance to lead. However, he is passed over for promotion for Kendall, who is dating Mr. Nottingham's daughter, Violet (played by Teresa Palmer). At this time he is also asked to baby-sit his niece and nephew while his sister looks for a job in Arizona. In order to get the kids to go to bed, he tells them a bedtime story, and the next day it comes true, sort of. He figures the next night he can use his stories to get ahead in life, but that's when he figures out that it's the kids that control the power, not him.

This is a Disney kids movie released on Christmas day that stars Adam Sandler and is directed by Adam Shankman, who previously made Cheaper By the Dozen 2 and The Pacifier. I wasn't expecting Oscar caliber entertainment here, just lighthearted fluffy entertainment aimed at kids. And that's exactly what this film is. It's the kind of movie that by the time it's over, you will have forgotten most of it. I certainly have, which makes it hard to write this review. It's disposable entertainment that should generate enough laughs in its young target audience, but most adults will not want to sit through it more than once.

Extras on the DVD consist of a 4-minute featurette on the special effects, a five-and-a-half-minute featurette on the child actors in the movie, a 4-minute featurette on Bugsy, seven minutes of outtakes, and 10 minutes of deleted scenes. Total running time for the extras is just 30 minutes and 30 seconds. That's not a whole lot to offer.

The DVD + Digital Copy includes all of those extras, plus a digital copy of the movie. Blu-ray / DVD Combo has all of those extras, and has them in high definition. Additionally, the Blu-ray is BD-Live enabled with the usual set of Disney extras (movie mail, movie chat, movie rewards, etc.). Also, it comes with a digital copy of the movie and a DVD copy of the movie. And, it comes out 2 days earlier than the other editions.

Bedtime Stories is fluff that should entertain younger kids, but unless you are in that demo, or have kids in that demo, you can safely give this movie a pass. If you are interested in watching the movie, the extras are rather light, but the Blu-ray / DVD Combo is arguably the best deal.

Craig Ferguson - A Wee Bit o' Revolution - Buy from Amazon
The first of two stand-up concert DVDs on this week's list, although this one was released last week, and the DVD arrived a tad late. (Actually, it arrived on the Monday, but I was having technical problems with Amazon.com, so I wasn't able to get to it in time.) If you want an ultrashort review of this DVD, I can sum it up with... I laughed more here than watching Jim Gaffigan's King Baby, and I thought that DVD was worth picking up, so obviously I can recommend this one. However, I should probably give more details than that.

Craig Ferguson is best know here as the host of a late, late night talk show, which is called The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. But he first came to prominence with the role of Nigel Wick in The Drew Carey Show. Before that he was a stand-up comedian and an actor in a number of lesser-known TV shows and movies. (He was Confidence in the episode Confidence & Paranoia of Red Dwarf. I had no idea that was Craig Ferguson, until I started doing research for this review.) I've seen his style of stand-up described as "confessional," which is a great word to use. It's very personal and he talks about being Scottish, being in rehab, his marriage and his divorce, his first encounter with drugs and rock'n'roll, his second encounter with drugs and rock'n'roll, etc. He also talks about his career and how it started with his obsession with Sean Connery, how he landed his job on The Drew Carey Show, and a lot more. Most bits work, and even the ones that don't at least generate a chuckle or two, and the 80-minute special is worth checking out.

Most stand-up concert DVDs are devoid of special features, but this is not the case here. There is in 16-minute interview with Craig Ferguson talking about why he became an American citizen, politics, his comedy, etc. There is also Craig Ferguson's speech at Faneuil Hall, which was given the day he became an American citizen, and it runs just under 8 minutes. It's not as much as the other stand-up concert DVDs I reviewed this week, but its hit to miss ratio is a whole lot better.

This is Craig Ferguson's first stand-up concert special, so it is impossible just to compare it to a previous special and say if it is better or worse. It is funny and I can certainly recommend A Wee Bit o' Revolution as a solid purchase for all fans of stand-up, especially those who watch his late night talk show. And if you've never seen his show, check it out, you might become a fan.

This includes Corner of Hell where Lt. Philip Gerard becomes the pursued after chasing Richard Kimble into moonshine country and is framed for attacking and nearly killing a woman. Nice bit of irony. Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want to Meet has Kimble dealing with a corrupt cop who killed a prisoner, and Kimble is the only witness. While hiding out in the in the episode May God Have Mercy, Kimble meets a man who holds him responsible for the death of his daughter, who was a patient of his back before the trial. There are a couple of episodes with similarities. For instance, there are two episodes dealing with Kimble's alleged death and two dealing with hitchhikers, but these are only curiosities, not major issues.

Due to its nature (anthology-like show with a lot of one-shot roles) there are a ton of guest stars, mostly character actors or those who were not terribly famous at the time. Actors like Robert Duvall, Angie Dickinson, Tom Skerritt, Dabney Coleman, and Pat Hingle. And that's all just on the first disc. Bruce Dern, Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Klugman, Telly Savalas, Edward Asner, Norman Fell, and James Doohan made appearances on this 4-disc set. It's a huge list and adds to the enjoyment here.

Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD, nor are there subtitles. But there are play all buttons and proper chapter placements. In fact, I would recommend skipping the first chapter of every episode, because it is a spoiler / teaser.

Of the 15 episodes on this 4-disc set, all of them are worth checking out, and the vast majority have replay value. The Fugitive - Season Two - Volume Two is worth picking up for fans of the show. And the series is worth checking out if you've never seen it before.

Starting the list of episodes is...

• Saving the Turtles - Manny and the tools set out to build a bike path in the park, but they need to protect the Turtle without harming the trees.
• Manny Goes Solar - Mr. Kumar wants Manny to hang his new sign, but there's no electrical connections on the roof, so they have to find another way to power the sign.
• Science Fair - The elementary school has a broken air conditioner, but an accident causes the destruction of two science fair projects, and the tools have to help repair the damage.
• Light Work - Manny is asked to work on Mrs. Portillo's chandelier, but by the time they get there it's past dark, making it harder to do the work.
• Blommin' Tools - Jackie needs her window shutter fixed and then they need to build a flower box for her new flowers.

Handy Manny - Manny's Green Team is a solid release from this show. Only a couple of the shows really fit in the with the overall theme, but they all should entertain the kids. Also, the educational game is enough added value that if you were happy with previous Handy Manny DVDs, then this one is also worth picking up.

• The Test of My Love - Miley meets a cute boy and goes on a date with him... and his parents. If that wasn't bad enough, his parents are prejudiced against, as they put it, "... Genuine country bumpkin." The B-story here has Lola Luftnagle, a.k.a. Lilly Truscott a.k.a. Emily Osment, replacing Hannah Montana at a charity event.
• Don't Stop 'Til You Get the Phone - Miley Stewart is desperate to get her hands on a new Z-Phone, and she's willing to do anything to get it, including selling an embarrassing picture of Hannah Montana to a tabloid to get it. However, when she realizes that picture includes her wearing her Miley necklace, she needs to get it back. And the only way to get it back is to get an even better photo of another celebrity, namely guest star Dwayne Johnson.
• Yet Another Side of Me - Hannah Montana meets her idol, pop star Isis, who tells her that if she wants to remain relevant, she has to change her look to adapt with the times. But her attempts to be edgy don't go as well as planed.
• We're All on the Date Together - Ray Romano starts this episode with a self-depreciating guest shot, but the real guest star of the episode is Corbin Bleu from High School Musical, who places the winning bid in a charity auction for a date with Hannah. However, Donny Osmond (lot of guest stars in this episode) gets her to agree to double the amount raised by also going on a date with Rico. (I find that character so annoying.)
And as a bonus...
• Ready, Set, Don't Drive - This is the first episode from season three, which has Miley failing her driving test due to a distracting smell. So she decides to dress up as Hannah Montana to pass it, but this plan backfires, big time.

Hannah Montana - Keeping It Real is on par with most of the previous single-disc releases. I vastly prefer full season sets, and with the release of Season One last fall, it is very likely Season Two and Season Three will eventually be released on DVD, and will likely be better deals. That said, if you are planning on watching Hannah Montana the Movie when it comes out in theaters and can take advantage of the coupon here, the cost is just over $1 per episode, which is a hard price to beat. Worth picking up.

The 70-minute act starts off with a common theme in his act, i.e., him talking to himself as if he was a member of the audience. The voice he uses is kind of irritating, as he admits early on, but it does have some of the best jokes. Other topics include bowling, being lazy, foods that are bad for you (he is obsessed with bacon). (He would love This is Why You are Fat.) ... I'm amazed he has the energy to stand up during his routine. Overall the comedy here is ... how to put this... non-controversial. Making fun of camping isn't going to offend a lot of people. His quick jabs at vegetarians are about as edgy as it gets. (Well, that's not entirely true. His bits about circumcision and religion in general might tweak some.) On the other hand, he is funny.

There are a lot of extras on the DVD starting with three episodes of Pale Force. The first two are only a few minutes long, while the Christmas Special is twice that. There are four short bits called Our Massive Planet that run a total of seven-and-a-half minutes. There are a couple of short interviews, the first a faux interview that runs six-and-a-half minutes and the second for XM Unmasked that runs close to 27 minutes. There's a 10 minutes behind-the-scenes from The Sexy Tour in Atlanta. There are 11 minutes of bumpers from The Sexy Tour, and another 10 minutes from Beyond the Pale. That's a lot of material, but the average quality is quite low. There's a lot of repetition, especially in the bumpers, which shows the same logo over and over again.

Jim Gaffigan - King Baby should please fans of stand up in general and of him in particular. Additionally, there's enough replay value in the extras in total that the DVD is worth picking up over just renting.