DVD Verdict reviews: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004) and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE, CLOSER,
ELEKTRA, I AM DAVID, KINSEY: SPECIAL EDITION, NASCAR: THE IMAX
EXPERIENCE, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004), TO BE OR NOT TO BE, and
WILD THINGS: DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH:


AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score
79/100):
"An Awfully Big Adventure is disappointing, but not because it's a bad
movie. In fact, it's a good movie that's been the victim of extremely
bad marketing."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/awfullybigadventure.php

CLOSER (reviewed by Joe Armenio, overall score 84/100):
"Closer is certainly not a great movie, but it doesn't deserve to be
dismissed just for its alleged coldness. Why does every film have to be
warm, anyway?"

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/closer.php

ELEKTRA (reviewed by David Johnson, overall score 70/100):
"For all of Garner's impressive athletic ability, her Elektra is a
complete bore, devoid of charisma, with her facial expression
permanently set on 'cranky.' For that reason Elektra lacks a vital
element for a successful comic book movie: a hero we care about."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/elektra.php

I AM DAVID (reviewed by Dan Mancini, overall score 87/100):
"While grown-ups will view the picture with a conscious appreciation
of Feig's willingness to assume children aren't idiots, children
will simply be caught up in the story itself. Watching the film, I
wished I could experience as a child. I knew it would be more
affecting that way."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/iamdavid.php

KINSEY: SPECIAL EDITION (reviewed by Joe Armenio, overall score 82/100):
"The problem is that Condon often seems to be working from checklists
titled 'Important Issues Raised by the Life of Alfred Kinsey' and
'Things My Critics Might Say,' dutifully ticking off each issue as he
deals with it in the script. This might be a good way of writing a
research paper, but it's more problematic for a dramatic film."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/kinseyse.php

NASCAR: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (reviewed by David Packard, overall
score 72/100):
"Reiterating my earlier assumption that you probably don't have your own
personal IMAX theater, it's understandable that the visceral impact of
12,000 watts of digital sound and a retina-popping eight-story screen
have been jettisoned for the DVD release."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/nascarimaxexperience.php

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004) (reviewed by Brett Cullum, overall
score 93/100):
"There are sequences that literally suck the breath out of you because
they are so gorgeous -- a theater is returned to golden and blood-red
splendor from decrepitude with some artful CGI, lit candles emerge from
underwater, smoke wraps up around roses, and candelabras are held by
gold muscular arms in a hallway resplendent with a golden glow. You'll
swoon, and there's probably a danger of passing out at some point. I'll
bet several interior decorators and florists had to be administered
oxygen at the premiere due to uncontrollable gasps and squeals."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/phantomopera2004.php

TO BE OR NOT TO BE (reviewed by Barrie Maxwell, overall score 85/100):
"The black comedy of To Be or Not to Be was certainly not to everyone's
taste. Reactions at the time of its original release varied from those
who saw the film as a masterpiece to others who condemned it for not
treating the Nazi threat with the gravity it demanded."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/tobeornottobe.php

WILD THINGS: DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH (reviewed by David Johnson, overall
score 80/100):
"Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough must now own the world record for
'Most Slow-Motion Exits from a Pool' in a movie."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/wildthings3.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com