Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam - Extended Edition (Blu-ray)

Written by Pirata Hermosa

It’s only been a year since Mitchie (Demi Lovato) went to Camp Rock for the first time. Her first year was spent pretending to be someone she wasn’t. But it wasn’t until the final performance after Final Jam that she came out of her shell and let everyone see just how truly talented she was.

But now it’s a new camp season and everything is going to be great. That is until Camp Star opens across the lake and threatens to run Camp Rock out of business by stealing away all the counselors. So instead of the fun summer with her long-distance boyfriend, Shane (Joe Jonas), she ends up having to organize a group of experienced campers to become the new counselors and then come up with a musical number that will blow away Camp Rock during the Final Jam competition.

While Mitchie and Shane’s relationship flounders and leaves him puzzled wondering if he made the right decision to come off tour, the romantic aspect of the film focuses more on one of his band mates, Nate (Nick Jonas), and his wooing of Dana (Chloe Bridges), who just happens to be the daughter of the opposing camp’s owner.

It’s not a terribly complex or unique plotline, and since it’s a musical, the most important aspect is how good are the musical numbers. The biggest difference between the first film and the newest one is that it’s focusing a lot more on the singing of Mitchie, Shane, and his band. In the original one it was a camp of kids all coming up with different songs and performances in the normal course of a camp atmosphere. In other words, they actually worked on their singing and dancing. In the latest film you have a lot more of Mitchie just suddenly breaking into a song that nobody has heard yet they all seem to know the song and all the dance moves.

Even so, the songs are really good and go along perfectly with the story, the best two being “Can’t Back Down, and “It’s on.” They are both filled with lots of energy and attitude that really show off Lovato’s vocals. Another exceptional song is “Introducing Me,” which is a quirky song performed by Nate to show Dana what he is really like and what his feelings are. The songs performed by Camp Star are the weaker songs on the soundtrack. Instead of focusing on the music it’s more about image and gimmicks such as lasers and fireballs, which works well within the context of the film.

The Blu-ray combo pack contains three discs, the Blu-ray, the DVD version and a digital copy for your computer. The Blu-ray is in 1080p High Definition (1.78:1) with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The images are crisp and clear, so much so that you can see the dust on the hardwood floors and see the scratches left behind after some of the dance routines. The audio is just as good where you can actually pick out the individual singers during the group numbers and draws you in by making you feel like you are right in the middle of the action.

There are three special features on the disc: “Rock-Along” when this mode is activated words appear on the screen during the musical numbers much like a karaoke machine. “Getting to Know Camp Star’s Newest Stars” is a sit-down interview with Chloe Bridges and Matthew “Mdot” Finley that is moderated by Alyson Stoner. “Music Videos by Camp Rockers From Around the World” contains five different videos by foreign artists singing various songs from the film interspersed with clips from the movie. The oddest of the videos being the one from Germany where a gruff-looking projectionist sings the Joe Jonas part to the song “Wouldn’t Change A Thing” while he watches clips of Demi Lovato singing the other part in the film.

Along with the special features, the set also includes two new scenes, which are basically just two new musical numbers.“Different Summers” is a nice song by Lovato, but it was better left out of the original film. The entire premise is about the two camps having a showdown at Final Jam, but if this scene was left in then the two camps would have already competed and takes away from the suspense of the story. “Walking in My Shoes” is another number that fortunately was left out of the original as well because it does nothing to advance the story and is just another generic soulless performance by the Camp Star kids.

While the film isn’t going to win an Oscar, it’s family friendly and has that familiar Disney feel to it. The songs are well written and produced, and with Demi Lovato’s amazing voice on most of them it’s hard to not be drawn in. If you like Demi or the Jonas Brothers, then you’ll really going to enjoy this film. Even if you’re not a fan of any of them, the characters are so likeable that you just might find yourself becoming one.

Sonny with a Chance - Sonny's Big Break: Volume 1

Written by Pirata Hermosa

This latest release from the Disney Channel is from their Sunday night lineup that also features The Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, and Jonas and is mainly geared for a teen audience.

The show’s main character is Sonny Munroe, played by Demi Lovato, who most people remember from the Disney movie, Camp Rock, which also featured the Jonas Brothers. Sonny is about to live every person’s dream, and is leaving her small hometown in Wisconsin for the bright lights of Hollywood. Her Internet broadcasts have caught the eye of television network executives looking to replace a cast member from their hit comedy sketch show, So Random!

The DVD contains four of the episodes from the first season.

“Sketchy Beginnings”: It’s Sonny’s first day on the show and it’s time for her to meet her fellow cast members. Nico (Brandon Smith) and Grady (Doug Brochu) are the typical guys. They like monster trucks, greasy food, and are best friends. Zora (Allisyn Arm) is the strange little girl with the nasally voice, who enjoys hanging out in the sarcophagus or in the air ducts. And finally the last member of the show is, Tawni Hart (Tiffany Thornton), who is the spoiled prom queen and says that she is both the “funny one and the pretty one.” While Sonny is welcomed by most of the cast, Tawni wants nothing to do with the new girl. But Sonny is the nice girl from Wisconsin who wants to get along with everyone, so she tries anything she can think of to win over the pampered princess. Unfortunately, everything she does has the opposite effect. She ends up ruining one of Tawni’s sketches, ripping her favorite cape, shredding her favorite stuffed animal, and knocking her out at the end of the first live TV show.

“West Coast Story”: In this episode Sonny runs into Chad Dylan Cooper (Sterling Knight). He’s the biggest teen heartthrob on the number-one TV show Mackenzie Falls that is filmed in the sound studio next door to So Random! At first this seems like a good thing, but as Sonny quickly learns the two casts hate one another. They’ve had a long standing rivalry for years. Sonny tries to get the two groups together to make peace once and for all, but ends up caught up in the feud. While Chad is the nicest guy on TV, in real life he is the biggest self-centered, egotistical jerk who will do or say anything to get what he wants. In order to teach him a lesson, Sonny challenges him to a contest of the one thing that the cast of So Random! is really good at, musical chairs.

“Cheater Girls”: After a lot of sucking up and ego stroking, Sonny and Tawni have become a little closer and with the new characters that they created called the Check-it-out Girls they have visions of action figures, lunch boxes and feature films dancing in their heads. With things going so well, what could go wrong? Sonny is failing her math classes and her mother (Nancy McKeon) is coming down hard on her. If she doesn’t ace her next math test then she’s no longer going to be on the show. That means the Check-it-out Girls are going to be played by Grady and Nico. Unable to concentrate on her studies, Sonny realizes that she’s not going to pass the test and lets Tawni talk her into cheating. Before the test begins Sonny begins to panic and confesses, resulting in her being taken off the show. As Tawni and Sonny sit around feeling sorry for themselves Sonny suddenly discovers that the answers she wrote on her arm have actually stuck in her brain and the two rush off to take the test before their sketch goes on the air.

“Sonny at the Falls”: Still trying to get revenge from being beaten at musical chairs and to make sure his show remains number one, Chad sees an opportunity to drive a wedge between the cast of So Random! after Sonny pitches an idea for a sketch that is rejected by everyone. Pretending to be on her side, Chad invites Sonny to participate in all the benefits that the Mackenzie Falls cast receives, steak and lobster dinners, pedicures, manicures, massages and they even have their own meditation room. Chad’s plan begins to work as they have a falling out, but shortly afterwards they learn how much they need each other.

The DVD contains three Special Features:

“Mackenzie Falls Season Finale Cliffhanger Short” – Mackenzie Falls isn’t just a faux show on Sonny With A Chance; it has actually been made into webisodes that you can watch on your computer. They have actually turned the finale to a DVD exclusive. Like the webisodes, the acting is really bad and overdramatic. But that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Mackenzie Falls is supposed to be a spoof on other teen shows like Dawson’s Creek, Gossip Girl, and One Tree Hill.

“Sonny in the Middle” – This is a never-before-released episode. Nico and Grady are the best of friends, such good friends that they even share the same birthday. Knowing how solid their relationship is, and because Tawni won’t help kick in for the present, Sonny buys them the most hi-tech gaming chair on the market and expects them to share it. Of course, her plan completely backfires as the two squabble over the chair resulting in them breaking off their friendship. To make matters worse, the two end up turning to Sonny for companionship and start driving her crazy with their juvenile jokes and by constantly embarrassing her in public. Sonny is forced to come up with one of her crazy plans to bring the two back together and restore their broken friendship.

“Demi’s Big Break” - A brief audition clip for the role of Sonny Munroe interspersed with some scenes from the show. I watched it, and I still don’t understand how a casting director can make a decision based on audition clips. They always seem very odd, and this one is no exception.

Sonny With A Chance is a typical Disney show that is family friendly and contains some good messages. It’s also not just for kids; adults can enjoy it as well even though it has its silly moments. Some of the best aspects of the show are the comments made by Tawni who believes anything can be resolved by how pretty she is and the interaction between Sonny and Chad as they try to one-up the other while dancing around some underlying feelings they have for one another. Those three characters are what make the show interesting, but Sonny truly is the star. She’s a little over the top and a little geeky, but it makes her more relatable to the viewers.

I’ve also noticed that Disney likes to release its shows in volumes instead of seasons. It’s kind of annoying to get a DVD that only has four episodes and not an entire season. I’m not sure if they think it’s more affordable for it to be broken down, but if you end up having to buy five or six volumes I could see the overall price tag being dramatically higher than what you’d buy for one regular season set.