By Chris Castillo

Special to the News

 

Blu-ray brings dinosaurs back to life in “Dinosaurs Alive!”

Narrated by actor Michael Douglas, this IMAX feature film offers incredible special effects and animation that shows us what dinosaurs looked liked when they roamed the earth. It features the world’s foremost dinosaur hunters and takes you across the world to visit archeological digs in progress.

Computer animators are able to give us a glimpse of what these creatures looked like in their natural habitat 150 million years ago. The FX and animation are so amazing, it’s like we are stepping into the past. And the digs are just as fascinating.

A second IMAX feature, “Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs” gives you a first-hand look at mummies, the digs and the science behind mummification. Narrated by noted horror actor Christopher Lee, the filmmakers revisit the time of the pharaohs and the digs that revealed these ancient mummies.

“Mummies” is creepy cool. The film also makes science fun.

Both blu-rays are family friendly and well worth the time. Don’t miss the extras. The making-of features on each blu-ray are just as fun to watch as the films themselves.

 

“War Stories” enlightening, sobering

Get a tour of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier and see the vessel at work in the Smithsonian Channel’s DVD “War Stories.”

This DVD tells three stories: it showcases the aircraft carrier; the pilots and support staff that dropped the bombs that ended World War II; and concludes with a visit to the historic Arlington National Cemetery.

The segments run well as individual units, each about 45-minutes long.

First you get an upfront seat in a military aircraft as it launches off the USS Enterprise, an aircraft carrier now seeing battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is no training mission. It’s all for real and the pilots feel the Gs as they are catapulted from the carrier into flight.

Here the pilots aren’t the only heroes. It takes a city of people to make sure each aircraft is where it belongs, its ready and fueled and takes off and lands on a dime. I can only imagine the G-force the pilots feel as they are deployed a safe distance from the carrier to begin their mission.

In the second segment, we get to hear from the men who dropped the atom bombs on Japan that ended World War II. No matter you stance on the use of nuclear weapons, it is historically engaging to hear what these men were thinking and how they reacted as they prepared to drop the bombs. This is history captured on film.

The third segment of “War Stories” focuses on Arlington National Cemetery – a place where forgotten soldiers were once buried. Now, it is a national attraction which includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the final resting place of President John F. Kennedy, where an eternal fame burns in his memory.

The three segments, titled “Carrier at War: USS Enterprise,” “The Men Who Brought the Dawn” and “Arlington: Call to Honor,” teach us about three aspects of war, ending with the burial of our fallen soldiers and other heroes.

“War Stories” is an exciting, yet sobering look at war and its consequences. Every high school history class should be required to see this.

Chris Castillo writes Reel News for the Port Arthur News, a column that focuses on DVD releases, indie films and entertainment.