BLU (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) is a domesticated blue macaw who lives in relative luxury in the sleepy community of Moose Lake, Minnesota, with owner and best friend Linda. Brazilian conservationist Tulio persuades Linda to bring Blu to Rio de Janeiro, so the rare bird can mate with the only known female blue macaw, Jewel (Anne Hathaway).
No sooner has Blu met Jewel than the birds are kidnapped by greedy animal smugglers. However, since Blu is unable to fly, the macaws have limited escape options and, as the smugglers give chase, Blu and Jewel must rely on the help of a Toucan called Rafael and wise-cracking city birds Pedro (Will.i.am) and Nico (Jamie Foxx) to find their way back to Linda and Tulio. Rio is a joyous computer-animated romantic comedy. Eisenberg has his characters’ neuroses down pat, Hathaway is gleeful as the feisty heroine, while Clement has a ball as the feathered fiend, whose tongue-in-cheek dialogue is littered with puns and delightful alliterations.
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Jurassic Park (Ultimate Trilogy) (PG)
RELIVE the blockbuster franchise, which is available on Blu-ray with copious extras for the first time. The story begins when eccentric billionaire John Hammond (Sir Richard Attenborough) harnesses DNA from prehistoric amber to re-animate dinosaurs.
He invites paleontologist Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill), paleobotanist Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and chaos mathematician Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to tour the island along with his grandchildren, but when head computer programmer Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) cuts the power so he can escape with priceless dinosaur embryos, the temporary outage allows the beasts, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, to run amok. A limited edition’s Blu-ray box set, including a T-Rex model and a limited edition tin with a replica of the original cinema poster, photo cards, stickers and concept art cards, is also available.
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Honey 2 (PG)
DANCER Maria Ramirez (Katerina Graham) is released from Brooklyn Juvenile Detention Centre into the care of Connie Daniels (Lonette McKee) but soon gravitates back towards bad boy Luis (Christopher “War” Martinez), whose 718 crew are vying to retain their title on the televised Dance Battle Zone. When it becomes clear that Luis will just drag her down again, Maria aligns herself with Brandon (Randy Wayne) and his dance crew.
As heats for Dance Battle Zone begin, Maria fights to keep her new crew together and ignore the taunts from the 718. Arriving eight years after the original, Honey 2 is a flat-footed dance sequel that doesn’t boast a single original move. Director Bille Woodruff high-kicks and somersaults from one predictable set piece to the next and the ramshackle plot, thrown carelessly together by writers Alyson Fouse and Blayne Weaver, creaks almost as loudly as the painfully wooden performances.
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