The Movie: I saw it in theaters for one reason. I picked the DVD for one reason. That one reason being Sandra Bullock. Luckily, I was surprised by this movie. Although extremely predictable, the story is interesting and the acting is superb. Mae Whitman as Birdie's (Bullock) daughter, Bernice is absolutely spectacular. I enjoyed the film as did many people ($60m theatrically + $23m rental) despite it's panning by most critics. It's just a story about ordinary people going about their ordinary ways.

The Picture: Not much to write home about with this one. The picture is as good as you would expect with this being released theatrically Summer '98. Fox for some reason declined to

The Sound: Because this is another recent release from the theaters, the sound is good. The bass really stands out at times and the ambient noises put your surround sound to the test. There aren't any huge explosions or big death-defying scenes, so it's kind of hard to rate the sound. As usual, it's in both Dolby Surround 5.1 and 2.0 for your listening pleasure.

The Extras: Extras are nonexistent on this disc. Somehow Fox thinks it can get away selling a featureless disc for $35. If there had been more extras and Fox dropped the price $10, it would be worth it, but there aren't and they didn't so...

Conclusion: I enjoyed the movie, but the DVD just isn't good. Yes it features good sound and video (minus the anamorphic transfer) but there are no extras (except for a full screen trailer). Fox thinks that it can price DVDs with no extras and no anamorphic transfer at $35 and people will buy it. That's just plain wrong. Fox needs to learn how the DVD market works if they plan on selling any DVDs at all. I enjoyed the movie, but I would never buy the DVD at this price. I'd pay $35 for a Criterion movie, most of which are packed with extras or are great obscure movies. For a mainstream, featureless movie, it's just not worth it.