Dick, Nigel

Celine Dion - All the Way... A Decade of Song & Video

It's clear from the live performances on All the Way... A Decade of Song & Video that Celine Dion's audiences adore her. And what's not to adore? She's beautiful, talented, and--corny as it sounds--seems really nice. This 90-minute compilation features 12 videos and five live songs illustrating the French-Canadian singer's transformation from a perky teen to a sophisticated international star. In the early '90s, Dion sang boppy tunes such as "Mislead" and "Love Can Move Mountains." The mid-decade Dion (decidedly sexier) is represented by "Because You Loved Me," "The Power of Love," and "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." Her soaring voice is powerful and poignant, reminding us why Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On" became such a huge hit. The compilation is ballad-heavy, but her last video of the decade, "That's the Way It Is," marks a welcome return to her earlier, sassier manner. --Dana Van Nest

Nickelback - Live at Home

Filmed in their hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Nickelback prove they can rock just as hard live as on record. Aside from the fact that Live at Home features their biggest hits, like "Leader of Men" (from 2000's The State) and "How You Remind Me" (from 2001's Silver Side Up), the sound quality and production values are topnotch. For the most part, this is a straightforward performance (with the exception of a few pyrotechnics)--something fans have grown to expect from Nickelback--but there are a few surprises. "Where Do I Hide" is an extra-long version, so that lead singer-guitarist Chad Kroeger can jump off the stage (security in tow) to mingle with the crowd; "It Ain't Like That" features a vocal from Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell, who takes the band into a darker, more groove-heavy direction; and "Mistake" is acoustic. Live at Home is an essential document for the Nickelback fan. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Video Collection

How refreshing it is to discover a video collection that relies on nothing except the music--no interviews, no biographical material, no promos, just five tasty tunes presented in a clean, concise 21 minutes. So it is with Savage Garden: The Video Collection, which offers the best of the Australia-based group's mid- to late-'90s output. Released in 1998, the package includes the hits "I Want You," "To the Moon and Back," and "Truly Madly Deeply" (with lovely, sepia-toned Parisian locations), as well as "Break Me Shake Me" and "Tears of Pearls"; none of them were commercially available prior to the release of this set. Heartthrob singer Darren Hayes takes center stage most of the time, joined by longtime musical partner Daniel Jones and their other, unidentified bandmates. Given the absence of extra frills, it's up to the music to carry the proceedings--and Savage Garden's does. --Sam Graham

Oasis - Live by the Sea

Decade of Song & Video [Region 2]

It's clear from the live performances on All the Way... A Decade of Song & Video that Celine Dion's audiences adore her. And what's not to adore? She's beautiful, talented, and--corny as it sounds--seems really nice. This 90-minute compilation features 12 videos and five live songs illustrating the French-Canadian singer's transformation from a perky teen to a sophisticated international star. In the early '90s, Dion sang boppy tunes such as "Mislead" and "Love Can Move Mountains." The mid-decade Dion (decidedly sexier) is represented by "Because You Loved Me," "The Power of Love," and "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." Her soaring voice is powerful and poignant, reminding us why Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On" became such a huge hit. The compilation is ballad-heavy, but her last video of the decade, "That's the Way It Is," marks a welcome return to her earlier, sassier manner. --Dana Van Nest

S Club - Seeing Double

Join international pop music sensations S CLUB (Rachel Hannah Jon Tina Bradley and Jo) as they sing dance and charm their way intoand out oftrouble in this hysterical rocking big screen adventure! It's hard work being a member of one of the world's most popular bands! After S Club complains to their manager about how tired they from the demanding life on the road they wake up to find that the tour has moved on without them. When they discover that an evil scientist has been cloning pop starsincluding all six members of S Clubit's time for them to get to work! Crazy funnyand completely entertainingget set for some great beats plenty of big laughs and one wild and zany ride!System Requirements:Running Time: 91 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396007383 Manufacturer No: 00738

S Club's Seeing Double will be best remembered as the film that marked the end of the band. Their demise wasn't caused by this film being particularly bad, but rather their big-screen outing was the contractual glue that kept the group together a little longer than they probably wished. Incorporating the standard pop-movie themes--a control-freak manager, overzealous fans, and the stresses of living on the road--the film also makes the customary tongue-in-cheek references to the fragility of manufactured pop groups. Centered around the S Clubbers' shock discovery that clones of the band are touring America, the film tracks the six as they attempt to capture the impostors and their evil creator, Victor Clonemaster. Peppered with some of their greatest hits--including a musical-style version of "Don't Stop Movin'" performed in a prison--their back catalog is surprisingly underused.

As the group admits in the accompanying interviews, this film is no masterpiece. There are no glitzy special effects, and the clones of the six are created by clever camera angles rather than anything more fancy. Like in Spiceworld, all sense of reality and location gets lost during the film. Despite some establishing shots, it's difficult to work out where the action of the film is supposed to be taking place: is it Los Angeles, Barcelona, or a set at Elstree? But the need to suspend all sense of reality adds to the fun of the film, and Seeing Double turns out to be good, wholesome entertainment that mixes adventure, fun, and irony. --John Galilee

Alice Cooper Trashes the World

Savage Garden: The Video Collection

How refreshing it is to discover a video collection that relies on nothing except the music--no interviews, no biographical material, no promos, just five tasty tunes presented in a clean, concise 21 minutes. So it is with Savage Garden: The Video Collection, which offers the best of the Australia-based group's mid- to late-'90s output. Released in 1998, the package includes the hits "I Want You," "To the Moon and Back," and "Truly Madly Deeply" (with lovely, sepia-toned Parisian locations), as well as "Break Me Shake Me" and "Tears of Pearls"; none of them were commercially available prior to the release of this set. Heartthrob singer Darren Hayes takes center stage most of the time, joined by longtime musical partner Daniel Jones and their other, unidentified bandmates. Given the absence of extra frills, it's up to the music to carry the proceedings--and Savage Garden's does. --Sam Graham