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EW Review: 'Penguins' succeeds on DVDAlso: Entertaining 'Mr. Smith,' boring 'Idol'By Dalton Ross ![]() YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(Entertainment Weekly) -- You'll be amazed by their journey. You'll marvel at their fortitude. But more than any of that, you'll be struck by a simple thought while watching this year's breakout hit documentary: Thank God I am not a penguin. After all, spending nine months a year withstanding blizzard conditions and 70-mile hikes with little or no food just to hatch a single egg is pretty extreme. Which is why if you come into "March of the Penguins" anticipating lots of tuxedoed goofballs with little wool caps a la Chilly Willy, then you're in for a revelatory treat. And it seems the filmmakers themselves were surprised. In the 54-minute accompanying documentary, "Of Penguins and Men," cinematographer Jrme Maison discusses how two years of research on the emperor penguin prior to filming did not prepare him for what they encountered. "We thought that they would be comical," he says of his waddling subjects. "But they are truly regal." This doc on the doc covers some of the same material, but it also offers a compelling look into many of the hardships endured by the cameramen along the way, including bundling up in six layers of clothing every day, getting completely lost in a whiteout, and suffering such medical maladies as frostbite and a busted knee that required a full month off from filming. (We also learn that sucking helium is as good a way to pass the time in Antarctica as it is here.) There's even a second documentary by National Geographic that has a camera awkwardly strapped onto a penguin's back so we can watch the underwater world from the bird's point of view. The contraption looks pretty ridiculous -- the only thing missing is the little wool cap. EW Grade: B+ 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'Reviewed by Jeff Labrecque More than just a blatant foreshadowing of offscreen romance, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's sexy on-screen playfulness brightens "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," a plot-challenged story of rival assassins masquerading as a dull suburban couple. After all, "this is a movie that, by all rights, should basically be awful," director Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity") admits in his commentary. "And the bad version of this movie could be a career-ender." Fortunately, charm goes a long way. EXTRAS Gossip hounds will be sorely disappointed by the three starless commentaries, in which the juiciest "Brangelina" tidbit comes from screenwriter Simon Kinberg, who quotes Pitt as saying, "There's a lot of love in that movie." The "career-ender" Liman refers to -- possibly featuring the original set-in-Italy ending with additional villains -- is, unfortunately, not included. Instead, there's the frenetic "Making a Scene" featurette and three deleted/extended bits -- one in which Vaughn's momma's boy hilariously adds salt to the wounds of a romantically rattled Pitt. (And, no, not by canoodling with his ex-wife.) EW Grade: B 'The Best & Worst of American Idol: Seasons 1-4'Reviewed by Jennifer Armstrong There's no denying the guilty-pleasure appeal of "American Idol" -- but this clip reel of highlights and lowlights underscores how fleeting and watercooler-driven it is. OK, it's a little bit fun to revisit Kelly Clarkson's and Clay Aiken's style-challenged beginnings -- before the dye job and straightening iron -- and to reminisce about Justin Guarini as a heartthrob on the upswing. Beyond that, though, not enough time has passed to make "The Best & Worst of American Idol: Seasons 1-4" a nostalgia trip worth taking. And now that William Hung has proven there can be too much of a bad thing, those ap-pawl-ling "worst of" auditions should never have resurfaced after serving as the requisite warm-up each season. EXTRAS As for the interview footage, let's just say we'd rather hear the contestants sing than talk. (Clarkson: "Waitressing isn't the funnest job in the world.") And Paula's backstage chats with season 4's finalists on their "Idol" concert tour does nothing for Carrie Underwood & Co.'s street cred. Shocking revelation: They often didn't have time to pray together before the show! EW Grade: C Click Here
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