DVD Review/TV Series Recap: In Plain Sight - Complete Series

 

+++Fair warning, this will contain minor spoilers from throughout the series. +++

In Plain Sight was a procedural series about a US Marshal that aired on the USA Network from 2008 to 2012 and starred Mary McCormack, Frederick Weller, Nichole Hinz, Paul Ben-Victor, and Lesley Ann Warren. The story is centered around Mary Shannon (played by Mary McCormack), who is a witness protection inspector in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Each episode contains a case of the week storyline, which pertains to some new witness (or witnesses) who need protecting, and more arc-driven storylines involving Mary's personal life. That is mainly centered around her dysfunctional mother, sister, and other agents in the Albuquerque office.

McCormack does a great job with her character, playing Mary as harsh, cold, and uncaring at times, yet the exact opposite at others. Her more tender side is covered by a smart mouth and sarcastic wit. Fredrick Weller plays her partner Marshall perfectly as well. The two have great chemistry, and throughout the series, it is implied and teased that he loves Mary but there is never an overt will they get together vibe, really ever, over the run of the series. To the extent anything between them is teased in the background, it is resolved at the end of the series. The other story that plays out well throughout the series is Mary dealing with her family issues. While Mary does have to deal with her screw-up sister and flighty mother, it is the fact that her father abandoned the family that is the big serial storyline that goes through the entire series, and the resolution is done very well.

There are a couple of options for full-season sets. One that packages the individual DVD seasons together and one that is a complete series set. As far as extras go, both sets appear to have the same content. The first few seasons have a small amount of extras such as some deleted scenes, commentary tracks on select episodes, and a gag reel. There are no extras for seasons 4 and 5. Ultimately, I think the series did a good job of not being too repetitive. The weekly cases were entertaining and were not repetitive. The various characters evolved over time, and the show did not hang on too long to the point where it got stale. I also think the fact that the seasons were kept short (13 episodes from seasons 1-4 and 8 episodes in the last season) kept it from getting flat. The series is well-written and very well-acted. It is a very good procedural drama with some humor mixed in, and it is absolutely worth the time to watch.

DVD/Movie Review: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

 

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is the 1998 sequel to the 1997 horror/suspense movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie brings back Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Muse Watson to reprise their roles from the first movie and adds Matthew Settle, Brandy (the 90s pop/R&B singer), Mekhi Phifer, Jennifer Esposito, and Jack Black (in a hilariously awful role). The events of this movie are set a year after the events of the first film. In this one, Julie and her college roommate, Karla (Brandy's character), win a trip to the Bahamas via a radio contest. Julie, Karla, Karla's boyfriend Tyrell (Phifer's character), and his friend Will Benton travel to Tower Bay, where Julie starts receiving the same kind of notes that Ben Willis sent in the first movie, and of course, the murders start.

The DVD has a handful of special features, including the music video from Jennifer Love Hewitt's song, How Do I Deal, a making-of featurette, and trailers. The movie is bad. The first one was okay but was probably only as popular as it was because of the movie Scream and because of Sarah Michelle Gellar's popularity because of Buffy (which started the same year). This one is far worse than the first movie and probably only got a sequel because Scream made horror movies cool again. The only difference was that Scream was actually creative and made fun of silly movies like this one. This movie has every horror/slasher movie cliche that Scream made fun of. I am all for having to suspend disbelief when watching one of these movies, but things like the killer being able to move bodies around in a short period of time (which there is a bit of an explanation for) and leave no trace of blood (which there is not) are just stupid. The plot twist in this movie is easy to spot from a mile away, and we are subjected to Jack Black as a dreadlocked stoner.

The two things this one had going for is that the dialog was not as schlocky and stupid as it was in the first one (although it was close), and despite the tease at the end of the movie, they thought better of making any more of these. And, JLH was (and still is) hot as fire and looked great in a tank top. Like the predecessor, I do not think this is a must-see or must-own. If you are looking for a horror movie to watch for an hour and a half, it is not the best and not the worst.  It is definitely not a movie that is worth multiple viewings, however.

Book Review: Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy From the Next t***p

 

Blowback is a book by Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security staffer, published in 2023. As many are likely aware, Taylor also wrote the very controversial op-ed piece in the New York Times published under the pseudonym Anonymous. In the book, Taylor describes his time in the former administration and gives a first-hand account of the orange genital wart becoming more and more unhinged as time went on and detailing all of the crazy shit that agent orange wanted to do at the southern border (which he became more and more obsessed over the course of time). Taylor makes it clear that he always despised t***p and that he, like many in the administration, thought t***p was dangerous and stupid (and dangerously stupid). Taylor also makes it clear that he only agreed to join the DHS because he respected John Kelly and knew that there had to be "adults" in the administration to keep little donny diapers in check. And, the only reason Taylor stayed as long as he did was because anyone who replaced him would be a MAGA asshat who would be slovenly loyal to t***p and completely unqualified for the job. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 300 pages, not including the index. Taylor discusses the span of his political career first as a Congressional page, his work at the DHS, his decision to write the initial Anonymous op-ed and the follow-up book, his decision to speak out against the administration under his own name, and ultimately reveal that he was Anonymous. Taylor also discusses how his life started to spiral out of control during that time and what life has been like since then.

The overall subject matter of the book is clear from the title. It is basically a warning that the Republican party of old is dead and gone, that t***p will not go away easily, and that t***pism will be around long after he finally does. And Taylor makes clear that, if given power again, the next t***p will succeed where the orange dipshit failed the first time because they will get around (or ignore) all of the guardrails, and there will be no adults in the room this time. Taylor also discusses that most of those who were said adults in the first administration are not exactly profiles in courage and will not speak out because of fear of political retribution (and physical harm by the MAGAT cult members). The book is absolutely a must-read.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 11

Day 11 was the core circuit workout in MBF and the 15-minute cardio workout in 645. I again did the MBF workout in the morning on an empty stomach and the 645 workout in the evening. 

The core circuit workout used the same jump rope exercises as last week in the cardio portion but did switch up the exercises in the core portion. The "main" core/cardio exercise was plank jacks, which you do two sets of in each core block. Then, the last four minutes is the AMRAP block in which you do the same four exercises as in the week 1, day 4 workout. This week, I was able to get through seven rounds, two more than I did last week. The 645 workout went well once I was warmed up (so rounds two and three) and did not have to modify any of the moves after the first round.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: I am Legend

 

I am Legend is a 2007 post-apocalyptic monster/horror movie directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, and Willow Smith.  This unique story was adapted from a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson. In it, a group of scientists think they have found a viral cure for cancer, and like other viruses, it can jump from person to person (aside from the few with immunity). The unintended side effects are the people it does not kill outright turn into vampires. Smith's character is alone (aside from his dog) in New York City, trying to find a cure for the virus.

The blu-ray is a single-disc set with two versions of the movie, the theatrical version and a version with the alternate ending (which is the better version of the story), and a handful of bonus features. The bonus content includes several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes and a series of short animated comics. The A/V quality of the movie is great, and most of the special effects are seamlessly blended with the practical elements. The big exception, however, is that when we do get to see the vampires, they are CGI and look very fake.

The movie is very good, especially given that it relies on a single actor for the vast majority of the time. Smith does a great job playing a guy who is clearly going crazy from being by himself for three years yet is brilliant in his moments of lucidity when he works on a cure for the virus. It is one of the better acting jobs he has done in his career. I like the alternate version because it fleshes out the story of whether the vampires are becoming sentient beings vs just mindless killing machines. It really goes deeper into the ethical dilemma of whether it is right to "cure" them. It is a question that the film does not really answer in either version, but it does make you think. As of this writing, there is talk of a sequel being made based on the alternate ending, so it is worth the time to watch the alternate version of the movie.

Apparently, the movie diverges a lot from the source books, which upset a lot of fans. If that is something that would take away from your enjoyment of the movie, then you should probably skip this. If you are a fan of Will Smith, the sci-fi kind of dramas and stories (especially ones that do make you think some), and can let the movie stand on its own, you will probably find this enjoyable. My only real gripe with the film is the fact that they made the vampires CGI. I do not think that there was a big need to do so, and the film could have been even more effective if you put real actors in that role.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 10

Day 10 was the Upper Body Burn workout in MBF and, of course, the 15-minute cardio in 645. I again did the MBF workout in the morning on an empty stomach and the 645 workout in the evening after eating everything I had for the day. 

The MBF workout follows the same format as the other resistance-based workouts. Again, some of the exercises are repeats from week 1, and others are new. I definitely needed to use much lighter weights than I thought I would be able to use during the workout because the lack of even a pause between the exercises in each block (especially when you are doing volume training) is hard as hell.  That said, I definitely have more endurance than I did ten days ago, which helps immensely. 

Book Review: Princess of Dune (Dune #10)

 

Princess of Dune, published in late 2023, is, as of this writing, the newest book in the Dune Saga and the 10th book when read chronologically. It is set 2 years before the events of the original 1965 novel and was again written by the duo of Brian Herbert (the original author's son) and Kevin J. Anderson (who have written all of the prequel novels).  As the title (and cover image) of the book suggests, the storylines in this book are focused on Princess Irulan (and her sisters) and Chani. Irulan and Chani have mostly separate story arcs in the book, but their stories do intersect briefly about 2/3 of the way through the book. Irulan's story involves a potential marriage to a military suitor, and Chani's storyline involves trying to free Dune from the grip of the Harkonnens and Emperor Shaddam. 

The hardcover version of the book is just under 400 pages, which is a little shorter than many of the other prequel novels. The pacing is good (even with jumping back and forth between the two main storylines), and unlike some of the other prequel novels, it does not have a ton of characters to keep track of. None of the Atreides characters appear in the book, and only a handful of Harkonnen characters appear very briefly. If you are a fan of the Dune saga, this is well worth the time to read. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The House Bunny

 

The House Bunny is a 2008 comedy starring Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Katherine McPhee, and Colin Hanks. In the movie, Faris plays Shelly, an aspiring Playboy Playmate who is living at the Playboy Mansion. When she turns 27, she gets a note from Hef (who does appear in the movie) kicking her out. She ends up being a "house mother" to a college sorority of nerdy outcasts (whom she ends up mentoring and unleashing their beauty). Of course, you have to buy that Stone, Dennings, McPhee and company are all homely nerds who actually need beauty tips, but the story works. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, but nothing to write home about. It gets a decent HD transfer, but it is not what audiophiles and video wonks would consider reference quality. It has a few bonus features, including deleted scenes, a music video, and almost an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. 

I have seen reviews comparing the movie to Legally Blonde and Revenge of the Nerds. That is pretty accurate. Fans of Anna Faris know that she has very good comedy acting chops (from the scary movie franchise and Waiting). She is not afraid of saying or doing something stupid and ridiculous. She pulls off the ditzy Playboy Bunny with a kind heart and smarter-than-she-seems quality very well. There is definitely not a lot of depth to the character she was trying to play, but what depth there was, she played it well.

The movie has a mix of stars who have become A list or B list (mainly Emma Stone and Kat Dennings, which the movie did an awesome job of making look plain and downright unattractive, respectively, before the "makeover") with reality TV stars, musicians and lots of cameos from celebrities. Even though it was not meant to be a movie that was going to win the actors any awards, the fact that at least some of the stars had the ability to act made it as good a movie as it is. It is definitely not a movie designed to make you think, and it is definitely making fun of the whole fraternity/sorority culture. It did not try to do too much and stuck to the comedy it was meant to be.

Ultimately, this movie will not appeal to everyone. It is, for the most part, a mindless but good-hearted comedy. And, for those who care, it has a lot of cute girls in skimpy outfits and/or showing lots of cleavage (but no actual nudity). If that is not the kind of movie that entertains you, skip it. Otherwise, it is definitely entertaining enough to occupy an hour and a half of your time and give you some laughs.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 9

Day 9 was the core circuit workout again in MBF and the 15-minute cardio routine from 645.

Core circuit was very similar to the week-1 version of the workout. In fact, the exercises that used the weighted jump rope were exactly the same. The core exercises were, however, switched up. The AMRAP four-minute block was also the same as week 1 (with the idea of keeping track of how you progress). This week I got through five rounds of the four exercises, which is 1.5 more than I did the first week. 

I definitely feel that my cardio fitness is improving. Adding the 645 cardio has helped a lot, as I can do moves that do not combine cardio and strength and just aim to do them faster.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Homeland: Season 1

 

The twelve-episode first season of Homeland aired on Showtime in the fall and winter of 2011. The series stars Claire Daines, Damien Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, and David Harewood. The story centers around two definitely "broken" people: one, a Marine named Nicholas Brody (played by Lewis) who is rescued and returns home a hero after being held captive by terrorists for 8 years, and the other is a mentally unstable CIA analyst named Carrie Matthison (played by Daines) who is convinced that he has been turned and is now working for those same terrorists.

The story has a lot of twists and turns, and at least for the first half, the season it takes you on a is he or isn't he ride. You do find the answer before the end of the season, but there is still a lot of suspense in the final few episodes and the season ends on a cliffhanger. I will not go into any more detail than that, so as not to spoil those who have not seen it yet. I think many shows where there is such a focus on a central mystery like that (see Twin Peaks) really fizzle once you know the answer. At least in this season that did not happen. I have not seen the second season yet, so I am not sure if that is still the case.

The best part of the series is the great ensemble cast. Damien Lewis and Claire Danes are definitely the focus of the series, but everyone from Mandy Patinkin, and Morena Baccarin, to David Harewood do a great job in their roles. Fans of the series Due South will also recognize David Marciano, who is an ex-CIA officer that helps Danes' character run surveillance. The show is very fast-paced and packs a lot into the 12 episodes. I think this works a lot better as a cable series with a shorter season than it would be on broadcast TV where they would have to stretch everything out into 22+ episodes.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The extras include a commentary track on the pilot episode, deleted scenes, a "making of" feature with the writers and showrunners, then some character features, and a prologue to season two. Outside of the commentary track, the extras total about 40 minutes. So, while you do not get hours of content, what is included is good. And, you can play the episodes in a play all mode that allows you to pick up where you leave off.  

I bought this series, having never seen one episode, just on its reputation. I am very glad I did. It is well-written and very well-acted and is absolutely worth the time to watch. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 8

 Day 8 was the start of week 2 of MBF, so it was again lower-body burn. I did the MBF workout in the morning and then the 645 15-minute cardio workout in the evening.

The format of the workout is the same as the other resistance workouts, four blocks of exercises, two of which are unbalanced (so you hold one weight and do the exercises on each side separately), and two blocks of "regular" resistance exercises in which the weight is distributed evenly. Some of the exercises from last week are repeated, and some are slight variations of those in last week's workout. Each block is separated by a minute of cardio using the weighted jump rope, and there is no rest between the sets in each block. 

The workout was a bit easier than last week since I had a better idea of what weight to use for the exercises. The vast majority of people doing MBF will likely have to use much lower weight than they use in other programs because you are doing volume training (as many reps as you can do in 30-45 seconds as opposed to 10 or 15 reps that other programs have you do) and there is no rest between exercises or sets. Even with using lower weight, it is still very challenging.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 7

Day 7 is dynamic recovery in MBF and 15-minute cardio from 645. I changed the order, however, doing the MBF workout in the morning and the cardio in the evening.

The MBF workout is very similar to Dynamix from P90X3. It is not an intense workout as all the movements are fairly slow and are designed to stretch and provide mobility, not to get your heart rate up. Megan works through a lot of shoulder range-of-motion exercises, which  I definitely liked. Then she finishes off with some yoga movements (cat-cow and child's pose into cobra into downward dog). Next week I may pair it with the foam rolling routine from 645 or Lift 4.

DVD/Movie Review: Hotel Rwanda

 

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 movie starring Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, and Joaquin Phoenix. The film is about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda during the 1990s. Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a Hotel in Kigali, who ends up helping thousands of people from being killed while trying to appear to keep the hotel functioning, working with the Red Cross, and bribing the Rwandan military.

The DVD has several bonus features, including a commentary track on the movie by the director and the real Paul Rusesabagina, commentary on specific scenes by Don Cheadle, and a making-of documentary and a documentary entitled Return to Rwanda, which explores the aftermath of the genocide. The movie is very good. It is well-written and very well-acted. While it is a tough movie to watch, it tells a story that most people in the United States would probably never hear otherwise. 

While the movie is based on a true story, I don't know how much of the story that was told on screen was true. I presume that parts of it were fictionalized. The movie does provide a glimpse of just how corrupt the government was and how the people who did not have connections and money to pay bribes in order to stay alive were killed off in droves. The movie does have some violence, but it is actually not all that gory. Most of the story takes place inside the hotel, where people are kept relatively safe. However, when they did venture outside the hotel (like when the UN was trying to get some of the families out), you did see what kind of violence and indiscriminate killing was going on. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 6

 Day 6 included cardio from 645 and the Power Ignite workout from MBF.

Power ignite has 3 EMOM blocks in which you get 40 seconds to do a certain number of reps (or as many reps as you can do) for an exercise. Blocks 1 and 2 have 5 EMOM rounds and have you doing one exercise. In block 1, you do 25 dumbell swings (or however many you can do in 40 seconds); in block 2, you do 8 walkouts to pushups (or however many you can do). The third block has 10 EMOM rounds that alternate between dumbell sledgehammers and mountain climbers. In the first EMOM round, you do 20 sledgehammers. In the second EMOM round, you do 40 mountain climbers. Then, you keep alternating between the two.

This is a tough workout. It goes by very fast, and you get more rest in this workout than you get in the others. But your heart rate is constantly up, and you get just enough time to catch your breath and take a sip of water before you start the next EMOM round. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 5

Day 5 was the Full Body Burn workout in MBF and, of course, the modified 15-minute cardio workout from 645. 

The 645 workout was awesome. It was the best I have done with any of the moves. Aside from the jump lunges in the first set, during which I stepped because I was using them as a warmup, I was able to do all the exercises in each round for the full 30 seconds without modifying.

The MBF workout followed the same format as the Monday and Wednesday workouts. So, you have four blocks. Each block is separated by a cardio recovery with the weighted jump rope. In blocks 1 and 3, you are doing unbalanced exercises. That means three exercises holding a weight in your right hand, the same three holding the weight in your left hand, then back to the right hand, and back to the left—all with no rest between the exercises. In blocks 2 and 4, you do two exercises that require holding weight in both hands. You do both exercises back-to-back with no rest for three sets. As the name implies, this is a full-body workout that incorporates squats, deadlifts, biceps curls, lateral raises, etc. Basically, you work all of your major muscles except the triceps. It was good, but tough.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Anna

 

Anna is a 2019 movie written and directed by Luc Besson (who has directed movies such as The Professional, The Fifth Element, Taken, and Lucy) and starring Sasha Luss, Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Helen Mirren. In the movie, Luss plays Anna, who is recruited into the KGB by Evans' character, Alex, and works under the direction of Mirren's character, Olga. She is trained as a KGB assassin with the promise of being discharged after five years. When the director of the KGB refuses to honor the agreement, Anna becomes a double agent for the CIA in exchange for a new life.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. Both of the discs include the movie and the special features. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. It is not quite reference quality, but close. There are about 30 minutes of bonus material consisting of four different making-of featurettes. The movie is a good spy thriller, with a handful of action scenes spread out well throughout the movie. The story is not told linearly. It plays out similarly to the movie Memento. The movie starts partway through the story, and then flashbacks are used to tell Anna's backstory, to fill in gaps, or to show events from a different perspective than when they first played out. So, by the end of the movie, you know how Anna was recruited into the KGB and the CIA, but as you watch the movie, there are twists and turns that play out via the flashbacks. The action scenes that are in the movie are very good, but very violent. There is a bit of sexual content and one nude scene in which Luss is topless. So, it is not really a family-friendly movie.

Ultimately, the movie is well-written and very well-acted. Luss does a very good job in what was her second movie role, and Mirren pretty much dominated every scene she was in. Luss was especially good, considering she came from a modeling background and not an acting background. Evans and Murphy did well in their supporting roles, but neither were in the movie as much as Luss and Mirren. While it was not a blockbuster movie, it is much better than a lot of people will likely expect. So, if you are a fan of spy thrillers, this is worth the time to watch. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hot Tub Time Machine (Unrated)

 

Hot Tub Time Machine is a 2010 comedy starring Rob Corddry, John Cusak, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Chevy Chase, and Lizzy Caplan. The plot involves three friends vacationing at a ski resort. They end up in one of the resort's hot tubs and get transported back in time to 1986. The three adults are transported back to their younger selves, and Jacob (Duke), who was not born in 1986, is transported back as himself but flickers in and out of existence. The rest of the movie involves the group trying to figure out how to get back to the present.

The movie is not intended to be deep or make you think. It is just stupid, fun humor that has a plot device to flashback to the 1980s. There is a bit of a "would you live your life over differently if you could" theme to the movie that a lot of people tend to feel as they hit middle age, but that is about as deep as the movie gets. It actually would have been a little better to see more of the characters as their younger selves, but the point was they looked young to everyone but were experiencing things from their adult perspective, so when they were interacting with each other, they appeared as their adult versions. Rob Corddry was awesome as the jackass friend who nobody really liked all that much. And although he "kind of" learns something by the end of the movie, he is still a jackass till the end. There is an awesome Karate Kid Part III reference for anyone who actually remembers that movie, and Crispin Glover (from Back to the Future) makes several appearances throughout the film. 

The movie's A/V quality is good. The colors (especially when they are transported back to 1986) really pop and look great in HD. The extras are pretty light. You get about 11 minutes of deleted scenes, some promotional spots for the movie (that total about six minutes), and the theatrical trailer. Ultimately, this is a good and slightly underrated comedy. The humor is definitely not for everyone, but if you are into raunchier comedies, then this is definitely worth checking out.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 4

Day 4 was another core circuit day in MBF and the 15-minute cardio workout from 645. So, today was heavy on Cardio, which was kind of nice because the cardio work is getting a bit easier. The MBF workout was similar to Tuesday's workout in that you alternate cardio blocks and core blocks. And, each of the core blocks had two sets of Mountain Climbers, so you end up doing cardio the entire time. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 3

 Day 3 was upper-body burn in MBF and the 15-minute cardio routine from 645. 

In the 645 routine, I am absolutely getting better at the pulse squats and the jump lunges (the two exercises from the actual workout that I do; the others get swapped out for Lift 4 cardio exercises). The MBF workout is tough (yet again). It follows a very similar format to the lower-body burn workout. There are four blocks. In two of the four, you do two rounds of two exercises and a combo of the two exercises. You use unbalanced weight, meaning you do the exercise on the right side, holding the weight in your right hand, and then you switch to the left side. And, there are no breaks between the exercises, so even when you are doing chest flies and presses, you need to use a lot lighter weight than you would use in a program like P90x or Lift 4 because you never put the weight down once you start. The other two blocks consist of two exercises that you do back-to-back for three rounds, again without stopping. You do all the exercises for 30 seconds (so reps will vary as you get tired), and the only rest in the program are between blocks when Megan shows the next moves (after you have done about 30 seconds with the ropeless jump rope).  So, not only do you work your muscles, but your heart rate will be elevated throughout a lot of the workout because you almost never stop moving.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Horrible Bosses (Totally Inappropriate Edition)

 

Horrible Bosses is a 2011 comedy directed by Seth Gordon. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and an almost unrecognizable Colin Farrell. The movie also has a strong supporting cast, including Donald Sutherland, Julie Bowen, Wendell Pierce, Lindsay Sloan, and Jamie Foxx, who steals every scene he is in, playing a character named Motherfucker Jones. The plot is pretty simple. Three friends named Nick, Dale, and Kurt hate their bosses. They go from joking about killing their respective bosses to actually planning to kill them when things go wrong.  It is mainly about the stupid plan put together and badly executed by the main characters. From trying to find a hitman to the reconnaissance gone wrong, everything they try spirals out of control. 

You will likely love this movie if you like vulgar, sometimes over-the-top comedies. I think all of the actors did a great job. Bateman was very much like his character from Arrested Development with looser morals. Aniston really stole the show in a role that was totally different than anything she had ever played before. You can tell she was just trying to play it as over the top as possible. The other one who just really got into the role was Spacey. He played his character without any redeeming qualities and really did make you hate him. Of course, Spacey has become a persona non-grata since the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse have come out against him, so you kind of wonder how much his slimeball character was made up. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. Each version of the movie (the theatrical and the extended unrated cut) is on its own disc. The extended cut adds about 8 minutes of additional material, none of which changes the movie in any significant way. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is good, but not outstanding. The special features include deleted scenes and a handful of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The bonus content totals about half an hour, give or take. Ultimately, this is an enjoyable movie if you like the brand of humor. The movie is absolutely not family-friendly. There is a lot of sexual humor (mostly involving Aniston's character), and some bathroom humor, but no nudity. If you are not into hard-R rated comedies (which this undoubtedly is), or are easily offended, you will hate it. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 2

Day 2 was core and cardio in MBF, and the 15-minute cardio (modified again with a few different moves) from 645.

The MBF workout is interesting. You do three blocks of cardio (each block including two exercises) separated by four blocks of core work (each block including 2-3 exercises). Each exercise in the cardio blocks is done for three rounds, again with no rest between the moves. Each exercise in the core blocks is performed for two rounds, with no rest between the moves. And, there is no rest between the blocks (aside from the time it takes Megan to show the moves in the next block), so you essentially do three rounds of your two cardio moves, immediately transition to the core block, do two rounds of those moves, immediately transition to the second cardio block, etc.

At the end of all that, you do have a four-minute AMRAP block. AMRAP stands for "as many rounds as possible." In those four minutes, you do four reps of three of the cardio exercises and then 20 jump rope reps, which counts as one round. You rest a few seconds to catch your breath and then do another round. The goal, as it sounds, is to do as many rounds as you can in that four minutes.

The workout is good and goes by very quickly, but it is hard. Having zero rest time between exercises and very little rest between the blocks is tough. Throughout the workout, the various cast members (who all vary in their fitness level and ages) take unscheduled pauses here and there. Even if you are in fairly good shape it will be a challenging workout.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar (4-Disc Collector's Edition)

 

This is the second 4K release of 2009's Avatar. The other version (which is misleadingly labeled as the Ultimate Collector's Edition) is a three-disc set that just has the theatrical version of the movie on UHD and regular blu-ray and then a regular blu-ray disc with special features. This set (just labeled Collector's Edition) is a four-disc set that has the theatrical and the two extended editions of the movie on UHD and regular blu-ray and then has two regular blu-ray discs with special features. 

The movie itself is very good. The first extended edition (which adds about 8 additional minutes to the theatrical version) basically just extends a couple of the scenes a bit. The second extended edition (which runs 178 minutes, adding 18 minutes of additional footage) is the best version of the movie (in my opinion). That version adds the most substance and backstory to the theatrical version, which definitely helps flesh out the overall story. You can also watch the additional footage for each extended edition as separate deleted scenes accessible from the menu. Each version of the movie is visually stunning in UHD. The audio track on the theatrical edition is wonderful. The tracks on the two extended editions are not available on Dolby Atmos, so they do not sound as good.

Where this set blows the Ultimate Collector's Edition release away is the extras. It includes all of the extras that were released with that one (including the new extras on that set and a few new ones exclusive to this set) and all of the legacy content included with the 2010 blu-ray release. The only difference between this release and the original blu-ray release (excluding the brand-new content) is a new line of added dialogue from Giovanni Ribisi's character (which is added to each version of the movie).

I have two issues with this set. First, it was not released at the same time as the original 4k release. So, if you bought that one early, you would have to double-dip to get all of the bonus content. Second, the packaging, while great to look at, is awful. It has a wonderful hard slipcover that holds a cardboard book-style case that holds the discs in very tight pockets (If you have the House of Cards individual seasons on blu-ray, it is like those). The discs are very hard to get out of the pocket without ripping the pockets and/or smudging or scratching the discs. So, if you get this, you want to watch it right away in case you get damaged/unplayable discs. I ended up putting the discs in their own individual blu-ray cases (I get extra cases to replace damaged cases if the discs are in otherwise good condition) and did not put them back in the book-style case. 

If you love the movie and love watching the bonus content, this is the version to get. You get hours of bonus material (even more if you redeem the digital code on Movies Anywhere or Vudu). If you stop the movies before the end you can resume where you left off, but that is not the case if you are watching the bonus content. If you stop in the middle of one of the featurettes on discs 3 or 4 and then restart the disc, it will go back to the main menu, and you will have to figure out where you left off. That is a relatively minor point, but worth noting.  Overall, this is absolutely worth the pickup if you are a more than just a casual fan of the movie.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 1

This is the start of my new routine. As I said in the last post, I am going to do the 15-minute cardio routine from 645 (modified with moves swapped out) in the morning and then the muscle-burn-fat workout in the evening.

MBF is a three-week program that was filmed during the height of the pandemic. Megan Davies is the trainer in this workout. She leads the workout from one of the BeachBody sets, but the rest of the cast is working out at home via Zoom (or something like that). Basically, you see all the cast members in their own boxes that surround the main box, with Megan leading the exercises; then, throughout the workout, they go to a split screen showing Megan side-by-side with one of the cast members. One of the cast members does modify the moves, but it can get hard to keep track of her since the views keep shifting.

The Day 1 workout was lower-body burn. This workout has four blocks of exercises. In the first block, you do squats and reverse lunges. The twist, however, is that you are not holding weights by your side. You hold one weight up next to your head on one side, do the exercises, then switch to the other side. You do as many reps as you can for 30 seconds of squats and then immediately transition to 30 seconds of reverse lunges on the side you are holding the weight; then you do 4 combos in which you do two squats followed by a reverse lunge, then you do the entire thing on the other side. You do two rounds on each side. So, you have to think about how much weight you can hold on one side up by your head for about a minute and a half. 

In block 2, you do sumo squats followed by curtsey lunges (if you have done Chalean Extreme, they are the same as CE's bowler lunges). Again, you do each exercise back-to-back with no rest, and this time, you do three sets of each exercise.

In block 3, you do side lunges followed by what Megan calls RDL, which are a deadlift using one dumbell. Then you do a combo with the two exercises and then switch to the other side, much like block 1. Again, you do two rounds on each side.

The last block is front squats and calf raises. This block mirrors block 2, so you do each exercise for 30 seconds and do three sets without any rest. 

The MBF workout is very challenging. Between each of the blocks you use a weightless jump rope (basically jump rope handles with weighted foam balls on the ends) for 30 seconds of a cardio recovery and then go back to lifting. The lifting is higher volume (basically as many reps as you can do in 30 seconds) so it is a good idea to use much lighter weight than you would normally use, at least for the first round of each exercise.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 54

This was the final day of the Hybrid workout. I did Speed 1.0 from T25 in the morning and full body HIIT in Lift 4 in the evening. Both of the workouts were tough (the double cardio days tended to be the hardest), but I got through them. For my next workout combination, I am going to continue to do the modified 645 cardio workout in the mornings, and then in the evening, I am going to do the three-week Muscle Burns Fat workout. Over the weekend, I am just going to do the 645 cardio workout and possibly do some stretching, but I want to recover a bit before starting up the new workout on Monday. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 53

Day 53 was shoulders and arms in Lift 4 and Cardio 1.0 in T25. As was the case in week 7, the shoulders and arms workout is a circuit workout with two quad sets and a three-exercise burnout. You do all of the same exercises that you did in week 7 just with the order of the exercises switched up. The  T25 workout went well. I was again able to do more unmodified exercises for longer.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 52

Day 52 was the rest day in Lift 4, and for a cardio workout, I just did the modified version of the 645 15-minute workout (using some moves from Lift 4 and some moves from T25 in place of a few exercises they are doing in the video). I managed to make it a good workout with all standing exercises.  Because there is no warmup, I go a little easier in the first round, and then go all out in the second and third rounds until I get tired.

Book Review: Foreign Influence (Scot Harvath Series #9)

 

Foreign Influence, published in 2010, is the 9th book in the Scot Harvath series of thrillers written by Brad Thor. This book has two different plots that run in parallel through most of the book and then intersect at the end. The first plot is the one that Harvath is most involved in. It involves a bombing in Rome that points to Nicholas/The Troll being involved. The second involves a hit-and-run accident in Chicago that leads a couple of cops to an al Qaeda cell planning a series of attacks. The book also introduces a group of characters that will be prominent in the spin-off novel, The Athena Project.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 380 pages and reads like the other books in the series. Like the other books in the series, this one has a good blend of action and suspense. This book does not have as much of the political maneuvering that some of the other books have had (and definitely not as much as the Mitch Rapp series does). Thor definitely seems to be conservative and puts his stamp on the whole torture debate that was raging back around the time this was written. That is as political as he gets, however. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the action thriller/spy novel genre and/or have liked the prior novels in the series, this is worth the time to read.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitman

 

Hitman is a 2007 action movie based on the video game series of the same name directed by Xavier Gens and starring  Timothy Olyphant, Olga Kurylenko, Robert Knepper, and Dougray Scott. Olyphant plays 47, a professional hitman who is essentially a part of a secret society simply called "The Organization," which engineers assassins and tattoos a bar code on the back of their necks to identify them. After 47 is tasked with an assassination, he is told to eliminate a witness (played by Kurylenko). When he realizes that she has never seen him before, 47 ignores the order to kill her and becomes engaged in a political conspiracy that has him being chased by Interpol, the FSB, and other hitmen from The Organization.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. The movie has a lot of stunning visuals that look great in HD, especially on a large screen. The extras include deleted scenes, a gag reel, the theatrical trailer, and several featurettes, including making-of featurettes and a couple about the video game franchise and adapting the game to a live-action movie. So, if you enjoy watching the bonus content, there is a lot there for you. The movie is a good action film but was never going to be an Academy Award winner.  It is very good for a shoot-'em-up action thriller. Olyphant (before his breakout role on the series Justified) did a very good job as 47. He played him as no-nonsense and serious, but there were times when he let emotion through that really made the character more than just a nameless assassin. Olga Kurylenko was also very good in her role as the tag-along that he was initially hired to kill (and, of course, gorgeous). The other standout performance was by Dougray Scott, who is the Interpol agent who has been tracking 47 (and investigating The Organization) for years.

The plot is somewhat convoluted but not that hard to follow. There are some really good action and fight sequences in the movie but the writing was kind of bad in some parts. It is not perfect, but if you are looking for an entertaining action movie, it is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitch

 

Hitch is a 2005 movie directed by Andy Tennant and starring Will Smith, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, and Eva Mendez. In the movie, Smith plays a "date doctor" named Alexander Hitchens, who coaches men on how to pick up women with the goal of dating them versus just hooking up. James plays Albert Brennaman, who works at an investment firm and hires Hitch to help him get one of the firm's celebrity clients (played by Valletta) on a date. In the meantime, Hitch starts to fall for Mendez's character, who is a workaholic gossip columnist.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is okay, but not outstanding. Given, however, that the film is not a special-effects-laden blockbuster, most people will be fine with the quality of the transfer. The blu-ray has a handful of extras, including a gag reel, a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and trailers for a few different movies. The movie is a fairly good, tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy. When the movie does not take itself too seriously and almost spoofs "typical" romantic comedies, it is very good. It is funny in a lot of parts, and the actors have (or seem to have) very good chemistry. Then, for some reason, it feels the need to become a "typical" romantic comedy and do almost the exact opposite of what it did for the first 3/4 of the movie. If they had stuck to its original formula, I think it would have been perfect. 

Kevin James was the total scene-stealer in the movie. He was never afraid of making a fool of himself, and you could tell that he and Will Smith were having a lot of fun working off each other. Eva Mendes plays bitter and jaded very well and she showed she has very good comedic chops and can do more than just be eye candy. Ultimately, it is a good date night movie that can get kind of schlocky at the end. While that does keep the movie from being as good as it could have been, it does not take away from the entire thing. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

DVD/Movie Review: Hide and Seek (Minor Spoilers)

 

Hide and Seek is a 2005 movie directed by John Polson and starring Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue, and Amy Irving. De Niro plays David Callaway, a psychologist who moves with his daughter Emily (played by Fanning) to upstate New York after his wife (Irving) commits suicide. Emily reveals that she has a friend named Charlie, whom David assumes is an imaginary friend, and starts to become more and more worried for his daughter as "Charlie" becomes violent. 

The DVD has several bonus features, including a commentary track with the director and screenwriter, several alternate endings, deleted scenes, rough scenes that are a mix of live-action and storyboards, and a making-of featurette.  You can also watch the movie with the alternate endings or just watch the alternate endings on their own. The movie is a good, but not great, thriller. I thought De Niro did a good job being crazy when he was let loose at the end of the film. But you could really see what was going to happen with his character a mile away. Dakota Fanning did an excellent job with her part and was really able to convey a range of emotions that someone her age usually cannot pull off. It is in part because of her great acting you can tell what happens with De Niro's character. Her reactions to him were perfect. The rest of the film, however, was pretty formulaic. From the potential love interest, the creepy next-door neighbor, and the mistrusting sheriff. I just think that there was not a ton of originality to the script. A lot of that got saved by the acting, but it could have been better. Even so, it is worth watching if you are looking for a thriller/suspense movie. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Haywire

 

Haywire is a 2011 action movie directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Gina Carano (who at this time was best known for her MMA career), Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, and Ewan McGregor. In it, Carano plays a black-ops agent named Mallory Kane, who is burned and targeted for assassination. She has to unravel a conspiracy in order to clear her name.

When it comes to athletes turned actors, I define the spectrum as The Rock at one end (very good, lots of charisma) and Hulk Hogan/Jesse Ventura at the other (can't act their way out of a wet paper bag). Carano falls somewhere in between. She definitely does not have the charisma of The Rock, and in this movie is very raw. She obviously has been in other movies and TV shows since this movie and has gotten somewhat better, but she was extremely green when this movie was made, and you can tell that the script was written with that in mind. Carano was absolutely not good at conveying a range of emotions (and still is not) or even conveying much emotion beyond being mad and/or irritated. Her performance here is best described as wooden. You could not tell the difference between any emotional state. She looked the same being serious, angry, horny, and scared. Part of that is also due to the character she is playing, a black-ops operative who keeps her emotions bottled up. But it seems like she is basically there to look pretty and fight, which she does well doing most, if not all, of her own stunts. The movie was also made well before her controversial social-media posts that got her fired from the Star Wars franchise.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray release is very good, and there are a couple of extras. The first and most extensive is a 16-minute feature on Carano that touches on her MMA background and her training for the movie. The second is a 5-minute feature on the men in the movie, featuring interviews with all the male cast members except Douglas. Ultimately, the movie is good but not great. It definitely helped that the movie had a good backing ensemble cast that you can tell was put in place to support the fact that Carano was green. Unfortunately, the script was such that even the A-list actors in the cast could not do much. All that said, if you are into action movies and can handle a so-so script and marginal acting ability from Carano, this can be enjoyable and is worth the time to watch. The movie does not take itself too seriously and does not drag on too long. If, however, you are a casual fan of action movies, you may not like this one.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Heartbreak Kid

 

The Heartbreak Kid is a 2007 comedy starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Michelle Monaghan, Jerry Stiller, Rob Corddry, and Danny McBride. The movie was directed by the Farrelly brothers. The plot is pretty simple. A lifelong bachelor named Eddie (Ben Stiller) finally decides to get married, but only after knowing the bride, Lila (Akerman) for a few weeks. On the way to and during the honeymoon, he discovers she is totally crazy and, while on his honeymoon, starts to fall for Monaghan's character, Miranda.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is excellent. While there is not much (if any) in the way of special effects or CGI, the location shots look wonderful, and the video transfer looks especially good on a large screen. The extras include a commentary track by the Farrelly brothers, deleted scenes, a gag reel, the trailers, and a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes. If you are expecting a traditional romantic comedy, this is not it. It is more like a spoof of a romantic comedy, with jokes that can get very vulgar. So if those kinds of comedies are not something you find entertaining, then stay away from this one. Malin Ackerman totally plays up the crazy role and runs with the totally over-the-top jokes. The part of the movie that is the more traditional romantic comedy is when Stiller's character meets Miranda and tries to woo her, but it is coupled with trying to keep her from learning about his wife. 

Ultimately, this is a good comedy that is definitely not family-friendly or for those who don't like the more vulgar kind of humor. There is a lot of swearing and sexual content (both nudity and sex jokes) in the movie. If you are offended by that kind of material, it is best to avoid this one, but if you do like that kind of humor, then it is worth checking out.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 51

Day 51 was Legs in Lift 4 and Speed 1.0 in T25. I did have to modify more of the exercises in T25 than I wanted to, but when I did the HIIT portion of Lift 4, I was able to modify less. So, it was a bit of a wash today. Overall, however, they both went fairly well.  

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 50

Day 50 was the start of week 8 in Lift 4 which was the chest and back workout and Cardio 1.0 from T25. 

Chest and Back was a circuit workout, with four exercises in each block and, of course, three sets of each exercise. Even without cardio, my heart rate was elevated for most of the workout, and I did break a sweat toward the end. The T25 workout went well, and I could again do more unmodified exercises throughout the workout.

Book Review: Star Wars: Escape from Valo

 

Escape from Valo is one of the Phase 3 High-Republic era Star Wars novels. This is a junior novel written by Daniel Older and Alyssa Wong and published in 2024. The Phase 3 novels bring the storyline back to the "present" time, which is about 230 years before the events of A New Hope. The events of the book are set on Valo, which was the planet that hosted the Galactic Fair that was attacked by the Nihil. The story is set about a year after the Nihil's destruction of the Starlight Beacon and the construction of their Stormwall, which keeps the Republic and the Jedi out of Nihil territory while trapping several Jedi and Republic worlds inside. In this book, Ram Jomaram, who was introduced in the junior novel Race to Crashpoint Tower, is making life difficult for the Nihil by launching raids pretending to be a Sith calling himself The Scarlet Skull. A group of Jedi younglings (and Nihil) track him down, and the book then becomes a cat-and-mouse chase with the Jedi trying to save one of their own and avoid one of the Nameless/Levelers.

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long (especially for a junior novel), at just under 370 pages. The book does advance the main storyline a bit, by showing that Levelers can be killed, but for the most part, the storyline is ancillary to the adult novels. Ultimately, I would say that the story is okay but the book is not one of the must-read books from the High-Republic era novels. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 49

For day 49. I just did the modified version of the 15-minute cardio workout from 645. It went well and I found that in the jumping pulse squats because of all the squats in Lift 4 and T45, I could do the 30 seconds in each of the three rounds without modifying.  

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 48

For Day 48, I just did the two recovery routines from Lift 4. They went exactly the same as they did on Wednesday. There was no increased flexibility or mobility, but neither had decreased either.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 47

Day 47 was speed 1.0 and Full-Body HIIT. Each of them was hard, and I did have to modify each of them a lot. Full-body HIIT has a lot of push-ups (there are push-ups in each of the three blocks), and you have to switch between getting up and down very quickly. After the three regular blocks are finished, you do each of the 6 exercises back-to-back for 30 seconds with no break. So, by the end most people will be toast. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 46

Day 46 was shoulders and arms from Lift 4 and Cardio 1.0 from T25. The shoulders and arms workout was a tough circuit workout that went fast and was hard to get through, even with moderate weight. Again, I could do more of the speed 1.0 workout unmodified, but I cannot get through the entire thing without modifying yet.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 45

Day 45 was the recovery day in Lift 4, meaning I did the two recovery workouts. Then, I did the 15-minute cardio workout from 645 but altered it a bit. I did not do any of the plank-based exercises or the kicktroughs. I swapped those three out for soccer sprints, speed skaters, and high-knee runs from Lift 4 since those get my heart rate up and don't work the chest.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 44

Day 44 was the legs workout in Lift 4, which was a 50/50 workout, and Speed 1.0 in T25.

Both of the workouts went well, and I was able to do more of the unmodified moves in each of them. My cardio stamina is not where I want it, but it is getting better.

Book Review: Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad

 

Manhunt is a book published in 2012 and written by Peter Bergen about the effort to find and eventually kill Osama Bin Laden. Bergen is one of the few Western journalists to interview Bin Laden back in the 1990s and was in the process of writing a book about Bin Laden when the September 11th terrorist attacks occurred. This book mostly focuses on the time after 9/11 and tracks (to the best extent possible) where Bin Laden went after fleeing the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan to the raid on the compound in Abbottabad where he was holed up. Bergen does detail a little bit of his history prior to 9/11, but the focus of the book was the time period from September 2001 to May 2011.

The hardcover version of the book is about 360 total pages (260 of which are substantive text, and the last 100 pages include a bibliography, end notes, and an index). The notes mainly cite sources but occasionally flesh out the material in the text. Along with highlighting Bin Laden's movements, the book provides a lot of detail on how the US government ultimately tracked him down. Bergen interviewed multiple government sources, including sources from the CIA (some of whom were referred to using pseudonyms). Bergen also had several in-the-room sources who discussed what was happening as President Obama and the national security team were watching the feed of the raid and military sources who discussed how the raid team got in and out of Pakistan. The book is very compelling, and while most of the details in the book have been declassified and available to the public for years, it is still worth the time to read. 

Book Review: Dune: House Corrino (Dune #9)

 

House Corrino, published in 2001, is the ninth book in the series of Dune novels (when read chronologically) and is the third book in the Prelude to Dune Trilogy, the third of the prequel trilogies leading to the events of the original novel. The book was again written by the combination of Frank Herbert's son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. The events of this book are set about 15 years before the events of the original novel, with Paul's birth occurring at the end of the book, Chani being about eight months old, and Princess Irulan as a young girl. The book mostly involves those who are adults in the original novel and includes three main plotlines, each of which has ancillary plotlines. In the first, Shaddam is trying to perfect the synthetic spice and break the Harkonnen hold on the spice trade. In the second, Leto devises a daring attack on the planet Ix to restore Prince Rhombur to power. In the third, the Harkonnens plot to kill Lady Jessica and/or her unborn child. 

The hardcover version of the book is about 500 pages long. The book is a faster read than the prior novels since all of the main characters have been established. There are some new characters in the book, but their involvement is tangential to the storylines. The end of the book does not lead directly into the events of the original Dune, as there are another four novels that, by their titles, seem to be centered around Paul, Chani, Irulan, and Jessica just before the events of the original book. This book (and the trilogy of novels it is a part of) does, however, provide a lot of context for what is in the original novel. The book is mostly about political maneuvering between the Houses, but there is quite a bit of action in the last third. The book is absolutely worth reading, but definitely has to be read in sequence with the other books to follow its plotlines. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Ultimate Edition)

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilerish material from the end of the movie but does not give away the ending+++

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth installment of the Harry Potter movie (and book) franchise. The movie was made in 2009 and again was directed by David Yates. The storyline is advanced a lot in this movie and it ultimately sets up the climax of the story. Most of the cast remained the same for this movie, with the biggest addition being Jim Broadbent, who plays the new potions teacher, Horace Slughorn. By this time in the series, if you stick with the movies, you know there are substantial portions of the books that are cut out and even some changes to the storyline. I can generally look at the two separately, but the one thing I dislike about this movie is how they change the reason that Harry does not intervene in the climactic scene. Although most people have likely seen the movie several times and know how it ends I don't want to give away too much just in case someone reading this does not know the ending. In the book, Harry is stunned and covered with his invisibility cloak. That makes a far better explanation of why he does not help than hiding in the shadows.

Like the Ultimate Edition release of the prior film, Order of the Phoenix, this is another two-disc set. The first disc includes the movie, and the second disc has most of the extras. The only extra on disc 1 is the ability to play the film in Maximum Movie Mode, which is a picture-in-picture track with a lot of behind-the-scenes material and interviews that play along with the movie. There are also focus points that can be played within the picture-in-picture track or separately from the main menu. On the second disc, you get Part 6 of the Creating the World of Harry Potter documentary, which focuses on the special effects, a Behind the Magic television special, deleted scenes, a documentary focused on J.K. Rowling, theatrical trailers, a sneak peek at The Deathly Hallows, and a few other small featurettes. So, again, you get a ton of bonus content if you like watching that (which is really the main reason to get this set). The set also comes with another hardcover booklet and collectible cards. Again, there is no extended edition of the movie. The deleted scenes are available in the special features, but they are not incorporated into the movie itself. For some people, that will be a deal killer. Certainly, if you have already purchased the theatrical editions, you have the same movie.

The movie is very good, and the A/V quality of the blu-ray is outstanding. There was a lot of material cut from the book, but the film (aside from what I mentioned above) does seem to follow it fairly well. I do like that Draco does get to do a lot more in this movie than just sneer at Harry. Tom Felton proved himself to be a very good actor, which is not something you would have really known from all the other movies because his job has been just to be a pain in the ass. The set is spectacular (other than the lack of an extended edition of the movie) and is a must for anyone who is a die-hard fan of the franchise.