4k-UHD/Movie Review: Babygirl

 

Babygirl is a 2024 drama written and directed by Helina Rejin. It stars Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas in the leading roles and Esther Rose McGregor, Sophie Wilde, and Izabel Mar in the supporting roles. Kidman plays a high-powered CEO of a robotics company named Romy Mathis. Romy has an unfulfilled personal life and uses a prim and proper facade, an air of control, and an attitude of not being bothered by anything to mask many insecurities. She begins having an affair with a young intern at the company, Samuel (played by Dickinson), as she explores her submissive side. 

The 4k release is a single-disc UHD release. The movie looks and sounds fantastic in the UHD format. The extras include a commentary track on the film by Rejin, which provides a lot of insight into the story and the filming process, some behind-the-scenes material, and deleted scenes. The movie is good, but it will definitely not appeal to everyone. It has a lot of sexual content, some nudity (much of the sex is covered up, but there are some nude scenes including topless and butt shots of Kidman), and a lot of swearing. Kidman does a great job playing a character who is not very emotive, which packs a punch the few times she expresses emotion. Despite having some star power, the film feels more like an indie movie than a big-budget blockbuster. Ultimately, it is a good film, so it is worth watching if those things do not dissuade you. 

4k-UHD/TV Series Review: The Penguin

 

The Penguin is an eight-episode series that aired in the fall of 2024 on HBO/Max. It is partly a sequel to/spin-off of the 2022 film The Batman, with Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oz Cobb/Penguin. It stars Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Carmen Ejogo, Deirdre O'Connell, and Clancy Brown in the main roles, and Theo Rossi, Michael Zegen, Michael Kelly, Mark Strong, and Shohreh Aghdashloo in supporting roles. It starts out one week after the events of The Batman, with the city recovering from the flood and with a power vacuum in the organized crime community after the death of Carmine Falcone. Penguin begins to position himself by playing both sides of what remains of the Falcone family and Maroni family. The release of Sophia Falcone from Arkham (who was imprisoned for a decade for a series of murders) throws a wrench in his plans. The series also uses flashbacks to show Penguin's origin as a kid and then as a low-level operative in the Falcone family as Sophia's driver before she is sent to Arkham.

The 4k set is a three-disc set. The eight episodes are spread across the three discs. Each disc has bonus content, including the eight "Inside Gotham" segments that played after the episodes aired on Max and included interviews with the cast and showrunners about the events of the particular episodes. Then, there are several behind-the-scenes featurettes that range in length from a few minutes to just under ten minutes and cover different aspects of the series. The A/V quality of the episodes in the UHD format is outstanding. 

The series is very well-written and acted. The writers do a great job with character development, especially for Oz, Sophia, and Victor (played by Feliz). They have to balance making Oz human and showing why he is a true villain. They do a fantastic job of making him almost sympathetic and then having him do something truly despicable to take all that sympathy away. Farrell is outstanding in the role of Oz, and Milioti is a tour-de-force as Sophia. While the show has the same look, tone, and feel as The Batman movie, it does not include Bruce Wayne/Batman, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, or Jim Gordon (although Selina is name-dropped), and we do see the Bat symbol in the sky in the final episode. It does have a lot of violence and swearing. It also has some suggestive sexual content but no nudity (although there are a couple of shots that get close to showing nudity). So, it is definitely not appropriate for young kids. If you liked The Batman movie, this is absolutely a must-watch. Even if you have not seen the film, the show provides enough context from the film to follow along with the story without getting lost. Ultimately, it is a wonderful series that is worth your time to watch. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Men in Black: International

 

Men in Black International is a 2019 Sci-Fi action film. It is partly a sequel to and partly a reboot of, the Men In Black movie franchise made famous by the original 1997 film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. It stars Tessa Thompson as Agent M, a young woman named Molly who first learned of Aliens and MIB as a young child, and then spent her entire life trying to get "recruited" into the organization. Chris Hemsworth plays Agent H, an MIB agent based in London, who is pretty much a "college bro" like character who ends up being Agent M's partner. The plot involves a possible mole within MIB working to assist an alien life form that can destroy the earth, and Agent M and H trying to stop it. They are joined by Kumail Nanjiani who plays the role of the alien sidekick. The rest of the cast includes Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, and Blaney. The movie is mostly a reboot, given that neither Smith nor Jones makes an appearance in the movie. There is a bit of continuity with Emma Thompson reprising her role as Agent O and cameos by Frank the Pug and the Worm guys. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-ray. The movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The UHD disc just contains the movie, and the regular blu-ray includes the movie and all the extras. The bonus content includes previews, a gag reel (which is actually the first movie-related extra, which is usually not a good sign for how extensive the bonus material will be), deleted/alternate/extended scenes, and then a handful of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes.

Overall, the movie was decent but totally unnecessary. You absolutely do not have to know anything about the prior movies to follow what is going on in this one. I do not think there was any clamor for a reboot to extend the series. That said, the story was okay, if not predictable in parts, and the acting was very good. Hemsworth has no qualms about making fun of himself and did so in this movie much as he did as "Fat Thor" in Avengers Endgame. He and Tessa Thompson had great chemistry, and she definitely shows that she has what it takes to be a lead (or co-lead) character in a big movie. This is not as good as the original movie, or either of the two sequels with the original stars. That said, as its own thing, it told a fun story and had great special effects, as you would expect. While I will not say that the movie is a must-have or must-see if you are a fan of the franchise, it is worth checking out, even if you just choose to stream it.

4k-UHD/Movie Collection Review: Men in Black Trilogy

 

This is a 4k release of the Men in Black trilogy of films (1997's Men in Black, 2002's Men in Black II, and 2012's Men in Black 3) directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This is the franchise that, along with movies like Independence Day, vaulted Will Smith into the status of summer blockbuster movie star. The original trilogy spanned a period of about 15 years, from the 1997 release of the original movie, the 2002 release of Part II, and the 2012 release of Part III. As most are aware, the premise of all the movies is that aliens are living free among humans on Earth, and a shadowy, secret organization called Men in Black keeps track of all the aliens, keeping the peaceful ones safe and in line, policing the non-peaceful ones, and making sure humans are blissfully unaware of their existence. It starred, primarily, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as Agents J and K, respectively, who in all the movies have to stop some kind of plot that will destroy Earth or cause some kind of intergalactic war.

Each movie had a strong supporting cast, including Linda Florentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, Laura Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Patrick Warburton, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Mike Colter, Nicole Scherzinger, and more. The films (especially Parts II and III) included celebrity cameos (mostly playing aliens), such as Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Yao Ming, and Tim Burton. All of the movies blended a lot of humor, action, and even a bit of drama, and managed to tell unique stories without being carbon copies of each other, which would be very easy to do in a franchise such as this. Smith and Jones, and later Smith and Josh Brolin (who played a young Agent K in Part III) had great chemistry with each other. And, it seemed genuine from the behind-the-scenes material. If their relationships did not work, it would have never become a franchise that moved beyond the original movie. Smith, as a brash younger agent, played extremely well off of Jone's deadpan, curmudgeonly delivery. And in Part III Brolin did a wonderful job playing a version of Agent K that was different from how Jones played him but was able to include elements of what Jones did with the older version.

The 4K set is a six-disc set. The movies look and sound fantastic in the upgraded format. Obviously, Part III looks the best, but even the original is an excellent upgrade over the original DVD release. Each movie has two discs, one UHD disc with just the movie and one regular blu-ray with the movie and extras. Each movie has at least one general behind-the-scenes feature and then several specific featurettes such as, for example, scene breakdowns, how they came up with and made the alien creatures, the special effects, etc. There are also gag reels, trailers, and music videos. Each movie also has a commentary track. A lot of material for those who like going through the extras. The only negative to the set is that the discs are stacked on top of each other in their case (each movie has its own case within the outer box). It is a minor point, but it would have been better packaged so that each disc sat on either side of the case in its own housing. That said, I definitely recommend picking up this set.

4k-UHD/TV Movie Review: Battlestar Galactica

 

This is a TV movie version of the three-part premiere (the pilot episode and the two-part Saga of a Star World) of the original 1978 Sci-Fi series Battlestar Galactica, starring Lorne Green, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Maren Jensen, Jane Seymour, Terry Carter, Laurette Spang-McCook, Rick Springfield, and Ed Begley Jr. (the latter two in smaller roles). This is essentially an edited version of the pilot episode of the TV series titled Saga of a Star World, with an alternate ending from what was shown in the series. The series would have been quite different if the movie ending had been used. It is set in a distant galaxy and involves a war between twelve human colonies and a race of robots called Cylons. The Cylons present a peace offer, and representatives of the twelve colonies and several Battlestar ships arrive for armistice talks. Commander Adama (played by Green), the commander of the Battlestar Galactica, suspects a trap, which the Cylons spring, destroying most of the fleet and killing the council of twelve. Adama uses the Galactica to rescue as many humans from the colonial worlds as possible. Then they set off to find the legendary 13th human colony, Earth, all while battling (and trying to avoid) the Cylons. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc (the original Blu-Ray version of the movie released in 2013). Both discs have the same content, just the movie and no bonus features. The video quality of the UHD disc is excellent. It does have some film grain, but the video is crisp and clear (mostly), which is sometimes a detriment because the special effects back in the late 1970s were not great (at least by today's standards). In general, the shots set on the planets and ships look fantastic, while the space battles did not look as good. Many of the costumes and makeup for various aliens look very cheesy, and you can tell how fake everything was when you see it in 4k resolution. The audio is okay, but not great. The same 2.1-channel surround track created for the 2013 Blu-Ray release is on the UHD disc and was not upgraded for the 4K release.

Ultimately, I would say the movie is okay but absolutely dated. If you have watched the 2003 reboot, you will recognize elements from the plot that were incorporated into the pilot episode for the rebooted series. While I have not watched the entire original series yet, this is definitely not as good as any of the episodes in the rebooted series. Part of that is, of course, due to the limits on special effects at the time. CGI did not exist in 1978, and even practical effects and makeup were more limited back then than they are now. Even so, this is a Sci-Fi classic, and if you liked the 2003 series, this is worth watching, if nothing else, to see the differences between the original series and the reboot.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

 

Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2018 biopic of the popular 70s and 80s rock band Queen, focusing on the band's lead singer, Freddy Mercury. It was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Rami Malek, Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee, Lucy Boynton, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Allen Leech, Tom Hollander, and Aaron McCusker. The movie starts and ends at the 1985 Live Aid concert. The film begins with Mercury (played by Malek) walking to the Live Aid stage, and then it flashes back to 1970 to show the band's formation and chronicles their rise to fame, breakup, and reunion. The show ends with a recreation of the Live Aid performance, which is regarded by many as the band's best performance. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc contains the movie and one of the bonus features, the full recreation of the 21-minute live-aid performance (which was cut down for the film's theatrical release). The rest of the bonus features are on the regular Blu-Ray disc, which includes several featurettes (that each last approximately 20 minutes) with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the cast and crew as well as a couple of the surviving band members, including Brian May who was also a producer on the film, and three different trailers for the movie.  So, if you are a fan of bonus content, this has over an hour's worth of material. Interstingly, Singer is not featured in any of the bonus material. He had a notorious reputation for being a difficult director (pretty much being an asshole to people on set). After the allegations of sexual assault against him in 2017, Singer became persona non grata. He was replaced late in the movie's production but still received the directing credit. This was (at least for now) his final directing job.

The movie is well-written and very well-acted. Malek is fantastic as Mercury and almost perfectly nailed his look, voice, and mannerisms. Mercury was a flamboyant and weird dude, and Malek channeled that well. Malek seems a bit odd, so it was a good fit. The movie did not sugarcoat Mercury's problems with drugs, relationships, his issues dealing with his sexuality, and the promiscuous lifestyle that led to him contracting AIDS. The writers also did a great job showing the complicated dynamics between the band members. While Mercury wanted to constantly party, the others had families and were increasingly irritated at Mercury always being late for rehearsal and recording sessions. While the movie is just over two hours long, there was not enough time to focus on the lives of the other band members, so they are primarily seen in scenes together as a group, while we see much more of Mercury's personal life. Ultimately, it is an excellent movie and enjoyable whether you are a fan of Queen or even like their music all that much. Although several of the band's songs are played in the movie, so it does help if you like their music. It is absolutely worth watching.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Caligula: The Ultimate Cut: Collector's Edition

 

Caligula is the controversial film about the rise and fall of the Roman Emperor, Caligula, who ruled from 37-41 A.D. The movie stars Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Teresa Ann Savoy, Peter O'Toole, Paolo Bonacelli, John Steiner, Anneka Di Lorenzo, and Lori Wagner. It was filmed in 1976 but not released until 1980 because of post-production and legal issues, mainly stemming from the final edit of the film, overseen by producer Bob Guccione, who was the owner of Penthouse magazine, that added explicit X-rated footage to the movie without the knowledge of the main cast members, the director (Tinto Brass) or the screenwriter (Gore Vidal). Both Brass and Vidal did not want to be credited on the movie (the credits say "Principal Photography by Tinto Brass" and "Adapted from the screenplay by Gore Vidal"). The movie itself is a bit weird, but all the stories about the making of the movie are even stranger. Basically, it was filmed in Italy, using British and Italian actors and Italian extras. Guccione thought that the film was not sexy enough and the Italian extras were not attractive enough, so he brought in several Penthouse models, including Di Lorenzo and Wagner, to use as extras. Then, after Principal Photography was finished, Guccione secretly recorded reshoots with the X-rated content using the Penthouse models and inserted it into the film using a new editor. Because of the explicit content, several versions of the movie have been cut over the years due largely to censorship standards in various markets.  In 2019, author and historian Thomas Negovan was hired to oversee the film's restoration and recut to match Vidal's original script as much as possible, using the recently discovered original slides and negatives. 

The 4K set is a four-disc set containing a UHD disc and three regular Blu-Ray discs. The UHD disc contains the restored version of the movie that uses all new footage for every scene and includes an animation sequence at the beginning of the film to set up the story. It also rearranges scenes from some other versions, beginning the movie with Caligula waking up from his nightmare. The version of the film on the UHD disc is just under three-and-a-half hours long, and the A/V quality is excellent. The only extra on the UHD disc is an audio commentary on the film by Arrow Films author Heather Drain. Disc 2, the first regular Blu-Ray, has a shorter version of the Ultimate Cut of the film (that runs just under three hours) and also includes a commentary track by Drain. Disc 3 contains the unrated, uncensored cut of the movie with the explicit content and some of the extras, including a webcast discussion between Negovan and Aaron Shapps about the Ultimate Cut of the movie and a webcast of Negovan discussing premiering the new cut of the film at Cannes. Disc 4 includes the pre-release cut of the film without the X-rated material, the Australian version of the movie, and the Italian version of the film, which is the shortest cut of the film at just over an hour and a half that can be played with or without English subtitles. The Australian and Italian versions of the movie tone down the nudity a lot, and the Italian version cuts many of the scenes, so it really streamlines the storyline. 

There are three different audio commentary tracks on the pre-release version of the movie, one including Malcolm McDowell, one including Helen Mirren, and one including the on-set writer Ernest Volkman. The rest of the bonus features are on the fourth disc and include two different Q&A sessions with Negovan and McDowell at the Fantastic Film Festival. Hearing the different views on the movie's original version is interesting. McDowell hated it (and Guccione) and seemed irritated with the Penthouse models, especially Di Lorenzo. On the other hand, Mirren did not seem to have much of an issue with the explicit content. Opinions on Guccioni's addition seem to range from Guccione destroyed the movie, to he was financing the film so he could do what he wanted with it. In the archival interviews featuring Guccione in the bonus content, he was clear that he wanted a blend of a mainstream movie and a pornographic film. The rest of the extras include behind-the-scenes material, an interview with Lori Wagner (who says the Penthouse models were promised speaking parts in the film and only found out that they would be extras once they got on set), and a couple of making-of featurettes that included interviews with the cast and crew when the film was made. If you get the set from Umbrella Entertainment, it also comes with two posters, 8 poster cards, two different books, and a commemorative reprint of the Caligula issue of Penthouse Magazine (just the portion discussing the movie, not the entire magazine). Everything fits into a hard outer case. 

As I said above, the movie is weird. Even if it were a standard movie that never included explicit content (and yes, that includes actual sex in which you can see everything), it would be a very adult film. Each version of the movie has nudity and shows much more nudity than many mainstream films do (including full-frontal male and female nudity). McDowell's performance was very over-the-top, but he was playing a character that essentially went crazy as he amassed more power. Mirren (who was still a relative unknown at the time) did a good job in her role as Caesonia, and Peter O'Toole was great in the limited amount of time he was in the film. The movie absolutely feels dated and would probably be made much differently today. If you love going through bonus content, this has a ton of fascinating material. It is not a movie that will appeal to everyone, and even the tamer versions of the film may offend many people, but if you are a film buff, the movie is worth watching, and this set is worth picking up.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - Limited Edition Steelbook

 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the 2024 horror-comedy sequel to the original 1988 movie. It was directed by Tim Burton and stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara, all reprising their roles as Beetlejuice, Lydia, and Delia from the original movie. It also stars Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci. Burn Gorman also reprises his supporting role from the original film, and Danny DeVito has a small cameo appearance at the beginning of the movie. Like the original film, this one is kind of weirdly offbeat, but it works. In it, we learn that Charles Deetz, played by Jeffrey Jones in the original movie, died, bringing the family back to the house for his funeral. Lydia has a paranormal talk show in which she interacts with ghosts in people's homes. Her daughter, Astrid (played by Ortega), is full of teenage angst and does not believe in her mother's ability to see ghosts. In the afterlife, we learn that Beetlejuice is still pining after Lydia, while his ex-wife (Bellucci), who was an occultist in life and who can suck out souls in death, is coming after him. Lydia starts seeing Beetlejuice in the real world, and events require her to call on him for help.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. You can get the 4k set in a steelbook package with a glow-in-the-dark slipcover with Lydia on one side, Beetlejuice on the other, or in regular packaging. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. Both the audio and video quality are top-notch and at or near reference quality. The extras are all included on the UHD disc. Those include a commentary track by Tim Burton, a making-of featurette that runs almost a half hour, and then about an hour of behind-the-scenes material split up into six shorter featurettes. The commentary track by Burton is okay, but it does have some long stretches in which he does not say anything, and the movie is playing. However, he provides information on the discussions he has had with Keaton over the years for a possible sequel, why he felt it was better to wait to make the sequel instead of doing it in the early or mid-1990s, and specifics of the production. He does not detail why Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Jeffrey Jones were not returned for the sequel. Jones' likeness was used, but he did not play or voice Charles Deetz in the movie. He was not brought back because of his legal issues, but I have not seen or heard any explanation for why Baldwin and Davis were not brought back (or if they were even offered parts). There was a line in the film explaining the absence of the Maitlands (Baldwin and Davis' characters from the original movie).

The movie is a fine sequel to the original. It mixes horror and comedy and, like the first movie, has an epic musical number. It does not have an overabundance of CGI, as Burton relied on practical effects where he could and used stop-motion animation for sequences where CGI is usually used. Therefore, the movie was able to have a similar look and feel to the original. It is definitely a quirky movie that will not appeal to everyone's tastes. There is a lot going on in the movie, with a few different storylines that are sometimes separate and sometimes intertwined. Bellucci's role seemed just shoehorned into the movie, did not tie to any of the main plotlines, and only intersected with the other parts of the story at the end. Ultimately, if you were a fan of the original film, this is definitely worth watching.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Alien Romulus

 

Alien Romulus is a 2024 Sci-Fi/horror film co-written and directed by Fede Alvarez. It is (as of this writing) the newest entry in the Alien franchise of films, set in the year 2142 between the original 1979 movie Alien (set in 2122) and the 1986 movie Aliens (set in 2179). It stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Arche Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. In it, a group of young colonists living and working on the planet LV-410 steals a hauler with the intent to raid an abandoned space station so they can steal the cryostasis equipment and get to a planet called Yvaga III, which is not controlled by the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Little do they know, the corporation had recovered a cocoon from the wreckage of the Nostromo that contained the xenomorph that killed the crew of the Nostromo, brought it aboard the station, and began reverse engineering the facehuggers. Of course, the station's crew were all killed, and there are Aliens in the "Romulus" module of the station, which the group inadvertently releases when they attempt to steal the cryostasis equipment. Then, it becomes a monster-chase movie similar to the other films in the franchise. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD version of the movie is excellent and is reference quality (or near reference quality) for both the audio and video. All the extras are included on the regular Blu-Ray disc. Those include about 11 minutes of deleted scenes, about 35 minutes of behind-the-scenes material, and a conversation between Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott (who was an executive producer on the film). In total, there are just under an hour of extras. There is no director's commentary track on the film, which would have been nice given how big a fan Alvarez is of the franchise and how many easter eggs he put in the movie to tie it to Alien and Aliens. 

Ultimately, the movie is an excellent return to the franchise. It is well-written and acted. It focuses on the franchise's horror/monster movie roots but expands the storyline to give more detail into the Weyland corporation's plans for the creatures. As I said above, Alvarez is a huge fan of the franchise and included many easter eggs and callbacks to the prior movies, especially Alien, including a way to posthumously use Ian Holm's likeness for the Android Rook, which is an identical model to Ash from the original movie, whom the group encounters on the station. It also ties the film to the colony aspect introduced in Aliens, giving a perspective of what it was like for the kids living in those colonies. It also incorporates aspects from the prequel films Prometheus and Alien Covenant. Given the 30+ year gap between the events of Romulus and Aliens, this movie could have multiple sequels down the line. However, even as a standalone film in the franchise, it is absolutely worth watching. 

4k-UHD/Movie Collection Review: The Bourne Complete Collection

 

This is a collection of the four Bourne movies starring Matt Damon (2002's The Bourne Identity, 2004's The Bourne Supremacy, 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, and 2016's Jason Bourne) and the 2012 spin-off film starring Jeremy Renner, The Bourne Legacy. Most of the movies center around the character of Jason Bourne (Damon), who, in the first movie, is fished out of the ocean with no memory of who he is. He discovers that he has superior fighting and espionage skills and is subsequently chased by government agents. He begins to regain fragments of his memory, discovering he is an assassin for a CIA black ops group code-named Treadstone. In The Bourne Legacy (set during The Bourne Ultimatum's events), we learn that Treadstone was one of many black-ops programs, including one called Outcome, which was creating a group of super-soldiers. The movies had strong supporting casts, including Julia Stiles, Rachel Weisz, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Karl Urban, Tommy Lee Jones, Edward Norton, Alicia Vikander, Paddy Considine, Clive Owen, and Vincent Cassel. The crux of each movie involves the heroes being chased down by the CIA or some branch of the CIA. They are mostly action thrillers with some drama (and humorous moments) mixed in. 

The 4K set is a six-disc set consisting of five UHD discs (one for each movie) and one regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD discs varies. They are packaged in a slim keep case, with all five movies held on their own base, which is held in an outer box. The audio quality of all the movies in UHD is outstanding. However, the video quality of the first three movies (Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum) is not much better than the 1080p regular Blu-Ray transfer. The video quality of Legacy and Jason Bourne is much better. Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum, and Legacy can be played with a director's commentary track. There is no commentary track on Jason Bourne. The sixth disc has the remaining bonus materials, categorized by movie. They vary by movie but generally include deleted scenes, gag reels, and behind-the-scenes material. Each movie has an hour or more of bonus content. The bonus features are carried over from the original physical media releases of the movie. No new bonus material has been created for this set. Ultimately, this is a good set, but I would not call it a must-own if you already have the movies on Blu-Ray. You do not get anything new from those releases, and the A/V quality of the films in UHD is not a massive upgrade from the regular Blu-Ray (at least for three of the five movies). The movies themselves, however, hold up well and are worth watching if you are a fan of action-thrillers.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Jason Bourne

 

Jason Bourne, released in 2016, is the fifth movie in the Bourne Franchise (which started with 2002's The Bourne Identity). It was directed by Paul Greengrass and stars Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel, Bill Camp, and Riz Ahmed. Greengrass (who directed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) returned to direct, and Damon and Stiles reprised their roles from the earlier films. The events of this movie are set about a decade after The Bourne Ultimatum and ignore the events of The Bourne Legacy (the spinoff movie that starred Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz). In it, Bourne is living in Greece, making a living as a street fighter. Nicky Parsons hacks into the CIA to expose the Black Ops programs (like Treadstone) and then seeks Bourne's help when she discovers a link between Bourne's father and Treadstone. From there, it becomes a typical Bourne movie in which Tommy Lee Jones's character (who plays the director of the CIA, Robert Dewey) sends an "Asset," played by Vincent Cassel, to take Bourne out. Alicia Vikander plays Heather Lee, the head of the CIA's cyber ops division, who is helping track Bourne. The storyline also includes the CIA planning to use a social media platform called Deep Dream, owned by Ahmed's character, Aaron Kallor, for real-time mass surveillance. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set, including UHD and regular Blu-Ray discs. The UHD disc just includes the movie. Unlike the prior films, this one does not have a commentary track. All the bonus content is on the regular Blu-Ray disc. It amounts to just under an hour of making-of and behind-the-scenes material. The movie is a good return to the Bourne Franchise. While I was not one of those who hated the spin-off movie, it was nice to see Damon return to the leading role (and he got extremely jacked for the role, which is no easy feat in your mid-40s as he was in when the movie was filmed). Personally, I would have liked to see him team up with Renner's character, but given that Legacy was mostly considered a flop, it is not surprising that didn't happen. It also seems like there may have been a falling out between Greengrass and Damon with Tony Gilroy, who was the screenwriter for the first four movies (and the director of Legacy) since he was not included in this movie (Greengrass and Christopher Rouse wrote this movie). Damon had made it clear that he would not return to the franchise unless Greengrass was the director, but none of the bonus features address any of that. 

The movie has a good storyline and is well-acted. It would have been nice if Julia Stiles had a larger role, but she was always a more minor character. It would also have been nice if this movie had included more of the fallout from the events of Ultimatum and Legacy (and maybe brought back Joan Allen and/or Edward Norton's characters). Still, as I said above, it ignores much of the prior movies, especially Legacy. Like the other films, it has a lot of action, including the requisite Boure chase scenes. This movie actually has two chase scenes, one early on and the other toward the end of the movie, going through the streets of Las Vegas. The storyline is mostly self-contained, so while it helps to watch at least the first three movies in the Franchise, you don't have to have seen the earlier movies to follow what is happening in this one. Ultimately, it is a good action-thriller and is worth your time to watch.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Legacy

 

The Bourne Legacy is a 2012 action thriller set in the "Bourne" universe of movies. It is directed by Tony Gilroy (who also co-wrote the screenplay). It stars Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross/Number 5, an agent in a covert division of the government code-named Operation Outcome. Also starring in the movie are the nearly ageless Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach, Oscar Issac, and Dennis Boutsikaris. Cory Stoll (probably best known for his role in House of Cards), Zeljko Ivanek, and Elizabeth Marvel have minor roles in the film, and Albert Finny, Joan Allen, Scott Glen, and David Strathairn each reprise their roles from The Bourne Ultimatum. The movie was initially planned to be another Bourne sequel and bring back Matt Damon. Damon bowed out when Paul Greengrass decided not to return to direct, which caused the writers and producers to go in another direction with the story. 

The events of this film are set during the events of The Bourne Ultimatum. In fact, some footage from Ultimatum is used in this movie. In it, Cross is sent on a training exercise in Alaska, where he meets with another operative (Number Three), played by Issac, who may or may not be evaluating him. Because of the actions of Bourne and Landy, Operation Outcome, which is the main program under which all the other programs like Treadstone and Blackbriar are run, is shut down, and the agents (and anyone working on the program) are taken out. Of course, Cross survives and goes on the run with Weisz's character, Marta, a virologist who works for Outcome and also survives an attempt on her life.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a  UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc just has the movie, which can be played with or without the commentary track. The commentary track includes Tony Gilroy, co-writer Dan Gilroy, editor John Gilroy, the director of photography, second unit director, and production designer. In the commentary, they do not get into the controversy about Damon and Greengrass not returning and just stick to talking about the film. They give a lot of information about the filming and casting process, including revealing that Issac was up for the lead role, but they felt he was not established enough at that point in his career. The rest of the special features are on the regular Blu-Ray disc. Those include deleted scenes and just under an hour of behind-the-scenes material. The A/V quality of the film in UHD is outstanding. Like the other Bourne movies, this one is upscaled from 2k, but the upscaling is better than the prior films received, so it is a bigger jump in video quality from 1080p. And the audio track is terrific, especially if you have a good surround sound system. 

Legacy is a good movie that gets panned/shit on much more than it should. It definitely uses elements similar to those of other films, such as multiple chases and fight scenes. So, it has a similar feel to the other movies (which is intentional), but it does tell its own story and is not a carbon copy of the Bourne Trilogy. The story in this film flows nicely from the Bourne movies and has the potential to be further tied into that universe, leaving open the possibility of a team-up between Cross and Bourne. Given how much time has passed since this movie was made and that Cross did not appear in the film in which Damon returned to the franchise (not to mention Renner's accident that may not allow him to do a movie this physical again), that is becoming more and more unlikely. Ultimately, it is a much better film than it gets credit for being. On its own, it is a good action-thriller, but it also makes sense within the Bourne universe. It is absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

 

The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 action-thriller. It is the third entry in the Bourne Trilogy, including 2002's The Bourne Identity and 2004's The Bourne Supremacy. It stars Matt Damon, Julia Stiles (reprising their roles from the first two movies), and Joan Allen (her role from the second movie). The new cast members of the franchise include David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, and Albert Finney. Paul Greengrass returns to direct the movie, and Tony Gilroy again wrote the screenplay.

In the film, we find out that there is a six-week gap between when Bourne leaves Moscow and when he calls Pamela Landy at the end of The Bourne Supremacy when she tells him that his real name is David Webb. Most of this movie fills in that six-week gap and gives more context to the call between Bourne and Landy. We also get Bourne's entire backstory and discover how he was brought into Treadstone. The film also reveals that Treadstone was a small part of a more extensive operation within the CIA. Julia Stiles finally has a larger role in this movie than she did in either of the first two films, and we get a couple of new antagonists.

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is good. The audio is outstanding, but the video is again upscaled from 2k, so it is not a huge leap in quality over 1080p. The UHD disc contains the movie, which can be played with the director's commentary track. The rest of the bonus material, including deleted scenes, a spy training guide, and about 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes material. You can also watch the movie in a U-control mode that integrates behind-the-scenes material while the movie plays. Ultimately, the movie is good and caps off the trilogy well. It is well-written and acted. Like the prior movies, you must suspend your disbelief and not try to think too hard about how Bourne survives the things he does, but if you can do that, it is enjoyable. If you liked the first two movies, this is absolutely worth watching.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Supremacy

 

The Bourne Supremacy is the 2004 sequel to The Bourne Identity. It is the second in the series of movies adapted from the Robert Ludlum novels. The film is directed by Paul Greengrass and brings back Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Gabriel Mann, and Brian Cox reprise their roles from the first movie. Chris Cooper also returns for flashback sequences. Joan Allen and Karl Urban are the main additions to the cast for this film, and Michelle Monaghan plays a small role in the movie as well. Without giving too much away, Bourne and Marie have been living off the grid in India. Bourne gets pulled back into the world of Treadstone when he is targeted as a part of a setup to frame him for murder. From there, the movie involves Bourne trying to uncover the plot against him while playing a game of cat and mouse with the CIA, specifically the new deputy director, Pamela Landy, played by Joan Allen. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is good. The video is upscaled from 2k, so it does not look as good as a film in native 4k, but it is a bit of a step up from 1080p and better than the video quality for The Bourne Identity. The audio quality is wonderful, even without a great sound system. The only extra on the UHD disc is the director's commentary on the film by Greengrass. The rest of the bonus content is on the regular blu-ray disc, which includes several behind-the-scenes featurettes that total about an hour. Ultimately, this is a good action movie with some drama and humor mixed in. Damon (again) does an excellent job as Bourne and plays him with a wonderful level of intensity. Allen, Cox, and Stiles also do an excellent job in their respective roles. Stiles' role is still relatively small but different than it was in the first movie, and Cox's role is expanded in this film. If you liked the first movie (or are just a fan of the action thriller or spy genre), this is absolutely worth watching. 

4K-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Identity

 

The Bourne Identity is a 2002 action thriller directed by Doug Liman and adapted from Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Gabriel Mann, Julia Stiles, Clive Owen and Adewale Akinnouoye-Agbaje. Sharp-eyed viewers will also recognize Walton Goggins (from the excellent series Justified) in a minor role. The movie starts with Damon's character being pulled out of the ocean by the crew of a fishing vessel. He has been shot in the back and has no memory of who he is or where he comes from, and the only clue to his past is a small laser projector embedded in his hip with the name and address of a bank in Switzerland on it. He discovers that his name is Jason Bourne, and throughout the movie, he realizes that he speaks multiple languages and is highly skilled in fighting and counterintelligence. Potente is a woman he meets at the American consulate in Zurich who agrees to help get him to Paris in exchange for $20,000. The two are then pursued by local authorities and shadowy assassins with the same skills as Bourne. Bourne ultimately discovers that he is part of a CIA black ops program called Treadstone, which is run by Cooper's character, Alexander Conklin, who works for the deputy director of the CIA, Ward Abbott, who is played by Cox. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc's A/V quality is good. The audio is outstanding, but the video transfer is not as good as it should have been. The only bonus feature on the UHD disc is the director's commentary track. The other bonus material, which includes an alternate opening and ending, deleted and extended scenes, and about two hours of behind-the-scenes material, is on the regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie itself is a good blend of action and drama with a couple of humorous moments mixed in. Damon does a good job in the lead role, and although he is not extremely physically imposing, he does an excellent job in the action sequences. It is well-written and very well-acted, and while you do have to suspend your disbelief to accept that Bourne could survive everything he goes through in the movie, it is entertaining. If you are a fan of action thrillers or the spy genre, the movie is absolutely worth seeing. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is not a major step up from the regular Blu-Ray, so if you already own it on Blu-Ray, you may want to stick with that version, especially if you are a big A/V wonk.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Godzilla: King of the Monsters

 

King of the Monsters is the 2019 sequel to the 2014 remake of Godzilla. It stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobbie Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, and Ken Watanabe. It is what I would call a tangential sequel to the 2014 movie; it has a couple of the same characters from the Monarch Corporation returning (Ken Wanatabe and Sally Hawkins reprise their roles from the prior film). The corporation is tracking several giant monsters (which are known as Titans). Several of the Titans are wreaking havoc under the command of King Ghidora, an alien who seeks to terraform Earth and wipe everything out. The humans (who tried killing Godzilla) determine that Godzilla is the only thing strong enough to stop King Ghidora and have to figure out how to help Godzilla heal. The movie ultimately evolves into giant monster fights with humans ( mostly Millie Bobbie Brown and Vera Farmiga's characters) getting in the way.

The 4K set is a two-disc set, with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. For those who get the 4k blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds excellent in the format. Aside from the commentary track, all the bonus features are included on the regular blu-ray disc. There is over an hour's worth of bonus material, including previews, several making-of, behind-the-scenes featurettes, movie trailers, and character profiles. A decent amount for a movie that was not one of the mega-blockbusters.

Overall, the movie is faithful to and pays homage to the various Godzilla stories that came before it, adding a modern twist. The director and co-writer, Michael Dougherty, is an admitted Godzilla nerd and really wanted to incorporate material from various incarnations of the Godzilla mythology into the movie. I think (I am admittedly not an aficionado of Godzilla lore) he did a good job doing so. While I cannot say that everyone will love the movie, it is an enjoyable action movie with good acting and writing, and worth a look.

4K-UHD/Movie Box Set Review: Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy

 

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy is a box set containing the three Back to the Future movies: the iconic 1985 original film starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thomson, Crispin Glover, and Tomas F. Wilson in the main roles and Claudia Wells, James Tolkan, Wendie Jo Sperber, Billy Zane, and Marc McClure in the primary supporting roles; 1989's follow-up Back to the Future Part II, which brought back Fox, Lloyd, Wilson, and Thomson to reprise their roles with Elisabeth Shue replacing Claudia Wells as and Jeffrey Weissman replacing Crispin Glover (and includes Elija Wood's first acting credit in a very small role); and 1990's Back to the Future Part III, which added Mary Steenburgen to the cast. All three movies were written by the duo of Robert Zemeckis (who also directed all three films) and Bob Gale (who was an executive producer on all three movies).

Chances are, most people know the plots of the movies, but for anyone who does not, in the original film, a local scientist in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California, named Emmit "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) invents a time machine in 1985 that he built into a Delorian. A local teen named Marty McFly (Fox), who has befriended Doc Brown, helps him film the first time travel experiment, which is interrupted by Libyan terrorists from whom Doc stole Plutonium to power the time machine, and during which Marty is transported back to 1955. In 1955, Marty accidentally interrupts his parents' (Glover and Thomson's) first meeting, causing his mother to fall in love with him, which starts erasing his existence. Marty must help his parents get together, deal with the town bully, Biff Tannen (Wilson), and get the younger version of Doc Brown to help him get back to 1985. In the 1989 sequel, Marty, Doc, and Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer (played by Shue), first travel to 2015 to prevent Marty's son (also played by Fox) from doing something criminal with Biff's grandson, Griff (also played by Wilson). Biff steals the time machine in the future and travels to the past to give himself a sports almanac so that his younger version can use it to bet on every major sporting event, making him a millionaire in a new version of the future. Marty and Doc then have to go back to 1955, into the events of the first movie, to get the book back from young Biff and restore the timeline; in the 1990 conclusion to the trilogy, Marty has to travel back to 1855 to rescue Doc from the old west.

The 4K set is a six-disc set containing three UHD discs (one for each movie) and three regular Blu-Ray discs (also one for each movie). The 4K discs and the regular Blu-Rays have the same content, the movie and the bonus material. There are hours of bonus content for each movie. The bonus material includes archived behind-the-scenes material shot while the movies were being filmed, material created for the original DVD release, and material filmed in 2010 for the original Blu-Ray release. No new bonus content has been created for the 4K release. The extras include deleted scenes, a three-part documentary called Tales from the Future, which features interviews with the cast and crew, promotional material, the trailers, and more. Each movie also has two commentary tracks, one featuring a Q&A session with Zemeckis and Gale at USC, which plays for a portion of each movie. The longest is in the first movie, and the shortest is in Part III. Then, each movie has a feature-length commentary track with Bob Gale and another producer, Neil Canton. What knocks the set down a star for me is the packaging. It comes in a nice-looking digibook case, but the discs are all in tight slip notches, which makes them hard to get out and susceptible to scratching. 

The three movies are well-written and very well-acted. Even though the first movie is nearing 40 years old, it (and the sequels) hold up reasonably well. The bonus features offer a lot of insight into the filming process, including how Michael J. Fox came on board (he was initially not going to be allowed to film the movie by the showrunners of Family Ties, which was the wildly popular 1980s sitcom he starred in), the firing of Eric Stolz who was originally hired to play Marty when Fox was allowed to film the movie, and the producers side of why Crispin Glover did not return for the sequels (they claimed he was making unreasonable demands because he did not like how the first movie ended). There is no discussion of Glover's lawsuit because of the use of archival footage featuring him in Part II. There is also an interesting insight into how they envisioned what things would be like in 2015. Gale said they were trying to think of the most unrealistic things they could (hence flying cars and hoverboards), which makes things they got right (e.g., biometric identification and locks, video conferencing/calling, etc.) even more impressive. It is interesting that they thought fax machines would be prevalent and that every home would have multiple fax machines.

While it is easy to think that the movies are totally derivative of each other (and they do recycle some jokes in all three movies), they are really very different. In the first, Marty's parents are arguably as important to the story as Marty is, and the story is about George McFly's transformation from a lovable loser to a confident success. In the second movie, Biff is the more important character, and we see the first movie's events from a different perspective. The third movie is about Doc Brown's character, with Marty almost as a supporting character in Doc's story. The movies are mostly family-friendly, although there is quite a bit of swearing (the worst of which is the word "shit") in each film, a couple of cleavage shots of Lea Thompson in Parts I and II, and a butt shot of Michael J. Fox in Part III. While the movies are a bit dated, and some things would probably be changed if they were made today, they generally hold up well and are definitely worth watching, especially for 1980s kids who grew up with the movies. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

 

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum is the 2019 entry (and the third chapter) in the John Wick series of action/thrillers. It was directed by Chad Stahelski and again stars Keanu Reeves as the titular John Wick. It picks up immediately where the last movie leaves off. John has an hour until he is excommunicated from the Assassin's Guild, and every assassin/bounty hunter is looking to collect the seven-million-dollar bounty on his head. I will not give too much away, but the story again involves John fighting for his life, brings in Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillion, and Anjelica Huston as new characters, expands the roles of Lance Reddick and Ian McShane, and slowly expands Laurence Fishburne's role. And, of course, manages to make another nod to The Matrix.

4k  set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. But, with this release, the UHD disc has both the movie and all the extras. Those include about an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, which are akin to what was put out for Chapters 1 and 2, with some focusing a bit less on Keanu because of the ever-expanding cast, including Hallie Berry, who really lobbied to be in the movie. Then there are also featurettes on the video game that was put out, and two trailers for the movie. Again, a great amount of material, especially these days when movies and shows are being released on physical media is going the way of the dodo bird, and when they are put out on disc, are bare-bones with little to no extras.

Chances are, if you liked the prior two movies, especially if your main reason for doing so is the action scenes, then you will like this. They are expanding the story in this movie and making it far less simple and straightforward, which was one of the things I liked about the prior movies, especially the first one. That said, it is still a fun but very violent action movie. And, John is finally not indestructible in this movie. Even so, what he manages to survive would kill all ordinary people and most "superhumans, " so you need to continue suspending your disbelief big time.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Barbie

 

Barbie is a 2023 comedy written and directed by Greta Gerwig starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Robbie (who was also a producer) stars as Barbie (or "stereotypical Barbie"), the perfect blonde version of Barbie, and Gosling plays that version of Ken. There are also the different versions of Barbie and Ken who are played by actors such as Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Hari Nef, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Nicola Coughlan, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ritu Arya, Dua Lipa, and John Cena. Michael Cera plays Allen (the only version of the other male doll in the Barbie world), and Helen Mirren is the narrator. Rhea Perlman plays Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie. America Ferrera plays Gloria, an employee of Mattel, and Ariana Greenblatt plays her moody teenage daughter, Sasha. The main cast is rounded out by Will Ferrell, who plays the CEO of Mattel, and Kate McKinnon, who plays "Weird Barbie," who is the version of Barbie who has been played too hard. 

The main storyline is that Robbie's Barbie starts to not be perfect anymore and has to go from Barbieland into the real world to find the person who is playing with her (whose emotions she is beginning to feel). Ken ends up going with her and finds that the real world is ruled by men. When he returns to Barbieland, the Kens take over, and Barbie, Gloria, and Sasha have to get Barbieland back to the way it was. 

The 4K release is a single-disc release, just containing the UHD disc. Unlike most 4K releases, this does not have a regular Blu-Ray. There are just under an hour's worth of extras consisting of several behind-the-scenes featurettes on everything from the casting to the costume designs. This is a much different movie than people may expect. Yes, it is a comedy (sometimes a dark comedy). Still, it gets very dramatic and makes a point about the roles of men and women in society, relationships, growing up, and the like, all in an absurdly funny storyline. There is a hilarious battle between the various Kens at the end of the movie that starts out as a battle on the beach with volleyballs and tennis rackets and turns into a dance battle. It is well-written and very well-acted. The writers hilariously break the fourth wall a couple of times and include some great jokes about Barbie and Ken's lack of genitals. All of the actors are great in their various roles, but Gosling steals every scene he is in. It is a movie that absolutely should not have worked as well as it does, but is it great and is absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: IT: Chapter Two

 

IT: Chapter Two is the 2019 sequel to 2017's IT. It is the second part of the adaptation of Stephen King's novel IT. In this movie, the adult versions of the children who vanquished IT/Pennywise in the first movie are introduced into the story. The film stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgard, reprising his role as Pennywise from the first movie. 

This movie is a double-edged sword because it allows for using well-known actors (Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, etc.) and more violent and gory imagery than in the first movie. Still, it is (in my opinion) the weaker part of the story. This is partly because they have to reintroduce and develop the characters as adults and essentially have them go through the same horrors with Pennywise until they do (mostly) the same thing in the final confrontation with him as they did as kids. That said, the movie does add new elements, so it is not just a total carbon copy of the first movie. It is also great to see the young actors alongside their older counterparts in different scenes. Bill Skarsgaard delivers another wonderful performance as Pennywise, this time with part of it being done via motion capture, as used in movies like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, the new Star Wars movies, etc. Steven King also has a cameo as the mean shopowner Bill repurchases his bike from.

The 4K set is a three-disc set with a UHD disc and two regular Blu-Ray discs. The movie looks and sounds excellent in UHD. The UHD disc just has the film and the commentary track if you want to listen to it. Then, there are two regular blu-ray discs, one with just the movie and one with all the extras (over an hour's worth). Those include chapters 1 and 2 of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, the first either taking a lot from or reusing the same feature that was an extra on the release for the first movie and the second new for the second movie. They are the longest of the bonus material. Then, there are a few shorter features. A very good amount for those who still like getting the physical disc releases.

While I cannot say everyone will love the movie, it did a good job of wrapping up the story. Of course, it is much different than the TV miniseries done in the 1990s, and even with a nearly three-hour running time, it still could not incorporate everything from the book. It is worth checking out if you can accept those things about it.