Book Review: Black Ice (Scot Harvath Series #20)

 

Black Ice, published in 2021, is the 20th book in the series of action-thriller/spy novels featuring the character Scot Harvath written by Brad Thor. At the beginning of the story, Harvath is in a helicopter that is about to crash in the Arctic. Then, it flashes back 72 hours to tell the story leading up to that point. We discover that while spending time in Norway with Solvi, introduced in the previous novel, Near Dark, Harvath sees a Chinese spy whom he believed he had killed years ago while walking around Oslo. From there, the story involves a plot involving China and Russia and control of the Arctic Circle. 

The hardcover version of the book is 320 pages long. If you have read any of the other novels in the series, the story has a similar flow and feel. As such, the book will probably read as quickly or as slowly as the others have. Like the prior novels, this one has a good blend of action, suspense, and drama (with a bit of humor and romance sprinkled in). Thor does refer to some real-world events in the book, but for the most part, the book steers clear of real-life events and politics (for example, COVID-19 is not mentioned at all). Thor does sprinkle in a bit of political intrigue, but his books are not overtly political. While this is the 20th book in the series, you do not really need to have read the prior novels to follow what is going on; however, it does help to have done so because there are several established characters in the book that Thor assumes people already know and does not spend much time setting them up. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the action-thriller or spy novel genre, this is worth reading.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: The Complete Series

 

Black Sails is an action-adventure series that aired on Starz for four seasons from 2014 to 2017. It starred Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Louise Barnes, Luke Roberts, and Ray Stevenson. The series is set in the Bahamas during the early 18th century. It was written as a prequel to the 1883 novel Treasure Island, providing backstories for characters who were either in or referred to in the book, such as Captain Flint, Long John Silver, and Billy Bones. It blended fictional characters from the book with depictions of real-life historical figures and fictionalized accounts of historical events. 

The series is essentially one long story about the quest for control of New Providence Island, which involves a war between the English royal navy and the pirates who control the island and threaten trade in the region, and the search for (and control of) gold from a Spanish shipwreck that becomes the basis for the buried treasure in the novel.

The blu-ray set is a 12-disc set included in two keep cases, which are held in a cardboard sleeve. Each of the keep cases holds six discs, with the discs for seasons 1 and 2 in one keep case, and the discs for seasons 3 and 4 in the other. The A/V quality is outstanding, with the episodes looking and sounding wonderful in the HD format. The episodes for each season can be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you leave off and remembers your audio and closed caption preferences. The bonus features are on the third disc for each respective season. Those include the "Inside Black Sails" recaps that played after the episodes aired, as well as several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes corresponding to events that occurred in each season, cast interviews, and more. 

The series is well-written and very well-acted. It is absolutely not family-friendly, as it is very violent, has a lot of sexual content and nudity, and swearing. The sexual content and nudity are most prolific in the first two seasons, but every season is very violent. The writers do a good job of balancing the storylines for the large ensemble cast and providing all the cast members with good material to work with. Additionally, the backstories of the characters discussed in the book Treasure Island make the novel even more interesting to read. Ultimately, it is an excellent series that is absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Barbarella

 

Barbarella is the 1968 Sci-Fi cult-classic starring Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Milo O'Shea, Anita Pallenberg, Ugo Tognazzi, David Hemmings, Marcel Marceau, and Claude Dauphin. It was directed by Fonda's husband at the time, Roger Vadim, and produced by the famous Italian producer, Dino De Laurentiis. It was based on and adapted from a French comic book. The movie itself is bad. The writing and acting are god-awful, and the plot is silly. It was mostly a comedy (or what passed for comedy in the late 1960s) and was very tongue-in-cheek and campy (similar to the 1960s Batman TV series). It did have some (very bad) action, a slight political message, and a heavy anti-war message (based on the free-love hippie culture of the time). Of course, Fonda would become a highly controversial figure in the 1970s due to her protests against the Vietnam War, including visiting Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam. 

Despite having a very high budget (for the time), everything about the movie looks cheap and fake. Obviously, special effects in the late 1960s were nothing like what they are today; however, if you compare this film to the other major Sci-Fi classic that came out the same year, 2001, the difference is night and day. However, the movie does feature Fonda (who was an absolute smoke-show back then) in skimpy revealing outfits, and nude during the opening credits. Sadly, Fonda actually had an eating disorder at the time the movie was being made, so the outfits they put her in probably did not help that. The plot involves Barbarella (played by Fonda), who is a space traveler and representative of Earth (which, at some time in the future around the year 40,000, has become a peaceful utopia), being sent to the Tau Ceti planetary system to track down a rogue scientist named Durand Durand (played by O'Shea), who has created a weapon with the power to destroy humanity. There, she has sex with pretty much everyone she meets in exchange for help tracking Durand down. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set, containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-ray disc. The A/V quality is very good, but it definitely exposes the limitations of the late 1960s special and practical effects. The UHD disc contains the movie and a handful of extras (alternate opening and closing credit sequences). The movie can be played with an audio commentary track by film critic Tim Lucas. The standard Blu-Ray contains hours of bonus content, most of which was produced in 2003 specifically for the 4K release by Arrow Films. The longest feature is a zoom discussion between Tim Lucas and comic book artist Steve Bissette, in which they discuss the movie, the comic it was adapted from, and the influence it had on similar films and comics, and pop culture in general (such as inspiring the name of the 1980s British pop group, Duran Duran, which was probably the best thing that resulted from the film's popularity). Additionally, the release includes behind-the-scenes footage, photo stills (which feature both promotional and behind-the-scenes images), interviews with some of the surviving cast and crew members, the theatrical trailer, and radio spots. Notably, Fonda does not appear in any of the updated bonus features. 

Ultimately, the movie is a product of the late 1960s that does not hold up particularly well, aside from being a cult classic. It is not necessarily a movie that you will watch because you want to see award-winning entertainment (unless you count the Razzies), but it is entertaining in its own way. And, if you like physical media releases with a lot of bonus content, this has you covered. I cannot say that the film will appeal to everyone, but if you like campy sci-fi that is "so bad it's good", this is worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: Season 4

 

The 10-episode fourth and final season of Black Sails aired during the winter and spring of 2017. All of the main cast members, aside from Zach McGowan, whose character was killed off at the end of Season 3, return for the final season. The plotline this season is centered around the battle for control of New Providence Island between various groups of pirates and the English, with Spain getting involved (to recapture the stolen cache). The writers also tie events in the series to the book Treasure Island, for example, explaining why Long John Silver is the only one that Flint fears, the island's mysteriousness, and the idea that people are always searching for Flint's treasure. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V quality is excellent, and episodes look and sound fantastic in the HD format. As with the prior seasons, the episodes can be played in a "play all" format that allows you to pick up where you leave off and will keep your audio and caption selections, even when switching discs. Also, as with the prior seasons, all the bonus features (totaling around half an hour) are on the third disc. The longest bonus feature is the set of ten episode-by-episode recaps titled "Inside the World of Black Sails," which aired after each episode. That runs about 18 minutes, then there is a short featurette on the production design, and then three different roundtable discussions with members of the cast. 

The series remains excellent in its final season. While there is not as much sexual content or nudity in this season, there is a lot of violence and adult language, so it is still not a family-friendly show. It remains well-written and very well-acted, and the writers do a great job of tying up the storylines for the various characters (and, as you can imagine, not every character makes it out unscathed or receives a "happy ending"), while also tying the events of the series to the book. Ultimately, if you liked the prior seasons, this one is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails Season 3

 

The 10-episode third season of Black Sails aired in the winter and spring of 2016. All the main cast members return for season three, and there are two notable additions to the main cast. First, Luke Roberts, the newly appointed Royal Governor of the Bahamas, named Woodes Rogers, who travels to Nassau to take control of the colony from the pirates, with Eleanor Guthrie serving as an advisor, who has agreed to help him in exchange for a pardon. The other is Ray Stevenson, who plays Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard. Much of the season involves various groups aligning in the bid to control Nassau.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. All the bonus content is on the third disc. There is about 50 minutes, give or take, of bonus content, including a season 2 recap, several behind-the-scenes featurettes, and featurettes on the new characters, Woodes Rodgers and Blackbeard. The A/V quality is again excellent this season, with the episodes looking and sounding wonderful in HD.

The show continues to be excellent. While there is less violence and nudity/sexual content on the whole this season, there is still some of each, so it is definitely not family-friendly. A couple of major characters are killed off this season, which will have reverberations into season 4. I will not spoil who they are, but if you have read the book Treasure Island, you know who it cannot be. Ultimately, if you enjoyed the first two seasons of the show, you will like this one. It remains well-written and very well acted, and is absolutely worth watching.

Book Review: Near Dark (Scot Harvath Series #19)

 

Near Dark, published in 2020, is the 19th book in the series of action-thriller/spy novels by Brad Thor centered around the character of Scot Harvath. This novel continues the storylines from the prior two novels, Spymaster and Backlash, which resulted in many people close to Harvath being killed after his actions against Russia. In this one, a 100-million-dollar bounty is placed on Harvath's head, to be paid to whoever can get to him first. As a result, Harvath needs to avoid assassins coming after him, while also trying to track down the assassin who killed his wife and Reed Carleton. He teams up with a Norwegian intelligence operative named Solvi Kolstad, who has her own troubled past.

The hardcover version of the book is around 330 pages. It reads pretty similarly to the prior novels in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the other books. The action is not nonstop throughout, but Thor does a good job balancing the action sequences with the rest of the story. This book does not end on a cliffhanger but does hint at a possible direction that the subsequent novels will go. You don't need to have read all the novels in the series to follow what is going on in this book; however, you should read Spymaster and Backlash at the very least. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the genre and/or the Harvath series, this is worth reading.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: Season 2

 

The ten-episode second season of Black Sails aired in the winter and spring of 2015. Most of the main cast members from the first season, including Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and Louise Barnes, return for the second season. Additions to the cast this season include Rupert Penry-Jones, Tadhg Murphy, and Nick Boraine.

There are several intertwined storylines this season, but the main story arc involves Flint's plan to retrieve the Urca Gold. His plan gets sidetracked several times throughout the season, once in a major battle with Captain Vane, who has taken the fort on Nassau. The second involves the other major storyline that extends throughout the season, including via the use of flashbacks that reveal both Flint and Miranda's backstories, and culminates in a very explosive finale. Other storylines include Eleanor trying to keep control of the island, Max scheming and playing everyone against each other, and Jack angling for respect. We also learn more about Bonny's backstory. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. All the extras are included on the third disc. Those include a making-of featurette that runs about 20 minutes. Four shorter featurettes focus on aspects of the season, such as building the Man 'O War ship set, the new characters introduced this season, the training regimen the actors went through, and a discussion of the real-life history of piracy in the region. The A/V quality is outstanding, and the episodes look and sound excellent in the HD format.

The season starts out a bit slow and intertwines a lot of drama with the action. When the action picks up, especially late in the season, it is jam-packed. The show is still not family-friendly as there is a lot of violence, sexual content, nudity, and swearing. Ultimately, however, if you enjoyed the first season, you will likely enjoy the second season. 

DVD.Movie Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

 

Sword of Destiny is a sequel to the 2000 movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It stars Michelle Yeoh (who was the only cast member from the original film to return for the sequel), Donnie Yen, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jason Scott Lee, Harry Shum Jr., Eugenia Yuan, Roger Yuan, JuJu Chan, Chris Pang, Woo Young Park, and Darryl Quon. The movie is set 18 years after the events of the first film. In the movie, we learn a bit more about Shu Lien's (Yeoh's character) past and the man to whom she was betrothed. There is another fight for, and an attempt to steal, the Green Destiny, which is still at the home of the recently deceased Ser Te, and then there are some weird side plots.

The DVD is clearly not an official release. It can be played in a variety of languages (defaulting to Chinese), with an English audio track also available. The movie was actually filmed in English, even though it was released in Hong Kong and China before being released in the US. Therefore, if you watch it with the English audio track, you won't have to sit through bad overdubbing. It is also captioned in a few different languages, including English, but the English captions do not even slightly match what the characters are saying in the English audio track. Even though the DVD menu indicates there are bonus features, there is no way to select "bonus" from the menu; you can only play the movie, navigate the scene selection, or choose the audio and captions. The A/V quality is only okay, and there are some really bad (and cheesy) CGI effects in a couple of scenes.

The movie is okay, but nowhere near as good as the original film. It appears that the script was written with the hope that Zhang Ziyi would reprise her character from the first movie, and then the script was slightly altered when she did not. It features some good action sequences, some of which pay homage to scenes from the first film. I think it would have been better as a straight sequel to the first movie, telling what happened to Jen after she jumped from the mountain, and what Shu Lien did after Li Mu Bai's death. Ultimately, it is not a must-watch, but if you liked the first movie, it is interesting to check out. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Crow (1994): Limited Edition Steelbook

 

The Crow is the cult classic 1994 movie starring Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Rochelle Davis, Michael Wincott, Michael Massee, David Patrick Kelly, Tony Todd, Bai Ling, Anna Thompson, Angel David, Jon Polito, Laurence Mason, and Sofia Shinas. It was directed by Alex Proyas and adapted from the comic book series by James O'Barr. In it, Brandon Lee plays Eric Draven, a guitarist in a band in Detroit who, along with his fiancée, Shelly (played by Shinas), is killed on the night before their wedding by a gang of criminals who terrorize the city, especially on Devil's Night (the night before Halloween). A year later, he is brought back from the dead and guided by a crow to get revenge on the gang members. 

The 4k Steelbook contains just a single UHD disc, which has the movies and all the extras. There is also a non-steelbook release that has the same content. This release corresponded to the 30th Anniversary of the movie, and includes most of the bonus content from the original physical media release and some updated bonus features. The A/V quality is outstanding and is absolutely an upgrade from the original DVD release. The bonus content includes two audio commentaries, one by the director and one by the producer, Jeff Most, and the screenwriter, John Shirley. Then there is a new three-part featurette featuring an interview with the production designer, Alex McDowell, in which he discusses everything from the music selection to the sets. The other new featurette includes an interview with another one of the film's producers, Edward R. Pressman, in which he discusses one of the popular figurines. Then there is the original behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with members of the cast and crew, an interview with James O'Barr in which he discusses his life and the tragic personal event in his life that led him to create the comics, extended scenes, a montage of deleted footage, and the trailer. In all, the bonus material (excluding the commentary tracks), comes in at just under two hours.

The film is definitely a low-budget B-movie, but it is an above-average B-movie in terms of story and acting quality. Of course, the film was almost never finished after Brandon Lee was killed in an on-set gun accident after he had shot about 3/4 of his scenes. When Lee's fiancée gave her blessing to finish the movie, during reshoots, a body double was used as a stand-in for Lee, and CGI was used to replace Lee's face on the body double. Some scenes were also changed to complete the film without using as much of Lee's character as originally intended. While all the actors did a fine job in their respective roles, Lee's performance carried the film, and he would have absolutely become a bigger star and gotten better roles than he had had up to that point based on his performance in the movie had he lived. The movie has a good message, but it does earn its R-rating as it is very violent, features drug use, and has some sexual content and nudity. Ultimately, it is a very good movie that is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Sails: Season 1

 

Black Sails was an action-adventure series that blended a fictional pirate story with real-life historical figures. It was written as a prequel to the novel Treasure Island. It aired on Starz for four seasons, from 2014 to 2017. The eight-episode first season aired in the winter and spring of 2017. It starred Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Mark Ryan, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sean Cameron Michael, and Louise Barnes. The story is set in the 1700s on New Providence Island, in what is now the Bahamas, where pirates threaten trade in the region. The plot of the first season involves several pirates hunting for the treasure from the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Urca de Lima, which was a part of the Spanish treasure galleon. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V quality is terrific, with the episodes looking and sounding great in the HD format. All the bonus features, which consist of several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The longest is a nine-minute inside look at the series. The rest are shorter (ranging from a minute and a half to about three minutes). All totaled, the bonus content runs a little less than half an hour.

The series has an excellent mix of action and drama. There are a lot of characters and several storylines going on, and it can be hard to keep everything straight, especially if you have it on in the background. It is absolutely not a family-friendly show, as it has a lot of violence, sexual content, nudity, and adult language. The series does not have wall-to-wall action; indeed, in many episodes, there is minimal action and almost all political maneuvering. However, when it does include action, the action sequences are exceptionally well done. Ultimately, if you are a fan of pirate stories and/or the real-life history of the region, it is worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the martial arts masterpiece of a film from 2000. It was directed by Ang Lee and starred Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Cheng Pei-Pei, Chang Chen, Xian Gao, and Sihung Lung. The story is set in 19th-century Imperial China. Fat and Yeoh play two master warriors named Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. Bai is a Wudang swordsman. He and Shu Lien head a private security company. The two are in love, but because Shu Lien had been engaged to Li Mu Bai's close friend, they do not act on their feelings. Li Mu Bai is also grieving the murder of his teacher by a mysterious woman named Jade Fox (played by Pei-Pei), and decides to retire, giving his sword, Green Destiny, to Shu Lien to bring to their benefactor, Sir Te. She brings the sword to Sir Te's palace, where he is hosting a Governor and his family in advance of Governor Yu's daughter, Jen (played by Ziyi). The Green Destiny is stolen, which sets off the rest of the film's plot. 

The 4k-set is a two-disc set released in 2016 containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc, each containing the identical content. The A/V quality is outstanding. Both the audio and video of the UHD disc are at or near reference-quality. Although I will note that some of the audio seemed out of synch with the video upon my first viewing.  I think, however, that was my 4k player's fault, rather than a problem with the disc. 

Most of the bonus content from the prior physical media releases is included in this release, and there is some new bonus material created for the 4k release. There are two commentary tracks on the movie. The first is with director Ang Lee and screenwriter James Schamus. The second is by the cinematographer Peter Pau. Both commentary tracks provide a wealth of information about the film. Pau's is particularly enlightening because he explained how they pulled off all the visual effects on a very limited budget, which meant that the film had very few CGI effects. Then, there is a conversation with Michelle Yeoh and a photo gallery that was carried over from prior releases. New for this release is an introduction to the film by Ang Lee, several deleted scenes, a making-of featurette that includes some footage from the original making-of material included on the original release, and two versions of the music videa for the film's ending credits song, A Love Before Time (one in English and one in Mandarin). The most extensive bonus feature is a three-part retrospective on the movie that includes interviews with Lee, Schamus, and the movie's editor, Tim Squyres. 

The movie was a surprise hit, especially given that it was filmed in China, all of the dialogue was in Mandarin, and it played in US theaters with English Subtitles, had a cast made up of actors who were not extremely famous in the United States. Fat and Yeoh were pretty big international stars, and Pei-Pei was well-known in Hong Kong and China. This was the first major film role for Ziyi, who really had to carry much of the movie, especially during the half-hour-long flashback sequence in the middle of the film. Although she was only 19 when the movie was filmed, she did a wonderful job. Even though she was not billed as the movie's lead, she ended up being the lead. The movie came on the heels of the first Matrix film (and used the same stunt coreographers) and really (along with the first Rush Hour film, which was released a couple of years earlier) revitalized the martial arts movie genre. Unlike Rush Hour, this one incorporated fantasy elements into the story, such as the ability of some characters to "fly" (actually jump and soar, kind of like how Superman initially flew in the comics), which required a lot of wirework by the actors. Interestingly, Fat had never done a similar movie to this in his career, which was pretty extensive before this film, and Ziyi had a dance background, with no formal martial arts training. Yeoh, who had been in many martial arts films before this one, tore her ACL early on in filming, so the filmmakers had to use a lot of tricks to make it look like she was more mobile than she actually was. All the actors did an extremely good job with the action sequences and the dramatic moments. 

Unlike some martial arts films, it has a very good story. It is a bit harder to follow the story because you have to read subtitles while trying to watch what is going on (unless, of course, you understand Mandarin). Even so, the story is not that difficult to follow, even having to rely on subtitles. The only time it gets tough is when the characters are talking during the action sequences, so you have to try to read what they are saying and watch the action. While it does have a lot of fighting and some character deaths, there is not a lot of gore. There is also some sexual content, but no nudity. Ultimately, it is a wonderful movie that is worth watching and is a must-see for anyone who is a practitioner of martial arts and/or a fan of martial arts movies. 

Book Review: Backlash (Scot Harvath Series #18)

 

Backlash, published in 2019, is the 18th novel in Brad Thor's series of action thrillers centered around the character of Scot Harvath. The story picks up after the events of the cliffhanger ending to the prior book, Spymaster. We learn that Harvath is kidnapped by the Russians after taking out the Russian cell in Sweden, and while he is trying to escape from Russia, the US government and the Carleton group are working on a plan to get him out. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, coming in at just under 375 pages. It reads pretty quickly, however. Thor includes many of the "regular" ancillary characters and introduces several new characters. While this novel is a continuation of the prior book, you can mostly follow the events in it even if you have not read Spymaster. Although if you haven't read the previous book, some things in this one will not make as much sense as they will if you have. Ultimately, it is a good action thriller that has quite a few suspenseful moments. If you are a fan of the genre, especially if you have enjoyed the prior books in the series, this is worth reading. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Cloverfield Paradox

 

The Cloverfield Paradox is a 2018 horror/sci-fi/thriller in the Cloverfield movie franchise. It is the third film in the franchise and, as of this writing, the most recent movie, following 2008's Cloverfield and 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane. It was produced by J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber and directed by Julius Onah. It stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O'Dowd, David Oyelowo, Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Bruhl, and Aksel Hennie. Donal Logue has a cameo appearance, and Simon Pegg and Greg Grunberg make voice appearances. 

The film is set in 2028, when Earth is at the peak of an energy crisis that threatens the entire human race. As a result, several countries have come together to build and test a particle accelerator aboard the Cloverfield space station that, if it works, can solve the world's energy crisis. After the test, the astronauts aboard the station discover that Earth has seemingly vanished and must figure out a way to get back. There are several twists and turns in the story, and it is primarily a thriller more than it is a monster movie (somewhat like 10 Cloverfield Lane). It does have subtle ties to the other films and does provide an explanation for the appearances of the monsters in those movies, even though the events of this movie are set in the future.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is outstanding, and the movie looks and sounds great in the HD format. There is about half an hour of making-of and behind-the-scenes content, but unlike the prior film, there is no commentary track on this one. 

Ultimately, the movie is good, but if you are expecting a direct sequel to the other two movies that wraps everything up in a nice bow, or if you are expecting a bunch of monsters, this is not it. That said, if you are a fan of sci-fi thrillers and enjoy the other films in the Cloverfield universe, this is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

 

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 action/comedy film that is the direct sequel to the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. McG returned to direct the film, which brought back Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu to reprise their roles as the Angels Dylan, Natalie, and Alex. Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, and Matt LeBlanc also reprised their roles from the first movie. The additions to the cast included Demi Moore, Robert Patrick, John Cleese, Shia LeBeouf, Justin Theroux, Bernie Mac, and Ja'Net Dubois. The film also features several cameo appearances, including Carrie Fisher, Pink, Robert Forester, Bruce Willis, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Jaclyn Smith, reprising her role as Kelly Garrett from the TV series. 

The plot involves a pair of rings that contain and unlock a list of people in the witness protection program. The list is stolen and set to be sold to various criminal organizations. A couple of revenge plots are intertwined within the story, and we get a bit more backstory about Crispin Glover's character. 

This is a single-disc release containing both the theatrical version of the film and an unrated version that adds a few more minutes to the runtime, mostly by adding more violence to a couple of the big fight scenes. The extras include several commentary tracks on the film. There is an audio and a telestrator commentary by McG. The audio tracks are exactly the same, but the telestrator commentary is annotated with things being circled in the background of some of the scenes while McG talks. Then, there is a commentary track by a couple of the writers. The theatrical version can also be played with a trivia track similar to the old show, Pop-Up Video, where information about the movie is displayed in pop-up boxes while it plays. Then there are several different making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a preview for the 2019 reboot, and the music video for Pink's song Feel Good Time. 

Ultimately, the movie is a fun action-comedy. It is similar in style and tone to the first movie. It does have a lot of adult humor that skirts the bounds of what can be included in a PG-13 film. There is also a scene where the Angels are nude in shadow so you cannot really see anything except for a brief flash of sideboob from Drew Barrymore. Of course, the big draw when the movie came out was that this was Demi Moore's return to movies after a hiatus of about six years. She was phenomenal in the role and looked fantastic. It seems all the actors had fun in their respective roles and did not take themselves too seriously. The big change from the first film is that Bill Murray did not return. The writer's commentary track touched on Murray's absence, stating that they knew they would have to go in a different direction with the Bosley character when it was clear that Murray would not be back. There was no mention in any of the bonus content of the conflict between him and Lucy Liu in the first movie. They came up with a good way to have Bernie Mac be the new Bosley and did include a picture of Murray in one of the scenes. If you liked the first movie, you will probably like this one. Like the first film, this one takes a lot of suspension of disbelief and has some plot holes, but if you do not overthink it and just enjoy it for what it is, it is worth watching.   

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Charlie's Angels

 

Charlie's Angels is a 2000 action-comedy based on the 1970s TV series of the same name. It stars Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch, and Crispin Glover in the main roles. Tim Curry, Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson, Melissa McCarthy, Tom Green, LL Cool J, and Alex Trebek have smaller roles (or cameos). John Forsythe reprised his role from the TV series playing the voice of Charlie, while Barrymore, Liu, and Diaz played the Angels. Murray plays Bosley, who is the go-between the Angels and Charlie. The plot involves misdirection about who the true bad guys are, but the meat of the storyline is that someone is trying to track down Charlie as a part of a revenge scheme, using the Angels and Bosley as unwitting pawns in the plan.

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 outstanding and is a massive upgrade over the DVD release and a decent upgrade over the 1080p release. Most of the extras are on the regular blu-ray, but the UHD disc has the teaser and theatrical trailers for the movie and a sneak peek at the 2019 reboot/quasi-sequel written and directed by Elizabeth Banks. The extras on the regular blu-ray were carried over from the prior physical media releases and include a commentary track by director McG and cinematographer Russell Carpenter, several behind-the-scenes featurettes featuring cast interviews, a blooper reel (which are the same bloopers shown in the end credits), deleted scenes, and two music videos.

The movie is a bit dated, but it holds up pretty well even after 25 years (as of this writing). It has a good blend of action and humor, and Barrymore, Diaz, and Liu had no qualms about looking silly. They did work their asses off to do a lot of the stunts. And, they were all hot as fire. Some of the humor is a bit cheesy, and Tom Green is annoying, as always. While Barrymore, Diaz, and Lui seemed to have great chemistry, there was no mention in any of the bonus material of the tension between Murray and Liu that would lead to the role of Bosley being recast in the direct sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Ultimately, this combines a good action movie and a silly comedy. If you can accept it for what it is and what it is not, it is worth watching. 

Book Review: Spymaster (Scot Harvath Series #17)

 

Spymaster, published in 2018, is the 17th novel in the series of action-thrillers centered around the character of Scot Harvath, written by Brad Thor. The setting for this novel is in Europe, where several high-ranking NATO officials have been killed. Also, American vehicle convoys have been attacked, and parts for banned missiles have been stolen. Evidence points to Russia's involvement, and Harvath must go after a Russian cell in Sweden without igniting an all-out war that would invoke Article 5. 

The hardcover version of the book is similar in length to Thor's other novels, coming in at just over 320 pages. Many of the regular characters from the prior novels return in this one, and there are also new team members. While the book does not focus on character development, Thor does continue to develop the characters to keep them fresh. Much of the story is wrapped up by the time the novel ends, but a cliffhanger ending will go into the next book. Ultimately, if you liked the previous novels in the series, you will probably like this one. Thor uses the same style and tone that has worked for years, yet still keeps the challenges and adversaries for Harvath fresh. So, if you are a fan of the series, this is worth reading.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw

 

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw is a 1976 action-thriller/crime drama starring Lynda Carter, Marjoe Gortner, Merrie Lynn Ross, Jesse Vint, Belinda Balaski, and Gene Drew. In the film, Carter plays Bobbie Jo, a waitress at a drive-in restaurant who wants to be a country music singer. She hooks up with a thief named Lyle Wheeler (played by Gortner). After they start running from the law, they meet up with Bobbie Jo's sister (played by Ross) and her boyfriend (played by Vint), and the four end up on a robbery and murder spree throughout the southwest while being pursued by a local sheriff. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is decent, but the film did not get an extensive restoration for the blu-ray release. It mostly looks good, especially if you like transfers that preserve a lot of film grain, but some film damage occasionally comes through. The extras include two different commentary tracks on the film, one by the movie's director, Mark Lester, and one by writer John Harrison. Lester discusses all aspects of the film and the process of making the movie. Harrison goes off on many tangents, including what many of the people involved in the movie did later in their careers. The extras also include separate interviews with Lester, Balaski, and Ross, the theatrical trailer, and two radio spots. The bonus content is quite interesting, including addressing the fact that Carter, who found religion after making the movie (and became massively popular because of the Wonder Woman TV series), did not want much to do with the movie and its promotion because of the nude scenes.

The movie is more of a cult classic than a great film. The best way I can describe its plot is that it is what you would get if you mixed the real-life Bonnie and Clyde and Billy the Kid stories with The Dukes of Hazzard. Much of the movie would have been written differently if it had been made today, including having Lyle follow Bobbie Jo home from work without talking to her and having her willingly jump in his car instead of calling the cops on him for stalking her. The movie's big attraction is that Carter was a couple of years removed from winning the Miss World USA pageant and had just filmed the Wonder Woman Pilot when the movie was made. Carter was absolutely gorgeous in her mid-20s, and the movie is one of the only (if not the only) times she went topless on film (and they are spectacular). Some of the dialogue is very cheesy by today's standards, and almost everything about it is unrealistic. That said, it is a decent low-budget action movie and is worth checking out.

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.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Gotham Season 5

 

++++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season and some hints, but no major giveaways for season 5+++++

The 12-episode fifth season of Gotham aired during the winter and spring of 2019. It is, of course, the final season of the only DC superhero show that was never tied to the other shows of the Arrowverse (although there was a quick shot of the Queen Consolidated logo that flashed on a building during season 1). With the infinite Earths storyline that has been building on the other shows, there is a strong possibility that it was just set on an alternate Earth than the other shows. Still, it was never definitively tied to the Arrowverse during its run.

From the beginning, Gotham has been telling origin stories for the various characters that would eventually be part of the Batman universe. It has really been the first live-action telling of the story during the period from when Bruce Wayne's parents were killed until he becomes Batman. The show would have benefitted from a 10-season run to give David Mazouz time to grow up to a point where he could believably be Batman. Even though he got taller throughout the series's run, at age 19 (as he was during this season), he was still not very muscular, and he still looked like a teenager, so it was hard to buy him as being intimidating in the suit.

The final season picks up months after the events that ended season 4. For most of the season, up through episode 11, the show did its take on the "No Man's Land" story from the comics. It was a very different telling of that story from the version shown in The Dark Knight Rises, the final film of the Nolan Trilogy of movies. You must suspend disbelief to buy the story as a whole, given that a few bridges blowing up would not really be enough to keep help from coming in, getting people out, etc. That said, it was very well done and did provide a way to introduce Bane, played by Shane West, into the story. That part of the season was mostly about tying up that last storyline, introducing some new elements (such as the birth of Barbara Gordon, who will become Batgirl), and resolving storylines of the various villains.

The final episode does a time jump. It will not be giving anything away to say we see Batman in the final episode. That much was given away before the season even started. It was a decent series finale, but it did feel a bit too rushed. It should have been a two-hour finale with more interactions between the characters. After watching it again, I know why the showrunners made the choices in the final episode they did, but it may leave some people unsatisfied. The big controversy surrounding the final episode was recasting Selina and replacing Cameron Bicondova with Lilli Simmons (probably best known for the series Banshee). Bincondova has said that it was her choice not to play the older Selina, and to me, given Selina's role in the finale, it was not a huge deal.

Overall, I think the show did a good job with the shortened season and ultimately took the story where the writers and producers intended it to go. That said, I do think that because there were 10 fewer episodes than the usual 22 episodes, the writers were trying to pack a ton of material into the limited number of episodes to give all the characters a show that at least highlighted, if not was centered, around them, that it did not tell the story as well as it could have been told.

For those who get the blu-rays, the 12 episodes are on two discs. They are (thankfully) the blu-ray sets that allow you to play all and pick up where you leave off if you stop midway through an episode. The extras include deleted scenes from some episodes, a portion of the NY comic-con panel with some of the actors and producers, a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette on the final season, and a 38-minute featurette on various DC comic villains (not only from the show, but the other DC shows like Arrow, Flash, and Krypton). So, it has a pretty good amount of bonus content, especially considering how light some TV series sets being released on physical media these days are on bonus features.

Overall, it was a good show that had a pretty good run. I cannot say everyone will like how the show ended, but given that there was no guarantee that the show would even get a final season, I think they did the best they could with the number of shows they had to work with.