Blu-Ray/Movie Review: My Week With Marilyn

 

My Week with Marilyn is a movie from 2011 starring Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, and Emma Watson. It tells the story of the filming of the movie The Prince and The Showgirl from the late 1950s. Specifically how the third assistant director on the film (or Gopher as is more aptly titled) played by Eddie Redmayne befriended and ultimately fell in love with Marilyn Monroe, played by Michelle Williams. It does a great job telling the story of how unreliable she could be to work with and how Laurence Olivier, portrayed wonderfully by Kenneth Branagh, who was the star and director of that movie, both despised working with and was in awe of Marilyn. He put up with her both because he was trying to use her appeal as being the biggest actress in the world at the time to revive his lagging career and because he wanted to sleep with her.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray disc is very good. While there are not really any special effects or CGI of note used in the movie, there are some really nice cinematographic shots that look great in HD. As for extras on the Blu-ray, there is a commentary track on the movie by director Simon Curtis and a 20-minute making-of/behind-the-scenes feature. Ultimately, the movie is very good. For Williams's part, although she did not have the appeal of Marilyn (although, let's face it, few actresses before her or since could even come close), she did very well at showing Marilyn's vulnerability, flaws, and loneliness. She did a good job at showing that the public face Marilyn gave was just an act, and was not really her. And while the movie does not deal with her death, it certainly sows the seeds of the fact that it was that duality and both not wanting the fame, but not being able to give it up that caused her to drink and become more and more dependent on pills to function which ultimately led to her death. It is absolutely worth the time to watch, regardless of whether you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe or otherwise.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

 

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is the third (and hopefully final) entry into the Mummy franchise of movies. It is a 2008 sequel to the original 1999 movie and its 2001 sequel. Brendan Fraser and John Hanna reprise their roles as Rick and Jonathan. Maria Bello takes over the role of Evie from Rachel Weisz, and Oded Feher does not return. The major additions to the cast, aside from Bello, are Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Isabella Leong, and Luke Ford, who takes over the role of Alex, Rick and Evie's son. What made The Mummy work as a franchise was the character development and the chemistry the cast members had with each other. Without Rachael Weisz and Oded Fehr (whose character would not have fit into this story anyway), the movie is not the same and ultimately does not work well at all.

This time, the movie is set in 1946, in China, and the Mummy is played by the awesome Jet Li. In fact, the only reason I give this even 2 stars is because of Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. They both did a great job with their characters, and the cinematography and visual effects are great. However, there is a total lack of continuity in the story in the first two movies. First, you are expected to believe that Brendan Fraser has aged 26 years from the first movie without looking much older (this movie was made nine years after the original). It was a big stretch to believe that he had aged 10 years between the first and second movies (which were made two years apart), but they needed to do a much better job at making Fraser look older. Also, the kid Alex from the second movie is now grown up and has lost the British accent in favor of an American one, and is very little like how he was portrayed in the second movie. And John Hannah is given little, if nothing, to do in this movie, and it just seems like his character is there to tag along. I think the decision to recast the character of Evie was horrible, and they would have been better off to have killed off the character than bringing someone new in. Even though I do not think Bello was horrible in the role, the character just did not have the same feel as how Weisz played her.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. While the transfer is not as good as today's new movies get, it is much better than the first two movies and the CGI effects look more realistic than they did in the first two movies. As far as extras go on the disc version, there are a few deleted and extended scenes,  a 20-minute making-of feature, a commentary track on the film, and a handful of other items. This definitely does not have as many extras as the blu-rays for the first two movies did, but not bad for what is there. 

Ultimately, this movie did not have to be made. I think the producers thought they had a much stronger franchise with The Mummy than they really did. Without all of the original cast, which they did get for The Mummy Returns, it just fell very flat. Luckily, it seems that they got that message since no other attempts at continuing the franchise (and no, I don't count the Tom Cruise movie) have been made. It is worth picking up on blu-ray if you are one who wants to keep your collection as complete as possible, but it is definitely not a must-watch and nowhere near as good as the first two movies.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Mummy Returns

 

The Mummy Returns is the 2001 follow-up to the 1999 movie. In a rare feat (one that would not be repeated in the last movie of the trilogy), the entire cast, including Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannan, Patricia Velasquez, and Oded Fehrand and crew, including director Stephen Sommers, from the first movie, returned for this one. This helped the movie retain some continuity from the first film, even though it really expanded on the story. The big additions to the cast are The Rock, playing the Scorpion King and Freddie Boath, who plays Alex O'Connell. 

The movie is set 10 years after the first movie. The Mummy is resurrected in order to kill the Scorpion King (played by The Rock in his first movie role), and of course, the events pull the now-married Rick and Evie O'Connell along with their son and her brother Jonathan. Oded Fehr and Patricia Velasquez also return and are given much more to do and are involved much more in the overall plot in this movie. Rachel Weisz was given more action scenes, including a sai fight in a barely-there outfit against Patricia Velasquez about halfway into the movie and another one at the end. She was much more of an action heroine in this movie than she was in the first. Which ultimately is good, although the plot twist through which that happened was kind of silly.

Like the first movie, this one is very special effects-laden as well. There are new creatures from the first one, and the effects, while not as good as they would be today, are slightly improved from the first film. Although the CGI characters still look quite cartoonish in this movie, If you are one of those who only want to see it because The Rock is in it (which was probably more of an issue when it was released in theaters and he was at the height of his WWF/WWE fame), he is really only in the move a total of about 15 min. 5 at the beginning in the flesh, and about 10 at the end as a dumb CGI creature. I think it would have been much better to have him resurrected as a human and essentially have a three-way battle between the main characters at the end.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. As far as extras go, there is a commentary track for the movie, a 20-minute making-of feature, a three-minute interview with The Rock that was actually done for the spin-off Scorpion King movie, and a short feature on the visual effects along with a few other things. 

Ultimately, whether you like this or not depends on your feelings about the first movie. If you hated the first one, then you will likely hate this one, too. If you liked or loved the first one, you will at least like this one as well. While some elements from the first movie were incorporated into this one, it was not a carbon copy of the first one. It is a good action-adventure movie that, like the first movie, has some humor mixed in. If you are a fan of the genre or the actors involved, it is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Mummy

 

The Mummy is a 1999 action/adventure movie starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, and John Hannah. Oded Fehr and Patricia Valasquez have supporting but important roles as well. The movie is a retelling of the 1930s version of the story. It utilizes many of the same characters and story elements, but it is its own movie. It is not a shot-by-shot remake by any means. This version utilizes a ton of CGI animation and a green screen. It is set in the period between World War I and II, and so it blends ancient Egypt with the 1920s modern world. The premise of the story is that a group of adventurers and scholars are at a dig site in Egypt. They inadvertently release the spirit of high priest Imhotep (played by Vosloo), who then, as an almost immortal being, tries to resurrect his mistress Anck-su-namun (played by Valasquez).

The movie itself is a blend of action, comedy, and romance. Along with somewhat cheesy drama. In some ways, it pays homage to old monster movies, and in some ways, it is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of them. The ensemble cast of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, and John Hannah all do a great job with their respective roles. Fraser shows he has the chops to be both funny and somewhat of an action hero...Although not necessarily a larger-than-life one. Hannah is great at blending being a cowardly, weasel with reluctant bravery when the need arises so that you actually like and root for his character. It is hard to buy Weisz as the nerdy librarian they portray her as in the beginning of the movie and their attempts to make her kind of frumpy and tone down how gorgeous she really is did not work all that well. But once they turned the character into more of a leading lady kind of role for movies like this, she worked well. I thought Vosloo, did a fine job as the mummy, especially given that so much of his performance was based on expression as opposed to dialog. He said very little throughout the film, and when he did it was never in English, Regardless of that he was able to portray being menacing, smug, concerned, and scared without needing to say much.

If you get the blu ray, the movie looks and sounds very good. The special effects are good but dated, so some of the things are not going to be as good as in a movie made today. However, it looks about as good as a movie from that time could without a major restoration (which it may get if it is released on 4k). There are quite a few special features, with the longest being a 50-minute featurette centered on the digital effects used to create the various mummies in the movie. There are also some deleted and extended scenes and a couple other short making-of featurettes.

Ultimately, the movie is enjoyable as long as you do not go into this movie thinking you are about to see an Academy Award-winning best picture or get a best actor/actress performance. You won't. It is purely a big-budget, special effects popcorn movie. If you look at it as a somewhat funny action/adventure movie, and if you generally like those kinds of movies then you will probably like this. Also, it is not meant to be an accurate period piece from either ancient Egypt or early 1900s Egypt. So, if you are one who would nitpick things that are wrong, you probably want to stay away from this. Otherwise, it is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Memento 10th Anniversary Edition

 

Memento is a 2000 suspense-thriller/mystery that was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie starred Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss,  and Joe Pantoliano. It came out before Christopher Nolan was a household name (this was his second movie). It was a relatively low-budget film that was part revenge story, part drama, part dark comedy, and part love story. The basic plot is that a man named Leonard Shelby (played by Pearce) is looking for his wife's killer, but because of a head injury, he cannot make new short-term memories. He remembers everything up to his accident but becomes a blank slate every few minutes. As a result, he takes Polaroids of the people he interacts with, writes notes to himself, and tattoos clues onto his body. The twist is that the movie is shown in reverse. You get a scene, then it will roll back about 5 min or so, and show the events leading up to what you just watched. And keeps doing that throughout the entire movie, so you do not find out everything until the very end.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good. While there is not much in the way of special effects (if any) or really any sprawling cinematographic shots, the movie does look and sound good in the HD format. As far as extras go, there on the Blu-ray, there is about 25 min' worth of behind-the-scenes material. Commentary on the film from Nolan, a copy of the script, a gallery showing the various clues tattooed on Leonard and his diary. It's not a ton of material, but it's good for what is there.

While the writing and directing are great, the key to the movie being as good as it is was the acting. Guy Pearce, as the main character, Lenny/Leonard, does a great job both when he is narrating the rules for his life and when he is onscreen. Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss, both having come off making the original Matrix film when this came out, are great at playing characters that are much more than they seem. What you find out by the end/beginning of the movie is that all the characters are pretty morally gray. It is much more like Inception (with a little bit of The Fugitive mixed in) than the Dark Knight movies, but to the extent you can say Nolan has a style, it definitely follows it. It is not a movie you can have on in the background and get what is going on. You really do have to pay attention all the way through, or you will miss too much. That said, it is a unique drama/mystery that is worth multiple viewings.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: The Ultimate Matrix Collection

 

This is a six-disc box set with the original Matrix trilogy (1999's The Matrix and 2003's The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions). It also includes the set of animated shorts, The Animatrix, which fleshed out the content in the movies). The movies starred Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, and Hugo Weaving and included a strong supporting cast including Harry Lennix, Gloria Foster, Lambert Wilson, Monica Bellucci, and Joe Pantoliano, to name just a few. 

The Matrix franchise has been around long enough now that pretty much everyone knows the story. In a war between humans and machines, humans lost and were used as batteries to power the machines. A few formed a resistance and continued the war in an almost covert fashion (or so we are led to think).
The first movie was truly groundbreaking, both in the story (let's face it, it was one of the few original movies of its time that was not a reboot or sequel) and in terms of special effects. The whole "bullet time" concept that they used to give characters powers in The Matrix was like nothing that we had seen up to that point. Yes, CGI and digital effects have evolved in a huge way since then, but the original film was really the bridge between what was being done in films like Blade to what you got in the Harry Potter films, the Lord of the Rings movies, and almost every sci-fi/fantasy movie out now.

Most of the criticism of the movies themselves tends to center around the continuation of the story in Reloaded and Revolutions. Although given that the anticipation for the Matrix sequels rivaled that for the Star Wars Prequels (which also came out at the same time) given the popularity of the original film, I honestly don't know what story they could have told that would satisfy everybody. In some ways I do think the filmmakers had the Lucas complex of falling too much in love with the CGI, especially since at that point they did not have the technology to make the digital characters look as real as Gollum in LOTR, so during the burly brawl in Reloaded when they switch from the actors to all digital it looks like a video game. I personally however think the story continuation that was done in the 2nd and 3rd films is better upon repeated viewings than when I originally saw them in the theater.

What makes the set shine however is the tons of bonus material. For each 2 hr movie, you get anywhere from 3-4 hrs of bonus content per disc. There are multiple commentaries on each movie and several making-of and behind-the-scenes features for each movie. The extras include a lot of explanation of the digital effects and why the filmmakers and crew did things the way they did and a great look at the stunts and the training that all the actors did to do as much of the fight sequences and wire work as they could. Say what you want about Keanu Reeves's acting ability, but he busted his ass when it came to training to do the fight sequences which were of course the staple of his character.

Aside from the bonus material on each movie disc, you get all the Animatrix features that fleshed out the story (both before the original movie showing how the war started) and in between the films where we got bits and pieces of information but not the entire story. Plus you get a bunch of bonus material on how the animatrix stories were made. Finally, there are 2 discs that revolve more around the story itself, how the filmmakers came up with the story, and some of the early concept art, as well as the featurettes from the video game. So if you are one who loves going through the bonus material on the discs then you will be extremely happy with all you get, because you can spend hours upon hours with all that is there.

The A/V quality of the movies on blu ray is very good. There are some limitations because of the fact that the movies are older now (with the first movie being about 15 years old), but they are better on blu-ray than the original DVD releases. I would say that this set really is for hardcore fans of the series overall. If you hated the second and third movies as some do, then you are far better off getting the stand-alone Matrix blu ray and being done with that. Because that is only a small part of what you will get in this set. If you like the other movies but do not really care about going through all the bonus material then you probably just want to stick with the movie trilogy. But if you want to get the entire experience, then you cannot go wrong with what is here.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: Lethal Weapon Collection

 

This is a five-disc set with the four original Lethal Weapon series of buddy-cop movies (1987's Lethal Weapon, 1989's Lethal Weapon 2, 1992's Lethal Weapon 3, and 1998's Lethal Weapon 4). All of the movies starred Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh. Throughout the series, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan,  Joe Peschi (who would be a co-star in parts 2-4), Patsy Kensit, Renee Ruso (who would co-star in parts 3 and 4), Chris Rock, and Jet Li (among others) would co-star.  It should be noted that this set only contains the theatrical versions of the movies. If you strongly prefer the extended editions of the movies, which to this point are only available on DVD, then you will probably want to steer clear of the Blu-ray set. It does, however, include the extended scenes (for films 1-3) included as bonus material on the disc for that movie. 

As I said above, there are 5 discs in all in this set. There is one disc for each movie, and then a 5th disc that contains 4 separate featurettes (one for each movie) which is essentially a 25th-anniversary commemorative documentary, with the highlight being a sit-down interview with Donner, Gibson, and Glover, interspersed with interviews from some of the other actors (mainly Renee Russo and Chris Rock) and filmmakers from the series. They also weave in some footage from the filming of each movie. In all the bonus disc has about 2hrs worth of additional material. The bonus material on Lethal Weapon 4's disc is a 30 min compilation of alternate and deleted scenes and gag reel material from each movie. So between the 4 movies, all the deleted scenes and bonus material there is about 10.5 hrs worth of content for those who go through all the extra features.

As far as the quality of the movies goes. Obviously, the A/V quality is better in the 4th movie than any of the others. You can tell there was no heavy film restoration done, so the movies pretty much look exactly the same as they always have. So, you are not getting the great jump in picture quality that you would get from movies that have a ton of CGI or released more recently. That is why sticking with the DVDs for those who prefer the extended editions of the movies is fine. I am not sure that the material included on the bonus disc is out there on the DVD releases though so you may want to take that into consideration. Hopefully, at some point, especially if a fifth movie gets made, there will be 4k restorations of all the movies, but that remains to be seen.

Overall, I am very happy with the set and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the series, especially those of us who are old enough to have seen all (or, in my case, the last three) of the movies in the theater when they were originally released. The movies mostly hold up well, but some of the dialogue (especially from the first two movies), is cheesy and/or would be considered non-PC these days. Even so, they still hold up as movies with great action blended with comedy and drama.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Gia

 

Gia is a 1998 biographical movie that tells the story of the rise and fall of model Gia Carangi, who shot to fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The movie stars Angelina Jolie, who plays Gia as an adult, Elizabeth Mitchell, Faye Dunaway, and Mercedes Ruehl. Mila Kunis also has a small role as a young Gia. The movie dramatizes Gia's career and how her life was ultimately cut short due to heavy drug use and contracting AIDS from using infected needles. The story spans essentially a 9-year time frame from when she was discovered at 17 to her death at age 26.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good. It is an upgrade in video quality from the DVD, but since there are no CGI effects or even great cinematographic shots, it is not a movie that you necessarily need to upgrade to HD if you already own the DVD. There are no bonus features included on the blu-ray, just the movie itself. 

Overall, the movie is very good. The strength of the movie is the acting. While all the actors do a wonderful job, Angelina Jolie really shines. It was one of her relatively early roles as a lead, but it established that she had real acting chops. The role really did call for someone who could pull off being flawlessly gorgeous when all made up, but could also pull off being crazy, vulnerable, caring, dramatic, and funny. Angelina was able to do all of that, and as a result, it is more than just a movie where she looks hot and is naked for a few minutes (although that is not bad either). It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Iron Man 3

 

Iron Man 3 was the 2013 sequel to the two stand-alone Iron Man movies and, of course, was a part of the larger MCU. The movie was directed by Shane Black and brought back Robert Downey Jr., Gweneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Jon Favreau to reprise their roles from the earlier films. The major additions to the cast for this movie are Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce, and the movie was also Jenna Ortega's first film role (albeit a minor one). 

This movie follows up both on the previous stand-alone Iron Man films and shows the "post-Avengers" Tony Stark and the toll that the events of that movie had on him. There is a lot of misdirection in this movie, which even hinting about would give away too much. Some people hated the way that turned out, but I personally did not have much problem with it. Although the effect of the big twist did make the movie in a way similar (but not the same) as the plot in the second one. This film definitely ratchets up the action even more than Iron Man I and II. There are a lot more "big" action sequences in this movie, from Stark's house being blown up and a great mid-air rescue to the final battle. A lot is going on, and the effects are blended very well with live action shots so they look more "real" than in any of the other movies. The plot is somewhat convoluted and like I said above, has twists to it. Both the characters of Pepper and Rhodes have even more expanded roles in this movie. Robert Downey Jr continues to nail the Tony Stark role and mixes humor and intensity. Ben Kingsly is excellent in his role, he was very chilling as Mandarin, and is involved in one of the plot twists. There is also the usual after the credits scene involving a cameo by one of the Avengers.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is great. As far as extras go, there is about an hour of material from making of/behind-the-scenes features, a short film that reveals events after the end of Captain America, a short look at the next Thor movie, and a gag reel. In all enough to make those who like the bonus material happy. 

While an argument can be made that the superhero franchises are becoming over saturated, they do not seem to be slowing down over time. This movie definitely left open the possibility of further stand alone Iron Man movies, but also brought a sense of closure to the Tony Stark origin story. If you are a fan of the movies that have come before this one, then you will most likely like this as well.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Homeland Season 2

 

Fair warning, this will contain spoilers from season 1, and hints (but no major spoilers) from Season 2. If you have not seen season 1 proceed at your own risk.

Season 2 of Homeland consisted of 12 episodes that aired during the fall and winter of 2012. All of the main cast members return, including Claire Danes, Damien Lewis, Many Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, and David Harewood. The show also adds several recurring cast members, including Rupert Friend, Maury Sterling (both of whom would get larger roles in subsequent seasons), and Timothee Chalamet (in one of his early roles). 

The first season of Homeland was very original and told a very good story. Brody (played by Damien Lewis), who had been a POW in Iraq, was turned into a terrorist and a part of a plot to execute a terrorist attack in America, which he backed out of. At the end of season 1 only the viewers knew the truth. That changes very quickly in Season 2. The tape he made confessing to the bombing he backed out of comes back to haunt him in multiple ways in the second season. I cannot say too much without giving away a lot of what happens, but there is another terrorist plot in the second season that we don't know the full extent of until about 3/4 of the way through the season finale. Many of the characters and relationships in the show change, and there are a couple very big twists. The season ends with some things resolved and other questions left open. It definitely leaves the show to go into a very interesting direction in the third season and will hopefully keep Brody's storyline from getting worn out.

The A/V quality of the blu rays are very good, as you would expect. There is not a ton of bonus material. There is a very short prologue to the third season, a short film by Damien Lewis, a making of the second season feature and some deleted scenes. There are also commentary tracks on selected episodes. The blu-rays also have a true "play all" mode that allows you to stop in the middle of an episode and pick back up, and when you finish with one disc and insert the next one, it immediately starts playing the next episode in the sequence. The acting and writing of the show are both again top-notch. I do not think there was a downturn in either from season 1, even though there are some far-fetched moments. All in all, if you liked or loved season 1, this one is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

 

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 movie based on the widely popular video game series. It stars Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Chris Barrie, Iain Glen, and Noah Taylor and was directed by Simon West. Jolie stars as Lara Croft, a British archeologist who gets caught up in a search for an artifact sought by members of The Illuminati. 

If you try to take this movie too seriously, you will probably walk away hating it. If you take it for what it is, an action movie with a little bit of drama and humor sprinkled in, then you can enjoy it. It is definitely not the traditional summer blockbuster with an explosion every two seconds. While there is a lot of action, there is a plot that the action does slow down for. It is not what I would call an overly deep or complicated plot. It is a pretty basic bad guys want to rule the world story, but there are aspects to it that involve more than just fighting or shooting. I think the pace of the movie was just right. Clocking in at basically a little over an hour and a half, it did not try to do too much, and was able to keep the action going, tell the story that they were trying to tell, then got out before dragging on. 

The movie's A/V quality is great. It looks and sounds great in the HD format. There are a lot of special effects, but those do not really detract from the movie at all (unlike, say, Lucas' special effects-laden movies). They used enough sets and location shots that the effects really did enhance things. For those who get the discs and like bonus material, there is a lot here. There are a bunch of behind the scenes features ranging from 5 min to 25 min. Some are general "making of" features, others focus on the special effects, and other show the training regimen Angelina Jolie went through to become the character. The fact that she did many of her own stunts in the movie was impressive given what they had her doing.

Ultimately, if you don't like action movies and/or Jolie, you probably will not like this movie. I have not really played any of the games, so I am not sure how faithful to the character as she is portrayed in the video games the filmmakers stayed, but it does seem like they were trying to. While it is not the best movie ever, on the whole, I think it is worth the time to watch if you are looking for an action movie.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Last Samurai

 

The Last Samurai is a period-piece movie from 2013 starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. Let me start off by saying that if you hate inaccurate movies that depict a time period, run far away from this movie. It is not (nor is it meant to be) historically accurate. It is a dramatization of the conflict between the Imperial Army and the Samurai in Japan in the late 1800s. The fact that the war actually happened was real, but the rest of it is made up and fictionalized. If you can accept that about the movie, then you will likely enjoy it. If you cannot, then you won't. Cruise plays a Captain in the US Army (who is an alcoholic and disillusioned by the treatment of the Native Americans) tasked with training the new Imperial Army in Japan. He ends up being taken prisoner by the Samurai and eventually joins their side against the Army.

The thing that makes this movie work so well is the acting. It is, in my opinion, this is one of Tom Cruise's best acting jobs. Admittedly I have not seen all of his movies, so I cannot say whether it is his best performance ever, but of the movies of his that I have seen, this is his best pure acting performance. His interactions with the Samurai leader played by Ken Watanabe, were wonderful. This is really a film where all the actors from the "main" characters to the supporting actors did their job wonderfully. Yes, the love story was contrived and (SPOILER ALERT) having Tom Cruise's character live through the final battle was unrealistic, but overall I don't think those things detracted from the film as a whole.

The A/V quality on blu ray is very very good. What I loved about the movie is that very little was done via green screen, and the little that was, was blended in seamlessly so it did not look fake. Most of the landscape shots were real and were really brought out on blu ray. For those who like physical discs, there are a ton of extras. Mainly behind-the-scenes features, a couple deleted scenes, a director's video journal, and the theatrical trailer. In all the extras are almost as long as the movie itself.

If you can suspend your disbelief and accept that the movie is not historically accurate, then it is worth the time to watch and/or add to a physical media collection. If not, then you probably want to skip it.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Baywatch: The Complete Series (Remastered)

 

Baywatch is the massively popular procedural primetime soap opera about a group of lifeguards in Los Angeles that aired from 1989 to 1999 and starred David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Donna D'Errico, Alexandra Paul, Yasmine Bleeth, Nicole Eggert, Erika Elaniak, Gena Lee Nolan, Brooke Burns, and Carmen Electra (among others). The show was so popular that it also spun off two series, Baywatch Nights and Baywatch Hawaii, and a TV movie. This set only contains the nine seasons of the original series, not the two spin-off series or the Hawaiian Wedding special.

The set has 36 discs, which are packaged in three sleeve cases inside a large keep case. That packaging is much better than having the discs stacked on top of each other on protrusions. The sleeve cases prevent the discs from coming loose and getting scratched up. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is very good, and the remastered episodes look wonderful in HD. They are a huge step up in A/V quality from the original DVD releases. The video upgrade is so good that it is much easier to tell when the cast members are performing in a pool as opposed to being in the ocean. One thing that I did notice is that some of the episodes on the discs are not in broadcast order, especially in the early seasons. Since, however, the vast majority of the storylines (aside from the occasional multi-part episodes) were self-contained within a single episode, the order of the episodes did not matter as much. Some of the original music did have to be replaced because of licensing issues, but the episodes do have the music montages. The licensing issue only really impacted one episode that had to be cut down to 30 minutes because it featured performances in the show by musical guests singing songs that they no longer had the rights to.

Ultimately, the show was what it was. It was never going to get an Emmy for acting or writing. It was a cheesy soap opera with a ridiculously good-looking cast that never took itself too seriously. In fact, there were a few episodes in which the writers broke the fourth wall by making jokes about the show. The writing and acting were definitely nothing to write home about. In fact, the writing could be downright stupid, and many times, the actors were hamming it up for the camera (especially Hasselhoff). The show did get a ton of very recognizable guest stars, even launching the careers of some), including Bryan Cranston, Danny Trejo, Mila Kunis, David Spade, Mariska Hargitay, Michelle Williams, Carrie Anne Moss, and Charisma Carpenter (to name just a few). The blu-ray set does not have any extras, just the episodes themselves. The episodes do have English captions, and you can play them in a "play all" mode and pick up where you left off. The set does come with a poster and a booklet that has some random facts about the series and the actors that appeared in it. But there are no commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes interviews, or the like. The show is absolutely dated now, and some of the storylines would never be written the same way these days as they were when the show originally aired. But, if you watched the show growing up or were just a fan of the various "babes" on the show (which many people called Babewatch) it is a nostalgic blast from the past.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Killers

 

Killers is a 2010 movie starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Martin Mull, Catherine O'Hara, and Tom Selleck. In the movie, Kutcher plays a professional assassin named Spencer Aimes. While in France, he meets Heigl's character, Jen, and the two have a whirlwind romance that causes Spencer to quit his job and settle down in suburban life. After three years, Spencer's life unravels when a bounty is put on his head when he refuses to take another assignment.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is outstanding. While there are not a ton of CGI effects (if any), the location shots in Nice, France, look awesome in HD, especially if you have a large screen. As far as extras, there are some behind-the-scenes features, deleted and extended scenes, and a gag reel. In total, the extras run just under a half hour in length.

Ultimately, if you take this movie too seriously, you will probably hate it. If you take it as a spoof of romantic comedies and spy movies like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the like and see it as a movie that is very much tongue-in-cheek, it is entertaining. The only real complaint I have about it is the pacing. There is a little back story and set up to Kutcher and Heigl's relationship, then the story fast forwards three years and kind of stalls as they try to transition Kutcher's character from spy life to mundane suburban life. Once the story starts to pick back up, as everyone around Spencer in the mundane suburban life starts trying to kill him, the pace gets better. 

Yes, the premise and plot are totally preposterous. That is partly the point. If you can suspend your disbelief past that, however, I think you can find this enjoyable. Luckily, the movie is not so long that, unless you hate it from the get-go (and there are certainly people who do), it seems never-ending. Heigel and Kutcher are pretty much on the edge of who I would think of for lead roles in a movie, but since it was really not going for a serious blockbuster feel, they still worked as the leads. While it is certainly not the best movie ever, it is a decent combination of action movie and romantic comedy and worth the time to watch as long as you accept the movie for what it is. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jonah Hex

 

Jonah Hex is a movie from 2010 starring Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, Michael Shannon, Wes Bently, Lance Reddick, and Megan Fox. This film seems like it would have been much better as a sequel than the original movie. I have a feeling, however, that the filmmakers were concerned this was the only shot they had at a Jonah Hex movie (and it probably was) and decided to tell this one instead. The problem is that the backstory is so rushed that there is not much in the way of character development. You get the basic details (Hex was a soldier in the Confederate army, who refused to execute an order of his commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull (played by John Malkovich) and in the process kills Turnbull's son (who also happens to be Hex's friend). Hex's family is then killed in front of him, he is branded on the cheek (giving the facial deformity) and left to die. In the process of being healed by the local Indian tribe, he gains the power to talk to the dead.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is okay, but not what I would consider to be reference quality. The special effects look pretty seamless, and the colors and contrast look good in HD. The extras include a picture-in-picture mode that allows the movie to be played interspersed with interview segments with the cast and crew. There is also an 11-minute backstory on the character of Jonah Hex, focusing on the comic book origins and about 5 minutes of deleted scenes.

Overall, the movie is okay, but I think Hex's origin story should have been fleshed out in detail. The entire movie clocks in around 80 minutes and that story is probably given less than 20 minutes. Aside from knowing who the good guy and bad guy are, we have no real reason to be invested in any of the characters. This is a shame, given that the supporting cast is made up of some very good actors (Michael Fassbender, Lance Reddick, etc). Megan Fox was pretty much the same as always. She looks pretty and has a couple good one-liners, but her character is not in the movie all that much until the end. And again, there is no backstory for her character so the only reason we are supposed to care about her character is she is pretty and loves Jonah Hex. I think the movie would have been better served to have been a little longer, with the first half giving a true backstory of the events that lead up to the start of this movie, then Hex going after Turnbull initially, and then his transition to a bounty hunter. If that movie did well, then a better version of this movie could have been made and with characters that people actually are invested in, they may have been able to get at least a couple movies from the story.

I have never read the comics, but from reading other reviews, it seems like the filmmakers diverged a lot from the source material. If you are a fan of the comics and changing the story would piss you off, then I would say skip this entirely. For everyone else, the movie is entertaining enough. It could have been better, but with the short running time (especially for comic book movies) it gets in and out pretty quickly.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: JFK Director's Cut

 

JFK is a 1991 movie about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, directed by Oliver Stone. The movie stars Kevin Costner as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison and includes a whole host of other A and B-list stars including Gary Oldman and Tommy Lee Jones. The movie sparked a lot of controversy, even before it was released. The topic of the film has been (and will likely continue to be) one of the most controversial topics in American history. Unfortunately, the lines of who will like and dislike this movie will most likely fall squarely within whether that person believes there was a conspiracy to kill Kennedy or not. I honestly think regardless of where you stand on that subject, this movie is entertaining and worth watching.

Stone definitely believes there was a conspiracy, even while acknowledging in the notes included in the book portion of the director's cut of the film that it is possible there was none. Where he opened himself up to criticism is that he did not pick a single hypothesis and go with that. While the movie is centered around the alleged involvement of Clay Shaw, Stone basically threw out all the various possibilities that have been put forth over the years from Cuba to the mob, to the CIA orchestrating the hit. He couches the various hypotheses in the story by using words like possibly, maybe, etc, to describe what could have happened. Stone does a great job weaving in old news and archived footage with scenes that he filmed. So much so that it was hard to tell at times where the real-life footage ended and the movie started. Stone's stated intention however was to provide all of the "theories" that are out there, and let the viewers make up their own minds. To that end, regardless of whether you believe that was the responsible way to approach the film, it succeeds. Another way Stone leaves himself open to what is probably the most valid criticism is that he included material that was just plain inaccurate. The big one that comes to mind is the trial scene recreating the magic bullet when he placed Kennedy and Connelly directly in line with each other on the same level. In reality, Connelly's seat sat lower and off-center, which when taken into account omits all the turns that the bullet would have to do in the whole "left, then right" sequence of the film, which was one of the most powerful sequences in the movie.

The lynchpin of the film's quality, regardless of whether you agree with the substance, was the acting. Many A or B list actors who were alive at the time had a role in the film. Some little more than cameos, but it really was a who's who when it came to the cast. I think Costner did a great job making Jim Garrison much more of a heroic figure than he really was. Garrison's overall reputation outside the JFK case was pretty checkered. The film boasts a cast that includes Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, Walter Matthau, John Candy, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, and Kevin Bacon, among many others. There was not one bad performance in the bunch.

I am not sure how long the theatrical version of the movie is. If memory serves, it was just under three hours. This clocks in at just under three and a half hours, with a lot of additional and extended scenes. Including a 5 minute or so narrative at the beginning of the movie that describes Kennedy's presidency up to that point. There are also a few features included as extras along with even more deleted scenes. Chances are anyone reading this by now already has a strong opinion of the movie. For those who do not, as I said regardless of your position on whether there was a conspiracy or not, you can still enjoy the acting and the non-fictionalized historical aspects of the movie. If nothing else this will always be a movie that is a conversation starter and a thought piece.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jennifer's Body

 

Jennifer's Body is a 2009 movie starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, and Chris Pratt. The movie was written by Diablo Cody and is a blend of horror and comedy. The movie does as much to make fun of the horror genre as it does to actually be a horror movie itself. It tells the story of two lifelong friends (Fox and Seyfried) that have grown apart, and Seyfried's character only realizes it after Fox's character is possessed by a demon and starts killing off the boys in their high school. It is not just a hack-and-slash kind of movie, and if that is something that you need in a horror movie, then best to just skip this. 

The A/V quality of the movie on Blu-ray is very good, and for those who do get the discs, there is quite a bit of behind-the-scenes and making of material. You also get the theatrical and unrated versions of the film. The unrated version just adds a little more footage but is not radically different than the theatrical version. There are commentary tracks on both editions of the movie by Cody and the director of the movie, Karyn Kusama. Then there are deleted scenes, a gag reel, trailers for other movies, and almost an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Ultimately, whether you like this or not is going to be totally subjective. I don't think you have to like it because Diablo Cody wrote it, or a particular actor or actress is in it, but chances are if you are fans of any of the individuals involved, and the horror genre (depending on your tastes) you will like it. There are funny moments, gory moments, and even dramatic moments in the story, and they all work well. The acting is decent to good. The script was good. The script was generally much better than what you get in a lot of horror movies, but there were some eye-rolling moments here and there. There is not the gratuitous nudity that you get in a lot of horror movies. Megan Fox is in some skimpy outfits, but everything stays covered up. There is however a good two-minute sequence of her and Amanda Seyfried making out which is as spectacular as it sounds (if you are into that sort of thing). So, if you are looking for something that is not a cookie-cutter kind of horror movie, this is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Inception

 

Inception is a 2010 film written and directed by Christopher Nolan (and made between his Dark Knight movies). It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page (before transitioning), Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a professional thief who can hack into a person's mind through their dreams, extract information from the person, and/or implant a thought into the person's mind. That part of the story is relatively simple to follow. The film's complexity comes from the rules of what can be done, how the mind fights back, how time reacts differently, and how there can be multilevel dreams (or dreams within dreams). You may have to watch the movie a couple of times to track all those nuances, but they make the movie great.

The audio and visual quality of the Blu-ray are wonderful. If you get the two-disc edition (which is really three discs because there is a DVD copy of the movie included), you get the film on one disc and a separate disc with bonus features. The bonus features include a documentary that focuses on the science of dreaming, a short animated story, some artwork, trailers, and TV spots.

There are a couple of storylines going on in the movie. The main story is a tale of corporate espionage, in which Ken Watanabe's character hires DiCaprio's character to implant an idea into the head of a rival corporation. The subplot basically reveals how Leonardo Dicaprio's character discovered that inception (the idea of planting a suggestion into the mind through a dream) works and the consequences of that action. The story can be hard to follow at times (especially the first time you see it) because it cuts back and forth between different levels of dreams and jumps between the two storylines.

The acting in the film is top-notch. You see many supporting actors from the Dark Knight movies in this one. Christopher Nolan is one of those directors who, like Tim Burton, uses many of the same actors over and over. The main cast is the Dicaprio, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Marion Cotillard. They all do great jobs in their respective roles. The subplot involving Dicaprio's and Cotillard's characters was the most intriguing part of the story, and the scenes where those two were interacting were very powerful. Many people know that the ending leaves things rather open-ended. I know some people hate that you are never given a definitive answer, but I like how the filmmakers leave it up to the viewer to imagine.

If you are a fan of Nolan's other movies (especially the non-Batman movies), I would say this is definitely worth a look. If you are a fan of thriller/suspense movies with some action in there as well, it is also worth a look. If you love the movie and want the most bonus material, get the two-disc edition, not just the single-disc edition.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Incredible Hulk

 

This is the 2008 reboot of the live-action Hulk starring Edward Norton, Tim Roth, William Hurt, and Liv Tyler. It was also the second entry into the MCU (which was not, at the point it came out, assured to be as long-lasting and prolific as it became). This is not a sequel to Ang Lee's version of The Hulk (which is pretty widely panned, and mostly for good reason). I think that Eric Bana and Jennifer Connely did a good job in their roles and were the only good things that movie had going for it, but the screenplay was weird, and the CGI Hulk looked very fake. This, thankfully, pretends that version never existed. The purpose of this movie is twofold. The first was to help establish the MCU and set up the eventual Avengers movie. The second was to bring a movie version that paid homage to the series and the comic. The movie included the requisite Lou Ferrigno cameo and a posthumous cameo of Bill Bixby via a clip played on TV.

I think Norton did a great job as Bruce Banner in this movie. It is unfortunate that he was replaced (although I do think Mark Ruffalo did a fine job as Banner in The Avengers), although if the rumors of Norton being difficult when it came to making this film are true I can see why he was. Norton did a great job portraying the conflicted nature of Banner and the frustration and fear that the character feels. I also think he has fairly good chemistry with Liv Tyler, who played Betty Ross, which was necessary given the role her character played in the story. The movie does set up a possibility of a sequel, but obviously, Marvel has put higher stock in the Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor franchises (and the Avengers team-up movies). Whether a sequel to this movie ever gets made, and if so whether it continues the story started here remains to be seen.

I think the CGI Hulk is far better in this movie than it was in the Ang Lee version. I think it was one of the things that detracted from that version of the movie, but the technological advancements in CGI have come a long way, and while the Hulk does not look totally realistic, it looked a lot better. Ferrigno has gone on record saying he thinks that Hulk should be played by a real person, but given that the Hulk is supposed to be 9 feet tall, that is just not practical. If you notice in the film, while Ferrigno is substantially bigger than Norton, he is not that much taller. And they would have had to go back to the tricks used to film the series, like cutaways and filming Ferrigno (or some other actor) from below to make him look taller. A CGI Hulk just works better. Especially for the battle scenes. There is just really no way they could have done any of the battles (especially the end battle with Abomination) without the CGI.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is outstanding. The special features consist of some behind-the-scenes material, making of documentaries, deleted scenes, and trailers. In all, if you are a fan of the Marvel series of movies, while this movie is not as strong as the first Iron Man or the Avengers movies, it is on par with most of the other MCU movies and is definitely worth the time to watch and adding to your physical media collection (if you have one).

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: I am Legend

 

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

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

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

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