Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The House Bunny

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitman

 

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

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

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

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitch

 

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

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

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

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Haywire

 

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

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

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

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Heartbreak Kid

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the 2005 installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise. It brought back the entire main cast and again expanded the cast. The major additions to the cast in this movie were Evanna Lynch, Imelda Staunton, and Helena Bonham Carter. Some of the characters had smaller roles in this movie, while the roles of other characters were expanded. The movie was directed by David Yates, who would go on to direct the rest of the Harry Potter movies in the series and the three Fantastic Beasts movies. 

This time, the Ultimate Edition set is a two-disc set. One disc contains the movie and the other the bulk of the bonus content. Again, there is not an extended edition of the movie, but you can play the movie with a picture-in-picture in-movie experience that is hosted by Daniel Radcliff, and within that, there are focus points that provide an even deeper look at specific scenes or locations. On disc 2, the fifth part of the Creating Harry Potter documentary is included, as well as eleven minutes of deleted scenes, several more behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the trailers for the movie. And, there is another commemorative hardcover booklet included with this set. So, again, if you love the bonus content, this has a lot for you.

The movie is very good, and as has been the case throughout the series, the young actors continue to get better. Harry Potter is a series that (for the most part) got progressively better with each movie, not only because the child actors got better as they grew up, but the books got better as they transitioned from being "kid's books" to the darker more adult-themed books. This movie has a lot more violence and death than all the others up to this point and includes the first death of a major character. This movie also introduces the characters of Luna Lovegood and Delores Umbridge. Both parts are cast perfectly, and Imelda Staunton conveys the sense that Umbridge is borderline evil, definitely sadistic, and always up to no good. I liked the final battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore, but I think they could have made it longer. Given that this was the shortest of the films, they should have put as much as possible into that battle. Plus, they certainly could have added in some other elements from the books, like fleshing out the Snape and Lilly Potter storyline.

I feel that all the Ultimate Editions should have extended versions of the films offered as the first two did. Yes, the deleted scenes are included in the special features, but it would be nice to see them incorporated into the movie itself. The movie does set up a lot of the remaining storyline, but not as much as the book does so you have to look at the movies as their own thing, separate from the books. The Ultimate Edition is really only something that hardcore fans are going to be interested in since most casual fans are not likely to want to sit through hours of behind-the-scenes material. If you are a hardcore fan, however, this is worth the pickup even though there is not an extended edition of the movie included.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth movie in the franchise. It was released in 2005 and brings back all of the major characters (and actors) and has a few additions. First, Ralph Fiennes is added to the cast to play the adult version of Voldemort, and Robert Pattinson is added to the cast as Cedric Diggory. The other new cast members include Miranda Richardson, David Tennant, Brendan Gleeson, and Clemence Poesy.  This is the movie where the dark part of the story takes hold. It is also the book where they had to cut the most out. The book is over 600 pages long, and they would have had to split the movie into two parts (something that was considered) to get it all in. Eventually, they just decided to cut the ancillary storylines and just tell the story following Harry and nobody else. 

The Ultimate Edition set is another 4-disc set that also includes collectible cards and a hardcover book with behind-the-scenes pictures and information. The first disc just has the theatrical version of the movie, which can be played with a picture-in-picture in-movie experience that has interviews with the cast and crew members. There is no director's cut/extended edition, which as I said in my review for the Prisoner of Azkaban, UE set, it should have had. While the deleted scenes are available in the extras, it is far better to see them incorporated into the movie than just throwing them together out of order. The other extras include Part 4 of the Creating the World of Harry Potter documentary, with this segment (which is nearly an hour long) devoted to the music. Then there are more cast interviews, over two hours of TV specials, trailers, and the legacy DVD features. 

The movie is very good, even though a lot was cut out from the book. One thing that I think the movie suffers from that is we do not get to see enough of the character of Cedric, and thus, the emotional impact later on in the movie is lessened because his character is barely on screen for a lot of the film. Aside from that, the big reveal at the end of the movie when Voldemort finally returns in the flesh was great. Ralph Fiennes does a wonderful job bringing Voldemort's sinister aspect to life. He is not on the screen for a long time in the movie, but for the amount of time he is, he gives the sense that he is going to be the perfect "big bad" the rest of the way. Brendan Gleeson does a great job playing Mad-Eye Moody. In this movie, he has to play a character who is playing a character. The version of Mad-Eye he plays in this one is more over the top than in the later films. Miranda Richardson is wonderful, playing the slimy journalist Rita Skeeter, who is a gossip columnist who plays fast and loose with the truth.

Ultimately, as is the case with the other UE versions (especially for the first two movies), the extras are great and provide hours of great content. If you like going through the bonus content and can live without having an extended version of the film (and do a little price shopping), this is a great addition to your collection.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, released in 2004, is the third movie in the franchise and represents the darker turn in the story. The main cast members return to their roles, with th exception of Richard Harris who passed away between movies. The role of Dumbledore was recast with Michael Gambon taking over the role. The other major cast additions were David Thewlis, who joins the cast as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black.  

The Ultimate edition is another three-disc set, two blu-ray discs, and one DVD disc. The first blu-ray disc just contains the theatrical version of the movie. The second blu-ray disc and the DVD disc contain the bonus material. There is another hardcover booklet and collectible cards in the set as well.  All the extras that are included are great. The documentary series that runs throughout the course of the ultimate editions gives a great behind-the-scenes look at the series as a whole, and then there are a lot of features that are just specific to this movie. One of the best parts of the first two UE sets was the option of seeing the extended edition (which essentially just incorporated the deleted scenes into the movie). You do get the deleted scenes here, but they do not flow as well just seeing them one after another. That is the only drawback to the set and what drops it down a star for me.

As for the movie itself, it is great. By this time in the series, you kind of know how the movies flow and feel in comparison to the books. You have to expect that a lot is going to be cut from the books to make the movie. Since this was the point at which the books started getting longer, more is cut from this movie than was cut in the first two. The story introduces three characters that are essential to the rest of the story. Sirius Black, Lupin, and Wormtail. Lupin gets the most screen time and is great as the favorite teacher who takes Harry under his wing to start to prepare him for what lies ahead. The story continues to get darker, and the characters are put in more and more peril. Basically, this is the film where the shift from introducing the world and the characters to getting to the meat of the Harry vs. Voldemort story begins.

The big change in this movie is the addition of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. Gambon plays a far less soft-spoken and more eccentric version of Dumbledore than Harris dis. When I first saw the movie I did not like his version as much, but after this film you get used to him more, and his presence feels more natural by the end of the series. I did prefer Harris's version of the character, but I do not think it would have worked for Gambon to try to be a carbon copy of Harris. Had Gambon been cast as Dumbledore from the start, his portrayal would have been fine, but switching from one actor to the other was grating. Of course, the character of Dumbledore was too essential to the story to kill off after the second movie, so the role had to be recast.

The lack of an extended version of the film aside, the movie is great, the A/V quality of the movie is excellent, and the extras are very good (although not quite as good as the extras in the Ultimate Editions of the first two movies). If you are more than just a casual fan of the franchise and can find this for the right price, it is worth adding to your collection.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second movie in the franchise (and adapted from the second book), released in 2002. The movie was again directed by Chris Columbus and brought back all of the main cast members. The additions to the cast in this movie include Kenneth Branaugh who is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, Jason Issacs as Lucious Malfoy, Toby Jones as Dobby, and Christian Coulson, who plays a young Voldemort. Bonnie Wright's role in this movie is expanded as Ginny plays a larger part in the story than her minor appearance in the first movie. 

This part of the story got much darker than in the first movie/book. It was imperative that the actors playing the main (child) characters improved from the first and they did. They were still quite young in this movie since it was shot basically right after the first one. But you can tell that their performances were far less forced and came more naturally than in the first one.

Like with the first movie they had to cut material from the books out of the movie. More material was cut for this movie than in the first one, but since the second book was still fairly short, they did not have to cut a ton of the material from the book, and they did keep the important parts of the story. Thus, the story flowed very well. The standout character introduced in this film was Lucious Malfoy. Jason Issacs had the sinister, evil slimeball character down. There was not an ounce of sincerity in anything that Malfoy said or did (aside from the evil parts) and Issacs played it perfectly. Dobby's role in this movie is true to what was in the book, but that does change in subsequent movies. He did provide some comic relief and helped to move the story along.

This is another three-disc set with one disc containing the theatrical and extended editions of the movie. The Ultimate Edition of the movie has a picture-in-picture director commentary, and the rest of the bonus content is on the second and third discs. As for the extras, like the first Ultimate Edition set you get a lot of behind-the-scenes material. The second installment of Creating the World of Harry Potter (which runs just under an hour and a half) focuses on the various characters. Again they discussed characters from all the films, but the slant was toward the second movie. There are also a lot of deleted scenes (most of which ended up in the extended version of the movie), screen tests, a conversation with J.K Rowling, and then some interactive material. There are also character cards and a booklet devoted to creating the characters.

The A/V quality is wonderful again, and the special effects look even better and more seamless than they did in the first movie. Again if you are a fan of the movies and books (more than just a casual fan) and want the most extras you can get then you want to add this to your collection. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Ultimate Collector's Edition

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone is the 2001 movie starring Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, and Richard Harris. The movie was, of course, based on the wildly popular series of books written by J.K. Rowling and was directed by Chris Columbus. If you read the Harry Potter books before seeing the movies, the movie adaptations will take some getting used to. A lot of the content from the books got cut from the movies (especially in the later movies). The book version of The Sorcerer's Stone is short, so the least amount was cut when making this movie. Even so, not everything in the book made it into the movie. Once you get a feel for how much they have to cut from the books to make the movie and get used to the characters (and the actors playing them), the movies are almost perfect. 

The Ultimate Edition blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The first disc has both the theatrical and extended editions of the movie. The extended edition adds about 7 additional minutes to the total runtime. It basically incorporates some of the deleted scenes into the theatrical edition but does not add anything all that substantial. The only bonus feature on the first disc is a picture-in-picture video director's commentary track that can be played with the theatrical edition of the movie. The other two discs just contain the other special features. The A/V quality of the movies is great. The special effects look amazing, even though they are a bit dated, but the CGI characters look almost like real characters. The big ticket item on the Ultimate Edition is the extras, specifically the five-part documentary series that is the focus of the second disk. In this set, it is Creating the World of Harry Potter. In it, the production staff talks about finding the cast, filming, and how they created Howart's, the Quidditch arena, the various locations used, etc. Not just in the first movie, but throughout the series. You also get things like trailers, TV spots, Deleted Scenes, and a bunch of interactive content.

The only drawback to this film is that the kids were so young and inexperienced as actors that their performances were very inconsistent and forced at times. The veteran actors had to do a lot of the heavy lifting in this movie, but luckily those who did the casting found actors who could learn quickly and develop great skills so that even by the second movie they had their characters down and really became those characters. Of course, all of the adult casting was great. Snape is played perfectly by Alan Rickman, and Richard Harris is perfect as Dumbledore. The only bad thing about the movies was that Harris passed away before they were complete and the actor they brought in to replace him (Michael Gambon) while good, was just not the same. He played Dumbledore differently and did not give the character the same feel as Harris did.

All in all, this movie sets up the series well. It introduces the characters, blends the humor with elements of the dark material that would come in the subsequent films, and tells the story from the book as well as could have been done. As I mentioned, there are portions of even the first book that had to be cut out, and as the books got longer and longer more would have to be cut. So, you have to look at the movies as their own entity and the books as their own.  

If you love the books and want to get the most out of the movies (or if you just love the Fantasy genre), this is a must-have for your collection. Even though it is probably the weakest of all the movies, mainly because the kids were all so green as actors, it is still an excellent film and absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

 

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is a 2004 stoner comedy starring Kal Penn and John Cho. The premise of the movie is mostly evident from the movie's title. A couple of friends get stoned and then crave White Castle. In making a trek to get to White Castle to satisfy their case of the munchies, hilarity ensues.  The rest of the cast includes Paula Garces, Bobby Lee, Christopher Meloni, David Krumholtz, Malin Akerman, and Neil Patrick Harris, playing a hilarious version of himself. There are also appearances by Ryan Reynolds and Eddie Kaye Thomas.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, although it is not really a film that needs to be seen in HD since there is not much in the way of effects (aside from just getting a better picture and sound in general). There are a lot of extras included with this release including three different commentary tracks on the movie, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a sneak peak of, and the Red Band trailer for, the next movie, Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay, deleted scenes, a music video, and a couple of trailers for other movies.  Ultimately, the movie is a good, but not great, comedy. You definitely need to be into crude humor and stoner comedy to like this. If those kinds of movies are not up your alley, you want to skip this because you will only find it offensive and stupid. The humor is random and a bit all over the place but that is really the point. Personally, I think the best parts are the racist cops, the "extreme mixes", and NPH's love-stain comment. Malin Akerman's topless scene was not bad either. There is kind of a story beyond the two of them trying to find White Castle, but it is so in the background that it is really not the point of the movie. I do not really think there was a need to make more than just this movie, and it is the best one in the franchise. If you are looking for a mindless comedy and enjoy the brand humor in this kind of movie, you will like this and it is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hangover (Unrated Edition)

 

The Hangover is a 2009 comedy starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Ken Jeong. The basic story is that a group of friends go to Vegas to throw a bachelor party for Justin Bartha's character, Doug. They wake up the next day to evidence of a night of debauchery but do not remember anything and with the groom missing. The rest of the movie is about them trying to piece together what happened by retracing their steps and trying to find the missing groom. The movie also includes appearances by Heather Graham, Mike Tyson, and Jeffrey Tambor.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, but not outstanding. For people who are not total A/V wonks or snobs, the transfer quality is perfectly fine. The extras are very light. The most extensive extra is a picture-in-picture commentary track on the movie by director Todd Phillips. Then there are a few short making-of featurettes, an 8-minute gag reel, a stills gallery, and an interactive map of the locations the characters went in the movie.  

Overall, the movie is very good if you enjoy a raunchier, more adult brand of humor. Of the main cast members  Zach Galifianakis playing the awkward and kind of creepy brother-in-law was the standout. Ken Jeong also was great in his crazy kind of way but his character was a little too close to his character on Community. That said, the way his character, Mr. Chow, is introduced in the movie is very funny. I also liked Justin Bartha as the missing groom, who basically plays the straight man to all of the absurd comedy. Although he ultimately was not in the movie much, his deadpan sarcastic delivery was very entertaining. There were quite a few cameos in the film but the best was by Mike Tyson. He ended up being in a couple scenes and was actually quite funny. While this was not the best comedy of all time as some have billed it, it was one of the better comedies of the late 2000s/early 2010s. Definitely one of the better ones in recent memory. The movie will not appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy adult comedies that are not family-friendly and are not easily offended, this is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hancock

 

Hancock is an anti-hero movie from 2008 directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman. Smith plays Hancock, who has powers like Superman but who is alcoholic, anti-social, and mean to everyone, including victims. The movie has two distinct halves. The first half is a crude humor anti-hero superhero movie. Basically, if Superman was an alcoholic who saved people and caught bad guys but really did not give a shit about anyone. The second half is about a plot twist that reveals Hancock's back story. I won't spoil the plot twist but it seems like most people who dislike the movie do so because of the plot twist. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is great. While neither the audio nor video quality are quite "reference quality", they are pretty close. The extras include a video diary that plays as a picture-in-picture with the movie, providing behind-the-scenes content while the movie plays.  Then there are several making-of featurettes and trailers for other movies. Ultimately, the movie is good, but not great. While I did not mind the plot twist, I do think the movie would have done fine without it. I liked the redemption of a superhero angle they had going up until the plot twist hit and there were certainly ways to have a similar ending without the twist. The movie is not very family-friendly and will not appeal to everyone. It definitely has a darker crude humor to it. It is the kind of comedy that you either like or you do not. I think all the actors do a great job, but Jason Bateman was the most entertaining because he had to play the straight man the whole time (similar to his character in Arrested Development). The movie is mostly a comedy-action blend, with some drama mixed in as well. Charlize Theron sold her character well and was, as always, easy on the eyes. If you like the actors involved, Arrested Development-type and Apetow-like humor, and action movies, then you will probably like this one. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Beetlejuice

 

Beetlejuice is a 1988 comedy/horror movie directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Catherine O'Hara, and Jeffrey Jones. The movie's premise is that a family (Ryder, O'Hara, and Jones) moves into the home of a recently deceased couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland (Davis and Baldwin). Unbeknownst to them, the Maitland's spirits are still in the house and cannot leave. The Maitlands hire a "bio-exorcist" named Beetlejuice (Keaton) to scare the new homeowners away only to regret the decision as they befriend Ryder's character, Lydia (who is the only one who can see them).

The blu-ray set is very bare bones. It just contains the movies without any extras aside from a couple of cartoons and the theatrical trailers. Hopefully, since a sequel is set to be released in September of 2024, this will get a 4k release and have some bonus features included. Given that everyone involved in the movie is still alive it should not have been that hard to get at least some of them together to give some substance to the extras. The A/V transfer of the blu-ray is okay but could be better. Given the lack of bonus content, if you own the DVD, I would wait to upgrade until a 4k version is released (as it most assuredly will be). 

Ultimately, the movie is very good. The movie was made at what was arguably the height of Michael Keaton's acting career. During the same time frame, he did Clean and Sober, Beetlejuice, and the first two Batman movies. It is not really a scary horror movie. It is best described as a comedy with some jump-scare moments. Keaton is not in the movie as much as I remember when I saw it in the theater years ago, but he steals every scene he is in. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin do a great job in their roles as the dead couple trying to spook the buyers out of their house, and Winona Ryder is very good as the awkward teen who can see the ghosts. It very much has the look and feel of Tim Burton's other movies. It was made before the modern-day special effects era, so some of the effects are cheesy and fake-looking, but they do not distract from or reduce the quality of the movie. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome

 

Blood and Chrome is a 2012 TV movie that is a prequel to the rebooted Battlestar Galactica series. This tells the story of a young Adama (played by Luke Pasqualino), and one of his first missions after being assigned as a pilot on Galactica during the First Cylon War. The story takes place after the events of the Caprica series and long before the Battlestar Series picks up. You get some insight into what Adama was like in his youth, but you only get a portion of his backstory. The movie portrays him as a hothead who is always looking for a fight and not the more measured leader he grew into. At this point, the Cylons are still just the chrome versions, although see the beginnings of the "skin job" versions at the very end.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good and is on par with the blu-ray release of the series. The disc does have a couple of extras, but they are not extensive. The extras include deleted scenes and a short feature on the visual effects. It seems that people's feelings fall into a couple different categories when it comes to this story. Much like the Caprica series, people seem to either love the movie or really hate it. It seems like the people who hate it do so mostly because it does not include any other characters from the series. I liked the series but was not so devoted to seeing just those characters that any kind of spin-off would be awful. This movie is really just an extension of the new Battlestar universe. It is like a long flashback episode of the series that tells a single story involving Adama. It has a similar feel to the parent series and does have some twists and betrayals going on much like the series had. No, you are not going to get Edward James Olmos's version of Adama, but the point of the story is to show how that character changed from his youth. If you can get past that and just enjoy the story and the fact that you are getting a new Battlestar story, then this is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Halloween II (Rob Zombie Version) [Spoilers]

 

Halloween II is the 2009 sequel to Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween. The first movie can ostensibly be called a remake or reboot. It did depart a lot from the original film it essentially told the same story,  with twists and additions. This movie pays homage to the original version of Halloween II for the first 15 to 20 minutes. After that, it is its own movie and a story that is completely unique and different. It has much more of the strangeness and over-the-top gore that Rob Zombie's other horror movies have. The movie does bring back the main cast members from the first movie including Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Danielle Harris,  and Malcolm McDowell. 

In this movie, Loomis is turned into a raging prick who is just out to make a buck, and Laurie is totally fucked up from her experiences in the first movie. That part of the story I found interesting. It is the part of the original Laurie Strode storyline we did not see, specifically looking at how she coped as a teenager after the events of that night. But then, the story went off in a totally different direction. If it had stuck to just Laurie's messed up life and Michael coming back I think the film would have been better. But the whole channeling of the dead mother angle and Laurie can sometimes feel Michael (like when he is eating the dog) was just stupid. Also having Michael yell die when killing Loomis should not have happened.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. The movie is not packed with special effects, but what there is looks seamless and the location shots look very good in HD. The extras include a commentary track on the movie by Zombie, audition footage for some of the actors, deleted scenes, a gag reel, several music videos, and trailers. The movie is definitely a dark and twisted sequel that will not appeal to everyone. Many devoted fans of the original two movies will probably hate this one. Also, people who would otherwise give it a chance if it were a remake of the second film will not like it either. For everyone else, there will probably still be a lot of disagreement. Some will love the movie and others will hate it. I am pretty lukewarm about it. For what it is, if you can accept that it diverts from following the Halloween story verbatim, it is not horrible. It is certainly better than Halloween 6 and Halloween Resurrection, but it is nowhere near as good as the original two films or even as good as Zombie's remake of the first movie.