DVD/Movie Review: Fair Game

 

Fair Game is an extremely cheesy 1995 action-romance film starring Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin. The supporting cast includes Salma Hayek and several recognizable character actors, including Christopher McDonald, Jenette Goldstein, Miguel Sandoval, Steven Berkoff, Marc MaCaulay, and Dan Hedaya (in an uncredited role). In it, Crawford plays a civil attorney in Miami named Kate McQuean who threatens to have a ship sized to pay for alimony. Unknown to her, the ship is actually owned by a criminal who is in league with ex-KGB members who then target and attempt to kill Kate. Baldwin plays Max Kirkpatrick, a Miami detective assigned to a case in which Kate was hit by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting, and interrupts the attempt on her life when he goes to her house to follow up on that case. From there, the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse chase in which Kate and Max have to try to avoid the Russians.

The DVD is very bare bones. The movie plays as soon as the disc loads. There are no bonus features on the disc. It does not even have a menu screen, but the movie does play with English captions whether you want them on or not.

The movie was not particularly well-written or acted. It was a low-budget action film that served as a vehicle to help Crawford parlay her extremely successful modeling career into an acting career. She was not a horrible actress, but she was not really given great material to work with. This was also one of Hayek's first roles in a Hollywood film, but her part was very small; she was in just a couple of scenes. You pretty much know what the film is going into it; an action film with two good-looking leads, that plays on the fact that Crawford was one of the biggest (if not the biggest) supermodels in the world at the time. It is hard to expect much when one of the leads is very pretty but with no acting experience, and the other is one of the "other" Baldwins, not named Alec. As I said above, it is very cheesy, and almost nothing in it is realistic or makes a lot of sense. It is basically a movie in which you turn your brain off and just go with it. There is a lot of violence and some sexual content and brief nudity (Crawford is topless a couple of times and you see "notalec" Baldwin's ass), so it earns an R-rating. Ultimately, it is absolutely not a must-see film, but if you want to watch an action movie, you can accept it for what it is, and do not expect it to be something it's not, it is worth checking out. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Excalibur

 

Excalibur is a 1981 film telling a variation of the legend of King Arthur, co-written, co-produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson (in his first film role), Patrick Stewart (in one of his early film roles), Cherie Lunghi, Robert Addie, and Nicholas Clay. The supporting cast includes, Gabriel Byrne, Boorman's children, Katrine and Charles, and Clive Swift. Over the years, there have been many variations of the Arthurian legend. This is definitely one of the darker ones. Merlin (played by Williamson) was not the noble, wise wizard that he is in other variations, and this version of Arthur (played by Terry) grew up as a commoner only to discover who he was when he pulled Excalibur from the stone. It is very violent and there is some sexual content and nudity in the film. 

The blu-ray release is very substandard. It did not receive a good HD transfer at all, and as a result, the A/V quality is quite bad. The video quality is barely better than a DVD, and the audio is out of sync at times. Also, the menu pages are very hard to navigate and barely respond when you push buttons on the remote. I initially thought the batteries in my remote were dying, but I confirmed they were fine, and the issue was with the disc itself. As a result, depending on what blu-ray player you have, it may be hard to turn on captions or change the audio setting. The only bonus feature is a director's commentary by Boorman. It is also hard to access, given the issue with the menu pages, but once you do, Boorman provides a lot of good information about the film and behind-the-scenes information. 

The movie is okay, but not great. It is actually better to watch it while listening to Boorman's commentary track, because you get a better idea of what he was going for. Without that context, it just seems like the movie never really figures out how it wants to tell the story and does not present a cohesive one. There are time jumps in the movie that make it hard to follow at times. But they had to be used because Boorman wanted to tell the entire story of Arthur's life in a two-hour-and-twenty-minute film. The dialogue was not particularly well written, so despite featuring many great actors, they did not have much good material to work with. It is interesting to see Liam Neeson in his first film, Patrick Stewart early in his film career, and Helen Mirren relatively early in hers. However, there are many other versions of the story that are much better than this one out there. Ultimately, you are not missing much if you skip this, but if you are a big fan of any of the actors or are really into the story of King Arthur, then it is worth checking out.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

 

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a 2022 film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. It stars Michelle Yeo, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The supporting cast includes James Hong and Jenny Slate. It is a very strange film that wraps a family drama into a sci-fi multiverse, comedy (both absurdist and raunchy), and an old Hong Kong Kung Fu action movie. Almost nothing about the movie makes sense, yet by the end, you kind of get it. Honestly, I could describe every scene from the film in detail, and I still could not spoil it for anyone watching the movie for the first time. In it, Yeoh's character, Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant living in California who runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond (played by Quan). She has a contentious relationship with her daughter, Joy (played by Hsu), and is being audited by a hard-nosed auditor, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. That is where all normalcy in the movie stops. Evelyn discovers a multiverse and that people can use technology to jump into versions of themselves in other universes, accessing the knowledge and abilities of their other selves. Evelyn also discovers that the multiverse is being threatened by a being named Jobu, who can experience all the different universes at once and manipulate matter (and people) at will, and that she is the only one who can stop Jobu.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. The content is identical on each disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. It looks and sounds excellent, especially on a large screen with an Atmos surround sound setup. The bonus content includes a making-of documentary that runs about 40 minutes, some behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, outtakes, the theatrical trailer, and previews for other films released by A24 Studios. There is also a commentary track on the film by the two directors. It also comes with a digital code. 

The movie is good, but it is definitely odd. Once the film gets started, characters jump from universe to universe, and it can be hard to follow the first time you see it. You absolutely have to suspend your disbelief, just go with it, and enjoy the wackiness. There is a fight scene where the primary weapon is a fanny pack, another where a Pomeranian is used as a weapon, and a fight scene with sex toys. There are multiple pairs of googly eyes, a black hole in the shape of a bagel, a raccoon as a play on the rat in the movie Ratatouille, and hot dog fingers. The movie also has not-so-subtle nods to The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is a very unique and chaotic movie. It is extremely well-acted, and you can tell that all of the actors were having a lot of fun in their roles and just going with the absurdity. It definitely earns an R-rating as there is a lot of violence, some sexual humor (but no nudity), and a lot of swearing. Ultimately, I cannot say that everyone will enjoy the movie, but if you do not mind offbeat, multi-genre films, this is worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Everly

 

Everly is a 2014 genre-mixing film that combines action, drama, horror, and suspense.  It was directed by Joe Lynch and adapted from a story that Lynch wrote with the screenwriter, Yale Hannon. It stars Salma Hayek, Akie Kotabe, Laura Cepeda, Jennifer Blanc, Hiroyuki Wanatabe, Togo Igawa, Gabriella Wright, Masashi Fujimoto, and Aisha Ayamah. In it, Hayek's character, Everly, who has been forced into working as a prostitute for a Yakuza overlord named Taiko (played by Wanatabe), is attacked in the high-end apartment where she is kept prisoner in a building owned by Taiko, when Taiko discovers that she has been working with the police to take him down. Everly manages to kill her attackers with a gun she had hidden, and resolves to try to get to her mother and daughter to get them the money she has stolen from Taiko so they can disappear. She discovers she is trapped in the building as more people come to try to collect a bounty on her head.

The blu-ray is a single-disc release. The movie looks and sounds good in HD, but since it was a low-budget film, it did not get an extremely high-quality transfer. The bonus content includes two commentary tracks. The first is a feature commentary by Lynch, producer Brett Hedblom, and editor Evan Schiff. The second is a technical commentary featuring Lynch and the cinematographer, Steve Gainer. Also included is a music video for the version of Silent Night by Raya Yarborough and Bear McCreary featured in the film. 

The first thing to note is that the film is extremely violent (in a very over-the-top way), with a lot of blood and guts. So if that is not your thing, you should absolutely skip it. There is also a lot of swearing and very brief nudity.  There are easy comparisons to films like Kill Bill and Die Hard, but it is not nearly as good as either of those movies. Hayek does a good job in the role. She is the only person in the movie with any real name recognition, and she absolutely carries it. If you listen to the commentary, you will discover that Kate Hudson originally signed on to play Everly but eventually had to drop out and was replaced by Hayek. It would have been interesting to see what she would have done with the role, as her performance would probably have been quite different from Hayek's. 

Ultimately, it is not a film that will appeal to everyone. The movie is a bit unique in that it is an action film set almost exclusively in a single location, Everly's apartment. Nothing in the film is remotely realistic, so you definitely have to suspend your disbelief and just go with it. If you can do that, it is worth watching, but it is not a must-see.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Eurotrip

 

Eurotrip is a 2004 teen comedy written by Jeff Schaffer (who also directed), Alec Berg, and David Mandel, starring Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jessica Boehrs, and Travis Webster. The supporting cast includes Vinnie Jones and Nial Iskhakov. The film also features cameo appearances by Lucy Lawless, Fred Armisen, Kristen Kreuk, Jeffrey Tambor, Diedrich Bader, and Matt Damon. All of the actors making cameos were great, but Lawless and Damon's cameos were particularly notable. 

The basic story is that a guy named Scott (played by Mechlowicz) gets dumped at his high school graduation by his girlfriend (played by Kreuk), and finds out she has been cheating on him constantly. He confides in his German pen pal, Mike (Mieke; played by Boehrs), whom he believes to be a guy. When Mieke suggests that she come visit him, Scott writes an angry email and gets blocked, only to hilariously find out Mieke is a hot girl. He is then convinced by his friend, Cooper (played by Pitts), to go to Berlin to find Mieke. In Europe, they meet up with their friends, twins Jenny and Jamie (played by Trachtenberg and Webster). While there, typical teen comedy hijinks ensue.

The blu-ray is a single-disc release containing the unrated version of the film. It does not include the theatrical version. The A/V quality is good, but it did not get what I would describe as a reference-quality HD transfer. But for an early-2000s comedy, it looks and sounds perfectly fine. There are several extras, including deleted scenes, a hilarious bit about who would get the directing credit since Schaffer, Berg, and Mendel could not share directing credit, a featurette on the nude beach scene, and outtakes. There are two different commentary tracks on the film, each featuring Schaffer, Berg, and Mendel. In the first, they provide a pretty typical director commentary talking about the casting process, the shooting locations, etc. In the second, they basically drink through the entire film, drinking whenever anyone swears, there is nudity, or there is underage drinking shown (and take shots when someone screams). 

The movie is a pretty typical early-2000s raunchy teen comedy. There is a lot of nudity and sex, several drug references, and swearing. There are definitely parts that some people will find offensive, so it is definitely not family-friendly or for those who are easily offended. Ultimately, I would say this is a middle-of-the-road early 2000s comedy. It was not the best of the comedies released at the time, but it was not the worst. It is a movie better known for its cameo appearances than its main storyline, but the main story was still enjoyable. If you are a fan of raunchy comedy, this is worth watching.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - 40th Anniversary Edition

 

E.T. is the iconic 1982 film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg about an alien who becomes stranded on Earth and befriends a young boy and his family. It stars Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Robert MacNaughton, Dee Wallace, and Peter Coyote in the main roles. The supporting cast includes C. Thomas Howell, K.C Martel, Sean Frye, and future original Baywatch babe, Erika Eleniak. In the film, an alien becomes stranded on Earth after his ship leaves without him. He hides in the shed of a family who live near where he was stranded and is discovered by a young boy named Elliot (played by Thomas), who befriends E.T. and helps him attempt to contact his species so he can get back home. 

The 40th Anniversary 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. Both contain the same content. The original theatrical edition of the film, and several hours of bonus features. Note that this release does not include the 2002 re-release with the additional footage and the CGI enhancements, which is the only thing that knocks it down a star for me. The bonus content includes two new featurettes made for this release, original making-of and behind-the-scenes footage filmed during production, and content created for the film's 20th Anniversary. The bonus content also includes the trailer and promotional content, as well as multiple picture galleries featuring photos taken during the film's production and promotional stills. The A/V quality is very good, and the movie looks and sounds great in UHD. Neither the audio nor the video transfers are quite reference-quality, but if you have a large screen and/or a multi-channel surround-sound system, you will probably not be disappointed.

This is an extremely good, but not great, release. Of course, the movie is wonderful and holds up well even (as of this writing) 44 years after it was made. Some of the cultural references in the movie are dated; however, the overall story holds up very well. It does have a little swearing and includes things that probably would not be included (like the teenagers smoking at the beginning of the movie) if it were made today, but overall it is very family-friendly, mixing drama, humor, and action. And, of course, John Williams' score is outstanding. The bonus content is excellent. The highlight of the archival material is a young Drew Barrymore (who was six when the film was shot) hamming it up on set and being interviewed at the movie's premiere. If this release had included both versions of the film, it would absolutely be a five-star set. Hopefully, when Universal releases a 45th- and/or 50th-anniversary edition, they will include both versions of the film. That is the only thing that would get me to double-dip for a new edition. Ultimately, it is a wonderful film that takes you on an emotional roller coaster, going from suspenseful to funny to dramatic to sad to uplifting. It is well-written, very well-acted, and absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Erin Brockovich

 

Erin Brockovich is a 2000 fictionalized biographical film about the legal assistant who helped build the toxic-tort case against Pacific Gas and Electric for groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California. It was directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, and Marg Helgenberger in the main roles, and includes Cherry Jones, T.J. Thyne, and Tracey Walter in supporting roles. Brockovich and the attorney she worked for, Ed Masry, also have cameo appearances in the film.

In it, Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother who is injured in a car accident. She is referred to attorney Ed Masry (played by Finney), who assures her that he expects to win her case at trial. After a loss at trial, Erin shows up at his law firm and talks him into giving her a job. She begins working on a real estate case in which the owners of a power plant are offering to purchase a family's house in Hinkley, California. Brockovich discovers that the city's water is contaminated with toxic Chromium being used at the plant.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. Both discs contain the same content. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. I would not call either the audio or video transfer reference-quality, but for a film that is dialogue-heavy and does not use computer-generated effects, it looks and sounds great, especially on a large screen with a good sound system. All bonus content is included on the UHD disc and carries over from the original Blu-Ray release. That includes deleted scenes that can be played with or without Soderbergh's commentary, a short interview with the real Erin Brockovich, a making-of featurette featuring interviews with cast members, as well as Brockovich and Ed Masry, the theatrical trailer, and two featurettes centered on the 100th anniversary of Universal Studios.

The film is well-written and very well-acted. It is arguably Roberts' best movie and role, and she absolutely deserved the Academy Award for best actress. It mixed humor and drama very effectively and balanced showing Erin Brockovich's complicated personal life with her devotion to the people she was trying to help. There is a lot of swearing, including a lot of sexual humor, but no nudity. The film is a fictionalized docu-drama. The film mostly stayed true to actual events, but some things were changed or added to the story for dramatic effect. Ultimately, it is a great film that is absolutely worth watching and adding to a physical media collection. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Emily the Criminal

 

Emily the Criminal is a 2022 crime drama written and directed by John Patton Ford. It stars Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi. The supporting cast includes Megalyn Echikunwoke, Jonathan Avigdori, Bernardo Badillo, and Gina Gershon. In it, Plaza plays a woman named Emily who works as an independent contractor delivering food for a catering company, while barely making ends meet. Her coworker connects her with a "dummy shopper" service that runs a fraudulent credit card ring, promising $200 for an hour of work. After making a purchase without getting busted, she is offered the chance to return the next day to make a riskier purchase and earn $2000. She ends up getting sucked in deeper with the group, while falling for one of the leaders (played by Rossi), and soon finds herself in over her head.

The blu-ray release is very bare-bones. There are no bonus features, just the movie itself. The A/V quality is good, but since this is a lower-budget independent film, it did not get the type of transfer that a massive summer blockbuster does. That said, A/V quality is fine for a film that does not rely on CGI effects. 

The movie is good. It is well-acted and mostly well-written, although parts of the movie are a bit predictable. Plaza definitely shows her acting range with this part. Of course, she is most well-known for playing a very dry comedic role on Parks and Recreation, but she absolutely has dramatic acting chops and uses them well in this role. Ultimately, if you are a fan of independent dramas and/or are a fan of Aubrey Plaza, this is absolutely worth checking out. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar: Fire and Ash (Steelbook)

 

Fire and Ash, released in 2025, is the third in what will now be at least five films in James Cameron's epic story of humans versus aliens set on the fictional moon, Pandora. For this installment, Cameron returns both as a co-writer, co-producer, and director. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang all return from the first two films, as do Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, and CCH Pounder (although their roles are much smaller in this film). Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jermine Clement, Jamie Flatters, Bailey Bass, and Filip Geljo all reprise their roles from the second film. The primary additions to the cast for this movie include Oona Chaplin and David Thewlis, who play leaders of two newly introduced Na'vi clans. 

This film expands the plot of the second movie. In the bonus material, Cameron indicates that he originally envisioned a trilogy of films, but as the story evolved and expanded, they needed to split the second and third movies into two films, so (at least as of now, there will be five films. While the first two films focused on the RDA and the Na'vi, this film introduces a new warring Na'vi tribe, the Mangkwan, who also fight the Omaticaya and Metkayina clans. This movie has more character development and focuses a bit less on the symbiotic nature of the Na'vi with other life on the moon and on the moon itself (although that theme is still present). Much of this movie deals with the fallout from the events that ended the second film, and many of the relationships among the characters are fractured (at least to some extent). 

The steelbook release is a 4-disc set, including a UHD disc and two standard Blu-Ray discs. The UHD disc and the first standard Blu-Ray just contain the movie. The second standard Blu-Ray disc contains all the bonus content. Each disc has its own tab inside the case, so no discs need to be stacked on top of each other. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding (basically reference-quality for both audio and video), as you would expect with these films. The franchise continues to be on the cutting edge of motion-capture animation and computer-generated effects, so the Na'vi look less and less like animated characters, and the live-action and CGI blends pretty seamlessly. It is especially good if you have a large screen and a Dolby Atmos surround system. The bonus content includes a 13-part making-of documentary, which can be played all at once (and runs just under three hours) or individually by chapter. It features interviews with various members of the cast and crew, and walks through all aspects of the movie's production. Then, there is a 20-minute tribute to producer Jon Landau, who passed away in 2024, both theatrical trailers, the music video for the film's theme song, Dream as One, sung by Miley Cyrus, and RDA orientation videos that are supposedly shown to RDA personnel before they are sent to Pandora. The set also comes with a code to redeem a digital copy of the movie. Chances are, if the studio follows the same trend as with the first two films, there will be an expanded edition released later in the year with more bonus content and a longer runtime. So, you will have to decide whether you want to get this now or wait for a subsequent release. 

The movie is entertaining, but it is a bit long, and some of the content feels duplicative of the first two movies. You again get a huge final battle between the RDA and the Na'vi, and another huge fight between Jake and Quaritch (this time both as Na'vi). This one does not end on a cliffhanger, and there is no mid- or end-credits scene setting anything up for the next film. It definitely feels like the middle portion of a larger story, and you definitely need to see the first two films to follow what is going on in this one. You really have to look at these movies in a similar way to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films: not everything will be told until the final movie. Ultimately, if you liked the first two films, you will probably enjoy this one.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

 

Edge of Tomorrow (sometimes billed as Live, Die, Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow) is a 2014 sci-fi/action film directed by Doug Liman, starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, and Bill Paxton. The supporting cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor, Kick Gurry, Charlotte Riley, and Franz Drameh. The movie is partly a war film, almost reimagining World War II as a battle against an alien race, called Mimics, and partly a futuristic action film. Most of the movie's events are set in 2020, which, at the time the movie was made, was six years in the future. 

The premise is that the mimics, which operate as a hive collective, landed on Earth in 2015 and took over most of Europe. The world's nations band together to fight them. Cruise plays a public relations officer, Major William Cage, who is ordered by Gleeson's character, General Brigham, to cover the planned invasion of France from the front line. When Cage tries to blackmail the general, he is arrested, tranquilized, demoted to the rank of Private, and sent to join the invasion infantry under the command of Paxton's character, Master Sergeant Farell. During the battle, Cage kills a mimic while dying in the process as he is covered in the Mimic's blood. Cage then discovers that he can reset and relive the day every time he dies. Blunt plays Sergeant Rita Vrataski, who Cage learns once had the same ability, and the two form a plan to kill the "brain" controlling the mimics.

The 4k release is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc just contains the film itself, and all the bonus content is included on the standard Blu-Ray. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds great in UHD, especially if you have a large screen and a 7.1 Dolby Atmos sound system. The standard Blu-Ray contains a little over an hour's worth of content. The most extensive extra is a making-of documentary that runs about 43 minutes and features interviews with Liman and various cast and crew members. Then, there is an "adrenaline cut" of the beach invasion scene, a making-of featurette on the beach invasion scene, featurettes on the weapons and creatures, and about seven minutes of deleted scenes. There are also some previews that play before the main screen loads. 

The movie is a good action film that, despite being a big-budget release, did not feel cookie-cutter. It was mostly well-written (though some parts of the plot could have been cut) and well-acted. It has a nice blend of action, humor, and even some drama. Regardless of what you may think of Cruise in his personal life, he does a great job in almost all of his roles and dedicates himself to the movies he does. Blunt is a great co-lead, and the supporting cast members all do a good job in their respective roles. While the movie relies heavily on CGI, they used as many practical effects as they could, and the CGI that is there looks seamless. Ultimately, if you are a fan of sci-fi and/or action films, this is absolutely worth checking out and adding to a physical media collection. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: From Dusk Till Dawn

 

From Dusk Till Dawn is a 1996 film that blends the action, crime-drama, and monster genres. It was directed by Robert Rodriguez and stars George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino (who also wrote the screenplay), Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, and Salma Hayek (in her second major film role). The supporting cast includes Cheech Marin (who plays three different roles), John Saxon, Danny Trejo, Fred Williamson, Tom Savini, and Kelly Preston. In it, Clooney and Tarantino play criminal brothers who have recently robbed a bank and taken one of the tellers hostage. They end up taking a family (Keitel, Lewis, and Liu) hostage and force Keitel, who plays a former minister named Jacob Fuller (who has lost his faith after his wife's death), to Mexico in the family's RV. Seth (Clooney's character) assures Jacob that his family will be safe after they meet the brother's contact the following morning at a strip club in Mexico that is open from dusk till dawn. It turns out the strip club is run by vampires who steal from truckers and bikers who frequent the club. 

The blu-ray release is a single-disc release with no bonus content. The A/V transfer is okay, but not outstanding. If you have a large screen and a good sound system, the movie will look and sound very good, even if the HD transfer is not of the highest quality.

The movie falls into the category of good, but not great. It was made just before the big advancement in CGI effects and technology (basically before the first Matrix film and the subsequent Star Wars and Harry Potter films revolutionized movie effects), so some of the effects are extremely fake-looking and cheesy. It is absolutely not family-friendly as it has a lot of violence, swearing, and some nudity. It is well-written and well-acted, and Hayek looks stunning in her bikini scene and takes over the movie at one point despite the limited screen time she gets. While it is not really a comedy, it does have some funny moments, such as Cheech Marin showing up throughout the film in different roles. Ultimately, if you are a fan of action films and shoot-em-up monster movies, you will probably like this one. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

 

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is a 2023 film directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Daisy Head, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, and Justice Smith. The supporting cast includes Bradley Cooper and Rege-Jean Page. Goldstein and Daley also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gillo. It is, of course, based on the role-playing game and is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. 

In it, Pine plays a bard named Edgin "Ed" Davis, who was in an order of peacekeepers until his wife was killed by disciples of a wizard that he arrested. He then becomes a thief, teaming up with a barbarian named Helga (played by Rodriguez), a sorcerer named Simon (played by Smith), and a con artist named Fitzwilliam (played by Grant). Ed and Helga are caught during a robbery and are imprisoned for 2 years. After escaping, Ed tries to track down Fitzwilliam and his daughter, Kira, whom Fitzwilliam has been caring for. Daisy Head plays Sofina, a red wizard, working for Fitzwilliam. 

The 4K release is a single-disc release. The UHD disc contains the movie and all the bonus content. The A/V quality is outstanding, and the movie looks and sounds wonderful in UHD, especially on a large screen with a good sound system.  The bonus material includes about an hour of content, including a making-of featurette, featurettes on the heroes and villains, a gag reel, and about ten minutes of deleted scenes. 

I would classify the movie as good (and better than the other live-action D&D movies that have come before), but not great. It has a decent mix of action and humor, and the effects are outstanding. The humor can be a bit much, a bit corny, and a bit cheesy at times, but the writers do stay pretty faithful to the setting. Ultimately, if you are a fan of fantasy films, you will probably find this one enjoyable and worth watching. If, however, you are holding out for something like the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends series, this is definitely not it. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: 13 Going on 30

 

13 Going on 30 is a 2004 romantic comedy directed by Gary Winick and starring Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, and Andy Serkis. The supporting cast includes Christa B. Allen, Alexandra Kyle, Sean Marquette, Kathy Baker, Renee Olstead, Samuel Ball, Phil Reeves, and Marcia DeBonis. It also includes Jim Gaffigan, Kiersten Warren, Brie Larson, and Ashley Benson in very minor bit parts. It starts in 1987 with a girl named Jenna Rink (Allen) turning 13. She is a nerdy kid whose best friend is her next-door neighbor Matt (Marquette), who is also nerdy and has a huge crush on Jenna. She desperately wants to be part of the popular group of girls at her school, nicknamed The Six Chicks, led by the most popular girl, Lucy/"Tom-Tom" (Kyle). Jenna ends up wishing that she were "thirty, flirty, and thriving" and, through the magic of movies, wakes up in 2004 as a 30-year-old (played by Garner) in New York City. The last thing she remembers is being humiliated by the Six Chicks at her birthday party, with no memory of the intervening 17 years. She ends up tracking down Matt (played by Ruffalo) and enlists his help to figure out what happened, discovering that she does not like who she ultimately grew up to be.

The Blu-Ray is a single-disc release. The A/V quality is very good, with an outstanding HD video transfer and very good 5.1 channel audio transfer. The bonus content includes two commentary tracks on the film: a director's commentary by Winick and a producer's commentary by two of the film's producers, Gina Matthews and Susan Arnold. Then there are just under a half hour's worth of deleted scenees, a couple of making-of featurettes, a featurette on 80s fashion, a featurette in which the cast members discuss their awkward teenage years, and two music videos (Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" and Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl," both of which are featured in the movie). Finally, there are trailers for three other films, but not the trailer for 13 Going on 30 itself. 

The movie is a fun and pretty innocent romantic comedy. It is to millennials what the movie "Big" was to Gen-Xers. The best way I can describe the movie is that it is what you would get if you mixed Big with the other huge 2004 comedy, "Mean Girls." Garner, who was still in her run as a TV action star playing Sidney Bristow on Alias, proved that she has great comedic acting skills. She totally made you buy that she was a clueless and innocent 13-year-old in the body of a smoking hot 30-year-old. Greer (who plays the adult version of Lucy) was great in her role, and Ruffalo was perfect for the part of the adult version of Matt. It is not a raunchy comedy by any means; there are some sex jokes and a couple of swear words thrown in, but it is definitely appropriate for a PG-13 audience, and can be enjoyed by adults (especially those who were in middle school or high school in the late 80s/early 90s). There are several laugh-out-loud moments, and the film features a wonderful 1980s soundtrack. While parts of it are a bit corny, it does hold up well even after 20-plus years. It is absolutely worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Incredible Mr. Limpet

 

The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 comedy starring Don Knotts, Carole Cook, Jack Weston, Andrew Duggan, Larry Keating, Paul Frees, and Elizabeth MacRae. Most of the story is set in the 1940s during World War II. Knotts plays a bookkeeper named Henry Limpet, who loves fish and often wishes he were one. He attempts to enlist to fight in the war, but is denied due to poor eyesight. He is the classic wimpy pushover who is browbeaten by his wife, Bessie (played by Cook), and is mercilessly teased by his best friend George (played by Weston). When he falls off the pier at Coney Island, he transforms into a fish, and when he discovers that he has a powerful underwater roar that he calls a "thrum," he begins helping the Navy destroy German U-boats.

The blu-ray release is a single-disc release. The A/V quality is good, but it did not receive the high-quality restoration some older films have. If you have a decent home-theater setup, the movie will look and sound okay, but it will not be as good as those that receive an extensive HD transfer. There is a little over 20 minutes of bonus content, including an introduction to the film by Knotts, a promotional short film about the film's premier in Weeki Wachee, FL, a series of short segments in which Knotts reflects on the various actors who worked on the fim, and the theatrical trailer (which is preceeded by a promotion for the songs from the film which was relased as a single).

The movie is a bit corny and cheesy, but it was one of the first (if not the first) movies to blend live-action with animation. And unlike many of today's comedies, it is absolutely family-friendly and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There is one sex joke at the end that is pretty mild and would probably go over most kids' heads, but there is no swearing or anything that is not appropriate for young kids. It holds up fairly well, even after 60+ years. Ultimately, the movie is a fun, offbeat film that is worth watching. 

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Dogma

 

Dogma is the 1999 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It was the fourth film in what is known as the View Askewinverse, which is the series of comedies written and directed by Smith, which at the time, included the films Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy. It stars Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Alan Rickman, and Chris Rock, as well as Smith and Jason Mewes as the characters Jay and Silent Bob. George Carlin and Alanis Morissette also have what amounts to extended cameos. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson (who were the leads in Clerks) made cameo appearances, and Janeane Garofalo and Bud Cort have small roles. In the film, Affleck and Damon play fallen angels named Bartleby and Loki, who attempt to exploit a loophole in their banishment to Earth and re-enter Heaven, which, if successful, will wipe out everything in existence. Fiorentino plays Bethany, a counselor at an abortion clinic who is undergoing a crisis of faith and is recruited by the angel Metatron (played by Rickman) to stop them. She is aided by Jay and Silent Bob, as well as Rock's character Rufus, and Hayek's character Serendipity, while Lee's character, the demon Azrael, tries to stop her. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. It is definitely an upgrade over the initial DVD release, and a good, but not outstanding upgrade over the blu-ray (which had been out of print for many years). The UHD disc includes the two original commentary tracks, one with Smith, Affleck, Lee, Mewes, producer Scott Moser, and Vincent Pereira, which focuses on the movie itself, and the second is a technical commentary track with Smith, Moser, and Pereira in which they discuss more of the details about filming and getting the movie made. New features include a short introduction by Smith for the 4k release that plays after the disc loads, a new making-of documentary that runs almost an hour and a half that features updated interviews, a portion of a Q&A session with Smith after a screening of the film, an interview with Smith that runs about 15 minutes, the original trailer and a 25th anniversary trailer, and a few shorter featurettes. 

The standard blu-ray contains the films and both commentary tracks (although the track with Smith and the cast includes video pop-ups that are not in the version on the UHD disc), the intro by Smith, and all the legacy content carried over from the original release. Those include about an hour and a half of deleted and extended scenes, a 40-minute documentary focusing on the very stupid controversy surrounding the film when it was made, some storyboard sequences, more trailers and TV spots, among other things. As with the original release, most references to Miramax and Harvey Weinstein are censored from the extras (with only a couple of exceptions).

The film is good, but it will definitely not appeal to everyone. First and foremost, it is a crude comedy with crude humor (as is the case with most of Smith's movies). It happens to involve religion, unlike what some think, it does not make fun of religion or faith in general. It is a comedy that is set around religious concepts, some controversial and some not. Smith, who was a practicing Catholic for years, wanted to make a comedy that explored the religious dogma he learned growing up. He does poke fun at the Catholic Church, but not the concept of faith in general. Ultimately, if you do not mind crude humor and swearing, it is a good movie that actually teaches some aspects of Christianity and Catholicism, which some people may not otherwise know. If you can accept that, the movie is absolutely worth watching. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Boogie Nights

 

Boogie Nights is a 1997 film about the golden era of porn and is very loosely based on and inspired by events in the life of John Holmes. It was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starred Mack Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, and John C. Reilly in the main roles, and Don Cheadle, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, Nicole Ari Parker, Nina Hartley, Thomas Jane, Melora Walters, Robert Ridgely, Alfred Molina, Phillip Baker Hall, and Ricky Jay in supporting roles. The story begins in 1977, when Wahlberg's character, Eddie Adams, is discovered by Reynolds' character, adult film director Jack Horner, while working as a busboy at a Hollywood nightclub. Adams, who it is hinted is very well-endowed (and we find out at the end of the movie just how much so via a prosthetic penis), takes on the stage name Dirk Diggler and becomes the biggest name in porn as the story progresses into the mid-1980s. The first half of the film shows the glamorous side of the life of porn stars in that era, specifically the money, sex, and partying. The second half shows the dark side of that lifestyle and how the lives of some performers were ruined by the rampant drug use, the struggle (and sometimes inability) to get out, and how slimy some of the power brokers could be. Many of the events in the film are based on things that happened to real porn actors over the years.

The 4k release is a single-disc edition released in 2025 after the film was remastered. It carries over most of the bonus content from the original DVD release, but not all. The director's commentary track, deleted scenes, and music video are carried over, but the character profiles are not, nor is the ability to jump to specific musical numbers in the film from the disc menu. It also includes additional bonus material for this release, including more deleted and extended scenes focused on John C. Reilly's character, a two-part Q&A session, the first part featuring Anderson and Reilly, and the second featuring just Anderson, filmed in 2025. There is also a second commentary track featuring Anderson and many of the actors, spliced together from several conversations. It was not a situation in which the entire group was in a room watching the film and recording commentary as it played. Instead, it was created from several conversations, such as Anderson discussing the movie with some actors separately, and others where a couple of the actors were in the same place discussing the movie. In all, Wahlberg, Moore, Graham, Reilly, Cheadle, Macy, Guzman, and Walters all appear at various points in the second commentary track. Of the two, Anderson's solo commentary provides the most interesting details on the process of making the film. The A/V quality of the 4k restoration is excellent. The film looks and sounds great in the UHD format and is a very significant upgrade from the original DVD release.

The movie is well-written and very-well acted. While it does have a lot of nudity and sexual content (as well as fake drug use) it was not gratuitous and fit within the story being told. That said, it is definitely not family-friendly. It was the film that helped launch or further the careers of many of the cast members who would go on to become A or B-list stars, and revived Reynolds' career (even though he reportedly hated filming it and went on record as saying he never watched it). Ultimately, if you are a fan of good dramas, especially period pieces, this is absolutely worth watching.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: The Dreamers

 

The Dreamers is a 2003 film starring Eva Green (in her first movie role), Michael Pitt, and Louis Garrel. The supporting cast included Anna Chancellor and Robin Renucci. It was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and based on a novel titled The Holy Innocents by Gilbert Adair (who also wrote the movie's screenplay). It was also the second-to-last film directed by Bertolucci, who is probably best known for the very controversial film, The Last Tango in Paris.

The events of the film are set in France in 1968. In it, Pitt plays an American college student studying in Paris. He is a shy movie buff, and during a protest against the firing of a theater director, he meets twins Theo (Garrel) and Isabelle (Green), the children of a famous French poet and fellow film enthusiasts his age. He befriends the twins, and when he is invited to stay with Theo and Isabelle while their parents are away for a month, they embark on a very unusual friendship.

I have the imported 4k release, which is a two-disc import set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. The UHD disc is region-free, meaning it will play on Region 1/US 4k Blu-Ray players. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding and a definite upgrade over the DVD. The standard Blu-ray disc is region-locked to Region 2, so you need a Region 2 or region-free player to play the content on that disc. The bonus content carries over most, but not all, of the features from the original DVD release and also adds bonus material not on the DVD release. The bonus content includes a commentary track on the film by Bertolucci, Adair, and the film's producer, Jeremy Thomas. It appears that the tracks were recorded separately and jump from one speaker to another, rather than being a conversation among the three. That is the only extra on the UHD disc. The rest, which include a making-of featurette, behind-the-scenes B-roll footage, cast and crew interviews, the original trailer, and a trailer for the 4K release, are all on the standard disc. It also includes a movie poster and several postcards featuring scenes from the film. 

The film is good, but strange. The relationship between Theo and Isabelle is cringe-worthy (borderline incestuous, but not quite) and is definitely not a traditional sibling relationship. The movie is definitely not family-friendly. It was originally released with an NC-17 rating, which is well deserved because it contains a lot of sexual content and nudity. It touches on some of the political turmoil of 1968, including the nationwide general strike and student riots in France, but it is mostly in the background until the very end of the film. It also includes clips from several old movies and a very good soundtrack (especially if you are a fan of late-1960s rock and blues). So, while the movie is good, it is definitely not for everyone. It is an erotic drama with a foreign-film feel and would definitely not be made the same way in the US. It was well-acted, especially since all the main actors were in their early 20s and did not have much acting experience when it was made. Ultimately, it is worth checking out if you are a fan of Green's (who has had the most success of all the actors since the movie came out), foreign films, and/or period pieces, and are not easily offended. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Don't Worry Darling

 

Don't Worry Darling is a 2022 film starring Florence Pugh, Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, and Chris Pine in the leading roles, and a supporting cast featuring Sydney Chandler, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan, Kiki Layne, and Dita Von Teese. Olivia Wilde also directed and was one of the producers of the film. It is a hard movie to classify, as it blends genres, specifically thriller, mystery, drama, suspense, and sci-fi. Pugh and Styles play Alice and Jack Chambers, who live in a 1950s desert "company town" run by Pine's character, Frank. Each morning, all the men go off to work at a secretive compound called Victory Headquarters in the middle of the desert, and are not allowed to discuss what they are working on, while the women are all homemakers who spend their days shopping and gossiping. It is implied that the men are working on some kind of national security project akin to the Manhattan Project, but as the movie progresses, we learn that not everything is as it seems. It is hard to fully describe the film without giving too much away, but if you combine bits of The Stepford Wives, The Matrix, Inception, The Truman Show, and The Astronaut Wives Club, you would get something like this.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds wonderful in UHD, with both audio and video near reference-quality. The bonus content, however, is very sparse. It is just on the standard blu-ray disc and consists of just a making-of featurette that runs just over 17 minutes and one deleted scene. The movie is well-written and very well-acted. Pugh's character is the centerpiece of the movie, and she does an excellent job in the leading role, but the entire cast does a great job in their respective roles. The writers do an excellent job of not giving away too much too soon. While you know very early on that something is off about the town and its people, they do a good job of not making everything obvious. Ultimately, it is an excellent film that is absolutely worth the time to watch. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Beauty

 

American Beauty is a 1999 drama written by Sam Mendes and Alan Ball, and directed by Mendes (in his directorial debut). It starred Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Mena Suvari, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Chris Cooper. The outstanding supporting cast includes Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Scott Bakula, John Cho, and Amber Smith (the latter two having very brief scenes). In the film, Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a middle-aged guy in a loveless marriage and a dead-end job who goes through a midlife crisis, inspired to quit his job by his new neighbor (and his daughter's new boyfriend), Ricky (played by Bentley). Benning plays his very Type-A wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays his teenage daughter, Jane. Burnham starts lusting after his daughter's friend, Angela, and Cooper plays Ricky's father, Frank. The movie is about the parts of suburban life that people keep hidden behind closed doors, and how the perfect lives people try to project to their neighbors are often not reality.

The blu-ray release is a single-disc release. It carries over some (but not all) of the bonus content from the original DVD release. The bonus features include two versions of the theatrical trailers, a storyboard presentation with commentary by Mendes and the Director of Photography, a behind-the-scenes featurette featuring interviews with the cast and crew, and a commentary track on the film by Mendes and Alan Ball. It does not include the digital screenplay, production notes, the DVD-ROM content, or cast and crew biographies that were included on the DVD. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is excellent, and the HD format is a definite upgrade from the DVD. 

Ultimately, the movie is wonderful. It won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It is well-written and very well-acted. Some of the story is very cringeworthy, which was the point. All of the main characters are flawed at the very least, deeply so in some cases. It is a unique movie in which even the protagonists are not all that good. It deals with issues such as homophobia, adultery, lust, drug use, abuse (and ignoring abuse), and the like. It does contain a lot of swearing, sexual content, and nudity, so it very much earns its R-rating. And of course, in the last several years, Spacey has become a persona non grata because of multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. He was absolutely the star of the movie, and his performance helped carry the film and make it what it was. However, he definitely did not carry the film all by himself, and it would not have been as good as it was without the rest of the cast and crew. So, whatever Spacey did or did not do in his personal life, you can still enjoy the movie. Ultimately, it is a great movie that deserved all the acclaim it received and is absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Deep Impact

 

Deep Impact was a 1998 disaster film directed by Mimi Leder starring Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, Leelee Sobieski, Tea Leoni, and Morgan Freeman. The supporting cast includes several recognizable actors, including Max Schell, Jon Favreau, Vanessa Redgrave, Blair Underwood, James Cromwell, Laura Innes, Dougray Scott, Mary McCormack, Ron Eldard, Richard Schiff, Charles Martin Smith, Kurtwood Smith, Aleksandr Baluev, and Mark Moses. 

The film's plot centers on a comet discovered by Wood's character, Leo Biederman, during an Astronomy club star party, which is on a collision course with Earth. The government begins preparations for stopping the comet, involving a crew of astronauts (Duvall, McCormack, Eldard, Underwood, Favreaud, and Baluev) being sent to try and blow up the comet using nuclear weapons. As a backup plan, they built a network of caves on Earth to hold a million people underground for two years, instituting a lottery system to randomly select anyone under 50 to be taken to the caves. It is partly an action movie, but mostly a blend of suspense and drama centered around the attempt to destroy the comet.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc (with just the movie) and a standard Blu-Ray disc with the movie and extras. The A/V quality of the film in the UHD format is excellent. The video transfer is not reference-quality, but it is a substantial upgrade over the DVD and 1080p versions of the film. The audio track is the same 5.1 lossless track created when the film was released on Blu-Ray. The extras were all carried over from the Blu-Ray release and include a commentary track on the movie by Leder and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar, a few short making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a photo gallery, the teaser trailer, and the theatrical trailer.

The movie was the "other" disaster film from 1998, along with Armageddon, which had a very similar plot and was the bigger summer blockbuster of that year. Deep Impact was arguably the better, more scientifically accurate movie (though it did stretch things, such as the idea that Earth's surface would be livable two years after a "planet-killing" comet hit it). Ultimately, it is well-written and acted with a great mix of action, drama, and suspense (and gets quite sad at the end). It is absolutely worth watching.