Book Review: Use of Force (Scot Harvath Series #16)

 

Use of Force, published in 2017, is the 16th book in the Scot Harvath series of action-thriller novels written by Brad Thor. The plot of this novel involves a series of terrorist attacks in Europe after the body of a terrorist suspect washes ashore in Italy after a distress call is received by the Italian coast guard. The CIA hires Harvath on a black ops contract to provide the government deniability for his actions as he investigates the attacks. Intertwined with that storyline is an internal US plot that involves the surveillance of the CIA director and the head of the Carlton group, Reed Carlton. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages. It reads much like the other novels in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the other books (assuming you have read them). While it is not imperative to read the other novels in the series to follow the plot of this one, Thor does refer to events from the prior books from time to time. He also does not provide the main characters' backstories as those have been fleshed out in the previous books. So, it does help to read the prior novels to understand who all the characters are. Ultimately, the book tells a good story and blends action and suspense with some humor. If you are a fan of action thrillers, spy novels, and/or Thor's prior books in the series, this one is worth your time to read.

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

 

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

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

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Jason Bourne

 

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

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

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

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Legacy

 

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

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

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

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

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

 

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

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

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

4K-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Supremacy

 

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

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

4K-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Identity

 

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

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

Book Review: Foreign Agent (Scot Harvath Series # 15)

 

Foreign Agent, published in 2016, is the 15th novel in Brad Thor's series of action-thrillers centered around Scot Harvath. The plotline involves a series of attacks against Americans in the Middle East who were planning to move against the social media director of ISIS. It is discovered that the attacks were planned and bankrolled by the Russians, and Harvath is sent to Syria to take out those responsible. The secondary plotline involves a mole inside the US government working for the Russians, who fed them the information that led to the attacks. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long, coming in at just over 330 pages. It reads like the other books in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the others have. You do not need to have read the prior books to understand the plot of this one. While Thor does refer to events in the prior novels occasionally, the series' books mostly have standalone storylines. The thing you lose by not reading the previous books is the character development of the established characters. Thor relies on the earlier novels to provide the backstories of the established characters and only fleshes out the backgrounds of new characters. There are a handful of new characters in this book, some of who may appear in later novels and others who probably will not. Ultimately, the book is a well-written action thriller. This one is worth reading if you are a fan of the genre (and the spy novel genre) and/or Thor's prior novels.

DVD/Movie Review: The Betrayed

 

The Betrayed is a 2008 thriller directed by Amanda Gusack starring Melissa George (probably best known for her role in the series Alias), Oded Fehr (probably best known for his role in the first two Mummy movies and several of the Resident Evil movies), Connor Christopher, Christian Campbell, Alice Krige, and Donald Adams. The movie begins at the scene of what appears to be a hit-and-run car accident, but the driver of the car that was hit is nowhere to be found. Then, we see a woman named Jamie (George) who has been kidnapped and is being held in a warehouse by a masked stranger (Fehr) who is asking for information about her husband (Campbell). Jamie finds out that she and her son, Michael,  are being held by members of a crime syndicate who claim that her husband, who Jamie believes is the owner of an Italian restaurant, has stolen forty million dollars from them. She is told that she and her son will be released if she helps track down the money. 

The DVD is a very bare-bones release. There is no bonus content specific to the movie. The only extras are a series of trailers that play before the disc menu loads. While the movie is not quite an independent film, it definitely had a lower budget and is not an action-packed blockbuster with an A-list cast. That said, it is a well-written and acted thriller. George and Fehr, who have mostly had supporting roles in their careers, are excellent as the leads. While the movie has a little bit of action, mostly at the end, it is mainly a suspense thriller set in a single location for the vast majority of the time. The run time comes in at just under 90 minutes. The story is compact and does not ever seem to lag. Ultimately, it is a decent to good B-level drama/suspense thriller that is worth watching.

Book Review: Capture or Kill (Mitch Rapp Series #13 Chronological Order; #23 Publication Order)

 

Capture or Kill, published in 2024, is the newest entry in the Mitch Rapp series of novels created by the late author Vince Flynn. It was written by Don Bentley, who took over the series from Kyle Mills, who, of course, took it over after Vince Flynn's death. The book is set back in 2011, between the events of the last two novels that Vince Flynn finished, Pursuit of Honor and The Last Man. Therefore, the book is now the 13th book in the series if you read the books in chronological order. The plot initially involves Rapp going after more of the terrorists who had captured and tortured Irene Kennedy. That mission is interrupted when he discovers that a bunch of shoulder-fired missiles have been stolen and are to be used against American targets. As Flynn and Mills often did in their novels, Bentley also weaves the fictional storyline with real-world events. Here, while in the process of trying to track down the missiles, Rapp learns of and assists in the lead-up to the mission that would kill Osama Bin Laden.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 470 pages. Ultimately, the book is an excellent action thriller. Bentley, a long-time fan of the Mitch Rapp series, was able to emulate the style and tone of the prior novels yet make it his own. And because the events are set in the past, Bentley could incorporate characters (some directly and some by name) who had not been in the more recent novels. If you enjoy the series, this is an excellent addition. Bentley does an outstanding job with the characters and honors and preserves the work done by Flynn and (to a lesser extent) Mills. It is a great first outing for Bentley. It will be interesting to see if he does more stories set between prior novels or returns the storyline to the present. It is definitely worth the time to read.

Book Review: Holly

 

Holly is a 2023 thriller by Stephen King. It is centered around the character of Holly Gibney, introduced in the novel Mr. Mercedes. The bulk of the story is set in 2021, during the COVID pandemic. Holly, who is running the Finders Keepers detective agency, is contacted by a woman named Penny Dahl, whose daughter Bonnie has mysteriously disappeared. The investigation reveals multiple disappearances that seem to point to a serial killer and the involvement of a pair of retired professors. While you do not need to have read the earlier books in which Holly Gibney appeared to follow what is going on in this book, you will get more of the character's evolution as King lets those earlier works serve as the character development for Holly.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 450 pages. King writes it so that the readers know more than the characters in the book. He uses flashbacks to tell part of the story so the readers know who is responsible for the disappearances but do not know the motive until the last act. Even though the readers know more than the character of Holly does early in the book, King still manages to make the story very suspenseful. King does, as he has in his more recent books, include some social commentary (this time, the reaction to COVID and the vaccines) into the story and takes some shots at the orange genital wart (which will, of course, freak out the lickspittle MAGATs). Still, neither of those things dominates the story. Ultimately, it is a very well-written thriller. If you are a fan of King's novels, especially his recent ones, this one is worth reading. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

 

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the 2011 follow-up to the 2010 movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson. The rest of the cast includes Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan, and Geraldine James. This time, Moriarty is introduced in the flesh, as opposed to the shadowy figure from the first movie, and played wonderfully by Jared Harris. The movie incorporates elements of different Holmes stories, such as The Final Problem, and basically sets up a Holmes v. Moriarty showdown. I will not go into too much detail to avoid giving too much away, but if you have read the Holmes novels, you likely have an idea of the ending, although it does not follow the stories from the books word-for-word.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds great in the HD format and the special effects look seamless with the practical effects. The extras are much like what was included in the Blu-Ray release of the first movie. The most extensive being the Maximum Movie Mode, which allows you to play the movie with behind the scenes material interjected. Then, there are some other behind the scenes features included as well. A lot to go through for people who like the bonus material.

Ultimately, if you liked the first movie, you will likely like this one, as it has a very similar tone and feel with an even better bad guy to be a foil for Holmes. You really cannot compare it with the BBC series Sherlock, as the movies and the series were really their own thing. It just so happens that, unfortunately, were released very close in time, and the series went on to be a very big hit. This, I think, is at least a part of why future movies have not materialized (not to mention Downey Jr. and Cumberbatch's commitments to the Marvel movies). It is definitely worth a couple of hours if you are looking for a good action movie.

Book Review: Code of Conduct (Scot Harvath Series #14)

 

Code of Conduct, published in 2015, is the 14th novel in Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series of thrillers. It is Thor's 15th overall novel, including The Athena Project, which was spun off from the Harvath series. The storyline involves a terrorist plot that starts out in Africa and is uncovered when a video clip showing the effects of a mysterious illness appears. The plot involves releasing a new virus worldwide to start a global pandemic and kill off a vast chunk of the world's population, and of course, Harvath has to try to stop it.

The hardcover version of the book is about 360 pages long. The storyline starts out a bit slowly but picks up as the book goes along. The last third of the book is very suspenseful and action-packed and has a bit more political intrigue than most of Thor's other books. Most of the characters in the book are already established. There are a handful of new characters in the book, some of whom could appear in subsequent novels. The storyline is fairly self-contained so you do not need to have read the prior books in the series to follow what is going on, but it does help a bit to know the background of the main characters. It is worth reading for fans of the series or just fans of the action/thriller or spy novel genres. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Alien

 

Alien is the 1979 horror/action film directed by Ridley Scott that started the Alien franchise. It stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skeritt, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, and Yaphet Kotto. The story involves the crew of a space tug called the Nostromo being awakened from suspended animation while returning to Earth by the ship's computer when a transmission from a nearby moon is detected. The crew is tasked with investigating the source of the transmission, which turns out to be a large spaceship with a dead alien with a hole in its chest. While investigating the ship, one of the crew members is attacked by a creature that ends up being brought aboard the ship. From there, it becomes a fairly standard monster/chase movie.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc.  The 4k set was released in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of the film. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. While the film does retain some grain and noise from the transfer, the movie looks better than it has on any prior physical media release. The extras (which are included on the UHD disc), however, are limited. There are two different versions of the movie, the Director's Cut and the theatrical version. There are commentary tracks on each version of the movie. On the Director's Cut, there is a commentary track that included Scott and all of the crew members that was recorded in 2003. The commentary track on the theatrical version was recorded by Scott in 1999. Then, you can watch the theatrical version of the movie with two different scores. One is the theatrical isolated score, and the other is Jerry Goldsmith's original score, which was heavily changed for the movie's release. Then, there are a handful of deleted and extended scenes. If you own the Alien Quadrilogy on DVD or Blu-Ray, that set has a lot of extras that were not transferred over to this release. So, if you are a person who is a fan of bonus content, you will want to keep that set. Ultimately, the movie is good but dated (as the newer movies in the franchise have proven). The physical release is very good (aside from the fact that not all the prior bonus content was included) and is definitely worth the pickup.  

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Doctor Sleep

 

Doctor Sleep is a 2019 sequel to The Shining, starring Rebecca Ferguson, Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran, Jacob Tremblay, Emily Alyn Lind,  Zahn McClarnon, Bruce Greenwood, Carl Lumbly, and Alex Essoe. It tells the story of the now-adult Danny Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, who is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened at The Overlook Hotel. Rebecca Ferguson plays Rose Hat, the leader of a group called the True Knot, who are comprised of people with The Shine, who "eat" the shine of those they kill (primarily kids). Kyliegh Curran plays Abra, a young girl with a powerful "shine" whom the True Knot crew wants to find and Danny is trying to protect.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The 4k disc has the theatrical version of the movie and all of the extras. The regular Blu-Ray includes the director's cut of the movie. It looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The movie stays faithful to Kubrick's version of The Shining, which Stephen King really disliked, but also incorporates the ending of the book version of The Shining (having Danny take over Jack's role at the end of the book) while fighting Rose Hat. There is about 45 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of material included as extras. It's not a ton of bonus content, but what was included was good. Overall, the movie is excellent. It is very violent, and there is some nudity, so it earns the R-rating. Ferguson dominates nearly every scene she is in, and McGregor does a great job playing the adult version of Danny. Kyliegh Curran does a wonderful job as the child lead in this movie, and if there are more stories to be told of her character, she would do a great job. It is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Shining

 

The Shining is a 1980 thriller/horror film starring Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duval, and Danny Lloyd. Scatman Crothers, Joe Turkel, and Phillip Stone play the major supporting characters. It is, of course, the iconic Stanley Kubrick movie, which heavily adapted Stephen King's novel (which apparently King either disliked immensely or outright hated) of the same name. It stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, a writer who agrees to become the winter caretaker of The Overlook Hotel on the side of a mountain in Colorado. He moves there with his wife Wendy, played by Shelly Duvall, and son Danny, played by Danny Lloyd. Both Jack and his son have "The Shining" which allows them to see ghosts and other, disturbing, imagery. Over time, Jack is driven crazy by evil living in the hotel.

The movie definitely does not follow the novel to a tee, which may upset fans of the novel as it did King. I do tend to agree with King that his interpretation of Jack as a good guy who slowly devolves over the course of time is not really borne out in the movie. Nicholson never really gives off a vibe that he is a "good" person, and about 45 minutes into a two and a half hour movie, he is already going nuts. Duvall's character was not exactly written as a strong character as she was in the book, and Kubrick totally changed the ending. That said, I do think Kubrick did a perfect job with his interpretation of the story and got great performances from all the characters, including Danny Lloyd, who did a great job for being so young. Nicholson nailed the "nuts" Jack Torrance and you totally could buy that he was off the rails, even if he did not have the kind of progression the character in the book did.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality in UHD is outstanding, especially the visuals at the beginning of the movie on the drive to the hotel and the exterior shots of the hotel. Most of the extras are on the regular Blu-Ray disc. The audio commentary track on the movie by one of the camera operators and Kubrick's biographer is included on both the UHD disc and the regular Blu-Ray disc. The remaining extras include a making-of documentary, which was filmed on the set by Kubrick's daughter, and a featurette on the composer who discusses the music used to score the film. There is a lot of good bonus content, but it does not include the theatrical trailer, which was included in the original DVD release.

Overall, I cannot say that the movie is for everyone. It is very violent, has a lot of swearing and some nudity in it. So, if that turns you off to a movie, then don't even think about this. Also, those who are huge fans of the book may not like Kubrick's adaptation. But, if you can look beyond those things, and are a fan of horror movies, especially those that do not involve an unstoppable killer, this is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Knives Out

 

Knives Out is a murder mystery from 2019. It was written and directed by Rian Johnson (his first movie post-Star Wars) and stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martelland, Toni Collette. It is what you would get if you cross an Agatha Christie novel with the game Clue and a little bit of Sherlock Holmes mixed in. The main plot is that the patriarch of a wealthy New England family, named Harlan Thormby (played by Christopher Plummer), who is a famous mystery writer, dies on the night of his birthday party, in what, all appearances, looks to be an open and shut suicide. The local police, as well as a renowned private investigator named Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig), who is hired under mysterious circumstances, are investigating the death, looking into everyone who was in contact with Harlan, including his eccentric (to put it mildly) family. All the characters seem to have a reason/motive for killing Harlan. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is wonderful. The cinematographic shots of New England look great in UHD. The UHD disc also includes bonus features, including an eight-part making-of-documentary, a question-and-answer session with cast members and Rian Johnson, fake promotional ads, and trailers. The film is a unique "whodunit" in that the audience knows most of what happened throughout most of the movie, but there are twists that make it clear not all is what it seems, all building up to a classic third-act reveal. While the entire cast does a great job, Craig and De Armas really shine in their roles and definitely deserved their Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress. Overall, it is a wonderful, well-written, and well-acted movie. It is really not something that you can easily just have on in the background, give your partial attention to, and still follow what is going on. But if you are looking for a way to kill a couple of hours with a great, fairly unique story, this is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Invisible Man

 

The Invisible Man is a 2020 horror/thriller. It is an updated version of the Invisible Man story, which has undergone several different on-screen iterations. It stars Elisabeth Moss (from Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale), Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, and Oliver Jackson Cohen. It was directed by Leigh Whannell, a writer on some of the movies in the Saw franchise. The story involves a woman leaving her abusive boyfriend while he stalks and terrorizes her. The invisibility part comes in with him being an optics expert who builds a suit that allows him to appear invisible. From there, it is a decent thriller. While it does have some twists and turns, the ending is predictable if you pay attention all the way through. It is violent and bloody in a couple of parts, but it is not anywhere near as gory as the Saw movies, which often went overboard on the gore.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. There are some beautiful views of Australia (where the film was shot), which doubled for San Francisco (where it was set). The extras are all included on the UHD disc, including deleted scenes, a few behind-the-scenes features, and a director's commentary. Outside the commentary track, the bonus features amount to about a half hour's worth of material. What was included was good, but it was not extensive. Overall, the movie is good but not great. It is well-acted, and the writing is good, even if a bit predictable. It is not an award-winner by any means (not that it tries to be), but it is worth checking out if you are looking for a suspense movie to watch to kill a couple of hours.

Book Review: Act of War (Scot Harvath Series #13)

 

Act of War, published in 2014, is the 13th novel in Brad Thor's long-running series of international action thrillers. The plot involves a potential attack on the United States orchestrated by China. Part of the book is set in North Korea, and part is set in the United States. Harvath has to unravel a series of mysteries that point to a coordinated attack against major US cities nationwide.

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages long. Thor has found the tone of the series and sticks with it. It has a good blend of action and suspense. Thor does mix some politics into the storyline, but the political characters are mostly in the background (as opposed to those in the Mitch Rapp series, for example). Some new characters are introduced in this book, and characters from prior novels, such as Sloane, Reed Carlton, and Nicholas (A.K.A., "The Troll"), also appear. Ultimately, if you like the prior novels in the series, you will probably like this one. You can follow the story in this book even if you have not read any of the prior novels, but it does help to know who the major characters are. It is definitely worth the time to read.

DVD/TV Mini-Series Review: Stephen King's The Shining (1997)

 

This is the version of The Shining that Stephen King really wanted to be made, so much so that he wrote the screenplay and was an executive producer on the miniseries. Depending on what you read, he either was highly disappointed by or outright hated the Kubrick movie, mostly because he felt that it did not interpret the story correctly, and he thought Jack Nicholson was too crazy to play Jack Torrance the way he envisioned the character. And, he felt that Kubrick wrote the character of Wendy (and had Shelly Duvall play her) as too much of a pushover.

This version, which aired on ABC in 1997 stars Steven Weber (who is best known for the series Wings), Rebecca De Mornay, Courtland Mead (who did a great job as Danny), and Melvin Van Peebles. It is a more faithful adaptation of the book than the movie was, in large part because it was 4.5 hours long versus the two hours, so it could show Jack going crazy over a longer period of time than the movie could. I think that alone helps tell the story better because about 40 minutes into the movie Nicholson was already morphing into the "nuts" version of Jack. And, the series can flesh out the family relationship more than the movie ever did. The tradeoff, of course, is that the series had to tone down the blood and gore that the movie was famous for, so it is much more of a thriller than it is a horror movie.

The DVD set comes on two discs, with parts 1 and 2 on the first disc, and part three on the second. There are commentary tracks (including the director, Stephen King, Steven Webber, and a couple of other cast and crew members) on each part. The commentary tracks are selectable from the disc menu, although, for the commentary track for the second part,  I could not get it to play from the DVD menu. I had to start part two, then switch the audio track to Track 2 to hear it. The commentary tracks for parts 1 and 3 played just fine from the menu. It is a bit of an odd commentary track in that not all the participants were in the same room discussing it. The tracks were recorded separately, and then they cycle through who is talking. King was pretty diplomatic regarding the Kubrick movie and mainly focused on this version. The commentary tracks are the main bonus features but, on the second disc, there are some deleted scenes.

The A/V quality of the DVD is bad. In some spots, it looks the same as a VHS-quality video. The special effects were not the greatest, given that it was made in 1997, but there was no big effort to enhance them for the DVD release. Overall, I would not call this a must-see, unless you are a huge fan of the book and want to see it adapted the way King wanted it to be. It is different from the movie, and it was meant to be so. Thankfully, none of the actors try to recreate the performances of the actors in the movie. They made it their own, and that made it work.