Product Review: Redcon1 MRE (7.15 lbs, Blueberry Cobbler)

 

This is a meal replacement powder as opposed to just a protein supplement. The serving size is four scoops, and there are approximately 50 servings per tub. Personally, I use two scoops at a time and then add in another scoop of regular protein powder to keep the carb count low. Plus, I like mixing a chocolate protein powder in with it to get a mix of chocolate and blueberry flavor, which I personally really like. If you take an entire serving, you get 530 calories, 47g of protein, 75 g of carbs (with 8g of fiber), and 4 g of fat. As I said, I take 2 scoops at a time then add in some protein powder to keep the carb count down while still getting a good amount of protein, and generally use it as a replacement for dinner/post-workout.

It blends fairly well, although I did have a little bit of residue at the bottom of the cup after I blended it (I blend it in a Vitamix blender as opposed to using a shaker cup). So, the last bit in the cup was a bit chalky, but not horrible. It tastes very good, at least when adding chocolate protein powder to it. It is definitely a good option for a meal replacement.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Skyfall

 

This is, of course, the third Bond movie with Daniel Craig starring in the titular role. It is unique in a couple of ways. First, the opening sequence diverges a lot from the opening sequences of many of the prior Bond movies where Bond manages to successfully capture or kill someone, or execute some mission that he is on, usually separate from the main story. I have not seen every Bond movie, but the ones I have seen have all opened like that. Second, this movie, unlike Quantum of Solace, is not tied into the storyline from Casino Royale. Of course, anyone who has seen the rest of the Bond films knows that there is a return to that story arc after this movie. The story in this movie revolves as much around M (played brilliantly by Judi Dench) than it does Bond, and Javier Bardem is awesome as the main villain Raoul Silva, in a much different role than his other iconic villain character from No Country for Old Men.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is awesome, and the cinematography really pops in the HD. format. The extras include two separate commentary tracks on the film, one with the director Sam Mendes, and the other with the producers of the movie. Then there is an hour-long making-of documentary that is split into several parts that can be watched individually or all at once. Then there is a short feature on the world premiere of the movie, the theatrical trailer, and trailers for other movies. So, a lot of good material if you like watching the extras.

Overall, the movie is very good. Daniel Craig has really solidified his role as Bond and by this point all the griping and complaining about him as the lead had pretty much stopped. The movie balances the action scenes with the dramatic scenes very well, and the acting is spectacular. I have not seen all of the Bond movies, but of the ones that I have, it is definitely one of my favorites and well worth watching.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 9

Day 9 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. This was pretty much the same as Friday's workout in terms of the amount of weight I could use and the number of push-ups I could get through on my toes. The exercises for which the weight was increased from last time were definitely tougher, and on those, I maxed out at just eight reps. 

Product Review: Maxell 190041 Disc Scratch And Repair Kit

 

If you have a CD or DVD that has a minor scratch, one that will cause the disc to skip or pixelate, but not stop completely, this will work to get rid of the scratch and cause the skip to stop. If the scratch is deep enough to cause the disc to freeze entirely, then this is not likely to correct it. I tried it on a disc with a minor scratch and it worked well. On a disc with a deeper scratch, even going through the process a few times, it did not get rid of it.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Django Unchained

 

Django Unchained is a movie you will know within the first few minutes whether you will love or hate. It is set shortly before the Civil War. Christoph Waltz plays Dr. King Schultz, a former doctor turned bounty hunter seeking to buy a slave named Django (played by Jamie Foxx) to get his help in tracking three outlaw brothers who were overseers at a plantation on which Django was enslaved. In return, Schultz offers Django his freedom and agrees to help him find his wife Hildi, played by Kerry Washington who was sold away from Django as punishment. The movie is definitely inspired by the Spaghetti Westerns of the past infused with Quentin Tarantino's over-the-top brand of violence and humor. It has a strong supporting cast including Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio whom both shine in their roles, as do Waltz, Foxx, and Washington.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in the HD format. There is a little over half an hour worth of making-of featurettes and the trailers. Unfortunately, there is no commentary track on the movie, which would have been nice to have. But, what was included was great.

Overall, the movie is wonderful. It is well-written and very well-acted. Yes, it does include the n-word a lot, shows slaves being beaten, and everything. But, keep in mind, that the is set in the south during the 1800s and does not at all sugarcoat what life, and the people were like. It is not telling a "Gone WIth the Wind" type love story between members of the ruling class, the perspective from which the story is told is much different, and includes all the gory details. If that makes you uncomfortable, that may be a good thing. Certainly, Quentin Tarantino's movies are not for everyone, and this is no exception. But, if you are generally a fan of his work, this is definitely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Iron Man

 

While, by 2008, there had been other superhero movies like Spiderman and the original Fantastic Four movies made and relatively successful, this is the first movie in what would become a 20+ movie and counting franchise of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has dominated not only the superhero movie genre but really the movie landscape as a whole for more than a decade.

The movie is the origin story of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and his superhero alter-ego, Iron Man. Stark is an ultra-rich, ultra-smart, and sometimes too smooth for his own good, tech genius. He is the head of Stark Industries which is basically a weapons developer that makes weapons for the military and anyone who is the highest bidder. After a demonstration of his newest missile technology for the military in a fictitious middle-eastern country, the convoy he is in is attacked and he is taken, prisoner and forced to make a missile for a group of terrorists. Instead of making them a missile, he develops the first Iron Man suit, breaks out, and upon being rescued, he determines to take the company in a new direction and develop a better suit that he can use to fight bad guys.

The movie has a great supporting cast including Gweneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Tony's assistant and potential love interest, Terrance Howard as James Rhodes, Tony's friend and military liaison, Jon Favreau whom both directed the movie and played Happy Hogan, Tony's driver, Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, a partner in Stark Industries, Leslie Bibb as reported Christine Everhart, Paul Bettany as the voice of Jarvis, Tony's artificially intelligent assistant, and Clark Gregg, as Phil Coulson.

For those who get the 4k Disc, the movie looks very good in the UHD format, but it does not get as good a video upgrade as some of the other movies have. It is probably not something you would likely notice unless you are a big-time A/V wonk, but it is not a giant video upgrade over the Blu-Ray disc. The audio upgrade to Dolby Atmos is wonderful and the movie sounds great even if you have a modest sound system. For extras, they are somewhat sparse. There is a Hall of Armor interactive gallery with details about the different versions of the Iron Man suits in the movie, about 23 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, and a six different featurettes under the title "The Invincible Iron Man" that can be played all together at one time, that is essentially an hour-long documentary on the history of the character in the comics. It is important to note, that when the movie was originally released on Blu-Ray, it was released in various retailer exclusives that had different bonus content. None of that exclusive content was brought over to this one, so if you have a retailer exclusive Blu-Ray then you will want to keep that one as well (if the extras are important to you).

Overall, the movie is great. Had the movie not worked, there probably never would have been an MCU, and at the time, casting Robert Downey Jr. as essentially in the lead role of not only this movie but the leader of many of the movies that would come after that was a huge risk given his history of drug abuse.. You can tell that he took the role (and the movie) very seriously, and was perfectly cast for the role of Tony Stark. But really, all of the actors did a wonderful job in their roles, whether large or small. I highly recommend the movie if you are a fan of action and/or superhero movies. Whether it is worth the double-dip to upgrade from the Blu-Ray (assuming you purchased the Blu-Ray when it was first released on disc) is hard to say. If you have a great home-theater setup (or plan to build one) then it probably is. If not, the regular Blu-Ray is probably fine.

Product Review: Inno Supps Night Shred - Night Time Fat Burner and Natural Sleep Support - Appetite Suppressant and Weight Loss Support

 

This worked as an okay sleep aid, basically did as much or as little for me as the much less expensive melatonin supplements. As far as any kind of fat-burning or thermogenic effects, I definitely did not see any of that. So, ultimately, for me, this is just a very expensive sleep aid and not at all worth the price.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 8

Day 8 was the sweat 1-2 workout and ab-ripper 100. The workout went really well again, and I got through everything without stopping or even pausing, and was able to modify the cross hops a bit less. I still did the skips but would jump so one foot was off the ground as I did them. So, I am getting closer to doing the unmodified version where both feet are off the ground at the same time. 

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 7

Day 7 was the CE recharge workout. In this round I tried to do it without any modifications. I did have to go into child's pose a couple of times in the downward dog segments but got closer to holding myself up for the entire minute each time. 

Study Aid Review: The Engineering Circuit Analysis Tutor: Volume 1

 

This volume covers what takes up about the first month, give or take, of a Circuits Analysis (or Circuits I) class. It starts off with a discussion of the main units that you deal with, voltage, current, and resistance, discusses the basic circuit components, and Ohm's Law, which is the equation that pretty much everything that you do in circuits is based on. Then it touches on power calculations and then the meat of the lessons are Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws, which are the first techniques that are taught for "solving" a circuit. Jason then goes through a discussion of dependent sources, resistors in series and parallel (which is another vital topic that is necessary for later lessons), and ends on voltage and current divider circuits. In all, this material is likely to take you through the first exam in an introductory circuits class.

This DVD set has basically the same format as Jason's various math tutor videos. He introduces a topic and then goes through a bunch of example problems. He spends the bulk of his time on the most important topics, especially those that get built upon. Whether you will find this helpful very much depends on your learning style. If you are an audio and/or visual learner and learn by watching the problems worked out, this will be perfect for you. If you learn by reading and your own trial and error, then this is probably not going to help much. It is also important to note that this volume only covers circuits that use direct current (DC) sources, which is what students learn first. Later volumes cover the circuits that have alternating current (AC) sources, which are the focus of a Circuits II class. Learning this material is indispensable for anyone looking to get an Electrical Engineering degree as circuits is going to be one of the first engineering classes you take. Even if you are not getting an EE degree, you may still be required (depending on your school's requirements) to take a basic circuits class, and this will definitely help in that class as well.

Product Review: Bath and Body Works BLACK RASPBERRY VANILLA Super Smooth Body Lotion

 

This is a great lotion. It is one that because it has a strong scent, a little goes a long way, but it smells very good and does a good job moisturizing dry skin. You could use it as a hand lotion, but personally, I like to use it on my wrists, around where the bands from my Fitbit and Apple watch can irritate and dry out my skin. That works well and keeps the scent from getting too overpowering.

DVD/TV Series Review: Nashville - Season 1

 

Nashville is a prime-time drama that definitely leans toward the prime-time soap opera category centered around the characters of Rayna James, played by Connie Britton (of Spin City and Friday Night Lights), who is an aging country music star whose career is on the downswing, and Juliette Barnes, played by Hayden Panettiere (best known for the series Heroes) who is the up and coming young star whose life is kind of a train wreck. The first season is really all about developing the characters and establishing storylines for the various characters. For Rayna, it is trying to inject new life into her career and dealing with her husband Teddy (played by Eric Close) who is resentful of her fame and decides to run for mayor on the back of her fame, and her ex-flame (and ex songwriting partner) Deacon (played by Charles Esten). Juliette is trying to make it big while dealing with issues in her personal family life that she tries to hide. The big appeal of the show is the musical numbers. Nearly every episode has one or more musical numbers with members of the cast actually singing. Even if you are not a country music fan, which I am not, the music is arranged in such a way that it is not tailored just to a hard-core country music fanbase. And, while not all the actors are great singers, some of them have a lot of talent, especially Sam Palladio who plays Gunnar Scott, and Clare Bowen who plays his girlfriend, and songwriting partner Scarlett O'Connor. Lennon Stella and Maisy Stella (who play Rayna's daughters Maddie and Daphnie are a real music duo out of Canada and are great singers who get a few chances to sing on the show.

For those who get the DVD set, the supplements are okay. There are a few behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. What was included was okay, but the featurettes could be longer and it would be nice if at least some of the episodes included a commentary track.

Overall, the series is well-written and very well acted. The plot definitely gets a bit soap-opera-like when it involves the various character relationships. There is some sexual content, but nothing you do not see on any other prime-time dramas. Even so, the rest of the storylines are very good, and all of the actors, including the strong supporting and recurring cast which includes actors like Powers Boothe, Robert Wisdom, Jonathan Jackson (who came from the Daytime Soap Opera world), and Chris Carmack (from The OC). The season ends on a pretty large cliffhanger and does a good job setting up the second season. I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a good serial drama.

Study Guide Review: Absolute Beginner's Guide to C

 

This was a book that was required for my intro to programming class, but it can also just be used as a study guide in conjunction with a regular textbook. It is what it says, a beginner's guide to C. If you are anything other than a beginner, then this is going to be way too easy for you. But, if you have very little or no experience with programming in general, and C specifically, this is a good primer. It does have some mistakes in it, that most beginners would need a teacher or someone experienced to point out. That is what knocks it down a couple of stars for me. But, otherwise, it is a good starting point for learning C programming. C is at least somewhat, if not entirely, outdated now, but it is the programming language upon which many other programming languages are built so it is still good to have familiarity with.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 6

Day 6 was the sculpt 1-2 workout again. I was able to max out at 10 reps on a couple of the exercises.  I definitely made some strength gains just within the week as "heavy pants" was much easier, even with 35 lb dumbbells than it was the first day. I was also getting a little bit deeper on the push-ups (although still not as deep as I would like). So, progress is being made.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 5

Day 5 was the sweat 1-2 workout and ab-ripper 100. I made the mistake of doing the workout too close in time after eating so it was definitely not as good as the prior two workouts earlier in the week. I made it through but I definitely had to pause a couple of times and slow things down for fear of puking. I generally try to avoid workout out right after I eat (at least cardio workouts). I thought I had given myself enough time, but apparently not. 

Textbook Review: Karel++: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Object-Oriented Programming

 

This book is essentially a follow-up to the book Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming. Where that book was focused on introducing students to C programming, using a much pared-down programming language, this one introduces students to the concepts used in C++ and other object-oriented programming languages. Like the first book, this is tailored specifically to the Karel world and instructions. The programming language used is more complex here, as you would expect. That said, the information in the book is very basic, and it is really intended to be used in an intro to programming class. So, if you have pretty much any programming experience (and still remember it), you will be way beyond what this book will teach you. That said, if you have only done a little programming and do not remember much of it, this will definitely help refresh you on the basic concepts.

Textbook Review: Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming

 

This is a book that will most likely be used in an introductory programming class. It is really an introduction to the method of problem-solving that programmers face and how to solve those problems without getting bogged down with complicated programming code. Basically, this involves writing simple code to move a robot around a screen, avoid walls, and pick up, or put down beepers, which are something like location beacons. You essentially program the robot to move around the world, avoiding walls, going into rooms, etc., and either placing beepers or picking up beepers. The instructions are written in computer code which tells the robot how to move when to pick up a beeper, and where to put a beeper down.

The book is a very good introduction to programming and computer science as a whole. The material in it is nowhere near as complex as what you will be exposed to if you decide to take classes beyond an intro class, but if you learn this it will give you a good idea of whether you want to continue on learning more complicated material.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 4

Day 4 was the Sculpt 1-2 workout. This time I was able to hit the ten rep max on four of the exercises which will mean an increase in weight next time. I can do more push-ups but still cannot go very deep on them. I have a feeling I will need to drop about another 10 lbs to be able to go as deep when I am doing push-ups on my toes as I can on my knees. 

Product Review: ASICS Men's GEL-260 TR Cross-Training Shoe

 

This is a good, affordable, comfortable pair of workout shoes. They are great for high-impact workouts like HIIT, plyometrics, or interval training, and can also be used in a variety of cross-training workout classes. While they are not running shoes per-se, you could run in them if you wanted to. I do not think they would be great for trail running, but they are certainly running on a track or a treadmill.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 3

Day three of the hybrid workout was the sweat 1-2 workout and ab-ripper 100. This was the second time doing the workout and again, I was able to get through it without stopping or pausing (just modifying the cross hops) and could do all 100 reps of the ab-ripper workout without stopping. So, the workout went well. I do think that I am better at it the second time around than the first round of Power-90 I did. So, even though I am still not in the kind of shape that I want to be in, I am getting better. 

Streaming Series Review: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Episode 3 (Spoilers)

                                 

Episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi sees the first (of what is likely going to be two) confrontations between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader (again voiced by James Earl Jones). The episode starts out with Obi-Wan and Leia on the transport to the planet Mapuzo, having narrowly escaped Reva. When they land and go to the designated meeting point they find no one there and Leia flags down a miner named Freck (voiced by Zach Braff) who is making his way back to town and agrees to give the two a ride. Being a good member of the Empire, Freck also picks up a group of Stormtroopers who begin to question Obi-Wan and Leia. When he slips up and calls her by her real name, the most touching moment in the episode happens when Obi-Wan says he sees her mother when he looks at her. Of course, Leia figures out that Ben knew her mother and asks if he is her real father. Both Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair do a great acting job during those sequences. 

The group is stopped at a checkpoint where everything unravels until Obi-Wan and Leia are saved by Tala, played by Indira Varma posing as an Imperial officer, who was the person they were sent to meet. She basically runs a Jedi underground railroad helping Jedi and force-sensitives disappear to prevent them from being captured by the Inquisitors. The real meat of the episode happens when Vader arrives on Mapuzo. Vader and Obi-Wan sense each other and Vader starts randomly torturing and killing the locals to draw Obi-Wan out. Obi-Wan tells Tala to get Leia to safety while he draws the Imperials away. Vader follows Obi-Wan who freaks out and runs away when he sees Vader in all his glory. When Vader finally corners Obi-Wan, to say he hands his ass to him would be an understatement. Obi-Wan is no match for Vader, and the only reason Vader does not kill him is that Vader wants him to suffer. During the confrontation, Obi-Wan asks Vader what has he become, to which Vader replies he is what Obi-Wan made him. In the end, Obi-Wan is barely saved by Tala, which of course leads to Leia being in danger at the end of the episode.

Overall, I thought the episode was good but has some glaring plot holes. The good was the name dropping of Quinlan Voss, who is a character you will know if you watched the animated Clone Wars series or read the novels. He could potentially show up to help at some point. I think the confrontation between Vader and Obi-Wan went the way it should. Vader is at the height of his power and Obi-Wan has been cut off from the force for a decade. Granted, I think having Vader have a wall of fire stop him was silly when he put the same fire out a few seconds earlier, but they needed a way to get Obi-Wan away from him. The end with Reva being at the end of the tunnel that she entered long after Leia was just dumb. Even if she use force speed she would have caught Leia in the tunnel, but this implies that she passed her, killed the pilot, and waited for her to catch up, all without Leia seeing her. 

The series is definitely setting up the fact that Vader and Obi-Wan are going to have a real rematch after Obi-Wan opens himself back up to the force, likely with Qui-Gon's help. We also know Leia is going to be fine and Reva is probably not going to make it out alive given that she was not a character in Rebels. Even knowing all that, the show does a good job ratcheting up the tension to make how they are going to get there a mystery.

4KUHD/Movie Review: The Batman

 

The Batman is yet another live-action take on Batman, yet one that is much different than what has come before. This film forgoes doing the origin story that has been done multiple times and jumps into Batman's second year as a vigilante. He is working with Lieutenant Gordon who brings him in to investigate a series of murders involving high-ranking Gotham officials, with the killer leaving riddles for Batman at the scene of each kill. The story is much more of an origin story for the rogue's gallery of villains and is adapted heavily from the year one and year two comics.

The casting of the movie was (as always) controversial with Robert Pattinson playing Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoe Kravits playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano playing The Riddler, Collin Farrell playing Penguin, Jeffrey Wright playing Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis playing Alfred, and John Turturro playing Carmine Falcone. Of course, Pattinson's casting was a subject of much debate (as has most every casting choice for Batman since Keaton landed the role in the late 1980s). Pattinson was best known for his roles in the Twilight series (which even he admits were not that good) and as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter. I think most people complaining about his casting either were not aware of his other work, in which he has shown his acting chops or just liked to complain. But, he, and the rest of the cast, did a great job with their characters. Farrell was unrecognizable both in look and voice as Penguin (he was really just a secondary character in the movie) and Dano, who to this point was probably best known as a side character in the movie Girl Next Door and from his role in There Will be Blood, was awesome as The Riddler. And, Barry Keoghan was great in his minute or so at the end clearly playing an early version of The Joker (but credited as being the unseen Arkham inmate).

The movie looks and sounds great in UHD. The 4K set is actually a three-disc set. The UHD disc and one of the regular Blu-Ray discs just has the movie itself, and the second regular Blu-Ray disc has all the special features and extras. The extras include several short behind-the-scenes featurettes that range from a couple of minutes to about 10 minutes in length. The main feature is an almost hour-long making-of documentary which spans pretty much the entire filming process and shows how the covid pandemic really impacted how the film was made. Then there are a couple of deleted scenes that you can watch with or without director commentary.

Overall, the movie is great. I do think it is a bit long and could have been cut down for time. That said, I think most of the scenes that did end up in the final cut of the film worked, so aside from a couple of scenes at the very end of the film, I think it would have been hard to pick what to remove. I like the fact that Batman is not yet fully formed in this movie and he is still trying to figure out how to be Batman, without really caring about being Bruce Wayne. It is also interesting to see him operate out in the daylight while literally carrying the Batsuit around in a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. The movie has a feel that is much more similar to Nolan's trilogy of movies than it does to the Burton or Schumacher movies, without being a carbon copy of what Nolan did with his. The movie has an old-school film noir crime/detective story feel to it and is extremely well-acted. Definitely worth watching and investing in the disc for those who still get the physical discs.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Love & Other Drugs

 

Love and Other Drugs is a romantic comedy about a pharmaceutical salesman played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is on the verge of getting fired until Viagra comes along and reignites his career. One day while pushing Viagra at a clinic, he meets and falls for Anne Hathaway's character and they start in what is supposed to be an NSA relationship, mainly because she has Parkinson's and does not want to get into a long-term relationship. Of course, feelings develop and the two have to figure out what they want. It has a strong supporting cast including Judy Greer, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, and Josh Gad.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is very good, and it has a handful of extras, including deleted scenes, character profiles of Maggie (Hathaway) and Jamie (Gyllenhaal), a feature on Jamie Reidy, the real salesman on whose book the movie is based, the theatrical trailer, and a BD live feature on Gyllenhaal's favorite scene.

Overall, the movie is good, but not without its flaws. The movie does at times seem like a schill for big Phrama, with Pfizer getting a ton of product placement, and just kind of glossing over many issues that the drug companies create (which could easily be more of a theme, because of the character of Maggie and her predicament). There is a lot of sex and nudity in the movie, moreso than in other rom-coms. While it does follow some of the traditional rom-com formulaic notes, it does diverge from that at times. While it is definitely not a family-friendly movie, it is worth watching if you are looking for an adult rom-com.

DVD/TV Movie Review: The Death of The Incredible Hulk

 

This was the third of the disconnected TV movies that aired after the Incredible Hulk series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno went off the air. The title gives away what happens, so it is not a spoiler (especially after 30+ years) to say that the Hulk dies, but I think how it was done was kind of dumb, especially given what the Hulk's real powers are (as opposed to what is portrayed in the series).

The crux of the story is that David is still trying to find a way of curing himself of the Hulk metamorphosis. He ends up working as a janitor at a top-secret government lab where a doctor, played by Philip Sterling, is working on an experiment that may help cure David. In the meantime, an Eastern European spy played by former Miss America (and alleged Bill Clinton one-night-stand) Elizabeth Gracen is tasked to steal Dr. Pratt's research. I will not spoil the rest of the story from there, but needless to say, the Hulk finally dies in the end, finally bringing a resolution to the storyline that was never finished in the TV show because it was canceled after the fourth season, and only aired a few remaining yet to be aired episodes as a very short fifth season.

The DVD just has the movie itself. I think there are multiple versions running around out there, but the version I got was an import from the UK (the US version seems to be out of print and very hard to track down) So, on this version, there are no extras. Of course, Bixby died a few years after making the movie so having any meaningful commentary track was impossible, but there was no making-of or behind-the-scenes material included either. Overall, the movie is better than the two other movies (The Incredible Hulk Returns and The Trial of the Incredible Hulk), but that is not saying a lot since those were pretty awful. It does give a nod to the super-soldier program that was the basis for the comic book story but does not go too deeply into it. Unfortunately, Jack Colvin either did not come back or was not brought back for this so there was really never a resolution for his character, which is too bad. He was horribly underused in the tv series and was only on screen for a few minutes in The Incredible Hulk returns never to be seen again.

Chances are, most of the people who are going to watch this are those who are fans of the TV series. It is definitely not like the superhero series of today by any means, both in being faithful to the comics, or the special effects. Of course, in this, they were still painting Lou Ferrigno green and using cutaways during the Hulk-outs. The handful of special effects that were used (mostly at the end) was very basic and fake-looking. I cannot say that everyone will love this, but if you like the series it is worth watching to see the full story arc.

DVD/TV Series Review: Burn Notice: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor spoiler from season five, but no major season six giveaways.+++

Season six starts out with Michael back working for the CIA having been officially reinstated, and Fiona in jail, confessing to a crime she did not commit in order to protect Michael. At this point, the series has gone far afield from where it started, and what made it as good as it was in the first couple of seasons. Namely, it is not about using his skills to protect "regular" people, but is mainly Michael on a rampage to get Anson, the leader of the organization that burned Michael). Obviously, Fiona does not remain in jail, but I will not spoil how she ends up getting out. There are, again, a lot of twists and turns and characters whose intentions and motivations are sketchy to say the least. The show does not end on as much of a cliffhanger this time, but still does set up the storyline for the final season.

The extras on the DVD set are lighter than in past seasons. There is just one commentary track, a gag reel, and some deleted scenes, as well as a humorous short with the series creator Matt Nix. What was included was fine, but it is definitely not as extensive as in prior DVD releases.

Overall, the show is good, but I think shooting its shot and revealing who burned Michael and then continuing the story long past the reveal hurt the show a bit. Plus, I think Michael and the team as freelance dogooders is what made the show as popular as it was at the start, and getting away from that also has hurt the show. That said, it is still very well acted (Bruce Campbell still steals every scene) and has good episodes.