Book Review: Princess of Dune (Dune #10)

 

Princess of Dune, published in late 2023, is, as of this writing, the newest book in the Dune Saga and the 10th book when read chronologically. It is set 2 years before the events of the original 1965 novel and was again written by the duo of Brian Herbert (the original author's son) and Kevin J. Anderson (who have written all of the prequel novels).  As the title (and cover image) of the book suggests, the storylines in this book are focused on Princess Irulan (and her sisters) and Chani. Irulan and Chani have mostly separate story arcs in the book, but their stories do intersect briefly about 2/3 of the way through the book. Irulan's story involves a potential marriage to a military suitor, and Chani's storyline involves trying to free Dune from the grip of the Harkonnens and Emperor Shaddam. 

The hardcover version of the book is just under 400 pages, which is a little shorter than many of the other prequel novels. The pacing is good (even with jumping back and forth between the two main storylines), and unlike some of the other prequel novels, it does not have a ton of characters to keep track of. None of the Atreides characters appear in the book, and only a handful of Harkonnen characters appear very briefly. If you are a fan of the Dune saga, this is well worth the time to read. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The House Bunny

 

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

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

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

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

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

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 9

Day 9 was the core circuit workout again in MBF and the 15-minute cardio routine from 645.

Core circuit was very similar to the week-1 version of the workout. In fact, the exercises that used the weighted jump rope were exactly the same. The core exercises were, however, switched up. The AMRAP four-minute block was also the same as week 1 (with the idea of keeping track of how you progress). This week I got through five rounds of the four exercises, which is 1.5 more than I did the first week. 

I definitely feel that my cardio fitness is improving. Adding the 645 cardio has helped a lot, as I can do moves that do not combine cardio and strength and just aim to do them faster.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 8

 Day 8 was the start of week 2 of MBF, so it was again lower-body burn. I did the MBF workout in the morning and then the 645 15-minute cardio workout in the evening.

The format of the workout is the same as the other resistance workouts, four blocks of exercises, two of which are unbalanced (so you hold one weight and do the exercises on each side separately), and two blocks of "regular" resistance exercises in which the weight is distributed evenly. Some of the exercises from last week are repeated, and some are slight variations of those in last week's workout. Each block is separated by a minute of cardio using the weighted jump rope, and there is no rest between the sets in each block. 

The workout was a bit easier than last week since I had a better idea of what weight to use for the exercises. The vast majority of people doing MBF will likely have to use much lower weight than they use in other programs because you are doing volume training (as many reps as you can do in 30-45 seconds as opposed to 10 or 15 reps that other programs have you do) and there is no rest between exercises or sets. Even with using lower weight, it is still very challenging.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 7

Day 7 is dynamic recovery in MBF and 15-minute cardio from 645. I changed the order, however, doing the MBF workout in the morning and the cardio in the evening.

The MBF workout is very similar to Dynamix from P90X3. It is not an intense workout as all the movements are fairly slow and are designed to stretch and provide mobility, not to get your heart rate up. Megan works through a lot of shoulder range-of-motion exercises, which  I definitely liked. Then she finishes off with some yoga movements (cat-cow and child's pose into cobra into downward dog). Next week I may pair it with the foam rolling routine from 645 or Lift 4.

DVD/Movie Review: Hotel Rwanda

 

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 movie starring Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, and Joaquin Phoenix. The film is about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda during the 1990s. Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a Hotel in Kigali, who ends up helping thousands of people from being killed while trying to appear to keep the hotel functioning, working with the Red Cross, and bribing the Rwandan military.

The DVD has several bonus features, including a commentary track on the movie by the director and the real Paul Rusesabagina, commentary on specific scenes by Don Cheadle, and a making-of documentary and a documentary entitled Return to Rwanda, which explores the aftermath of the genocide. The movie is very good. It is well-written and very well-acted. While it is a tough movie to watch, it tells a story that most people in the United States would probably never hear otherwise. 

While the movie is based on a true story, I don't know how much of the story that was told on screen was true. I presume that parts of it were fictionalized. The movie does provide a glimpse of just how corrupt the government was and how the people who did not have connections and money to pay bribes in order to stay alive were killed off in droves. The movie does have some violence, but it is actually not all that gory. Most of the story takes place inside the hotel, where people are kept relatively safe. However, when they did venture outside the hotel (like when the UN was trying to get some of the families out), you did see what kind of violence and indiscriminate killing was going on. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 6

 Day 6 included cardio from 645 and the Power Ignite workout from MBF.

Power ignite has 3 EMOM blocks in which you get 40 seconds to do a certain number of reps (or as many reps as you can do) for an exercise. Blocks 1 and 2 have 5 EMOM rounds and have you doing one exercise. In block 1, you do 25 dumbell swings (or however many you can do in 40 seconds); in block 2, you do 8 walkouts to pushups (or however many you can do). The third block has 10 EMOM rounds that alternate between dumbell sledgehammers and mountain climbers. In the first EMOM round, you do 20 sledgehammers. In the second EMOM round, you do 40 mountain climbers. Then, you keep alternating between the two.

This is a tough workout. It goes by very fast, and you get more rest in this workout than you get in the others. But your heart rate is constantly up, and you get just enough time to catch your breath and take a sip of water before you start the next EMOM round. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 5

Day 5 was the Full Body Burn workout in MBF and, of course, the modified 15-minute cardio workout from 645. 

The 645 workout was awesome. It was the best I have done with any of the moves. Aside from the jump lunges in the first set, during which I stepped because I was using them as a warmup, I was able to do all the exercises in each round for the full 30 seconds without modifying.

The MBF workout followed the same format as the Monday and Wednesday workouts. So, you have four blocks. Each block is separated by a cardio recovery with the weighted jump rope. In blocks 1 and 3, you are doing unbalanced exercises. That means three exercises holding a weight in your right hand, the same three holding the weight in your left hand, then back to the right hand, and back to the left—all with no rest between the exercises. In blocks 2 and 4, you do two exercises that require holding weight in both hands. You do both exercises back-to-back with no rest for three sets. As the name implies, this is a full-body workout that incorporates squats, deadlifts, biceps curls, lateral raises, etc. Basically, you work all of your major muscles except the triceps. It was good, but tough.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Anna

 

Anna is a 2019 movie written and directed by Luc Besson (who has directed movies such as The Professional, The Fifth Element, Taken, and Lucy) and starring Sasha Luss, Luke Evans, Cillian Murphy, and Helen Mirren. In the movie, Luss plays Anna, who is recruited into the KGB by Evans' character, Alex, and works under the direction of Mirren's character, Olga. She is trained as a KGB assassin with the promise of being discharged after five years. When the director of the KGB refuses to honor the agreement, Anna becomes a double agent for the CIA in exchange for a new life.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. Both of the discs include the movie and the special features. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. It is not quite reference quality, but close. There are about 30 minutes of bonus material consisting of four different making-of featurettes. The movie is a good spy thriller, with a handful of action scenes spread out well throughout the movie. The story is not told linearly. It plays out similarly to the movie Memento. The movie starts partway through the story, and then flashbacks are used to tell Anna's backstory, to fill in gaps, or to show events from a different perspective than when they first played out. So, by the end of the movie, you know how Anna was recruited into the KGB and the CIA, but as you watch the movie, there are twists and turns that play out via the flashbacks. The action scenes that are in the movie are very good, but very violent. There is a bit of sexual content and one nude scene in which Luss is topless. So, it is not really a family-friendly movie.

Ultimately, the movie is well-written and very well-acted. Luss does a very good job in what was her second movie role, and Mirren pretty much dominated every scene she was in. Luss was especially good, considering she came from a modeling background and not an acting background. Evans and Murphy did well in their supporting roles, but neither were in the movie as much as Luss and Mirren. While it was not a blockbuster movie, it is much better than a lot of people will likely expect. So, if you are a fan of spy thrillers, this is worth the time to watch. 

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

 

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

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

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

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 4

Day 4 was another core circuit day in MBF and the 15-minute cardio workout from 645. So, today was heavy on Cardio, which was kind of nice because the cardio work is getting a bit easier. The MBF workout was similar to Tuesday's workout in that you alternate cardio blocks and core blocks. And, each of the core blocks had two sets of Mountain Climbers, so you end up doing cardio the entire time. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 3

 Day 3 was upper-body burn in MBF and the 15-minute cardio routine from 645. 

In the 645 routine, I am absolutely getting better at the pulse squats and the jump lunges (the two exercises from the actual workout that I do; the others get swapped out for Lift 4 cardio exercises). The MBF workout is tough (yet again). It follows a very similar format to the lower-body burn workout. There are four blocks. In two of the four, you do two rounds of two exercises and a combo of the two exercises. You use unbalanced weight, meaning you do the exercise on the right side, holding the weight in your right hand, and then you switch to the left side. And, there are no breaks between the exercises, so even when you are doing chest flies and presses, you need to use a lot lighter weight than you would use in a program like P90x or Lift 4 because you never put the weight down once you start. The other two blocks consist of two exercises that you do back-to-back for three rounds, again without stopping. You do all the exercises for 30 seconds (so reps will vary as you get tired), and the only rest in the program are between blocks when Megan shows the next moves (after you have done about 30 seconds with the ropeless jump rope).  So, not only do you work your muscles, but your heart rate will be elevated throughout a lot of the workout because you almost never stop moving.

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

 

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

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

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

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 2

Day 2 was core and cardio in MBF, and the 15-minute cardio (modified again with a few different moves) from 645.

The MBF workout is interesting. You do three blocks of cardio (each block including two exercises) separated by four blocks of core work (each block including 2-3 exercises). Each exercise in the cardio blocks is done for three rounds, again with no rest between the moves. Each exercise in the core blocks is performed for two rounds, with no rest between the moves. And, there is no rest between the blocks (aside from the time it takes Megan to show the moves in the next block), so you essentially do three rounds of your two cardio moves, immediately transition to the core block, do two rounds of those moves, immediately transition to the second cardio block, etc.

At the end of all that, you do have a four-minute AMRAP block. AMRAP stands for "as many rounds as possible." In those four minutes, you do four reps of three of the cardio exercises and then 20 jump rope reps, which counts as one round. You rest a few seconds to catch your breath and then do another round. The goal, as it sounds, is to do as many rounds as you can in that four minutes.

The workout is good and goes by very quickly, but it is hard. Having zero rest time between exercises and very little rest between the blocks is tough. Throughout the workout, the various cast members (who all vary in their fitness level and ages) take unscheduled pauses here and there. Even if you are in fairly good shape it will be a challenging workout.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar (4-Disc Collector's Edition)

 

This is the second 4K release of 2009's Avatar. The other version (which is misleadingly labeled as the Ultimate Collector's Edition) is a three-disc set that just has the theatrical version of the movie on UHD and regular blu-ray and then a regular blu-ray disc with special features. This set (just labeled Collector's Edition) is a four-disc set that has the theatrical and the two extended editions of the movie on UHD and regular blu-ray and then has two regular blu-ray discs with special features. 

The movie itself is very good. The first extended edition (which adds about 8 additional minutes to the theatrical version) basically just extends a couple of the scenes a bit. The second extended edition (which runs 178 minutes, adding 18 minutes of additional footage) is the best version of the movie (in my opinion). That version adds the most substance and backstory to the theatrical version, which definitely helps flesh out the overall story. You can also watch the additional footage for each extended edition as separate deleted scenes accessible from the menu. Each version of the movie is visually stunning in UHD. The audio track on the theatrical edition is wonderful. The tracks on the two extended editions are not available on Dolby Atmos, so they do not sound as good.

Where this set blows the Ultimate Collector's Edition release away is the extras. It includes all of the extras that were released with that one (including the new extras on that set and a few new ones exclusive to this set) and all of the legacy content included with the 2010 blu-ray release. The only difference between this release and the original blu-ray release (excluding the brand-new content) is a new line of added dialogue from Giovanni Ribisi's character (which is added to each version of the movie).

I have two issues with this set. First, it was not released at the same time as the original 4k release. So, if you bought that one early, you would have to double-dip to get all of the bonus content. Second, the packaging, while great to look at, is awful. It has a wonderful hard slipcover that holds a cardboard book-style case that holds the discs in very tight pockets (If you have the House of Cards individual seasons on blu-ray, it is like those). The discs are very hard to get out of the pocket without ripping the pockets and/or smudging or scratching the discs. So, if you get this, you want to watch it right away in case you get damaged/unplayable discs. I ended up putting the discs in their own individual blu-ray cases (I get extra cases to replace damaged cases if the discs are in otherwise good condition) and did not put them back in the book-style case. 

If you love the movie and love watching the bonus content, this is the version to get. You get hours of bonus material (even more if you redeem the digital code on Movies Anywhere or Vudu). If you stop the movies before the end you can resume where you left off, but that is not the case if you are watching the bonus content. If you stop in the middle of one of the featurettes on discs 3 or 4 and then restart the disc, it will go back to the main menu, and you will have to figure out where you left off. That is a relatively minor point, but worth noting.  Overall, this is absolutely worth the pickup if you are a more than just a casual fan of the movie.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 1

This is the start of my new routine. As I said in the last post, I am going to do the 15-minute cardio routine from 645 (modified with moves swapped out) in the morning and then the muscle-burn-fat workout in the evening.

MBF is a three-week program that was filmed during the height of the pandemic. Megan Davies is the trainer in this workout. She leads the workout from one of the BeachBody sets, but the rest of the cast is working out at home via Zoom (or something like that). Basically, you see all the cast members in their own boxes that surround the main box, with Megan leading the exercises; then, throughout the workout, they go to a split screen showing Megan side-by-side with one of the cast members. One of the cast members does modify the moves, but it can get hard to keep track of her since the views keep shifting.

The Day 1 workout was lower-body burn. This workout has four blocks of exercises. In the first block, you do squats and reverse lunges. The twist, however, is that you are not holding weights by your side. You hold one weight up next to your head on one side, do the exercises, then switch to the other side. You do as many reps as you can for 30 seconds of squats and then immediately transition to 30 seconds of reverse lunges on the side you are holding the weight; then you do 4 combos in which you do two squats followed by a reverse lunge, then you do the entire thing on the other side. You do two rounds on each side. So, you have to think about how much weight you can hold on one side up by your head for about a minute and a half. 

In block 2, you do sumo squats followed by curtsey lunges (if you have done Chalean Extreme, they are the same as CE's bowler lunges). Again, you do each exercise back-to-back with no rest, and this time, you do three sets of each exercise.

In block 3, you do side lunges followed by what Megan calls RDL, which are a deadlift using one dumbell. Then you do a combo with the two exercises and then switch to the other side, much like block 1. Again, you do two rounds on each side.

The last block is front squats and calf raises. This block mirrors block 2, so you do each exercise for 30 seconds and do three sets without any rest. 

The MBF workout is very challenging. Between each of the blocks you use a weightless jump rope (basically jump rope handles with weighted foam balls on the ends) for 30 seconds of a cardio recovery and then go back to lifting. The lifting is higher volume (basically as many reps as you can do in 30 seconds) so it is a good idea to use much lighter weight than you would normally use, at least for the first round of each exercise.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 54

This was the final day of the Hybrid workout. I did Speed 1.0 from T25 in the morning and full body HIIT in Lift 4 in the evening. Both of the workouts were tough (the double cardio days tended to be the hardest), but I got through them. For my next workout combination, I am going to continue to do the modified 645 cardio workout in the mornings, and then in the evening, I am going to do the three-week Muscle Burns Fat workout. Over the weekend, I am just going to do the 645 cardio workout and possibly do some stretching, but I want to recover a bit before starting up the new workout on Monday. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 53

Day 53 was shoulders and arms in Lift 4 and Cardio 1.0 in T25. As was the case in week 7, the shoulders and arms workout is a circuit workout with two quad sets and a three-exercise burnout. You do all of the same exercises that you did in week 7 just with the order of the exercises switched up. The  T25 workout went well. I was again able to do more unmodified exercises for longer.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 52

Day 52 was the rest day in Lift 4, and for a cardio workout, I just did the modified version of the 645 15-minute workout (using some moves from Lift 4 and some moves from T25 in place of a few exercises they are doing in the video). I managed to make it a good workout with all standing exercises.  Because there is no warmup, I go a little easier in the first round, and then go all out in the second and third rounds until I get tired.

Book Review: Foreign Influence (Scot Harvath Series #9)

 

Foreign Influence, published in 2010, is the 9th book in the Scot Harvath series of thrillers written by Brad Thor. This book has two different plots that run in parallel through most of the book and then intersect at the end. The first plot is the one that Harvath is most involved in. It involves a bombing in Rome that points to Nicholas/The Troll being involved. The second involves a hit-and-run accident in Chicago that leads a couple of cops to an al Qaeda cell planning a series of attacks. The book also introduces a group of characters that will be prominent in the spin-off novel, The Athena Project.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 380 pages and reads like the other books in the series. Like the other books in the series, this one has a good blend of action and suspense. This book does not have as much of the political maneuvering that some of the other books have had (and definitely not as much as the Mitch Rapp series does). Thor definitely seems to be conservative and puts his stamp on the whole torture debate that was raging back around the time this was written. That is as political as he gets, however. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the action thriller/spy novel genre and/or have liked the prior novels in the series, this is worth the time to read.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitman

 

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

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

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

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hitch

 

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

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

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

DVD/Movie Review: Hide and Seek (Minor Spoilers)

 

Hide and Seek is a 2005 movie directed by John Polson and starring Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue, and Amy Irving. De Niro plays David Callaway, a psychologist who moves with his daughter Emily (played by Fanning) to upstate New York after his wife (Irving) commits suicide. Emily reveals that she has a friend named Charlie, whom David assumes is an imaginary friend, and starts to become more and more worried for his daughter as "Charlie" becomes violent. 

The DVD has several bonus features, including a commentary track with the director and screenwriter, several alternate endings, deleted scenes, rough scenes that are a mix of live-action and storyboards, and a making-of featurette.  You can also watch the movie with the alternate endings or just watch the alternate endings on their own. The movie is a good, but not great, thriller. I thought De Niro did a good job being crazy when he was let loose at the end of the film. But you could really see what was going to happen with his character a mile away. Dakota Fanning did an excellent job with her part and was really able to convey a range of emotions that someone her age usually cannot pull off. It is in part because of her great acting you can tell what happens with De Niro's character. Her reactions to him were perfect. The rest of the film, however, was pretty formulaic. From the potential love interest, the creepy next-door neighbor, and the mistrusting sheriff. I just think that there was not a ton of originality to the script. A lot of that got saved by the acting, but it could have been better. Even so, it is worth watching if you are looking for a thriller/suspense movie. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Haywire

 

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

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

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