4k-UHD/Movie Review: Alien Covenant

 

Alien Covenant is a 2017 horror movie directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Michael Fassbender, Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston, and Danny McBride. Noomi Rapace, James Franco, and Guy Pearce all have minor roles. The movie is a sequel to Prometheus, set a decade after the events of that movie. We discover that Shaw (Rapace) and David (Fassbender) found a planet full of Engineers and crashed there. I will not give anything more away because to do so would spoil it, but essentially, the crew of the USS Covenant finds the planet, and what you would expect to occur does.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks and sounds great in 4k, as you would expect. On the 4k disc, you just have the movie with the option to play it with or without the commentary track by Ridley Scott. The extras are all on the regular blu-ray and include deleted scenes, some of which set up the movie, and some are extended scenes from the movie. There are also some shorter behind-the-scenes featurettes and an almost hour-long making-of feature titled "Master Class with Ridley Scott." Finally, there are some trailers and photography stills. So, this release includes a lot of good material for those who like a lot of extras.

This movie is definitely tied to the storyline from Prometheus, but it is not guaranteed that your feelings about Prometheus will carry over to this movie. For example, if you hated Prometheus because it was not a direct prequel to Alien, which many were expecting, this movie may be closer to what you would have liked that one to be. Just be aware that this is still not a direct sequel to the original movie, either. On the other hand, if you liked the direction that the story in Prometheus went, especially giving more backstory to the Engineers, this movie diverged from that quite a bit, so it may disappoint you. Since Ridley Scott has taken over the franchise again, so the movie has a very similar feel and tone to the others he has been involved with. He is reportedly working his way through a series of movies that will eventually lead to the direct prequel to Alien. So, looking at this as a piece of a much larger overall story, I think, gives it the context it would not have as a stand-alone movie. While the movie is not perfect, it is definitely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avengers Infinity War

 

Avengers: Infinity War is the first of the epic two-movie crescendo to tie up the initial run of MCU films. The movie was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and brings back the entire slate of MCU characters and actors, including Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johannson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Mackie, Tom Hiddleston, Don Cheadle, Chris Pratt, Sebastian Stan, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Chadwick Boseman, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper, and Karen Gilian. It also, finally, sees the arrival of Josh Brolin's Thanos after multiple teases in various movies or end-credit sequences.

This, as most are aware, is the movie that the entire MCU slate of movies has been building up to. As I said above, Thanos finally arrives, making good on his threat in the post-credits scene in Age of Ultron to do things himself. It starts where the end-credits scene in Thor: Ragnarok left off, with Thanos attacking the Asgardian ship. The movie then finds a way to weave in most, but not all, of the characters from the other movies in an attempt to keep the various infinity stones away from Thanos. The "main" Avengers lineup get the most screen time, while the amount of time the other characters are in the movie varies. I won't spoil anything for those who may not know how it turns out, but it has massive repercussions for the MCU storylines going forward.

The 4k set is a two-disc set. The UHD disc has just the movie itself, which looks and sounds great, as you would expect. The extras are on a regular blu-ray, with about 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a commentary track on the movie. It is definitely one of the best movies in the group 19 or so movies in the MCU that had been released up to that point. Even if you have a bit of superhero movie burnout, it is worth checking out to see all the stories finally tied together.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 8

Day 8 was the start of week 2 of MBF, which was the lower body burn workout. The format is the same as last week, with two unbalanced blocks and two blocks in which the weight is evenly distributed. I did increase in weight from week 1, going from 12 lbs to 15 lbs for all of the weighted exercises. In the morning I did the 645 cardio routine. In that one, I did exercises that were moderately difficult for me. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull: Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Bull aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. All of the main cast members, including Michael Weatherly, Geneva Carr, Jamie Lee Kirchner, Freddy Rodriguez, Annabelle Attanasio, and Christopher Jackson, all return. The glaring omission in the cast is the character of JP Nunnelly, who was a character that was set up to be either a major recurring character or a series regular at the end of the first season. It was revealed that Eliza Dushku, who played Nunnelly in three episodes toward the end of the first season, left the show after alleging sexual harassment and mistreatment by Weatherly (who has subsequently claimed he was merely joking and apologized). Therefore, her character was written out of the show and never referenced in the second season.

The season starts off with a bit of a disjointed feel. This is due in large part because of a new addition to the showrunner team. The character of Bull was written as more of an egotistical jackass at the beginning of the season who would lay into the team for little or no reason. Thankfully, that did not last the entire season. There was more of a focus on the character's life outside TAC and the courtroom this season. Of course, that was still a large part of the show, but it was good to dig deeper into the characters' lives. 

The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include an 18-minute behind-the-scenes feature on the season, some deleted scenes, a gag reel, and the pilot episodes of the new shows Seal Team and The Good Fight. So, if you like bonus content, you get a decent amount. The show continues to be a good case-of-the-week procedural. Unlike season 1, this season ends on a major cliffhanger (actually a couple cliffhangers, one major and one more minor), which will set up a couple good storylines going into season 3. If you liked the first season, this one is worth watching.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Cobalt Squadron

 

Cobalt Squadron, published in 2017, is one of the young adult novels that is ancillary to the main storyline novels, set during the events of The Force Awakens, and leads into the opening of The Last Jedi when the resistance is evacuating their base. It is set around the characters of Rose and her sister Paige (who is seen at the beginning of The Last Jedi). The book details a mission that the bomber squadron engaged in to help the citizens on a planet under the heel of The First Order.

The hardcover version of the book is about 250 pages long. It is a very quick and easy read. Most people should be able to finish it in a day, at most. I think that most people who will read this book are those who collect the canon novels or really liked the character of Rose in the movie. The book tells a good story, but it is not necessarily a must-read.

Book Review: Sands of Dune

 

Sands of Dune, published in 2022, is a collection of short stories written by the duo of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Herbert is the son of Frank Herbert, who wrote the two original Dune trilogies. The duo has also written several prequel and sequel novels to the original Dune novels. This book is the second collection of short stories (along with 2017's Tales of Dune) that Anderson and Herbert wrote with stories that are ancillary to the main novels.

The book is short—the hardcover version is just over 160 pages. It contains four stories. Two of them are set during the "Schools of Dune" trilogy of novels, specifically just after the Navigators of Dune novel, and two of them are set during the events of the original 1965 Dune novel. The stories fill in or add details to events that occurred in the main novels. For example, one of the stories details what Gurney Halleck was doing between the attack on the Atreides and when he resurfaces in the later part of the book. While the stories are not essential to understanding what happens in the main novels, they add interesting details and are worth reading.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Doctor: Season 1

 

Every few years (seemingly), a new medical drama comes along. The 18-episode first season of The Good Doctor aired in the 2017/2018 TV season. It starred Freddy Highmore, Antonia Thomas, Paige Spara, Richard Schiff, Hill Harper, Nicholas Gonzalez, and Chuku Modu. Tamlyn Tomita, Christina Chang, and Will Yun Lee had recurring roles during the first season. The show is a procedural drama centered around the character of Doctor Shaun Murphy, played by Freddie Highmore (best known for his role as a young Norman Bates in Bates Motel). Murphy is a surgical resident at the fictional St. Bonaventure Hospital in San Jose, California. Without giving away too much, he is an autistic savant and longtime friend (with an almost father-son relationship) of the hospital's president, Dr. Glassman (played by Richard Schiff). The hospital's board and head of the surgical team are against bringing Shaun in as a surgical resident. Glassman makes a deal with the hospital board to bring Shaun on, saying he will resign if Shaun does not excel. While Shaun is the main character, because he is a lower-level character in the hospital, he is often the background in the hospital scenes, not having much of a say in things. 

The show was created by the creative team behind the medical drama House. Like that show, this has an ensemble cast, but it is not as centered around Murphy as House was around its titular character. The remaining cast is rounded out with a mix of recognizable character actors and relatively unknown actors and actresses. Hill Harper plays the head of surgery, Nicholas Gonzalez plays the surgical attending who is assigned to be Shaun's immediate boss, Antonia Thomas is another one of the surgical residents, and Tamlyn Tomita, who played the female lead in Karate Kid Part 2, plays one of the board members of the hospital. It is a case-of-the-week procedural drama mixed with serial storylines like many prime-time dramas. Unlike House, the focus is not always on one medical case in each episode. Some episodes are like that, and others focus on things like the personal lives of the various characters with the medical cases in the background. There are definitely themes that run throughout the season, with prejudice against Shaun because of his autism being front and center. Given the cast's ensemble nature, I think the show does a good job of providing all the characters with good storylines to generate interest in them. Although some characters get more material than others. There is at least some and for some characters a lot, of character development for pretty much all the characters over the course of the 18 episodes.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. The extras include deleted scenes for most episodes, a gag reel, and a couple of behind-the-scenes features. Good for what is there, but not a ton. So if you only get DVDs or Blu Rays (which this is not available on) when there are a lot of extras, you may just want to stream this. Overall, though, it is a very good, but not necessarily great (although that is subjective) medical drama. The season ends with more than one character's storyline up in the air going into the second season, and if it continues to be well-written and acted, it can be even stronger in season two. Ultimately, it is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Blockers

 

Blockers is a 2018 comedy starring Leslie Mann, Kathryn Newton, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Gideon Adlon, and Geraldine Viswanathan in the main roles and Gina Gershon and Gary Cole in supporting roles. The movie can basically be summed up as the premise from the original American Pie, centered around the parents who find out about the sex pact and try to stop it. The plot does not really need much more explanation than that. There are definitely themes like parents letting go of their kids, teenage pressure to have sex, etc. It was not nearly as good as the original American Pie, but pretty much on par with the two (non-direct-to-DVD) sequels.

The highlights of the movie were Gary Cole and Gina Gershon's hilarious sex-crazed characters taking full advantage of the having an empty house for prom night, John Cena's willingness to make fun of himself and put himself in the kind of crazy situations that Jason Bigg's character in American Pie found himself in. Cena has proven he has some good comedy acting chops. Of course, a professional wrestler turned actor can be anything from horribly bad (Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura) to decent (Bautista) to pretty good (The Rock). I'd put Cena in the decent category. I think if he has a future in Hollywood, it will be in comedies. I do not see him as becoming the giant action star The Rock has become. Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz do a good job as the two other parents trying to stop the kids from having sex, and each of them has pretty good moments as well.

For those who get the Blu-ray, the A/V quality is good. There are about 45 minutes or so of extras, including a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a bunch of short behind-the-scenes featurettes. There is also a director's commentary track on the movie. It is good for what is there and pretty much what you would expect from this type of movie.

I would say it is a fun movie but not necessarily a must-see. It does not really cover much in the way of new ground with the story. It just puts a twist on teen sex comedies. It has some very funny moments, but I cannot say you will be gut laughing the entire time. It is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a fun comedy.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 7

On day 7, I did 645 cardio, followed immediately by the MBF dynamic recovery routine. I did harder exercises in the 645 workout today since the MBF workout is really more of a flexibility and mobility workout and does not get your heart rate up.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 6

Day 6 was the EMOM workout in MBF. Again, this workout has three blocks: two five-minute blocks and one 10-minute block. In the first block, you do weighted swings, the second block is push-ups, and the third block alternates between weighted chops and mountain climbers. The push-up block was the hardest for me. The other two blocks were challenging, but I was able to do all of the reps in those blocks. I did not do 645 cardio.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 5

On day 5, I did a full-body burn in MBF and 645 cardio. Again, I did the 645 workout in the morning and MBF in the evening. The full-body burn was challenging, but as with the other resistance workouts this week, I had a better idea of the proper weight to use. For me, that meant erroring on the side of using weights that was a bit lighter than what I would use in Lift 4, Chalean Extreme, or P90x for the same exercises. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 4

On day 4, I did 645 cardio in the morning and the core circuit workout from MBF in the evening. The core circuit was similar to Tuesday's workout but with different exercises. This time, I was able to complete 6.5 AMRAP rounds. In the 645 workout, I did harder exercises than I would have done on HIIT day in Lift 4, but not the exercises that were the hardest for me. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Modern Family: Season 8

The 22-episode 8th season of Modern Family aired during the 2016/2017 TV season. All of the main cast members returned. The show also included many recognizable actors in guest and recurring roles, including Fred Willard, Nathan Fillion, Ernie Hudson, Martin Short, Joely Fisher, Shelly Long, Elizabeth Banks, Peyton Manning, Victor Garber, and Charles Barkley (to name just a few). Chances are, anyone reading this by now knows what the show is. It is definitely one of those sitcoms that finds what works and does not deviate much from the formula. That is not to say every episode of the show is the same. They are not. Even after 8 seasons, the writers have managed to come up with enough material to make the show enjoyable. All the characters are continuing to develop in different ways. The actors seem to still enjoy their characters and, even after all these years, do not seem to be phoning it in at all. While an argument can certainly be made that the show was getting a bit long in the tooth by the 8th season (it would eventually last 11 seasons), it was still worth watching.

What knocks the set down for me is the DVD presentation. It is another show that Fox is being cheap about with the DVDs. As some may know, Fox prefers to have people stream the shows. It will put out very bare-bones DVD sets for some shows, blu-rays for a very select handful of shows. The shows that do get physical media releases have almost no extras. The only extras for this season are about 6 minutes worth of deleted scenes and a 5 or 6-minute gag reel. There are no commentary tracks, no behind-the-scenes features, or anything like what has appeared in the physical media releases for prior seasons of the show. Unless you are getting the sets because you have the other seasons in a collection, you are not missing anything by streaming the show.

Book Review: Dune: Deluxe Edition (#1 Publication Order; #14 Chronological Order)

 

This is a hardcover reprinting of Frank Herbert's original 1965 novel, Dune. It is the first novel in the now sprawling series of Dune novels, but if you read the novels chronologically, it is the 14th. The book begins on the planet Caladan, which House Atreides has ruled over for years until Duke Leto Atreides is ordered by Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV to take control of the production of Spice (a substance that gives humans longer life spans, gives some humans supernatural powers, and makes interstellar space travel possible) on the desert planet, Arrakis (which is called Dune by the people who live there). Leto, along with his 15-year-old son Paul, and his concubine (and Paul's mother), Jessica, move (along with the House Atreides hands and troops) to Arrakis, where a trap is set to be sprung by members of House Harkonnen, the Atreides' arch enemies. 

This version of the book was published in 2019. I purchased mine as a part of a collector's set containing the original trilogy novels. The book includes an introduction written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian, who has co-authored the (as of this writing) 13 prequel novels, 4 sequel novels, and two collections of short stories set during the various Dune eras. The book is 658 pages long. The actual story takes up 603 pages. The rest of the book includes three appendices that flesh out some of the events leading up to the events in the book and summarize the main characters. The appendices would also serve as the starting point for the prequel novels. The book ends with a glossary of terms.

The story is good, but it can be confusing. There is a reason that it is considered one of the hardest sci-fi novels to adapt to live-action. The book's first half has very little action but sets up what happens in the latter half, where most of the action occurs. There are also time jumps that occur in the book, but Herbert does not identify them when they occur; you just have to figure that out from the context as you read. It helps to read the series of books chronologically because all the characters have been developed in the prequel novels, and you have a better sense of why things happen in this book the way they do. It also helps to know what Mentats are and what the motivations of the Bene Gesserit are before reading this book. That is certainly not to say the book is impossible to follow without reading the prequel novels, but it is easier to follow this book if you know the background material. Ultimately, it is a great book with themes of political corruption, religion, caste systems, family, and the like. It is absolutely worth reading.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Annihilation

 

Annihilation is a 2017 thriller directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman, Oscar Issac, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Gina Rodriguez. It is hard to say too much about the movie without giving too much away. I will say it will probably take a couple viewings to really get what is going on, and you cannot really just have it on in the background, half paying attention to it. If you do that, you will miss too much, and it will make no sense. It basically tells the story of a group of military scientists led by Natalie Portman's character who enter a quarantined zone called "the shimmer." Portman's character is the only one to return from the quarantined zone (which has been expanding since a method landed in Florida). Much of the movie is about her being interrogated, while the story of what happened inside the shimmer is being told through flashbacks.

The movie was originally only released on DVD and Blu-Ray but has since been released in 4k-UHD.  On the regular Blu-Ray, the only extras are an hour plus worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. The featurettes are broken up into 15-20 minute segments. While the movie has some action and suspense, it falls more within the intellectual sci-fi genre. It relies heavily on visuals to tell the story and looks great in the HD format. It is definitely not a movie that will appeal to everyone. It is not a non-stop action thriller by any stretch. If, however, you enjoy the kind of sci-fi movies that are not all about non-stop action it is worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Bad Moms Christmas

 

A Bad Moms Christmas is the 2017 sequel to the very underrated 2016 comedy Bad Moms. The movie brings back Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, and Jay Hernandez from the first movie and adds Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon, and Cheryl Hines, playing the moms of the moms. Peter Gallager and Justin Hartley also co-star. Christina Applegate and Wanda Sykes also reprise their roles from the first movie, basically making cameo appearances.

This movie takes some of the concepts of the original movie and sets it around the stress of Christmas. Specifically, the pressure to do the holidays perfectly, combined with their own mothers entering the picture and making everything worse. Thankfully, the writers and producers of this movie did not fall into the trap that those of The Hangover II did and just make a carbon copy of the first movie. That said, there are not as many funny moments in this one as there were in the first. The big scene stealers in this movie were Cheryl Hines, who played the mother of Kristen Bell's character, and Christine Baransky, who played the mother of Mila Kunis' character. Justin Heartly also had a great role as a male stripper, and there was a pretty hilarious cameo by Kenny G. It is pretty standard comedic fare. 

For those who get the Blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds good. The extras are not extensive. They include a gag reel, some deleted scenes, and a music video featuring the crew members that is a spoof of the end credit sequence of the cast. Overall, I would say if you enjoyed the first movie, you will probably like this one as well, even if not as much. It definitely earns its R rating and is not a family-friendly comedy, but if you enjoy that brand of comedy, it is entertaining. It is definitely not as good as the first movie, and I think even people who loved the first movie would have been perfectly content if a sequel had never been made. As long as you are not expecting it to be more than it is, I do not think the movie will disappoint you.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Master: Complete Series

 

The Master was an action-adventure series that aired during the 1984 TV season. It is what you get if you combine any of the 1980's procedural action series like A-Team, Greatest American Hero, Night Rider, etc., with the Cannon Ninja trilogy (which had a big cult following). It never gained traction as a show and was canceled after 13 episodes. I was pretty young when the series first aired, and I loved martial arts and all things ninja. I remember watching some of the episodes when they originally aired. As a kid, it was easy to overlook the cheesy and sometimes downright bad acting and writing. Watching it again as an adult, the horrible acting and writing are far more noticeable. If, however, you were a kid back in the early to mid-1980s, this is a nostalgic blast from the past.

The series starred Lee Van Cleef and Timothy Van Patten, with recurring appearances by the star of the Cannon Ninja trilogy (Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination), Sho Kasugi. Van Cleef played John Peter McCallister, an aging Ninja Master returning to the United States to find his daughter. Kasugi plays his former student, Okasa, from Japan, who was out to kill him, and Van Patten plays Max Keller, who becomes his new student after the two meet in the mists of a bar fight. It is basically a story-of-the-week show where Keller and McCalister drive around the country looking for McCallister's daughter and eventually get involved in some local dust-up between (usually) a damsel in distress against the local bad guy(s). 

It does take a lot of suspension of disbelief on many levels to watch the show, including buying that either Van Cleef or Van Patten had anything close to martial arts skill (which you could see during the extreme close-ups during the fight scenes that they did not). Or, buying the fact that the McCallister character, who would walk around as himself in broad daylight beating up the bad guys, would need to change into his ninja uniform at night to beat up the same bad guys, with his same apprentice in tow (who was not in a ninja uniform). And even when he was in uniform he was always pulling his mask down, so there was never any real disguising who he was. And, of course, there was the carrying around tons of illegal weapons.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set. The A/V transfer is okay but not wonderful. It is about as good a transfer as you would expect for an old 1980s TV show that was canceled halfway through its first season. The only extras included on the set are trailers for a handful of the Westerns that Van Cleef was known for throughout his career, as well as trailers for Enter the Ninja and Revenge of the Ninja, the two movies Kasugi had been in at that point.

I think most people who will get this are those who were kids in the 1980s and remember watching it back then. You will definitely not get it because of great writing or acting. Several very recognizable and good character actors and actresses were in the show. Also notable is that a very young Demi Moore had a guest-starring role in the pilot. Still, it was overall a pretty hokey and cheesy show. The pilot episode was even featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The show's silliness is best exemplified by a scene in which one of the characters picks up a piece of uranium and sticks it in his pocket. Ultimately, if you watch it expecting it to be a fun blast from the past, it is enjoyable and even pretty funny. If you are expecting award-winning TV, you will be sorely disappointed.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 3

On day 3, I did 645 cardio in the morning, and the MBF upper-body burn workout in the evening. Again, my weight selection was better this time in the MBF workout. I mostly used 10-15 lbs throughout the workout, which, because you are doing so many reps, quickly, with no rest between sets, is plenty. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/MBF Day 2

On Day 2, I did the 645 cardio routine in the morning and the core circuit workout in the evening. The core circuit workout was challenging, although easier than the first time I did it.  I was able to do 5 rounds of the AMRAP circuit at the end of the workout, which was better than Day 2 the first time I did MBF.

DVD/TV Series Review: Modern Family: Season 7

 

The 22-episode seventh season of Modern Family aired during the 2015/2016 TV season. I will not go into too much detail on the season itself. Anyone who has stuck with the show this long really knows the formula it follows. This season pretty much sticks with the same story/stories of the week, with tiebacks to previous plot lines/jokes every so often. That said, the show is still developing the characters (mainly the kids, but the adults, too, to a lesser extent), the acting is still great, and I think the writers are coming up with funny, enjoyable stories. I think an argument can be made that it is getting a bit "long in the tooth" as a show, but I think most fans will still find it enjoyable.

The DVD set is a three-disc set and is pretty on par with what they have been since the show stopped being released on blu-ray. It has adequate A/V quality but nothing to write home about. There are a handful of extras, including deleted scenes, a gag reel, a feature on the kids growing up on the show, focused on Rico, Ariel, and Nolan, and then a featurette on a charity Ty Burell is involved with called Kids in the Spotlight. Okay, for what is there, but not a ton. Really, I think the only reason to get the DVDs over just streaming the episodes is if you have the prior seasons and want to have the full collection. Otherwise, unless you really want the handful of bonus features, the A/V quality will probably be better (or at least as good) steaming them.

Book Review: The Looming Tower

 

The Looming Tower is a book that was written by Lawrence Wright and initially published in 2006. The book serves as the source material for the series on Hulu of the same name. If you have seen the Hulu series you know that its focus was on the FBI and CIA infighting, lack of information sharing, and was largely set around John O'Neil and Ali Soufan. The book, on the other hand, focuses mainly on the rise of radical Islam and tells the story of how the various splintered groups eventually came together to form what would be Al-Qaeda. The first 200 pages or so are devoted solely to the history of the major events and players in that world and laid out how Osama bin Laden came to power and basically lost his fortune (he was nowhere near as wealthy as he was made out to be), and then managed to cobble together the force that would eventually attack the United States. Later in the book, much of what the focus of the Hulu series plays out, including a lot of detail about what the CIA and FBI did and did not know, how if they actually worked together instead of against each other, the 9-11 attacks could have very likely been averted.

The main part of the softcover version of the book is just over 400 pages. Then there is a glossary giving the backgrounds and current status of the major people mentioned throughout the book and endnotes that flesh out the details in the book. The only picky point on the notes is that they are not actually referenced in the book's text, so there is no way to easily match up the note with the part of the text it is referencing (for the handful of people who would care to do so). As was the case with the series, the book does not focus much on the events of 9-11 itself. While the book includes some detail about what was happening in and around the towers, that was relegated to just a part of the last chapter. The book finishes with the interrogation of Abu Jandal by Ali Soufan, which is pretty much the climax of the series. Overall, the book gives a good description of the backstory of what led up to the attacks and the reasoning and justifications the terrorists used for launching suicide attacks against innocent civilians. It also does a very good job of detailing some of the dysfunction of the government agencies that failed to put together pieces and tied threads that could have stopped the attacks from happening. It is definitely worth the read.

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

 

Legion is a crazy, mind-bending show created by Noah Hawley, the creator of the Fargo TV series on FX. It is a story about mutants set in the X-Men universe centered around David/Legion (played by Dan Stevens), who is one of, if not the most powerful mutant in the X-Men universe, having very strong psychic powers (among others). The cast is rounded out by Fargo season two alums Rachel Keller and Jean Smart, Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza, Katie Aselton (from The League), Bill Irwin, and Amber Midthunder. There are also a bunch of great character actors that round out the cast. The 8-episode first season aired during the winter and spring of 2017.

If you follow the comics, you know who Legion's father is and why he is so powerful. His parentage is hinted at in the first season but never outright given away. The season is mostly centered around fixing what David has always assumed to be a mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia, to be exact). Still, as we find out throughout the season, it is a combination of his powers manifesting and something else. It is a trippy show that is hard to follow (especially on the first viewing), jumps around a lot in the story, and just gets weird at times. That said, it is very well written and acted, and it makes sense after a while. Plaza steals every scene, and she takes advantage of the opportunity to ham it up when called for (which seems to suit her personality). Stevens and Keller are great in their roles as lovers who cannot touch each other (because she switches bodies with whomever she touches). Jean Smart is great in a Professor-X-like role as the mentor for the group. There is also the requisite shadowy government organization trying to hunt the mutants down, playing one of the antagonist roles.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set, and the show (which has a lot of special effects) looks and sounds great in HD. It is a very visual show, so the high-definition format really pops. The extras include deleted scenes (about a half-hour's worth) and several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. Good for what is there, but not too extensive. The show packs a lot into the 8-episode first season and sets up the recently aired second season well. If you are a fan of the X-Men comics or movies, it is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Black Lightning: Season 1

 

The 13-episode first season of Black Lightning aired during the winter and spring of 2018. The show starred Cress Williams (who was probably best known for his role in the series Hart of Dixie), Nafessa Williams, China Anne McLain, Jordan Calloway, Krondon, Christine Adams, Damon Gupton, and James Remar (who was probably best known for his role in the series Dexter). The show is set in the fictional city of Freeland, centered around the character of Jefferson Pierce (played by Cress Williams), a metahuman with the power to control electricity who had been the superhero known as Black Lightning. Pierce was retired from the superhero (and Principal at the local high school) gig at the beginning of the series and only to get sucked back in when his daughters were in danger from the local gang. There is also a shadowy government organization in the background hunting down metahumans and putting Black Lightning and his family in danger.

When the show premiered, it was the newest in the slate of superhero shows airing on the CW. During the first couple of seasons, aside from a somewhat throwaway Supergirl reference early in the season, it was not clear whether it was actually tied into the Arrowverse shows. It is also unclear if the show was set on Earth 38 (meaning the version of Supergirl being referenced is the same as on the show) or some other Earth where she exists. 

The show is definitely written with the modern-day political and racial climate in mind. There are references to Black Lives Matter, the orange genital wart's brand of politics, events like the Charlottesville riot, etc. Unlike some of the one-star reviewers on Amazon, I do not think the message of the series is all white people are bad or, as one suggested, that all black youth carry guns. The point was to show part of the modern-day experience centered around a successful and respected black family trying to improve things in their city. It should be noted that one of the good guys in the show is a cop trying to ferret out corruption in the police department, and Black Lightning is assisted by a white character. So, to say any race in the show is all of one thing or the other is overly simplistic and generalizing.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V quality is very good, and the show looks and sounds good in the high-definition format. The extras include two features with the crew about shooting the show in Atlanta (which are included on the first disc), a feature on the scene from the pilot when Jefferson is pulled over, which was a take-off on a real-life incident experienced by the show's executive producer, a gag reel, about 30 min of deleted scenes, and about 20 minutes of the comic-con panel discussion. Just to warn anyone who watches the bonus material first, the comic-con panel does spoil a lot, so if you want to avoid spoilers, do not watch it before you watch the episodes.

Overall, it is a show that is still finding its legs. Much of the first season (as you would expect) is developing the characters and the environment they live in. It definitely has a take on political, racial, and social issues, so if you are easily offended by or uncomfortable with shows that do that, whether you agree with the takes or not, this is definitely not the show for you. That said, I think it was a good first season, sets up what is likely to be an even better second season, and hopefully will get worked into the larger universe of shows down the line. The cast comprises mostly character actors and relative unknowns, which I think works for the ensemble nature of the show. Cress Williams definitely pulls off the conflicted superhero who does not want to get back into the fight or create waves with the police very well. I think the show is well-written and acted, and the first season packs a lot into the 13 episodes. Some of the storylines get resolved to set up what is likely to be the main conflict in season two. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: ALF: Season 2

 

The 26-episode second season of ALF aired during the 1987/1988 TV season. The main cast members returned, including Paul Fusco, Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson, and Benji Gregory. The roles of the Ochmoneks were also increased this season, with John LaMotta and Liz Sheridan getting more screen time and Josh Blake recurring throughout the season.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. It only contains the episodes and does not have any bonus features. The episodes can be played with English captions. Ultimately, the show continues to be a good sitcom. Most episodes have self-contained storylines that are resolved by the end of the episode, but the season includes some two-part episodes. The show is family-friendly, with mostly innocent jokes, although a few more adult-oriented jokes will probably go over most kids' heads. If you watched the show when it was originally on the air, it is a nice blast from the past (especially if you were a kid back in the 1980s). Regardless, if you are looking for a nice, family-friendly sitcom, this is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: iZombie: Season 3

 

+++Warning, this will contain spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major giveaways from season 3 ++++

The 13-episode third season of iZombie aired during the spring and summer of 2017. The season picks up right after the end of the second season finale, when the soldiers enter to clean up the mess of the Max Rager party turned zombie fest. In the first episode, we learn that they are part of a Zombie-led organization called Fillmore-Graves, which is preparing for the day when humans en masse learn of the existence of zombies.

For the main characters, the season is about the fallout from past events, especially now that the entire group knows the truth. Major deals with the fallout from the revelation that he is the "chaos killer." Blaine has to deal with being human again and attempting to start over, and Ravi is working toward perfecting the cure. For Liv (and all the other characters) the season is about taking a side in the humans vs zombies confrontation. As is the case with the prior seasons, the show is mainly a case-of-the-week procedural, with larger serial story arcs that play throughout. The big one is the humans becoming more and more aware of the existence of zombies, told through a group of conspiracy wingnuts. As is also the norm, Liv takes on a range of personalities (again brilliantly done by Rose McIver), and the show alternates between funny, sad, and dramatic, all on a dime. The writing and acting are all top-notch, and the show packs a lot into a limited number of episodes.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set and is one of the Warner Archives' made-on-demand (MOD) releases. Unlike many other MOD sets, they include closed captions and some extras. Those consist of deleted scenes for select episodes and about 30 minutes of the comic-con panel discussion with some of the cast and writers. There are not a ton of extras, but they are good for what is there.

This is also the last season of the show to get an official release. There are two additional seasons, but because of a licensing issue with season 4, it will not be released at all. So Warner just decided not to release the fourth season, the fifth season, or a complete series set. Whether that will change in the future, who knows. But to see the final seasons, you either have to stream them or try to find bootlegs.