Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (2013)

 

Embrace of the Vampire is a 2013 horror film starring Sharon Hinnendael, Tiio Horn, C.C. Sheffield, Chelsea Reist, and Victor Webster. It is a remake of the mid-90s movie of the same name starring Alyssa Milano. The original movie was a decent B-level movie, and this, I would say, is a decent C-level movie. While it shares the name of the original, it is not a shot-for-shot remake and does tell its own story. In this version, Sharon Hinnendael plays Charlotte, a university freshman on a fencing scholarship. She starts having weird dreams and visions and blacking out randomly. She learns she is being stalked by a Vampire who wants to use her to become human. The movie also keeps the Vampire's identity hidden for a while and tries to get you to wonder who it is, as opposed to being upfront about it like the original movie was. And Charlotte never really does a "bad girl" transformation like Milano's character did in the original movie. There is more sex and violence in this version than in the original, and the special effects are much better. Also, the movie is made up exclusively of unknown and lesser-known actors and actresses, which does not really hurt the movie but does not help it either.

The Blu-Ray release is very bare-bones. It does include some previews before the menu loads and then just the movie itself. There are no bonus materials or extras specific to the film. Overall, if you do not expect the movie to be anything more than it is, basically an independent horror movie with no star power in the cast, then it is okay. If you are expecting anything more than that, you will be sorely disappointed. It is definitely not what I would call a must-see either way.

DVD/TV Series Review: Merlin Season 3

 

The 13-episode third season of Merlin aired during the fall and winter of 2010. It picks up a year after the events of season two, with Morgana missing and the knights sent out time after time to search for her. Of course, she turns up eventually and comes back to the court fully in league with Morgause and only Merlin, suspecting what she is up to. The season is mostly a show of the week format with a storyline set for the particular episode, with the larger arc of will Morgana be revealed as being evil. I will not say too much more to avoid spoiling anything, but I will say that we do see more of the iconic elements of the Arthurian legend over the course of the season and setting up for Arthur's ascension to the throne.

All of the main cast, including Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head, Katie McGrath, Richard Wilson, and Angel Coulby, return. The younger actors are all growing into their roles, and that, along with the writing/storylines getting darker, makes this season even more enjoyable and "adult" than the first two seasons were.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. The extras are similar to what was included for the releases of the first two seasons. On the episode discs, there are commentary tracks for some, but not all, of the episodes. Then, there is a bonus disc that has a 23-minute behind-the-scenes feature, a 39-minute portion of the 2010 comic-con panel, a gag reel, some wallpapers, and a picture gallery—a good amount for those who like watching the extras.

Overall, if you liked seasons 1 and 2, you will likely be a fan of this season. If you were not a big fan of the first two seasons of the show, this one probably will not convert you. But, if you were kind of lukewarm to the first couple of seasons, this is worth checking out because the characters are developed now, and the storylines are getting stronger.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: It's a Wonderful Life

 

It's a Wonderful Life is, of course, the beloved holiday movie from 1947 directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. It gets played on television around Christmas every year, but this is a totally restored 4k upgrade of the film. The restoration was necessitated due to the fact that the original 35 mm film negatives were deteriorating and were not going to survive much longer. So, in the process of converting the film to digital, it was upgraded to 4k.

I am sure most people who are considering purchasing this already know the story and have probably seen the movie many times over the years. It tells the story of the life of George Bailey (played by Stewart) as he grows up and resents his life over time, to the point where he is considering committing suicide until his guardian angel intervenes and shows him what would happen to the people in his life had he never been born. The movie is definitely a classic, even with some of the cheesiness and hokeyness that movies of that age are known for. That said, the acting and writing were very high-quality, and Stewart did a great job in navigating the character of George to becoming more of a jackass as his life went on. While the story does require you to believe that Stewart (who was in his late 30s when the movie was made) was just out of high school at the beginning of the movie and may have worked with a younger actor playing that part, Stewart made it work.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc has the restored 4k black and white version of the film, and the regular Blu-Ray disc includes the colorized version in 1080p. Of course, some would see watching it in color as akin to blasphemy, but it is there for those who want it. The 4k restoration is wonderful, and the movie looks and sounds the best it has on physical media in UHD. There are about 45 min of extras, including a featurette on the restoration of the movie, secrets from the vault segment that gives insights into how the movie was made, and then a short 8-minute home-movie reel of the wrap party. Note that prior physical media releases of the film included a making-of featurette and the trailer, which are not included in this release. Ultimately, this is a reference-quality UHD release. If you do not yet own the movie on physical media, it is worth picking up. If you do own a prior release and really love the movie, it is worth double-dipping to get the 4k set as it is a significant upgrade to the A/V quality of the movie. 

DVD/Movie Review: Jersey Girl

 

Jersey Girl is a romantic comedy from 2004. It was written and directed by Kevin Smith and stars Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Raquel Castro, Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Stephen Root, and Jason Biggs. Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Jason Lee have small cameo roles in the movie. It is probably one of the best and most underrated of Kevin Smith's movies. Affleck plays a widower who has to raise a daughter with the help of his dad (played by George Carlin) after his wife (played by Jennifer Lopez) dies in childbirth. He strikes up a romance with a clerk at the local video store (played by Liv Tyler) while trying to get back to his old life as a rich publicist in NY. Ultimately, the movie is about the importance of family in the grand scheme of things.

Like the vast majority of Smith's movies, there are cameos from actors in his other movies (like Matt Damon and Jason Lee). While Smith is known for making pretty vulgar comedies, this is about 95% drama and 5% comedy, and there is no Jay and Silent Bob to be seen. While there is swearing in it (as one of the Amazon reviewers is apparently shocked by), it is much more toned down from all his other movies.

The DVD just has the movie. No extras of any kind. The video transfer is okay but not great, which is fine, given that it is not packed with special effects. It would have been nice to get some deleted scenes, cast interviews, or a commentary track. While I cannot say this movie is going to appeal to everyone, even die-hard fans of Kevin Smith, it tells a very good story and is well-written and acted. The little girl who plays Gertie (Raquel Castro) pretty much steals every scene she is in. If you accept that you are not getting comedy in the same vein as Clerks, Mallrats, or even Chasing Amy and accept that it is going to be different than what you might expect, it is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Alien

 

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

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

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Chalean Extreme Day 30

Day 30 was a rest day in CE so I did 645 cardio (doing higher-impact exercises) in the morning and Lift 4 stretch in the evening. Both workouts went well, and I can tell my range of motion doing some of the exercises in 645 cardio is getting better. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Chalean Extreme Day 29

Day 29 was the start of the Push phase in CE. Of course, I did 645 cardio in the morning, and in the evening, I did Push Circuit 1 from CE. In the push workouts, you lift heavier weights and only work on a single body part per exercise. The goal is to reach failure by the time you get the 8 reps. Once you can do 8 reps with ease, you increase the amount of weight. PC1 has both upper and lower body exercises, you just do them separately. The upper body exercises are bicep and tricep exercises, and then you do variations of lunges and squats for the lower body exercises. Most of the exercises in the workout have a breakdown set, but because you are doing fewer reps, the workouts are a bit shorter than the burn circuit workouts.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Chalean Extreme Day 28

On Day 28, I did 645 cardio in the morning, immediately followed by the CE ab burner workout. Then, in the evening I did the Recharge workout. Each of them went fine. There was really nothing to report about any of them.

DVD/Movie Review: My Summer of Love

 

My Summer of Love is a 2004 independent British film starring Natalie Press, Emily Blunt, and Paddy Considine.  It definitely feels like a low-budget independent movie. The big draw is that it was the film debut of Emily Blunt, who has, of course, gone on to, at the very least, border super-stardom if she cannot already be called an A-list actress. It is a movie about two young girls named Mona (Press) and Tasmin (Blunt) who have a summer fling with each other, which ultimately ends up going bad. The acting is decent, but the writing was definitely not anything special, which, of course, affected the performances of the actors.

It seems that there are several versions of the DVD out there. The one I have has just the movie itself that plays from a title menu. There are no captions or any DVD extras. I am sure that is the case for most, if not all, of the releases. I definitely think it is a middle-of-the-road quality movie. It is not horrible, but it is not a must-see either.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: Bill & Ted Face the Music/Bill &Ted's Bogus Journey/Bill &Ted's Excellent Adventure

 

This set contains the three Bill & Ted films, or as some may call them, Keanu Reeves' other, other trilogy, on three separate Blu-Ray discs. It contains all three movies, 1989's Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 1991's Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, and 2020's Bill and Ted Face the Music. All three movies starred Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. The first two movies also starred George Carlin, and he appeared posthumously in the third film as a hologram. The franchise also featured recognizable actors such as William Sadler, Pam Grier, Holland Taylor, and Jayma Mays.

I will spend most of the review on the third and newest film, Bill & Ted Face the Music since the other two have been out long enough that most people who would get this have probably seen them multiple times. But, as a short synopsis, the first movie, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, was a late 1980s movie about two high-school slackers who could not play any instruments yet had a band whose music was fated to unite the world and become the philosophy that future civilizations relied on. It was also the movie that would make Keanu Reeves a household name and cause nearly everyone to question his casting in The Matrix about a decade later. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was the sequel that followed a couple of years later, that had an almost Terminator-like theme where evil robot versions of Bill and Ted were sent back to kill them and destroy their lives to keep them from having any influence on the future. The third movie, released in 2020, revealed that the duo, now in their 50s with daughters of their own, had yet to write the song that would unite the world, which put the future of all civilization at stake. That is about all you need to know about the plots of each movie.

The movies definitely fall within the realm of tongue-in-cheek comedy, with some deeper themes of family and friendship (especially in the third movie) weaved in. They are meant to be a kind of "stupid funny" and you can tell that the writers and the actors took their work seriously, nobody seemed to take themselves too seriously, which made all the movies work, despite all the movies having a different feel and tone from each other.

Each of the discs has an assortment of extras, including theatrical trailers for the first two movies, two different commentary tracks for the second movie, as well as a retrospective on the second movie that was filmed around the time that the third movie was being made. For the original movie, there was also (I kid you not) an air guitar tutorial/featurette, and for the most recent movie, the main bonus feature was a 45-minute portion of the virtual comic-con panel hosted by Kevin Smith, including the writers, producer, director, as well as Keanu, Alex Winters, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, and William Sadler.

Overall, the movies are all very good if you take them for what they are. They are not meant to be Academy Award-winning movies, just fun, fairly innocent, tongue-in-cheek comedies. I like that the third movie was able to get many of the serving original cast members from the first two movies back together and even found a way to provide a posthumous George Carlin cameo. I know that there are some people who thought making the third film without Carlin would never work, but in reality, he had a pretty small role in the first movie and even less of a role in the second movie (which really amounted to an extended cameo), so while he was a fun character from the original movies, he was not so integral to the story that they could not make a third movie without him. And, I think that the new cast members who were brought in did a good job with their parts, even those who were playing parts that were recast. For those of us who grew up in the 1980s, the first movie especially will cause a bit of a nostalgia trip and the third movie provides a fitting end to the story. It is definitely worth the pickup for those who still get movies on physical discs.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Chalean Extreme Day 27

On day 27 I just did the Burn it Off workout in the evening. I was still helping my mom unpack her stuff, so I figured I was getting an extra workout in anyway. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Chalean Extreme Day 26

On day 26 I did 645 cardio in the morning and BC3 in the evening. Both workouts were challenging since I was tired from the day before, and I was helping my mom unpack today, so I got even more work in. So, while I cannot say that either workout was awesome, I got them done. This was the last week of the Burn phase in CE. Over the four weeks, I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for most of the exercises (except for a couple of the shoulder exercises). 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Chalean Extreme Day 25

Day 25 was kind of an off day, but kind of not. I did not do any regular workouts, but I was helping my mom move, so I was lugging boxes around pretty much all day long. So, I got a ton of exercise and a ton of steps in, and I still ended up working out. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Apocalypse Now Final Cut

 

Apocalypse Now is a 1979 war movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Robert Duvall, and Harrison Ford. It is, of course, the "other" iconic Francis Ford Coppola movie from the 1970s. While I do not think it is as good as either The Godfather or The Godfather Part II, it is still a very good movie. It is partly a commentary on the Vietnam War, partly an adaptation of the novel Heart of Darkness, and partly just weird. It centers around the character of Willard, played by a young (and very much looking like Charlie) Martin Sheen, who is on a mission to find and kill a rogue ex-Colonel named Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. It also stars a very young Lawrence Fishburne and another Godfather Alum, Robert Duvall, as Kilgore (who has some of the best lines in the movie) and Dennis Hopper as a crazy photojournalist. It is not per-se an anti-war film but does make statements (some subtle, some not) about the absurdity of the Vietnam War. It definitely gets weird at times, especially after Brando's character shows up about 2/3 of the way through the movie.

The 4k set is a six-disc set containing two UHD discs and four regular Blu-Ray discs. It includes the theatrical version of the film, which is about 2.5 hours long, the Redux cut, which is about 3 hours and 16 minutes long, and the Final cut, which is just over 3 hours long. Each version is both on a UHD disc and a regular Blu-ray. There are a ton of extras, some of which are new, and some which are carried over from prior DVD releases of the movie, including a discussion between Martin Sheen and Coppola, which was done in 2010 for a prior release, a 1936 radio broadcast of Heart of Darkness (which was a huge inspiration for the movie) narrated by Orson Wells, deleted scenes, and much more. There is also a commentary track by Coppola on the Redux version of the movie, which gives a lot of insight into the process of making the movie, including how George Lucas was supposed to direct it before he started making Star Wars and how Coppola made a lot of it up as he was shooting the movie, and was not working off a finished script.

It is definitely not a movie that everyone will like. But if you are a fan of the movie, the actors, and/or the director and especially love when a lot of bonus material is available, it looks and sounds great. And you get every possible variation of the movie that will ever be put out. It is a must-get, even if you have one of the earlier releases.

Book Review: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire

 

Black Spire is an ancillary main storyline canon novel published in 2019 and written by Delilah S. Dawson. It is set between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. The Resistance is on its heels and looking not only for places to establish bases and recruit new members. Leia (who has a small role in the book) dispatches Vi and Archex (formerly known as Captain Cardinal, and now a somewhat reluctant member of the Resistance) from the Phasma novel to Batuu (which has been the setting of a couple of novels) where they, of course, encounter a First Order unit. The resulting story is kind of a cat-and-mouse chase between the First Order and the Resistance members and ends up being a good action novel.

The hardcover version of the book is about 400 pages long. The story is kind of a follow-up to the Phasma novel and kind of a bridge to TROS. None of the "main" characters aside from Leia appear, although Rey and Luke Skywalker are mentioned a couple of times. It does introduce a handful of new characters that become the Resistance unit on Batuu, who also have to cooperate with the local crime syndicate and make too many waves. Overall, I will not say that it is the best of the side story novels that are a part of the "main storyline," but it is an enjoyable (and fairly quick) read and clearly sets up the possibility of a follow-up book.

DVD/Movie Review: Shanghai Noon

 

Shanghai Noon is a 2000 action/comedy film starring Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, and Lucy Liu. It is a fun but not exactly deep movie. I would equate it to being a Rush Hour knockoff but set in the Old West. Jackie Chan stars as an imperial guard named Chon Wang, pronounced John Wayne, who is tasked with going to America to rescue a princess (played by Lucy Lui) who has been kidnapped. In the process, he meets up with Roy O'Bannon (played by Wilson), a rather inept outlaw. From there, the movie is in part a fish-out-of-water story, in part a buddy story, and in part an action-comedy (which most of Chan's US movies have been).

The DVD has plenty of extras, including deleted scenes, several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes, a music video, a couple of interactive games, and a commentary track with the director. A good amount for people who like going through the bonus material. Overall, the movie does not try to be anything more than it is (mostly). It does throw in a couple of dramatic moments, but it is mostly an action-comedy with an East vs. West vibe. If you accept that you will not be watching award-winning content, it is a good, enjoyable way to kill a couple of hours.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Rogue Season 3 Part 2

 

+++Warning, this contains the major spoiler from the first half of the third season, but no major giveaways from the second half +++

The third season of Rogue was split in two, with the first 10 episodes transitioning from Grace's storyline, resulting in her death, to Ethan's storyline set in Chicago. The second half of the season, which aired in the spring of 2016, picks up with Ethan trying to track down a woman named Mia (played by Twilight's Ashley Greene), who ends up being an ex-NSA contractor who has downloaded a bunch of secret material to a flash drive, a-la Edward Snowden, and who happens to be a badass. She ends up getting entangled in a storyline with Ethan that involves Marty Stein (the corrupt lawyer played by Richard Schiff), the DEA, the Chicago gangs, and the Russian mob. It packs a lot into 10 episodes, and honestly at times, how the show is trying to blend all the storylines into one, makes it hard to follow. On the plus side, Greene is a great addition to the cast, and her character is always playing on the edge between good and bad, and it is not until the final couple of episodes that you really figure out where she stands.

This blu-ray release is another two-disc German import. The audio defaults to a German overdubbed track, but you can play an English audio track. There are three short behind-the-scenes featurettes (totaling less than 10 minutes) mainly focusing on Green's character and Cole Hauser's character. Those are in English, and then there are some trailers in German. Also note, that you will need a Region-2 or Region-Free blu-ray player to play this set. Players sold commercially in the US and Canada will not play this set.

Overall, the show is good, but it has strayed significantly from the original storyline from season 1. There is a lot of swearing and some nudity (mainly from Greene), but, it was toned down from what was in season 1. So, if that turns you off to a show, then you should skip this. And, if you were a huge fan of Thandie Newton, and only watched because of her, there is really no reason to pick this up. The season does end on a cliffhanger, and given that the shortened 10-episode 4th season aired in 2017, it is becoming less likely that will ever show up on DVD or Blu-Ray, either in the States or as an import. So, for now, as far as physical discs, this may end up being the de-facto end to the series. And, since it is very hard to find the series streaming since AT&T NOW removed it if you did not watch season 4 when it aired, it may be a while (or never) before you get a chance to see it. With those caveats in mind, it is worth picking up when it is listed for a reasonable price.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Sinner Season 2

 

The eight-episode second season of The Sinner aired during the summer of 2018. It tells a completely new story with mostly new characters. This time, the story is set near Harry Ambrose's (played by Bill Pullman) hometown (which is the hook that gets him into the story), in which a child named Julian (played by Elisha Nenig) poisons his parents at a roadside motel. Of course, like the first season, there are a lot of twists and turns with the backstory slowly revealed over the course of the eight episodes. The supporting cast includes Carrie Coon as the "leader" of the cult that Julian was raised in, Natalie Paul, who is a local police officer/junior detective, and a family friend of Harry and Hannah Gross.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. The show looks good in HD, but it is a standard MOD set. There are no captions and no extras, just the episodes spread over the two discs. The acting and writing are very good. There are some sexual situations and swearing during the season, but I do not think there was as much as there was in the first season. That said, it is still not what I would call a family-friendly show. But if you are looking for a good adult drama, it is worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Rocketman

 

Rocketman is a 2019 drama loosely based on the life of Elton John.  It is a very different take on a biopic, loosely telling a fantasy version of Elton John's life. It was directed by Dexter Fletcher and stars Taron Egerton as Elton John, Jamie Bell as his musical partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as Elton's manager and lover John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton's mother.

As one of the producers said in the behind-the-scenes material, it is a biopic that is not a biopic, and a musical that is not a musical. It starts out with Elton in rehab, relating events from his life at a group meeting. Then we see the events play out in flashbacks that every so often break out in musical numbers. The songs used in the movie (mostly his songs from the 1970s) were selected from Elton's vast catalog of music but were not exactly tied to the time frame in which the events in his life actually occurred. For example, the movie shows the song Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting being played before Elton and Taupin ever meet. The songs were used mostly to fit with particular scenes in the story, not to convey when in his career they were actually released. Also, the movie does not tell events exactly as they happened or when they happened. For example, the final act of the movie shows Elton leaving rehab using the song I'm Still Standing which was released in 1983, yet he actually went to rehab in 1990. Even though the movie is a more "fantasy" telling of Elton's life, using actual events but oftentimes putting a different spin on them, it does convey the mess his life was as he was coming to terms with his sexuality, using and abusing drugs and alcohol, and his issues with food, as well as his rather horrible family. Bryce Dallas Howard does a wonderful job playing Elton's mother and certainly gives the impression that she saw him just as a meal ticket.

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 the UHD format. The UHD disc only has the movie, and all the extras are on the regular Blu-Ray disc. Those include about 20 minutes of deleted scenes, a handful of making-of featurettes, a version of the movie that will display the song lyrics during the musical numbers, and a version of the movie that just plays the musical numbers. All-in-all a very good amount of bonus material for those who like to watch it.

Overall, the movie is very good. While I do think it would have worked as a more "traditional" biopic, without having musical numbers where everyone in the scene breaks out into song, I get why the choice was made to do it that way. Taron Egerton not only does a great acting job playing Elton, but he also sang all the songs, and not just lip-synching to the real songs. This allowed them to re-arrange the songs to help tell the story yet still keep the character of the original songs. For many of the songs, they were arranged to start differently and then transition to sound more like the album versions. While I cannot say that the movie is going to appeal to everyone, if you are a fan of Elton John's music and/or know a bit about his life, it is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Rogue Season 3 Part 1

 

Rouge was a series produced on DirecTV's audience network that ran for four seasons. It started out with a storyline in which Thandie Newton's character (Grace Travis) was undercover with a mob boss in San Francisco while also trying to find out who killed her young son. That storyline was mostly resolved in the first season, and the second season of the show found her character going after a group of former military members (led by Cole Houser's character, Ethan Kelly) who killed a group of Americans in Pakistan and made off with a bunch of money meant to bribe tribal leaders.

The third season was split into two parts, each consisting of 10 episodes. The first 10 episodes aired during the summer of 2015. In the first part of the third season, the show shifted to Chicago, with Newton's character in a supporting role and Hauser's character in the lead. In it, Ethan gets involved in a fight between the DOJ, DEA, a shady Chicago lawyer (played wonderfully by Richard Schiff), and a feuding pair of Chicago gangs. The first half of the season saw Grace's storyline wrapped up in a rather underwhelming (in my opinion) way. That is really what knocks it down a star for me, but otherwise, the season was fine.

The show is notoriously hard to find both to stream or via physical discs (especially seasons three and four). The show did stream on DirecTV now for a while, then just disappeared. It has streamed on Amazon, but I do not believe it is included free with a Prime membership. In the United States, only the first two seasons of the show are available on DVD. The first three seasons are available on Blu-Ray in Germany, with the third being split into two separate releases, and the fourth season has not (to my knowledge) been released at all in any country on either DVD or Blu-Ray. This set will not play on a US/Region-1 Blu-Ray player. You will need either a Region-2 player or a region-free player to watch it. The audio defaults to playing a dubbed over-German track, but you can switch audio channels to have it play in English. For extras, there is about a half-hour's worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes (on the final disc) that you can play one by one or all at once, as well as a bunch of trailers that play in German only. The discs also have a true "play all" mode that will allow you to pick up where you left off, even in the middle of an episode.

I cannot say that everyone will like this season, especially those who loved the first season of the show. That said, it is well-written and acted, even if it is much different in this season than how it started out. There is a lot of violence and swearing, as well as some nudity (although not as much nudity as in prior seasons). So, if any of those things turn you off to a show, it is best to avoid it. Given that the season really does reset the show, it is helpful, but not essential that you see the first two seasons. The second season is more important to be up to speed on what is going on in season three than the first season though. If you can find the discs at a reasonable price (you will pay more because they are imports) it is definitely worth checking out.

Book Review: Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason

 

Thrawn: Treason is the third novel in the trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn, reintroducing the very popular Legends character Grand Admiral Thrawn into the rebooted Star Wars canon. It is a part of the main storyline novels, which are considered on the same level as the movies and the TV series that have been released since the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm (or series like The Clone Wars that was put out before the takeover but grandfathered into canon).

As most hardcore fans know, the character of Thrawn was introduced in the 1990s in a trilogy of now Legends novels set after Return of The Jedi as a threat from the old Empire to the New Republic. The backbone of the character was his ability to strategize and use what he knew (or could discover) about an advisory against them. In the first two canon novels, Thrawn and Thrawn: Alliances, much of that skill in the context of action/battle sequences was missing. This novel more than makes up for what was lacking in those novels. I will not go into too much detail about the plot, but the story centers around a danger/threat to the Stardust initiative, which, as everyone likely to read this knows, was the construction of the first Death Star, as well as to Thrawn's species, the Chiss. The novel features appearances by Governor Tarkin, Director Krennic, and The Emperor. While the cover of the novel suggests that the Emperor has a larger role in the novel, he really has only a small appearance, mostly at the end. The novel also alludes to the events from the series Rebels, which first reintroduced the Thrawn character in the TV series, as Thrawn is eager to get back to Lothal and deal with the situation presented by Ezra Bridger.

The hardcover version of the book is just about 400 pages long. It reads fairly quickly, especially since most of the characters that appear in the book are well-developed or have already been established in the movies. Overall, while I do not think this novel is as good as the original "Thrawn Trilogy," which many hoped would be the basis for a sequel trilogy before the original cast members got too old to make that a reality, it is the closest to those novels in terms of all that makes the character of Thrawn great. There is definitely some political strategizing and infighting that has been a part of much of the canon material, but the book has a very good mix of action sequences to keep the story moving along. Chances are, if you are a die-hard fan of Star Wars, you are probably already getting the hardcover versions of the novels as they are released. But, if you are one who is more selective about which novels you get, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Molly's Game

 

Molly's Game is a 2019 crime drama starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, and Kevin Costner. It is a semi-biographical movie telling the story of Molly Bloom (played by Jessica Chastain), a competitive skier who was injured in a skiing accident and ended up out in Los Angeles working in a bar. She would, through a series of interesting events, end up running multi-million dollar poker games involving movie stars (including, reportedly, Toby McGuire), athletes, and various members of the 1%. She ends up being arrested as the FBI attempts to get her to flip on members of her poker games who are connected to the mob. Idris Elba plays her high-priced New York lawyer, and Kevin Costner has a small role as her father.

Chastain is great in the role of Molly and plays Bloom with a great mix of cocky, bordering on arrogant, funny (albeit dark humor), and vulnerable. Her chemistry and ability to banter with Elba (in a non-romantic role) really make the movie work, so much so that even the parts that don't work as well (like trying to buy Michael Cera as a badass) are easy to overlook. The movie looks and sounds great on Blu-ray. The extras are mostly non-existent. Just what amounts to an extended TV spot for the movie. So, if you only get the physical discs when there is a lot of bonus content included, you will probably just want to stick with streaming this. That said, if you have a little more than a couple of hours to kill and are looking for a good movie to watch, this is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Merlin Season 2

 

The 13-episode second season of Merlin aired during the fall and winter of 2009. The season really continues to develop the characters and develop the relationships between Arthur, Merlin, Gwen, and Morgana. We also find out more about Uthur's manipulations of not only Arthur, but Morgana as well, and we see the events that start to turn Morgana into the evil sorceress she will eventually become. Toward the end of the season, we get a bit more insight into Merlin's background, and the show definitely sets up possible storylines going forward.

The DVD set is a five-disc set, which is getting harder to find at a reasonable price now they are going out of print. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, then a separate disc of bonus material contains a photo gallery and about a half-hour of making-of and behind-the-scenes material for the season as a whole, and then the episodes of the "behind the magic" series, which gives about a 13-15 minute behind the scenes look at each individual episode of the season, so almost three-hours worth of material there. So, for those who like bonus material on the physical discs, you get a lot of good material.

Overall, in the second season, the show is still getting its footing and finding its tone. The actors' performances (meaning the young actors who were still relatively inexperienced at the time) are getting stronger, and the storylines get stronger and darker. If you liked or loved the first season, then chances are you will like this one. Conversely, if you were not a big fan of the first season, then chances are this one is not going to convert you. It is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Charlie's Angels (2019)

 

The 2019 version of Charlie's Angels is an action/adventure movie directed by Elizabeth Banks and starring Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinkska, Naomi Scott, Patrick Stewart, Noah Centineo, and Djimon Honsou. The film is a reboot of a reboot, which was very likely a large part of why it did not do better at the box office. That, and the lack of significant star power. Of course, the 2000 and 2003 movies had Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz, all of whom were very well-known. This one has Kristen Stewart, who is probably the biggest star, aside from Patrick Stewart and Elizabeth Banks (who has a prominent role in the movie as well as directing the film). Stewart (in arguably her best role to date) plays one of the Angels along with Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. They all did a fine job as the "Angels" but did not have the star power to drive many people to see the movie. Some well-known actors and actresses are in supporting and cameo roles, including Patrick Stewart, Ronda Rousey, and more, but their roles were relatively small. The film does partially tie into the TV show and the prior movies.

My biggest complaint about the movie is that it lifts too much from the prior movies, including a villain from the agency, an updated version of The Thin Man character (played by Crispin Glover in the prior film), a mogul bad guy, etc. The "empowered woman"/"girl power" theme of the movie was fine, even if a bit ham-fisted at times. As you can see from some of the comments on Amazon, it turned many people off, but it is not something that bothered me all that much.

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 the UHD format. The UHD disc has previews that play before the menu loads, then the movie itself. The rest of the extras are on the regular Blu-ray disc. They include deleted scenes, a gag reel, several short (5-7 min, give or take) making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a feature on Elizabeth Banks in her roles as actor and director, and the music video for the movie's theme song. Overall, it is a decent movie, but not great. It is not as good as the original 2000 movie but on par with the 2003 sequel, full throttle. It will definitely not appeal to everyone, but for a two-hour action movie, it is worth checking out as long as you accept that it is not award-winning material.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Skyscraper

 

Skyscraper is a 2019 action movie that stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Neve Campbell, Mckenna Roberts, Pablo Schreiber, Chin Han, Hannah Quinlivan, and Noah Cottrell.  Johnson stars as Will Sawyer, an ex-FBI hostage negotiator and amputee (thanks to the movie's opening scene) who has become a private security contractor. He is on assignment with his wife Sarah, played by Neve Campbell, and their two children in China to assess security for a new building owned by Zhao Ji (played by Chin Han, whom I will always refer to as "the television" because of the line in The Dark Knight). A group of terrorists starts a fire in the building, which boasts as the tallest skyscraper in the world, and manages to frame Will for it. The rest of the story involves Will trying to get his family out of the building and take down the terrorists.

The movie is a pretty standard action film and is derivative of movies like Die Hard and The Towering Inferno without being outright copies of either. If you have seen any of The Rock's action movies over the years, it definitely falls on the end of the ones where he is nearly indestructible and can overcome any obstacle. It is not as tongue in cheek as his role as Hobbs in the Fast and Furious movies, but almost. So, there is definitely a lot of suspension of disbelief that is required to get through it, so if you cannot do so or are hypercritical of unrealistic action movies, this is not for you.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The film looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The bonus material (which is included on the UHD disc, so you do not have to switch over to the regular blu-ray) includes deleted and extended scenes, a commentary track on the movie with the director, and a few short behind-the-scenes features. Good for what was included, but not hours worth of material. Excluding the commentary track, the extras probably clock in at around 45 minutes or so. Overall, it is a good movie, but not exactly a unique story. It is a bit predictable, but I think fun nonetheless. If you accept it for what it is, and what it is not, I think you can enjoy it. You do not have to watch every second of it to get what is going on and at just over an hour and a half, it flows well and does not feel too long.