Book Review: Star Wars Icons: Han Solo

 

Star Wars Icons: Han Solo is a book published in 2019 devoted to the character of Han Solo. This is not a novel. It is more like the various Star Wars encyclopedias--basically a coffee-table book that has a lot of pictures. The text describes the pictures and gives behind-the-scenes insights into how the character was developed, the casting process, etc. It basically spans from the early concept of the character from notes and excerpts of early drafts of the script for what would ultimately become A New Hope through to the Solo: A Star Wars Story movie. It discusses the casting of Harrison Ford, how the character evolved over the course of the original trilogy, and even how the character was written in the expanded universe of novels and comics. There is also a section on other characters from movies and TV shows that were inspired by the character or outright clones of the character.

Throughout the course of the book, you really get a history of Star Wars in general. It contains quotes from Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, as well as George Lucas, Peter Mayhew, Billy Dee Williams, and many other actors. It seems that at least some were interviewed for the book, but it is possible at least some of the quotes were collected from interviews that occurred over time but not necessarily for the creation of this book. There is a lot of good insight into Ford's well-publicized feelings about the character and the role. It was really the role that propelled him to stardom and was the reason that he could not go out in public as much, which seemed to be the basis of some of his hard feelings toward the character. It was also interesting to read about the advice he gave to Alden Ehrenreich about how to handle playing the character.

Overall, it is not necessarily a book that you will read word-for-word, cover-to-cover. It is definitely something that you will pick and choose portions of to read. There are a ton of great pictures throughout the book, including early sketches of concept art, behind-the-scenes photos and production stills, and pictures of the various toys and other memorabilia that existed over the years. Some of the pictures fold out from the pages almost centerfold style, sometimes there are drawing sheets attached to the pages, so you definitely want to be careful going through it otherwise you may accidentally tear some of the pages and/or inserts.

The book, which is only available in hardcover, is well under 300 pages. Because you do not have to read every word like you would a novel, it is very easy to get through. It is a great character history and provides a large chunk of Star Wars history overall. If you are a fan of the various Star Wars movies, TV shows, novels, or even just a big fan of the character, it is definitely worth picking up.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Looming Tower

 

The Looming Tower is a 10-episode miniseries that was released on Hulu in 2018. It stars Jeff Daniels, Tahar Rahim, Wrenn Schmidt, Bill Camp, Louis Cancelmi, Ella Rae Peck, and Peter Sarsgaard. There are a couple of things to note when it comes to this series. First, while it is based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Wright, its focus is very different. In the book, the focus was mainly on the rise of Al-Qaeda from its beginnings during and after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to just after the 9-11 attacks. The focus of the series, which was a smaller part of the book, is the tension between the CIA and FBI, centered around the characters of John O'Neil and Ali Soufan. It really displayed how the CIA saw its mission as intelligence gathering, and because the FBI was interested in making arrests, the CIA would stonewall the FBI agents working on bringing Al-Qaeda down. It also dealt with some of the politics playing out in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Clinton's affair and impeachment, and the Bush Administration's obsession with taking out Sadaam Hussein in Iraq and indifference to the Al-Qaeda threat), which prevented any real action against Al-Qaeda being taken until it was too late.

Second, it is a fictionalized docu-drama. It is not a straight-up documentary retelling everything that happened exactly as it did. It does mix in a lot of real-life news footage of events that the series depicts and footage from the congressional hearings that were held a few years after the attacks. Some characters were a combination of real-life people or a fictionalized version of real people (like the Schmidt character (played by Peter Sarsgaard), who was based on a pretty crazy real-life CIA agent at Alec Station), and some events were changed a bit (such as the bombing of the USS Cole). So, if you are looking for something that gives a straight-up retelling, then this is not it. Nor does it put a ton of emphasis on 9-11 itself. The attacks and aftermath mainly play out on monitors playing real-life footage in the background in the final episode. There was very little that the show filmed depicting things that happened on the actual day itself. What was filmed were things like Richard Clarke in the White House as it was being evacuated, and later in the bunker, one of the FBI agents walking through the streets after the collapse of the towers, etc. A big chunk of the last episode involves Ali Soufan finally getting access to interrogate Bin-Laden's former bodyguard who was being detained in Yemen and distills what was an interrogation over several days into a 10-or-so-minute sequence.

The acting and writing of the show are very good. Jeff Daniels really shines as John O'Neil, and for all but one episode is pretty much the main character. Tahir Rahim also does a great job playing Ali Soufan, who was part of a group of FBI agents butting heads with the CIA to get information. Some of the real-life players were also consultants and/or producers of the show, which I think helped its authenticity. For extras, there are commentary tracks on the first and last episodes by the writer and director of the episodes, and then about 40 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes, making of, and source material featurettes. Very good for what was included. It also looks great on blu-ray.

It does have some flaws, but overall, they are, in my opinion, minor in the larger overall context. It is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Designated Survivor Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Designated Survivor aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. It would be the last that would air on ABC before going to Netflix for its final season. The season starts out essentially wrapping up the Patrick Loyd storyline, which ties up the original storyline of the show. The remainder of the first half of the season deals with a political scandal involving the first lady, which leads into a big cliffhanger going into the mid-season break. The second half of the season is where the show really ramps up and gets very strong. There are plotlines involving a British spy working for the Russians, a palace coup against the administration, and a hacker storyline (which actually starts out early on but keeps ramping up throughout the season. Mixed within is the same political intrigue and maneuvering that made season one enjoyable.

There was some cast turnover this year, both in terms of the main cast and guest stars. Paulo Costanzo (who was on the show Royal Pains as well as the 2000 cult comedy Road Trip, among other things) was the main addition to the main cast, coming in as Lyor Boone, an advisor to the President (and the staff). While Virginia Madsen did not reprise her role, Michael J. Fox joined the series for a multi-episode arc, as did 24 alum Kim Raver. The season ended on a pretty big cliffhanger and, of course, was promptly canceled by ABC, only to be picked up by Netflix for a final season.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. Despite Amazon's listing, there is a Region-1 Canadian DVD release that will work in US DVD players. There is also a Region-2 set that is available on Amazon UK, but others have said this listing is for a Region-1 set. I bought mine elsewhere, and it was the Region-1 Canadian version. The video transfer is okay, but definitely not a high-definition transfer. The only extra/bonus feature is a 10-minute interview with Paulo Constanzo about joining the cast. Otherwise, all you get are the episodes. No deleted scenes, commentary tracks, or behind-the-scenes material.

The show does have a bit of a different feel than season 1, which is not surprising considering season 1 was centered around unraveling a conspiracy. While the second season started out a bit slow, it definitely picked up as it went along. I cannot guarantee everyone who liked or loved season 1 will enjoy this season, but I definitely think it is worth a look and will probably be enjoyable for most if you do not bail on it early on.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Bombshell

 

Bombshell is a 2019 movie starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow, and Margot Robbie in the main roles, and Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, and Allison Janney in smaller roles. The movie is largely, and mostly, about the chain of events that took down Roger Ailes (played wonderfully by John Lithgow), centered around the lawsuit filed by Gretchen Carlson (played by Nicole Kidman). The main character of the movie, however, is clearly Megyn Kelly (played by Charlize Theron, who, like Lithgow, was in a ton of prosthetics and did really look and sound like Megyn Kelly). It is focused around her life during and after the feud with t***p, and her trying to decide whether to come forward with her own allegations against Ailes.

The plot is based on true, very newsworthy events, but conversations were very much fictionalized (which the movie says is the case at the beginning, so it was not trying to fool anyone). It was not trying at all to be a documentary-like depiction of what went on. It also touched on the allegations against Bill O'Reilly but did not make that a focus of the movie. Where I do think the movie is open to criticism is that it made it look like nearly all the males at Fox were harassing the female employees and that they were all lusting after Kelly. And, that all the women who did not join the lawsuit were somehow covering up what was going on. Plus, the movie definitely took a lot of potshots at Fox News and to some extent, its viewers. Now, I am in no way, shape, or form, a fan of or agree politically with, the majority of the Fox News personalities or their viewers, but I do not think the shots were needed to tell the story the movie was telling. The story could easily have stood alone as it was, keeping the political barbs out of it. I am sure anyone watching the movie could tell by the makeup of the cast that the vast majority of those working on the movie are no fans of Fox News, but this was not the kind of story that needed to make that explicit. With those provisos aside, I do think that the other parts of the story were well written and acted, and all the leads, including Margot Robbie, who played a fictional character that was created from the accounts of a combination of women who worked at Fox, played their parts well.

For those who get the Blu-ray disc, there is a ton of behind-the-scenes and bonus material. There are about an hour and a half worth of featurettes that can be played individually, or all at one time. Then, the theatrical trailer (but not the better teaser trailer) is included as well. A lot there if you are one of those who like going through the bonus material.

Overall, I think it is a good movie, that tells a very necessary story in this day and age, but is not without its flaws. Unfortunately, who likes or dislikes the movie may likely break down to their political leanings. That said, I do think it is worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Batman: The Killing Joke

 

Batman: The Killing Joke is a 2016 adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by the creative team behind the vast majority of the DC Animated Universe, which included Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. It is set as an ancillary story to Batman: The Animated Series and brings back Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to reprise their roles as Batman and The Joker. It largely serves as an origin story for Joker. Parts of it were included in the original Tim Burton Batman movie, although some of the details changed. Aside from that, it is really to display the sadistic side of Joker and highlight the dance between Joker and Batman, which has played out in many forms.

For those who get the blu-ray, the extras include trailers and behind-the-scenes looks at other movies, both animated and live-action, two Joker-centric episodes from Batman TAS, and a couple making-of featurettes specific to The Killing Joke. Probably an hour's worth of material altogether, which is good considering the movie is only an hour and 16 minutes long. It definitely caters to an adult crowd, and while I think it could have warranted a PG-13 rating, the R rating that it got is not out of bounds. It is much more violent than TAS and has some sexual content. I have never read the graphic novel, so I am not sure exactly how true the movie keeps to the graphic novel, and I cannot say that fans of the graphic novel will automatically like this. However, I do think that anyone who was a fan of Batman TAS will likely enjoy this. It is definitely worth checking out.

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.