Book Review: Code of Conduct (Scot Harvath Series #14)

 

Code of Conduct, published in 2015, is the 14th novel in Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series of thrillers. It is Thor's 15th overall novel, including The Athena Project, which was spun off from the Harvath series. The storyline involves a terrorist plot that starts out in Africa and is uncovered when a video clip showing the effects of a mysterious illness appears. The plot involves releasing a new virus worldwide to start a global pandemic and kill off a vast chunk of the world's population, and of course, Harvath has to try to stop it.

The hardcover version of the book is about 360 pages long. The storyline starts out a bit slowly but picks up as the book goes along. The last third of the book is very suspenseful and action-packed and has a bit more political intrigue than most of Thor's other books. Most of the characters in the book are already established. There are a handful of new characters in the book, some of whom could appear in subsequent novels. The storyline is fairly self-contained so you do not need to have read the prior books in the series to follow what is going on, but it does help a bit to know the background of the main characters. It is worth reading for fans of the series or just fans of the action/thriller or spy novel genres. 

Book Review: Dragonlance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight

 

Dragons of the Autumn Twilight is a fantasy novel written by Margret Weiss and Tracy Hickman and first published in 1984. It was my foray into the science fiction/fantasy universe (of books, anyway). It was released during the height of the Dungeons and Dragons craze in the 1980s, based on a campaign that one of the authors was playing. For people who were kids in the 1980s, it was really our Lord of the Rings. It eventually spawned numerous novels, both in the "main" storyline started by this novel and many ancillary novels.

The story is set in the world of Krynn, around a group of friends who make a pact to return to their home city of Solace in five years after deciding to split apart to travel the world on their own. When they reunite the world is on the verge of a war between gods of good and evil with humans (and other races like elves, goblins, and yes dragons) aligning themselves with each side, some, like magic-users and clerics with powers, and others who are just "regular" people caught in the middle.

While overall the story is not all that unique, it does have a great group of core characters, all of whom, whether good or bad, have a mix of flaws and strengths. And, unlike The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, the number of main characters is kept relatively small (especially in the first book), making them easy to keep straight. That, in my opinion, makes it a much easier read than either of those series. It also uses the fantasy world to touch on real-world issues like racism, religion, politics, power, ambition, etc. This first book is really set up for the larger story which plays out over the second and third novels in the Chronicles trilogy and extends into the sequel, Legends trilogy. There is a lot of action in the book, but it is sandwiched between slower parts where details are revealed to the characters and of course the reader.

Given that the Dragonlance series of books are not anywhere near as popular as they were back in the 1980s and 1990s when if you went into any bookstore, the books would take up multiple bookcases in the sci-fi/fantasy section, chances are most reading the reviews by now are fans of the series. For those who are just checking it out and not extremely familiar with the books, I would describe it as something between The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. So, if you are a fan of either or both of those series, there is a good chance that you will like, or love, this book and at least some of the books that came after it. I first read this book in the late 1980s, and have read it multiple times since then. I think it holds up all these years later and is definitely worth the read.

DVD/TV Series Review: Animal Kingdom Season 3

 

The 13-episode third season of Animal Kingdom aired during the spring and summer of 2018. It picks up basically immediately after Baz is shot and the cliffhanger is resolved, then does a bit of a jump forward in time after the first episode. Most of the season revolves around Smurf's time in jail and her trying to control the boys and scheme her way out of jail, and the boys trying to become independent of her. Finn Cole does a great job with the character of J, as he begins to move to get out from under Smurf's thumb while taking on responsibilities for her. There are some additions to the cast, notably the addition of Dennis Leary as Derain's wayward father and his burnout girlfriend played by Diechan Lachman, and new love interest/partner in crime for J, played by Sohvi Rodriguez. Molly Gordon's role is reduced throughout the season as the character of Nikki is basically written out as a regular character. Another great storyline is Pope continuing to care for Lena since he feels guilty for killing Cath in season one. Shawn Halosy knocks it out of the part with his acting this season and even directs an episode. And, of course, there are the crazy intricate heists that the crew manages to pull off.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. They are fairly poorly done MOD discs. I did not have a problem playing them on my 4k blu-ray player, but it looks like other people are having issues playing them, so you definitely want to make sure your firmware is up to date. For extras, there are deleted scenes for most of the episodes. And, not just a couple of seconds worth of deleted scenes, but probably just short of an hour's worth, which is definitely more than you get with most MOD DVD sets. And, there are English captions. It is definitely disappointing that the show was not released on MOD Blu-ray, but not all that surprising given that sales for tv-series on Blu-ray are not all that great anyway, so only the most popular shows get even a MOD release.

Overall, if you liked the first couple of seasons you will probably like this one. There is still a lot of violence, swearing, and sex, about as much of each as they can get away with on basic cable. So, if you did not like that from the prior seasons, this one is not going to change your mind.

DVD/TV Series Review: Merlin Season 5

 

The 13-episode fifth and final season of Merlin aired during the fall and winter of 2021. It picks up after a three-year time jump from the end of season four. Arthur is fully in his role as King of Camelot after Uthur's death in the previous season. This season also sees the return of Mordred, who was recast with an older actor to account for all the time jumps the series has taken. Many of the 13 episodes revolve around Merlin being wary of Mordred and circling back to the warning that Merlin was given by the dragon in season 1 that he would bring about Arthur's doom. That, and of course, a final battle between Camelot and Morgana's forces.

I will not go into too much detail to avoid spoiling it for people who have not seen the final season, but the show manages to tie up various loose ends while actually changing up character arcs and storylines quite a bit. We are also treated to "Old Merlin" again, with Colin Morgan doing a great job with that character, among others. We also get an appearance from Anthony Head to reprise his role as Uthur in a unique way.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, then some behind-the-scenes material, deleted scenes, storyboard sequences, and a gag reel, all on the last disc. One thing you may run into is that the episode numbers on the final two discs may be incorrect. In my set, disc 3 is labeled that episodes 9-12 are on that, and episode 13 is on the final disc, whereas in reality, episodes 9-11 are on disc 3, and the final two episodes are on the last disc. Also, in some of the episodes, the frame rate is a bit off so the characters will look like they are moving in slow motion for a few seconds before it corrects. For people who are huge on AV quality, it could be irritating, but I did not find that it lessened my viewing experience.

Overall, the series comes to a good conclusion. It definitely ended in a way that I did not expect, but I was pleased with the ending. I do think that all the actors continued being stronger with their performances, even as the show got darker over the course of the series. It is definitely worth checking out, whether you stream it or get the physical discs.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Sinner Season 3

 

The eight-episode third season of The Sinner aired during the spring of 2020. It again has a completely new storyline and a mostly new cast. The only character carried over from seasons 1 and 2 is Harry Ambrose (played by Bill Pullman). The rest of the season 3 cast members include Matt Bomer, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Eddie Martinez, and Chris Messina. This season diverges from the format of the prior seasons in that we know a lot more about the person under investigation relatively early in the season. Matt Bomer plays Jamie Burns, a high school teacher and new father who has been arrested for murder. Since the writers did not hide the ball as much this season, there is no single "big" reveal at the very end of the season as there was in seasons 1 and 2. That said, the storyline is good, and I think it was wise not to have this season be a carbon copy of the format of the other two. The acting was great, and the writing/storyline was good, but not as good as the first season or even the second season.

The DVD set is a two-disc MOD DVD set. That means there are no extra or bonus features. And, unlike seasons 1 and 2, it was not released individually on Blu-Ray (but it is included in the complete series Blu-Ray set that was released after the series ended with season 4). As physical media slowly goes extinct, TV series are taking the brunt of that, with fewer of them being released even on DVD, and only a very select few being released on Blu-Ray. This is a very bare-bones MOD DVD with no captions and no extras. You just get the eight episodes spread over two discs. So, I think most people who will get this will be those who are just wanting to keep their collection complete. But, if you only get physical discs if there are a lot of extras, then you will just want to stick to streaming this one.

DVD/TV Series Review: Batman Beyond: The Complete Series

 

Batman Beyond was an animated series that aired for three seasons from 1999 to 2001. The voice cast included Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy, Cree Summer, Lauren Tom, Stockard Channing, and Angie Harmon. This was the "middle" series in the DC Animated Universe series of shows, which started with Batman: The Animated Series and ended with Justice League Unlimited. This essentially sets Batman in the future. This is mostly a sequel to Batman: The Animated series. It features two time jumps from the end of that series. The first is a 20-year jump from the end of Batman: The Animated Series, showing Bruce Wayne's last outing as Batman. Then there is a 30-year jump when a new Batman, this time a high school student named Terry McGiniss, takes up the fight with Bruce Wayne, acting in a role similar to Alfred for Terry.

It is a very different series from the original Batman series. Kevin Conroy returns as an old (and even more grizzly) Bruce Wayne but really fills the Alfred role for Terry McGinnis. He does a great job with the voice work again, just as he did in the original series. The series also has tie-ins with both the original Batman series, as well as the animated Superman series. The time jump is a bit weird because the original animated Batman series looked like it was set in the 1940s or 1950s, and part of this series looks like it was set in the mid to late 1990s with CD Rom and cell phone technology, but then also has flying cars and makes Gotham look like a futuristic Toyko or Bejing. They never do nail down when it was supposed to be taking place, and all the showrunners said in the bonus material is that it was set 50 years after whenever the original series was. There is no actual series finale in this set. It just ended with a regular episode. The real wrap-up to the series was done on an episode of Justice League Unlimited, which actually aired after this series but is set earlier in time when Bruce Wayne was still young.

The DVD set is an eight-disc set with three seasons spread across the 8 discs. There are two discs for the 13-episode first and third seasons and 4 for the 26-episode second season. There is also a bonus disc that has a couple other show-specific features and then an hour-and-a-half-long documentary on the history of DC Comics and all that had spanned from it, including the TV series and movies (up to about 2008). The other extras are commentary tracks for some of the episodes, some making-of featurettes, which were interviews with the producers of the show, and trailers for some of the other animated shows and movies. Thankfully, there are no double-sided discs like there were for the Superman series. A good amount of bonus material for what is included.

DVD/TV Series Review: Merlin Season 4

 

The 13-episode fourth season of Merlin aired during the fall and winter of 2011. It picks up after another time jump from the battle at the end of season four, which outed Morgana as full-on evil, trying to take over Camelot. Arthur is essentially running the kingdom because Uthur is almost catatonic with grief. I will not say too much about the storylines of the season to avoid spoiling things for the few who may not have seen it, but it boils down to Arthur moving closer to his destiny, Merlin's secret becoming less of a secret, and Morgana continuing to scheme a takeover of Camelot. We also see the show's take on some of the more iconic Arthurian moments, such as the sword in the stone and more "old" Merlin.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. The extras are not as extensive as in the first three seasons. There are commentary tracks for select episodes, and then on the final disc, there is a 19-minute making-of feature, a gag reel, storyboard sequences, fan pictures, and about 21 minutes of deleted scenes. There is no separate disc with extras, as had been the case in the prior seasons. So, while there are not as many extras, what was included was good and worth checking out for those who like the bonus material.

Overall, the show remains quality in the fourth season. All the younger actors continue to develop into the roles and seem to feel more comfortable in them. There is some cast turnover this year with some roles being reduced and others expanded. Katie McGrath is really a standout this season playing evil, remorseless Morgana very well. And Bradley James does a great job shedding the arrogant "bro" version of Arthur from season one into the noble ruler the character becomes. It is still a family show, with the same level of violence as in prior seasons, and really no sexual situations (beyond kissing) to speak of.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Tomb Raider

 

Tomb Raider is a 2018 action/adventure film starring Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Daniel Wu. It reboots the Tomb Raider movie franchise from the two movies starring Angelina Jolie. It serves as an origin story for a young Lara Croft (played by Alicia Vikander) who goes in search of her father (played by Dominic West), who disappeared seven years earlier when he went in search of a tomb on an island near Japan. The supporting cast is made up of Walton Goggins (who does a great job as the main villain), Daniel Wu (who is being set up as an ally for Lara should the franchise continue), and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Like the other movies, this is heavy on action, with a little bit of drama mixed in. There is not as much humor as in the original two movies (on the whole). Alicia Vikander does a good job making the role her own and not copying what Jolie did. That said, I do think Jolie was better overall in the role (although she was playing Lara in her 30s as opposed to her early 20s), so by definition, hers was a more mature version of the character. It should be noted, however, that this is a total reboot, not a prequel to the Jolie movies. It is set in the modern day, not a decade (or so) before the original two movies. So, die-hard fans of those films may be upset by that fact.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. It does seem like there are different 4k sets pit there, but the version I have has a UHD disc (with just the movie on it) and a second regular blu-ray, which has the movie and the bonus materials. For those who get that one, the bonus features are three short behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes and then a slightly less than 10-minute feature on the evolution of the video game franchise. Good for what is there, but not a ton. Ultimately, the movie is good but not great. It is worth watching if you are in the mood for an action movie that is not too deep and that you don't necessarily have to pay attention to every second of it in order to follow along.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hustlers

 

Hustlers is a 2019 film starring Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Lilli Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Lizzo, and Cardi B. It is about a group of strippers who drug their clients (mostly wealthy Wall Street types) and run up their credit cards. Lopez stars as Romona, the ringleader of the crew, and Constance Wu plays Destiny, a stripper that Romona takes under her wing. It is basically a story about greed, friendship, and family, blending a mix of drama and comedy. Despite being a movie about strippers, all the main characters keep everything covered. Cardi B and Lizzo have a couple of shots where they are in pasties, and Jennifer Lopez has sported some major cleavage throughout the movie and has a couple of shots of her in a thong, but that is really the extent of the nudity.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc has just the movie and the commentary track with the director, Lorene Scafaria. The only other bonus material is two trailers for the movie, which are included on the regular Blu-ray disc. It is really quite weak in extras, so if you only get the physical discs when there are a lot of bonus features, then you will probably want to just stream this. Overall, it is a good movie with a decent story. Despite being almost two hours long, the movie flows well and never seems to drag on. It is quite funny in parts, and the outfits they put Jennifer Lopez in (who still looks phenomenal at 50) are not bad either. It is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hatchet

 

Hatchet is a horror/comedy movie from 2006 written and directed by Adam Green and starring Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Don Richmond, and Mercedes McNab. It also features horror icons Kane Holder, Robert Englund, and Tony Todd. It is a low-budget, independent horror movie with a lot of comedy mixed in. It is, in part, an homage to the 1980s horror films like Friday The 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Candyman, etc., and in part a comedic parody of those movies. In fact, the film touts Kane Hodder (who played Jason in at least one of the Friday the 13th movies) as the killer and Robert Englund and Tony Todd in smaller roles. Despite being a low-budget movie, it includes several recognizable character actors, including Richard Riehle, Joel David Moore (from Bones and Avatar), and Mercedes McNab (from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel).

The story is that a deformed killer named Victor Crawley, who lives in the swamps of Louisiana, kills anyone who comes into the woods where his cabin, which was burned with him in it when he was a kid, is. There is definitely a big original Friday the 13th feel to the movie, but it is not a total rip-off of that story. It is very gory, but not in a realistic way, like the saw movies where it looks like something that can actually happen. This is more people getting their arms ripped off, being ripped in half, and the like. There is also some nudity, which is a total spoof on the Girls Gone Wild flashing situations, but not really any sex scenes.

For those who get the blu-ray, the transfer is okay, but certainly not as high-end and high-quality as the big-budget movies get. The extras include about an hour and fourteen minutes (almost as long as the movie) worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and the theatrical trailer. A lot, especially since movies like this, when they do get physical releases, tend to not have any bonus material at all.

This is definitely not a movie that will appeal to everyone. But, if you are a fan of low-budget, independent horror movies that do not take themselves too seriously, this is worth a look.

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.