Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 6

 

The 24-episode sixth season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2012/2013 TV season. All the main cast members returned for the sixth season, with Kevin Sussman being upgraded to a series regular and put into a "bromance" storyline with Raj. Many of the often recurring and guest cast members appeared this season, including Wil Wheaton and John Ross Bowie. Stephen Hawking made another guest appearance (via the phone), as did LeVar Burton. The "new" guest and recurring cast this season included Howie Mandel, Buzz Aldrin, Kate Micucci (who had a multi-episode arc as a love interest for Raj), and Bob Newhart, playing the Professor Proton character that would be used several times on The Big Bang Theory and the spin off series, Young Sheldon. 

The original blu-ray release was a five-disc set with two blu-rays and three DVDs (back when the studios thought people purchasing blu-rays wanted the DVDs too). Later sets have been released with just the two blu-ray discs. The extras included cast interviews, a portion of the PaleyFest panel discussion with the cast and showrunners, and a gag reel. The show continued to be well-written and acted. As in past seasons, the writers blended serial arcs with procedural stories of the week. The serial arcs mostly involved the relationships between the various couples. However, early in the season, the first few episodes showed Howard on the International Space Station, and later in the season, Raj had a couple of different storylines. The show mostly sticks to being a traditional sitcom, but also has some dramatic and emotional moments. The show is not entirely family-friendly as there are some very adult jokes, and Kaley Cuoco is put in some skimpy outfits from time to time. Ultimately, if you liked the first five seasons, you will probably like this one. If not, nothing about this season is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 60

Day 60 was Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. The workout went well. I was again able to do more of the bodyweight exercises, and have better form, and was able to increase the amount of weight I was using on several of the lifting exercises. So, overall, it was a good workout.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 59

Day 59 was Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in Power 90. They both went fine, although I did not feel like I had as much stamina in this workout. That is probably because I am taking the week off from Max 30. It is a bit of a double-edged sword doing the two-a-day workouts. My cardio stamina is better, but the second workout is very tiring.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 58

Day 58 was Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for a couple of exercises, but I was able to easily hit 11 reps on quite a few of the exercises, so the next time I do the workout, I will increase the amount of weight on those. I also got deeper on my push-ups than I have in a long time, so I am making progress. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 57

Day 57 was the start of week 9 in Power 90, which was the full second phase where you only do the 3-4 workouts. So, today was Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200. Both went well, although I was a little tired by the time I had a chance to work out. I am taking a week off from Max 30, so I can finish the four weeks of month-1 workouts at the same time as I finish this round of Power 90.

Book Review: Spymaster (Scot Harvath Series #17)

 

Spymaster, published in 2018, is the 17th novel in the series of action-thrillers centered around the character of Scot Harvath, written by Brad Thor. The setting for this novel is in Europe, where several high-ranking NATO officials have been killed. Also, American vehicle convoys have been attacked, and parts for banned missiles have been stolen. Evidence points to Russia's involvement, and Harvath must go after a Russian cell in Sweden without igniting an all-out war that would invoke Article 5. 

The hardcover version of the book is similar in length to Thor's other novels, coming in at just over 320 pages. Many of the regular characters from the prior novels return in this one, and there are also new team members. While the book does not focus on character development, Thor does continue to develop the characters to keep them fresh. Much of the story is wrapped up by the time the novel ends, but a cliffhanger ending will go into the next book. Ultimately, if you liked the previous novels in the series, you will probably like this one. Thor uses the same style and tone that has worked for years, yet still keeps the challenges and adversaries for Harvath fresh. So, if you are a fan of the series, this is worth reading.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 56

On day 56, I did the stretching recovery workout from Lift 4. I would say my flexibility has improved very slightly, but not a ton.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 55

On day 55, I did the Sculpt 3-4 workout from Power 90 in the evening. It went well, and I again used heavier weights for some of the exercises where I could. I treated this more like P90X, trying to get to the point of being just before failure around 10 reps, which meant bumping the weight up for many of the exercises. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 54

Day 54 was Friday Fight Round 2 in Max 30 and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in Power 90. I made it through both workouts, but I was a bit tired today. I had a lot going on so I had to sandwich in workouts between other things, which I hate to do. But, I got them both done.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 53

Day 53 was Max Out Strength and Sculpt 1-2. There was nothing major to report from either workout. I did make it through all 30 minutes in the Max 30 workout, and the 1-2 workout was fairly easy. Starting next week, I am going to do Max 30 again, but unmodified (at least until I max out) to see where I am really at since the unmodified workouts are a lot harder than the modified ones.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 52

Day 52 was Max Out Sweat from Max 30 and Sweat 1-2 (and Ab-Ripper 100) in Power 90. This is the last week of the transition weeks in Power 90, so for the next few weeks, each workout will be the 3-4 workouts. Both workouts went well. I again made it through the Max 30 workout without taking unscheduled breaks, but barely. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 51

Day 51 was Max Out Power from Max 30 in the morning and Sculpt 3-4 in the evening. I again made it through all 30 minutes of the modified Max Out workout and I bumped the weight I was using in the Sculpt workout up a bit for many of the exercises. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 50

Day 50 was the start of the final week in Max 30. I did Max Out Cardio again and managed to get through all 30 minutes of it (again following the modifier). In the evening, I did Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200. Each of those went well, but as I have been in the evening workouts, I was more tired for this one. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 49

On day 49, I just did the stretch routine from Lift 4. It went fine. There was nothing great or horrible about it.  

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Career Opportunities

 

Career Opportunities is a 1991 coming-of-age romantic comedy. It was written by prolific 80s writer and director John Hughes and directed by Bryan Gordon in his first major directing role. The film starred Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, Dermot Mulroney, and Kieran Mulroney in the leading roles. The supporting cast included John M Jackson, Jenny O'Hara, Noble Willingham, Barry Corbin, William Forsythe, and John Candy (in an uncredited cameo role). The movie was filmed in 1989, but because of post-production issues and reshoots, it was not released until 1991. 

In the film, Whaley plays Jim Dodge, a 21-year-old slacker with little to no ambition and a reputation as the "town liar" in his small Illinois town. His only friends are a group of pre-teen kids who are the only ones who believe his lies about how wonderful his life is. In reality, Jim gets fired from every job he manages to get, and is content to live at home forever. His father gives him an ultimatum to get (and keep) the job he lined up at the local Target as a night janitor, or he will ship him off to St. Louis to work as a gardener. Connelly plays Josie McClellan, the daughter of the town's rich real-estate developer. She has the reputation of a spoiled rich girl and a tease, but the film reveals her life is not as idyllic as it seems. During Jim's first shift, he is locked in the store (seemingly alone) but discovers that Josie is locked in with him and the two bond until they are taken hostage by two criminals (played by Dermot and Kieran Mulroney) who are on a crime spree throughout the state.

The 4k set is a two-disc set released by Kino Lorber containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality is outstanding, and the film looks and sounds wonderful in the UHD format. It is a considerable upgrade over the DVD release. The film has two commentary tracks (both recorded around 2023). One of the commentary tracks is by director Bryan Gordon, and the other is by the Chicago Critics' Film Festival producer, Erik Childress. Both tracks are good and provide a lot of information about the film. Gordon's commentary talks about the production, things he liked and did not like about the movie, and things he would have done differently if he made the film now. Childress' track focuses much more on the overall story, and the lost potential for the film to delve into Josie's storyline more. The other bonus content, available on the regular blu-ray disc, includes an interview with Dermot and Kieran Mulroney where they discuss how they got into acting and their work on the film (that runs about 15 minutes),  an interview with the director of photography (that runs about 11 minutes), and the trailer (along with trailers for Uncle Buck, The Hot Spot, and Some Girls). 

The movie is good, but uneven. It has a mix of comedy and drama, and the drama gets a bit dark when Josie reveals that she is being physically abused by her father and her motivations for wanting to get caught shoplifting. The movie is only an hour and 22 minutes long (including credits), and a lot was cut out (which you can tell from things in the trailer that did not make it into the film). It was revealed in the commentary tracks that neither Gordon nor Hughes liked the final product. Hughes even wanted his name taken off the film (which the studio refused to do). It was also revealed that Connelly was pissed off at how the movie was marketed, over sexualizing her character. Given that teenage boys were the film's target market, it is not surprising that it was marketed around Connelly's looks and assets (which got me to go see the film when it was released), but she was never told that would be the case. The movie is well-acted (all the actors did a good job with their characters), but the writing is uneven. There are definitely some funny moments in the film and some good dramatic moments, but it feels disjointed (probably because of the reshoots that the studio required). Ultimately, it is an okay movie that does take some suspension of disbelief to buy what is going on (such as why a department store would only have one employee on the overnight shift to clean when in reality there would be people stocking shelves, more than one person cleaning, and there would at least be security cameras being monitored).  It is not nearly as good as Hughes' big hits like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, etc. That said, it is still worth checking out as long as you do not try to overanalyze it too much.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 48

Day 48 was Sculpt 3-4 in Power-90. I eased back on the amount of weight I used for this workout because I was very tired by the time I was able to get time to work out last night. I was not trying to max out on the amount of weight I was using, but still trying to challenge myself.   

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 47

Day 47 was Friday Fight Round 2 in Max 30 and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in Power 90. I am getting some stamina back after taking most of last week off, although I was quite tired in the evening workout since I did not get much sleep last night. I did get through FF Round 2 without taking any unscheduled breaks, which actually surprised me a bit. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 5

 

The 24-episode fifth season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2011/2012 TV season. All of the main cast members returned for the fifth season, with several of the prominent recurring cast members such as Christine Baranski, Aarti Mann, Wil Wheaton, Kevin Sussman, Laurie Metcalf, and John Ross Bowie appearing throughout the season. This season's notable guest appearances included Brent Spiner, Leonard Nimoy (in a voice role), Stephen Hawking, real-life astronaut Mike Massimino, Courtney Ford, and Lance Barber. Of course, Barber would later be cast as Sheldon's father in the series Young Sheldon, but his appearance in this season was very funny. 

This set is a five-disc set, containing two blu-rays and, for some reason, three DVDs. This set was released at a time when studios thought people purchasing blu-rays of TV series would also want the DVDs. The bonus content includes a featurette on the show's one hundredth episode, a gag reel, a featurette on the production crew, and interviews with the cast about the season's storylines. The season continued to blend procedural stories of the week with longer serial arcs. The season picks up with the fallout, with Raj and Penny ending up in bed at the end of season 4. This season's major serial arcs involved the relationships between Penny and Leonard, Amy and Sheldon, and Howard and Bernadette. Howard probably has the most character development of any of the characters this season, but all of the characters were given good storylines, and the cast was given good material to work with. If you liked the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. If you didn't like the previous seasons, this season is not likely to change your mind. Ultimately, the show continues to be well-written and acted and is worth the time to watch. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 46

Day 46 was Sculpt 1-2 from Power 90 in the morning and Max Out Strength from Max 30 in the evening. Both workouts went well, even though I was still feeling taking most of last week off. I did manage to make it all the way through the Max 30 workout without taking an unscheduled break, but there were a couple of spots where if I had to go about five seconds longer, I would have needed to stop.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 45

Day 45 was Max Out Sweat in Max 30 and Sweat 1-2 and Ab-Ripper 100 in Power 90. I definitely had to take the workouts a bit slower, but each were easier than the workouts on Monday and Tuesday.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 44

On day 44, I did Max Out Power in Max 30, Sculpt 3-4 in Power 90. I restarted this week because I was dealing with a family medical issue last week, was very tired, and did not feel like working out once a day, much less twice. It was definitely challenging jumping back in after (almost) a full week off, but I made it through.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Basic Instinct

 

Basic Instinct is the 1992 erotic thriller starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. It was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven. The supporting cast includes George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt, Leilani Sarelle, Wayne Knight, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Mitch Pileggi. In the film, Stone plays a novelist named Catherine Tramell. Her boyfriend is killed with an ice pick at the beginning of the movie by a woman whose face we never see while having sex. Douglas and Dzundza play police detectives investigating the murder. Tramell begins playing mind games with Douglas' character, telling him that she is going to base the lead character in her new novel on him. The movie is essentially a who-done-it that throws a lot of misdirection meant to make it ambiguous as to whether Catherine is really the murderer or is being set up.

The 4k set is a three-disc set containing a UHD disc and two regular blu-ray discs. The A/V quality is excellent.  While some of the scenes still have some imperfections and grain, many of the scenes show a lot more detail than any prior physical media releases of the movie. The UHD disc and the first regular blu-ray have the same content, the movie and some bonus features. The second regular blu-ray disc just has additional bonus content. The bonus features include three commentary tracks on the film: the original 1993 commentary track by Verhoeven, a second commentary track that was created for the special edition DVD release featuring Verhoeven and the director of photography, Jan De Bont, and a third commentary track by Professor Camille Paglia. The first two contain a lot of good information about the movie, the casting processes (especially casting Stone to play Catherine Tramell), and all the controversy the movie's production garnered. Paglia's track is not as good. It seemed like she wrote a scene-by-scene breakdown of the movie for a college lecture and just read it word-for-word. It does not seem like she was giving an authentic reaction to just watching the film. 

The rest of the bonus content on the UHD (and first regular blu-ray) disc includes a couple of new featurettes featuring interviews with the cast and crew that were made for the 4k release, and some of the archival featurettes that were transferred over from earlier physical media releases (such as a featurette on how the movie was edited for television, original screen tests by Stone and Tripplehorn, a TV spot, and the trailers, as well as an archival interview with Stone). The rest of the bonus content on the second regular blu-ray disc is all archival content transferred from the prior physical media releases, including the original making-of featurettes (including one from the VHS release of the film), storyboard comparisons, and the like. Some of the material on this disc (such as the screen test and trailers) is duplicative of the material on the UHD disc. Note that some 4k sets are UK imports, meaning that the UHD disc is region-free and will play in the US, but the two regular blu-rays are region-locked, so you will need a region-free or Region-2 player to watch them. The Lionsgate Steelbook edition is a US release so all the discs will play in on Region-1 players.

The movie is a good thriller, but some things about it would probably be changed if it were made today. It is absolutely not family-friendly, as it contains a lot of nudity (including the infamous interrogation scene), swearing, and sexual content. The movie's ending is ambiguous as to whether Catherine is guilty or innocent, but Verhoeven definitively answers that question in the commentary tracks and other bonus material. The bonus material is where the set really shines. It has hours of bonus content, and even in the newly added bonus features, all the participants discuss all aspects of making the movie and the controversies surrounding making the film (including the reaction from the gay and lesbian community before and after the film came out). Verhoeven and Stone still wildly disagree as to whether she was made aware of what was going to be shown in the upskirt shot in the interrogation scene, but Stone admits, while she was pissed that she was never told that her crotch would be visible, that it worked for the movie. Ultimately, it is a good movie that is worth the time to watch, and if you like going through bonus content, the 4k version is a must-add to your collection.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 43

On day 43, I did the Max Out Cardio workout from Max 30 and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in Power 90. Both workouts went pretty much the same as the last time, but I did notice in the runners lunges in the yoga portion of Sweat 3-4, I could get much lower than I have up to this point. So, my flexibility is getting better. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 42

On day 42, I did the Sculpt 3-4 workout from Power 90. It went fine. I again used 20 lbs for the back exercises and calf raises and 12 lbs for the other exercises (except for shoulder raises, which I dropped back to 10 lbs since I never felt my form was all that good using 12).  I could get deeper in the push-ups and calf raises, so I am making progress.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory Season 4

 

The 24-episode fourth season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2010/2011 TV season. This season was a bit of a shakeup for the show as it included many more serial arcs and the weekly procedural storylines. The largest arcs of the season involved Sheldon and Amy's, Howard and Bernadette's, and Leonard and Priya's (Raj's sister) relationships. Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch started as recurring characters but were basically added to the main cast, and Aarti Mann (who played Priya) appeared in multiple episodes. Wil Wheaton, John Ross Bowie, Kevin Sussman, and Laurie Metcalf all reprised their recurring characters. The guest cast this season included Steve Wozniak (one of the creators of Apple), Katee Sackhoff, George Takei, Neil deGrasse Tyson, LeVar Burton, Brian Greene, Joshua Malina, Eliza Dushku, Eric Andre, Jessica Walter, Rick Fox, and Keith Carradine (who has a great appearance as Penny's father).

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. There are more extras for this season's physical media release. The extras are spread across both discs and include three "actor on actor" segments in which the cast members ask each other questions about the season, a segment about the live audience experience during a taping of the show, a gag reel, and a segment on the musical group The Barenaked Ladies and the music video for the theme song. This is the season where the show found the format that would work for the rest of its run. The writing and acting continue to be top-notch, with all the actors/characters getting good material to work with. The cast members appear to have great chemistry with each other and seem to have a lot of fun with the characters. The season ends with a couple of big storylines that will carry into the fifth season. Ultimately, if you liked the first few seasons of the series, this one is absolutely worth watching.