4k-UHD/Movie Review: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth and likely final installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Before the allegations made against Johnny Depp by  Amber Heard were exposed, it was hard to tell if the Pirates franchise would ever truly be over until Johnny Depp decided he did not want to do any more of them. It seems, however, that this will be the final movie. This one was released in 2017 and starred Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, and Kevin McNally. The main focus of the story is the search for Poseidon's trident, which allows whoever wields it, power over the seas. Javier Bardem is the new "big bad", Captain Espinoza, who has a history with Jack Sparrow. Geoffrey Rush reprises his role as Barbosa, and many of the original supporting characters appear as well (e.g., Kevin McNally as Gibbs). Thwaites plays Henry Turner, the son of Will and Elizabeth, and Scodelario plays an astronomer (who is accused of being a witch) who is trying to find the trident to follow a map her father left for her. 

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, and it is a reference-quality release. There are awesome visuals that are a mix of practical and CGI, and they really pop in the UHD format. The UHD disc has just the movie, and the regular Blu-ray disc has the extras. The extras include over an hour of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a couple of previews. A pretty good amount, especially with less and less bonus material being put out with the physical discs these days.

Overall, I think the movie is good, even if it is derivative (at times) of parts of the other movies. Assuming this is the final movie in the series, it does a good job telling its own story while having callbacks to and essentially finishing the Will and Elizabeth story (both Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly have cameos in the film). The younger actor's roles were clearly meant to mirror, but not outright copy, the roles of Bloom and Knightley in the first movie. Depp can easily step back into what has become an iconic character without missing a beat. It would have been nice to incorporate Orlando Bloom into the movie more, as there was certainly a pretty easy way to do so, but from what I remember reading back when it was announced that the movie would be made, he was not really interested in more than a cameo role. While I do not think that the movie is as good as The Curse of The Black Pearl, I do think that it was on par with, or better than, the other sequels. I do think with a running time of just over two hours, it did not feel like the movie was dragging on too long. I definitely think it is worth checking out.

Book Review: Debunking 9/11 Myths

 

Debunking 9/11 Myths is a 2006 book by David Dunbar and Brad Reagan. It is a longer version of an article in Popular Mechanics that set out to debunk some of the larger 9/11 conspiracies that surfaced after that day. The chapters focus on the planes that hit the buildings, the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 and are then broken down into sub-elements within the chapters. The book essentially does a point-counterpoint, setting up a particular hypothesis and then presenting the counterpoint. The length of discussion that any point gets really varies, with some getting much more discussion than others. The book also features an introduction by the late Senator John McCain. 

The paperback version of the book is relatively short, at just under 200 pages. The main text is a pretty quick read, but if you want to correlate the text to the material in the source notes, it can take quite a bit longer to read. I think the book would have been better off using footnotes at the end of sentences or paragraphs in the text, pointing out distinctly what the sources on each side were and where to find them. The book does, in the text itself, do some of that, but it is not extensive, and the notes at the end of the book are tied to the particular chapters and do not point to specific wording within the chapter (i.e., they are not actual endnotes). That would have helped people wanting to do deeper research based on the material in the book.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avengers Endgame

 

Endgame is the 2019 MCU entry that was the direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War and a conclusion to the first decade of Marvel movies, which started in 2008 with Iron Man. It stars the main Avengers cast members, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner, all of whom survived Thanos' snap in Infinity War. I will not spoil any specifics for any of the few who may not have seen it by now, but the basic plot is that the team tries to find a way to undo the effects of "the snap," which wiped out half of all life in the universe at the end of Infinity War. It is a great blend of action, dramatic moments, and comedy (mostly involving Thor), and finds a way to tie in many of the moments and characters that have been involved in the MCU throughout the course of the 23 movies. And, even finds a fun way to do a quick shout-out to one of the TV series.

The 4K set is a three-disc set with a UHD disc and two regular Blu-Ray discs. The UHD disc only includes the movie, which looks and sounds outstanding in the UHD format. One of the regular Blu-Rays has the movie with an intro by the directors and can be played with a commentary track featuring the directors and writers of the film. The other regular Blu-Ray disc has all of the extras. There are seven different featurettes, the longest of which is a featurette on Captain America, and the shortest of which is about Thor. Then, there are about five minutes of deleted scenes and a short gag reel. If you are a fan of the other movies, this is a must-get. It is one of the best (if not the best) of the entire group of 23 movies. It is well-written and acted that is funny at times, emotional at times, and action-packed from start to finish.  It is a good send-off for some characters and a good reset point for others. I will not spoil which characters fit into which category, but chances are anyone who has read about the future plans (or attended comic-con) will know.

Book Review: Star Wars: Myths and Fables

 

Star Wars: Myths and Fables is a collection of short stories written by George Mann and published in 2020. It is not one of the "main storyline" novels. Instead, it is a collection of short stories, much like the Luke Skywalker book that was put out prior to The Last Jedi. As the title suggests they are stories held to be myths and fables, which may or may not be true (in the context of the made-up story of course), in whole or in part. The first story is clearly about Obi-Wan during his days on Tatooine post-Revenge of The Sith. The second is about General Grievous, and there is also one about Darth Vader. The rest of the stories really do not have any connection to the big, well-established characters.

The book is a fairly quick read at 170 pages. The book has a large font size, and there are illustrations throughout so it is not all text. So if you are a fast reader you can easily get through it in a couple of hours (at most). It is in the category of a young adult novel, but the stories are good enough and written well enough that an adult can easily enjoy the book. It is not what I would call a must-read, but worth picking up if you have collected the other books.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Venom

 

Venom is a 2018 Sci-Fi action movie starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, and Jenny Slate. It is an MCU-adjacent movie that exists in the world of Spiderman, but the decision was to use it as a stand-alone movie without using the black suit version of Spiderman to introduce Venom (as was done in Spiderman 3). Therefore, in this version, multiple symbionts were brought to Earth from a space mission that killed all but one of the astronauts. They were discovered by the head of the company that funded the mission called Life Sciences (played by Ahmed), who then began experimenting with bonding the symbionts with homeless and drug-addicted humans. Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a former reporter who was fired and now doing freelance work. Of course, one of the symbionts joins with him to form Venom.

The movie is a great blend of action and very dark humor. Because they did not use Spiderman, Venom is introduced as the anti-hero version of the character, doing bad things (mainly eating) bad guys. Michelle Williams plays the ex-wife of Eddie Brock. She does a really great job playing off Tom Hardy and brings a lot of comedy to the movie, which is outside her usual acting roles. The best part of the movie is the discussions/arguments/bickering that goes on between Brock and Venom, mostly in Brock's mind which makes it look to everyone else like he is talking to himself. It also requires Hardy to do a lot of physical comedy, which he turns out to be great at.

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. On the UHD disc, there is only the movie and a preview of the movie Into the Spiderverse. All the other extras are on the regular Blu-ray. Those include several deleted scenes, including an extended version of the end credits scene which teases where the next movie will go, assuming it gets made, then about an hour's worth of making of and behind-the-scenes material mixed with some featurettes on the history of the Venom character. So there are a lot of good extras.

I cannot say everyone will like the movie, and it definitely pushes the PG-13 rating to the limit, mostly because of the language. There is a lot of swearing and some sexually suggestive jokes. It is closer to Deadpool than it is to, say, Avengers. But it puts a different twist on the MCU movies and sets up a good possible franchise to exist in that universe. It is worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hustle

 

The Hustle is a 2019 comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. It is a remake of the late 1980s comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson playing two very different con women. Hathaway is an upscale socialite who lives in the south of France, making millions of dollars by scamming rich men. Wilson, on the other hand, scams men from dating sites by getting them to pay for breast implants for her hot sister. They end up getting in each other's way and go between being partners and rivals, with Wilson being the proverbial "bull in a china shop" compared to Hathaway's character.

The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is excellent, and the movie looks and sounds great in HD. The cinematography is wonderful, and there are some really great visuals that really pop in HD. For extras, there are about 15 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of material and a commentary track on the movie by the director. While the extras that are included are good, they are not extensive.

Overall, the movie makes for a fun comedy. Wilson's physical comedy is great and the comedy is a good mix of low and high-brow. I would not say it is the best comedy of all time, but there are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, even though I was never doubled over laughing. Certainly, there will be people who are fans of the original movie who will not like this as a remake but I think it can stand on its own without having to do a shot-for-shot comparison with the original. The movie flows well and, at just under an hour-and-a-half, does not seem to take too long from beginning to end. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a fun comedy.

Book Review: Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Force Collector

 

The Force Collector is a young adult novel that is ancillary to the "main" canon storyline, set sometime before The Force Awakens. It was published in 2019 and written by Kevin Shinick. It is a bit different in that sense from the other "Journey to the [insert movie title]" in that most of the others have been set between the last movie and the next one, so this would be better under the "Journey to The Force Awakens" than The Rise of Skywalker. The novel is centered around a force-sensitive teenager named Karr who can see history by touching items and runs away from home with his friend, the daughter of a First-Order officer, and his droid to find items linked to the Jedi, in hopes of finding a living Jedi to train him. It is, of course, set at a time when Luke Skywalker is in exile, and for some strange reason, the only memory of the Jedi seems to be of those who were around before the Clone Wars and much of what people do remember of the Jedi is through the lens of disinformation that the Empire used to tarnish their Jedi's collective reputation.

Even though the book is one of the young-adult novels, it is long enough (about 370 pages) and good enough that adults can find it enjoyable, too. Through his travels, the main character visits different locations from the prequels, the original trilogy, and the sequel trilogy. It contains events from the movies, sometimes shown from a different perspective from what was shown in the particular movie scene. The story flows well, and if you are a fast reader, it is pretty easy to get through in a few days or less. Chances are, if you collect all the hardcover novels as they come out, you will get this anyway. If you are one who only gets some, but not all, of the young-adult novels, I definitely think this one is worth the purchase.

Book Review: Dragons of Eternity (Dragonlance Destinies Volume 3)

 

Dragons of Eternity, published in 2024, is the third novel in the most recent Dragonlance Trilogy (the Destinies trilogy) by original Dragonlance authors Margeret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. The story picks up shortly after the end of the second book, Dragons of Fate, in which the heroes return to the date of the planned reunion in Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, which started the War of the Lance, only to discover that because Huma was killed in the past before fighting the dragon army, Takhisis already rules, and her forces have overrun Krynn. From there, a plan is hatched as a last-ditch effort to correct the past and restore the proper timeline.

The hardcover version of the book is about 375 pages long. It reads very similar to Weiss and Hickman's other novels in the series, so if you have read the other books quickly, chances are you will be able to read this one at the same pace. This book definitely has the best story of the Destinies Trilogy. It blends the legacy characters with the new characters and, without going too much into the story, keeps the new characters and the original characters separate (for the most part). And it does not jump between the two storylines often so the story is easy to follow. Fans of the original Chronicles Trilogy will be happy to see many of the original characters make an appearance. I will not reveal every character, but it is not a spoiler to reveal (based on the front cover) that Kitara plays a large role in this book. While you do not need to have read the Chronicles or Legends Trilogies to follow along with this story, it does help to do so. You absolutely have to read the first two books in the Destinies trilogy to follow along with this one. It is a must-read for any fan of the Dragonlance series.

DVD/Movie Review: Shanghai Knights

 

Shanghai Knights is the 2003 action/comedy follow-up to the 2000 film Shanghai Noon, a buddy team-up movie set in the Old West. It stars Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson reprising their roles from the first movie, and also stars Fann Wong, Aidan Gillen, Alison King, and Donnie Yen. This time, the characters of Chon Wang (Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) find themselves in England on the trail of the killers of Chon's father. They are joined by his sister, Lin, played by Fann Wong. The rest of the main cast includes Donnie Yen and a young Aidan Gillen (who would, of course, go on to play Littlefinger in Game of Thrones). I will not get too much into the story on the off chance that a few people reading this have not seen it, but I liken the movie to Rush Hour 3, a sequel that really did not have to be made, with a fairly formulaic story. The action sequences are, of course, great, with Chan choreographing them all, and Wilson delivers his brand of comedy well. Fann Wong does a great job as Chon's little sister, who is smitten with Roy, and Chan plays the protective, disapproving big brother role well.

For those who get the DVD, there are a few extras, including behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a commentary track. Not a ton of material, but what was included was good, and worth watching. I definitely would not call it a must-see movie, but if you are looking for an action-comedy to kill an hour and a half, it is okay.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Aliens

 

Aliens is a 1986 Sci-Fi action/adventure/horror film written and directed by James Cameron as a sequel to the 1979 Ridley Scott film Alien. It stars Sigourney Weaver (reprising her role as Ripley from Alien), Carrie Henn, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Paul Reiser, Al Matthews, Mark Rolston, and William Hope. The movie is set 57 years after the events of Alien. At the beginning of the film, Ripley's spacecraft is discovered with her and Jones the cat still in stasis. We learn that the exomoon LV-426 has been colonized by a terraforming colony with no reports of hostile aliens. When Earth loses contact with the colony, Ripley is asked by a representative of the Weyland Corporation named Carter Burke (played by Reiser) to act as a consultant for a group of Marines sent to investigate the loss of communication. Once they arrive on the moon, they find the colony destroyed and evidence of an attack.

The 4k set is a three-disc set containing a UHD disc and two regular Blu-Rays. The UHD disc and one of the regular Blu-Rays just include the two versions of the movie (the theatrical edition and the 1990 remastered expanded edition). There are commentary tracks on each version of the movie by Cameron and members of the cast and crew. Some of the people providing commentary were recorded together, and some were recorded on their own, so the commentary jumps between conversations. The second regular Blu-Ray disc contains bonus features. The bonus disc has over four hours of extras. The most extensive is a three-hour-long making-of documentary (that can be watched in individual segments or in a play-all mode) that includes interviews with the cast and crew from the time the movie was being made, along with interviews made later on. There is also a discussion with Jim Cameron that was made very recently. Finally, there are some stills galleries, trailers, and TV spots.

Ultimately, the movie is very good, with a lot of action and suspense. The longer version of the film adds about 20 minutes of additional footage, mostly at the beginning of the movie before the team arrives on LV-426, which adds a bit more context for Ripley's motivations. The bonus content and commentary tracks provide a lot of interesting information, including the contentious filming process (Cameron, who has a reputation for being hard to work with anyway, butted heads with much of the initial crew that was forced upon him by Pinewood studio), how Weaver ended up getting a massive payday because she was not signed until after the script (which was centered around the Ripley character) was written, and how Cameron was only allowed to direct the movie after The Terminator was a hit. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is good. This movie looks grainier than many of Cameron's other 4k restorations because of how the movie was shot. Cameron notoriously hates film grain and uses a lot of digital noise reduction to make his older movies look like they were shot digitally with today's cameras, which some people hate. But because of the equipment they used to film Aliens, some of the grain is left in (although it is much less grainy than the VHS or original DVD release). Since CGI was not a thing back in 1986, in the UHD format, you can definitely tell when models or matte paintings were being used to create effects, and some of the effects do look a bit cheesy. Even so, the movie is still very enjoyable and well worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

 

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the 2011 follow-up to the 2010 movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson. The rest of the cast includes Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan, and Geraldine James. This time, Moriarty is introduced in the flesh, as opposed to the shadowy figure from the first movie, and played wonderfully by Jared Harris. The movie incorporates elements of different Holmes stories, such as The Final Problem, and basically sets up a Holmes v. Moriarty showdown. I will not go into too much detail to avoid giving too much away, but if you have read the Holmes novels, you likely have an idea of the ending, although it does not follow the stories from the books word-for-word.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds great in the HD format and the special effects look seamless with the practical effects. The extras are much like what was included in the Blu-Ray release of the first movie. The most extensive being the Maximum Movie Mode, which allows you to play the movie with behind the scenes material interjected. Then, there are some other behind the scenes features included as well. A lot to go through for people who like the bonus material.

Ultimately, if you liked the first movie, you will likely like this one, as it has a very similar tone and feel with an even better bad guy to be a foil for Holmes. You really cannot compare it with the BBC series Sherlock, as the movies and the series were really their own thing. It just so happens that, unfortunately, were released very close in time, and the series went on to be a very big hit. This, I think, is at least a part of why future movies have not materialized (not to mention Downey Jr. and Cumberbatch's commitments to the Marvel movies). It is definitely worth a couple of hours if you are looking for a good action movie.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

 

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 comedy starring Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Schwalbach, Eliza Dushku, and Ali Larter. It is basically a running inside joke referencing and calling back to the prior movies Smith made in which Jay and Silent Bob were featured but not the focus (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma). This features many of the same actors that appeared in those films (such as Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Joey Lauren Adams, Alanis Morissette, and Shannen Doherty) have cameo roles, with the focus of the story (to the extent that there is one) being that Jay and Silent Bob are trying to get from NJ to CA to stop the filming of the Bluntman and Chronic movie, which Banksy (Jason Lee) sold the rights to after the events of Chasing Amy. It is basically riffing on the other movies, and paying homage to movies that Smith is a fan of (such as Star Wars). All with his juvenile and vulgar sense of humor. The first few minutes of the movie see Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran "working" in the convenience store from Clerks and shows how Jay and Silent Bob met as toddlers. The film also features Will Ferrell, Judd Nelson, George Carlin, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Jon Stewart, Tracy Morgan, Diedrich Bader, Wes Craven, and Jason Biggs (among others).

The Blu-Ray is very bare bones. The only extra is a commentary track a commentary track that features Smith, Mewes, and producer Scott Mosier. There is nothing much to the story itself. The whole movie is set around two characters who are funny in small doses but can get to be a bit much in large doses. However, it does not try to take itself too seriously or go on for longer than necessary. It is not a movie that anyone other than fans of Smith's other movies (up to that point, at least) will likely be entertained by. But even now, 18 years or so on, those who are fans can still find it amusing. And, you get a few minutes of awesomeness from George Carlin and Carrie Fisher, as well as Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, and Ali Larter (along with Smith's wife) in skin-tight outfits as they steal diamonds in a nod to the Catherine Zeta-Jones scene in Entrapment.

Overall it is good, but definitely not a great movie. It is not on par with Clerks, Chasing Amy, or Dogma, which I thought were excellent. I don't even think it is as good as Mallrats, which was, in my opinion, the weakest of the movies that served as source material for this one. But if you don't expect it to be more than it is, it is enjoyable.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: John Wick

 

John Wick is a 2004 action/adventure thriller starring Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyquist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo, Willem Dafoe, and Ian McShane. It is a fairly "simple" story. Keanu Reeves plays an ex-assassin who left the profession to get married. His dying wife gives him a puppy so he will not be alone when she dies, and the son of a Russian mobster, not knowing who he is, breaks into his house, beats him up, steals his car, and worst of all kills the dog. From that point, it is Keanu killing everyone in sight to get revenge.

Of course, every action movie Keanu does is going to be compared to the Matrix movies. This does have very similar fight scenes with a lot of martial arts and shoot-em-up "gun-fu," as they call it. The fight scenes are more realistic than in The Matrix, obviously, and Keanu is not quite as indestructible as he is in those movies. Almost, however. The supporting cast includes a great mix of notable and character actors, including Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Willem Dafoe. It seems like everyone involved was having fun with the movie, being serious about it without taking it too seriously.

The 4k set is a two-disc set. It includes a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc has the movie and all the extras (so the regular Blu-Ray is pretty much redundant). The bonus material includes about 45 minutes or so of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, the best of which shows that Reeves is still committed to doing as many of his own stunts as possible. So, it has a good amount of material, especially since the movie is only about an hour and 40 minutes long.

Overall, if you are looking for a good action movie that flows well and is a fun ride, this is definitely worth it. It is very violent and bloody, but that works for the type of movie it is. I absolutely recommend it.

Book Review: Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker The Visual Dictionary

 

The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary was published in 2019 and released shortly after the film. It is very similar visual dictionaries that were put out for the other movies. While it is a good bet that anyone reading this has already seen the movie, you probably want to wait until after you see it to read this because it does give away some things (but none of the major surprises or events) of the movie. It gives a breakdown of most of the characters, vehicles, weapons, and aliens that are seen in the movie, as well as describing the locations where the events play out. It also fleshes out a lot of the "Skywalker Saga" backstory, going back to the prequels. In the front of the book, there is a timeline of all the major events, now measured against the Starkiller incident (when it destroyed the worlds of the New Republic during "The Force Awakens") as opposed to before and after the Battle of Yavin, as the Star Wars timeline had done for years.

The hardcover version of the book is about 200 pages long, but because it has a lot of pictures, it reads quicker than a 200-page novel. It is basically a coffee-table book as opposed to a novel. You can read it cover to cover, but chances are most people will end up skimming it and really reading in detail the parts they are most interested in. It is probably not something that anyone other than die-hard fans is going to invest in, but I do think it is enjoyable enough for even casual fans of the franchise.

DVD/TV Series Review: Merlin: The Complete Series

 

Merlin is a show that aired on the BBC for five seasons from 2880 to 2012. The show starred Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, and John Hurt. It provided an original take on the Arthurian legend. Namely, all the main characters, Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, Merlin, and the knights that would end up a part of the Knights of the Round Table, were all contemporaries and growing up and coming of age at the same time. The show did manage to use twists to show old wisened Merlin, but for the most part he, along with the other characters, was young throughout the series. Most of the cast was made up of young, and, at least at the time, relatively unknown actors and actresses such as Angel Coulby, Colin Morgan, Bradley James, and Katie McGrath, who would as most know, go on to play Lena Luthor in Supergirl after Merlin ended. The rest of the main cast was rounded out with veteran actors like Richard Wilson, John Hurt (in a voice role), and Anthony Head, who looked like he had barely aged since the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In the early seasons, the show is really a story-of-the-week, and really almost a magic-event or magic-user of the week playing on the fact that magic had been outlawed in Camelot by King Uthur (played by Head), and anyone caught using it would be put to death. As the show went on, the series really used the larger theme of the good-versus-evil battle that would occur at the end of the series, with weekly tangential stories mixed in here and there. It is mostly a family show but does get darker over the course of the five seasons, so it is probably not something that very young children should watch. There is really no nudity or swearing in the show, but a couple of instances of sexual innuendo and then fairly tame kissing.

The complete series set is just a packaging of the individual seasons on DVD, with all the same extras that were included in the original release. There is a bonus disc that I think was probably original to the set that has more features like commentary tracks on a couple of the season five episodes, and a road-trip with Colin Morgan and Bradley James as they traveled around England to areas tied to the Arthurian legend. Luckily the show came out on DVD before the studios started skimping on extras, so if you like bonus content, this has a lot of it.

Overall, the series is very good. I think it finds its legs during the second and especially the third season and stays strong until the end. The acting and writing consistently improve over the course of the series, and as an added bonus, fans of Game of Thrones will recognize more than one guest star. It is definitely worth checking out.

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.