DVD/Movie Review: Halloween H20

 

Halloween H20 was released twenty years after the original movie and saw the first of what has become multiple returns to the franchise for Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode. It is revealed that she faked her death (really the only tie-in to Halloween 4-6, otherwise it ignored the prior sequels aside from Halloween II) and is now working as the headmistress at an elite private school. She has a son played by Josh Hartnett who chafes under her strict rules meant to keep him safe from the ever-present threat of Michael Myers finding them and finishing what he started. Of course, Michael manages to track her down and the usual terror ensues.

The movie is good overall but does have some silly points (pretty much everything with LL Cool J). I like that they changed the character of Laurie from being the scared weakling to being willing to stand up to Michael. This time, when she drops a weapon she picks up another one and does not assume he is dead. It sports a very recognizable cast (especially back in 1998) including Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, and Joseph Gordon Levitt. It also had a pretty nice nod to the late Donald Pleasance and had a cameo by Nancy Stephens reprising her role as Marion Chambers, the nurse from the first two movies. There was also a fun cameo by Janet Leigh, who was of course Jamie Lee Curtis' mother and the original scream queen from the movie Psycho.

For those who get the original DVD version, the extras a pretty minimal. There is a short behind-the-scenes feature, a music video, and a trivia game. The extras released with the complete Blu-Ray set are much better and more extensive.

Of course, there have been other sequels after this one, including basically resetting the franchise with Curtis returning as a slightly different version of Laurie. Had this actually been the end of the Halloween franchise, as I think a lot of people would have liked, it would have been the perfect conclusion to the story. But, now, you really just have to look at it as one of the sequels and enjoy it (or not) for the story it tells. I think the original movie is one of the best, if not the best, horror movies ever, and while this is not as good as that, it is still very good and one of the best sequels that have been made. Definitely worth watching.

Workout Update: P90X Day 74

Day 74 was Kenpo-x. Nothing new to report about this one. It pretty much went the same as it has the past few times I have done it. I was a bit off-balance during some of the kicking exercises, but nothing too bad.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 73

Day 73 was the last of the shoulders and arms workouts. Again, I was able to hit the 10 rep max for some of the moves, and for others, I could only hit 8-9 reps. But, I did manage to increase the weight for all of the exercises by at least a bit from the start of this round to the end. So, that was progress. And, when doing ab-ripper I was finally able to do all 349 moves, hitting the 25 reps on all of the moves and the 50 for the mason twists (although I do have to keep my feet on the floor for that one). I did decide that my next workout will be a round of Chalene Extreme and then I will switch back to P90X. My hope is that I can get in good enough shape during the Chalene Extreme round that when I do P90X again I can do regular pull-ups instead of using the bands. But, if not, I should be able to do the 155 lbs of band resistance when doing the pull-up moves for round two of P90X. But, for now, I will be focusing on finishing this round of P90X and then on Chalene Extreme. 

DVD Review: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

 

Haloween Six, also called The Curse of Michael Myers, was really a mess of a movie. The mess, admittedly (by the producers) started with the production of the movie and carried through to the final product. It picks up years after the events of Halloween 5 in which Michael is broken out of jail and Jamie is kidnapped by the man in black. In this movie, we learn the identity of the man in black and find out that he is a larger part of a larger cult (essentially). The movie is pretty much non-sensical from beginning to end. The basic plot is that Jamie is pregnant (and it is very much hinted that Michael is somehow the father), has the baby, and escapes from the cult. Then, of course, Michael tries to track down the baby and in the process comes back to Haddonfield and wreaks havoc.

Really, the only thing that makes the movie worth watching is seeing Paul Rudd in one of his first major movie roles (this movie came out the same year as Clueless), as Tommy Doyle (the kid Laurie babysat in the original movie) who has become obsessed with Michael Meyers and seeing Donald Pleasance for the last time as Loomis. Everything else about the movie pretty much fell into the hot garbage category. Firstly, Danielle Harris, who was open to reprising her role as Jamie, hated what was done to the character so much she decided to not have anything to do with the movie. The plot was just stupid, and because the audience reception was so bad there were major reshoots done, including after Donald Pleasance died, that the character of Loomis was essentially written out offscreen.

This is just the theatrical cut of the movie. The disc does not include the producer's cut that was for years just available as a bootleg, but finally released in the Blu-ray box set a handful of years ago. I think the actors did the best they could with what they were given, which was not much, but Rudd and Pleasance did a really good job in their roles and basically kept the movie from being total garbage. I think if Jamie would have been incorporated better into the movie so that Danielle Harris would have come back, and they dispensed with the silly cult stuff, the movie would have been a lot better. That said, it is a very dark sequel, and it did have some good elements to it, just not enough (in my opinion).

If you get the original DVD release, you just basically get the movie itself. There are no extras (besides some coming soon trailers). Ultimately, the movie is not for everyone. Even for Halloween fans, it is not even close to being the best Halloween movie (or even the best sequel). So, I cannot say that even fans of the series are going to love it, but I still think it is worth watching as long as you temper your expectations.

DVD Review: The Good Doctor Season 4

 

+++Warning, this contains a major spoiler from season three, but no major season four giveaways. +++

Season four of The Good Doctor is definitely a transition year for the show. The first two episodes were geared toward dealing with the pandemic, with, as you would expect, a focus on how it affects the medical professionals. The characters on the show were also dealing with the loss of Doctor Melendez after his death at the end of season three. Nicholas Gonzalez did make a couple of appearances early in the season, but I have a feeling that storyline was cut back quite a bit because of the pandemic-specific episodes. From there, the show then pretty much went back to its format of a combination procedural/serial medical drama. It was mostly a case-of-the-week format with story arcs that wove through the season. There was also more cast turnover this year, mainly through additions to the cast with Noah Galvin and Bria Henderson essentially becoming series regulars as first-year residents. The season is full of emotional ups and downs for many of the characters with almost everyone facing some kind of crisis, or relationship issue at some point during the season. I will not give anything away, but there is a lot of drama pretty much all the way through the season. The show continues to be well-written and acted with all of the characters getting a chance to have good arcs and development. Freddie Highmore continues to do a great job in the lead role, but Paige Spara and Fiona Gublemann were also standouts this season, with very different story arcs. 

For those who get the DVDs, it does have a few extras including about 13 minutes of deleted scenes, a short gag reel, and a goodbye package to one of the characters/actors who left the show this season. Most fans of the show likely know who that is, but again I will not spoil it. 

Overall, I would say if you have been a fan of the show you will probably like this season. If you have not liked the prior seasons then this one is not likely to do much for you. Like most medical dramas, it can get a bit soap operaish, but for the most part, it focuses on the medical cases, so the soap opera-like elements do not distract from the show or dominate it. It is definitely a good season and worth watching.