Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the 2005 installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise. It brought back the entire main cast and again expanded the cast. The major additions to the cast in this movie were Evanna Lynch, Imelda Staunton, and Helena Bonham Carter. Some of the characters had smaller roles in this movie, while the roles of other characters were expanded. The movie was directed by David Yates, who would go on to direct the rest of the Harry Potter movies in the series and the three Fantastic Beasts movies. 

This time, the Ultimate Edition set is a two-disc set. One disc contains the movie and the other the bulk of the bonus content. Again, there is not an extended edition of the movie, but you can play the movie with a picture-in-picture in-movie experience that is hosted by Daniel Radcliff, and within that, there are focus points that provide an even deeper look at specific scenes or locations. On disc 2, the fifth part of the Creating Harry Potter documentary is included, as well as eleven minutes of deleted scenes, several more behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the trailers for the movie. And, there is another commemorative hardcover booklet included with this set. So, again, if you love the bonus content, this has a lot for you.

The movie is very good, and as has been the case throughout the series, the young actors continue to get better. Harry Potter is a series that (for the most part) got progressively better with each movie, not only because the child actors got better as they grew up, but the books got better as they transitioned from being "kid's books" to the darker more adult-themed books. This movie has a lot more violence and death than all the others up to this point and includes the first death of a major character. This movie also introduces the characters of Luna Lovegood and Delores Umbridge. Both parts are cast perfectly, and Imelda Staunton conveys the sense that Umbridge is borderline evil, definitely sadistic, and always up to no good. I liked the final battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore, but I think they could have made it longer. Given that this was the shortest of the films, they should have put as much as possible into that battle. Plus, they certainly could have added in some other elements from the books, like fleshing out the Snape and Lilly Potter storyline.

I feel that all the Ultimate Editions should have extended versions of the films offered as the first two did. Yes, the deleted scenes are included in the special features, but it would be nice to see them incorporated into the movie itself. The movie does set up a lot of the remaining storyline, but not as much as the book does so you have to look at the movies as their own thing, separate from the books. The Ultimate Edition is really only something that hardcore fans are going to be interested in since most casual fans are not likely to want to sit through hours of behind-the-scenes material. If you are a hardcore fan, however, this is worth the pickup even though there is not an extended edition of the movie included.

DVD/Movie Review: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Meyers

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilerish material from this movie and from Halloween H20. If you have not seen either of them yet, proceed with caution.+++

Halloween 5, subtitled "The Revenge of Michael Myers," is the 1989 followup to the movie that revived the Halloween franchise centered around the killer from the iconic 1978 movie. This movie brought back Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr, and Donald Pleasence from the prior film. Cornell and Starr's roles are reduced in this movie, but it does bring in Wendy Kaplan as Tina, one of Ellie's friends, who ultimately plays Jamie's protector (along with Loomis). 

I have mixed feelings about this movie. It was very much a continuation of Halloween 4, taking place one year later. It explains that Jamie (played by Danielle Harris) does not really turn evil but develops a telepathic bond with Michael. Because of that, she can see when people are in danger from him. He, of course, continues to try to get at her to kill her. That part of the storyline is fine. My problem with this movie is how it sets up the dreadful Part 6. It planted the seeds of the whole cult storyline with the mysterious man in black and began all the nonsense that would follow in that movie. I don't even have a problem with not killing off Michael, although if it had been done, it would have been an acceptable way to wrap up the story. The producers rebooted the franchise with Halloween H20, a couple of movies down the line (when they could get Jamie Lee Curtis back), which pretended that 4 and 5 never existed anyway, so Michael could have been killed off in this movie. 

The original DVD release does have a significant amount of special features, including a director commentary track (that also includes Harris and Cornell), an introduction to the movie by Harris and Cornell, and trailers. The most significant bonus feature is a making-of documentary that features interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and bonus footage that was not included in the movie. 

You ultimately know what you get with the Halloween movies. Even the original movie (which was the best in the series) was not an Academy Award winner. The movies became sillier and less believable as the series went on. That said, this is worth having in your collection if you are a fan of the series. Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasence continued to do a great job in their roles. Pleasence's role was reduced by now because of his age, but he still played Loomis passionately. Harris had to portray a range of emotions in this movie and did a fantastic job. Obviously, these movies are not going to appeal to everyone. However, if you like the first two movies and the 4th movie, this is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth movie in the franchise. It was released in 2005 and brings back all of the major characters (and actors) and has a few additions. First, Ralph Fiennes is added to the cast to play the adult version of Voldemort, and Robert Pattinson is added to the cast as Cedric Diggory. The other new cast members include Miranda Richardson, David Tennant, Brendan Gleeson, and Clemence Poesy.  This is the movie where the dark part of the story takes hold. It is also the book where they had to cut the most out. The book is over 600 pages long, and they would have had to split the movie into two parts (something that was considered) to get it all in. Eventually, they just decided to cut the ancillary storylines and just tell the story following Harry and nobody else. 

The Ultimate Edition set is another 4-disc set that also includes collectible cards and a hardcover book with behind-the-scenes pictures and information. The first disc just has the theatrical version of the movie, which can be played with a picture-in-picture in-movie experience that has interviews with the cast and crew members. There is no director's cut/extended edition, which as I said in my review for the Prisoner of Azkaban, UE set, it should have had. While the deleted scenes are available in the extras, it is far better to see them incorporated into the movie than just throwing them together out of order. The other extras include Part 4 of the Creating the World of Harry Potter documentary, with this segment (which is nearly an hour long) devoted to the music. Then there are more cast interviews, over two hours of TV specials, trailers, and the legacy DVD features. 

The movie is very good, even though a lot was cut out from the book. One thing that I think the movie suffers from that is we do not get to see enough of the character of Cedric, and thus, the emotional impact later on in the movie is lessened because his character is barely on screen for a lot of the film. Aside from that, the big reveal at the end of the movie when Voldemort finally returns in the flesh was great. Ralph Fiennes does a wonderful job bringing Voldemort's sinister aspect to life. He is not on the screen for a long time in the movie, but for the amount of time he is, he gives the sense that he is going to be the perfect "big bad" the rest of the way. Brendan Gleeson does a great job playing Mad-Eye Moody. In this movie, he has to play a character who is playing a character. The version of Mad-Eye he plays in this one is more over the top than in the later films. Miranda Richardson is wonderful, playing the slimy journalist Rita Skeeter, who is a gossip columnist who plays fast and loose with the truth.

Ultimately, as is the case with the other UE versions (especially for the first two movies), the extras are great and provide hours of great content. If you like going through the bonus content and can live without having an extended version of the film (and do a little price shopping), this is a great addition to your collection.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 43

Day 43 was the start of week 7 (the first shred week) in Lift 4 and Cardio 1.0 from T25. That means the muscle groupings get mixed up in Lift 4, with today's workout being the chest and back circuit workout. Even though this one does not have a HIIT component, it has the three-exercise, three-round burnout, which wipes you out (at least it wipes me out) as much as doing HIIT does.  The T25 workout in the morning again got a little bit easier, especially in the lunges (which have been difficult for me).

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 42

Day 42 was upper and lower body foam rolling from 645. I did both routines back-to-back and definitely felt refreshed after doing them. These are the best foam rolling routines I have done since the P90X2 mobility and recovery routine. Between the two, you foam roll all of your major muscle groups, which is absolutely necessary when doing two-a-day workouts. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 41

Day 41 was just the two Lift 4 recovery routines. I don't have anything new to say about either of them. I have not progressed or regressed since I did them on Wednesday.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 40

Day 40 was Speed 1.0 from T25 and Legs in Lift 4. Of course, because this was an even-numbered week in Lift 4, it means that the legs workout was a HIIT workout.  So, this day was a lot of cardio, which I actually liked. It was hard, and I still have to modify, but each workout gets a little bit easier.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, released in 2004, is the third movie in the franchise and represents the darker turn in the story. The main cast members return to their roles, with th exception of Richard Harris who passed away between movies. The role of Dumbledore was recast with Michael Gambon taking over the role. The other major cast additions were David Thewlis, who joins the cast as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, and Gary Oldman as Sirius Black.  

The Ultimate edition is another three-disc set, two blu-ray discs, and one DVD disc. The first blu-ray disc just contains the theatrical version of the movie. The second blu-ray disc and the DVD disc contain the bonus material. There is another hardcover booklet and collectible cards in the set as well.  All the extras that are included are great. The documentary series that runs throughout the course of the ultimate editions gives a great behind-the-scenes look at the series as a whole, and then there are a lot of features that are just specific to this movie. One of the best parts of the first two UE sets was the option of seeing the extended edition (which essentially just incorporated the deleted scenes into the movie). You do get the deleted scenes here, but they do not flow as well just seeing them one after another. That is the only drawback to the set and what drops it down a star for me.

As for the movie itself, it is great. By this time in the series, you kind of know how the movies flow and feel in comparison to the books. You have to expect that a lot is going to be cut from the books to make the movie. Since this was the point at which the books started getting longer, more is cut from this movie than was cut in the first two. The story introduces three characters that are essential to the rest of the story. Sirius Black, Lupin, and Wormtail. Lupin gets the most screen time and is great as the favorite teacher who takes Harry under his wing to start to prepare him for what lies ahead. The story continues to get darker, and the characters are put in more and more peril. Basically, this is the film where the shift from introducing the world and the characters to getting to the meat of the Harry vs. Voldemort story begins.

The big change in this movie is the addition of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. Gambon plays a far less soft-spoken and more eccentric version of Dumbledore than Harris dis. When I first saw the movie I did not like his version as much, but after this film you get used to him more, and his presence feels more natural by the end of the series. I did prefer Harris's version of the character, but I do not think it would have worked for Gambon to try to be a carbon copy of Harris. Had Gambon been cast as Dumbledore from the start, his portrayal would have been fine, but switching from one actor to the other was grating. Of course, the character of Dumbledore was too essential to the story to kill off after the second movie, so the role had to be recast.

The lack of an extended version of the film aside, the movie is great, the A/V quality of the movie is excellent, and the extras are very good (although not quite as good as the extras in the Ultimate Editions of the first two movies). If you are more than just a casual fan of the franchise and can find this for the right price, it is worth adding to your collection.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Avatar

 

Avatar is a visually stunning movie from 2009, directed by James Cameron, starring Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Joel David Moore, Stephen Lang, and Giovanni Ribisi. The movie's premise is that while Earth's natural resources are being depleted, a moon in the Alpha Centauri solar system called Pandora has a valuable mineral called "unobtanium" that a company called the Resources Development Administration wants to mine. The problem is that the native population, which includes a race of 10-foot-tall humanoids called the Na'vi who live in harmony with nature, is in the way. The moon's atmosphere is inhospitable to humans, but the company has built Avatars, Na'vi shell bodies that humans can link their consciousness into. The company hires a group of scientists to act to use the Avatars to interact with the Na'vi and try to get them to move off of their land so that the unobtanium can be mined and uses the military to provide protection against the many threats the moon poses.

This is one of two 4k sets that are available. Even though this is labeled as an ultimate collector's edition, the version that is just labeled "Collector's Edition" has more features. This one is a three-disc set. There is a UHD disc and one regular blu-ray disc that just contains the movie. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is fantastic and can be considered reference quality. The third disc is another blu-ray disc with all the special features. The special features mix new material created for the 4k release with some (but not all) of the legacy material created for the original physical media release. The new content includes a roundtable discussion with one of the producers and the prominent cast members called "Memories of Avatar" and a featurette called "Avatar, a Look Back" with new interviews with the cast and crew members. The legacy carry-over content includes the hour-and-a-half-long documentary titled "Capturing Avatar" and the hour-and-a-half worth of making-of featurettes. This set does not include the extended edition of the movies, the trailers, the stills gallery, the VFX featurettes, etc., contained in the original Extended Collector's Edition blu-ray release. If you own that set, you may want to hang onto it if you get this one.

The movie is very good. The story is based on the concepts of colonialism, imperialism, and the treatment of native populations throughout history. It also hammers the themes of environmental damage and corporate greed. It is well-written and well-acted, but the fantastic special effects are the main appeal. This movie took a leap similar to what The Matrix did back in 1999 in terms of special effects and integrating CGI effects into film, making the CGI characters and sets nearly indistinguishable from what was built practically. Even if you are not a huge fan of Sci-Fi, this is still worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Ultimate Edition)

 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second movie in the franchise (and adapted from the second book), released in 2002. The movie was again directed by Chris Columbus and brought back all of the main cast members. The additions to the cast in this movie include Kenneth Branaugh who is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, Jason Issacs as Lucious Malfoy, Toby Jones as Dobby, and Christian Coulson, who plays a young Voldemort. Bonnie Wright's role in this movie is expanded as Ginny plays a larger part in the story than her minor appearance in the first movie. 

This part of the story got much darker than in the first movie/book. It was imperative that the actors playing the main (child) characters improved from the first and they did. They were still quite young in this movie since it was shot basically right after the first one. But you can tell that their performances were far less forced and came more naturally than in the first one.

Like with the first movie they had to cut material from the books out of the movie. More material was cut for this movie than in the first one, but since the second book was still fairly short, they did not have to cut a ton of the material from the book, and they did keep the important parts of the story. Thus, the story flowed very well. The standout character introduced in this film was Lucious Malfoy. Jason Issacs had the sinister, evil slimeball character down. There was not an ounce of sincerity in anything that Malfoy said or did (aside from the evil parts) and Issacs played it perfectly. Dobby's role in this movie is true to what was in the book, but that does change in subsequent movies. He did provide some comic relief and helped to move the story along.

This is another three-disc set with one disc containing the theatrical and extended editions of the movie. The Ultimate Edition of the movie has a picture-in-picture director commentary, and the rest of the bonus content is on the second and third discs. As for the extras, like the first Ultimate Edition set you get a lot of behind-the-scenes material. The second installment of Creating the World of Harry Potter (which runs just under an hour and a half) focuses on the various characters. Again they discussed characters from all the films, but the slant was toward the second movie. There are also a lot of deleted scenes (most of which ended up in the extended version of the movie), screen tests, a conversation with J.K Rowling, and then some interactive material. There are also character cards and a booklet devoted to creating the characters.

The A/V quality is wonderful again, and the special effects look even better and more seamless than they did in the first movie. Again if you are a fan of the movies and books (more than just a casual fan) and want the most extras you can get then you want to add this to your collection. 

Book Review: The Apostle (Scot Harvath Series #8)

 

The Apostle is the 8th book in the thriller series based around the character of Scot Harvath. It was written by the series creator, Brad Thor, and published in 2009. This book mostly resets the storyline and is not heavily tied in with the events in the prior novels. This one has two parallel storylines. The main storyline, which is the one that involves Harvath, involves the kidnapping of an American doctor in Afghanistan. The doctor is also the daughter of one of the newly elected President's largest donors and political advisors. Harvath is hired to lead an off-the-books mission to go to Afghanistan and free an al-Qaeda leader, which is the ransom demanded for the doctor's release. The second storyline involves an investigation by a member of the Secret Service named Elise Campbell prompted when she overhears a conversation that threatens to bring down the new President, Robert Alden.

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages, which is on par with the length of the other books in the series. Like in the prior novels, Thor blends action and suspense (especially in the main storyline) with political drama and intrigue. The book jumps between the two storylines frequently (usually there are 1-3 chapters devoted to one storyline and then the book shifts to the other storyline for 1-3 chapters), which makes it a bit harder to read since you have to pay attention to both storylines at the same time. Thankfully, the chapters are relatively short so you do not get 100s of pages devoted to one storyline and then switch and have to remember what was happening in the other storyline. If you liked the prior books in the series, or are a fan of the genre in general, this is well worth your time to read. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Ultimate Collector's Edition

 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone is the 2001 movie starring Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, and Richard Harris. The movie was, of course, based on the wildly popular series of books written by J.K. Rowling and was directed by Chris Columbus. If you read the Harry Potter books before seeing the movies, the movie adaptations will take some getting used to. A lot of the content from the books got cut from the movies (especially in the later movies). The book version of The Sorcerer's Stone is short, so the least amount was cut when making this movie. Even so, not everything in the book made it into the movie. Once you get a feel for how much they have to cut from the books to make the movie and get used to the characters (and the actors playing them), the movies are almost perfect. 

The Ultimate Edition blu-ray set is a three-disc set. The first disc has both the theatrical and extended editions of the movie. The extended edition adds about 7 additional minutes to the total runtime. It basically incorporates some of the deleted scenes into the theatrical edition but does not add anything all that substantial. The only bonus feature on the first disc is a picture-in-picture video director's commentary track that can be played with the theatrical edition of the movie. The other two discs just contain the other special features. The A/V quality of the movies is great. The special effects look amazing, even though they are a bit dated, but the CGI characters look almost like real characters. The big ticket item on the Ultimate Edition is the extras, specifically the five-part documentary series that is the focus of the second disk. In this set, it is Creating the World of Harry Potter. In it, the production staff talks about finding the cast, filming, and how they created Howart's, the Quidditch arena, the various locations used, etc. Not just in the first movie, but throughout the series. You also get things like trailers, TV spots, Deleted Scenes, and a bunch of interactive content.

The only drawback to this film is that the kids were so young and inexperienced as actors that their performances were very inconsistent and forced at times. The veteran actors had to do a lot of the heavy lifting in this movie, but luckily those who did the casting found actors who could learn quickly and develop great skills so that even by the second movie they had their characters down and really became those characters. Of course, all of the adult casting was great. Snape is played perfectly by Alan Rickman, and Richard Harris is perfect as Dumbledore. The only bad thing about the movies was that Harris passed away before they were complete and the actor they brought in to replace him (Michael Gambon) while good, was just not the same. He played Dumbledore differently and did not give the character the same feel as Harris did.

All in all, this movie sets up the series well. It introduces the characters, blends the humor with elements of the dark material that would come in the subsequent films, and tells the story from the book as well as could have been done. As I mentioned, there are portions of even the first book that had to be cut out, and as the books got longer and longer more would have to be cut. So, you have to look at the movies as their own entity and the books as their own.  

If you love the books and want to get the most out of the movies (or if you just love the Fantasy genre), this is a must-have for your collection. Even though it is probably the weakest of all the movies, mainly because the kids were all so green as actors, it is still an excellent film and absolutely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 39

Day 39 was Cardio 1.0 in T25 and Shoulders (which was an interval workout) in Lift 4.

The T25 workout and the HIIT portion of the Lift 4 workout went pretty well. I could do more unmodified versions of the moves for a longer period of time. I was mostly able to stay with the increased weight in the lifting portion of the Lift 4 workout, but I did have to drop the weight I was using for swimmers after the first set.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

 

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is a 2004 stoner comedy starring Kal Penn and John Cho. The premise of the movie is mostly evident from the movie's title. A couple of friends get stoned and then crave White Castle. In making a trek to get to White Castle to satisfy their case of the munchies, hilarity ensues.  The rest of the cast includes Paula Garces, Bobby Lee, Christopher Meloni, David Krumholtz, Malin Akerman, and Neil Patrick Harris, playing a hilarious version of himself. There are also appearances by Ryan Reynolds and Eddie Kaye Thomas.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, although it is not really a film that needs to be seen in HD since there is not much in the way of effects (aside from just getting a better picture and sound in general). There are a lot of extras included with this release including three different commentary tracks on the movie, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a sneak peak of, and the Red Band trailer for, the next movie, Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay, deleted scenes, a music video, and a couple of trailers for other movies.  Ultimately, the movie is a good, but not great, comedy. You definitely need to be into crude humor and stoner comedy to like this. If those kinds of movies are not up your alley, you want to skip this because you will only find it offensive and stupid. The humor is random and a bit all over the place but that is really the point. Personally, I think the best parts are the racist cops, the "extreme mixes", and NPH's love-stain comment. Malin Akerman's topless scene was not bad either. There is kind of a story beyond the two of them trying to find White Castle, but it is so in the background that it is really not the point of the movie. I do not really think there was a need to make more than just this movie, and it is the best one in the franchise. If you are looking for a mindless comedy and enjoy the brand humor in this kind of movie, you will like this and it is worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 38

Day 38 was the recovery day for Lift 4, so I did the two recovery workouts followed immediately by the 645 15-minute cardio routine. The 645 routine has you do three rounds of 5 different moves (jump lunges, alternating side planks, walkout shoulder taps, pulse to jump squats, and side kickthroughs). It is similar to the Lift 4 interval HIIT in which you do each move for 30 seconds. You get 15 seconds to transition between moves and you get 30 seconds of rest between each round. So, it is a challenging workout, but it does go by quickly. There is no warm-up or cooldown so you have to do that on your own (if you want). Doing the Lift 4 foam rolling and stretching before this workout did help. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 37

Day 37 was Speed 1.0 in T25 and Back and Biceps 50/50 in Lift 4.

The T25 workout went very well as I was able to do a lot more of it unmodified. But, because of that, the HIIT during the Lift 4 workout was harder (it is the hardest HIIT workout in the program to that point), so I ended up modifying a lot of the HIIT moves in that one. The lifting portion of the Lift 4 workout went quickly, and I was able to use the increased amount of weight that I used last week.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hangover (Unrated Edition)

 

The Hangover is a 2009 comedy starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Ken Jeong. The basic story is that a group of friends go to Vegas to throw a bachelor party for Justin Bartha's character, Doug. They wake up the next day to evidence of a night of debauchery but do not remember anything and with the groom missing. The rest of the movie is about them trying to piece together what happened by retracing their steps and trying to find the missing groom. The movie also includes appearances by Heather Graham, Mike Tyson, and Jeffrey Tambor.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is good, but not outstanding. For people who are not total A/V wonks or snobs, the transfer quality is perfectly fine. The extras are very light. The most extensive extra is a picture-in-picture commentary track on the movie by director Todd Phillips. Then there are a few short making-of featurettes, an 8-minute gag reel, a stills gallery, and an interactive map of the locations the characters went in the movie.  

Overall, the movie is very good if you enjoy a raunchier, more adult brand of humor. Of the main cast members  Zach Galifianakis playing the awkward and kind of creepy brother-in-law was the standout. Ken Jeong also was great in his crazy kind of way but his character was a little too close to his character on Community. That said, the way his character, Mr. Chow, is introduced in the movie is very funny. I also liked Justin Bartha as the missing groom, who basically plays the straight man to all of the absurd comedy. Although he ultimately was not in the movie much, his deadpan sarcastic delivery was very entertaining. There were quite a few cameos in the film but the best was by Mike Tyson. He ended up being in a couple scenes and was actually quite funny. While this was not the best comedy of all time as some have billed it, it was one of the better comedies of the late 2000s/early 2010s. Definitely one of the better ones in recent memory. The movie will not appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy adult comedies that are not family-friendly and are not easily offended, this is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hancock

 

Hancock is an anti-hero movie from 2008 directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman. Smith plays Hancock, who has powers like Superman but who is alcoholic, anti-social, and mean to everyone, including victims. The movie has two distinct halves. The first half is a crude humor anti-hero superhero movie. Basically, if Superman was an alcoholic who saved people and caught bad guys but really did not give a shit about anyone. The second half is about a plot twist that reveals Hancock's back story. I won't spoil the plot twist but it seems like most people who dislike the movie do so because of the plot twist. 

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is great. While neither the audio nor video quality are quite "reference quality", they are pretty close. The extras include a video diary that plays as a picture-in-picture with the movie, providing behind-the-scenes content while the movie plays.  Then there are several making-of featurettes and trailers for other movies. Ultimately, the movie is good, but not great. While I did not mind the plot twist, I do think the movie would have done fine without it. I liked the redemption of a superhero angle they had going up until the plot twist hit and there were certainly ways to have a similar ending without the twist. The movie is not very family-friendly and will not appeal to everyone. It definitely has a darker crude humor to it. It is the kind of comedy that you either like or you do not. I think all the actors do a great job, but Jason Bateman was the most entertaining because he had to play the straight man the whole time (similar to his character in Arrested Development). The movie is mostly a comedy-action blend, with some drama mixed in as well. Charlize Theron sold her character well and was, as always, easy on the eyes. If you like the actors involved, Arrested Development-type and Apetow-like humor, and action movies, then you will probably like this one. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 36

Day 36 is the start of week 6 in Lift 4, which was the Chest and Triceps circuit. That was a rough one, even without the HIIT component. My heart rate was up the entire time. I did not go onto the T25 beta round yet. Instead, I am going to do T25 cardio on Mon and Thurs, Speed 1.0 on Tues and Fri, and the 15-minute 645 bonus workout on Wednesday. That way, I can keep getting my cardio in, without the additional bodyweight strength training so I do not get as gassed in the evening Lift 4 workouts. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 35

For day 35 I just did the lower body foam rolling routine from Lift 4. I did not do the T25 stretch. My legs definitely needed foam rolling because despite foam rolling yesterday, my hamstrings, IT band,  and hips were still tight. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 34

For day 35 I did upper body foam rolling from 645, followed immediately by the two Lift 4 recovery routines. The foam rolling really helped to loosen my muscles up and I had more mobility during the Lift 4 stretch routine. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 33

Day 33 was the last workout in the Alpha round of T25, which was the Total Body Circuit again, and Legs 50/50 in Lift 4.

The total body circuit was tough to get through, and the legs workout was very hard (at least the HIIT portion). While yesterday's HIIT moves were a bit less intense, this one (especially after doing the T25 workout which also had a lot of leg work) was rough. I was definitely having to modify a lot in the Lift 4 workout. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 32

Day 32 was Abs intervals in T25 and Shoulders in Lift 4. The abs workout was horrible (as always), but the shoulders workout (which was the Lift 4 version of intervals) was good. The HIIT moves were not as intense, and I was able to do most of the HIIT exercises unmodified. 

Book Review: Star Wars: The Eye of Darkness

 

The Eye of Darkness, written by George Mann and published in 2023, is one of the newer adult canon novels, and the first in Phase 3 of the High Republic era novels. Phase 1 of the High Republic novels was set about 230 years before the events of A New Hope. The Phase 2 novels jumped back about 150 years before that, to about 380 years before the events of A New Hope, and then Phase 3 picks up where Phase 1 ended. Specifically, the events of this book are set 1 year after the destruction of the space station Starlight Beacon. In it, the Nihil have walled off a part of the galaxy creating an impenetrable barrier that they call the Stormwall around a portion of the outer rim trapping the inhabitants of several planets (and several Jedi, including Avar Kriss) behind the barrier. Marchion Ro, the leader of the Nihil, has revealed the mysterious beast capable of killing Jedi called levelers to the Republic broadcasting the "trial" of a Jedi trapped in what the Nihil and the Republic call the Occlusion Zone for all to see.  Elzar Mann and Bell Zettifar are tasked by the Jedi Council with figuring out how to break through the Stormwall to get into the Occulison Zone, while Avar Kriss is working on a plan to get out.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 400 pages, but it reads more quickly (at least for me) than the Phase 1 and 2 novels did since the characters are well-established. This book also finally includes Yoda in this part of the timeline. One of my big complaints about the Phase I novels was that Yoda was mentioned, but never appeared. Now, however, since he did appear in a couple of Phase 2 novels, there is a bit of a continuity issue (which will hopefully be resolved eventually). Specifically, The Path of the Open Hand, the group that was the precursor to the Nihil, used the Levelers against the Jedi 150 years ago. Yoda was aware of Jedi being killed in the same way back then, even though he did not know what was causing it. In this novel, he appears to be totally clueless about the Levelers even though members of the Jedi were killed by them years ago and Yoda does not mention that fact. It seems unlikely that the Jedi would not have figured out what the Levelers were long ago and figured out how to protect themselves if they encountered them again. Even with that continuity issue, the story in this book entertaining with a good blend of action and suspense. If you have liked the High-Republic era novels up to this point, this one is definitely worth the time to read.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Beetlejuice

 

Beetlejuice is a 1988 comedy/horror movie directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Catherine O'Hara, and Jeffrey Jones. The movie's premise is that a family (Ryder, O'Hara, and Jones) moves into the home of a recently deceased couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland (Davis and Baldwin). Unbeknownst to them, the Maitland's spirits are still in the house and cannot leave. The Maitlands hire a "bio-exorcist" named Beetlejuice (Keaton) to scare the new homeowners away only to regret the decision as they befriend Ryder's character, Lydia (who is the only one who can see them).

The blu-ray set is very bare bones. It just contains the movies without any extras aside from a couple of cartoons and the theatrical trailers. Hopefully, since a sequel is set to be released in September of 2024, this will get a 4k release and have some bonus features included. Given that everyone involved in the movie is still alive it should not have been that hard to get at least some of them together to give some substance to the extras. The A/V transfer of the blu-ray is okay but could be better. Given the lack of bonus content, if you own the DVD, I would wait to upgrade until a 4k version is released (as it most assuredly will be). 

Ultimately, the movie is very good. The movie was made at what was arguably the height of Michael Keaton's acting career. During the same time frame, he did Clean and Sober, Beetlejuice, and the first two Batman movies. It is not really a scary horror movie. It is best described as a comedy with some jump-scare moments. Keaton is not in the movie as much as I remember when I saw it in the theater years ago, but he steals every scene he is in. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin do a great job in their roles as the dead couple trying to spook the buyers out of their house, and Winona Ryder is very good as the awkward teen who can see the ghosts. It very much has the look and feel of Tim Burton's other movies. It was made before the modern-day special effects era, so some of the effects are cheesy and fake-looking, but they do not distract from or reduce the quality of the movie. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.