Review: Home

Budget 135 million,   Boxoffice 386 million.

Run-time 94 minutes

Voice Cast
Jim Parsons as Oh
Rihanna as Gratuity "Tip" Tucci
Steve Martin as Captain Smek
Jennifer Lopez as Lucy Tucci
Matt Jones as Kyle, a Boov police officer.
Brian Stepanek as Gorg Commander, the leader of the Gorg

I honestly do not think that HOME needs a review.  The plot is completely derivative.  One clueless alien race being chased by another malevolent race, invades Earth, displacing humans as completely incompetent, though it soon becomes clear that the worst screw-up is  O who is constantly screwing up in major fashion. 

O is soon befriended by Tip who is looking for her mother.  Together they both commence on a totally warped road trip.

Along the way there are major reversals and not everything is as it seems.

The movie is well drawn and animated as well as brilliantly voice cast.  I would be tempted to rate it an 8 for the above and it is clearly a fine film for young people or a family film.  But if we rate it with the plot line you have to take into account how lazy and derivative it is, drawing for just about any invasion film out there.  So the best I can do is 6, which means go ahead and watch it and enjoy it with your children or family.  But be prepared to explain yourself to your friends! 

Review: Pixels

I got a chance to watch Pixels on DVD recently on recommendation of a friend.  The recommendation was 

based on the movie having some science fiction elements. Which I will concede that it had in spades. 

What I wasn't told was that the film was banal, derivative and redundant. 

What is wrong with Adam Sandler? Him and his dream production team of Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe 

and others certainly got the job done, but should this turd even been attempted. First how far are 

we suppose to buy into Kevin James as President of the United States?!!  And how many times are we to

be subjected to the worn thin plot device of Aliens receiving age old tv shows and take them as a 

declaration of war?

Elements of Science Fiction? Yeah, ok.  But more like 100% brown stinker. 

If you want 106 minutes of totally mindless diversion, this might do the trick. Otherwise, put the 

movie down and back away slowly you can watch the trailer online which is all the best parts anyway.

Review: Dark Fury

Vin Diesel            as Richard B. Riddick
Rhiana Griffith    as Jack
Keith David         as Imam Abu al-Walid
Roger L. Jackson as Junner

as well as others

Question:  Are you a fan of the Riddick universe timeline?  Well if so then you are painfully aware that there is a a hole big enough to walk through in the Riddick universe time - line.

Right after Pitch Black is The Chronicles of Riddick which leaves a five year span of time that The Chronicles of Riddick makes no attempt at back filling.  To that end  Dark Fury (a straight to dvd, animated feature) attempts to fill in the first part of the five year lapse.

Accompanying Riddick  is the Imam and 'Jack'.

Without giving away too much, Riddick is taken prisoner by another mercenary / bounty hunter spacecraft.  The bounty hunter plans on freezing Riddick and turning him in for a sizable bounty.   Riddick of course has different ideas. 

I could elaborate but I risk giving away way to much of the plot.  I will say for an animated feature the plot line is damn  good.  I think that if you are looking for a good plot, well acted voice work (Vin is an accomplished voice actor) and excellent 3d animation and art, then you will not be disappointed with Dark Fury.

Unfortunately Dark Fury is tightly targeted to it's audience.  If you are not familiar with the Riddick universe or a Riddick, the chances are good that you will find the film a bit on the confusing side.  But if you are a fan, you will surely have a fun time.

It is for these reservations that I can only give the film a 7.  Fans will love it but a Riddick noob will be left a bit cold.

Review: The Maze Runner

The Lord of the Flies Meets Peter Pan meets the Island of Dr. Moreau.  Where the island/maze is the Roman Colosseum, oh and throw Central Park in for good measure.  Oh wait....do I hear echos of the Hunger Games?  and OMG yes "The Prisoner" but maybe to older version.  You will get the meaning of these oblique references as the movie progresses.  Honest

Directed by     Wes Ball

Starring

    Dylan O'Brien as Thomas 
    Kaya Scodelario as Teresa
    Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt
    Will Poulter as Gally
    Ki Hong Lee as Minho
    Aml Ameen as Alby
    Blake Cooper as Chuck
    Randall D. Cunningham as Clint
    Joe Adler as Zart


Thomas wakes from a troubled sleep to discover he is inside what appears to be an ancient freight elevator traveling up at a fair rate.  

When the car halts Thomas is lifted unceremoniously out to discover that not only does he not have a memory  (No one has any memory of the past)  but he now is in the hands of rag tag group of young males living in a small "Glade"  which is surrounded by impossibly high walls, punctuated by equally high "gates".

Each morning a gate/door opens to a "maze" then closes at night.  During the day "Runners " are dispatched into the maze hopefully to return before nightfall and the closing of the Maze gates.  Because at night horrific sounds can be heard from a beast never seen but called Grievers.

The plot, substantially, appears to be the "Gladers" finding a way out, through the Maze.  Towards the climax of the film, it is revealed that all is not as it seems and the boys are in fact subjects.   Which now mean the balance of the movie is escape.

 
Maze Runner you would think would be edge of the seat excitement.  But that is not entirely the case.  This movie has got to be one of the most derivative movies I have ever seen!   The pacing is woefully slow for a film that really needs to blast along at supersonic speeds.     This was movie making by construction set.  All the director's and writer's fav scenes stitched together. 

My movie guy says he would give it 6 out of 10, I thought that harsh until I watched it....  I mean it isn't a bad film, but there was a reason it went to DVD so fast, it is just mindless entertainment.  Heavy on the mindless, bit lighter on entertainment.

Review: Robocop (2014)

Robocop  starring:

    Joel Kinnaman as Alex Murphy

    Gary Oldman as Dr. Dennett Norton,
    Michael Keaton as Raymond Sellars, 

    Samuel L. Jackson as Patrick "Pat" Novak, host of The Novak Element 

If you have seen the original Robocop movie starring Peter Weller then you know the basic premise of this robocop.   Of course there are minor differences in say how Murphy is injured and used in the robocop program.  Also some interesting differences on how Murphy reacts to the suit.   Even the environment is a subtle (well maybe not to subtle) changes.  

Murphy is played much more human.   Even the "body" armor is less threatening, (except maybe for one short interlude)  Even the "corporate bad guys" seem much more rounded than in previous incarnations.  The one character that stands out as two dimensional was the great character actor Samuel L. Jackson.  His Pat Novack television   commenter is almost humorous in it vile spewing right wing(if you could truly call it that) commenter is fairly obviously a compilation of  several radio and television  personalities.  

It is also obvious what a budget 10 times as much as the original and almost 3 decades of film making magic can do to even a less complex theme as Robocop.  The CGI is stunningly good in its execution and integration, to the point that you wonder at times is Kinnaman wearing an appliance or is it cgi.   I have a feeling that most of the "suit" effects are cgi.....

There are moment that the movie tries to pluck at your heart strings, honestly they fail miserably.  I don't think it is for lack of trying, because the original Robocop, for all intents, tried the same thing with the same results.  It fails because of a really simple idiom - You can't have your cake and eat it too.  Both camps worked very hard to get us to invest in Murphy as a "robot" and wrest it away with some ill conceived and awkwardly executed "human moments"  just didn't work for me.

But the action scenes.... Because Murphy is a bit retro, in that there are already humaniform  robot officers who already patrol the streets of other countries and it is the training sessions and later breaking up drug and arms dealers that is more than enough for the action junkies.  (though if we are going to be honest, these were generic as well. ) 

Overall I think the 2014 version rises to the challenge of the original 1987 version.   If you have seen that version and liked it....you will be ecstatic with this offering, even if you hadn't seen the original, if you like running gun battles, high speed motorcycle chases and iconic one - liners, then this film is tailor-made for you. 

To be honest, I would rate Robocop a 7.  Nothing really new here and throwing 10 times the budget at this product didn't really net 10 times the movie.  The star power wasted on this film is what disturbed me.   Oldman, Jackson and Keaton are very recognizable names and more than likely drew a hefty paycheck.  To then under utilize (I guess, except Jackson) them is difficult to understand.  Keaton of course is miss-cast, Oldman would have been a better choice (though the researcher was a much more interesting character....so....hell, I don't know what I am talking about)

And so,  If I were reviewing for the big screen, I could not in good conscience tell you to blow the best part of a $20,  but as a $5 or less rental...yeah, break out the popcorn and turn on the surround sound.   

Review: Men In Black 3

Will Smith as Agent J

Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K

Josh Brolin as Young Agent K

Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal

Emma Thompson as Agent O

Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin

Men In Black 3 rejoin agents J and K in a third romp of a complicated nature. The initial plot centers around an alien Boris the Animal. It appears that he has been incarcerated for forty years in a some what over the top Hanibal spoof.

Boris was arrested forty years ago by agent k and now he want nothing more than to seek revenge on K for shooting off his arm and keeping him chained up for almost half a century. But the revenge will take place 40 years in the past where a younger K shot Boris and arrested him.

This is where the real fun begins because of the time traveling paradox should not be looked into too closely or the whole thing just breaks down.  But we do find out what happened to J's father, who K is (which set me to grumbling because things should have been different when K & J met for the "first time")  But what the heck, this movie is far better than the second that this alone makes it worth of watching.    I really don't want to give too much up if you haven't seen it yet, but enough to say that they have fun twisting the heck out of cause and effect time paradox.  But Brolin is an absolute must see as he does his version of K  not Tommy Lee Jones but Jones doing K and a younger K  talk about NAILING it.....    

Extra are good too, gag reel and making of shots plus a game for the younguns 

Love time travel and MIB3 is no exception.  It is a good 7 or 8 as well as the extras at a 7....hey no director's commentary but there is enough to keep you occupied.  overall 15 or a 7.5 rating ....maybe a bit low...but 8 is pushing it.  Harmless fun.  My guess is that you will enjoy it.  

Review:Rise of the Guardians

Chris Pine as Jackson Overland Frost or Jack Frost

Alec Baldwin as Nicholas St. North (Santa Claus), 

Hugh Jackman as E. Aster Bunnymund (Easter Bunny)

Isla Fisher as Toothiana or Tooth for short (Tooth Fairy)

Jude Law as Pitch Black (The Boogeyman)

Where are you likely to find a possibly demented Russian Cossack, A giant Ninja Rabbit and a human humming bird all in one place?  In a Dreamworks animated feature, that's where. 

The story revolves around the major holidays and the "Guardians" who protect the institutions against those who would see the holidays disbanded and no longer practiced.

Into this mix comes Jackson Overland Frost or Jack Frost one of many magical entities that have powers that are associated with holidays or times of the year.  Jack of course brings the cold and frost which seems to be all that he knows about his former life.  He knows that he is immortal,  but nothing about his former life. All he knows is that the guardians have all but ignored him over the centuries.   The Guardians find out that the ancient boogy man "Pitch Black" is planning to destroy children's faith in the Guardians with nightmares.  He convinces Jack that the Guardians do not care about him at all.  With Jack's help the Guardians are weakened as children stop believing in them.

Through another misadventure Jack begins to regain his memory and with the aid of the only child left who believes in the Guardians, beats Pitch Black.

As you can see, the plot is fairly simplistic but has enough twists to set itself somewhat apart from the totally derivative children's fare.  The computer 3d animation is more than adequate giving the viewer a visual treat in motion and color.

Extras on disk are slim.  One inclusion that bares notice is Paperman.  From the wikipedia:

• Paperman is a 2012 black-and-white 3D hand-drawn/computer animated romantic comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The short won both an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 85th Academy Awards and the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 40th Annie Awards 

Here is the wiki on Paperman  HERE

Review: Lady Death - animated film

Lady Death takes place for the most part in the 15th  century Sweden.  The story centers on the young daughter, Hope, of a skilled and ruthless mercenary called Matthias who in fact is in actuality a  demon.  

Matthias is dispatched by villagers for him evil.  Hope herself is accused of consorting with the Devil and is sentenced to burn at the stake.  At the very last moment she is transported to Hell by winged demons.  Her body restored, she is taken to her father who in fact is the ruler of all the levels of hell 

and demands that she join him in ruling Hell.  Matthias/Lucifer forces her hand by showing that he has trapped he mother and the first true love.  

Refusing to join him, Hope is cast out to die, but instead she is transformed into a powerful demon in her own right and with other powerful demons join power to take down Lucifer.

Hope however finds out that she is still trapped in  Hell for as long as one of Lucifer's allies remains alive.

Not a badly animated film.  Looks very much like the work that used to come out of CLAMP.  Many of the graphics and back-ground have a very stylized look to them, which lends itself well to projecting the horror of the local without graphic death and dismemberment.  Though it is an animated film from the US,  Japanese anime fans will still enjoy it as well.   It seemed a bit dated to me however, not that the story or the graphics lacked anything, just the nagging feeling that it has been done before.   The movie deserves an overall 7 easily.  Worth a check.

Review: Redline an Anime Movie

Redline is a 2010 anime film, running 102 minutes.  Released by the studio Madhouse in Japanese

with English subtitles.

Redline is an auto racing movie.  In the far distant future our main character JP qualifies for the REDLINE underground (against the law) auto race.  

As you can expect, the Redline race is a "no rules" competition with plenty of crashes, fires and other forms of constant mayhem.  The graphic are all over the top, almost suggestion an altered state while putting the frames together.  Psychedelic  colors and characters alike make for a surreal feel. 

It might take you a couple of tries but you can get through the movie and may even like it at the end. 

I had trouble getting started for the simple reason there is very little reality to grab a hold of and for me, that is a turn off.  Others have enjoyed just this aspect.  

The DVD has plenty of extras though so there is a plus for those that like deleted scenes or a director's commentary.   

I appreciate the effort that went into this film, but in the end I felt as though I needed a Bleach movie to clean my anime palette.   Rate 5 for the movie and 7 for the extras for an overall 6.  

Review: Gantz dvd series

Review: Gantz anime DVD series

Gantz is an anime series based on the Gantz Manga series written by Hiroya Oku.  

The story line orbits around  Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato who die while saving a drunk who has fallen onto the tracks of the subway.  But instead of nothing, the pair wake in a room with a dark sphere and shortly there after a man dressed in what appears to be a dark latex body suit.  

They are informed that they are not really dead, but in between and as such have to complete tasks devised   by a mysterious Gantz.  As the series proceeds, more people join under the very same circumstances and even more are "killed" under increasingly more difficult tasks.  

The Animation of Gantz which appears in Japan as Manga, is directed by  Ichiro Itano and produced by Gonzo.  The series aired in Japan on Fuji Television and AT-X. The Gantz anime is divided into two seasons: The first season is known as "The First Stage", while the second season is known as "The Second Stage", which is a direct continuation of the first season. The First Stage aired in Japan with several scenes censored due to inappropriate content such as violence or nudity. However, the DVDs from the series contained the scenes uncensored. The Second Stage aired on Japanese network AT-X on August 26, 2004.There are a total of 12 Japanese DVDs, released from August 28, 2004 to June 29, 2005.  The US release contains ALL the scenes as the Japanese dvd release. 

On June 25, 2010, anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced on their online FuniCon 4.0 panel, that they have acquired the rights to the series, along with 3 other former ADV titles after ADV's collapse in 2009.

That's the basic history of Gantz.  If you want a break from High School antics, Gundam power suits and move into something more sophisticated as say Ghost in the machine, with an even harder edge, you might just want to check Gantz out.  However FAIR WARNING The average character is unpleasant, the action is fast and violent to the point that if it can be cut off or sliced up, it is!  With great gusto.  Gouts of blood and flying body parts are the rule of the day along with...well if you caught the review about scene censoring you have to know where that was headed.  If you want introspection, you are not going to get it here! Graphic violence and nudity, and more, that would get this series canceled except on dvd anywhere you can imagine.  If this is your cup of tea, well you are not going to be able to rent it, so pony up and buy BOTH sets and you will not be disappointed   But if you want introspection for the ages, put the DVD down and run away.  

How would rate this? if looking for edge of your seat action you will get it in spades.  If I had to I would deduct a point for just to damn much! that would still give it an 8 or 9 with the graphics right up there with it.  Hey its' no DC or Marvel but then it ain't trying to be.  If weird weapons and whacked power suits (not gundam but form fitting latex with weird power globes at strategic locations) you will be watching one dvd and have two or three right at hand ready to go, and the world will go away for several hours....

Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Mark comes through again with a great DVD The Dark Knight Rises

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman

Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth

Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon

Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle

Tom Hardy as Bane

Marion Cotillard as Talia al Ghul / Miranda Tate

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake (aka Robin John Blake)

Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox

Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane

Directed Produced and Screenplay by Christopher Nolan  I know Chris is his generation's wonder kinder, but at what point does a project change from expressing one's art and delve into the realm of self aggrandizement?

First off the movie is Looooooooooong but doesn't seem to drift to far astray.  It is slow moving in the beginning.  I know that Wayne is hurt and may no longer believe in what he does.  Which is weird, I do not remember him so despondent in the last movie...huh.   But yeah, the movie is slow to get rolling.  There are moments but until it quite literally comes crashing down around him, Wayne spends a lot of time brooding or over coming self doubt.  

There are points when some of the things that are happening just seem gratuitous and over the top.   Maybe it is my belief that society is a bit stronger than Nolan seems to think.  Are we really just a few days away from total collapse of society?

Once things get going however, we find that ho we now have a Cat woman...I think...lol some cool new toyz for da boyz and some wicked ahas!!! at the end.  It goes without saying that you should see   or rent this movie.  It is kinda a pivot that Nolan has put his Dark Knight arc on.  Of course there are more questions made than answers answered if you catch my drift.  

I can't speak of extras, this being a rental it had NO extras.  So on it's own entertainment  its an easy 8 or 8.5.  If I can get my hands on a blu-ray, I will let you know and edit this listing accordingly.  Otherwise it is a pretty definite see it rent it borrow it...whatever.  It is a good dark Batman.  

BMU # 344 Land of Fire & Ashes -

I open with Fit and the Consumption’s “Sweet Sister Starlight”  Love this song!

From there, I do a couple of Star Trek trivia questions.

Then I review Abe Lincoln – Vampire Killer!  Maybe not as bad as you thought or worse!

From the Blog, news from David Scholes,  John Anealio has a free EP for listeners, have scientists uncovered the oldest dino to date!?   3D printers….and AR firearms…can they be controlled, and if so how?   Zombies Among Us!!!!  and is there POOP on the moon!

Finally Part one of Colin P. Davies excellent short story “Land of Fire & Ashes”  It is so good to see Colin back on the program.   If you are not familiar with his work or possibly forgotten, you are in for a treat of  excellent story telling from one of the best!

Direct link to the podcast file here

Enjoy

Review: Abe Lincoln - Vampire Hunter

Starring

Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Marton Csokas

Everyone must have a movie that they fear someone will find out they watched it.  Though perhaps not quite that bad, Vampire Hunter surely must be in the running.   This was a film that I was quite sure I would never see, but then there was my friend Mark with another movie in hand extolling the film as "not that bad really!"   Hardly what I would classify as a great endorsement but I gave it a go. 

First thing I noticed is some of the industry's notables that were involved with the project.  Like Make up artist extraordinaire Rick Baker listed as producer...Yeah I know.  

But there again is Lincoln's name and visage across the screen and for me...well I was running cold already.  

The premise?  At a early age, Abraham Lincoln witnessed his mother killed by a vampire and pledges revenge on the monster who killed her.  If you feel that you have heard of this plot outline before you have.  It is one of the laziest to do.  The Karate Kid, Star Wars, pretty much ALL of Segal's movies, on and on and on.  The plot was so telegraphed that ten minutes into the film you knew everything that was going to happen and how the movie will end.  Trust me, it IS that by the numbers movie making.  The only thing I really didn't expect is how much of early USA history was portrayed as though it were the Civil war.

Now if they took out any reference to Lincoln and his ninja ax it well could have been a better movie.  The fight scenes were bloody and violent for even the most jaded viewer.  But there is Abe with his kung fu grip.  

The movie looks good.  Good period piece, there are extra, but I didnt care to watch after this viewing I just couldnt bare to go through it again.  So the movie rates a 5 and the extras a 5, because no matter how good, if they dont get you to look it is a wasted effort so 5.5 for a combined rating.  

If you like non stop fight scenes or gore, this is for you, otherwise pass on it.   

Review: Priest

Priest Directed by Scott Stewart Starring Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Lily Collins, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q

 Mark comes through again with a movie that I never thought I would watch, matter of fact I don’t even remember this one. which is kind of a shame.


Priest is set in a future but I would guess a parallel universe. Their present would be sometime in our distant future. However they seemed to have fought a war with beings that they call vampires (but unlike any vampires in our universe) that regressed the world to something along the lines of our late 1800s but with a mixture of high tech but tech that has all but disintegrated.


The “church” is now the only protector against the outside world and their elite enforcers are a small group of warrior priests.


This world has no concept of human vampires no, their vampires are animals of the night that eat and drink human flesh and blood. They are supposed to be wiped out, but when one of the Priests discovers that this is not the case, he goes against the church to go out and fight them once again and the church sends out the rest of the priests to stop him.


The balance of the movie is the Priest finding the ultra baddy and that is a surprise and then there are invasions of hives, fights, trains...pretty formula stuff but it does work. Ultra-modern motorcycles and 18th century trains. Definitely an alternative reality or dimension.


Extra are not all that much to scream about. However there are some extended scenes, deleted scenes and some commentary. I can’t say the movie is a blockbuster but it’s not crap either. The world is well realized and they don’t seem to break all that many of the “law” they set up, so that makes the movie a 7.5 and extras are 8 for an overall of 15.5 for a 7.75 oh hell call it a 7.8 which is fair. Recommendation? If you haven’t anything else to watch, this will give you something to think about. Yeah, watch it...borrow it but I wouldn’t buy it, not even if I was into vampires.

13 Minute Featurette Dark Knight Rises

Here is a YouTube featurette of the Dark Knight Rises. As the uploader promises "No plot spoilers but may be considered spoilerish by folks looking to avoid as much info as possible. Mostly just a look at the cast, themes of the film, and the epic shooting schedule."

If you are into DVD extras, this is very much in the "making of" type of short. Something along the lines of what kind of effort was put into the production. Very good little short.

Review: X-Files I want to believe DVD

Directed by Chris Carter

Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson,  Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet,

When I first saw this DVD on the discount shelf, I thought, well I never really got into the X Files on tvand here might be a way to gain some insight.  You see what I thought I had was a late 90s movie.  Not so, this was kind of a reboot, whats more it was from 2008!  Seems I had lucked into something original.

The film starts with an FBI search line  poking sticks in the snow, what an old many breaks through the line and runs ahead to start digging and finding a body part.  Then we are privvy to a couple of abductions that are seemingly unrealated.  From there on out we are treated to a rather odd character assortment.  I won't runin it for you by going into them all but take my word for it when I say that a pedofilic, physic preist is NOT the oddest of the bunch.

The movie is not bad from a horror movie perspective, but is that X File material?  Religious  quandary is perfectly honest grist, but X File?  There are evil scientists and evil experiments of maximum bizzarness that is bound to make you flinch but there are no aliens or evolutionary questionable lifeforms.  None of what I had come to believe that X Files were all about.  So I think it falls down on its theme, but otherwise is a flincherificmovie.  A good solid 6 for me.  just because it is suppose to be sci-fi  which it isnt  maybe sci-fi horror, but very VERY dated sci-fi.

Now extras.....LOADED UP!  Deleted scenes, diital copy, the works.  Which means yep...It was NOT a rental.  Yep, still mad about that!  So  extras?  9  for an overall 7.5...It was fun, It had alot of ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!  Plus it can be found cheap on the shelf.  
 

Review: Paul

Paul
Running time 104 minutes
Budget $40 million Box office $97,591,665
directed by Greg Mottola,
written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
starring Pegg and Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogen doing the voice of Paul.

The best way to describe Paul is to call it a sci-fi geek road movie. Pegg and Frost play Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings - two English comic book nerds and best friends who have traveled to America to attend the annual San Diego Comic-Con. They decide on a road trip and rent an rv to see some of the more famous UFO and sci-fi sights.

The misadventures start soon after when they accidentally hit a couple of comic rednecks truck.

The pair feel they are being chased by the redneck pair, but when they come upon a wreck they just witnessed they find a car instead...empty.

While calling for help, Paul appears and the road trip ensues.

During the trip (to someplace that Paul needs to get to so he can be rescued after years) Lorenzo Zoil is played by Jason Bateman who seems to have a separate agenda but for the most part he is part of the organization that need Paul captured. He is also aided by two FBI agents that are ineptness personified. They add to the troupe with Ruth Buggs, played by Kristen Wiig. Ruth is a Christian fundamentalist who’s world view is challenged by the appearance of Paul. Rounding out the group is Tara Walton played masterfully by Blythe Danner. Tara saved his life 1947 when his ship crashed. As an old woman, in present time, Tara has been driven a bit loopy by all the ridicule and treatment she has undergone over he ages and who subsequently, is more than a bit pleased to know that she did not imagine Paul.

At this point it is off to the rescue point with more than a few misdirections.

The film contains numerous references to other science fiction films, especially those of Steven Spielberg, as well as to general science fiction fan-dom. The final fight scene is dealt out by “the Big Guy” who I can’t give away now as it is a surprise that will have you laughing out loud at the “gotcha!”

The use of CGI is of course all over the place, but so well done that you buy right into the effect.
Paul is one of the most lifelike cgi actors that I have ever seen. Why, because for the most part he is your standard Gray. But the eye are alive. The skin has multiple reflectivity points. The skeleton and muscles are very believable. CGI done right!

As for a review.... How often have I said that you can often see how much faith producers of a disk are by how the extras are handled. Most of the time there are a goodly smattering. A good film that everyone is behind will often have many extra, sometimes, no matter how good the film may look, often have none. This tell you quite a bit about the studio, producers etc. So when you look at the extras of Paul that include everything by the kitchen sink included, you really do get the idea that there was plenty of love going around for this movie. A theatrical cut and a no hold barred movie release. bloopers, director voice commentary, featurettes , making of, You name it. The movie is a 9....a 10 in my book, but if you are not into the movies that the references are pulled from it could be aggravating. And extras? If you can’t think what should be included that isn’t already there then it is a 10 so that gets us a 9.5. A bit off for just maybe being to much of a nerd or too geeky, but this is a curious problem, because for me it is one of these movies that is going to set the bar again and in my mind on of the best of its’ type so far. So for me it’s a ten and will be for you too...unless you don’t get what the lizard mask and the fight scene means, or if Paul’s finger wriggling inside a couple of doughnuts does not elicit gales of laughter, then it is somewhat less than great! lol Most will just plain love the film is my guess.

Review: Source Code

Source Code

Directed by Duncan Jones

Starring

Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens
Michelle Monaghan as Christina Warren
Vera Farmiga as Colleen Goodwin
Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Rutledge
Cas Anvar as Hazmi
Russell Peters as Max Denoff
Michael Arden as Derek Frost
Scott Bakula as Donald Stevens, Colter's father (Voice cameo)



One moment Army helicopter pilot Colter Stevens is on a mission in Afghanistan and the next he is on a train with a young woman facing him from the seat across from his telling him she took his advice.

After asking several questions to help him figure out what is going on, only to get more confused, Stevens sequesters himself in the rest-room of the car to get his bearings only to find a stranger peering out of the mirror (aka Quantum Leap). His identification says that he is Sean Fentress, a school teacher.

When he exits the rest room, he is confronted by the woman in the facing seat, Christina Warren. As he slowly gains info concerning his new identity, the train explodes and Colter
finds himself now inside a tight, dim capsule with an insistent woman’s voice asking him inane yet unsettling questions.

1. Stevens, it would seem, has been recruited by a mysterious government project called, Beleaguered Castle and Colter himself is in a device called “Source Code” which allows the user to experience the last 8 minutes of someone else’s life. All of this explained to him by Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin, whom it would seem is Colter’s only connection with the outside world.

From here on out, Stevens relives Fentress’ last eight minutes of life over and over as he tries to identifying who blew up the train even though Goodwin insists that it can not be done, because it is in the past and can not there for be altered.

Source code has a very Quantum Leap feel, or maybe even ground hog day, but being a big budget big screen movie you have very little of the personal human touches that Dean and Scott brought to the project. Source Code, maybe because of it’s eight minute window, is frenetic and often violent, and at times often ill timed preachy and opinionated. The camera angles and movement are often mimicking the movements of the actors head and eyes from their point of view. On a home screen this trick isn’t as noticeable but on the big screen, I bet it was unsettling.

I won’t give away any important ah ha! moments or the ending, but they are not quite what you would imagine.

Now the extras are fairly run of the mill, but at least we have some. For the director track, the director is joined by Jake Gyllenhaal who played Colter Stevens and they do a good job of getting their ideas across. It’s the rest of the extras I have a bit of an issue with. You see the interviews and scientific comments as well as history and classical (and not so classical) volumes are laid out in such a way that you must play the movie with some or all turned on or off. If you are clever enough you can have one or two playing with your first viewing. (I really hate that! I want my first view to be as close to theater as I can get it) and the balance with the second viewing which would say be the director’s comments. This of course would sully one view and have way to much interference on the second. So if you are like me, you have to watch the movie 3 times. First time clean, second time director’s comments and finally the science info, book and movie info and Chicago history. So you can imagine that third viewing becomes a bit tedious (I almost passed on it and I wait for the blu-ray FOR the info!) So I can only give the extras a 7 because they are VERY informative and a great director’s comments, overall it is even more tedious than the Adjustment Bureau .

So score....because it isn’t QUITE the run of the mill ending and the fact that someone had the cajoles not to make a chase me, chase me some more - movie and not pound us over the head with special effects and cgi 8.5. Extras that were difficult to use and read but really informative
7.5 gives the movie blu-ray an overall 16 and a final movie review of 8.

Review: Superman Batman Public Enemies blu-ray

Superman / Batman Public Enemies
Direct to video animation
Staring
Clancy Brown as Lex Lutor’s
Kevin Conroy as Superman
Tim Daly as Batman
LeVar Burton as Black Lightning

Lex Luthor has been elected president and begins a campaign against super beings. To that end he issues an ultimatum to the supers to join the government or be branded an outlaw. Batman and Superman refuse as do many of the Justice League.

Public sentiment turns on the Justice League when it appears that the super cannon on their space station fired on a secret lab. Forcing the leaders of the Justice League to turn themselves into the authorities.

At this time an asteroid of Kriptonium is on a collision with Earth. Luthor’s plan to blow it up fails and saving the Earth falls to the superheros again.

It soon becomes apparent that Luthor has an ulterior motive and the survival of the human race may be in the balance.

This film came out before Crisis of two Earths and set the stage for what happens in many cases in Public Enemy. They should be watched in sequence, but Public Enemy stands well enough on it own. The animation and story line hold up well enough for fans of the comic book genre though anyone familiar with basic science and physics is going to groan in many places.

The blu-ray as usual is loaded up with extras from a sit in on a dinner, to extra half hour short Batman episodes.

So if you prefer high end American animation to that of anime and are a DC Universe fan this is tailor made for you. Otherwise the animation is adequate and the plot line is ummm unencumbered. I would give the movie a 6 and a 9 for extras.

Review: Batman Under the Red Hood

Batman Under the Red Hood

Directed by Brandon Vietti
Starring
Bruce Greenwood as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Neil Patrick Harris as Dick Grayson / Nightwing
Jensen Ackles as Jason Todd / Red Hood (adult)
John DiMaggio as The Joker
Jason Isaacs as Ra's al Ghul
Wade Williams Roman Sionis / Black Mask

First and foremost a fan movie. Even more so if you are a Batman animation fan. The animation is not "How to train your dragon" level, but it's whole magnitudes above standard animation fare to date. The plot line is well thought out and integrates perfectly into the Batman universe. No surprises, just solid entertainment.

As far as cast goes, they all are competent and up to the task. Bruce Greenwood (who was Christopher Pike in Star Trek) does Batman's voice. He will also reprise the part in the Cartoon Network's Young Justice series. Neil Patrick Harris does Nightwing and Jensen Ackles does Red Hood. Ackles now appears as Dean Winchester on the CW television series Supernatural.

Not sure why they did a blu-ray for this offering. The animation certainly doesn't warrant it. There are absolutely NO extras, so the space is not the issue.

My suggestion here is, if you're a Batman animation or comic fan, then this is for you. People who don't follow the Batman franchise may pick up some pointers, but that's about it. If the Blu-ray cost more to rent or buy, I can't say that I would opt in that direction.

Disk value 0
Movie value 6
Overall it's a 6