WB Ultraviolet Digital Copy Rant

     So I just bought my copy of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 which was a wonderful ending to an extraordinary film/book series and yet I'm upset at the same time.  Why? Because the Bluray set no longer comes with an iTunes digital copy.  Instead you get an Ultraviolet digital copy.  Now I'm all for new technology, in fact I love it, but if you come out with new technology, it at least has to contain what the previous version did and then add new features to it.  Ultraviolet does not and that is what angers me.  On the surface it looks like another way to have a digital copy of a movie on your computer, but once you read the fine print you find out that it is a step back instead of a step forward.  The digital copy you get ONLY works with the Ultraviolet technology which is a new program you must download to your computer, kind of like iTunes so I'm not mad yet.  Then after you set up two accounts (one with Ultraviolet and one with Flixster - kind of a pain but still not too bad) you can download the movie to your computer.  Great! To get it on your mobile device you have to download the Flixster app (no biggie) but then here is where the first problem appears.  At the moment, you can only stream the movie to your mobile device if it is an iPad or iPhone.  This becomes a problem if, like me, you have unreliable wireless internet or if you have a wifi only iPad.  So now, I'm at a doctors appointment, waiting, and I want to watch my movie but I can't because there is no wifi.  All the other Harry Potter films are iTunes digital copies, so I can watch them right away because they are stored locally on my iPad, but I can't watch the final destruction of Voldemort.  They say that downloadable copies are coming to mobile devices eventually which will help with this issue but unfortunately when you read the fine print you realize that there is another HUGE problem.  You can only download the digital copy that you purchased 3 times.  So that would be once for your computer, once for your iPad and once for your iPhone.  But, what if you switch computers? Or what if your phone falls into the pool and you have to buy another one? Or what if you got a lemon of an iPad and Apple replaces it for free.  You have already used up your three downloads at this point so now you can no longer have the movie on that particular device.  Also embedded in the fine print is that this particular digital copy only lasts for 3 years.  So after 3 years, I can no longer watch my digital copy that I bought on any of my devices.  Of course the idea behind this is to prevent piracy, but what it does instead is further hamper the honest citizens of the world who are trying to do the right thing and buy digital copies instead of using torrent sites to get them.  Now I'm not saying that the iTunes system is perfect, because it still has issues too, but at least with the iTunes copy I can put it on any 5 computers, deactivate accounts on computers I no longer own and put the digital copy on as many mobile devices as I want.
     So what this new system leaves me with is a choice.  I can buy the Bluray/DVD copy and use freeware to burn myself a digital copy (not exactly legal but it should be since I own it) or I can only buy the iTunes copy (the quality doesn't come close to Bluray and I can't watch it on my big TV without Apple TV) or I can do what Warner Brothers really want and buy copies in all formats making me even more broke than I already am.  (Of course I have left out the last option of using torrent sites from now on to get my movies, but I'm just not that kind of girl.  I'm trying to be good and honest here WB and you are throwing that honestly and loyalty back in my face!)

Star Wars Blu-Ray

So I finally received my Star Wars Blu-Ray set from Amazon the other day and wow, the film quality is amazing.  A lot of bad things have been said about this set before it was released due to George Lucas's tweaking as well as the absence of the original 3 films in their untouched format.  I however purchased it anyways for both the extensive special features as well as then 6.1 sound upgrade.  I have not been disappointed.  Watching the original Star Wars (Episode IV), the transfer is so detailed that I was able to see the dirt and scratches on R2D2's dome.  The sound of Darth Vader choking the man in the conference room of the Death Star is a sound entity in and of itself, WOW!  While I'm not a fan of most of George's additions to the original trilogy, it is nice to see the scenes he didn't change in such pristine condition.  I still have my VHS editions of the "as seen in theater" versions of this trilogy if I feel the need to relive the joy of the past.  The new trilogy (Episodes I-III) doesn't have many changes although it still looks and sounds amazing on Blu-Ray.  The 3 Blu-Ray's full of extras, especially the documentaries are a nice treat for those of us who have already watched all of the extras from the DVD collections and are looking for more insider information.

The End of Harry Potter

I know I am writing this post a little late as the last installment of the Harry Potter series premiered almost 2 months ago and I saw it opening weekend.  It was a very satisfying conclusion to the epic series and I am sad to see it end.  As with the book, The Deathly Hallows, the first part was ok, slower and not as interesting, but the second part makes it worth the wait.  Snape, played by Alan Rickman, was superb in this last episode.  I hope the academy will acknowledge his extraordinary acting skills and award him with a supporting actor Oscar at this years Academy Awards.  The scene where he walks in on the death of Lily and James Potter, picks Lily up in his arms, caresses her and wails with grief is the most haunting scene of the film.  Combined with the brilliant musical score by Alexandre Desplat, this look into the past of Severus Snape, is my favorite moment of the film.  While I am sad to see the series come to an end, it followed the flow of the book and gave the fans the ending they wanted. Showing Harry and his friends 19 years later sending their own children off to Hogwarts left a warm feeling in my soul.  I love happy endings!!!

J.J. Abrams does it again with Super 8

     Super 8 was AWESOME!  The combination of Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams was brilliant as their unique styles blend in a beautiful harmony of adventure, childhood wonder, and suspense.  It feels like a combination of ET, Jurassic Park, Lost,  and The Goonies all rolled into one.  The kids were the best part of the film as their child like wonder was intoxicating.  Spoilers ahead... Yes, it is a monster/alien movie and like the movie Signs, this movie excels at showing very little of the alien and allowing the audience to imagine it themselves.  This technique makes the movie more of a thriller than a horror film which I greatly appreciated since I refuse to watch horror films.  The only disappointing part of the film was the ending.  It was too similar to the ending of ET.  After the alien has created havoc in the town he is finally allowed to go home, which was all he ever really wanted ("ET phone home" anyone??).  He completes his spaceship and flies off into the night sky with our main character, Joe and his dad looking on. Because of this, the end felt cheesy and was a huge let down from the excitement and wonder of the rest of the film.  Luckily, the short film that the kids make as a part of the end credits helps you leave the film in a good and upbeat mood but Spielberg and Abrams really needed to rethink their ending, it's been done already!

The Summer Movie Season has officially started with X-Men: First Class

      I absolutely loved X-Men: First Class.  What a great prequel to the X-Men saga.  James McAvoy is perfect as Professor X.  I truly believed he would grow up to be Patrick Stewart as I watched him transform the young Xavier into the adult headmaster of the school for mutants.  His style, his humor, his compassion and patience completely mirror his older self and predecessor, Stewart.  Kevin Bacon really seems to have fun with his role as the evil Sebastien Shaw, while Michael Fassbender as Magneto is good but not as dead on as Xavier.   There were some continuity issues that I noticed that don't quite fit with the X-Men movies that have come before, unfortunately, but the movie is so good that you tend to overlook those and just enjoy the experience.   SPOILER ALERT...... The movie explains the origins of Magneto and Professor X from the time they were children in the 1940's through the early 60's.  Their friendship and how it disintegrated is explored through the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the first mission of the X-Men. 
     Continuity errors....X-Men: First Class shows that Xavier lost the use of his legs during the Cuban Missile Crisis and at the same time the two friends became enemies.  However, in X-Men: The Last Stand, Xavier is shown walking with Magneto in the 1980's and they are still friends.  Also, this new film states that Beast helped create Cerebro even though the first X-Men movie claims that Xavier and Magneto built it together.  Even with these inconsistencies, the movie makes some nice nods to the previous films by introducing the creation of Beast, an early encounter with Wolverine as well as the beginnings of Mystique and a nod to Xavier's eventual baldness. 

Fringe Season 3 Finale!!!

     For those of you who have not tried Fringe, you need to give it a chance.  I watched the very first episode because it was a free iTunes download and because it was a new J.J. Abrams show.  Unfortunately, it didn't grab me like his previous shows, Alias and Lost so I stopped watching.  But after some encouragement from some fellow sci-fi fans at work, I bought the first season on DVD and tried it again.  After about 6 episodes I was hooked.  The show is a cross between The X-Files and Alias.  There is a mythology that flows through it as well as the creepy sci-fi aspects that Mulder and Scully made famous in the 90's.  If I haven't intrigued you enough already then maybe sci-fi isn't for you, if I have peaked your interest then stop reading now and start watching Fringe from the beginning.  I'm about to reveal spoilers that you don't want to know if you plan on watching the show.  You have been warned....
     In usual Fringe fashion, the season finale ended on a cliffhanger and everything we had come to believe as true was turned on its end.  As Peter tried to stop the doomsday machine from ripping our world apart he is transported to 15 years in the future where he is married to Olivia (squee!!!) but their world is doomed and so they don't want to start a family.  As Peter attempts to find a solution, he and Walter realize that he must go back in time and stop the machine from destroying the alternate reality as well as his own.    In the process he brings the two worlds together and then disappears!!!  The Observer then comments to other observers in attendance outside the facility that Peter served his purpose and since he never really existed they will not miss him!  HUH???  Peter is my favorite character on Fringe, he can't be gone!  He's the cute one, besides being Charlie in the Mighty Ducks films, and he is the love of Olivia and now has a baby in the alternate universe so how can he not exist.  AHHHH! Now I have to wait all summer to find out what the deal is.  I don't think the producers would get rid of their only leading man but other shows in recent years have started to kill off main characters in an attempt to be new and fresh, unpredictable.  Oh, I love liking a show so much that I can't wait until the new season in the fall.  September, you can't get here soon enough!

Jake G and Source Code

This last week I happened to see Source Code and was pleasantly surprised at its enjoyment and depth, not to mention the beauty of Jake Gyllenhall with a 5 o'clock shadow.  The story centers around a war veteran who is being used in a special project - after someone is murdered, the last 8 minutes of their memory can be salvaged and used to see into their life and those around them right before death.  The idea is to use this time to find out who perpetrated the crime and stop them from doing it again.  Jake is the first soldier to try this new method of crime fighting and as he goes back in time we begin to see bits and pieces of his past as well as the lives of the victims around him. Without spoiling too much of the story, not all is as it seems, a romance develops, and there is a sci-fi twist at the end.  What I liked most about the story was the themes behind it - make every moment count as you never know when the end will come, help and enhance the lives of those around you instead of wallowing in selfishness and self preservation, and in the end good things happen to those who do the right thing.  Words to live your life by and a good reminder to us all.

Funny Comedies and Ryan Reynolds is Buried Alive...

After a Christmas hiatus from my blog, I am now back and ready to write again.  I saw quite a few comedies over the break.  Little Fockers was a predictable sequel, funny but forgettable, while The Green Hornet was surprisingly fresh.  Seth Rogan's script was hilarious but not as vulgar as his previous films.  He makes a dynamic duo out of The Green Hornet and his sidekick, Kato, bringing a very old story back to life.  The violence was similar to Kick-Ass in its intensity while the gadgets would have made MacGyver proud.  Overall a fantastic popcorn movie!
On DVD, I recently saw Buried starring Ryan Reynolds, a fascinating film from a technical standpoint.  The entire movie is set inside a coffin.  Through camera movement, lighting, sound and acting the viewer sees only what the director intends and imagines the rest in their own mind.  It is intense, uncomfortable, and suspenseful even though you never see what is outside the coffin.  A technical achievement to say the least, I imagined myself in the same circumstance while watching this film.  I was emotionally attached to the ups and downs of our hero and (Spoiler Alert!) became distraught when his  rescue attempt failed at the very end.  A depressing ending to an amazing film by Rodrigo Cortés of Spain.