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!