DVD/Blu-Ray Roundup 08/19/08

This is the first edition of the many editions to come of the DVD/Blu-Ray Roundup, and yes I am thinking of a better name. Here I will give some reviews of the newest releases on, well you guessed it, DVD and Blu-Ray. I wont get to lengthy on them just a simple what I liked and didn't like then rate them as Pick Up, Rent, or Skip. So without wasting to much more time, I give you:

DVD/Blu-Ray Roundup [E1] 08/19/08

This week I will be reviewing Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Street Kings, both reviews will be based on the Blu-Ray versions.





Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles


Set after the events in 'Terminator 2' Sarah Connor and her son John, trying to stay under-the-radar from the government as they plot to destroy the computer network Skynet in hopes of preventing Armageddon.

When this show was first announced, I had a good laugh thinking for damn sure that this show would suck balls, and then it aired in January. Now I love the Terminator series, I even tolerate the 3rd movie, so I had to give it a small shot... well that and 24 wasn't on this season so I needed something to watch. So enough with the excuses. Fact is this show is pretty damn good and took me by surprise as being a decent show. Now some of you will be happy to learn it completely ignores Terminator 3 which is good because although I could stand it it wasn't as good as the first two and I am in the minority for even enjoying it just a little bit. With that said it has 2 very hot chicks in it, Lena Headey (300) and Summer Glau(The 4400, Firefly). And some of you might remember Thomas Dekker (John Connor) who played Clair's weird friend from the first season of Heroes. Also on the show near the end of the season, Brian Austin Green. Green plays Derek Reese, Kyle Reese's brother, he does a good job, and the one thing I like about his character is we get to see some future...flashbacks (make sense of that). The show has some pretty decent special effects, not great, but decent for a show like this. The one problem I had was in the pilot episode Summer Glau, who plays the Terminator on the Connors side, acted very human like when she first met John. I'm sure this was to throw off the viewer so we couldn't guess she was a Terminator but it just seemed a little odd when the second episode aired and she was acting all robot like. There's a few other small things here and there that I wont go into because it's really not a big deal. So for the most part Fox has picked up a pretty solid show, which I can only hope goes past a 2nd season. Thomas Dekker, Brian Austin Green, Lena Headey, Summer Glau

Now for the rating. I am going to have to give this a rent. Not that it's not worth owning, I just don't see the point in owning it now. When the series ends, or knowing Fox gets canceled, then I think any fan of the show or even Terminator alone might want to have this in their collection. Oh and as a Blu-Ray disc, the picture was very sharp, but aren't they always?


I didn't have a chance to watch the extras so I will end this review with the list of features.

Features:

• "Creating the Chronicles" featurette - an all-encompassing look at the production process involved with every aspect of bringing Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to television.
• Commentaries - includes executive producers Josh Freidman & John Wirth, cast members Summer Glau & Thomas Dekker, and more.
• Terminated Scenes (i.e. deleted scenes)
• Gag Reel
• Cast Audition Tapes - includes Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, and Richard T. Jones
• Storyboard Animatic - featuring the storyboard sequence of the school session where Cromartie attacks and John narrowly escapes
• Summer Glau Dance Rehearsal
• Extended Director's Cut of Episode The Demon Hand

Street Kings:

Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a veteran LAPD cop who finds life difficult to navigate after the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.

When I first saw the trailer for this back in March I thought this movie looked like it had potential but also thought it could end up being Training Day 3 (Harsh Times being Training Day 2). So I was a little skeptical. But I will say I was blown away by this movie. Keanu Reeves did something new, he acted... kind of. I really didn't seem to noticed if he was doing a bad job at acting because this movie had me sucked in until the end. Forest Whitaker did an awesome job, as usual. I don't know what it is about this guy but he seems to make movies great, even if they are just God awful (see Vantage Point). I am sure after a second viewing I will have some things that I didn't like about this movie but as of now I can't think of anything, I just thought it was a hell of a movie.


Keanu Reeves as Tom Ludlow


For Street Kings I am going to give it a rent. Now I personally am going to buy it but I have to think of the people reading this who just want to watch a movie and buy the classics. I enjoyed it enough to know it will watch this at least once a year. But for the average movie watcher I say rent it, and enjoy it.




Next week I will be reviewing The Shield season 6 (Bough FUCKING time) and more.

See You Next Week