Disc Reviews

Revamping old shows and movies is the latest trend in television. CBS has made several endeavors at this with varying success. Such was their attempt when they tried to convert Rush Hour into a TV series; however, the Macgyver reboot gaining a fourth season shows that the practice is not without its merits. CBS’s recent reboot of the popular series Magnum P.I. is the newest foray into this genre of television, and the fact that it has earned a second season bestows credit onto the show. Starring Jay Hernandez in the titular role, the character that Tom Selleck made famous, is breathing new life with new action. Minus the mustache, of course.  Staying true to its source material, Hernandez’s Magnum is a former Navy Seal, and his best friends T.C and Rick are Marines. While staying true to its source, the series also digs deeper into the characters’ connection by illustrating the three as former POWs along with a fourth compatriot whose death serves as the catalyst for the pilot episode.

"Our baby's going to college."

Warner Brothers is very familiar with superheroes. That goes double for the character of Sheldon, played by Jim Parsons, on The Big Bang Theory. A common thread in the superhero business, of course, is the origin story. With the popularity of The Big Bang Theory, and the Sheldon character particularly, it isn't all that surprising that we would eventually be treated to Sheldon's origin story. But instead of flashbacks on the series, the decision was made that Sheldon's childhood was territory that could be mined for years. Thus was born Young Sheldon. And it's now lasted for years and counting.  For fans of the original show and character, it couldn't have come at a better time. Parsons had just turned down an offer of $50 million for two more years of Big Bang. I can't imagine how it must feel to be able to turn down that kind of money.

For a movie with a main character who has professed such a love for the man upstairs, this may very well be the most blasphemous movie I’ve ever seen. I mean, talk about being led astray. That said, Habit is not without its entertainment, as long as you are able to not take what you are observing too seriously. I don’t imagine that the film is going to sit well with the devout, but those able to see this film just as it was intended (as a film) may find something to enjoy. Bella Thorne leads a cast that includes Gavin Rossdale, Paris Jackson, and even the co-writer of the film, Libby Mintz has a starring role. As a bit of a disclaimer, I should mentioned that the film is very sexually charged, though I wouldn’t call it explicit. The film relies more on the innuendo of sex and other depravities more than anything else. However, even then I wouldn’t recommend it for family movie night.

"Put your game face on."

When you have the highest-rated drama on television, there is a temptation to milk it for all that you can. We've seen it happen with both the Law & Order and CSI franchises. The results tend to be mixed, with some capturing and even exceeding the popularity of the original. Others never quite seem to connect and are gone while their mother ship is still on the air. NCIS: New Orleans became the first to fall after seven seasons. Dwayne Pride (Bakula) is a native of New Orleans. His family has history here. His father (Keach) is in prison for various fraud activities. His daughter Laurel (Caswell) is in college studying music, a passion she and her father share, although this season we discover she's not quite so passionate as her father. He's now divorced and starting to settle in for himself. He goes way back in his defense of the city and considers protecting it as his own private responsibility.

No good deed goes unpunished, I suppose, especially when it comes to great white sharks. In Great White, an unsuspecting group on a blissful tourist trip find themselves at the mercy of a bloodthirsty shark as it stalks them on the open seas. The film delivers some decent scenes of suspense, but for the most part, the action is a bit on the predictable side as it follows the blueprint for a movie of this genre: there is going to be one character who is completely unlikeable, several members of the cast are fated to fall victim to the sharks, and out of the original group only maybe one or two will survive to tell the tale. While there are several moments of predictability, that isn’t to say that the film does not have its areas of excitement.. I’m not sure it is a movie that I would feel compelled to see again, but not bad for a one-time watch.

CBS releases the 18th season of NCIS on DVD, and just the sound of that gives one reason to pause. There are few shows or franchises that get to live in that rarified air. In the modern age of television, only the Dick Wolf Law & Order series has accomplished this kind of sheer mass of episodes. The NCIS landscape is certainly in for some big changes. The New Orleans show ended with its 7th season last year, and we'll be talking about that show in the days to come. This 18th season of the mothership includes the 400th episode of just that series. The franchise will close in on its 900th episode next season with the addition of NCIS: Hawaii. CBS still has production facilities in the Island State, and those will soon be put to good use extending the family that actually started with JAG, and if you include that 10-year run, the franchise is over 1000 episodes. Shows don't last that long without doing something right.