Disc Reviews

Three-time widower Ben Cartwright (Greene) runs his famous Ponderosa Ranch with the aid of his three grown sons from three different mothers. There’s Little Joe (Landon), Adam (Roberts), and Hoss (Blocker). Set some time in the mid 1800’s, this long-running series followed the family’s many exploits. In the late 1950’s, westerns accounted for six of the top ten programs on TV. Only Gunsmoke had a longer run than Bonanza. From 1959 to 1973, Ben Cartwright and his boys rode across the small screen. Years later in syndication the series re-emerged as Ponderosa, and a handful of TV movies continued the tale into the 90’s.We never have grown tired of the genre that gave us such heroes as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

Unlike many of the 1960's Western television shows, Bonanza was all about the characters. You rarely saw a gunfight. There was often a bit of fisticuffs, but usually it ended with a lesson that violence never pays. The show prided itself on using the Western genre to deliver a family kind of show, and it's no surprise that series star Michael Landon would use many of the same kinds of stories and lessons on his own Little House On The Prairie. The Cartwrights are always helping widows, the wrongly accused, and the local Indian population. That help often lands them in hot water.

It’s not uncommon for actors to want to take that leap from being in front of the camera to taking on the mantle of being director.  There are some big names who have made that transition successfully. Ben Affleck, Mel Gibson, George Clooney, Peter Berg, and Clint Eastwood are some of the bigger names that I can name off the top of my head. For The Vanished, Peter Facinelli is adding his name to that list. So how does he fare in this low-budget psychological thriller?  While I wouldn’t put him in the same league as those previously mentioned, Facinelli does show some promise, but the film’s greatest weakness is its script, which Facinelli also is credited for writing.  This is one of those instances where I just wonder if someone else took a pass at the script how much the film could have improved, because this was a frustrating film to sit through.

Paul (Thomas Jane) and Wendy (Anne Heche) have decided to take a family vacation with their daughter, and very quickly this trip goes horribly awry.  They’ve taken an RV to a quiet camping ground, and it’s not long before their daughter manages to disappear without a trace.  It doesn’t take long for the film to introduce a few characters where this becomes a simple whodunit scenario.  There is the wounded escaped prisoner, the nearby couple that is struggling to have a kid, and there are the creepy employees at the camp.  In comes the town sheriff, played by Jason Patric, to solve the case.

Anyone wondering what exactly happened to Jesse Pinkman after the series finale of the AMC popular drama Breaking Bad? I mean, when we last saw him, he was fleeing captivity in a stolen El Camino for parts unknown as police began to surround the place that had been his prison for months. Anyone curious how that story concluded for the fan-favorite character? Well, you’re in luck, as Netflix has answered the request and produced a subsequent film in order to give Jesse Pinkman a more of satisfying ending to his story. Given that he spent a good chunk of his last season in captivity being forced to make meth, I can’t blame them for wanting to follow up. As expected, Aaron Paul reprises his role as Pinkman after a six-year separation from the character. Paul, who has gone on to find greater success since the end of the series, clearly still has great love for the character who helped bring him to prominence, and also garnered him several accolades including three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.  Several familiar faces return in order to give the series the proper sendoff, including Krysten Ritter’s Jane Margolis, Jesse Plemons’ Todd Alquist, Jonathan Banks’ Mike Ehrmantraut, and yes, of course, Bryan Cranston’s Walter White.

Picking up directly after the events of the Season 5 finale, Jesse Pinkman has escaped the Aryan Brotherhood’s custody by fleeing in Todd Alquist’s El Camino. Taking refuge with his friends Skinny Pete and Badger, he is well aware that a manhunt is underway for him and needs to disappear. However, having just escaped captivity, he is without resources. Until he remembers a means to get the funds needed to engage the services of a "disappearer." Unfortunately, he is not the only one after the money, and he has to stay one step ahead of everyone who is after him.

Catherine the Great, born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, is one of the most prominent figures in history. She is a woman who managed to overthrow her husband, Peter III, and succeed him as the Empress of Russia, becoming the country's longest-ruling female leader. Under her reign, the country grew larger, its culture was revitalized, and it was recognized as one of the great powers worldwide. Her life has been the subject of many textbooks, as well as being retold on the stage, in film, and on television. Several prominent people have portrayed the character, including Helen Mirren. Have you ever wondered how she did it? How she managed to take away the birthright of her husband and succeed him? Wouldn’t you like to know how it was done? Well, if that is the case, I recommend you pick up a textbook, as the Hulu series, The Great, will not give you a accurate account of that. However, if you want an entertaining and sometimes factual account, I thoroughly recommend you give the series a watch. Elle Fanning portrays a young Catherine as she marries Peter III, played by Nicolas Hoult, and quickly realizes that he will not do as the ruler of Russia. Though not born in that country, she endeavors to save it from the clutches of her immature and incompetent husband.

As previously stated, The Great is only loosely based on the rise of Catherine the Great, there are obvious flourishes to make the series more entertaining, but even so the events still unfold in a manner that makes it believable. When first meeting her husband, Catherine quickly realizes that he is nothing like she imagined a great ruler to be. He has no real interest outside his own gratification, evident by the consummation of their marriage, which is completed without him even pausing a conversation he was previously having with a member of court. He is also engaged in an extramarital affair with that very same member of court’s wife. Peter goes on to show how little he cares for his wife, by burning down a school that he previously consented to allow Catherine to build when he realized her intention to educate women. The final straw comes when he strikes Catherine after she criticizes his treatment of her. Unwilling to resign herself to her fate as conduit for his heirs, Catherine decides to end her life until a servant, an exiled noblewoman, tells her that in absence of an heir, succession would fall to her if Peter was removed from power. Armed with new knowledge, Catherine staves off ending her life and commences plans for a coup.

The 1988 Batman comic storyline that featured the death of the second Robin, the impulsive Jason Todd, is remembered as one of the most important in the Batman family of comics. It told the story of how after being relieved of his duties as Robin, Jason Todd began a quest to be reunited with his birth mother, only to be kidnapped, tortured, and eventually killed at the hands of Batman’s most notorious nemesis, the Joker. Though Batman did manage to bring the Joker to justice, the loss of Todd had a profound affect on Batman as well as the rest of the Batman family for years to come. Because of it, Batman resolves to continue alone, and while he did eventually take on another Robin, he never was the same. But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if Jason didn’t die? How would the Caped Crusader’s life have been different if he’d been able to save his former protégé? We don’t have wonder anymore thanks to the DC Animated Universe, which just introduced Batman: Death in the Family, the first interactive animated movie that allows the watcher to choose Jason’s ultimate fate. With multiple separate storylines, the audience has the power to decide if Robin dies, cheats death, or is ultimately saved by the Dark Knight. So, which will you choose?

This was the best method of telling this story in my opinion. Allowing the audience to pick what happens to Jason Todd is a very immersive experience and in keeping with the legacy of the original comic. For those who don’t know, Jason’s fate in the 1988 comic storyline was decided by a 900-number voting system. Fans called two separate numbers and chose whether Jason would survive the Joker's torture or die because of it. It only seems fitting that the audience have that same power with this animated film.

This is a show that always surprises me because it is so far out of the reaches of the type of project that I am usually attracted to, but every time I watch, the cleverness and sharp-wittedness of it always wins me over. Season 4 is no different. Though it can get very political and the series is unafraid to take shots at the President, this season provided quite possibly one of its most well-balanced episodes with the season’s opening. However, before we get to that, let’s have a brief recap of where we left off in Season 3. The end of the season saw the departure of Rose Leslie’s Maia Rindell, who after a rollercoaster season which included her getting fired from Reddick Boseman Lockhart, departing for the capital to lead her own firm. Meanwhile, Diana and Liz joined an underground political opposition group for the purposes of undermining Donald Trump’s presidency. While they both are start off as enthusiastic members of the group, with Diana going as far as to secretly seize the leadership position when a prominent member disappears. However, the missing member is revealed to be a charlatan, causing Diana’s charade to be exposed. Additionally, the group’s tactics change, becoming darker and more ruthless, prompting Diana and Liz to distance themselves from the group. Threatened by Diana’s potential exposure risk, the season ended on a cliffhanger that saw Diana’s and her husband’s lives in danger.

Now in regards to the season opening, Diana wakes up in a alternative reality where Hillary Clinton won the election. Though initially ecstatic about this change, she quickly learns that not everything is rosy as she learns in this world there is no #MeToo movement, and Harvey Weinstein is still a prominent movie producer, but also her newest client. This was an interesting episode, as it was the first series episode that didn’t feel overly critical of Donald Trump. Granted there were still occasional jabs at the President, usually in the form of someone laughing at the idea of him winning the election, but the acknowledgement that both outcomes have their pluses and minuses was very intriguing.