STATE OF PLAY NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie State of Play from imdb

On the morning of a new Congressional hearing led by popular congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) the lead Research Assistant falls in front of a train on her way to the hearings. Old style news reporter for the Washington Globe Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), investigating a shooting of a petty thief thinks there may be a connection because his seasoned hunches as a reporter just tell him so. His old college roommate Congressman Collins is taking a high-profile position as a champion against a private corporation called PointCorp which will have taps on the entire workings of American phones, e-mails, and all private information. As the story breaks of the death of the Research Assistant so does the congressman break in public, shedding tears and generating rumors that he was having an affair with the young thing from Minnesota. When the Washington Globe's blogger newbie college grad Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) approaches McAffrey for an opinion about his former dorm buddy Collins, she is immediately told to get lost by the old-school reporter, but after looking over the coincidences, McAffrey pulls Frye into his investigation and reporting of how murder and PointCorp may be threatening Collins. As the two get deeper into the facts they realize that there is a structured network of former soldiers that have been trained into a mercenary group-for-hire and now are employed by a division of the corporation Collins is questioning in Congress. As Della learns how to get a story from the inside from the old pro McAffrey the story develops and exposes corruption on a much deeper level than was initially seen. What is more shocking is that a murderer is attempting to keep the story from breaking and McAffrey and Frye are in his sights.

Here is a review for the movie State of Play from dvdtalk

Adapted from the six-hour-long 2003 BBC miniseries, "State of Play" manages to compact meaty portions of intrigue and thrills into two snappy hours. A study of political power plays, calamitous sexual impulses, and the twilight of newspaper journalism, "State of Play" is riveting, sublimely acted, and sincerely intelligent...at times.

When Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), a pivotal research assistant and lover to Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), is murdered, the mysterious death triggers a series of potential high-profile news stories for hardened journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), employed by the deteriorating Washington Globe newspaper. Sharing a personal history with Collins and his wife Anne (Robin Wright Penn), McAffrey is conflicted over the type of story he wants to tell, leading him to team up with political blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) to help sort out the mess of rumors, deceptions, and further bloodshed. As McAffrey plunges further into the investigation, he finds his long-standing methods of reporting are counterproductive to the changing world of profitable journalism, pushing the writer to shape the story quickly, at the risk of alienating old friends.

"State of Play" is a knotty thriller that almost seems ashamed of itself, fearful of losing the greater audience by holding tight on wordy, flinching acts of investigation to fuel a majority of its tight narrative twists and turns. Director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") is seeking to mold a film that might appeal to those in dire need of brain food at the multiplex and those who like their mystery spoon-fed. It's a troubled cocktail of intent, marring an otherwise gripping mystery inspired by the great paranoia/journalism thrillers of the 1970s.

While "State of Play" loses itself to occasional spasms of on-the-nose screenwriting, snarling Bruckheimerish assassins, and unbecoming sequences of gunplay, the film is an exceptionally taut concoction overall. Arranging a parade of colorful characters and diverse motivations, Macdonald finds chess-like timing for the story, keeping his cast on the move as the mystery of Sonia Baker unleashes a torrent of Washington D.C. revelations and double-crosses. While remaining topical with a crucial subplot concerning the development of privatized armies profiting from a war-happy government, Macdonald seems more enchanted by the unseemly side of the case, and the intricate personal history that clouds McAffrey's raw investigative judgment.

Performed with beautiful timing and believable fatigue by the cast (including Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, and Helen Mirren), "State of Play" is at its most darkly rapturous when fixed on the exploratory maneuvering of the journalists, observing these professionals execute remarkable pulls of information as the mystery intensifies. The film is truly a compelling team effort, but as the de facto lead character, Crowe reawakens himself with this performance, lugging himself out of a string of misguided motion pictures to find a role that fits him and his hardened screen instincts well. As the dumpy but gifted reporter, Crowe rumbles around the frame performing a spellbinding ballet of dog-eared curiosity and suspicion, elevating the ensemble's game with his leadership. Affleck also registers strongly as the besieged politician, playing a crucial role with interesting shades of internal conflict.

As much as "State of Play" is a murder mystery, it's also substantial elegy for the newspaper business, underscoring the tension with forceful scraps of lament as McAffrey finds his prolonged methods of reporting are no longer welcome in the reader-hungry, blogosphere world of modern journalism. It's a concept Macdonald nurtures throughout the feature, spotlighting the combustible relationship between McAffrey and Frye as one of tidal newsprint change, though he ultimately sides with the shifty practices and unshowered tenacity of the seasoned, unkempt reporter lifestyle. Perhaps this guarantees that "State of Play" will receive a gushing review from any critic currently working for a newspaper or in the midst of pursuing a journalism degree.

"State of Play" doesn't always trust its own instincts, leaving sections of the film absurdly overcooked to drive easily telegraphed plot points home; nevertheless, the picture still clicks as an eager suspense piece, offering a smattering of proper armrest-gripping moments and mouth-agape revelations to stand itself upright and deliver the goods.

Here is the direct download for the movie State of Play.

17 AGAIN NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie 17 Again from imdb

At 17 Mike O'Donell was on top of the world; he was the star of his high school basketball team, and was a shoo in for a college scholarship. And is dating his soul mate, Scarlett. But on what's suppose to be his big game wherein college scouts are checking him out, Scarlett reveals that she's pregnant. Mike decides to leave the game and asks Scarlett to marry him which she does. During their marriage, Mike could only whine about the life he lost because he married her. So she throws him out. And when he loses his job, he returns to the only place he's happy at - his old high school. And while looking at his high school photo, a janitor asks him if he wishes he could be 17 again and he says yes. One night while driving he sees the janitor on a bridge and apparently jumps in and he goes after him. When he returns to his friend, Ned's house, where he has been staying, he sees that he is 17 again. He decides to take this opportunity to get the life he lost. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com


Here is a review for the movie 17 Again from dvdtalk

Forget all about the age-reversing hocus-pocus that's going on during "17 Again." The real fantasy at play in this picture is the concept that Zac Efron is supposed to be the younger version of Matthew Perry. Sure. If you can hurdle that whopper, "17 Again" is a generously spirited comedy that's more victorious as a debutant ball for Efron's big screen career than a true gut-buster. The picture charms easily and makes a decent pass at a heart. Considering the director and the iffy premise, I think the idea of "17 Again" being anything other than migraine-inducing is worth a few minutes of applause and smiley reflection.

Frustrated with the failure of his life and his marriage to high school sweetheart Scarlett (Leslie Mann), Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry, in a brief cameo) makes an audible wish to be young again, desperate for a chance to reboot his life. The wish is magically granted by a spirit guide (a Santa-like Brian Doyle-Murray), turning Mike back into a teenager (Zac Efron). Seeking the help of geeky friend Ned (Thomas Lennon), Mike elects to enroll in the same high school as his children (Sterling Knight and Michelle Trachtenberg) to keep an eye on his family. Looking to instill his son with confidence and keep his daughter away from a lothario, Mike starts to insinuate himself back into his own house, eventually hoping to reconnect with Scarlett; however, his efforts strike the family as particularly strange, leaving Mike unable to comprehend why his wish was granted in the first place if he was destined to fail all over again.

While the temptation is there to label the feature as a body switching comedy along the likes of a backwards "Big," "17 Again" isn't aiming for a whimsical handle to the laughs. Under the direction of Burr Steers (the odious "Igby Goes Down"), "17 Again" is more at home within a sitcom arena, featuring a broad plot of cockeyed redemption to underscore the flashy comedic fireworks display. Steers mutes all his tendencies to smother the actors in stillborn affectations and lets the cast roll with the punches, permitting a harmless screenplay to be executed safely and often winningly. In the seven years it took Steers to follow-up "Igby," he's learned to trust his ensemble, allowing for generous spurts of glee to escape what is honestly an eye-rolling concept.

The plot concentrates on Mike's foggy, befuddled path to salvation, but the film appears more infatuated with Efron and his performance elasticity. As bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as Efron was in the "High School Musical" pictures, his work in "17 Again" reveals a dazzling comedic presence and an overall ability to command a scene. Backed wonderfully by Mann, Lennon, and Melora Hardin (here stealing scenes as Mike's principal and Ned's nerdly object of affection), the film gives Efron a wide berth to just do his thing. And that thing seems to be the capacity to make a dusty screenplay shine with his gusto and silly portrayal of man-boy bewilderment, while throwing a few well-timed reactions around to beef up the laughs.

Efron keeps the film upbeat and eager to please, but it's comforting to see "17 Again" not entirely turn its back on the inherent creepiness of a teen father spying on his teen kids. While dealing with bullies, basketball tryouts, and abundant caloric intake, Mike also has to confront burgeoning affection from his own daughter, a thorny consequence of his renewed attention to their romantic activities. Steers keeps the subplot nicely distanced and humorous, but the very appearance of such a twist demonstrates that "17 Again" has a delightful sense of mischief to share. Eventually the film devolves into third-act sniffles to ease the premise back onto solid ground, but a generous helping of actorly vitality and a dash of troublemaking elevates the picture away from its skim milk origin.

Here is the direct download for the movie 17 Again.

THE SIMS 3 NOW AVAILABLE (NEWZBIN FILE)

Here is the product description for the Game The Sims 3 from Amazon.com

Amazon.com Product Description

The freedom of The Sims 3 will inspire you with endless creative possibilities and amuse you with unexpected moments of surprise and mischief. Create millions of unique Sims and control their lives. Customize their appearances and personalities. Build their homes - design everything from exquisitely furnished dream homes to quaint cottages. Then, send your Sims out to explore their ever-changing neighborhood and to meet other Sims in the town center. With all-new quick challenges and rewarding game play, The Sims 3 gives you the freedom to choose whether (or not) to fulfill your Sims' destinies and make their wishes come true.

Key Game Features:

New Seamless, Living Neighborhood
Explore the ever-changing neighborhood—and take your Sims to meet friends in the park, go on a date at the bistro, visit neighbors’ homes, converse with less-than-savory characters in the graveyard and more. Who knows what might happen?
Admire the natural beauty of the beach, the mountains, and more.
New Create a Sim Functionality
Create any Sim you can imagine with easy-to-use design tools that allow for unlimited customization of facial features, hair color, eye color, and more.
Fine tune your Sims’ body shape from thin to curvy to muscular.
New Personality Traits
Create over a million different personalities with traits such as evil, insane, kleptomaniac, romantic, and more.
Influence the behaviors of your Sims with the traits you’ve chosen. Will you create a neurotic romantic with a heart of gold, or a geeky super-genius with an evil streak?
New Unlimited Customization
Everyone can customize everything—design and build your dream house and decorate it to fit your Sims’ personalities.
Customize everything from floors to décor, shirts to sofas, wallpaper to window shades.
New Gameplay That’s Rewarding and Quick
Face short and long-term challenges and reap the rewards.
Your Sims can pursue random opportunities to get fast cash, get ahead, get even, and more.
Choose whether, or not, to fulfill your Sims’ destinies by making their wishes come true. Will your Sims be thieves, rock stars, world leaders? The choice is yours.
Get Connected and Share Your Creations with The Sims 3 Online Community
Get free bonus content—download Sims, outfits, furnishings, houses and more.
Create and Share Sims, houses, movies and more with anyone.
Join The Sims 3 community to share ideas with fans of The Sims from around the world.

Here is the direct download for the NZB file for the game The Sims 3.

UFC UNDISPUTED 2009 NOW AVAILABLE(360 NEWZBIN DOWNLOAD)

Here is summary for the 360 game UFC Undisputed 2009 from Amazon.com

Amazon.com Product Description UFC 2009 Undisputed is an explosive fighting game detailing the action, intensity and attitude of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Featuring an authentic and comprehensive UFC atmosphere, including an extensive roster of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world, players will push the envelope with a powerful new game engine and put their best fighting disciplines to the test in the world famous Octagon. Take your best shot - UFC 2009 Undisputed is as real as it gets! Develop attributes, perfect moves and fights for entry into the UFC Hall of Fame through a series of dynamic storylines that build friendships and instigate intense rivalries

Here is a review for the game UFC Undisputed 2009 from IGN.com

6.5 Presentation
The lack of ring entrances is disappointing and the menu systems that govern the game are ugly. Nice broadcast-style touches help bring it back up, as does the well-designed career mode.

8.0 Graphics
Collision detection hiccups and the look of everything but the two fighters in the ring don’t help. The focus of your attention almost always looks gorgeous.

7.5 Sound
A poorly constructed soundtrack will have you reaching for the volume button. Rogan and Goldberg are solid but a bit unexciting.

8.0 Gameplay
A good recreation of UFC that will only get better with time. Up the gameplay speed to keep up with the speed and brutality of the genuine article and this game could be truly great.

7.5 Lasting Appeal
Career mode will last you awhile, especially because your fighter can’t age. The same goes for classic fights and the bevy of brawlers for exhibitions. Barebones online gameplay is a bummer.

7.6
Good OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

Here is the direct download for the NEWZBIN File for the game UFC Undisputed 2009.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Night at the Museum 2 from imdb

When the Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, the museum pieces are moved into federal storage at the famous Washington Museums. The centerpiece of the film will be bringing to life the Smithsonian Institution, which houses the world's largest museum complex with more than 136 million items in its collections, ranging from the plane Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) flew on her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic and Al Capone's (Jon Bernthal) rap sheet and mug shot to Dorothy's ruby slippers, Fonzie's jacket from Happy Days, the still from M*A*S*H and Archie Bunker's lounge chair from All in the Family. With a forwarded resume, Larry (Ben Stiller) becomes another caretaker at the Smithsonian, where Kahmunrah, an evil Pharaoh will come to life with the reestablishing of a tablet as a magical force in the museum bringing the old exhibits (Such as Theodore Roosevelt and Dexter) and new exhibits (like General Custer and Al Capone) back to life, and in conflict with each other. Larry enlists the help of Amelia Earheart, who he develops a romantic interest in, and together they try to put everything back in order.

Here is a review for the movie Night at the Museum 2 from dvdtalk

This being the second go-around with the "Night at the Museum" franchise, it's clear to me that laughs shouldn't be the focal point of the material. With all these fantastical events occurring within a cherished educational playground, it feels like a major directorial failure to pursue dollar-store jokes when there's so much adventure to be had. "Battle of the Smithsonian" has the advantage of hindsight over its ramshackle 2006 forefather, yet it only occasionally lives up to its wondrous, chaotic premise. Instead the film appears more delighted with tiresome improvisational acrobatics than generating a welcoming tidal wave of wonder.

Now an infomercial guru pimping glow-in-the-dark flashlights, Larry (Ben Stiller) has been ignoring his late-night friends at the American Museum of Natural History. When technological advances in education force the magical statutes into storage, the museum contents are shipped to the massive bowels of the Smithsonian, much to Larry's surprise. With the Tablet of Akmenrah now in a new location, it brings the contents of the buildings to life, including the villainous Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), who needs the Tablet to raise his feared Army of the Dead. Larry, slipping into the Smithsonian in a stolen guard suit, looks to thwart Kahmunrah's wicked plan, finding help from his Natural History buddies, and also a new round of creatures and historical figures, including a spunky Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams).

One of the pleasures of "Battle" is finding the "Museum" series tapped out of sentiment, having wrapped up the anemic Larry-the-lukewarm-father routine in the previous motion picture. It's a gift to have that screenwriting 101 clutter swept out of the way for the sequel, leaving ample space for returning director Shawn Levy to squeeze as much cartoon madness as he can out of the concept, especially within the voluminous hallways of the Smithsonian. Interestingly, this sequel doesn't want to stun the audience with showboating special effect displays and feats of historical strength, it would rather make everyone laugh. It's a specific craving from Levy and the production I'm having trouble understanding.

Sure, the "Museum" movies are primarily family entertainment with a strict guideline of slapstick and broad educational merriment. Yet, "Battle" lurches into shapeless Judd Apatow territory, with Levy allocating many scenes to drag out interminably with improvisational jousting between Stiller and the heavy-hitting assortment of comedic actors gathered here to assume history's finest, including Christopher Guest (Ivan the Terrible), Bill Hader (General Custer), Robin Williams (returning as Theodore Roosevelt), and Azaria (in multiple roles). There are also appearances by Apatow mainstays as Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel, several cameos by cast members from "The Office," and Ricky Gervais, back as the jittery Natural History director. Levy is all too eager to hand the film over to these comic titans, but the brutally humorless improvs tend to run the pace of the film into the ground, leaving sections of the picture with nothing to do but stand around and wait impatiently for the comics to exhaust their hackneyed jokes before moving on.

When "Battle" rubber-bands back to Larry's exhaustive navigation of museum pitfalls, the motion picture reveals itself to be more dynamically mounted than the earlier film. Levy deploys the larger budget wonderfully, showcasing the Smithsonian antics with amazing technological achievements. Not just corralling wax figures this time around, "Battle" has Larry conversing with a group of Albert Einstein bobbleheads, dodging the tentacles of a massive squid, and, in the film's best sequence, diving into the "Kissing Sailor" WWII victory photo to sneak away from the bad guys, leading to a memorable B&W sequence. "Battle" is generous, inventive eye candy, miles ahead of the previous picture, and the upgraded optical punch enlivens the feature greatly through Levy's gentle acceleration of CG-enhanced heroics and slapstick.

Screenwriters Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant attempt to smuggle in some perverse sort of emotional arc for Larry in the third act that concerns his abandonment of the museum fun he used to cherish, but it hardly makes a dent. Thankfully, Levy doesn't push the matter too firmly, instead showing more interest in matters such as the adventures of miniature buddies Octavius (Steve Coogan) and Jedediah (Owen Wilson), which culminates in a parody of "300," though a teeny-tiny one; giving life to the Lincoln Memorial and works from artists Grant Wood and Edgar Degas; imagining a trio of cherubs as the Jonas Brothers; and permitting Amy Adams to steal the movie as the tart-tongued, high-flying feminist who convinces Larry to follow his moxie. At this point, I'm convinced Adams must have unicorns and rainbows for blood. She's just that overwhelmingly appealing of a screen presence.

While only showing minimal overall improvement over the preceding museum adventure, "Battle of the Smithsonian" at least finds a suitable resuscitation of the core concept. It's a film best with blockbuster displays of exaggerated mayhem, not doling out cutesy, stream-of-consciousness giggles. Here's to hoping that the inevitable third installment will lean more toward rousing institutional excitement instead of further enabling an exhausting game of verbal Twister.

Here is the direct download for the movie Night at the Museum 2.

X-MEN WOLVERINE NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie X-Men Wolverine From imdb

In 1845 in North-Western Territory, British North America, young James Howlett (Troye Sivan) sees his father John Howlett (Peter O'Brien) killed by his friend Victor Creed's father, Thomas Logan (Aaron Jeffery). In an act of vengeance, James kills the elder Logan using bone claws which have grown out of his hands. With his dying breath, Logan tells James that he is also his son. James and Victor (Michael-James Olsen) run away, pursued by a torch-wielding mob. They promise to look out for each other.

In the years that follow, adult brothers James (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) are seen fighting together in the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and eventually the Vietnam War. Their regenerative powers keep them from being killed in the battlefield. James is forced to act as a check on Victor's increasing rage and ferocity. In Vietnam, Victor kills a superior officer after being stopped from raping a girl, and James and Victor are sentenced to death by firing squad, though their unique regenerative abilities keep them alive.

Major William Stryker (Danny Huston) approaches the two mutants and offers them membership in Team X, his elite group of mutants. The team consists of mutants Fred Dukes (Kevin Durand), who's super-strong and invulnerable; John Wraith (Will i Am), who can teleport; Chris Bradley (Dominic Monaghan), a.k.a. Bolt, who can control electricity; expert marksman Agent Zero (Daniel Henney); and mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), an amazing swordsman who never stops talking. The brothers join the group and are sent to the team's first mission: Invade the headquarters of a diamond trafficking operation in Lagos, Nigeria, to retrieve a meteorite. Afterwards, Stryker and the team brutally interrogate people from a nearby village to learn where the meteorite was found. James is disgusted by the murders committed by his teammates and abandons the group.

Six years afterward, James -- now going by his last name, Logan -- is a lumberjack living with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). Meanwhile, Victor hunts down and murders Bradley, who works at a circus; Victor mentions that Wade is already dead. Stryker locates Logan and claims that someone is killing members of the now-disbanded team. Stryker asks Logan for help, but is refused. Shortly after, Silverfox is murdered by Victor. Wolverine hunts down his half-brother, but is easily defeated. Stryker once again asks Logan for help, and Logan agrees. Stryker has Logan's skeletal system reinforced with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal retrieved from the meteorite found by Team X. Before the procedure, Logan asks for his new dog tags to say "Wolverine," a reference to a story that Kayla told him. After the procedure, Stryker orders Wolverine's memory to be erased, but Wolverine overhears this and flees. Stryker orders Agent Zero to hunt him down and take his head off.

An elderly couple, Travis (Max Cullen) and Heather Hudson (Julia Blake), see Wolverine -- who escaped in the buff -- enter their barn. They're wary but welcoming, giving him food and clothing, including a leather jacket of their son's -- and their son's motorcycle. The next morning, both are shot dead by Zero. Wolverine takes out several HMMWVs, a helicopter and Zero himself, then goes to Las Vegas. Wolverine locates former associates John Wraith and Fred Dukes (who is now massively obese from a guilt-driven eating disorder), seeking to learn the location of Stryker's new laboratory. Wolverine learns the disbanded team had been capturing young mutants for Stryker. One of them, Remy LeBeau (Taylor Kitsch), also known as Gambit, escaped the island laboratory and knows its location. Dukes tells Logan that his brother Victor is actually working for Stryker, capturing and killing mutants for him. Meanwhile, Stryker captures a teenaged Scott Summers (Tim Pocock) with Victor's aid.

Wolverine and Wraith locate Gambit in a New Orleans bar. Wolverine talks to Gambit while Wraith keeps watch outside, but Gambit suspects Wolverine was sent to recapture him and, using his ability to charge objects with kinetic energy, throws several playing cards at Wolverine that send him flying through a wall. Outside, Wolverine sees Victor has killed Wraith and taken a sample of his blood. Wolverine fights Victor, only to be interrupted by Gambit. Victor escapes, and after a brief struggle, Gambit agrees to take Wolverine to the mutant prison/laboratory on Three Mile Island. Once there, Wolverine confronts Stryker and learns Silverfox is still alive; Victor faked her death with hydrochlorothiazide. She was keeping track of the mutant to free her sister, Emma Frost (Tahyna Tozzi), who is also in the prison. Wolverine is devastated by this betrayal.

With no more quarrel with Stryker, Wolverine departs. Victor, angered that Stryker let Wolverine go, demands the adamantium procedure. Stryker, however, tells him that he won't survive the procedure and in an act of rage, Victor tries to kill Silverfox. Wolverine hears Silverfox's screams and attacks Victor. Finally having the chance to kill Victor, Wolverine chooses not to give in to his animal instincts and instead knocks him out. Silverfox shows Wolverine to the holding cells, and he frees the mutants there; among them are Emma Frost and Scott Summers.

Panicking, Stryker prematurely activates his newest creation, Weapon XI (Scott Adkins and Ryan Reynolds), a bald, pale-skinned and deformed Wade Wilson, lacking a mouth and with patterns on his skin marking his adamantium bone structure. As the rescue party approaches an exit, it is blocked by Weapon XI, who is under Stryker's control. Wolverine tells them to find a new exit as two blades extend from Weapon XI's arms. The blades are similar to Wolverine's claws, but more like katana swords, Wilson's weapon of choice. Wolverine realizes that this monstrosity is actually Wade Wilson. "Looks like Stryker finally found a way to shut you up," he quips.

Weapon XI, also called Deadpool, is a mutant Frankenstein's monster, with the abilities of several of the killed and captured mutants: Scott's optic blasts, Wraith's teleportation, and Wolverine's healing ability. During the escape, Silverfox is mortally wounded. The other mutants escape through the facility's tunnels, guided by Scott who is unable to tell them how he knows the way out. Emerging from the tunnel, the party encounters a helicopter. Emerging from the helicopter is a familiar figure: Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who has guided them to safety and offers them a home at his school.

Meanwhile, the fight between Wolverine and Weapon XI moves to the top of one of the nuclear power plant's cooling towers. Weapon XI overpowers and prepares to decapitate Wolverine, but Victor returns to aid his brother. Wolverine and Victor, now working together, are able to decapitate Weapon XI, sending its head, still firing optic blasts, down into the cooling tower. Wolverine coldly informs Victor that despite his help, their relationship is over. Victor reminds him that as brothers, they can never be finished, and jumps off the the cooling tower. The damage from the optic blasts causes the cooling tower to collapse, but Wolverine is saved by Gambit.

Wolverine asks Gambit to ensure the prisoners are safe, while he returns to find Silverfox, who stayed behind because she was wounded. As he carries her to safety, Stryker shoots him in the back with an adamantium bullet. Wolverine tries to kill him but is shot in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Silverfox uses her powers of persuasion to order Stryker to walk away until his feet bleed, then dies from her injuries. Gambit returns to assure Wolverine that the mutants are safe, but due to amnesia caused by the brain damage the adamantium bullets inflicted, Wolverine does not remember anything (this was Stryker's intention, knowing that even the adamantium bullets could not kill Logan). Gambit tries to get Wolverine to come with him, but he declines. Gambit wishes Wolverine good luck before departing, and Wolverine flees the scene as the ambulances and police arrive.

The film has several additional scenes during and after the credits. The first of these scenes plays a few seconds into the credits, and depicts William Stryker walking down a road. Due to Silverfox's order, the toes of his shoes are torn and bloody from walking for so long. A military vehicle drives up behind him and he is apprehended by military police for questioning about the death of General Munson. (Stryker murdered the general earlier in the film in order to protect his vendetta against mutants.)

Depending on which theater the movie was shown in, one of two possible endings then appears following the credits. In the first ending, Weapon XI's hand reaches out from the rubble of the nuclear complex to touch his severed head. The second alternate ending shows Logan drinking at a bar in Japan. The bartender asks if he is drinking to forget; Logan replies that he's drinking to remember.

Here is a review for the movie X-Men Wolverine from dvdtalk

The bottom line on "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is this: if you found any morsel of entertainment value out of 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand," then "Wolverine" will be painless to digest. If you found "Last Stand" to be a drooling cinematic rape of a near-brilliant franchise, "Wolverine" is going to feel like further salt in the wound. While I recognize the multiple fandom violations of "Last Stand," I found it to be a lively thrill ride with an abundance of mutant vs. mutant action to sufficiently numb the brain. "Wolverine" is less triumphant as multiplex junk food, but still retains a satisfying lunacy and even more mutant monkey business to relish.

Born in the 19th century, Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has forged a life of aggression with brother Victor/Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), taking the mutant siblings on a ride of world wars and bloody heroism, only in Victor's case, the courage has gradually twisted to villainy. When fiendish William Stryker (Danny Huston) comes calling to form a special covert team of mutants (including wil.i.am, Dominic Monaghan, and Ryan Reynolds as the sword-happy Deadpool), the brothers sign up, but Logan soon develops a distaste for governmental terrorism. Retiring to Canada with love Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), Logan is pulled back into Stryker's deceptions when it's revealed that Victor has gone rogue, murdering his old mutant conspirators, with his brother next on the list. Agreeing to Stryker's demand for an excruciating adamantium makeover, Logan turns his body and bone-claws into metal, hoping his new defense will put an end to Victor's reign of terror.

The cruel "Last Stand" comparison is an apt one to make, since the "X-Men" franchise slowly dissolved into a primitive cartoon once director Bryan Singer walked away after his virtuoso work on the first two features. Without his nuanced touch, these movies have been stripped of their regality and turned into action fodder for pre-teen boys to emulate in the backyard, and simpleton entertainment for message-board mooks to ironically mock. "Wolverine" squeezes the franchise for the basic routines of mutant combat and operatic slashes of betrayal, leaving behind any opportunity to return the series to the intelligent comic book escapism it started out as. Those days are long gone, and now all the franchise wants to do is make noise.

While crippled by severe filmmaking blunders, "Wolverine" remains a sweet piece of hard candy, nourished by an incredibly fluid summer movie pace and an edict that demands an explosion every 15 minutes. Unlikely director Gavin Hood (the sensitive "Tsotsi") is wise to keep the train moving at all costs, trusting sheer velocity might help to counteract the film's enormously inane screenplay. Credited to writers David Benioff and Skip Woods, "Wolverine" is a disaster whenever the characters pipe up, inviting monosyllabic exchanges and verbose, on-the-nose exposition that's completely unnecessary. A visual feast, the film is best communicating through sweaty body language and bountiful special effects, but Hood insists on a running commentary, and it grows progressively more infuriating as the film unspools. The dialogue is either teeming with clichés or insultingly idiotic, at times feeling like the actors are merely reading a transcription of the film's international release subtitles.

Listen, with Jackman oiled up and growly, Schreiber licking his fangs and jagged fingernails, and a host of other mutants scurrying around for screentime (the list includes Blob, Agent Zero, Emma Frost, Cyclops, Bolt, Kestral, the almighty Gambit, Kegel, Fingersnaps, and Peppers - the last three I just made up), do we really need an endless stream of one-liners and overly descriptive monologues to pad the film? "Wolverine" is a wonderfully bright and beautiful picture to watch. The garrulous dialogue just smothers any potential fun. It adds up to clumsy storytelling that kicks the legs out from under the feature.

"Wolverine" is a cluttered film, but it stays moderately focused, primarily due to the raw, knowing performance from Hugh Jackman. This is arguably his greatest screen role, and Jackman appreciates what audiences are dying to see from Wolvie, which includes the adamantium blades, partial nudity, bushy mutton chop sideburns, and a facial gallery of grimaces and grunts. The actor delivers big on the grit of the character, adding a new dimension of breathless betrayal as Wolverine is hit below the belt from all sides in this new adventure. It's a joy to watch Jackman bring the role to life again, and while this is his fourth time with the "X-Men" franchise, the actor seems more energized than ever to wrestle with stuntmen and fly through the air, slicing everything in his path. His gusto is contagious, constantly lending "Wolverine" thunderous highlights it doesn't always earn on its own.

What exactly are Stryker and Victor up to? Well, it all comes down to a mutant brawl on the lip of a nuclear reactor, which perfectly sums up the bigness Hood is searching for and occasionally achieves. Staying true to the title, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" gives the audience a solid backstory to the character's mutation, his code name, and his lifelong pledge of solitude. There's plenty of action to gorge on too, along with a few surprises for die-hard fans. It's all so plastic and forgettable, but for the 100 claw-popping minutes immersed deep in Wolverine country, the film remains palatable. Heck, if the actors didn't bother to speak at all, I'm convinced there's a masterpiece to be found in here somewhere.

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CRANK 2 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Crank 2 from imdb

Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), has survived the fall from a helicopter that occurred at the end of the first movie. Immediately after his fall, he is abducted off the ground by a group of Chinese medics, who take to farm his organs. However, Chev wakes up mid-surgery and sees them take out his heart and replace it with a mechanical one. He then wakes up and kills the operators, but must chase after his heart which has been stolen. He then runs into his old girlfriend Eve Lydon (Amy Smart) who believed him to be dead. [D-Man2010] The uber-assassin Chev Chelios (Statham), having survived his death fall at the end of the first movie, finds himself still alive, but a Chinese mobster has replaced his heart with a battery-operated ticker. As Chelios tries to hunt down his enemy, he must also occasionally "recharge" his mechanical heart with jolts of electricity to keep himself alive. [D-Man2010]

Here is a review for the movie Crank 2 from dvdtalk


Voltage, but I wasn't quite sure where it was going (silly question, right?). Then, at about the 75 minute mark, something is unveiled that sold me on the entire experience. You can complain all you want about the movie's abrasively hyperkinetic editing and cinematography, its rampant racism, violence, and nudity, its awful dialogue and ludicrous plot, but Crank 2 has absolutely no qualms going as far over the top as it possibly can, and I defy anyone to correctly guess how the movie ends. Either the concluding moments of Crank 2 signal some sort of unhinged psychotic genius, or they're an omen for death of cinema. I'm leaning towards the former.

Clearly, the best explanation for how Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) survives his fall from a helicopter at the end of Crank is no explanation whatsoever, and thus, the minute he hits the pavement, a bunch of Asian gangsters show up, scoop him off the street with a snow shovel and drag him to a seedy laboratory where they yank out his seemingly indestructible heart and replace it with a battery-powered ticker that Chev needs to constantly zap with electricity to stay alive. Angry and looking to reclaim what's rightfully his, Chev goes on another city-wide rampage while trying to avoid not one but (at least) three different villains looking to put Chev out of his misery for a multitude of unsavory reasons.

I'm blown away to say it, but Crank 2 actually makes the original look like a safe, studio-friendly venture. Lionsgate apparently didn't set any restrictions on directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (or Neveldine/Taylor, as they're credited) for this sequel, and boy, do they go all-out. I've never seen a guy's elbow chopped off in a movie before, but now I have. Still, the same ideas from the original remain: the notion that these films are a cinematic video game is pushed even harder, especially by Mike Patton's 8-bit-inspired score, and ridiculous on-screen subtitles and captions pop up to literally spell things out for the viewer. And once again, the movie really rests on the shoulders of Jason Statham and Amy Smart, who are apparently game for any form of ridiculous, jaw-dropping debauchery the writing/directing duo can cook up (Smart especially, whose character has become more sexually adventurous during the three months Chev's been missing).

This is also not a sequel you should see without another viewing of the original. A whole mess of characters return (played by Dwight Yoakam, Keone Young, Reno Wilson, "It's Always Sunny"'s Glenn Howerton, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Efren Ramirez, sort of) and the movie constantly references events from the first movie. Ramirez is particularly inspired, hampered by a ridiculous condition I'm not going to reveal, and he's got a perfect counterpart in a new character played by Bai Ling. She plays a hooker who thinks Chelios is her "Kevin Costner", and while she's certainly a ridiculous stereotype, I can't say I have any sympathy for anyone who walks into Crank 2 and doesn't want to be offended.

All of these elements build up over the movie's 96 minutes, but that one last reveal really kicked things into high gear. The moment in question is almost so jaw-droppingly ridiculous, the movie's actual ending feels a little lacking (David Carradine is completely wasted). It's so rare that a sequel can really go somewhere that an audience, jaded in a way by the original, finds completely unexpected, but Crank 2 manages that feat. In that one moment, I realized that the filmmakers really had no boundaries, and they were willing to break any rule to jolt the audience with a Chev Chelios-sized burst of electricity. Neveldine/Taylor have said that if Crank 2 is a hit, they'll make a concluding chapter in 3D, and although I feel like the ending of Crank 2 might have been cannibalized in advance for a third movie, I can't wait to see it: my brain may turn to mush, but I'm confident that I couldn't guess what happens in Crank 3 in a million years, and like it or not, that's exactly the kind of movie I'd pay $10 more to see.

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WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2009 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for Royal Rumble 2009 from Amazon

Product Description: It's the dream of every superstar--to headline WrestleMania. For one man out of 30, the dream becomes reality at the Royal Rumble. Whoever outlasts 29 other competitors earns himself a championship match at WrestleMania 24. The superstars of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW, including past winners John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, and Batista, and superstars looking to add this impressive goal to their resume, including Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Edge, Kane, Mr. Kennedy, Randy Orton, CM Punk, MVP and more will do everything in their power to overpower and outlast the competition.

Here is a review for Royal Rumble 2009 from Amazon


This was the beginning of the road to WrestleMania 25 & the first stop is the Royal Rumble. Just a side note, I am doing this on memory since I saw this event online the night it aired. ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs Matt Hardy. Swagger has been impressing me lately with his wrestling skills & he puts on a solid opener with Matt Hardy that was actually given plenty of time to tell a story in itself. Womens' Champion Beth Phoenix vs Melina. Normally, these two would have good to great matches together but this one seemed off to me as there were some botch spots & I remember the crowd not being into it at all, except for Santino. Its watchable but nothing special. World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs J.B.L. Well you can't expect justice when these two get it on but I will give credit where it is due as this was the best "wrestling" match that these two had with Shawn Michaels being the center of attention & playing a part in this match as well. No DQ: WWE Champion Jeff Hardy vs Edge. Chavo Guerrero was in Edge's corner for this match & Vickie Guerrero made it a No DQ match. These two mesh well together in eyes & while I think this match could have been a little bit better, these two don't have a bad match together. Highlights include Hardy leaping off a ladder onto Chavo through a table & Matt Hardy's shocking heel turn to the point that the crowd was chanting "We Want Christian". Royal Rumble Match. This heavily made up for the previous Rumble as I felt there were more highlights in this one but at the same time, we had some of the best performances from superstars that we had not seen in quite some time. Various highlights include the opening minutes with the young talents getting the spotlight for a while, Cryme Tyme's coin flip, how Mysterio re-entered the ring after being tossed out along with his lasting performance with Triple H coming a close second, the "Rhodes Family Reunion", "Re-union" of the Brothers Of Destruction, Rob Van Dam's appearance including one awesome looking double team move he did with Mysterio at one point, Santino's Rumble performance, Dolph Ziggler's "moment", seeing the 400 pound Big Show "skin the cat" at one point along with his interaction with Undertaker, and the dominance of Randy Orton's Legacy. Overall, just a great & fun Rumble to watch even though I heavily predicted the winner. Overall, this event picked up where 2008 left off as the WWE has been on a roll with delivering nice events month in & out. I recommend this one to any WWE fan.

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007 QUANTUM OF SOLACE NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie 007 Quantum of Solace from imdb

'Quantum of Solace' continues the high octane adventures of James Bond from 'Casino Royale'. Picking up literally days where the previous film left off, after being betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Having captured Mr. White, and in pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and 'M' interrogate Mr. White who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper to steal Bond's casino winnings is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. Forensic intelligence links an MI6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille, a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene, a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious criminal organisation known only as 'Quantum'. On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano. Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in Bolivia, giving General Medrano control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land which is, however, a main source of the South American water supply. In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists, and even 'M' herself, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop Quantum from getting its way.

Here is a review for the movie Quantum of Solace from dvdtalk

The Film:

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Photos in this Review by Karen Ballard

Quick admission: I'm not much of a classic James Bond guy. Sure, some of Sean Connery's 007 films have tickled my fancy -- From Russia With Love and Goldfinger especially, along with moments from Thunderball and Dr. No -- but the entire rhythm of gadgets, girls, and gratuitous one-liners has never completely satisfied my palette.

That is, until Martin Campbell rebooted the series with Casino Royale, crafting a James Bond that was free to make mistakes and act out with braying ferocity through his coy, martini-sipping demeanor. It's probably Daniel Craig's departure from the archetype that drew me in, along with an entrancing performance from Eva Green as a different spice of female accompaniment for the spy in Vesper Lynd. This puts me in a unique position, since it'd be reasonable to assume that a film that steps even further from the formula -- Quantum of Solace, directed by Marc Forster of Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland fame -- should satisfy me even more. I was wholeheartedly poised to do so, even psyched at seeing an even more gadget-free, "authentic" James Bond instead of the debonair Double-0.

But, as mentioned in my review of Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief, every great director has a departure from their pre-established formula that just doesn't quite work the way it should. It's a daunting task to cradle this beloved franchise as an alternative project, but his capacity to rustle up emotionality within high-profile star power appears to be an appropriate, if odd, choice. And he does a respectful job at staying true to this sleek, nerve-searing 007 -- you know, aside for a smorgasbord of spasm-inducing action sequences that encompass roughly a third of this brief but breathless play at breakneck espionage.

Quantum of Solace follows the events directly after Casino Royale, capturing James Bond (Daniel Craig) as he's caught up in an out-of-character revenge mentality. After the death of his first real love, a woman that nearly pulled him into retirement from MI6, he goes on a vengeance-fueled bender against an organization entitled "Quantum" that, coincidentally, nearly claimed the life of the organization's head, "M" (Judi Dench), by way of assassination. With Bond blinded by rage and gunning for the threat, it's hard to make heads or tails of this trained killing machine with a motive -- and whether he'll be able to keep his posture long enough to successfully mix vengeance with his work.

MI6's new threat interconnecting with "Quantum" is "Greene Planet", a faux-environmental group lead by slippery entrepreneur Dominic Greene (Mathieu Almaric) that centers on an effort to ensnare a stretch of potentially oil-rich land in Bolivia. As a villain, Dominic Greene isn't nearly as iconic as some of the rest -- even the recent, fairly successful Le Chiffre. Instead, Forster molds him into a more "realistic" snake-like villain that pulls strings in a high-dollar environmental climate, one who worms his way around all the corners without lifting much of a finger. But his place in the narrative feels slight and unfocused, though his more realistic roots are compelling enough to hold our interest. Mathieu Almaric builds Dominic into a sneering, cunning little weasel, but he doesn't offer up a grand sense of antagonistic energy to fuel Bond's vengeful push to "solace".

Forster's work in shaping the transitioning James Bond is certain to go largely underappreciated, especially since it diverts so heavily from his iconic archetype by giving fans very little satisfaction in character indulgence. But, plain and simple, Quantum of Solace is a buffer zone for Bond post-heartbreak, one that intentionally swerves out of the way of the rebooted architecture that Martin Campbell structured for the series. Instead of slyly wedging in grin-worthy quips and giving him a chest of toys to play with, it zeroes in completely on him as an angry, love-thwarted secret agent with a taste for vengeance and a mission that happens to intersect with his whims. This is a serious and bloodthirsty Bond, one that shares little chemistry with Dominic's feisty trophy girl Camille, our primary Bond girl played poised and punchy enough by Olga Kurylenko, while chewing up and spitting out a semi-innocent errand girl for the British government, Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton).

It's reasonable to look at the events turning within Quantum of Solace as a gun-wielding rogue's shot at closure in a fallen relationship, a volatile time period where he's desensitizing to the effects of emotion and breaking his ever-present jumpiness from Casino Royale into the cool-as-a-cucumber agent that makes woman swoon and villains shiver. Darkness feels proper following the events at the end of Casino Royale, especially in Forster's hands, but it also tries extremely hard not to be a Jason Bourne knockoff. It's hit-and-miss in that regard; while taking on the signature Bond-like infiltration into the "Greene Planet" organization, we're persistently reminded that he's a loose cannon, or "damaged goods" in Dominic Greene's words, that could fly off the handle at any moment due to his scrambled identity issues involving his love life.

As much as it might rub 007 aficionados the wrong way, it's a graspable changeover in plot that helps substantiate the suaveness of Bond's character as it develops leading into successive entries. When it comes to James' moments of red-eyed reflection and the embittered conversations with "M", Marc Forster shows why he was cherry-picked for this entry in the franchise. He carries the few socio-upmanship scenes in the film with his signature drama-based electricity, giving us some pointed moments with Bond scattered throughout.

But that coldness and emotional turmoil isn't exactly what most come to see in a kinetic James Bond film, even fans of the more "grounded" Casino Royale. While Forster nails the stiff vigor present in all the nail-biting banter, he folds under the pressure whenever he steps into the action arena. As the adrenaline picks up, the jerky editing becomes the film's chief blight. Forster's inexperience in this realm shows: most action sequences -- from chases on asphalt, on the sea, and in the air, to the cluster of hand-to-hand fights -- showcase the fact that Forster has two, three, even four cameras rolling by flipping and slicing to death between them. These quick flashes aren't as seamless as he'd like them to be, instead turning into a scissored-up collage of images from the Bond film that we'd really like to see.

A dilemma arises that largely mirrors Christopher Nolan's issues with fight sequences in Batman Begins, being that the drama-minded Forster isn't aware that he needs to pull back a bit to let his audience soak in the action and, in essence, let them make heads or tails of what's going on, all instead of jamming frame after frame into their vision in hopes that it'll knock the result into their minds. Consequently, the rapid cuts and darting movements feel like the nauseous aftereffects of a spasm-inducing rollercoaster that looks like it'd be a hell of a lot more fun that it ends up being. It's all still gratifying in a very top-loaded, popcorn-munching kind of way, yet they don't showcase the same kind of addictive endurance that the rafter chase and the Venice scramble ensnare in Casino Royale.

It's obvious that Forster and regular cinematographer Roberto Schaefer shot well-designed and engaging sequences at their numerous locales in Italy, Bolivia, and Austria, which almost makes me wish that Quantum of Solace was about twenty minutes longer so that they'd have the chance to let this striking camerawork linger enough for us to really absorb it. Somewhere in these all-to-brief slivers of well-composed action is a strong espionage film filled with raw vengeance, containing the same grasp on interactive tension that Forster nails within his 100-minute dash through the Bond franchise. It's a quick sprint, too, one that could've easily benefited from more deliberate pacing and an emphatic, slower focus.

In this form, however, Quantum of Solace rarely steps above being an average, erratic cloak-and-dagger film. It oozes with lush style and slick performances, especially the ever-solidifying Daniel Craig as our new James Bond, but it can't help but fall short from the high expectations left at the end of Casino Royale. It's largely because of Forster's half-successful attempt to mold his directorial style to something out of his element, which shines a spotlight directly on his strengths and weaknesses. This is one of the rare times, maybe the first, where I wished that a piece of cinema did a few things more like a James Bond flick.


The Blu-ray:

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Quantum of Solace comes to us from MGM in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with semi-glossy artwork sporting silver-ish highlights on the front and back artwork. Inside, there's a $5 coupon for other James Bond films on Blu-ray. When placed in the player and fired up, the disc's menus take on a slick, artistic "map" graphic that resembles the one splash of tech in the film -- the interactive table -- in very attractive and fairly navigable graphics.


Video and Audio:

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When Casino Royale came out in high-definition, it was at the top of many tech enthusiasts' demo disc roster -- and likely still is, being as it sports a phenomenal image and, more importantly, an outstanding audio track. Quantum of Solace doesn't satisfy in quite the same ways that its predecessor, but it's still a very fine outing from MGM. Presented in a 1080p AVC encode that preserves the 2.35:1 theatrical framing, this disc largely relies on three key elements to make it a success: the relatively-subdued blue/tan palette, strong contrast work, and properly rendered details -- all of which look excellent, though the image carries an overall softer feel than expected. Throughout the lush Roberto Schaefer cinematography, the sleek architectural capturing, and the on-the-fly action choreography, Quantum of Solace looks pretty damn good.

Bright blues and subtle tans pop from the screen, from the dirty atmosphere drenching the interrogation scene at the forefront of the film to the crystal clear blues rolling through the water-based scenes. At the concert in Austria, we're treated to a fluent exercise in contrast work that encapsulates the disc's overall competency int he area, showcasing its classy rendering of inky blacks and suitable shadows. In each, some ravishing detail pops out in facial textures and set design, as well as the sharply-assembled costume work. But there are a few speedbumps, namely the flatness of a few wide-stretching visuals in the image and the lack of solidity that crops up in some flesh tones. Grain gets a little heavier than it should in a few spots, which coats over skin tones to give them a less-than-stable property -- though that occurs infrequently. These trepidations don't keep Quantum of Solace's image from shining, however, all of which comes out unblemished by any glaring hints of edge enhancement or noise reduction.

Where the visuals might have lost a little ground in the James Bond era of demo worthy material, this DTS HD Master Audio track delivers punch-for-punch with Casino Royale's Dolby TrueHD/PCM offerings. Sweeping back into the rear channels frequently, this sound presentation attacks all levels and frequencies with a blistering level of clarity and tonal competence. The whirring from Bond's Aston Martin DBS at the front of the film screech our nerves into high gear out of the starting gate, followed shortly by a robust car collision that showcases the track's punchy nature and capacity at rendering minutiae sound effects with the shattered glass. Gunfire rattles both the lower-frequency channel and the mid-ranges with plenty of firepower, while boisterous flames fill the room with the expected "billowing" robustness. Verbal clarity is also top-shelf, keeping the dialogue scenes with Daniel Craig and Judi Dench well-balanced and audible, all while handling David Arnold's scoring quite well. Furthermore, any scenes that really punch the energy -- from explosions to the piercing vocals from an opera singer -- remain distortion free across the board. It's a phenomenal Master Audio track that delivers quite the right hook in expansiveness. Optional subtitles, which appear within the film's image itself, are available in an array of languages -- English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin -- while Spanish, French, and Portuguese Dolby 5.1 tracks are also available.


Special Features:

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Bond on Location (24:45, HD AVC):
Covering the numerous locations where Forster shot Quantum of Solace, this mini-doc actually works as a general assembly piece at the start. It begins with discussions about Casino Royale and connecting with Bond as a human, but then it starts to cover the intrigue in traveling with Bond to exotic locations in the films. It discusses Forster's desire for the real style from actual locations while blending interview time with his cast members as they discuss the process. Though the pictures a little over 100 minutes, Quantum of Solace travels to an ungoldly number of locations -- London, Panama, Bolivia, Austria, Spain, and others -- which are covered in elaborate depth here.

Start of Shooting (2:45, HD AVC):
This small featurette cherry picks material from the first piece and mixes it with some different behind-the-scenes material and interview time with the filmmakers and actors. Though it rarely captures material from the first day of shooting, it does sprawl out to strong stunt rehearsal footage and other behind the scenes tidbits.

On Location (3:14, AVC):
While also taking interview time from the first supplement, this featurette talks about the metaphorical "characters" present in the locations and equipment used. Largely redundant, it dives just a wee bit deeper into the shooting process at a few of the locales.

Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase (2:14, HD AVC):
This one is probably the most intriguing of the mini-featurettes, as it follows our Bond girl as she gets accustomed to the stunts and to being in an action film. It mixes interview time with the actress and with Forster and Craig, discussing nervousness about filming her action-packed sequence on the boat. Simple, but decent.

Director Marc Forster (2:45, HD AVC):
Director Marc Forster, as well as the pressure that he's fallen under with this sequel to Casino Royale, falls under focus in this featurette as it covers his tone and vision for Quantum of Solace. It glazes over his storytelling ability, all the while containing backslapping lines from the cast.

The Music (2:36, HD AVC):
Composer David Arnold takes the spotlight here, covering his feelings about how the score should sound. His interview time is accompanied by footage of both his orchestra and of Arnold in the studio piecing together the final product.

Crew Files -- aka Web Blog Videos (45:30, HD AVC):
As a collection of webisodes, entitled "Crew Files", several of the crew members take some time out to discuss their jobs into detail. These pieces are easily the most elaborative and in-depth of them all, covering the difficulties and pleasures inside each of their jobs. Scheduling difficulties, production foibles, and many other elements receive their own 2+ minute segment. They're separated into 20+ categories, spread across a total time of forty-five (45) minutes as they cover direction, production design, hair/make-up, sound mixing, aerial filming, and general photography.

Also included are two Theatrical Teaser Trailers (HD, AVC) and the "Another Way To Die" Music Video (HD, AVC) with Alicia Keyes and Jack White that mirrors the film's opening credits.


Final Thoughts:

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Quantum of Solace in unquestionably entertaining, as it would be near impossible for a competent director like Marc Forster to shake off the momentum carried over from Casino Royale. It takes James Bond into a darker, more primal state, one where revenge clouds his character as he tries to unfurl a nefarious plot rife with corruption both inside and out of government control. But it's that darkness -- as well as a shoddy grasp on piecing together the action sequences -- that pull Quantum of Solace down a peg or two from its predecessor. Still, Craig's outstanding once again as Bond, the rest of the cast delivers on all fronts, and the globe-hopping energy inherent within 007 pictures is alive and breathing in Forster's sharp turn behind the wheel.

As with Casino Royale, it's almost expected for a second "Special Edition" of Quantum of Solace to street right around the release of the yet-to-be-concrete "Bond 23". However, MGM's standard release of Quantum of Solace offers a decent package for both Blu-ray enthusiasts and less-fervent fans of the film. This high-definition package looks great and sounds phenomenal, which almost makes up for the "heavy in numbers, light on content" supplements on this disc. If you enjoyed the picture, then I'd highly recommend just picking up this edition and not worrying with whatever subsequent disc might be released -- even though the extras are a little on the pithy side. However, if you're uncertain whether the darker and more bloodthirsty James Bond sounds like your style of flick, then Quantum of Solace comes with a generally firm Recommendation for its strong aesthetic properties and its balls-out adrenal film-making.

Here is the direct download for the movie 007 Quantum of Solace 1 of 2.

Here is the direct download for the movie 007 Quantum of Solace 2 of 2.

INTO THE BLUE 2 NOW AVAILABLE

Here is the summary for the movie Into the Blue 2 from imdb

A pair of professional divers are hired to find Columbus' hidden treasure.

Here is a review for the movie Into the Blue 2 from dvdtalk

I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the first Into the Blue. It made good use of its beautiful beaches and underwater scenery, featured an entertaining cast, and packed in some surprisingly intense action (the final explosion pushes the movie's PG-13 rating). Logic dictates that if I wanted to watch Into the Blue again, I'd rent Into the Blue, but the producers of Into the Blue 2: The Reef are clearly hoping I'll watch this sequel instead, which is almost identical to the original, only dumber, without the Hollywood megastars and visibly cheaper.

Sebastian (Chris Carmack, less brick-brained than he looks on the DVD cover) and Dani (Laura Vandervoort, poor man's Charlize Theron) are personal diving instructors in one of those beachy, sunny places you see in movies, and although they look like models, have a rock-solid relationship, own their own business and have a comfortable home in said beachy, sunny place, they're unsatisfied -- they need something more. "More" means money and a bigger boat, so when a rich entrepreneur (David Anders, looking like a British Neil Patrick Harris) and his martial artist girlfriend Azra (Marsha Thomason) show up asking to hire them for a week, they jump at the chance. Unfortunately, while they claim to be looking for the same, nearly-mythical sunken ship Sebastian's been hunting his whole life, they're really looking for two mysterious boxes dumped by a dim lackey during a Coast Guard search, and if they don't find it soon, everyone will end up sleeping with the fishes. "It's that plain and simple," they explain, "except it's not so plain, nor so simple, is it?"

Right away, I noticed something unique about Into the Blue 2: the complete and utter shamelessness with which it rips off the original. Around 80% of the film is almost completely indistinguishable from the first movie: I'm guessing if anyone can detect a noticeable difference between the main characters in the two films other than their names and actors playing them, MGM will send them a special medal. Surprisingly, this DTV rehash was helmed by Stephen Herek, director of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (a personal favorite), and the Mark Wahlberg movie Rock Star. John Stockwell, director of the first picture, was the screenwriter of Rock Star, so maybe he recommended Herek for the job, but all Herek does is try to ape the first movie's cinematography, and despite the emerald oceans and underwater action, he doesn't have the personal connection that Stockwell (also the director of Blue Crush) seems to have to the ocean. Herek's compositions lack scope and style, his current idea of comedy is awful (an angry girlfriend yells faster and faster until she's literally fast-forwarded) and the rest of his directorial arsenal consists of beach volleyball shaky-cam and useless split-screen photography.

If you can look past the unoriginality, the movie's next problem isn't that the script or acting are particularly or outstandingly awful, but the combination of the two is an exercise in personal aggravation. I always hate it when radio voice over actors pretend to be on-the-street interviewees by attempting to recreate conversational imperfections, and Into the Blue 2 is painfully similar. The screenplay is packed with Generic Movie Dialogue, right down to the annoyingly "perfect" touches of cuteness and sarcasm, and Carmack and Vandervoort plow through it with sitcom efficiency. The result is a horrible, tone-deaf attempt to reverse-engineer energetic life and spontaneity where none has ever existed, and it grated on me from beginning to end.

The film is also populated by useless characters. The film wants to be date-friendly, so we meet Mace and Kimi (Michael Graziadei and Mircea Monroe, respectively). They're the comic relief couple: Mace keeps getting caught flirting, and Kimi throws his stuff out and challenges the flirters to catty volleyball games (hilarious!), and each time they fight or get in a wacky mishap, we get separate girl-talk/guy-talk bonding scenes with one of the main characters. Worse, rival diver Avery (Rand Holdren) seems to serve the same purpose as both of them, acting like a meathead and having girlfriend problems whenever he pops up, not to mention a secondary villain (Geoff Heise) who's got barely six minutes of screen time. The way these characters are all tied into the third act is extremely strained, and most of them could have been condensed or written out. I also learned while searching the net for the DVD back cover that Audrina Partridge, Parvati Shallow and Amanda Kimmel are actually stars of shows like "The Hills" and "Survivor" making useless cameo appearances. I didn't notice watching the movie, and now I'm stuck knowing it forever.

At least during the third act, things start to become unintentionally funny. There's a scene where it turns out that not one but four people are apparently hiding away on Sebastian's tiny boat (it's like a clown car!), the world's quickest hypothermia recovery ever, a thug foiled by his inability to swim (clearly meant to be serious) and it's hard to keep a straight face during some slow-motion, collapse-to-the-knees melodrama. The villainous plot is also ridiculous. There was a time when the "hired gun" bad guy mentality was interesting because it made them unpredictable. These days, it's a sign of screenwriter laziness: the filmmakers don't know why someone would want to nuke Hawaii, but neither does the character! People who like movies that proclaim themselves to be Unrated will also enjoy the pointless nudity and occasional language.

Watching Into the Blue 2, I had the sinking suspicion that I wasn't viewing a movie at all, but a movie-like paste ground up from the remains of an actual motion picture. This is a DVD designed to appear on Amazon, IMDb and Netflix as a movie You Might Like because you saw the original. Who knows, maybe someone out there will actually enjoy the movie for the nearly nonexistent qualities it has to offer, but you can probably hold off until they've got it in pill form; movies are so much easier to digest that way!

The DVD, Video and Audio
20th Century Fox sent over one of their customary screener discs, so instead of the case, which should have white and blue artwork, I got a white paper sleeve. The upside is I don't have to be excruciatingly aggravated by the fact that they've placed the wrong names over the wrong people, which would be easily fixed by flipping the image, but people who design DVD cover artwork don't think like that.

Since I've got a screener, I also have no grade available for the video, because I don't think Fox wants me to grade the pixelated, watermarked image presented on this disc. The audio might be okay, and I've got lots to say about the terrible, terrible pop music peppering the soundtrack, but all the same, I'll hold off. The retail disc will feature a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, 5.1 English audio and English subtitles. The menu is simple, but it makes the movie look like it's for three-year-olds. Not every menu can make you feel immature...

The Extras
"Get Wet" (11:42) is the first of two featurettes, and I was shocked to find they were actually kind of entertaining. Maybe my brain was just numbed by the feature film, but it's actually kind of fun watching the actors learn how to scuba-dive, talk about the challenges of filming underwater and interacting with the marine life. It's also surprising to see that the cast is fairly charismatic when they're not acting in a bad movie. The other featurette, "Run For Your Life" (6:42) focuses on the movie's foot chase, and is equally likable, although Herek reveals he was trying to pay homage to Run Lola Run. Uh huh.

Lastly, "Back to the Beach" (1:40) is billed as a music video, but it's actually a short montage of B-roll from the beach volleyball scene. There is also a gallery of trailers, including The Betrayed, Dead Like Me: Life After Death (also by Herek) and Hit and Run. No theatrical trailer is included, nor do you get any subtitles or captions.

Conclusion
"Call me crazy, but this doesn't suck!" proclaims Sebastian. I disagree. Until someone invents a Sci-Fi (er, excuse me, SyFy) Channel counterpart that plays bad beach thrillers instead of bad mutant bug movies, you can definitely skip taking a dip in Into the Blue 2's low-budget waters.

Here is the direct download for the movie Into the Blue 2.