'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Season One - 1987 [Blu-Ray]

Starring Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner
Created by Gene Roddenberry

I previously reviewed the first season of Gene Roddenberry's much-beloved "Star Trek: The Next Generation," so I won't repeat those comments here regarding the quality of the episodes.  This review will focus purely on the remastering efforts of this new Blu-Ray edition of the show.

First, a bit of background to explain what is happening with this show.  Way back in 1987, the show was shot on 35mm film, including many of the show's myriad special effects sequences.  But as a time and cost-saving measure, post-production was done on videotape.  This was common with many shows in the 80s and through much of the 1990s.  What this means, however, is that the final version of every episode only exists in a standard-definition video tape.  This is impossible to present in high definition, since the image resolution simply isn't there.

Now, however, in order to present the show in hi-def for blu-ray, CBS has gone back to the original film elements of every episode and is essentially putting the show through post-production once again.  Every episode is being edited together again from scratch, all the special effects scanned and composited digitally.

The result is, in a word, astonishing.  In standard definition, the show seems drained of life.  The image is fuzzy, at best, and its colors muted.  The special effects always looked, well, like TV-level special effects.  The Enterprise was a big, gray object moving through space that looked like just a deeper gray.    The ship lacked contrast as the compositing techniques of the time and the videotape mastering simply couldn't get that original photography to look as good as it should.

Now, however, the difference is like night and day.  The Enterprise is highly detailed, and now has proper contrast and coloring.  It looks far more dynamic and visually appealing as it moves through space that is now a deep, deep black (and even occasionally broken up by gorgeous blue and purple clouds).  The show's opening credits are simply gorgeous; you can now see that there are actually animated people moving in the windows of the ship as it passes!  It was a detail that was never visible in the standard-definition versions of the show, and just speaks as to how this release is finally, finally doing justice to how this show was originally made.

"Get the Gringo" (2012)

Starring Mel Gibson, Kevin Hernandez and Daniel Giminez Cacho
Written by Mel Gibson
Directed by Adrian Grunberg
Rated R - Violence, nudity, language
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Trailer

'Driver' (Mel Gibson) has made off with $2 million worth of a drug lord's money.  Unfortunately, he manages to crash his car and get himself arrested by Mexican authorities.  The cops who bust him take his money and dump him in a massive prison that seems more like its own small town.  Unsure of how things work, Driver begins to get the lay of the land.  Having spent time in prisons before, he knows exactly what he needs to do: learn the social structures, figure out who's on top, and then ingratiate himself.

But this provers harder than Driver initially suspects.  To help, he partners up with young Kid (Kevin Hernandez), who he learns is very important to the prison's top dog, Javi (Daniel Giminez Cacho).  It seems that Javi has a bad liver and a very rare blood type... and Kid is a perfect match.  Javi's men protect kid at all costs, but only so that he can incubate a nice, new healthy liver for when Javi finally needs it.

On the outside, hitmen for the mob trying to track down the stolen money begin to follow a trail that will eventually lead back to Driver.  Driver knows he needs to get out of town as soon as he can, but his conscience is telling him he can't just ditch Kid and his mother (Dolores Heredia).  He'll have to use all his skills as a thief and a conman to pull off this job from the inside and get them all out free and clear.

"Total Recall" (2012)

Starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale
Written by Mark Bomback, James Venderbilt and Kurt Wimmer
Directed by Len Wiseman
Rated PG-13: Language, violence, brief nudity
Running Time: 121 Minutes
Trailer

In the future, chemical warfare has left much of the planet uninhabitable.  The only remaining places of human society are the United Federation of Britain, and "the Colony," formerly known as Australia.  The Colony, despite existing on the opposite end of the Earth, is financially dependent on Britain.  British Federal Police patrol its streets, and its citizens are exploited as migrant workers.

Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) works a monotonous job at a factory in Britain.  Every day, he boards a gravity elevator called the Fall with his friend Harry (Bokeem Woodbine), and travels to the factory where he works on the assembly line constructing sophisticated new robotic police soldiers.  Lately, Quaid has been suffering from strange nightmares where he's trying to escape some kind of facility with a beautiful woman he doesn't know the name of.  His wife, Lori (Kate Beckinsale) worries that Quaid isn't happy with their marriage.

One day after work, Quaid decides to visit Rekall - a company that advertises the promise of realistic memories, far cheaper and safer than going on any real vacation or adventure.  Quaid decides he'd like to be a secret agent for a while, but before the new memories can be implanted, the Rekall employees discover that Quaid really is a secret agent!  Soon enough, the Federal Police raid Rekall, and Quaid manages to kill them all singlehandedly.  When he goes home, he confesses to Lori, and she promptly attempts to kill him.  She explains that he is not, in fact, Douglas Quaid, and that she is not, in fact, his wife.  The entire life he knows are implanted memories.

Now, Quaid is on the run.  Traveling to Britain, he meets up with a resistance fighter named Melina (Jessica Biel) who works for a man named Mathias (Bill Nighy).  Melina and Mathias believe that buried deep within Quaid's mind is the information necessary to bring down the corrupt government run by Chancellor Vihos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) and stop a military invasion of the Colony that would cost millions of innocent lives.

"The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)

Starring Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy
Written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Rated PG-13 - Violence, language
Running Time: 165 Minutes
Trailer


Eight years after the events of "The Dark Knight," billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) lives as a recluse in his mansion outside Gotham City.  Depressed over the loss of his love, and the sacrifice he made as Batman to protect the reputation of Harvey Dent, he hasn't been seen out in public in years.  Every year, Gotham celebrates Harvey Dent Day, the day that Gotham pulled itself together and rid itself of organized crime, galvanized in the wake of Dent's supposed murder at the hands of the Batman.

Wayne Enterprises is faltering.  Bruce sank a ton of money into a mysterious clean energy project which went belly-up, and the board is threatening to kick him.  His only ally is Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard), who believes that risk is part of the game when you need to save the world.

But not all is well in Gotham.  The name on everyone's lips is... Bane.  A masked and ruthless terrorist, Bane (Tom Hardy) has allied himself with Gotham business man John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), who has hired career thief Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) to break into Wayne Manor during the Dent Day celebration and steal Bruce Wayne's fingerprints.  But when Daggett tries to screw Kyle over for her payment, Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman), suffering over the guilt of the lies he's built to protect Harvey Dent, leads the chase into Gotham's sewers and discovers Bane.

Gordon barely survives, and begs for the return of the Batman to save Gotham from whatever it is Bane is planning.  He recruits a hot-headed beat cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to be his new right-hand man as he spearheads the investigation into Bane's plans from his hospital room.  Meanwhile, when Batman does make a return appearance, Deputy Commissioner Peter Foley (Matthew Modine) becomes obsessed with capturing him, determined to prove his worth to the mayor for Gordon's job.

But Bane's plans are bigger, more devious, and more insidious than anyone could possibly imagine.  And the Batman will face his greatest threat, an apocalyptic nightmare that could destroy the entire city.  With millions of lives hanging in the balance, Batman will discover just how far he can be pushed, and how much he can give, before he breaks.

"Spider-Man" (2002)

Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Willem Dafoe
Written by David Koepp
Directed by Sam Raimi
Rated PG-13 - Violence, language
Running Time: 121 Minutes
Trailer

In 2002, not long after "Blade" and "X-Men" had blasted open the comic book superhero movie genre, Sam Raimi brought Marvel's beloved Spider-Man to the screen.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a mild-mannered high school senior, put down upon and laughed at by pretty much everyone in his school.  He's had a crush on the girl next door, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) since forever, and lives with his kindly Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson).  His best and only friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco) tries to help him be more confident, but Peter's just too shy.

One day, while on a field trip to a local science lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically engineered "super-spider." Peter develops fantastic powers, including the ability to stick to walls, increased agility and strength, and he can shoot super-strong webs out of his wrists.  He quickly realizes that he can use these gifts to make money in order to impress Mary Jane, and lies to his uncle about going to the library to study.  Instead, he enters an amateur wrestling match, where the announcer dubs him "the amazing Spider-Man!"  After the match, he's stiffed on the money he's won, and a robber gets the rest.  Peter lets him go, thinking that it's not his problem.

Unfortunately, the robber runs outside and carjacks Uncle Ben, killing him.  In a rage, Peter hunts him down and the robber is accidentally killed.  Peter remembers his uncle's advice to him - that with great power comes great responsibility, and he decides to dedicate using his powers to doing good.

Meanwhile, Harry's father, Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) is desperate to prove that his company's performance enhancing drugs will work, and secure a contract with the United States military. So desperate, in fact, that he tests it on himself.  And while the drug does in fact make him stronger, it also fractures his personality and Norman becomes the Green Goblin.  When Spider-Man interferes with Goblin's attempt to murder the company's board of directors, Goblin realizes Spider-Man will have to be destroyed before he can continue with his plans.

"Immortals" (2011)

Starring Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff and Mickey Rourke
Written by Vlas Parlapanides and Charles Parlapanides
Directed by Tarsem Singh
Rated R - Violence, language, gore, nudity
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Trailer

Before the rise of man, the gods waged war against the Titans.  During the war, a powerful weapon known as the Epirus Bow was lost. The Titans were defeated and imprisoned in Mount Tartarus, and the gods, led by Zeus (Luke Evans) are banned from interfering in the development of mankind unless the Titans are released.

Theseus (Henry Cavill) is a young man who lives with his single mother.  His mother is abused and called a whore by the other people of their village for having had a bastard son.  He spends his days being taught by a kindly old man (John Hurt) who teaches him to defend the weak and the innocent.  Word comes to the village that King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who is seeking the Epirus Bow in order to release the Titans, is on his way and the village must be evacuated.  When Theseus and his mother are barred from leaving with the more affluent villagers, he gets into a fight with one of the soldiers, Lysander (Joseph Morgan).  Lysander's commander Helios (Peter Stebbings) is impressed with Theseus' skills as a warrior, and strips Lysander of his rank.

Humiliated, Lysander defects to Hyperion's ranks and informs him of the location of Theseus' village.  Hyperion is searching for an oracle who he believes will lead him to the location of the Epirus Bow.  The oracle, Phaedra (Frieda Pinto), is on the run, knowing that she can never allow Hyperion access to her visions.  Hyperion invades Theseus' village, killing Theseus' mother and capturing Theseus himself.

Soon enough, Theseus meets Phaedra and a distraction provided by the god Poseidon (Kellan Lutz) allows them to escape.  Burying his mother, he finds the Epirus Bow, but eventually loses it to Hyperion.  Now Theseus must learn to lead his people in battle to defend Tartarus from Hyperion, and expect no more help from the gods to save mankind.

"John Carter" (2012)

Starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins and Samantha Morton
Written by Andrew Stanton, Michael Andrews and Michael Chabon
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Rated PG-13 - Violence, language
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Trailer

Confederate Captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) of Virginia finds himself in a jam when he's captured by Union soldiers in Arizona who intend to conscript him to duty against the local Apaches.  Instead, Carter escapes and takes refuge in a mysterious cave where he's attacked by a strange man who mutters words in a foreign language.  Suddenly, a burst of blue energy transports Carter to the planet Mars, known to the locals as Barsoom.

There, Carter is captured by Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), Jeddak or king of the Tharks, a race of green martian warriors.  Instead of being killed, Tars Tarkas takes a liking to Carter after the human displays incredible powers thanks to his denser bones and muscles and the lower gravity of Mars.  Carter is able to leap across huge distances and is stronger than any martian warrior.

Meanwhile, a race of red-skinned martian men who look human except for their red skin, led by Sab Than (Dominic West), Jeddak of Zodanga, wage war on the red-skinned martians of Helium. Sab Than has been given a powerful weapon that harnesses the energy from the 9th Ray (whatever that means), making him unbeatable.  He was given this power by the Therns, a race of beings martians believe mythical.

Helium is ruled by Jeddak Tardos Mors (Cirian Hinds), who has promised Sab Than the hand of his daughter Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) in marriage to end the war.  Dejah tries to escape and is hunted down by Sab Than.  Carter rescues her, but after she and Carter enter the Thark temple without permission, they are banished along with Carter's new pet Woola (a sort of alien dog) and Tars Tarkas' daughter, Sola (Samantha Morton).  The three travel to the south to discover a means of sending Carter back to Earth, but instead discover that the Therns have control of the powerful energies Sab Than is using against the forces of Helium, and that they can send Carter home.

But Dejah and Carter are captured and brought to Helium, where Dejah will be forced to marry Sab Than, who intends to sack the city anyway.  Meanwhile, Carter learns that the Thern Matai Shang (Mark Strong) is not only manipulating Mars toward its destruction, but may plan to do the same to Earth.  Carter must figure out a way to defeat Sab Than and the Therns and save the Princess of Mars.