Author: Robert Greenberger

REVIEW: Star Trek The Original Topps Trading Cards Series

Star Trek: The Original Topps Trading Card Series
By Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdman
216 pages, $19.95, Abrams ComicArts

large-DCD617610Few fans today recall that Star Trek has been the focus of several trading card sets through the years, beginning with the Leaf Brands series prior to the better known Topps cards from the late 1970s, launching just prior to the first feature film. The far better card series came much later, but as a part of Abrams ComicArts’ series of books focusing on different genre sets from Topps, that series is the one receiving the focus in this attractive book.

The series, which began with Wacky Packages and has included the legendary Mars Attacks and Bazooka Joe, is a worthy examination of the oft-overlooked time capsules of earlier eras. Topps produced cards based on numerous television properties alongside their popular baseball cards since the 1950s, notably their four amazing Batman sets based on the TV series, so it is a reminder of how minimal Star Trek’s impact was during the 1960s by virtue of the fact they didn’t have cards for a decade.

When the card set was finally released, the 88 cads and 22 stickers were culled from whatever Paramount Pictures had lying around, not yet having a fully functioning licensing department with archival graphics. As a result, Topps worked with what they had on hand and that meant all 79 episodes were not represented. And in a bizarre turn of events, George Takei’s Sulu is never seen full-on, instead glimpsed at his station only once.

Paula Block and Terry Erdman, who have mined Star Trek lore in numerous other book projects, have little fresh to reveal about those episodes and wisely devoted their text, accompanying each card in the set, to a little contextually information and quotes from Gary Giani, who wrote the text for the cards and the headline for the front of each. His use of titles of obscure SF films or episodes of Twilight Zone and Outer Limits episodes is subtle and clever, so identifying their sources here makes for fun reading.

In their breezy introduction, they set the stage for the cards and Trek’s place in the pop culture firmament. Giani and Topps’ Len Brown provide context along with fans turned professionals such as Steven M. Charendoff, founder of Rittenhouse Archives.

After nearly 40 years of neglect, Takei gets his due as one of the several newly created cards packaged in the back of the book. This is a nice touch and makes the book all the more desirable. While you won’t learn much new about the show, this is a nice addition to anyone’s library.

REVIEW: White Collar the Complete Fourth Season

WhiteCollar_S4

USA’s shows make up for small budgets with winning high concepts and appealing casts. Many of their series work entirely because of their superb eye for casting, using familiar faces and strong ensembles. These shows have also worked thanks to adding season-long meta-stories while solving case-of-the-week stories. As a result, the leads are generally put through the wringer, each taking a turn.

In the case of White Collar, the third season ended with Neal Caffrey (Matthew Bomer) on the run with an international manhunt launched to find the felon turned FBI advisor. The fourth season opened over the late summer of 2011, finishing up in the winter of 2012 and is now collected in White Collar the Complete Fourth Season, released this week by 20th Century Home Entertainment. Bookending the sixteen episodes, it’s his FBI handler and now best friend Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) in hot water.
In between, the long-simmering matter of Neal’s past is finally brought to light as he learns more than he wanted to know about his father James (Treat Williams). In fact, those revelations set Peter against Senator Terrance Pratt (Titus Welliver) which plays out over the final eight episodes. Further complicating Peter’s career is the arrival of Assistant Special Agent (in charge) Amanda Callaway (Emily Procter). When James commits murder and leaves Peter framed for the crime, Neal has learned a harsh lesson and we have to wait until October to find out what happens next.

Along the way, the series continued to rearrange the deck chairs so friendships are tested and reforged time and again but at the core, there’s Neal and Mozzie (Willie Garson), Neal and Peter, and Peter and Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen). Of the core cast, Thiessen is left with the least to do with one exception, “Shoot the Moon”, when she and Peter both get kidnapped by would-be criminals. At the FBI, stalwart supporting cast members Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins do a fine job carrying the spears but have little of substance to do, which is a shame since Thomason’s Diana is intriguing.

The series does a nice job with guest casting, kicking off with the much missed Mia Maestro seen in the first two episodes as is Mekhi Phifer. And of course there’s Hilarie Burton, back as Neal’s lover Sara Ellis, who really should just settle with him but that would make boring television.

White-Collar-Identity-Crisis-Season-4-Episode-6-5-550x366Some of the cases get hokey such as when Neal and Peter have to box in an underground boxing club or the last few episodes as they search for a valuable McGuffin within the Empire State Building. But given the beguiling performances and eternal twinkle in Bomer’s eye, you forgive a lot. The show may be starting to slow down as season five had its sixteen episode order trimmed to thirteen so enjoy these while you can.

The bonus features on the four disc set are largely made up of deleted scenes, found on each disc, along with the perfunctory gag reel. Tim DeKay—In the Director’s Chair looks at the star taking charge of an episode and the final episode, “In the Wind”, gets commentary from Bomer, DeKay, Garson, and series creator Jeff Eastin.

REVIEW: Fantastic Voyage

Fantasdtic VoyageAfter a decade of low-budget cheesy special effects science fiction films, the early 1960s was particularly quiet, ceding to television series such as Star Trek and The Time Tunnel. But, also released in 1966 was an eye-opening spectacular that had a plausible premise, strong cast, and the next generation in film special effects. Fantastic Voyage may be remembered today for Raquel Welch in a tight outfit, it is also a step forward in cinematic SF. Thankfully, it preceded 2001: A Space Odyssey by two years.

At a time when miniaturization was making home technology smaller and more sophisticated, the idea of inserting a tiny sub full of humans into the body of an ill scientist seemed the next logical step. The body in question was the victim of an assassination attempt and his knowledge and life had to be saved so a daring experiment was to be undertaken. Forget that the sub is nuclear-powered and the physics doesn’t quite make sense, but this is an ambitious leap forward in man’s quest to understand himself.

Once entering the body they have to contend with antibodies, foreign matter, and a ticking clock. So of course things go wrong en route to the blood clot located in the man’s brain. Harry Kleiner’s screenplay (from a story by a story by Otto Klement and Star Trek’s Jerome Bixby) ignored the original intent for being a Jules Vernesque escapade and dashed the sense of wonder in favor of a dated Cold War vibe.

Richard Fleisher, a skilled and versatile director who helmed Barabbas, Doctor Doolittle, Soylent Green. and yes, Conan the Destroyer, brings his A game to the film, never letting the mind-blowing special effects overwhelm the adventure. He let his cast, led by Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Edmond O’Brien, and Donald Pleasence, actually act and treat this as a plausible mission. Harper Goff, who gave us the Nautilus in Fleisher’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, provided the designs for the Proteus while Ernest Laszlo  made the blood stream a hallucinogenic treat. Leonard Rosenman made a conscious decision not to add music until the crew was inside the scientist’s body so it added to the unreal feel of the location. All told, the film worked better than anyone expected earning it Oscars for Best Art Direction – Color  and Best Special Effects.

The film’s unheralded star was actually Isaac Asimov, who wrote the novelization and corrected numerous logic and medical flaws which were later incorporated into the film, keeping it from being silly. His work was fast while the filming was repeatedly delayed so the book was out a full six months ahead of the film making many think it was an adaptation of his work.

FVAll told, though, today’s CGI easily beats the traditional special effects, automatically making the film feel old. The Cold War stuff distracts from a human adventure and the writing is stiff in places while the direction is leisurely compared with today’s quick cut culture. But this was a pioneering effort that restored a modicum of respect for the genre, paving the way for Kubrick and those who quickly followed. As a result, the film is well worth watching.

Therefore, it’s good to see that the transfer to high def was pretty solid although not perfect. The mono mix is transferred nicely so both add up to a pleasant viewing experience at home.

As for the extras, an incomplete collection from the Cinema Classics Collection DVD are repeated here, including

Most but not all of the supplements from the Cinema Classics Collection DVD have been ported over to this Blu-ray release. They include: Commentary by Film and Music Historian Jeff Bond; Lava Lamps and Celluloid: A Tribute to the Visual Effects of Fantastic Voyage (17:40)which is a useful tutorial on how they accomplished it all; Whirlpool Scene: Storyboard to Scene (2:22); and the Trailer and TV Spots (13:07). Additionally, there is an  Isolated Score Track With Commentary from Bond, who knows his stuff accompanied by Jon Burlingame and Nick Redman.

REVIEW: Bones the Complete Eighth Season

Bones_S8_BLU_fThe premise behind Fox’s Bones has always felt as it was straining against credulity. After all, how many bizarre murders occur that require a dedicated team of forensic anthropologists? Well, the answer appears to be eight and counting although with season nine now airing, it’s also starting to sag under its own weight and age. As a result, the cases have taken a back seat to meta stories and character arcs that never feel fully explored.

At the end of the seventh season, Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) took her infant son and abandoned her lover, FBI Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and was on the run after a series of unbelievable charges were leveled against her by the sadistic Pelant (Andrew Leeds). We open the eighth season, out now on home video from 20th Century Home Entertainment, several months later as the couple is reunited. However, the Spectre of Pelant, which has been growing over the years, now begins to hang on like an overripe albatross and sucks the life out of the show.

He reappears later in the season, in a far-fetched plot that is designed to rob Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) of his fortune, fueling the madman’s schemes, which also sets up the season’s cliffhanger. The problem is that he’s not a very interesting foe and he always seems to be flawlessly perfect in his execution. After years of building up the romance between Booth and Bones, they have conceived a child and moved in together, forging a life. He finally proposes and then Pelant arrives to orchestrate events that have him call off the deal or innocents will die. Feh.

The only person who seems genuinely happy this year is the boss, Cam (Tamara Taylor), as she engages in a full blown affair with occasional intern Arastoo Vaziri (Pej Vahdat) but she has to keep it quiet because, after all, she’s his boss and there’s a bit of an age difference which never seems to come up.

After more than a hundred episodes, the series is free to take chances and the most satisfying one may be the one that brings back psychic Avalon Harmonia (Cyndi Lauper) and everyone talks to the teen victim’s skull and we see things from its point of view.

Meantime, early in the season we have Angela (Michaela Conlin) question her personal goals which is neatly packed away after only a few episodes while Sweets (John Francis Daley) gets his mini-arc of self-doubt after failing to capture Pelant in the finale.

The series looks fine thanks to the clean transfer to high definition and the sound is also good. As usual, there are some fun and interesting bonus features. There’s occasional commentary from producer Hart Hanson, accompanied by Stephen Nathan and Ian Toynton. There are a few scattered deleted scenes, and Dying to Know: Bones Answers Your Questions! (9:00) as the cast and crew answer fan questions, which also fills Bare Bones: Total Fandom-onium (1:59). Finally, there’s the requisite Gag Reel (5:26).

Win a Copy of The Internship

  • News
  • October 8, 2013

TheInternship_BD_O-Sleeve[1]The comedy will be available on Blu-ray and DVD October 22 , but our friends at 20th Century Home Entertainment have a copy available to give away to one of our readers. All you need to do is tell us which of the following is your favorite of the following films and why. Tell us no later than 11:59 p.m. Monday, October 14. The decision of the ComicMix judges will be final and the contest is open only to United States and Canadian readers only.

The Internship reunited two of the central members of the frat pack, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. The guys from the frat pack have been creating comedic gold for years now. In honor of the home entertainment release of the newest frat pack film, let’s take a look back at some of the greatest moments from the pack.

In The Internship, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson team up to crash the digital world in this laugh-out-loud buddy comedy you’ve been searching for! Trying to reboot their obsolete careers, old-school salesmen Billy (Vaughn) and Nick (Wilson) talk their way into an internship program at the state-of-the-art Google campus, vying for a handful of spots among tech-savvy college students who are half their age and twice as smart. The competition is fiercely funny as Billy and Nick break all the rules in a hilarious quest to land their dream jobs!

Wedding Crashers

wedding_crashers_2005_692_wallpaperWedding Crashers, the film that proved Wilson and Vaughn had perfect comedic chemistry, brought the laughter and good times. To this day, men still dream of crashing a wedding with John and Jeremy. Maybe they can’t fulfill their dreams, but everyone can rest assured knowing the rules of wedding crashing; “blend in by standing out” to “be gone by the sunrise.”

Zoolander

Zoolander is certainly one of the most memorable frat pack movies with Will Ferrell playing a crazed fashion designer and Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller taking on the role of two pretty boys. The Blue Steel look developed by Derek Zoolander will go down in movie history. Wilson and Stiller were hilarious as they portrayed self-centered models obsessed with perfecting their hair and their runway walk.

Anchorman

Ron Burgundy is arguably the best character that Will Ferrell has ever played. He is a legend, a ladies man, and a role model for friends like Brick and Champ. In a moment of sheer brilliance, Anchorman brought together six members of the frat pack for a street fight between anchormen. Five of the frat pack guys were representing various news channels and carrying weapons such as a trident, a wooden post, and a chain.

Old School 

will-ferrell-old-school2Many people consider Old School to be the golden ticket that brought the frat pack together and placed them on the map as the big names in comedy. Ferrell, Vaughn, and Wilson were hilarious as they went back to their glory days and reminded the audience why college is exactly where you want to be. This classic comedy is one that can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Dodgeball

Who doesn’t love the idea of watching grown men and women dressed in uniforms and playing intense games of dodgeball? (Especially if two of those men are Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller.) In the movie that taught us the five D’s of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge, we got to witness another perfect moment between members of the frat pack. Dodgeball may have only had two members of the pack, but it definitely makes the list of the greatest frat pack movies!

New Thor The Dark World Clip Arrives

New Thor The Dark World Clip Arrives

  • News
  • October 7, 2013

You can tell the next installment in Marvel Phase Two is coming closer because we’re getting better looks at the final product. Here’s a clip, “When do we Start”, just released by Disney.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ktumU-XUrWI [/youtube]

The movie opens on November 8. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, p.g.a., from a story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat and screenplay by Christopher L. Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely.

REVIEW: Glee the Complete Fourth Season

Glee-The-Complete-Fourth-Season-Blu-ray-473x600Glee has always been somewhat infuriating in its realistic portrayal of teenage travails (doing it better than most other prime time series) but setting it in such an unrealistic setting since no high school runs the way McKinley does in fictional Lima, Ohio. These kids never have homework or need to balance their studies with extracurricular activities, especially those in time intensive groups such as the Cheerios or the sports teams.

Still Ryan Murphy’s band of misfits remains entertaining and a winning mix. The fourth season, out now on Home Video from 20th Century Home Entertainment, finally addressed the aging cast, sending most away to college. Notably, Rachel (Lea Michele) was attending NYADA the performing arts college, while struggling to maintain her long distance relationship with Finn (Cory Monteith), who had surprisingly enlisted at the end of the previous season. Following her to the Big Apple was Kurt (Chris Colfer), who didn’t get into the school but was determined to make it somehow.

Back at school, new members were recruited and here were some true gems, starting with Melissa Benoist as Marley Rose, a true talent and cute as a button. Less interesting was the introduction of Puck’s half-brother Jake (Jacob Artist) who started off a bad boy but had his edge quickly shorn away. In fact, all the characters that arrived with nasty angles to their personalities got worn down into saccharine sweetness with Becca Tobin’s Kitty the last holdout.

The show short-changed everyone by glossing over their characters in favor of splitting the focus between NYC and Lima. The proposed spinoff for the graduates was never picked up so the emphasis needed to change, which is a shame since the issues both crews face are vastly different ones and the frequent trips home once more beggared the imagination.

The season differed from the first three in that it did not cover a complete school year, instead ending late in the school year but before the all-important national competition. Along the way, we watched Finn become a lost soul, leaving the service and filling in for Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who was off at a conference. The character’s search for a direction at the same time the actor was struggling with his personal addictions lends revisiting this arc a poignant feel. His late addition to the DVD cover art was a nice touch.

glee-swan4_0The major themes of the year including the struggles of growing up, bulimia/anorexia, cancer, marriage, fidelity, and similar trials. Each week they sang and danced their way through the issues, often in catchy ways that belied the seriousness of the issues. In many cases, trouble never met with consequences such as Kitty’s trying to convince Marley she was gaining weight or When Wade “catfished” Ryder.

As the season wound down, the absurdity got worse climaxing with Brittany’s suddenly discovered savant genius with math and being whisked off “now” to MIT. Other characters seemed to have nothing to do, with Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester emasculated and left to be supportive. The season wound down as they readied for Nationals and the impending graduation of other members of the glee club.

The film to high definition transfer is well done, as is expected from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. And for a series dependent on music, the audio is more than up to the task making rewatching moments work well.

Glee-season-4-thanksgiving-recap-marleyEach of the four discs in the Blu-ray set contains a mix of features such as the Glee Music Jukebox (1:03:28); Movin’ On Up: Glee in NYC (10:02), talking about the location shooting; Building New York (6:29); Jarley (8:53), a look at the new members Jake and Marley; and Deleted Scenes (15:24). Disc two has another look at those musical sequences in Glee Music Jukebox (1:01:48) offers a tour through the musical sequences of each episode on the disc, and Deleted Scenes (5:04). Disc three offers Glee Music Jukebox (1:29:35),  Glee On Film (11:56) looks at the cinema-centric episode; and, The Road to 500 (3:54), which is the number of musical sequences. The final disc gives us Glee Music Jukebox (1:15:52); Blaine’s Time Capsule (8:12), a cheesy message for his adult self; and Glee Premiere Party! (3:41).

The show may have lost some of its cache as a trendsetter and star maker but it remains an entertaining diversion. Personally, the Mike O’Malley scenes as Kurt’s father Burt dealing with his son remain the best material year after year but then again, I’m a father and not a star-struck teen. No doubt, most everyone will find something to identify with or sing-along to.

Enter to Win Bones Season 8 on Blu-ray

  • News
  • October 5, 2013

BonesBRWe’re three weeks into the new season of Fox’s Bones but Bones Season Eight  is coming to home video on Tuesday, with all-new content! Thanks to our friends at 20th Century Home Entertainment we have a copy to give away.

Finally cleared of wrongdoing, Bones (Emily Deschanel)reunites with Booth (David Boreanaz) and the squints.  Although the team solves some of their most challenging cases yet, madman Christopher Pelant continues his murderous rampage – inching closer to Bones and Booth daily.  From solving the mystery of a roller derby darling’s demise to uncovering a previously unrecognized 9/11 hero to stopping a pandemic, Bones and the team make one remarkable discovery after another.  Meanwhile, as if the challenges Booth faces with parenthood and his unique relationship with Bones aren’t enough, his mother shows up after a 24-year absence, and there is shocking news about some of his colleagues. Relive all 26 killer episodes!

 

Special Features

  • Commentary on “The Future in the Past”
  • Deleted Scene from “The Patriot in Purgatory”
  • Deleted Scene from “The Survivor in the Soap”
  • Deleted Scene from “The Party in the Pants”
  • Dying to Know: Bones Answers Your Questions!
  • Bare Bones: Total Fandom-onium
  • Gag Reel

For a chance to win your copy of the Blu-ray just answer the question below:

What kind of rampage does Christopher Pelant go on in Bones?

A. Burger

B. Murder

C. Verbal

D. TV Binge Watching    

Submit your answer by 11:59 p.m., Thursday October 10. The decision of the ComicMix will be final. The contest is open only to US and Canadian readers.

REVIEW: Leverage The Final Season

leverage spine packshotLeverage takes a curtain call this month as 20th Century Home Entertainment releases the fifth and final season on DVD. The four-disc set contains the complete fifteen episode season, which was aired in two batches across summer and winter 2012. Since then, the series has remained in the public eye thanks to three incredibly fun novels along with its well-deserved honor as Favorite Cable TV Drama at the 39th People’s Choice Awards.

Much as we here at ComicMix have adored the show, the audience has been dwindling; opening the final year with 3.39 million viewers and the final drew a smaller 3.04 million, far too small these days to be sustained. However, co-creators Dean Devlin and John Rogers suspected this was the make-it or break-it season and prepared accordingly. From the outset of the season, Nate Ford (Tim Hutton) was up to something and we saw him pushing the other members of the team to either take leadership roles or step out of their comfort zones. The why remained unclear until the very end.

Along the way, though, the series saw the criminals turned good Samaritans relocate from Boston to Portland, setting up shop in a microbrewery/pub now owned by Alec Hardison (Aldus Hodge). At its heart the show has always been about justice and redemption with every character in need of both. For the producers, it was also about shining a spotlight on the sorts of white collar crime and corruption that doesn’t make the headlines with any regularity. As noted in the extensive show by show notes at Rogers’ Kung Fu Monkey blog, the writing staff did their homework and then some, socking away tidbits for later use.

Each week there’s someone who has been cheated and they turn to Leverage, Inc. for help, with one or the other member of the squad taking their case to heart and convincing the others to pitch in. By now they have become a tight team and more than a bit of a family so they remain there for one another despite their idiosyncrasies. Alec remains a control freak and uber-nerd; Sophie (Gina Bellman) has become a drama coach despite her lack of talent on the stage; Elliot Spencer (Christian Kane) is a tough guy/gourmand; and poor Parker (Beth Riesgraf) is still trying to connect with society.

The cases by now have become almost secondary to the actual mechanics of the con and the personal touches along the way. In the steady hands of the strong writing staff and a stable of repeat directors, the show hit a nice rhythm that made for a weekly hour of pure fun. One of the most entertaining this time around was “The First Contact Job”, where director Jonathan Frakes even let them add in a little TNG humor. One of the most interesting from a plot standpoint was “The French Connection Job”, spotlighting Elliot’s softer side. From writing and performing standpoint the second best one of the bunch may be “The D.B. Cooper Job” where the cast doubles for 1971 counterparts as they try to unravel the story of the famed skyjacker. There were others that also tweaked the formula such as “The Broken Wing Job” when an injured Parker recruits the pub’s waitress (Aarti Mann) to help while the others were in Japan.

But it was all leading up to “The Long Goodbye Job”, which aired on Christmas Day but was actually a valentine from the crew to the fans. Suspecting this was their swan song, Devlin, Rogers, and Chris Downey actually conned the audience in a brilliantly executed story. Listening to the commentary track, we discover how much of episode 77 echoed episode 1. It also reset the status quo just in case there was a chance of more stories in the future. And of course, the episode wouldn’t be complete had their nemesis Sterling (Mark A. Sheppard) not made a final appearance.

There’s audio commentary for all fifteen episodes, a handful of deleted scenes, giving you that much more to enjoy, and then a brief gag reel.

The show’s gone, the cast gone their separate ways, but the spirit remains and with luck there will be chances to follow their adventures in some other way. For now, we have the five seasons on home video to enjoy.

REVIEW: World War Z

World War ZEveryone seems to love zombies these days. When I student taught, my eighth graders all wanted to write zombie apocalypse stories, fueled by AMC’s Walking Dead, countless video games, and numerous movies. Of course, to me, a zombie is far more supernatural, far rarer and the stuff of myth and legend. As a result, I’ve never really cottoned to these undead that owe more to George A. Romero’s 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead than voodoo tradition. That said, every now and then one of these tales rises to the top and screams for your attention.

Max Brooks’ clever account World War Z was one of those stories, a survival journal that was nicely written. As a result, it was optioned and after its troubled production, arrived this summer to beat expectations and prove to be an engaging bit of popcorn entertainment. Leave beside the dramatic issues plaguing it during production, what matters is the final product, out now on home video from Paramount Home Video.

The script ‘s challenge was turning the book into a coherent story for film and Matthew Michael Carnahan largely solved that by focusing on Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former United Nations investigator. Retired, he was enjoying the good life in Philadelphia with his Karin (Mireille Enos) and his daughters Rachel (Abigail Hargrove) and Constance (Sterling Jerins). One day the zombies arrived and he had to protect his family while at the same time, use his experience to help figure out what has happened and how to contain the uncontrollable. How do you stop someone who twelve seconds earlier was a normal person but was now out for your blood? And how did it all begin, was there a cure?

Deputized by Deputy Secretary-General Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena), Gerry goes back on active duty and the roller coaster ride of a movie begins. There’s globetrotting, near-death experiences, explosions, screaming, and plenty of zombies. In a nice political touch, there’s a hint from Captain Speke (James Badge Dale), that Israel knew about this before the disease was unleashed.

Wisely, director Marc Forster keeps things moving so you never stop to realty-check some of the thinner plot points or even remember to eat your popcorn. He makes us feel this really could be the final zombie apocalypse story, the one that can’t be topped. Ever. Everything you want in such a film is here and then some.

Pitt’s everyman guy gives us someone to root for and he grounds much of the action through sheer force of personality. When the story stopped working, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof stepped in to revise the script, including its troubled third act and the two brought their genre cred with them and it helped strengthen what could otherwise have been a train wreck.

Overall, the film transfer is good but not great, more than sufficient to enjoy at home, coupled with stronger sound.

The combo pack offers the film on Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy while the high def disc comes with a 10 minute longer unrated cut that’s more of the same and you have trouble figuring out what was added. It also comes with a bunch of extras including Origins (8:21), a look back at the book and its impact; Looking to Science (7:28) for clues as to how such changes could really happen;  WWZ: Production: Outbreak (8:31), The Journey Begins (8:39), Behind the Wall (9:41), and, Camouflage (9:25), a nicely detailed look at the making of this feature. If you want even more, Paramount once more offers store exclusives: Wal-Mart has an hour of exclusive streaming content via Vudu; Target has an exclusive slipbox with an art book; and Best Buy has a different exclusive slipcover and alternative streaming content. Man, I hope this trick fails and they stop it before the next wave of releases.

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