Sibling rivalry sinks to a hilarious new low as a humiliating video goes viral in Frankie Go Boom, an outrageous and delightfully edgy comedy available on Blu-ray™ and DVD on May 14, 2013 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

For decades, amateur filmmaker Bruce (Chris O’Dowd, This is 40, Bridesmaids) has tortured his awkward brother Frank (Charlie Hunnam, Sons of Anarchy, Children of Men) with a series of embarrassing videos posted on the Internet. Bruce finally goes too far when he uploads a video of a disastrous one-night stand involving the inebriated daughter of a loose-cannon ex-movie star.

To try to undo the damage, the brothers enlist the help of Bruce’s transsexual computer-hacker buddy played by Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy, Hellboy) in one of the year’s most hysterically unexpected performances!

Also starring Lizzy Caplan (127 Hours, Hot Tub Time Machine), Nora Dunn (Entourage, Saturday Night Live), Sam Anderson (Lost, ER) and Chris Noth (The Good Wife, Law & Order: Criminal Intent).

Frankie Go Boom will be available on Blu-ray™ and DVD. Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound.

Bonus Features (Blu-ray and DVD):

- Behind the Scenes: Interviews with Director Jordan Roberts and his outstanding cast-ensemble of comedic actors.

- Deleted and Alternate Scenes: Director Jordan Roberts introduces each omitted scene with insights into his editing process.

- Pig in the Pool: A short featurette surrounding one of the film’s most memorable characters – a pig.

We’ll be giving away FREE Copies of Frankie Go Boom on Blu-ray to a few lucky winners — which could include you!

To enter, just e-mail our contest department TCSContests@gmail.com with “Frankie Go Boom Sweepstakes” in the subject line with your name and mailing address and that’s it!

We’ll pick the winners at random and notify you via email if you’ve won.

GOOD LUCK!!!

]]> http://www.thebluraysource.com/contest/frankie-go-boom-blu-ray-sweepstakes/feed/ 0 http://www.thebluraysource.com/review/dexter-the-complete-7th-season/ http://www.thebluraysource.com/review/dexter-the-complete-7th-season/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 01:43:46 +0000 Andrea Tuccillo http://www.thebluraysource.com/?post_type=review&p=67804 I’ll admit it – following the conclusion of season six, I almost cut Dexter out of my life for good. I was tempted to bind the show in saran wrap and put it out of its misery, just as Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) would do with one of his victims. Because compared to seasons past, season six was not even close to the level of killer quality I had come to know and love from the Showtime drama. The Colin Hanks apocalyptic baddie-with-a-twist severely disappointed, as did a seemingly out of nowhere revelation that Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), loyal foster sis of our favorite serial killer, was in fact in love with her surrogate brother. But then something amazing happened: Season seven.

Last season, Dexter was brought back to its former glory. Our forensics worker by day/murderer of evil-doers by night returned to fine form. The storylines were riveting again, a formidable love interest was introduced with deviant proclivities to match Dexter’s own, and there was a season finale so shocking, so gasp-inducing that viewers were left to gnaw on their fingernails until the eighth – and final – season premieres this June. The show, which had a knife to its throat at the end of season six, was given something Dexter’s victims surely never get – a second chance.

Season seven picks up shortly after season six concluded. Miami police lieutenant Deb has just witnessed Dexter doing what he does best – snuffing out the life of a criminal. She’s left reeling, and bursting with questions, but she listens to Dexter when he tells her not to call for backup. She even helps him cover up what he’s just done. And the repercussions of her decision ripple through the rest of the season. As Deb grapples with the revelation that her brother (and object of her ill-placed affections) is a killer, she remains committed to keeping his secret. No easy task for someone who considers herself a “moral” cop. The more she finds out about Dexter’s deceitful past – his real relationship to the Ice Truck Killer, his true identity as the Bay Harbor Butcher, and the sheer number of cases he’s stolen from the Miami Metro PD just to get his wicked fix – the harder that task becomes. It’s clear that her devotion to Dexter will ultimately be her undoing – and no one plays a woman unraveling quite like Jennifer Carpenter (most underrated actress on TV, in my opinion).

Dexter, meanwhile, meets someone with no problem keeping his secrets – because she happens to have some dark ones of her own. Hannah McKay (Chuck’s Yvonne Strahovski), a femme fatale hiding behind angelic looks, connects with Dexter over their shared love of killing. While Dexter prefers the knife, Hannah picks her poison…literally. He meets her while working the case of her former boyfriend and quickly determines Hannah will make the perfect addition to his blood slide collection (for those of you not familiar, Dexter saves a drop of blood from each of his victims as a trophy). But once she’s on his kill table, he can’t go through it – and thus, a romance based on a mutual love of destruction is born! Here’s why it’s so great: Dexter has never really had a partner before – someone who knows him and understands him. Rita (Julie Benz) never knew his secrets and Lila (Jaime Murray) from season two was obsessive and crazy. With Hannah, you really believe they have a future together. That’s not to say their relationship won’t make you really nervous. They’re still two very dangerous people, after all.

While Dex ups the stakes in his romantic life, Cpt. Maria Laguerta (Lauren Velez) ups the stakes for him in other ways. See, she finds a piece of a blood slide at one of Dexter’s crime scenes – a hallmark of the Bay Harbor Butcher. But Sgt. Doakes (may he rest in peace) was framed as the Bay Harbor Butcher way back in season two. This leads Laguerta to reopen the case. She never really did believe it was Doakes in the first place. All this spells disaster for Dex – and more stress for Deb – because Laguerta is not letting things go without a fight. You know how they say desperate times call for desperate measures? Doesn’t get more true than the culminating events in the final minutes of the season finale entitled “Surprise, Motherfucker!” Surprise, indeed.

As if that wasn’t enough, Dexter finds himself entangled with the head of a Ukrainian crime syndicate named Isaak Sirko – played with cold, calculated brilliance by Ray Stevenson. A standout episode is “Argentina,” which includes a revealing scene between Sirko and Dexter where they discuss, of all things, love. “Under different circumstances I think we could have been great friends,” Sirko says. And you almost wish it was under different circumstances. The episode also contains a tense confrontation between Dexter and Deb over Hannah.

For all the thrilling coverups, the sexy romantic tension, and dire consequences, there are a few missteps along the way. For example, a subplot involving Det. Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington) and an Eastern European stripper fails to engage. Quinn’s actions throughout this season do nothing but frustrate and annoy. There’s also a brief plot line involving an obnoxious former police intern (Josh Cooke) who has it in for Dexter. Thankfully he gets disposed of fairly quickly.

If you’re looking for Dexter-related extra features on this DVD set, you won’t find them. The extent of the extras do little more than promote Showtime’s other shows. There’s the pilot episode of the network’s new drama, Ray Donovan, and the first two episodes of The Borgias: Season 2. A little something for the loyal Dex fans would have been nice.

Even if you weren’t a loyal fan (let’s say you bailed after a less-than-stellar season), these DVDs are your chance to rediscover it. There are callbacks to past seasons that signal a full-circle ending is near, as well as new elements that propel Dexter into a future unknown. Simply put, season seven is to die for.

]]> http://www.thebluraysource.com/review/dexter-the-complete-7th-season/feed/ 0 http://www.thebluraysource.com/contest/dance-academy-seasons-1-2-on-dvd-sweepstakes/ http://www.thebluraysource.com/contest/dance-academy-seasons-1-2-on-dvd-sweepstakes/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 22:00:08 +0000 Dan Deevy http://www.thebluraysource.com/?post_type=contest&p=67698 We here at TheBluraySource are excited to be giving away FREE Copies of Dance Academy: Season 1 Volumes 1 & 2 and Season 2 Volumes 1 & 2 on DVD!

Each selected winner will receive all 4 of these DVD’s making up the entire first and second seasons of this super fun series.

When you’re sixteen, life is rarely simple. In fact, there’s enough to keep you on your toes in normal circumstances. But what if you were also living away from home at the country’s top dance academy? Meet Tara Webster, who grew up on a country farm, but has always dreamed of being a professional dancer. When she’s admitted to Australia’s prestigious National Academy of Dance, she feels like all of her dreams are about to come true — but the school is tougher and more competitive than she ever imagined.

DANCE ACADEMY: SEASON 1, VOLUME 1

Far from home, and way behind on her dance training, Tara feels like a fish out of water, but she knows one thing — she’s not alone on this journey. In Sydney, she meets new friends, good-hearted Kat and good-guy Sammy, and falls hard for a new crush, Ethan. To round out her crew, there’s “mean girl” Abigail, a more experienced dancer who sees Tara as a threat, and Christian, an adrenaline junkie with a troubled past. Together they manage the pressures of exams, crushes and dancing, all the while knowing that at the end of the year not everyone makes the cut.

DANCE ACADEMY: SEASON 1, VOLUME 2

Tara returns from the holidays excited to have been awarded a first year scholarship, but the rest of the year is full of challenges no one could have seen coming. The group continues to put all their effort into dancing, but along the way some battle eating disorders, struggle with their parents, overcome physical injury and even deal with big breakups. With the end-of-year Nutcracker performance approaching, can the Academy group pull it together? And does Tara really have what it takes to stand center stage?

DANCE ACADEMY: SEASON 2, VOLUME 1

It was a rocky first year, but ultimately Tara got everything she wanted: a place in the top dance school in the country, friends she’ll know forever and she fell in love – twice! She even danced the role of her dreams. So Second Year should be a piece of cake. Right? In SEASON 2 VOLUME 1, Tara reunites with her friends and discovers the exciting news that they can all compete in a prestigious ballet competition, Prix de Fonteyn, to determine the best dancer in the world. Teacher Miss Raine spells it out for them: “Make no mistakes. Second Year counts. And you are all in competition.” Everyone must work harder than they’ve ever worked before on the dance floor and in life.

DANCE ACADEMY: SEASON 2, VOLUME 2

Tara soared to great heights during her first year at the Academy, but by her second year she’s learned that being on top – in dance, in life, in love – only makes for a long fall back down. In Season 2 Volume 2 the stakes are higher, the lows are lower, and the competitions are exhilarating. Tara and the entire crew must manage tragedy, relationships and the ultimate final showdown performance. Above all else, it’s their friendship that held them together this long. Will it carry them through into their third year?

From the producers of TeenNICK‘s #1 series H2O: Just Add Water and nominated for an International Emmy® Award in 2011, Dance Academy is a realistic drama that follows this group of ordinary teenagers who are pushing themselves to the limit as they fight to achieve extraordinary things. Catch up on this TeenNICK fan favorite, currently airing in primetime!

Each SEASON 1 and SEASON 2 2-disc set features 13 episodes and bonus behind-the-scenes clips or cast galleries!

We’ll be giving away FREE Copies of Dance Academy: Season 1 Volumes 1 & 2 and Season 2 Volumes 1 & 2 on DVD to a couple of lucky fans — which could include you!

To enter, just e-mail our contest department TCSContests@gmail.com with “Dance Academy on DVD Sweepstakes” in the subject line with your name and mailing address and that’s it!

We’ll pick the winners at random and notify you via email if you’ve won.

]]> http://www.thebluraysource.com/contest/dance-academy-seasons-1-2-on-dvd-sweepstakes/feed/ 0 http://www.thebluraysource.com/review/star-trek-the-next-generation-the-best-of-both-worlds-on-blu-ray/ http://www.thebluraysource.com/review/star-trek-the-next-generation-the-best-of-both-worlds-on-blu-ray/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:35:55 +0000 Dan Deevy http://www.thebluraysource.com/?post_type=review&p=67746 Review Coming Soon…

Now, let’s be honest, like every other TNG fan the moment anyone mentions the third season my brain immediately goes to one place… The Borg.

And honestly, that is quite rightly where it should go. The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1 was and is one the greatest cliffhangers ever produced in television history. The unwinnable situation that the writers had placed our heroes in truthfully begged the question, ‘How the hell are they going to get out of this?’ And also the even more shocking question of whether or not Patrick Stewart would be returning to the show for the fourth season or if he was in fact being written out of the series.

The summer of 1990 was a grueling one as fans had to just sit back and wait to see how things would turn out. As maddening as that was in the pre-internet era, we can now look back on it in our current instant-gratification-based-society and actually miss that intense anticipation and the ultimately satisfying pay off that did eventually come.

But when you stop to look at the roster of episodes that were produced during this groundbreaking year, you see that as amazing as The Best of Both Worlds was and is, it was just the icing on the cake.

Of the total 26 episodes I count only 2 as complete and regrettable misfires. The season premiere, Evolution, which was even shakier than the camera work used to simulate sub space turbulence and the dreadfully dated Troi love-fest The Price which literally makes me cringe whenever I think of it.

The remaining 24 hours of Star Trek produced this year were all praiseworthy for various reasons.

Some episodes like The High Ground, The Hunted, The Bonding and Sarek stand out because of the socially relevant questions that they posed. These shows allowed the audience a chance to wrestle with the issues of terrorism, societies’ responsibility to returning veterans, the struggle of accepting the death of a parent and even the effects of debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s as they claim the lives of our elders.

Of course this was all done in classic Trek form by detaching the viewer from these very real issues and couching them in some very cool, exciting futuristic scenarios; but anyone watching those shows knew exactly what they were actually talking about.

The Offspring was the 16th episode of the season and marked the directorial debut of actor turned director Jonathan Frakes and was the first script penned by Rene Echevarria who would later become a staff writer and ultimately a producer. But the reason that most fans will immediately recall this episode is because it was perhaps the most emotionally moving hour of television that any Star Trek series was ever able to create.

There is not a dry eye to be found as guest star Hallie Todd thanks Brent Spiner as Data for her life and everything that she was able to experience in her very brief lifetime before passing into oblivion before his very eyes. It was a truly heartbreaking moment.

But it wasn’t all life and death issues and serious introspection happening on good old 1701-D though. They knew how to let their hair down occasionally and produced lighter, but no more less meaningful, episodes like Deja Q, Captain’s Holiday and Ménage A Troi.

When you look back on the show now in fact, I think you’ll see that it was when they finally learned to laugh at themselves and to have some fun that the show really took hold and connected with viewers.

Genuinely interesting science fiction based stories didn’t hurt either like Tin Man, Transfigurations and The Survivors. Or episodes that were heavily steeped in the Star Trek Universe which expanded our understanding of the alien races that inhabited it the way that Sins of the Father flushed out the Klingon Empire and the way that The Enemy and The Defector far expanded our knowledge of the mysterious Romulans.

And finally of course this year we had two of the very best episodes of the entire series, Yesterday’s Enterprise and The Best of Both Worlds; which embodied all of the elements that make Star Trek great!

They had interesting stories, emotionally complex issues for our heroes to grapple with and the most exciting space battles that anyone had ever seen on television.

Even all of these years later I will put the final 10 minutes of Yesterday’s Enterprise, which was created in 1990, up against any newly produced, frenetic, hour long, meaningless “Fire Everything!!!” type of space battle and be confident that of the two, Yesterday’s Enterprise will be more exciting, more effective in keeping the audience engaged and on the edge of their seats and most importantly, will stand the test of time in a way that the new stuff could only dream of.

At the end of the day, what this all comes down to is that all of these shows had something important to say. They presented questions and offered opinions, but ultimately left the answers to the audience. These types of stories are what make Star Trek: The Next Generation timeless. This is the reason why people will still be watching this series 50 years from now on whatever is the most technologically advanced format for it to be on I’m sure.

As I mentioned earlier, the Blu-ray restoration of this season was achieved in near flawless proportions. I can’t tell you how many moments made me audibly gasp or comment to myself just how gorgeous it all looked.

It really is thrilling to see the Enterprise in all her glory as she enters standard orbit of a gorgeously recreated planet, or as she goes to warp to begin another exciting mission and of course as she engages in epic space battles with hostile foes.

The only technical complaints that I have with regard to the Blu-ray presentation have mainly to do with the audio mixing; because let’s be honest, sadly, nothing is perfect.

Often times it seems as though the background music is at slightly too high of a level and ends up drowning out the voices of the actors or at times even the sound effects of phasers, explosions or going to warp.

I found myself having to lower my volume as certain music intense scenes were unfolding and then raising it back up again when it went back to straight dialogue.

There are also a few scenes throughout the season that visually are way overexposed. For example towards the end of Allegiance, Captain Picard is standing in front of the view screen with the light of a pulsar sweeping in and out of view casting mini bursts of light onto Patrick. In some of the shots the lighting is absolutely perfect, while others are just far too bright causing a loss of contrast in the shot. It’s a minor criticism but you will find yourself watching a scene and thinking, ‘wow… who turned on all those extra lights? And why?’

One curious element of these new Blu-rays is that they do not have the option of scene selection as is generally available. If you have a favorite scene in an episode you will have to start from the beginning and jump a few times until you find it. I personally never find myself needing to do that so it didn’t affect my viewing experience but it is worth noting.

Now onto one of the most exciting elements of every new Blu-ray release – the All New Special Features.

Truth be told, I would still be first on line to buy these sets even if they didn’t contain a single special feature just because the leap in visual quality is so staggering that it’s worth it.

But let’s get real… in this economy for a $130 price tag we all want something new as well. We love reliving these classic episodes over and over again in their purest, most stunning form but we also want more.

We want New material to get excited about and thankfully so far, CBS Digital has been able to deliver on that front. However, that may not be the case for that much longer.

Each new season has brought some fantastic new features but you can tell that they are running out of material and fresh ideas on what else they could possibly include on future seasons.

The first season had some really well produced featurettes talking about the Blu-ray restoration project and the origins of TNG in general that were chock full of new interviews with the cast and the production team. Not only did these featurettes have snippets of these new interviews but they were also excitingly edited together with clips from the show, outtakes, etc.

Then in season two we were given the greatest special feature imaginable with Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek – An historic reunion of all eight original cast members sitting around chatting about old times and reflecting on their experiences together 25 years later.

That second season also brought us the very first Extended Episode in TNG history with a longer cut of the episode The Measure of a Man as well as a new gag reel, deleted scenes and more very well produced, exciting featurettes.

Basically, there was nothing boring about any of these featurettes. But now we come to Season 3 and frankly, we’re beginning to lose steam.

As with the features on the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise, the ones found here are focused very heavily on interviews with the writers and the technical folks responsible for the creation of the show. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing because certainly these guys deserve the attention and the recognition for all of their hard work, without which the show would never have existed. But listening to writers, directors, and especially producers is never as engaging or rewarding for fans as it is for them when they get to hear it from the actors.

Keep in mind, I’m making this observation as a writer and a producer myself. So it is in no way intended as a slight against them, it’s just a fact. People will be more excited to listen as Patrick Stewart recounts what he had for breakfast that morning than they will be about Brannon Braga revealing important secrets about how the studio was convinced to do one thing or another.

In an attempt to make interviews with the writing staff more interesting they very cleverly brought in actor, comedian and self-proclaimed TNG uber-fan Seth MacFarlane to moderate the first of the third season featurettes, Inside The Writers Room.

MacFarlane sits down with Ron Moore, Rene Echevarria, Naren Shankar and Brannon Braga in an actual writers room and gives us a glimpse into their process and their unique understanding of the history that they made with Star Trek.

A lot of the conversations are interesting, revealing a few fun facts here and there but even the satirical genius wit of Seth MacFarlane couldn’t keep my attention from wandering. The feature is over 70 minutes long and the camera never cuts away. You are just stuck in that room for more than an hour. I understand the idea behind that editing choice but I disagree with it. You need cutaways for things like this. You need something to engage the audience and hold their attention other than the sound of relatively unfamiliar voices.

The three additional featurettes Resistance is Futile – Part One: Biological Distinctiveness, Part Two: Technological Distinctiveness and finally, Part Three: The Collective do a better job of holding the viewers’ attention but the interviews are still largely with the behind-the-scenes folks with a bit of the actors sprinkled in here and there.

A Tribute to Michael Piller is a fascinating look into the life of one of the most influential writers and producers in Star Trek’s history. This feature also heavily focuses on interviews with the other writers and producers but it’s appropriate here considering that these were the people closest to him, who spent the most time with him and ultimately knew him best.

We do finally break away from those wonderful folks with a new and fantastically fun Gag Reel and a fascinating look into an under publicized, rather dark incident that took place during the filming of the episode, The Most Toys with In Memoriam David Rappaport.

For those who are not aware, as I was not, the role of Kivas Fajo was originally played by British actor David Rappaport who regrettably, after wrestling with lifelong depression, attempted suicide a few days after he began filming. The role was then given to Saul Rubinek who would become the Zabalean trader that we’ve all grown to love.

CBS has unearthed the footage of the scenes that Rappaport did shoot and has cut them together with scenes from the finished episode to give audiences a look at how differently characters can be interpreted by various actors.

I personally love how Saul played Fajo but watching David’s take on it was really fascinating. This was a wonderful little bonus feature.

There are also New Audio Commentary tracks on the episodes The Bonding, Yesterday’s Enterprise, The Offspring and Sins of the Father as well as a bunch of Archival Special Features that have been lifted from the seasons’ previous release on DVD.

But the stand out Special Feature on this set that I can watch over and over again is actually the Trailer for the Blu-ray Release of The Best of Both Worlds!

I know it sounds crazy but the most exciting feature here is that trailer. I challenge any TNG fan to watch that and NOT get Goosebumps. It’s so incredibly well done. I absolutely love it!

To wrap this up, no matter what happens with the Special Features on future releases, I will still be incredibly excited to experience these episodes again, as if for the first time, thanks to this amazing Blu-ray restoration process.

Having said that, however, I do hope for an infusion of fresh ideas for those bonus features and I pray that a lesson was learned from the sub-standard results of the Season 2 restoration and that Season 4 was not worked on by HTV Illuminate as originally planned, but rather by the masters themselves over at CBS Digital!

Prize Pack Sweepstakes

Available on DVD and Blu-ray on April 30, 2013

TheBluraySource is proud to present a Prize Pack Sweepstakes in honor of the release of the star studded Dark Comedy, The Details!!!

Gary Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times called the film “An offbeat, original, pitch dark comedy for adults.”

Wrote film critic, Stephen Holden, in his review for The New York Times, “Instead of turning soft and squishy, this examination of karma gets tougher as it goes along. Its refusal to settle into a cozy niche may be commercially disastrous, but I take it as a sign of integrity. Mr. Estes means what he says.”

When a family of hungry raccoons invade the bliss of Dr. Jeffery Lang’s fantastic new backyard (Tobey Maguire), he becomes obsessed with eradicating the pests by any means necessary. But his wife, Nealy (Elizabeth Banks), would prefer him to re-landscape their yard, to make it inhospitable to raccoons, rather than continuing to make battle with a relentless foe. Unfortunately for Dr. Lang, he does not listen to his wife, and his tete-a-tete with the raccoons soon leads way to a tete-a-tete with a very meddlesome neighbor (Laura Linney), and before he knows it, Dr. Lang finds himself buried in an absurd mess of infidelity, organ donation and other assorted mayhem. Also starring Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Kerry Washington.

A few Lucky Grand Prize Winners will each receive all 6 of the following DVD’s:

• - The Details (starring Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks)
• - Lay the Favorite (starring Bruce Willis and Rebecca Hall)
• - Bachelorette (starring Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan)
• - Sunshine Cleaning (starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt)
• - Butter (starring Jennifer Garner and Olivia Wilde)
• - Silver Linings Playbook (starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper)

To enter, just e-mail our contest department TCSContests@gmail.com with “The Details” in the subject line with your name and mailing address and that’s it!

We’ll pick the winners at random and notify you via email if you’ve won.

Good Luck!!!!

]]> http://www.thebluraysource.com/contest/the-details-prize-pack-sweepstakes/feed/ 0 http://www.thebluraysource.com/article/tcs-sits-with-one-of-the-stars-of-tng-at-the-big-screen-best-of-both-worlds-theatrical-event/ http://www.thebluraysource.com/article/tcs-sits-with-one-of-the-stars-of-tng-at-the-big-screen-best-of-both-worlds-theatrical-event/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:07:43 +0000 Dan Deevy http://www.thebluraysource.com/?post_type=news&p=67785

Last night, Fathom Events and CBS Home Entertainment brought two of the most celebrated episodes in science fiction television history to the big screen in theaters around the country with, Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds, A One Night Only Theatrical Event.

This is the third, one-night-only limited theatrical engagement event that the two companies have sponsored involving episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Each is designed to coincide with the release of the newly restored and enhanced Blu-ray versions of the series, season by season.

The first was held on July 23, 2012 the day before the worldwide release of the first season of TNG on Blu-ray and featured presentations of the episodes, Where No One Has Gone Before and Datalore. The second season event held on November 29th of the same year featured an extended version of the fan favorite episode, The Measure of a Man and the episode that introduced audiences to the evil Borg, entitled, Q Who?

As exciting and successful as those events were the organizers themselves have admitted that they were really just stepping stones that were necessary in order to get to this one. A feature length, big screen presentation of two of the most exciting episodes in the Star Trek cannon was something that everyone agreed would be the penultimate experience throughout these theatrical events; and they were right.

I attended the event here in Los Angeles at the AMC Century City 15 and I thoroughly enjoyed myself… but not for the reasons that I was expecting.

Seeing any episode of TNG or Deep Space Nine up on the big screen is something that I, as a fan, have always fantasized about. It wouldn’t change the content of course, but I’ve always believed that the all-encompassing nature of watching it in a proper movie theater with a huge screen and the best surround sound speakers available would serve to enhance the experience of seeing it even further. And with the exception of the already feature length Deep Space Nine episode The Way of the Warrior, I couldn’t imagine a better choice than The Best of Both Worlds to ‘make it so.’

Sadly, I was completely wrong. The theatrical ‘experience’ of watching these episodes on the big screen was an incredible let down. It’s very possible that the fault lies with the individual theater where I was seeing it, but I don’t think so.

The enhanced versions of the episodes on Blu-ray are absolutely breathtaking. The colors are more vivid than we’ve ever seen, the images are sharper and the effects have been impressively upgraded; but sadly, very little of that can be seen in the projected image that the theater provides.

I could almost live with the degraded image quality because of the size of the screen, were it not for the train wreck disaster that was the audio. The new Blu-ray’s boast 7.1 Surround Sound clarity and AMC Theaters claim to use that very same technology, but in my theater, it was a mono sound channel with everything coming at us from the front of the room all mashed together and unidirectional.

It was actually painful to sit through knowing how much higher quality everything would be if it was being viewed on a flat screen television with even just a basic surround sound audio system.

So why did I still have an amazing time at this technologically challenged event?

There are a couple of reasons but the main one is that I was sitting with LeVar Burton, Chief Engineer Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge himself for the entire event!

Now, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing all of the various Star Trek actors several times over the years, which is always a thrill – but I never imagined that one day I’d be physically sitting with one of them watching the show together! Most of them haven’t even seen the majority of the episodes themselves, so there’d be no way I could ever convince one of them to sit down and watch them with me!

So this really was a great, once-in-a-lifetime kind of thrill. I’ve always known what stands out to me and what I love about the show, but it really was something to be able to see the things that he really enjoyed.

Falling into that category, by the way, of moments that LeVar responded to were the close up shot of Patrick Stewart laying on a table being Borgified as a single tear falls down his cheek – thanks to the behind-the-scenes documentary that was shown before the feature presentation, we saw that moment on screen twice and both times you could see how impressed LeVar was with that shot and of course with his colleagues’ work.

Whoopi Goldberg’s entry into the Captain’s Ready Room as she completely ignores Jonathan Frakes’ response to her question of whether or not he has a moment to talk, got a hearty laugh from Mr. Burton as did the moment when his own character had to stop, drop and roll as he evacuated engineering and narrowly escaped a bulkhead coming down on him. (That also got some fun applause in our theater as well.)

Overall, you could tell he was just having a blast and was honestly just as excited to be there as the fans were.

Obviously, having him there was an unexpected bonus that couldn’t be replicated at other theaters or other showings but it also wasn’t the only reason that I really enjoyed myself or why I can’t wait for the next one.

Honestly, what I found most enjoyable about the entire experience of attending Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds, One Night Theatrical Engagement was the communal aspect of it. Sitting in a movie theater full of people, most of whom I had never met before, who were just as excited as I was to relive these amazing onscreen moments was incredibly gratifying.

More and more I feel like I might be one of very few remaining people who still respects and admires everything that this, now 26-year-old, television show accomplished.

It’s well known that I don’t approve of how the new J.J. Abrams films have set aside the ideals of the franchise and have traded an evolved, peaceful, hopeful view of the future for a course, base, militaristic one. But because that film made so much money at the box office by appealing to that coveted ‘non-Trekkie’ demographic, this new approach has become the path that all newly produced “Star Trek” will follow.

So for a time it felt like Star Trek had been taken away from me and given to the popcorn munching masses of the world to consume until they grew tired of it and moved on to whatever the next special effects heavy, ‘shoot-em-up’ type of action movie happens to be.

Events like this one, however, happily prove that this isn’t the case.

It will take a very, very long time, but eventually there will be a new future for the franchise that we’ve all loved for so many years.

We just have to be patient and in the meantime be grateful for the one good side effect of the Abrams-incident – it has produced the money necessary to bring us these amazing Blu-ray’s and all of these fantastic theatrical events!

I still say that anyone who attends these events still needs to buy the actual Blu-ray’s afterwards so that you can experience the amazing new clarity and appreciate all of the hard work that went into the restoration process.

So don’t look at these one-night events as the end all be all… you still need to watch those Blu-rays at home folks!

But for any true fan of Star Trek these nights are a rare gift that should be appreciated, supported and most importantly, attended!!!

The next event on the schedule will coincide with the July 2013 release of TNG Season 4 on Blu-ray and will feature a presentation of the episodes, Redemption, part I and Redemption, part II.

So all of you Denise Crosby fans out there, get ready!

Check Out the Trailer for Season 4 Right Now:

]]> http://www.thebluraysource.com/article/tcs-sits-with-one-of-the-stars-of-tng-at-the-big-screen-best-of-both-worlds-theatrical-event/feed/ 0 http://www.thebluraysource.com/article/star-trek-the-next-generation-season-4-blu-ray-trailer/ http://www.thebluraysource.com/article/star-trek-the-next-generation-season-4-blu-ray-trailer/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:06:06 +0000 Dan Deevy http://www.thebluraysource.com/?post_type=news&p=67782

We’ve barely even begun celebrating the release of Season 3 on Blu-ray with our TCS Trek Take Over Article filled with Interviews, Reviews, Videos, Photos and Trailers which you can read by Clicking Here….

And it’s already time to turn our attention to the upcoming release of Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete 4th Season on Blu-ray warping onto shelves in July 2013.

And can we point out real quick how Wil Wheaton who played Ensign Wesley Crusher, got completely screwed out of being on one of the covers of these sets?

Where’s the Wheaton love?

Check out the Brand New TRAILER for Season 4 right now:

Regardless of what side of the debate you fall on, I hope you’ll all take a moment to check out the massive amount of original material we’ve put together to both promote and celebrate the release of Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray.

Like any good site we have our in-depth, detailed review of the 6 disc set written by a leading Trek expert which you can read by Clicking Here.

We’ve also managed to secure several FREE Copies of these latest Blu-ray releases for two separate online Sweepstakes so that some of you will be able to experience the brilliance of these remastered episodes absolutely FREE!

For a chance to win Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds on Blu-ray Click Here.

And to throw your hat into the ring for a FREE Copy of the Entire Third Season of Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-ray Click Here.

But we didn’t stop there! A couple of months ago we attended Creation Entertainment’s Grand Slam Star Trek & Sci-Fi Summit Convention held in Burbank, CA and interviewed several of the actors who brought these legendary characters to life!

Check out our Interview with Sir Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard) by Clicking Here.

Our written feature style Interview with Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data) can be accessed by Clicking Here or you can check out our Exclusive Video Interview with Brent by Clicking below:

We also chatted with everyone’s favorite Klingon, Lieutenant Worf, Michael Dorn which you can read by Clicking Here.

And the woman most likely to be able to cure you of any space illness that you may contract, Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher) joins us in both written feature format by Clicking Here or also as An Exclusive Video Interview by clicking below:

Not enough Behind-the-Scenes Trek for you? OK, no problem… we have more.

Check out our Interview with TNG Guest Star and Star Trek: Voyager‘s very own ‘Emergency Medical Hologram,’ Robert Picardo by Clicking Here.

And while we’re at it, you might as well check out everything we posted for the recently released Complete First Season of Star Trek: Enterprise on Blu-ray as well.

Our usual insightful review penned by our very own Trek expert can be found by Clicking Here.

Our Interview with the man who always manages to keep things running, Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker by Clicking Here.

The always fun and somewhat wacky Dominic Keating as our Tactical and Armory Officer, Lt. Malcolm Reed joins us in another written feature style Interview which you can access by Clicking Here.

And lastly the man behind the wheel, Ensign Travis Mayweather played by Anthony Montgomery joins us for both a written feature style Interview that you can read by Clicking Here or also as An Exclusive Video Interview by Clicking below:

Wow… Seriously, STILL not enough?

OK, well then maybe our Video Interview with three of the Captains, William Shatner, the legendary Captain James T. Kirk, the Commander of Space Station Deep Space Nine, Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko and the very first man to sit in the Enterprise’s ‘Big Chair,’ Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer will do it for ya by Clicking below:

If ALL of THAT hasn’t convinced you that TheCinemaSource is an Awesome place for new Star Trek Content then we’ll just have to try to impress you again in July of 2013 when our coverage of TNG Season 4 on Blu-ray goes live!

You can Check out the Season 4 Trailer right now:

The Trailer for The Best of Both Worlds on Blu-ray:

And the Trailer for Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray:

]]> http://www.thebluraysource.com/article/tcs-has-been-assimilated-resistance-was-futile/feed/ 0