Law & Order: Criminal Intent – The Seventh Year DVD Review
I am a huge fan of the original Law & Order, as well as the first spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It took me awhile to warm up to SVU, but by seasons two and three it grew to become, in my humble opinion, the better of the two shows…edgier, darker and about as unflinching as network TV ever got. And both shows lend themselves perfectly to marathon viewings sessions, making the DVD box sets well-worth the money.
The second spin-off Law & Order: Criminal Intent, while a fine show, simply isn’t as compulsively watchable. It’s well-made, has a terrific cast and good writing, especially in the earlier seasons when Vincent D’Onofrio unleashed his inner-Columbo every single week as Detective Goren. He was always a quirky actor who shined brightest when playing eccentrics, and it’s almost as if the Dick Wolf created Criminal Intent with D’Onofrio in-mind, and it’s the only series in the franchise primarily driven by one character.
This approach is a double-edged sword, though. While Goren is a great character, whose knowledge of even the most mundane facts (I’d hate to play Trivial Pursuit against this guy) plays a huge role in solving cases, he is the only interesting character. Everyone else leaves about as much an impression as Elvis’ back-up band. But part of the appeal of L&O has always been in its ensemble casts, making Criminal Intent an addition to the franchise in name only.
Later seasons, including this one, tried to shake things up by bringing in other characters, lifting the burden of carrying the show from D’Onofrio’s shoulders. Hence, Chris Noth (from the original L&O) returns as detective Logan with a new partner, Megan Wheeler. So some episodes feature these two trying to solve the weekly case instead of Gowen and Eames. The problem is that Logan (although compelling in the original L&O as sort of a hothead), isn’t as interesting anymore. In fact, sometimes it feels like he isn’t the same character. I think it was a mistake to sometimes shift the focus away from Gowen.
Cast notwithstanding, this seventh season boxed set is hit-or-miss. Some episodes knock it out of the park, and are just as riveting as the best of L&O or SVU. Others are simply aren’t all that interesting. For most long-running series, a drop in consistency is to be expected. The first two shows raised the bar so high, and remained great for so long, that I guess it was inevitable that the Law of Diminished Returns would eventually rear its ugly head.
Still, Criminal Intent is a decent show in its own right, and the episodes featuring D’Onofrio are the superior ones in this set. I still think, however, it has little in common with any other series in the franchise.
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Summer With Monika and Summer Interlude Blu-ray Reviews
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John Carter 3D-4 disc set
John Carter was a major flop for Disney. 200 million to produce and it very poorly at the box office. This 4 disc set is expensive (retails for $49.95) but you can get it for nearly half that if you look around. So was it really that bad? No!
Not having read of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books I went into viewing this a “John Carter” novice and I was not disappointed at all. What you have is a good old fashioned adventure film with a handsome hero, with a good amount of humor thrown in, in an exotic locale (can’t get more exotic than Mars) and a beautiful, smart and tough princess to rescue (Dejah Thoris) from an evil, power hungry bad guy. Also, there is an ancient tribe of non human aliens with their own sub-plot and language, great voice acting from Willem Dafoe, and of course, a Disney throw in alien dog like creature. Story line is fast oving and I really liked the Edgar Rice Burroughs tie in at the beginning and end.
The 3D disc do not disappoint with tons of special effects that are totally enhanced while watching in 3D. The effects look better in 3D and are not just thrown in because its a 3D movie. No pointing swords coming out of the screen as in Pirates 3.
I found all aspects of the production to be first rate. If I would improve anything, I’d dig a little deeper into the cultural aspects of the different civilizations on Mars but then the film would have been 3 hours long. If you want more, read the books.
Extras are included on the 2 D blu-ray and feature Disney second screen; a great way to watch additional info on your ipad while watching the 2 D version of the film, bloopers, deleted scenes with commentary, a 100 years in the making documentary from pulp novel to film, 360 degrees of John Carter, which explores the film’s production, and audio commentary during the film. As usual, Disney throws in a lot of materials to supplement the disc set. You also get a DVD copy with extras and a digital copy.
This film got a bad rap; its not that bad and production values are very good. I found it very entertaining and fun to watch in 3D. Its also pretty much family friendly. Price is restrictive, even for 3D, but get it on sale and you’ll be a happy camper.
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