The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart... Reviewed!

Before I jump in, I'd like to thank WB for supplying us with a copy of 

this movie for review. My opinions are my own.

The film starts off with Brock and his OSI (Office of Secret Intelligence) squad searching for Hank who was last pinged in Queens, NY. Despite the serious intro, it wasn't long before humor was inserted. Next thing you know... bang (action) an explosion occurred down the street that Brock and his OSI squad ran to investigate... that left Dean concerned about Hank as the attention shifted. This was before the intro, but it served up two of the many scenarios you will experience in this film. 

Does 'The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart', deliver enough oomph to hold my interest from beginning to end? Let's find out!

Story: This all-new original film is clean and serves up a solid storyline with multiple moving parts. One of the cogs in this film is the situation between Dr. Venture & the Monarch. The Guild of Calamitous Intent is giving the Monarch a cold shoulder because they're questioning his relationship with Dr. Venture. They want to make sure they aren't close, which makes me think back on the show and something that occurred. Let's just say the Monarch's wife (Sheila) had to get DNA from Dr. Venture for verification of sorts. That's a smaller cog, but it still matters because they're bumping heads based on her being a... councilwoman for the Guild. It's a busy film, so you will have to pay attention, but... the machine that makes up 'The Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart' has multiple cogs that will keep you interested from beginning to end.

Another cog includes Arch, a competing organization for baddies... being led by someone close to... (Malcolm) the Monarch & Dr. Venture. There is another cog related to this cog too, that represents the Monarch, and it's connected to the Guild & Arch. Speaking of Arch, the leader's outfit gives me G-Force vibes to a certain degree (I like it).

Hank & Dean have a few shared cogs as well, but I'll let you experience those yourself. Going back to Dean being concerned about Hank, Dr. Venture isn't concerned because it's typical for him to run off. The Doc is more concerned with his product line that's about to launch in order to pull his company back from the brink of going belly up. The writers found a way to connect Dr. Venture's cog to Arch also and the results are... out of this world!

There wasn't a part of this film that I had an issue with, and I enjoyed each side story (I'm telling you, there was a crap load of cogs in this machine). I think one of my faves is Dean's and his side story with Jefferson & Dr. Orpheus (man)... badass... badass... badass (shout out to Wesley Snipes and to the writers). Hank's adventure was solid too, which was a very smart approach based on what occurred to him.

Fun fact: Wesley Snipes is on my list of favorite actors.

You will see Hank in more ways than one... just remember that he's on a journey to find himself, but even someone on his path is a huge cog in more ways than one. This doesn't even serve up everything that occurred and what was said regarding one-liners + the finale... with a twist wrapped up in true Venture Bros. style. You will figure out the title of the film once it's said and done... and it doesn't x future movies off the list, so they should keep em coming (why not?)!

By the way, watch past the credits.

Visuals: Visuals are solid and look polished. I didn't look at this and get the feeling that I was watching a 'Made for TV' movie. They did a great job, see for yourself:

Audio: When it comes to the audio in this film, it gets two thumbs up. It's served up via DTS-HD Master Audio in 5.1 surround sound, which you hear right off the bat with Hi-Res headphones and surround sound systems. Do you know how some films and movies require you to really listen out for spatial audio? That's not the case here and it makes it even more lively (even the car scene with Mr & Mrs Monarch made me feel like was in the vehicle with them... especially while wearing the headphones). I used 1More SonoFlow headphones with DTS Surround enabled, as well as Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound. Both are solid options for this film (I've watched it several times).

Price + Extras: Pricewise... The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart comes in at $19.99 SRP for Digital and $29.98 SRP for Blu-Ray + Digital (which is the better option). We always try to get you the lowest price possible, so click the links and save. I don't have a problem with the Blu-Ray+Digital price, but I'd suggest taking $5 off the digital (luckily you can save even more for either at the links).

Special Features:

Commentary by co-creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer

Jackson and Doc Answer Fan Questions (Commentary)

Hodgman and Friends (Featurette) - John Hodgman digs deep with Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer to learn more about the making of Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart and untold tales about their series. Fans will eat this up.

By the way, you see the poster, right? That's included, but... back when I did the review of The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series, I complained that there should have been something like a poster added as a plus to sweeten the pot. I presented it to the team (shout out to Jamie for sharing my thoughts), and it might be a coincidence... but a poster's included with this. Either way, it's a win for the fans!

The Digital version drops today & you can grab it on Blu-Ray... July 25th!

Story 5

Visuals 5

Audio 5

Price 5 (this is based on the Blu-Ray+ Digital we received)

5 out of 5 Cool Points (Easy 5)

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Cut Throat City... Reviewed!

Shout out to Well Go USA Entertainment for providing a copy of this film for my review.

Cut Throat City is harsh (hence the name), they tried to pump a little sunshine and romance in there... but the film boomeranged back to a dramatic place for the sake of delivering more action with a confusing twist. By the way, Cut Throat City debuted at #1 on Netflix's Top 10 trending chart ahead of its #FYC Awards Campaign.

Story: Even though Cut Throat City is fictional, it was still derived from a reality that some face on a daily basis (to an extent). I say to an extent because I totally understand how the main character Blink, felt coming from what some would consider as... the bad part of town while trying to improve life for his family. His goal was to have his comic book picked up by a publisher to turn things around, but he was shown the door... regardless of his eye-catching work. There was some criticism in there that was later utilized to bring it home... but let's dive into the focus of the film.

Life seemed on the up and up, but... Hurricane Katrina took life and turned the difficulty setting up times 10.

Left with no job, no help from FEMA, and limited resources drying up... Blink got together with his childhood friends Miracle, Junior, plus Andre, to reluctantly seek an opportunity from a local gangster by the name of... Cousin (played by Tip T.I. Harris).

What's the opportunity? A heist of sorts, at one one of the few moneymakers still in town, the casinos.

The web starts to tangle as the movie rolls out because Cousin also happens to be the... cousin of Blink's supportive wife, Demyra (played by Katerina Graham). All hell breaks loose on their mission for Cousin, so that doesn't exactly make the best working relationship. When you add in the cops, plus the Saint's crew (led by Terrance Howard) on the opposite side... you can imagine how crazy things can get during their desperate attempt to earn a dollar. Oh yeah, Detective Lucinda (played by Eiza Gonzalez)... went to school with Blink, so she also knew him during his childhood and was well aware of his talents.

The web tangles even further because Detective Lucinda finds connections between gangsters and dirty cops during her quest to piece together the puzzle that could land Blink in prison. Did I fail to mention that one of the Detectives (played by Ethan Hawke) is also linked to... Demyra? Small world.

I would say that there were some ups in this film, but they were short-lived or left more to be desired along with the character development. I think I was pulled out of the film because it didn't feel cohesive enough for me, yes... you had an on-going situation in the background, but outside of Blink trying to survive in quicksand... it just felt like he was going from point A to B interacting with caricatures that will later come in handy. I didn't see the goals of his friends start to take form at all, it just felt like they were inserted into the story, and the location... along with most of the other actors. I got a New York vibe from Blink who was supposed to be from... Louisiana. I don't want to make it seem like there can't be someone like Blink from the area... he just reminded me of guys I knew from New York (with terminology that I'd more so align with NY than LA).

Cousin was interesting in the movie, but... he was the biggest caricature of all. Just felt like the writer was out of touch, he could've been more realistic without being that over the top (in terms of his mindset). 

What bummed me out... was not being able to see a win in between, it felt like the same old tactics were used from the start that landed them in hot water and they willingly jumped right back into that pot of hot water again during the final heist. I scratched my head during that final heist though, because I question if it really happened. I got a sigh of relief after seeing a victorious situation occur in the end, but that's where the confusion came in as to what the outcome truly was. That's based on the final scene with Lawrence (played by Wesley Snipes) before the credits ran. I didn't see Blink, so then I was like... what really happened to him?

I thought that was it, but I noticed that there was still a nice stretch of time left on the movie and knew it couldn't all be the credits. So I sat through the initial credits (which weren't long) and got sort of a clearer view of what happened and what didn't happen (because I saw a certain character). That's as clear as I can present it without spoiling it for you, but... you'll see what I mean.

Visuals: When it comes to the visuals... for the most part they were standard (which is fine) with some dynamic shots tucked in there. I like when they zoomed into the background while talking at a cafe, and when the camera zoomed out they were in their gear prepared for their... next heist. I think I only saw that in a music video or two once upon a time... but this flowed a little better.

Nothing seemed off or overdone... so I can give the visual a solid thumbs up.

Audio: As far as audio goes... I enjoyed the sound effects in the shoot outs. The background music sounded a little louder than it had to be... and I found myself turning it down a little while using headphones or speakers (for some of the music). Other than that... standard vocal tracks and sound effects were good.

Price: Pricewise... Cut Throat City's MSRP was $29.98 on Blu-ray + DVD. I guess I can see that price for both formats in the same package... but still I would've sold it for $19.99 (in order to sweeten the pot and increase the temptation to buy). At the time of this review... you can get Cut Throat City for $12.96 for the Blu-ray + DVD combo.

Overall, it's not a bad movie... I've watched it 3 times so far. The third time was literally to playback and make sense of the parts I didn't get. I still question something that happened, but there's no way it could have happened based on the final scene I saw.

Story 3

Visuals 5

Audio 4

Price 5 (I would've given it a 3 for the MSRP)

4.25 out of 5 Cool Points

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

I wish we could get at least one more installment of Blade with Wesley Snipes! - Blu

DESCRIPTION

Bloodlines™ 2: First Blood Pack

Seattle has been under Kindred rule since the 1850s. While the city has changed, you can use the Bloodlines™ 2: First Blood Pack to go back to a darker, bloodier time.

Pre-Purchase Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2 today for exclusive early access to the First Blood Pack, delivered at Day 1.

Pick Your Bloodlines™ 2 Edition

Bloodlines™ 2: Unsanctioned Blood Pack

You are Unsanctioned Blood: A vampire created in an attack that violated every rule of the Masquerade. 

With the Bloodlines™ 2: Unsanctioned Blood Pack, call back to another, older Unsanctioned vampire's journey through the City of Angels.

Bloodlines™ 2: Season of the Wolf

Strange beings have ventured into Seattle, and threaten the Masquerade. Expand your Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2 story into the Season of the Wolf.

The Season of the Wolf includes
• Two Story Packs which will take you deeper into the underbelly of Seattle and introduce some of the more fantastical denizens from the World of Darkness.
• One major Expansion in which the vampires' greatest enemy enters Seattle. 

Also included is the "Bludgeon Weapon Skin", available at Day 1.

Summary

Sired in an act of vampire terrorism, your existence ignites the war for Seattle's blood trade. Enter uneasy alliances with the creatures who control the city and uncover the sprawling conspiracy which plunged Seattle into a bloody civil war between powerful vampire factions.

Become the Ultimate Vampire
Immerse yourself in the World of Darkness and live out your vampire fantasy in a city filled with intriguing characters that react to your choices. You and your unique disciplines are a weapon in our forward-driving, fast-moving, melee-focussed combat system. Your power will grow as you advance, but remember to uphold the Masquerade and guard your humanity... or face the consequences.

Descend into Seattle’s Dark Heart and Survive the Vampire Elite
Seattle has always been run by vampires. Hunt your prey across Seattle locations faithfully reimagined in the World of Darkness. Meet the old blood founders present since the city’s birth and the new blood steering the tech money redefining the city. Everyone has hidden agendas - so choose your allies wisely.

Enter into Uneasy Alliances
Choose a side among competing factions, each with their own unique traits and stories, in the war for Seattle’s blood trade. The world will judge you by the company you keep, but remember no one’s hands stay clean forever.

Experience the Story
Written by the creative mind behind the original Bloodlines, Vampire: The Masquerade® - Bloodlines™ 2 brings the ambitions of the first game to life and sees the return of a few fan favorite characters.

游戏开始！

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