No Escape is an all around entertaining film perfect for a Saturday movie night. No, it doesn’t make you think or have any profound performances but the acting isn’t bad with Owen Wilson serving as a fine everyman type of character and Pierce Brosnan in his small part is a lot of fun. This is probably worthy of a rental.
Gotham: The Complete Third Season
(2016-17)
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Warner Bros. | NR – 957 min. – $54.97 | August 29, 2017
Date Published: 08/28/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE SEASON — 3.75/5 |
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Season Synopsis: With the Indian Hill fugitives on the loose, Jim Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE) takes matters into his own hands as a bounty hunter. But will he find demented mastermind Hugo Strange (BD WONG) and his deranged subject, Fish Mooney (JADA PINKETT SMITH)? Bullock (DONAL LOGUE) and Barnes (MICHAEL CHIKLIS) attempt to hold the front line on crime against burgeoning Super-Villains Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR), Edward Nygma/Riddler (CORY MICHAEL SMITH), the fugitive Poison Ivy (MAGGIE GEHA) and Jervis Tetch (BENEDICT SAMUEL) aka Mad Hatter. All the while, young Bruce Wayne (DAVID MAZOUZ) discovers yet more secrets behind his parents’ murder as he peels back the curtain on the infamous criminal organization, The Court of Owls. Gotham has been a series that has peeked my interest mostly based on my childhood fandom of the Batman comic books and even its spin-offs (remember “Azrael”?), and with that, I do tend to enjoy seeing the various classic villains making their appearances, though some have been done worse than others (Mr. Freeze) while others make for formidable antagonists, even seeing Cobblepot once again running for mayor was fun, and his team-up with Edward Nygma worked. Then you get James Gordon working the streets as a bounty hunter and that aspect, eh, hasn’t worked for me, though I still like Ben McKenzie’s portrayal. But with another season, it means we get another villain being put into the fold: Jervis Tetch alias The Mad Hatter, and like the others in this world, he’s been given a dark makeover and not nearly as goofy as his comic counterpart. And I actually liked Benedict Samuel (short stint on The Walking Dead) in the role, with the character being a hypnotist who spends the season obsessed with getting Gordon for the death of his sister, Alice (played by the beautiful NAIAN GONZALEZ NORVIND). And another addition to the season is somebody with a familiar last name: Valerie Vale (JAMIE CHUNG) and the latest love interest for Gordon; I feel real sorry for Ben McKenzie. And speaking of which, Dr. Leslie Thompkins (MORENA BACCARIN), is back in town and engaged to one Mario Falcone (JAMES CARPINELLO), which brings Carmine Falcone back into the fold as well. Amongst all of these characters and politics within Gotham City, Bruce Wayne continues his ascent, or is it descent, into becoming the Dark Knight following his and Alfred’s (SEAN PERTWEE) escape from Indian Hill, and a blossoming relationship with bad girl, Selina Kyle (CAMREN BICONDOVA). I haven’t been the biggest fan of this storyline but have enjoyed the actress who played Selina at least and have hopes to actually seeing young Wayne’s path. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5 |
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This 4-disc set comes housed in an HD Keep Case and comes with a side-sliding matted slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy and an Episode Guide. Deleted Scenes – ‘Better to Reign in Hell…’, ‘New Day Rising’, ‘The Red Queen’, ‘The Executioner’, ‘Time Bomb’, ‘Ghosts’, ‘Smile Like You Mean It’, ‘How the Riddler Got His Name’, ‘Light the Wick’, ‘Destiny Calling’ Madness Rising: The New Villains of Gotham (10:00; HD) takes a deeper look at Mad Hatter, Ivy Pepper and the elusive Court of Owls. Gotham: 2016 Comic-Con Panel (28:22; HD) – Join the cast (nearly all of them) and executive producers in San Diego as they talk about the third season. Ben McKenzie Directorial Debut (2:20; HD) is about the actor/star of the show helming ‘These Delicate and Dark Obsessions’. The Dark Within the Dark: The Court of Owls (12:02; HD) looks at the history behind this organization and their motivations. |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Gotham: The Complete Second Season arrives on Blu-ray presented in its originally televised 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The video more or less look close to how it aired and features sharp detail; colors are on the drab side in keeping with the series’ darker tones while skin tones appear to be natural looking and the transfer itself is clean, free of any flaws. (Copied from my Season 2 review) |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is fairly dynamic. Dialogue generally sounds clear throughout the season and when the action picks up, the depth is showcased with each of the 5 channels getting decent usage. The LFE channel does kick in but is minor. On the whole, it’s a nice and satisfactory lossless track. (Copied from my Season 2 review) |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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Overall, Gotham still isn’t exactly my favorite of the DC television series but I do get quite a bit of enjoyment just because I’m more familiar with the Batman-lore and appreciate characters the filmmakers sprinkle in, and there is a nice layer with the whole Court of Owls storyline. This third season release does offer good video and audio transfers and a solid amount of features, though a couple commentaries would’ve been nice. |