The Science Fiction Review Movies Blade Runner The Final Cut (2007) directed by Ridley Scott coming soon

Blade Runner The Final Cut (2007) directed by Ridley Scott coming soon

Blade Runner the Final Cut

I’ve heard rumors of this “Final Cut” of Blade Runner for years. Blade Runner was one of the first movies released on DVD, but was such poor quality I was extremely disappointed. It is definitely one of my favorite movies, and felt a bit cheated that the transfer was so poor. The picture was grainy and the soundtrack was only in Dolby 2.0, not even 5.1 surround sound which was the main advantage to DVD (besides increased resolution) at the time. I’ve been meaning to review the original Director’s Cut DVD (without Rick Deckard’s narration and the happy ending) but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I’m glad to see that Blade Runner is finally getting the love and care it deserves. I have only seen the Director’s Cut, and have watched just a few scenes of the theatrical release with the narration on cable from time to time. I’m excited to see all of the different versions offered together. There are 3 different releases announced with a variety of alternate cuts of the movie. There is a 2 disc Special Editionamazon link, 4 disc Collector’s Editionamazon link, and 5 disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition (DVDamazon link, HD-DVDamazon link, Blu-rayamazon link). I plan on getting the 4 disc DVD version and reviewing it here in the near future. Both Blu-ray and HD-DVD 5 disc versions are available without the “Ultimate” briefcase for a lower price, but for some reason that option isn’t available for DVD. Don’t miss this release, check out all of the pre-order options (there are MANY) that are available on Amazonamazon link.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) by BioWareStar Wars: The Old Republic (2011) by BioWare

Back in 2000, I heard of a new Star Wars MMORPG that would come out sometime in the new future. I knew immediately that I would play the game, soon to be called Star Wars Galaxies. I was accepted into Beta 3 and played from that time until I quit at the end of 2005 following the New Game Enhancements “upgrade.” Sometime around 2005 or a little after, there were rumors of a new Star Wars MMO.  This was to eventually become Star Wars: The Old Republic by Bioware, announced in 2008. I was not ready for a new MMO but nevertheless I signed up for the news. I’ve been following it rather loosely ever since.

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Frank Herbert’s Dune to be directed by Peter Berg and released by ParamountFrank Herbert’s Dune to be directed by Peter Berg and released by Paramount

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Surrogates (2009) Directed by Jonathan MostowSurrogates (2009) Directed by Jonathan Mostow

Surrogates DVD

I wasn’t really expecting much when I heard about Surrogates, so waited to watch it until it came out on DVD. From the previews it looked like many other science fiction action films that seem to be pumped out by Hollywood. The main premise of the movie is that humans live their lives through “surrogate” (robot) bodies. I’m a huge fan of Asimov and his robot novels, so this was enough to catch my attention. The human interface is kind of like how control worked in Avatar, but instead of an organic body as the host, it is robotic. I would definitely not classify the surrogates as the cyborgs that Ray Kurzweil thinks we will eventually become.  One of the main advantages to using a surrogate is that the owner is always protected, so in some ways they are better than cyborgs. There was no way for any harm to come to a user, until now.

Tom Greer, played by Bruce Willis, is in charge of investigating the destruction of a couple of surrogates. This is usually not that big of a deal, but one of the owners is found dead. Whoever wrote the script really wasn’t trying anything new as far as the murder/mystery approach is concerned. I was expecting a lot more action based on the previews that I saw. It felt like I was watching for 40 minutes before things started to get moving. This move was all around average in most respects. Nothing really stood out. It wasn’t bad, but not great.

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