Blu-ray Review “Third Person”

Starring: Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, Maria Bello, Kim Basinger, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Michele Melega
Director: Paul Haggis
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Run Time: 137 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

A film from the director of “Crash” and starring Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, Maria Bello, Kim Basinger, Olivia Wilde and James Franco”? How did I not hear about this film and why is it basically going straight to Blu-ray. I knew I had to see this since it had to be terrible. Surprising after watching, I was definitely interested in the film the entire time. It follows Haggis’ multiple storylines that are all intertwined but you don’t find out till the end. Worth checking out for great performances but a little too long for me and expect a little head scratching with the film’s big reveal.

Official Premise: “Third Person” tells three stories of love, passion, trust and betrayal, in a multi-strand story line reminiscent of Paul Haggis’s earlier Oscar-winning film Crash. The tales play out in New York, Paris and Rome: three couples who appear to have nothing related but share deep commonalities: lovers and estranged spouses, children lost and found.

“Third Person” is being released as a Blu-ray only, no DVD or Digital Copy, which is uncommon for Sony. The film still looks great on Blu-ray with it’s 1080p presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is also impressive even though the film is very dialogue based.  In terms of special features, we have a decent audio commentary track Writer/Director Paul Haggis, Production Designer Laurence Bennett, Editor Jo Francis, Producer Michael Nozik, and Actor Moran Atias. There is a Q&A again with Paul Haggis, which runs just over 30 minutes. There is a quick behind-the-scenes look into “The Making of Third Person”. Lastly there is a trailer included.

Blu-ray Review “Person of Interest: The Complete Third Season”

Actors: Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman, Sarah Shahi, Michael Emerson
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Run Time: 1012 minutes

Season: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

When “Person of Interest” started airing I never really caught onto it. It is called one of “television’s most gripping dramas” but I really just never got into it. I think you really need to love the cast of the show you are watching. Same thing to me happened with “Under the Dome”. Good show but terrible cast. The cast here is very talented don’t get me wrong, Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel rock stars but I not a huge fan nonetheless. Either way the show is a hit and it will be entering its fourth season this fall on CBS.

Official Premise: In Season Three, the team suffers a devastating loss and faces staggering challenges. Technical wizard Finch (Michael Emerson) and ex-CIA operative Reese (Jim Caviezel) join forces with rogue agent Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi) to save lives and seek justice, but the team now faces an uncertain future. With The Machine, now completely self-governed and hidden from all, the POI team must struggle to protect their mission and the evolving intelligence providing their numbers.

The 23 episodes included are Liberty; Nothing to Hide; Lady Killer; Reasonable Doubt; Razgovor; Mors Praematura; The Perfect Mark; Endgame; The Crossing; The Devil’s Share; Lethe; Aletheia; 4C; Provenance; Last Call; RAM; /; Allegiance; Most Likely To…; Death Benefit; Beta; A House Divided & Deus Ex Machina.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s “Person of Interest: The Complete Third Season” is being released as a combo pack with Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet. I love the Warner Brothers always comes through with all of there television releases with UltraViolet bonus, which allows consumers to instantly stream and download all 23 episodes from The Cloud for viewing on computers and compatible iOS and Android devices.

The special features includes for this release are decent. There is a featurette “Person of Interest: The Future of A.I.” look into the real life technology with the creators. “Saying Goodbye to a Friend” features cast and creators talking about the loss of a character. “Bear on Set” looks into the episode with Boker the dog.

There is footage from the 2013 Comic Con Panel. There is only one commentary track includes with Michael Emerson on the season finale. If you are a fan of this show, one episode is not really enough to really wow you to be honest. With 23 episodes, five is a really the minimum. There is a gag reel included. Lastly there are digital comics based on each episode, this is really good bonus feature for sure.

Own it on Blu-ray™ Combo, DVD & Digital HD September 2