Season seven debuted the 25th of September, 2001, and yes, this season deals a lot of the aftermath of 9/11, which is both a strength and a weakness. This helps the season by giving it added dramatic weight. However, it also means there are a few more episodes that are more action oriented, and this is not a strength of the show. (I don't think they had to budget to pull off special effects.) The episodes that concentrate on criminal cases and that take place mostly in the courtroom hold my attention the most.

On a side note, in one episode, Bud 'interrogates' a suspected terrorist by discussing Star Trek. This is actually a very realistic. I've seen interviews with World War II interrogators who stated that they got more information with a cup of warm tea than any other technique. People want to talk, and if you talk to them and find a personal connection, they will talk. Guilty criminals want to confess. Smart criminals want to prove how smart they are. Terrorists who think their cause is just want to prove that to you.

Sadly, there are no extras on this 5-disc set, nor are there any subtitles. There are play all buttons and proper chapter placements.

While I prefer the spin-off, NCIS, JAG is still an excellent show, especially for fans of police procedural shows who want a military angle. Season Seven contains everything fans have come to expect, and for these people there's no reason to stop collecting the DVDs. If you haven't seen the show yet, check it out, but obviously start with Season One.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - 20th Anniversary Edition - Buy from Amazon
I can't believe this show is no longer on the air. It's not like there's a shortage of bad movies coming out these days.

The four movies presented here are...

• First Spaceship on Venus - Season 3 - Episode 11
  After finding an alien spool in the Gobi Desert, scientists determine that it came from Venus, which must have an advanced civilization, but if there is an advanced civilization, why haven't they communicated with Earth? The nations of the world send a spaceship to Venus to discover the answer to that question, but what they find there will shock the world.
  Bits include the robots building their own robot, a gorilla visits the Satellite of Love, and more.
  Extras on the DVD include the first part of the three-part history of MST3K, which runs just over 25 minutes and details the very early history of the show. (Initial development and the KTLA days.) There is also the original trailer for the movie.
• Laserblast - Season 8 - Episode 6
  The movie starts with a lone figure running across a desert, when a spaceship flies over head. After it lands two aliens come out and there is a short laser battle. ... And then nothing happens for the next 20 minutes or so. Even after some teenager finds one of the lasers and a necklace that causes him to mutate still not a lot happens. But the lack of plot give the trio plenty of opportunities to mock the movie, and it deserves to be mocked.
  Bits include changing the diaper of a star baby, being visited by a angry space probe, and something to do with a black hole and cross-dressing.
  Extras on the DVD start with the second part of the History of MST3K. This part starts with the move from KTLA to The Comedy Channel. It also includes how they added Mike Nelson to the fold, as well as the other new cast and crew members. The only other extra is the original trailer for Laserblast.
• Werewolf - Season 10 - Episode 4
  In Arizona, an archeology team unearths a skeleton that looks human, except for its wolf-like head. The natives think it part of their werewolf myth, and one of workers was injured by the remains. But while some are worried about the possibility of a werewolf running amok, others look at this opportunity for power.
  Bits include Mike thinking he's James Lipton, another failed escape attempt, and multiple Ray Liotta references. ... And more cross-dressing.
  Extras include the finally part of the History of MST3K, which includes when Mike Nelson replaced Joel Hodgson as the host, when Comedy Central dumped the show, the movie, Sci-Fi Channel taking over the show, and the final end. The only other extra is the original trailer for the movie.
• Future War - Season 11 - Episode 4
  The most recently released movie to ever be featured on MST3K, as it was released nearly a decade into the show's run. Cyborgs from the future use captured humans as slaves and unconvincing dinosaur puppets as trackers. When one slave escapes to Earth, trackers are sent to find him, and end up killing a lot of bad actors.
  Bits include forced perspective, the many uses of water, and thanking Pearl for not killing them.
  Extras on the DVD included a Comic-Con panel with the cast & crew hosted by Patton Oswald. Other extras include the original trailer for the movie, as well as several versions of the opening credit theme songs, which is a hoot to watch, but I would have liked the option to see a particular version individually as well as seeing them all in a row.

All four of these films are dreadful, but mostly dreadful in a very entertaining way. Additionally, this 4-disc set has better extras than most of the previous releases. Mystery Science Theater 3000 - 20th Anniversary Edition is easily worth picking up for fans of the show. In fact, if you've never seen the show, it's worth checking out.

The show starts in the middle of summer with Donkey bugging Shrek about Christmas, who promptly tells him he doesn't care about Christmas. Flash forward to the day before Christmas eve and Fiona tells Shrek how excited she is, so he promises a Christmas surprise, but first he has to learn about Christmas starting with decorating, and ending with the Christmas story. Of course, the rest of the gang shows up and they all have their own Christmas stories to tell, ruining Shrek's plan for a perfect, family Christmas.

On a side note, if Christmas gets so out of hand that someone get lits on fire, you kick everyone out, and you don't apologize afterwards.

Extras on the DVD are mostly centered around songs starting with The 12 Days of Christmas featuring the penguins from Madagascar. This is a repetitive song, and the animation isn't varied enough to compensate. Deck the Halls is not as repetitive, but still rather weak. The only other real extra is Gingy's Dunking Game where you try and match Gingy with one of three Gingerbread cookies.

This TV special moves at a fast pace and there are an impressive number of jokes packed into its 21-minute running time, but sadly not enough hit their mark. It is worth checking out, but the replay value is limited. Add in very limited extras, and it is hard to recommend the Shrek the Halls DVD for anything more than a rental. Perhaps the younger members of the target audience will enjoy it more, but I still think there are better options out there.

One last note, this DVD is also available with Shrek TY Plush, a Donkey TY Plush, a Puss in Boots TY Plush, or a Gingy TY Plush.

Sleeping Beauty - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
The first of the classic Disney animated movies to come out in High Definition. When I heard about this movie was coming out on Blu-ray, my initial thought was, "It's nearly 50 years old. How good could it look?" Boy was I wrong.

This film looks amazing. It looks better than 90% of the Blu-rays I've seen, including most of the today's films that come out day-and-date on both DVD and Blu-ray. It's flawless. I'm stunned at how great this looks. This is as good as this film as ever looked, even if you managed to see the movie when it first came out. (Granted, the sheer size of the theatrical presentation would make a difference here. But I would still argue that the Blu-ray looks better.) The only Blu-rays that have looked better in my opinion are the Pixar releases, but coming from a digital source helps.

Moving onto the extras, there are a ton on this 3-disc set. (Although to be completely accurate, disc three is merely the movie on a standard DVD, and not a third disc of extras.) As I mentioned when I first reviewed the movie's latest home market releases, there is a massive list of extras, all of which have been ported over to the Blu-ray. I won't go over those here, but I will mention the new release. First of all, the audio commentary track as be upgraded to a Cine-Explore feature featuring picture-in-picture of the three men doing the talking (Leonard Maltin, Andreas Deja, and John Lasseter). There are also video clips from archival interviews and the like, as well as images from storyboards, behind-the-scenes, and more. I've been more than happy with every Cine-Explore I've seen so far, and I'm glad to say this one is no different. Next up is Dragon Encounter, a CG short film exploring Maleficent's dungeon. Finally, there is the standard selection of Disney BD-Live features.

Over on Disc Two, there's a new game called Maleficent Challenge where you answer a series of questions and Maleficent guesses what your are thinking. She was able to guess DVD (she actually guess a compact disc, but that's close enough). The Sound of Beauty: Restoring a Classic discusses the restoration of the sound of the film, as well as the way the sound meshes with the visuals.

Sleeping Beauty's debut on Blu-ray is amazing. It is simple as that. Not only is it worth paying extra over the DVD, it is worth upgrading your home theater to High Definition.

Some of the highlights include...

• Soul Music - Anthony Hamilton
  There are a lot of difference sub-genres of Soul Music, and this song matches my favorite type the best, although I'm not an aficionado of the genre enough to know what sub-genre that is. (Motown, I think.)
• I'm Your Puppet - The Real Deal
  The Real Deal is the fictional band from the movie made up of John Legend, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bernie Mac. John Legend is an award-winning R&B singer, while Samuel L. Jackson, and Bernie Mac are not. But they combined well.
• Water - Meshell Ndegeocello
  A very smooth track that draws you in.
• Boogie Ain't Nuttin' (But Getting' Down) - Samuel L. Jackson, and Bernie Mac
  My personal favorite of the three songs featuring the two actors. They are clearly having fun, which helps compensate for their ... untrained talent.
• Memphis Train - Ryan Shaw
  A great beat and a retro style helps to transport listeners back to the 1960s.
• You Don't Know What You Mean (To a Lover Like Me) - The Sugarman 3 featuring Lee Fields
  I've often said my life doesn't have enough Funk in it, and this song helps rectify the situation.

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Butcher of Fleet Street - Blu-Ray - Buy from Amazon
I've already reviewed the DVD when it came out earlier this year. This film was one of the HD DVDs I was looking forward to the most, but with the demise of HD DVD, it never came out. So now we finally get to see Sweeney Todd in high definition, but was it worth the wait?

No need to talk about the movie, which I loved, but I will concentrate on what makes the Blu-ray different from the DVD. First of all, this is a great looking movie, and it sounds even better. This is incredibly important, because the film's look is stylish to the extreme. The CG London is a character unto itself. Additionally, since it is a musical, the sound is equally important. I'm happy to report that in both sound and audio, it is among the best I've encountered in Blu-ray.

On the other hand, the extras are little mixed. Granted, there are a ton of extras here, including a meaty making of featurette, press conference, a look at the 'historical' roots of the Sweeney Todd legend, etc., etc., etc. However, these were all on the 2-disc DVD. They are mostly in High Definition with the press conference and one of the interview featurettes being the only exception. However, I'm quite certain these were filmed in Standard Definition to begin with. Again, a huge selection of extras, I would have liked an audio commentary track, perhaps a Picture-in-Picture track, but what we have is more than enough to make the movie a must have.

It took a little longer than originally anticipated, but we finally have Sweeney Todd - The Demon Butcher of Fleet Street in High Definition. The Blu-Ray is a must have, as was the 2-disc DVD. And even better... If you already have the film on DVD, you can get $10.00 back from a mail-in rebate. There's no reason not to upgrade.

War - Greatest Hits Live - Buy from Amazon
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh

Sorry, wrong band.

This DVD presents a live concert from The Grove in Anaheim, California, which took place in December of last year. This DVD presents two hours of funky, soulful, socially aware music that made the band a success for the past 4 decades. The band's biggest hits are here ("Spill the Wine (Dig that Pearl)", "Lowrider", "Why Can't We Be Friends?"). This is not a flashy concert and there are no pyrotechnics or elaborate light show, but this means the music gets to take center stage here. On a side note, when I first heard "Spill the Wine" I hated that song. I hated it with a passion. However, over the years that song has grown on me and now it is one of my favorite songs and it is in the heaviest rotations on my MP3 list. One finally note, "Spill the Wine" is not the original version, but it is cool nonetheless, while "Lowrider" is part of a long medley that ends the concert.

Extras include some nearly 12 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and just over 14 minutes of images.

I do not have the CD or Blu-ray to compare the DVD to.

I wonder if War ever wrote a song about Edwin Starr? ... Moving on. For fans of War, Greatest Hits Live is a must have, regardless of what format you decide on.