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Blu Tuesday: Evil Dead, 42 and More

July 16, 2013 /

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

“Evil Dead”

WHAT: Drug addict Mia (Jane Levy) is taken to a remote cabin in the woods by her brother (Shiloh Fernandez) and three friends to help kick the habit. But when one of them unknowingly summons an evil spirit from the Book of the Dead, the demon possesses Mia and turns her against the others.

WHY: “Evil Dead” is one of the few remakes that’s not only a success, but actually improves upon the original in certain departments. Though Sam Raimi’s version will forever be the “Evil Dead” of choice for horror purists, director Fede Alvarez has done an admirable job of preserving the tone of Raimi’s film while making it just different enough to stand on its own. The whole drug angle was a really smart way of introducing the characters into the story, and although they still make their share of bad decisions (particularly Lou Taylor Pucci’s Eric, whose stupidity will drive you crazy), for the most part, they’re much more developed than the typical cast of horror victims. Where Alvarez’s “Evil Dead” really flourishes, however, is the gore factor, because there’s absolutely no shortage of the red gooey stuff throughout the film’s brisk 91-minute runtime, and for horror fans, that’s surely music to their ears.

EXTRAS: In addition to an audio commentary with director Fede Alvarez, writer Rodo Sayagues and stars Jane Levy, Lou Taylor Pucci and Jessica Lucas, there’s a pair of behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews with the cast and crew about remaking the horror classic and more.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“42”

WHAT: In 1947, African-American baseball players were relegated to their own Negro League, but that all changed when Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) made the bold decision to break the color line and offer Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) the chance to make history as the first professional black player in the National League.

WHY: The story of Jackie Robinson is pretty much the ultimate civil rights tale, so it’s surprising that only one other film has been made on the subject, and that movie starred the famous athlete as himself. It’s probably because no matter how inspiring Robinson’s story may be, he’s not a particularly interesting figure, and that’s something that director Brian Helgeland constantly wrestles with in “42,” a conservative and slightly cheesy sports drama that feels like a product of its 1940s setting. Though Robinson makes for a dull protagonist, Helgeland surrounds him with a cast of colorful characters, including Christopher Meloni as Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, Alan Tudyk as racist Phillies manager Ben Chapman and Harrison Ford in a standout performance as Branch Rickey. It’s the veteran actor’s involvement that just barely tips the scale in the favor of “42,” because while the movie is an enjoyable tribute to one of baseball’s biggest heroes, it’s not as memorable as the source material warrants.

EXTRAS: There’s a behind-the-scenes featurette on training the actors to play baseball and recreating the old stadiums with special effects, another featurette on Boseman and Ford getting into character, and a brief retrospective on Robinson’s legacy.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

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Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

10 Must-Have Gadgets for the Summer

July 15, 2013 /

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Ah, summer. There’s just something about the summer.

It’s the time when possibilities seem endless and memories of summers past drive us to destinations as far as another part of the world, or as close as our backyard to try and create new ones. Summer, in a word, means adventure.

Like any adventure, you’ll need to make sure you have the right tools to not only get the most out of it, but in some cases, survive it. So while items like a cooler and a good e-book might be known necessities, here are some gadgets you might not think of that can help make this summer adventure an instant classic memory.

Turtle Shell Speaker

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One of the most exciting gadgets of the summer, the Turtle Shell from Outdoor Tech might just be the most versatile and complete outdoor speaker available.

Sure, it’s wireless with perfect sound quality, exceptional range (30 feet), battery life (9 hours) and speakerphone capability, but you’ve probably come to expect that in portable speakers. The Turtle Shell is unique, though, in just how good it sounds, and how durable it is, as it can’t be stopped by dirt, rain or shock damage. When you factor in such features as the ability to attach it to a bike, and some undeniably good looks, this is the only outdoor speaker you need.

Price: $129.95

BioLite CampStove

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There’s a variety of gadgets built for camping that are, in one way another, designed to bring you the comforts of home wherever you go. That’s great, of course, but in some way you still want to be able to enjoy the outdoors without feeling like you’ve brought the entire modern world with you.

The BioLite provides a compromise in that department, as it’s an electric campfire that runs off twigs like a usual campfire, but provides a more powerful and sustained flame than you can get out of the old fashioned method. Even better, it takes the energy from that same flame and can convert it to an electrical output through its available USB port should you need it.

Of course, if a better campfire isn’t appealing enough, you can always add the available grill top add-on for a complete outdoor cooking tool.

Price: $129.95

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Gadgets, Stuff to Buy

HMB and Fitness

July 15, 2013 /

shirtless man working out with dumbell

A healthy diet and regular workouts are the two key ingredients to developing fitness, but to push your body that extra level by building serious muscle many top athletes use supplements such as HMB.

HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutryate) is a branch of the amino acid Leucine: a substance found in protein-based food like fish and chicken. However, HMB is in short supply and so the body cannot feel its benefits as much as it could do if given a larger dose.

An Ironmagazine.com report in 2010 discusses how the supplement helps protect the breakdown of muscle proteins and actively stimulates tissue growth, so you can take it either before or after exercise and you’ll get the best of both worlds. Studies have shown that leucine contributes to protein synthesis, especially the small amounts of HMB already in the body. Any addition, therefore, is beneficial when building muscle and you only need a small dosage – three grams per day – to boost your recovery and enlarge skeletal muscles.

Combine this dosage with regular exercise and a good diet or protein and vegetables – plus carbohydrate intake before you work out to fuel the body through intense periods – and you’ll soon discover you’re getting fitter and stronger.

According to Bodybuilding.com, those who take HMB over a three-week period are more likely to bench-press greater weights than others taking a placebo. The supplement is also used to increase fatigue endurance during long bouts of physical exercise, so you can work out for longer and push through previously unreachable targets.

Remember, HMB services all muscle protein so you should set targets in both the lower and upper body to reap the supplements full benefit. Try setting a simple timed 100 press-up target alongside a reasonably weighted leg-press target and see if you can beat it each day. The more you exercise and take the supplement the stronger you should become and that time will drop off the clock.

Achieving your physical peak is difficult without the aid of supplements such as HMB, which have proven beneficial for both men and women over long periods of time.

Fitness

Power surge returns to baseball in first half

July 14, 2013 /

Chris Davis cause quite a stir last week when he said he considered Roger Maris to be the legitimate home run champ. It came at quite an interesting time, as baseball was grappling with another PED scandal while he and Miguel Cabrera were creating their own drama with their bats.

Davis hit his 37th home run today, giving him the highest American League total in history heading into the All-Star break tied with Reggie Jackson. He also has a .315 batting average and 93 RBIs. Meanwhile, last year Miguel Cabrera powered his way to the first Triple Crown in decades, and he’s not about to cede any of his crowns to Davis without a fight. Cabrera is hitting .365 with 30 home runs and 95 RBIs.

The numbers for both guys are staggering, and this power surge is surprising as overall power numbers slumped in the wake of the steroids era. Now we’re seeing flashes of the Sosa-McGwire summer of 1998. Meanwhile, MLB seems poised to take down Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun for the latest PED scandal. Nobody seems to suspect Cabrera, who has established himself as one of this generations greatest hitters over a long period of time. But naturally some are questioning Davis and his recent surge.

With the Davis-Cabrera show and then a host of possible suspensions that could shake up all the pennant races, baseball fans will have plenty of drama to enjoy in the second half of the season. Baseball futures in particular should be interesting. How will the A’s react for example if Bartolo Colon gets suspended? If you think you know what MLB will do with guys like Colon you can find out more about real money gambling sites on this page. Baseball betting can be pretty tricky, so all of these changes can be very risky or a huge opportunity.

There should also be some interesting prop bets as well with the Davis-Cabrera race. The RBI race in particular should be a good one. Meanwhile, just how far can Davis go as he tries to catch Maris . . . or even Bonds?

Sports

App of the Week: TuneIn

July 14, 2013 /

Developer: TuneIn Inc.

Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android Devices

Requires: iOS 5.0 and up, Android 2.1 and up

Price: Free

Available: here (for iOS) and here (for Android)

It may sound like an obvious statement, but I never really appreciated the things you can become homesick for until I was away from home for an extended period of time.

Sure I know you’re bound to grow nostalgic for family, friends, certain locations, certain food, and the rest, but there are a host of little things you never even fully realize you enjoy until they are unavailable.

One in particular is the local sports radio guys. As an Astros fan (I know, I know, believe me I know) I became accustomed to hearing our local broadcast team much more than I ever realized. The chances I get to watch or hear a game now are even more brutal than usual because I don’t have the local flavor there to spice the proceedings up.

It’s for people in similar situations that TuneIn Radio was created for, as it provides access to over 70,000 radio stations nationwide for the incredibly reasonable price of free. The app is as simple to use as the TuneIn website it is based off of, as you can save your favorite radio stations from anywhere and listen to them live whenever you want.

While the most obvious use of a service like TuneIn may be to reacquaint yourself with your favorite radio stations no matter where you are, the real value in TuneIn is its use as a discovery app. That’s due entirely to the fact that the amount of stations available can only be described as staggering, and the content they provide is greater than that. Trying to wrap your head around all that is available is daunting, but fortunately the built in search features allow you to break down every available station so you can find whatever you’re in the mood for, while still being adventurous in locating new sources for it.

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Sure it’s easy to be spoiled by the ability that services like Spotify provide to listen to exactly whatever you want, but there is something to be said about the random, almost chaotic, selections of radio where you sit back and let fate (or more accurately, DJ’s) determine what you are listening to, with only the guidance of the general mood you’re in to lead the way. It’s much more difficult to fall into patterns based where you listen to certain music to death that way, and just feels more lively.

Not to mention it isn’t burdened by all of the same licensing issues, which means that if you need them, you can always find “The Beatles” or “Led Zeppelin” on somewhere.

Of course, there’s a lot more to the radio than just music, and TuneIn provides it all. Talk, news, and, best of all, sports broadcasts are all available (and naturally still nationwide), but you also get podcasts as well, essentially meaning there isn’t a single piece of entertainment covered nationwide that TuneIn can’t cater to at your whim.

I’m a firm believer in quality over quantity usually but, while TuneIn functions admirably, the truth its real appeal comes through sheer content. Loads and loads of content available to you almost anywhere from almost everywhere, for no cost at all. It becomes far too easy to become stuck to whatever we load onto our smartphones or tablets as our go to sources of entertainment, and TuneIn provides an alternative to that by giving you all of that same entertainment, but in a way that feels more free and unbinding.

Every mobile user should have an app like that which reminds them of the joy of radio, and of those apps, TuneIn may just be the best. So whether you need something fresher to listen to at work, or miss the local announcer of your favorite abysmal sports team, grab TuneIn, my app of the week.

Entertainment, Gadgets

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