Up
5-Disc 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital l 4-Disc Blu-ray l 3-Disc Blu-ray
Directed by Pete Docter
Starring Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson
Disney-Pixar
Release Date: December 4, 2012

Get ready to soar into Pixar’s tenth film, the studio’s first Oscar-nominated feature for Best Picture and quite possibly its most sentimental. Though Up already claims a place in our hearts – and on store shelves – now it has arrived on Blu-ray 3D. Is this new five-disc package worth the price? Let us hover toward a review of this emotional roller coaster.

Whether you caught Up in theaters or in its earlier home video release – or perhaps this may be your first screening – every viewing promotes laughs, tears, and much self-reflection. The most epically simple romance between balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen and his adoring wife Ellie is a testament to Pixar’s genius, in eliciting every emotion in the book in the span of ten minutes. Their darling story, which pervades past their marriage, transcends the medium of film. Up‘s tastefully-done treatment of love and loss captures the nostalgic filmmaking of bygone decades. As Carl realizes his lifelong aspiration to fly his home to Paradise Falls, the supposedly real quest takes off. But we know that while “adventure is out there,” the true adventure is that of living, making memories, and loving others.

Apparently when it comes to comic books spoilers aren’t a big deal, as anyone who’s seen many of the headlines blatantly blurting out a very, very well-known comic book superhero’s death today now knows.

Maybe it’s because in comic books, the word “death” has little meaning, rendered useless by the endless lineup of popular characters who have at one point or another been killed off by their makers, only to miraculously show up alive again down the road. These are superheros; they do not die easily…if at all.

But if you don’t read comics, do not care about spoilers, and want to know which gigantic superhero figure Marvel Comics made dead (as well as the interesting direction they’re now going in), feel free to continue on below now.

MacGyver: Fugitive Gauntlet #3
Written by Lee David Zlotoff & Tony Lee
Pencils/Inks Will Sliney
Colors by Owen Jollands
Letters by Aditya Bidikar
Cover by Andy Tong & Ciaran Lucas
Consulting Editor John Potter
Image Comics
Release Date: December 19, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

MacGyver: Fugitive Gauntlet #3 finds Mac running around a lot. And I mean A LOT. Wouldn’t have it any other way, as this is vintage MacGyver! This issue has more cliffhangers than a Back to the Future movie. And all the trademark MacGyver things that you want to see are right here in this issue. Heck, the mullet even makes an appearance!

Authors Lee David Zlotoff and Tony Lee have mastered the art of pacing in an action/adventure comic. This issue is all suspense and barely escapes, which makes it such a pleasure to read. To say that this is a “page turner” would be the understatement of the year. In this issue, Mac is all over the place. Egypt, Russia, and every place in between. We get some great history of the character, all mixed in naturally with no jarring scene changes or flashback, everything has a very smooth feel to it.

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at TeeFury today is a Doctor Who-themed shirt called “IMPERSONATE!” by AtomicRocket.

The sale began at Teefury today, Thursday, December 27, at midnight EST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site for $10 anymore, though it might continue into the next day for $13 (look for the After Hours bar at the top).

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #3
Story by Brannon Braga
Script by Terry Matalas & Travis Fickett
Art by Joe Corroney
Ink Assist by Matt Fillback & Shawn Fillback
Colors by Hi-Fi
Lettering by Shawn Lee
Edited by Scott Dunbier
Covers by Joe Corroney, David Messina & Ilaria Traversi
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 19, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #3 is the penultimate chapter in this 4-issue mini series that spans the Star Trek: The Next Generation era and beyond. The Federations in trouble, the Borg are everywhere and it ends with a pretty big shocker.

Once I started reading this, I realized just how much writer Brannon Braga loved time travel. Too much. Too much to the point where it hurts the story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, it’s just not good. While reading this issue I felt no sense of urgency, danger, or, well…anything. It felt like I was reading an old episode of TNG. The comic DOES have some good, true to character dialogue, but it’s just not firing on all cylinders. And as I stated, it does end with a pretty big shock ending, so I have high hopes for the next issue.