JAM Reviews White Collar: Season One Blu-Ray from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

White Collar Season One – Blu-Ray : Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Take one brazen thief with a sense of style and panache (Matt Bomer), a federal agent who plays things by the book most of the time (Tim DeKay), a supporting cast that includes a bumbling, trustworthy criminal friend to the thief (Willie Garson), an on the run ex-girlfriend that had stolen the thief’s heart and maybe more (Alexandra Daddario), and a former child star playing the smarter half in the agent’s marriage (Tiffani Thiessen), and now you have White Collar, a show that will steal your time and your thoughts as it paints a surreal picture, a Dali if you will, throughout the first season.

Neal Caffrey (played by Matt Bomer) is our thief on the lam, at least until he is caught for the second time by FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). Peter seems to have a history with Neal, with respect for his talents and the idea that maybe given the right choices, Neal might not make the wrong decisions. So the idea of a partnership is tossed between the two, giving Neal the chance to not have to stay behind the bars that trap him, the chance to live life without having to glance over his shoulder nonstop, and to do the right thing by putting others behind bars who are preying on society. Of course, there are a few catches. An ankle bracelet with GPS locator, a limited range of wandering in the city for a man who has traveled the world, and a hotel room almost as cramped as his cell are all hindrances to Neal’s freedom, but being the opportunistic man he is means the deal is consummated.

Neal is a thief with a heart of gold, but that does not mean he always follows the rules. Spending much of his time on the hunt for his ex Kate (Alexandra Daddario), Neal assists Peter in his cases while looking for his chance to escape and rescue his enigmatic love. The entire first season is about the playful banter and growing friendship between Neal and Peter which culminates in a partnership that is strong in its weaknesses, yet ready to unravel with a single betrayal. Cue the emotional cliffhanger to end the season and you have one of the best new shows on television.

JAMS Ink on White Collar

You know, I really did not want another show to watch. It is a bad excuse for a reviewer to make, but my life is full of things already and the commercials for the show first started appearing last year and looked kind of cool, and I went back and forth…

And I started watching it. And I started DVRing it. And I started loving it.

If you made me choose between my major shows (Burn Notice, Leverage, and White Collar) I really don’t know which way I would go. That’s how much White Collar grabbed my attention and held it. Neal is suave, sophisticated, and the kind of guy that you would love to hate but you can’t because he would be cool to hang out with. Peter is the older brother/father figure that Neal needs, yet rebels from, Kate is that ethereal beauty that appears unannounced and disappears just as suddenly, Mozzie is strange but compelling and useful as heck, and Elizabeth seems to hold everything together. I think that I just realized that the strength of my crazy awesome cable shows are all the same. A strong ensemble cast that holds your attention and each plays a part, even if some are more important in the overall schemes than others. Now the only question is, since all of my favorite shows involve criminals or people that toe the line, does that say something about me?

Keep an eye on FBI Agent Diana Lancing (Marsha Thomason). She came into last season as someone Peter could trust and had his back, but she may be playing sides now that the new season has begun. In my opinion, I am guessing she is protecting Peter from something, but that could foretell the ultimate sacrifice as the season progresses. We shall see…

Favorite Episode of Season One – Episode 8 Hard Sell. Neal and Peter both infiltrate a group of corrupt Wall Street brokers and get pulled into a case that might end their partnership permanently. It was a fun episode overall and had the coolest comic book storage place I have ever seen, and being a comic book junkie I really want a room like that.

JAMS Ink Comments on White Collar Blu-Ray

I am not going to pretend to be an expert on pixels and ratios and all the other Blu-ray centered stuff that many people can share with you. But I am going to be honest with you, if you are able to watch it, GET THE BLU-RAY! I have learned to love the clarity of picture and color that comes with the Blu-rays I have reviewed, so even though I may not know the technical aspects behind it I can still recommend it. White Collar, in my opinion, is enhanced by the Blu-ray as the amazing urban scenery literally pops off the screen. The fact that the series is predicated so much on artwork, mainly stolen or forged, anything that enhances the beauty of the item in question lends to strengthening your experience. So, JAM says go Blu-ray if you can.

EXTRAS

Pro and Con
A Cool Cat in the Hat
Nothing But the Truth
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes

Episodes:
• Pilot
o Commentary by Jeff Eastin, Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen and Matt Bomer
• Threads
• Books of Hours
• Flip of the Coin
• The Portrait
• All In
• Free Fall
o Commentary by Jeff Eastin, Matt Bomer and Willie Garson
• Hard Sell
o Commentary by Jeff Eastin, Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay
• Bad Judgment
• Vital Signs
o Commentary by Jeff Eastin, Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen and Willie Garson
• Home Invasion
• Bottlenecked
• Front Man
• Out of the Box
o Commentary by Jeff Eastin, Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer

White Collar: Season One from Twentieth Century Fox appeared on shelves on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 13, 2010. Grab a copy and make a run for it! (after you pay of course).

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at www.jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.

Leverage Season Two Episode 11 – The Bottle Job: Air date January 20, 2010

Leverage Season Two Episode 11 – The Bottle Job: Air date January 20, 2010

Aldis Hodge!!! That’s right, Hardison (played by Mr. Hodge) takes some center stage time as we make our way to save the neighborhood bar where Nate (Timothy Hutton) spent his youth with his father, and now lives above. By the way, a “recovering” alcoholic living over a bar could have really bad consequences. More on that later.

An Irish loan shark has moved in on the neighborhood and threatens the mourning Cora McRory (Odessa Rae, the future Silver Banshee on Smallville) who has just lost her father and is about to lose his bar. Nate jumps in as Cora is family in his mind and works “the wire”. A con that usually takes weeks to prepare and he gives his team less than 2 hours. Enter the Hardison!

This episode is a focus on Nate’s past and him returning to the bottle, Hardison’s ability to multi-task and flip from one thing to another in a quick second, and Tara’s (Jeri Ryan) growth on the team. Nate is falling apart and Sophie (Gina Bellman) is no where to be seen to force him to pick up the pieces. During the con, he tries to stay away from the bottle but gets pulled back in hard. He tells Tara that his getting drunk will not hurt the team because he understands he is not as good when he is drunk. That mentality is going to get someone hurt very soon.

Hardison takes center stage here as he controls the data feed for the con, pulls the information on their foes, tracks cell phone use to a possible hideout, and pulls a weather report out of nowhere. He showed how much the team truly needs him, and showed he’s not completely on the side of the angels when he admits to using his ATM tech when the team was on their little break. Aldis Hodge and Zachary Levi (Chuck) have given the tech/sci-fi geek portion of the world (which I am part of) characters to be proud of that, much like us, have multi-facets to their personalities and more to share than a couple of computer searches and sci-fi movie references. I’m looking forward to more of the growth of Hardison as the season continues.

Tara, what can I say about this girl? I love Jeri Ryan (told you I was a sci-fi geek) and the character is interesting, but I have a feeling she’s going to mess with the team very soon. For someone who was filling in for Sophie, she seems to have the mentality that she has replaced Sophie already whether she likes it or not. Hmmmm… catfight coming anyone? She also is obsessed with her cut of the money to do these good deeds. The rest of the team has seemed to buy into helping others from the get-go and seem to take great pride in what they do, but Tara’s monetary desires are going to derail things soon. Oh yeah, and she seems to have a thing for Nate at times. Do you think Sophie is going to like that?

All in all, a good episode that gave a back story into Nate’s relationship with his father and some insights into how good this team really is.

Apply LEVERAGE every Wednesday!

See more reviews by JAM at http://www.hollywoodteenzine.com/

Top 5 Reasons to Apply Leverage on TNT

Top 5 Reasons to Apply Leverage on TNT
(also known as Leverage – Season One Review)
Review by JAM

Robin Hood is back and he brought some friends, or at least that is how it seems weekly with the amazing TNT drama Leverage, a modern day version of Robin Hood and his Merry Men in some ways, an atypical “family” drama in others. Nate Ford (played by Timothy Hutton) is a former insurance investigator who has been overcome by tragedy and on a down-word spiral in life, until he is taken by a con. An unscrupulous aerospace executive assembles a team of thieves and rabble-rousers to steal plans from a competitor which are rightfully his, or so he says. Wanting Nate Ford to keep the thieves honest, the executive takes advantage of this small group of loners, and makes the biggest mistake of his life. And so the team on Leverage was formed. This show is one of a small number of new cable shows that have a common theme of those outside of society being the ones that save it.

So in order to give you a taste of the spices that make Leverage so good, here comes the top 5 reasons to watch Leverage every Wednesday on TNT.

Number 5

The theme – It truly seems to be a modern day Robin Hood program with Nate being Robin, Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane) being the muscle or Little John if you want, Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) being behind the scenes brains of the operation, but willing to get his hands dirty if needed and extremely loyal Friar Tuck, Parker (Beth Riesgraf) as the trouble causing, master thief but lost in the real world Will Scarlett, and Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman) as the beautiful, enigmatic, alluring Maid Marian who can capture all men’s hearts, but truly only wants the heart of her “prince”.

Number 4

The storylines – The extras on the Leverage: Season One DVD set talked about how they have a thief with a heart of gold consulting on the show and that each show is based on an actual con from the real world. The cast and crew make these cons real to us, and in helping those less fortunate make us feel for people that may not have deserved our sympathy and well wishes before. But in doing good for others, they are able to find the good in themselves, though they may not always wish to admit to that.

Number 3

Christian Kane – Every guy finds himself drawn to fights, explosions, gunfire, etc… Eliot (Christian Kane) is an interesting character in that he will not use guns, yet he is the best in the world at procuring items. You believe as you watch that anything he faces is beyond the probabilities, but always a possibility for him to overcome. One of his best scenes was in the premiere with Alec (Aldis Hodge) in which he proved why he was on the team by dismissing a contingent of guards on their way to detain the team.

Number 2

The clients – It is always interesting to see where the stories are coming from, i.e. the downtrodden in need of leverage. Each character each week has a background story in which the viewers are captivated with a need to see how justice will be served. In the extras on Season One, they described Leverage as a modern day A-Team, and I have to admit I can see it. The A-Team were a small group out to restore their names, but did good for others in the process of continuing their pursuit of what they needed, much like the characters in Leverage. And the A-Team filled itself week-to-week with characters/clients who needed and deserved help, much like the clients of Leverage.

Number 1

Gina Bellman – The girl plays an actress who is impossibly horrible at acting, unless she is breaking the law. It is a strange dichotomy that she cannot act to save herself unless she is acting in order to save herself or the team. I would definitely put her character as one of my favorites on television at this time, and the interaction with Nate Ford makes you truly feel for her, even though you know she’d take your wallet and identity if she had the chance. I enjoy the use of Jeri Ryan in this new season, but truly miss the large amounts of screen time that Ms. Bellman was given previously. One only hopes that Nate does not completely break her heart before he comes to his senses.

If you want more information on the cast, crew, characters or anything about Leverage, check out the official site at http://www.tnt.tv/series/leverage/ , you’ll be glad you did. And if you are interested in purchasing Leverage Season One on DVD, check it out here on Amazon.com. Remember to apply Leverage every Wednesday night on TNT!