Gear Patrol

This weekend, director Todd Phillips, who’s already set a new model for comedy success in many respects, will gain another distinction when his most popular film series joins a rare — and terrible — group of humor franchises that make it to a third outing. He hopes The Hangover: Part III avoids the doomed flight path flown by the others. I’m praying he fails.

Nowadays, no summer preview would be complete without a mention of the movies. Mother nature’s decision to crank up the thermostat and the possibility of BBQ ribs for lunch provide all the natural motivation society needs to bunker down in a cool dark room to watch Megan Fox sweat on cars 120 minutes of explosions. We love a good superhero flick as much as the next guy, but massive marketing budgets shouldn’t be the only thing coaxing you into a theater seat this summer. This season has its fair share of CGI orgies and deep think pieces that don’t rhyme with “fan of seal” — and none of them should be missed.

Good old Bilbo. In a way, he’s the granddad we all hope to be: pipe-smoking octogenarian, enjoying good food and reminiscing about better times when he ran around with a crazy bunch of dudes who pulled pranks on rubes (trolls) and escaped some tight situations (trolling the Goblin King in the Misty Mountains). Of course, there’s other appeal to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Blu-ray 3D ($28).

Bond, James Bond. Admit it; you read that with an accent. Was it Scottish? We ask because the upcoming Blu-ray release of Skyfall ($25) could cause you to reconsider your lilt. Under the direction of Sam Mendes, in what is certainly the most visually stunning of the franchise, Daniel Craig delivers a 007 that easily challenges Connery for the crown.

On-screen chemistry isn’t something to be overlooked (just ask Padme and Anakin). Luckily, Jake Gyllenhal and Michael Peña don’t suffer the same wooden fate. As LAPD Officers Taylor and Zavala, the two actors shine in a dark world, providing just the right amount of wit, raw humor and law enforcement street cred to make End…

Is Zero Dark Thirty the year’s best movie or misleading sensationalism that advocates torture? The film’s recent Oscar snub has raised the debate. Now, GP’s own Scott Packard and Ben Bowers present intriguing discussion on morality in film, artistic license and “enhanced interrogation techniques”. Read on for point and counterpoint on these divisive issues.

The tragic loss of Tony Scott will reverberate through Hollywood for years to come, but fans can at least delay letting go in the coming months with the release of Top Gun 3D ($20). Double dipping on the part of studios isn’t something we typically like to encourage, but Scott’s personal involvement overseeing the remastering…

Famed director Christopher Nolan’s directorial breakthrough, Following ($32), has just been inducted into the Criterion Collection, and we couldn’t be more excited to watch it. The 16mm black and white film, re-released by Criterion on special edition Blu-ray, is about a voyeuristic novelist who follows strangers on the streets of London, searching for a muse….

You watched the creation, the fall, and the epic rise of your favorite (face it, the best) superhero in theaters. Now complete your Christopher Nolan trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises ($18) on Blu-ray, out today. The set also includes DVD and digital copies so you can watch Christian Bale, Michael Cain, Anne Hathaway and…

We can’t all be members of the Bel Air Circuit. For those scorned by the secret society, there’s Prima Cinema ($35,000). Designed in California and built in the U.S.A., Prima Cinema is a combination system/service that delivers Hollywood’s latest creations directly to your own private screening parties, simultaneous to their theatrical release. The system comprises…

We’ve all got one. Maybe it’s you: The mediaphile in the family who’s impossible to shop for because he has it all and he’s seen it all — twice. His TV? Projected. His surround sound? 9.2. His wardrobe? Needs work. His love of movies and music has been fueled in the past by those enabling…

21st century moviegoers think technology has taken the dirty work out of filmmaking, leaving the job of faking the “impossible” in the hands of the hardest working person in the Hollywood: CGI. But the best action directors still understand there’s no airbrushing when it comes to the strain of a man at his desperate limits….

After you watch Skyfall and discuss its epic quality with your friends, you may feel a bit of a pinch in your gut. This is Bond withdrawal. Sure, you’ve got Thanksgiving Day marathons coming in a few weeks, but what will you do until then? Keep your Bond high rolling with Greg Williams’ Bond on…

And so James Bond reluctantly retires his Beretta 418, in .25 ACP — and takes up the Walther Polizeipistole Kurz (police pistol, short) as his issued weapon, in both the original novel and the movie. Ian Fleming had Bond’s original Beretta catch in his holster in From Russia, With Love ; but in 1956 he…

We’ve all argued it vehemently while playing License to Kill, Slappers Only mode: which Bond wins in a Battle Royal? It’s a complicated issue. Certainly, we have our favorite and least favorite Bonds (cough, Moore, cough), but beyond cheesy storylines and awful Tarzan vine-swinging moments, pure and utter deadliness is tough to rank. While we’re…

A fine movie poster adds color and character to a blank wall, but it also reveals a lot about you. Austin Powers smiles goofily from your den? You’re groovy baby, yea. Is Jason Bourne giving the cold stink eye from above your bed? You take your action raw and you’re probably a realist. But a…

While it’s undeniably cool to adorn your home theater with minimalist or unique movie posters (like these, and these), we know your sound-proofed walls need art as nuanced as your taste in film itself. The Los Angeles Film Map (~$40) has you covered in every direction. Littered within its 24 x 32-inch borders are the…

Director Wes Anderson’s most recent (and perhaps most Wes Andersony) film to date, Moonrise Kingdom ($20), is now available on crystal-clear Blu-ray — obviously the best way to watch a movie that looks like it was shot on film equipment from the ‘60s. Featuring customary Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, the film also…

Since 2008, Slingbox has served as media middleman for TV-addicted travelers. Capitalizing on under-used, over-priced cable service was great at first, but standard definition streaming is something not even the lowest rent smartphones do anymore. The Slingbox 350 and 500 ($180+) give you your fix in full 1080p HD. The Slingbox 350 ($180) is the…

We promised to leave no steak unturned during our month of beef, and we’re men of our word. As it happens, beef’s got a thespian side that The Academy repeatedly fails to acknowledge. Our budget for gold statues was blown on jerky and skillets, but that won’t stop us from proposing a new award category…

Skyfall is about to touch down in theaters, which means the promotional tie-in machine is flipping every switch on its weapons panel. Still, the James Bond 007 Miniature Vehicles Set ($60) is an interesting keepsake for Fleming fans, featuring eight miniature die-cast models of select Bond vehicles from the 22-film series. While we wouldn’t lump…

Ridley Scott’s perpendicularly plot-lined meta-prequel to Alien may have polarized fanboys, but no one can deny the beauty and complexity of Prometheus’s planetary vistas. While HD digital downloads have already been dropping jaws for quite some time, the upcoming Blu-ray release promises to also answer a few of your lingering questions. In addition to the…

The superhero movie of the century is now ready to blow up your living room. Naturally, you’d expect top notch audio and video quality, and the Blu-ray version ($20) won’t disappoint — especially for 3D fans looking to recreate the theater experience at home. There’s also plenty of intriguing extras to enhance the second go…

If your fandom/fantasy addiction borders on the insane, NFL Game Rewind ($35+) will only steepen a downward spiral of screaming at the television. The online service allows subscribers to replay any game from the 2009-2011 and current regular season on their computer or tablet. If you only bleed blank & blank colors, you can also…

Get your fix for random philosophical dialogue and extreme violence with the newly announced Tarantino XX Blu-ray set. True fans might recognize a bit of double-dipping on the part of the studios here, since the new collection is essentially an augmented version of the Quentin Tarantino Collection that was available only overseas. The new XX…

Fear and Desire, celebrated director/producer Stanley Kubrick’s first attempt at film making, is a must-have for film aficionados. The movie follows four soldiers caught behind enemy lines as they battle, physically and psychologically, to return to safety. Directed, produced, shot and edited by a 24-year-old Kubrick, the Howard Sackler screenplay is intriguing in its examination…

If you’ve made the jump to 3D TV, the visually stunning Avatar Blu-ray 3D Collector’s Edition ($28) should be on your must-have list. This edition gives you all three dimensions of the the Pocahontas remake, which is finally available outside of Panasonic 3D TV bundles this October. Unfortunately, the visual orgasm comes only in the…

America is no stranger to epic blockbuster action movies — hell, we invented the genre. But one viewing of the Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption ($20) left us questioning Hollywood’s chops as the king of adrenaline. Its premise is beautifully streamlined: an elite squad of 20 SWAT members is sent in to take down Jakarta’s…

Real, life-affirming creations of art that come along at the right place at the right time to transform culture as we know it are… well, rare. Jaws is such a masterpiece, and one that has captivated audiences for nearly forty years. The film struck a chord through cutting edge effects, a genius score, and of…

Hitchcock’s role in the evolution of film needs no introduction, but his movies have been in desperate need of a little TLC in the age of high-def. Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection ($299) is poised to be the damn-near-definitive Hitchcock release, updating the previous DVD version to glorious 1080p with DTS-HD Master Audio. Specifically, the…