Blu-ray Movie Reviews

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/johnadams.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>HBO's Emmy-winning series is fabulous from a historical perspective, but it's also a demo showpiece in audio design, and at times, it's beautiful to look at. While most of the 501-minute runtime is dialog driven, there are many instances when you're transported to the 18th century during the Boston Massacre, crossing the Atlantic, or attending a swanky French party.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/johnadams.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography <I>John Adams</I> by David McCullough, this Emmy-winning HBO miniseries focuses on the life of the second president of the United States, from the Boston Massacre, where he defended the accused British troops, until his death on July 4, 1826. With his vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all, Adams (Paul Giamatti) guided his peers&#151;George Washington (David Morse), Benjamin Franklin (Tom Wilkinson), and Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane)&#151;in setting the values and plans upon which our country was founded. His steadying force was his wife Abigail (Laura Linney), whose life-spanning partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.

While the story is loosely based on the DC Comics series, some of the changes made for the movie are too farfetched (conversing with the dead) and it's not very entertaining. Granted, there are plenty of explosions although the story lacks any depth and will insult your intelligence. Furthermore, the addition of Megan Fox as the love interest proves once again that the beautiful young woman can't act her way out of a paper bag, but she looks stunning in 1080p.