Not Rated; 95 mins; $29.96; Walmart

Now available on DVD & Blu-ray from RLJ Entertainment is the thriller I.T. Directed by John Moore (Max Payne), the film stars Pierce Brosnan (The November Man, James Bond Franchise), James Frecheville (The Stanford Prison Experiment, Animal Kingdom), Anna Friel (“Marcella,” “Pushing Daisies”), Stefaine Scott (Insidious: Chapter 3, “A.N.T. Farm”), and Austin Swift (Live by Night).

I.T. centers on an aviator entrepreneur Mike Regan (played by Pierce Brosnan) who plans on launching a new private jet app. After a computer glitch is fixed by a temp I.T. worker, Ed Porter (played by James Frecheville), during a board meeting, Mike invites the young man to his state-of-the-art-"smart home" to help fix a few problems with his security system, and he introduces him to his wife (played by Anna Friel) and daughter, Kaitlyn (played by Stefaine Scott).

Unfortunately, an unthinkable nightmare begins for Mike and his family as Ed becomes obsessed with Kaitlyn.

The film was released to limited theaters and video on-demand back in September of this year.


Bonus Features on the DVD includes:

G.P. Putnam's Sons; 320 pages; $27; Amazon

A few of you might remember me reviewing Robert B. Parker's Blackjack, book eight in the Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch series, earlier this year. Well, shortly after I posted my review, out of nowhere I received an advanced copy of Robert B. Parker's Slow Burn, which is part of the "Spenser" book series. At the time I had other books to read & review, so this title got put on the back-burner until I could squeeze in some time to review it.

The "Spenser" book series began with The Godwulf Manuscript in 1973. It centered on the character named Spenser, a Boston private detective. The books were adapted into a short-lived series in the '80s called Spenser: For Hire; later followed by a short-lived spinoff, A Man Called Hawk, and four made-for-television movies. Small Vices, Thin Air, and Walking Shadows were adapted into made-for-television movies for A&E from 1999 to 2001. After Robert B. Parker's death in 2010, author and an American journalist Ace Atkins took over writing the "Spenser" novels, including Slow Burn.

Slow Burn centers Spenser, his buddy Hawk, and Sixkill (sorta like his apprentice) tracking down an arsonist throughout Boston. Jack McGee, a firefighter and an old buddy of Spenser's, had asked them to look a church fire that occurred a year ago. Three fireman were killed in that fire and Jack suspects foul play, but he doesn't have any proof!

Of course this is where Spenser and crew get involved; taking their investigation into the underworld of Boston, where they learn that the arsonist/killer has already planned his next target - Spenser.

Little, Brown, and Company; 369 pages; $28

James Patterson is one of the busiest authors as it seems like he has a new title out every few weeks, from kids books to adult thrillers. Plus, he just launched the new Bookshots novellas.

For the last few days, I've been reading Bullseye by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge, which I believe is the 9th installment in the "Michael Bennett" series (minus the "Chase" novella). I hate to admit this, but I haven't read every book in the series, though I do own a copy of each book.

The series focuses on a NYC police detective named Michael "Mike" Bennett, who is always finding himself hunting down serial killers, assassins, and crazies. When Mike isn't chasing down criminals, he's trying to be a good father to his ten adopted kids! Yep, I said ten kids. His wife had died several years ago, so he relies on his elderly priest grandfather, Seamus, to help out with the kids from time to time. Then of course there is the nanny, Mary Catherine, who just happens to be Mike's girlfriend/significant other.

Bullseye opens up with Mike having to leave his family on a Saturday morning as a major international crises was in the making - a possible planned assassination attempt on newly inaugurated President of the United States, who is currently flying on Air Force One and will make a stop in New York City.

Why would someone want to harm the President?

Well, it happens to involve starting another Cold War with Russia.

Little Brown & Co.; 395 pages; $28.99; Amazon

It's only less than a month away from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, Little Brown & Company has already released a book set around the Summer Olympics, titled The Games: A Private Novel, written by bestselling authors James Patterson & Mark Sullivan.

The "Private" series centers on Jack Morgan, the owner of a worldwide security/investigation business. "The Games" marks the 11th entry in the series with Jack Morgan once again being part of the action.

The novel begins in 2014 in in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil around the time of the World Cup Games. While everyone is celebrating the game, Dr. Castro, is fighting to stop a possible outbreak of a deadly virus known as Ebola. Luckily, only a few deaths occurred from the virus and it never spread to the public.

Fast-forward to end of July 2016, with the Summer Olympics quickly approaching, the BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion) are busy to make sure the Olympic stadium is secured from any possible terrorist threat or from the many protesters in Rio de Janerio.

Of course Jack Morgan is there, but not for the games; instead he is there to help Octavia "Tavia" Reynaldo, a tall woman who is in charge of Private Rio, to help find the nineteen-year-old Warren twins (Alicia and Natalie) who have been kidnapped by unknown assailants. Jack and Tavia want to make sure that everything goes okay with the ransom and that everyone comes out of the situation safely.

Return To Sender
Director: Fouad Mikati
Cast: Rosemund Pike, Shiloh Fernandez, Nick Nolte
Studio: RLJ Entertainment
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Retail: $12.99 (Best Buy Price)
Running Time: 95 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Best Buy

Review:

Now available to own on DVD & Blu-ray (only at Best Buy) is the thriller Return To Sender. Directed by Fouad Mikati, the film stars Rosemund Pike (Gone Girl), Nick Nolte, Shiloh Fernandez and Camryn Manheim. There are no extras or special features on the Blu-ray.

Return To Sender centers on a dedicated nurse Miranda Wells (played by Rosemund Pike) living in  small town. She just finished her training to become a surgical nurse and she plans on buying a new house. For Miranda, her life was perfect, but her friends believe otherwise and they set her up on a blind date.

The unthinkable happens when a stranger, William Finn (played by Shiloh Fernandez), shows up at Miranda's doorsteps. She mistakes him for her blind date and lets him into her home, which turns out to the be the worst mistake of her life as Finn brutally assaults her. The real blind date eventually arrives, finds Miranda and call 911. Finn is quickly captured by the authorities and locked behind bars.


With her father (played by Nick Nolte) by her side, Miranda somewhat recovers from the attack and tries to pick up her life where she left off, but things aren't too simple. Due to the fact that the crime occurred in her home, selling her house becomes a major problem. Even worse, her dream of being a surgical nurse might come true as she her hands now shake when holding a scalpel.