Christian Cooke

CHICAGO – The summer movie season has barely begun, and I’m already sick to death of the apocalypse. It seems to have pervaded every mainstream genre, from action-packed thrillers to raunchy comedies. I’ll take a hilarious mess like “This Is the End” over grim sci-fi junk like “Oblivion” and “After Earth” any day, simply because it delivers its cautionary message with tongue-in-cheek exuberance.

CHICAGO – Sony knows that AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has one of the most loyal fan bases in television and so have released increasingly impressive Blu-ray and DVD season sets of the Emmy Award-winning program. The latest, the first half of the fifth season that aired in Summer 2012, comes with EIGHT HOURS of special features, including an exclusive scene, deleted scenes, and star-filled commentaries on every single episode. It’s one of the most impressive TV releases of the season for arguably the best show on TV.