Detectorists:
Complete Series (2014 -
2017/Acorn DVD Set)/Girls
Vs. Gangsters (2018/Well
Go DVD)/Heart Guy: Season
Two (2017/Acorn
DVD)/Robin Williams: Comic
Genius (1978 - 2018/Time
Life DVD Box Set)/Sorry To
Bother You (2018/Fox
Blu-ray w/DVD)
Picture:
C+/B/B/C+/B+ & B- Sound: C+/B/B/C+/B+ & B- Extras:
C+/C/D/B/C+ Main Programs: B-/B+/B+/A/B
Here's
a huge selection of comedy releases in time for the holidays...
We
start with Detectorists:
Complete Series
(2014 - 2017) calling it quits after three seasons, though it did not
seem that way when we covered its third season, it final one, here at
this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15177/The+Accident+(2006+-+2007)/Ackley+Bridge:+Se
That
description of the two brothers (Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook) held
true throughout the show, a comedy without a laugh track and
leisurely pace that you might only see on British TV versus any U.S.
network or streaming service. They are treasure hunters and after
finishing the show, they ended while they were on top, ahead and that
makes the series a very pleasant watch. Though Jones has proved his
dramatic skills (also doing well playing Truman Capote) and action
villains (the resent Captain America films), he has great comic
abilities, as did his father, the great Freddie Jones.
Also
it should be noted that there are a few sly things going on in each
show. One thing I caught were references to the hit British TV spy
classic The
Avengers,
thus, the casting if Diana Rigg as a strict older mum, who had
Freddie Jones on one of her full color episodes of that series and
off the bat, Toby Jones drives a yellow Triumph TR7, the signature
car of Joanna Lumley's Purdey on The
New Avengers.
The show never obsesses on things like this, but they are not
coincidental.
The
show is worth your time if you enjoy smart but subtle comedy.
Extras
include behind-the-scenes featurettes (91 min.), Series 2 Christmas
Special episode (31 min.), cast interviews (16 min.), and a photo
gallery.
After
a wild bachelorette party gone wrong, 3 girls somehow end up on the
beach naked, handcuffed to each other, one with a new tattoo and an
case full of gold in a foreign country. Now if they could only
remember what happened to them last night, but that will have to wait
because they are being chased by gangsters and they must somehow get
their friend to to her wedding altar on time in Zhenzhen Huang's
Girls
Vs. Gangsters
(2018).
Xiwen
(Ivy Yi-Han Chen) is about to get married, so her best friends Jialan
(Janine Chun-Ning Chang) and Kimmy (Fiona Sit) decide to throw the
ultimate bachelorette party for her in Vietnam. After some
questionable drinks, they literally wake up on the beach naked and
without a clue and with the bride-to-be with a tattoo having no
memory of what happened to them last night. And then our three
heroine's 'adventure' really begins, fortunately they meet 'Dragon'
(Mike Tyson, yes, THAT Mike Tyson) who tries to help them remember
what happened (and find their panties and dignity), but also he helps
them escape the gangsters who are after them. After unlocking and
discovering they have a case full of gold, they are told they have 24
hours to spend it all and then they can return to their normal lives.
This
movie was like mix of Girls Gone Wild with The Hangover
movie except the actors were much better looking, a bunch of hot
Asian female superstars instead of three drunk American males. It is
an over the top and unrealistic comedy that make fun of stereotypes,
friends, bachelorette parties and the female ego. Never the less...
the audience can only laugh at the character's wild ride as they
watch the story unfold. Extras include interview with the director
and trailers.
After
falling from grace, Doctor Hugh Knight (Rodger Corser) was forced to
return to his hometown of Whyhope to be the town doctor. But after a
year, he has begun to make friends, reconnect with family and learn
maybe not so bad getting to know (and care for) people in a small
town. Thing is that the sins of the past, the one's he left at home
(and in the big city) seems to be catching up with him. At first
people weren't able to stand Hugh ...but now they can seem to imagine
life without him in Heart
Guy: Season Two
(2017).
Knight
was once a genius heart surgeon in the big city, the golden
boy/prodigal son. Unfortunately, he's done everything a bad boy
doctor did and was forced to be the town doctor in the town he wanted
to get away from. He's slept with his brother's wife, Charlie
(girlfriend at the time) had an illegitimate son, Ajax and is
currently in love with his coworker/boss, Penny. And while he's no
angel, he still hottest guy in a small town. In this season, Hugh
and his family must find a way to rid of Nora (Penny's replacement)
and get back Penny. Deal with his mother's scandal when they
discover some shady voting with her mayor's election campaign. Hayley
falls into guilt, sin and temptation with her involvement and then
gets engaged with Ajax. Also, Hugh's father needs dialysis need a
kidney transplant and Hugh is the only compatible donor.
This
was a cute small town drama about family, friends, medical practice
and the relationships between them. It is funny because in a small
town there is no such thing as privacy and everyone seems has
something they are hiding. No extras.
Now
for one of the best box sets of the year, the boldly and correctly
entitled Robin
Williams: Comic Genius
(1978 - 2018)
offering 22 DVDs of rarely seen, unissued and out of print material
for the most part of one of the most important comic performers of
all time. Now known for his hit feature films, charity work,
politics and the pain in the end of his life form bad health that led
to his life's awful end, he was one of the brightest lights in comedy
always pulling for those who could not defend themselves and was
always the first one to call out hatemongers and other ignorance.
Ahead of his time, his loss could not have come at a worst time.
Most
of his feature films are widely available, but it actually took years
before he had any hit films and many thought he would never have a
film career. He promotes some of the films in these clips, but this
shows the harder to see and find TV concerts, appearances, some Mork
episodes that became his first wide international exposure and other
gems that show the producers went way out of their way to compile
some very varied materials. Glad they got the rights and work to
have here.
This
variant of the press release explains what you get...
All
five HBO stand-up specials together for the very first time,
including Off the Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin
Williams (1983), An Evening at the MET (1986), Live on
Broadway (2002) and Weapons of Self Destruction (2009)
Never-before-released
concert specials, including Robin's full MGM Grand Garden stand-up
from 2007 and the Montreal stop on his last tour, a conversation on
stage between Williams and comedian David Steinberg.
Memorable
talk show and late night TV appearances on The Tonight Show
starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Graham Norton Show,
Saturday Night Live and more.
Rare,
never-before-seen clips including early stand-up, raw footage from
HBO's promo shoots, a hilarious toast to Richard Pryor by Robin as
Mrs. Doubtfire, and more.
Brand
new interviews with close friends and family including Billy Crystal,
Steve Martin, Jay Leno, Eric Idle, David Steinberg, Lewis Black and
Zak Williams.
11
hilarious episodes of Mork & Mindy, including the two-part
pilot!
James
Lipton's Emmy Award-nominated 90-minute interview with Robin on
Inside the Actors Studio, plus deleted scenes.
A
comprehensive collection of Robin's USO shows around the world.
Original
and newly created bonus features including behind-the-scenes footage,
local highlights from tour stops, promos and more. Featurettes
include: The Early Years, San Francisco: Where It All
Started, Comic Genius, and TV's Best Guest.
Critically
acclaimed 2018 HBO documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My
Mind from Emmy Award-winning director Marina Zenovich and
Oscar-winning producer Alex Gibney.
"Robin
Williams: Uncensored", a collectible 24-page, full-color
memory book featuring rare, archival photos from award-winning
photographer Arthur Grace, reminiscences from friends and colleagues,
Robin's personal tour notes and more.
Needless
to say that is extremely referential and includes the majority of
what you are probably going to find anywhere, though if you can play
import DVDs, there is even more this box missed from Australian TV
worth your time...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13242/Girls:+The+Complete+Third+Season+(2013/HBO
What
amazes me here is the endless creativity and energy, how original he
was and even when he got graphic, personal and maybe gross, he never
wallowed in the material, but kept ironic distance and even added his
new, unique perspective to it. I love the quality of the
illustrations in the book included (see the image accompanying this
review) and this box easily will refute anyone trying to sell
Williams short. Most of all this remains funny, even hilarious and
that is why it is extremely great and important that this box was
compiled and released. Archival and library quality, you've likely
not seen most of this material unless you followed Williams closely
over his career. It also suggests that he remains underrated,
under-appreciated and when we look back, he'll turn out to be a more
important light in our lives than we ever gave him credit for.
Don't
miss this set!
The
directorial debut of hip hop artist Boots Riley, Sorry To Bother
You (2018) is a very unique cinematic ride from the get go. An
allegory for the messed up and capitalistic, drug addicted world that
we live in, the highly stylized flick at times feels like a music
video, but isn't afraid to speak its mind through the voice of the
characters.
Starring
Lakeith Stanfield, the film takes place in an alternate version of
present day Oakland, CA, and centers around a black telemarketer
(Stanfield) named Cassius Green who 'sticks to the script' and
becomes a 'power caller', which propels him into a more richer,
lavish, and bizarre lifestyle. As he rises up the ranks, so do many
people in his life as well including his artistic wack-job girlfriend
(Tessa Thompson), and greedy co-workers.
The
film also stars Danny Glover, Armie Hammer, Terry Crews, Steven Youn,
and David Cross.
Special
Features include...
Beautiful
Clutter with Director Boots Riley
Audio
Commentary with Director Boots Riley
Gallery
The
Cast of Sorry to Bother You
and
The Art of the White Voice.
On
to technical playback of all the titles here, Sorry is
presented in 1080p high definition with a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the film looks
and sounds pretty solid on the Blu-ray format. The film is very
colorful and has vibrant colors from cool blues inside the office to
a more wide color palette during some of the film's more surreal
sequences. The sound design for the film is pretty wild and has
dubbing, a bizarre comedic soundtrack, and other surreal happenings.
Also
included is an anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image standard definition DVD with the same
widescreen specs and a compressed image and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital
sound mix. A digital copy is also included.
The
rest of our list are all DVDs and include anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image presentations on Detectorists
(has some slight motion blur and detail softness in places, changing
slightly with each season, but is fine for the format) and Heart
Guy (more consistent by
comparison, but it is a recent season) and the anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Girls
being for a feature film looking not bad either.
The
Robin Williams content consists of three sources, old NTSC
1.33 X 1 color videotape with some slight flaws (especially when it
is a older digital copy), 35mm color 1.33 X 1 for the Mork
episodes (which have yet to hit Blu-ray) and anamorphically enhanced
1.78 X 1 image for all the HD content. They all look about as good
as they can in the older DVD format and upscaling the older NTSC
analog video (or PAL analog in older U.K. appearances) is only going
to do so much, so this is all just fine. No major problems or
issues.
As
for sound, Girls
has lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 that is good for the format, if not
spectacular and likely would sound better in a lossless presentation
on a potential Blu-ray, the Acorn and older Williams
programming is in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and earliest clips
and Mork
episodes in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. They too sound fine for
their age and under the circumstances. There's little to complain
about sonically all around.
-
Nicholas Sheffo, Ricky Chiang (Girls,
Heart)
and James
Lockhart (Sorry)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
