Americans:
Final Season (2018/Season
Six/Fox DVD Set)/Air
Force One 4K (1997/Sony
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Deadbeat
At Dawn (1988/MVD
Visual/Arrow Blu-ray)/Marine
6: Close Quarters
(2018/Sony DVD)/Mile 22
(2018/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B-/B+/B/B-/B & C+ Sound:
B-/A & B+/B/B-/B & C+ Extras: C+/C/B+/C+/C- Main
Programs: B/B/C+/C/C-
Here's
a set of action releases that sometimes have good action, sometimes
not...
We
start with the political/action series The
Americans
(2018), ending here in its Sixth
and Final Season
that gives the characters
a proper send off and continues to raise the bar in terms of action
and thrills. The series stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as the
story picks up three years after the conclusion of season five and
dives deeper as the undercover detectives journey towards the USSR,
while planning to overthrow the military's devious assassination
attempts on a foreign leader.
Check
out our review of the first season here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12690/The+Americans+-+The+Complete+First+Season
Season
6's 10 episodes include Dead
Hand, Tchaikovsky, Urban Transport Planning, Mr. and Mrs. Teacup, The
Great Patriotic War, Rififi, Harvest, The Summit, Jennings,
Elizabeth,
and the finale START.
The
film is presented here on anamorphically
enhanced,
standard definition DVD with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a
lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. While it would be better in HD, the
show looks fine for DVD and while compressed, still allows the viewer
to enjoy the show without commercials or network watermarks, making
it easier to binge and enjoy. The show is nicely photographed,
particularly since it's airing on network cable.
Special
Features include...
Deleted
Scenes
Gag
Reel
and
Inside Looks.
Harrison
Ford stars in one of his better action films outside of the
Spielberg/Lucas realm, Wolfgang Peterson's Air
Force One
(1997), which is now remastered and looking better than ever on 4K
Ultra HD from Sony. Looking back on this film so many later, it
still holds up in many ways today. Sure the times have changed and
the political situation when this film was made isn't as messy as it
has become now, but that aside it's just fun to image Harrison Ford
as a butt kicking President who isn't afraid to go face to face
against terrorist Gary Oldman.
The
film also stars Glenn Close, William H. Macy, Wendy Crewson, and
Liesel Matthews.
Air
Force One is obviously the most secure way to fly... but when a group
of terrorists infiltrate the craft and cause chaos, the flight plan
gets delayed. The President of the United States (Ford) soon becomes
a hostage and has to protect his family and every life on the
plane... including his own!
In
short, Air
Force One
is basically a spin on the Die
Hard
narrative. One man must take out the terrorists in a tight space
before the big bombs go off. Due to the excellent cast and sharp
direction here, the film doesn't feel like a rip off or anything of
the like, but just another good popcorn movie.
Air
Force One
has been remastered in 2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image in a widescreen aspect
ratio of 2.39:1 (original 2.40:1) and three impressive audio mixes:
Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless sound (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
mixdown for older systems) based on the Sony
Dynamic Digital Sound 8-track mix few heard at the time as only so
many movie theater screens could deliver the underrated sound format
and
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with plenty of punch of its own at 48kHz,
16-bit); all three of which bring the movie to life like never before
and besting the previously released Blu-ray edition. The colors are
noticeably sharper, with more detail on characters and special
effects (which makes a few look a little outdated).
Shot
originally in the Super 35mm by legendary Director
of Photography Michael Bauhaus,
this is a fantastic restoration of this '90s hit that is sure to
please fans. A 1080p Blu-ray edition is also included (with similar
specs) and a digital copy.
Special
Features...
Director's
Commentary
and
a Theatrical Trailer.
While
light on extras, the presentation is the main focus of this disc and
it certainly delivers over previous versions.
Maverick
filmmaker Jim VanBebber has had a troubled career over the years, but
that aside, his most credible work is probably Deadbeat
at Dawn
(1988), an ultra low budget revenge flick now out of Arrow in
celebration of the film's 30th Anniversary. The film was made on a
shoe string and has plenty of jaw dropping action even if the plot is
a bit thin.
Deadbeat
tells the story of Goose (played by VanBebber), who decides to leave
his gang leading low life behind and start a new life with his
girlfriend. However, his girlfriend is murdered by said Gang and
Goose is left with nothing. When the Gang convinces him to do one
last heist with them, he used it as an opportunity to get his revenge
on them and solve his vendetta.
The
film has been remastered in 2K from its original film elements
(supervised and approved by the Director) and is presented in its
original 1.37:1 aspect ratio and an original 2.0 Original
uncompressed PCM mono audio mix.
Special
Features are plentiful and includes...
Brand
new free-wheeling audio commentary with Jim VanBebber ('Goose', The
Ravens' Gang Leader), actor Paul Harper ('Danny Carmodi', The
Spyders' Gang Leader) and guest Cody Lee Hardin, moderated by
filmmaker Victor Bonacore (Diary
of a Deadbeat: The Story of Jim VanBebber).
Jim
VanBebber, Deadbeat Forever!
- a brand new retrospective documentary on VanBebber and the Deadbeat
legacy by Filmmaker Victor Bonacore, featuring first-time interviews,
super-rare footage, VanBebber's college films and much, much more!
Archival
1986 behind-the-scenes documentary - Nate Pennington's VHS
documentary on a failed Deadbeat shoot
Outtakes,
newly transferred in HD
Four
newly-restored VanBebber short films - Into
the Black
(1983, 34 mins), My
Sweet Satan
(1993, 19 mins), Roadkill:
The Last Days of John Martin
(1994, 14 mins) and Gator
Green
(2013, 16 mins)
Jim
VanBebber Music Video Collection, featuring never-before-seen
Director's Cuts
Chunkblower
- promotional trailer for an unfinished Gary Blair Smith-produced
gore-soaked feature film
Extensive
Image Gallery - Never-Before-Seen Stills!
Reversible
sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing by
Scott Gabbey and Graham Rae.
WWE
Studios presents (with Sony) The
Marine 6: Close Quarters
(2018) in the action packed new R-rated movie that wrestling fans
will surely eat up... but can't say the same for anyone else. Though
the story is about as generic as it comes and the humor and style
very on the nose, the film is big dumb loud fun and nothing more.
The
Marine 6
stars Becky Lynch, The Miz, Shawn Michaels, Michael Higgs, and Louisa
Connolly-Burnham to name a few.
Jake
Carter (WWE Superstar Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin) and former fellow
Marine, Luke Trapper (WWE Legend Shawn Michaels), join butt kicking
forces to rescue a kidnapped girl from a gang of international
criminals headed up by Maddy Hayes (WWE Superstar Becky Lynch) and
her group of bad guys. Fists will fly and punches are thrown in this
sixth entry of The
Marine
franchise.
The
film is presented on anamorphically
enhanced,
standard definition DVD with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and
a lossy English 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, both of which are the norm for
the format. Compression issues are evident and not very surprising
as its the norm for the format.
Special
Features include...
Making
Maddy and The Marines
and
The
Breakdown: Epic Fights.
Finally
we have
Peter Berg's unfortunate Mile
22
(2018), proof that he cannot break being a two-tier filmmaker:
serious subjects into good film, fiction into junk films. Longtime
lead actor/friend/ally Mark Wahlberg (Deepwater
Horizon)
plays a soldier spy who talks at
people in a staccato mode throughout the whole
film
over and over and over and over again. This all starts with breaking
a Russian spy operation where they just have to kill everyone
no matter what, including a young man who looks underage and like he
should not be there.
Forward
to the present, a new operation in a foreign country to get a man out
who has a secret code to reveal the locations of deadly Cesium or the
computer program will collapse, causing the location info to vaporize
and country's power grid to die. Fortunately, he known martial arts,
but for some reason, the Russians are spying on the operation. Can
they get the man on the plane to freedom in the U.S. for the
information? The result is sadly all plot, little surprise and a
dumb 'twist' ending that does not ring true. Additionally, all the
tough talk and frontin'
wears thin very quickly.
Shot
on 8K Ultra HD cameras before whatever reduction work was done to the
image, it does not look as generic as it sounds and the fight scenes
are the lone highlight as the great John Malkovich is wasted in the
role of the head of spy operations (named 'Mother' like the great
Patrick Newell character in the final season of the the classic 1960s
British spy classic The
Avengers,
but NOT the same character; older movie critics probably found this
the last straw in not liking this package deal) who steals every
scene he appears in, as usual.
Produced
with the interesting STX production company, this is not helping them
in the long run, hurts Wahlberg's credibility as an actor (as well as
any future Oscar chances) and all involved are better than this.
Despite the fights and explosions on screen, laziness behind the
scenes and script killed this dud leaving Wahlberg yet again (Sniper
anyone?) without a reliable franchise series of his own to fall back
on.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the Blu-ray
was (again) shot in new 8K
Ultra HD cameras, so this at least is visually watchable with only
some shaky camerawork. Color is sometimes degraded, but not
annoyingly so, but the anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on the
DVD is softer by comparison to watch and harder to tolerate.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix is the best sound mix on
the Blu-ray, so the makers even cut corners on sound, usually 12
track sound in such new releases. It is consistent sounding with a
good soundfield, but nothing special, so the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1
on the DVD is more generic in character.
Extras
include Digital HD Copy for PC, PC portable and other cyber iTunes
capable devices, while the Blu-ray adds
(as the press release explains) Overwatch:
Follow the 'Overwatch', the para-military division in Mile
22
and explore the background and inspiration as to why this type of
team was chosen for the film, Introducing
Iko:
A spotlight on world-renowned action star Iko Uwais and his
experience with combat fighting, stunt work and choreographing his
own scenes in the film, Iko
Fight:
Interview with Iko Uwais discussing his intense fight scenes from the
practice room to the final shot, Bad
Ass Women:
A behind-the-scenes look with stars Lauren Cohan and Ronda Rousey
along with writer Lea Carpenter, discussing stunts, intellectual
smarts and the overall tenacity of the film's female characters, BTS
Stunts:
An in-depth take on the creation of the action-packed stunts of Mile
22
with commentary from Director Peter Berg and the film's stars, Modern
Combat:
Explore the concept of modern action cinema, where scenes are created
and shot in real time with multiple cameras, mesmerizing
cinematography and intense action stunts, Colombia:
Take a tour Bogota, Colombia with the cast and filmmakers discussing
key filming location points and Trailers.
Well,
at least they
had fun making it.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Mile
22)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
