Big
Fix
(1978/Universal/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Digital
Lives Matter
(2016/Gravitas Ventures*)/The
Kid Who Would Be King
(2019/Fox Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Life
In The Doghouse
(2018/FilmRise/*both MVD Blu-ray)/The
Mighty McGurk
(1947/MGM/Warner Archive DVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B/B+/B+/B/C Sound: B-/C+/A/C+/C
Extras: C/D/B/D/C- Films: C+/B/C+/B/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Big Fix
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies last,
while The
Mighty McGurk
is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series. All can be ordered from the links below.
Whether
kids in comedy or comedies with kids, this next group of films covers
a wide field of other genres and ideas as well...
Jaws
and Close
Encounters Of The Third Kind
made Richard Dreyfus a big name star, yet his other leading role
films of the time have become lost in the shuffle. Not long after
covering a Blu-ray belatedly issued of this hit film The
Goodbye Girl,
here is a limited edition of the even more forgotten Jeremy Paul
Kagan film The
Big Fix
(1978) where he plays a ojne0time counte4rculture protester who was
politically active and is now a detective.
When
a political candidate is the target of a print smear campaign (oh,
the pre-Internet era), one of the people running that campaign (John
Lithgow) calls him in for help, though with juggling two great young
boys, an ex-wife (Bonnie Bedelia), her obnoxious boyfriend (Ron
Rifkin) and mounting financial debt, he's got problems of his own.
An old girlfriend (Susan Anspach) also turns up needing his help, but
he cannot even keep crayons out of the barrel of his long-unused
revolver.
This
is no Neo-Noir, but a comedy (for the most part, especially at first)
that has some nice turns later, but is interested in being off-beat
and might go out of its way too much to make that happen at its
expense. I like the cast and the appearances constantly surprise,
but the script (co-written by the author of the novel the film is
based on) is uneven and if a movie series was intended, it did not
work out.
However,
references to the past and history that the country has tried to
forget since the 1980s makes this more interesting than you might
expect and will remind some of the film Running
On Empty,
et al, when underground political figures on the Left still on the
run long after Vietnam, protests and Watergate are over turns up.
Dreyfus gives a performance typically his energetic funny self, but
is just convincing enough as the lead.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer can show the
age of the materials used, but this is far superior a transfer to all
previous releases of the film and looks pretty good throughout, some
shots of which are very impressive, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix does what it can with
the old optical mono theatrical sound that allows you to hear as much
as possible. Bill Conti (For
Your Eyes Only,
Rocky)
turns in an mixed score to go with the mixed film.
Extras
include a nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and yet another excellent, underrated essay by the
great film scholar Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds an Isolated
Music Score and Original Theatrical Trailer.
DC
Young Fly thinks is the next internet sensation with over 3 million
online followers, but when he pisses off the wrong computer nerd he
wakes up to sudden find all his followers are gone. And it couldn't
happen on a worst day when he has an audition of a lifetime but he
must have at least a million followers to qualify. Now, in order to
get his followers back, he must follow orders from a mysterious
hacker named Simon and help his followers regain their faith in him
in 'digital lives matter' in Terry J. Vaughn's Digital
Lives Matter (2016).
DC
thinks with 3 million followers he can go anywhere, do anything and
do anyone he wants. With social media on his side, he is invincible
and untouchable. He makes his popularity off of making a few catch
phrases, making fun of other, on-line ridiculing and bullying of
whomever he like (which is bad of course) ...but as long as it
increases his popular, gets him perks, or makes him money, it is all
OK and good. But when a computer nerd gets offended by his lack of
sensitivity and responsibility, DC is forced to see what his life is
like if he didn't have any followers and to actually care about the
people, family and friends who follow him by visiting his fans and
making a difference in their lives and not just his.
This
was a comical movie about aps and those who follow twitter or any
kind of social media. People who live vicariously through others
because they wish they were like someone or social media is their
only escape from reality. People are so attached to a digital life,
that they forget what real life is like for the rest of the people.
The dangerous thing about social media is people think there are no
responsibilities and no accountability, they can do anything they
want because it is 'entertainment' or fun because they can get mass
media on their side.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image has some motion blur,
but looks fine otherwise, while the sound is surprisingly lossy
Dolby Digital 5.1 with issues and limits. There are no extras.
Joe
Cornish (Attack
the Block)
directs the modern day King Arthur story, The
Kid Who Would Be King
(2019). Taking inspiration from Harry Potter, this new fantasy take
is sure to entertain a teenage audience, but feels a bit adolescent
and formulaic at times. The film's American box office reputation
was pretty poor as it fell victim to an early January release, and
came out on disc fairly quickly. However, the 4K presentation is
pretty impressive and brings the film to life at home for those who
missed it initially in cinemas.
The
film stars Louis Serkis, Rebecca Ferguson, Tom Taylor, Denise Gough,
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Patrick Stewart.
Young
Alex (Serkis) isn't exactly the most popular kid at school, but
things change when he finds the mythical sword known as Excalibur.
He soon embarks upon a journey that involves some of his classmate
friends (and enemies) and they are guided by a young magical teen
named Merlin (Imfrie) in an attempt to go up against the evil Morgana
(Ferguson) and her army of supernatural bad guys.
The
film is shot by Hollywood cinematography legend Bill Pope (The
Matrix Trilogy)
and presented here in 2160p
HEVC/H.265, HDR (10+; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High
Definition image
on 4K UHD disc. The presentation features a 2.39:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and audio mixes in English Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby True HD 7.1
for older systems) 48kHz, 24-bit, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, and
lossy Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Also included is
a 1080p high definition Blu-ray disc with similar specs. There are
plenty of interesting visual effects and sound elements in the film
that feel more alive in the 4K version, not just the extreme level of
detail. The film has a nice darkly overcast look to most of the
scenes, in contrast to moments that could have been a bit more sunny.
The digital effects aren't terrible overall, but nothing
groundbreaking.
A
digital copy is also included.
Special
Features include...
Deleted
Scenes
Origins
of a King
Young
Knights
Hair,
Makeup & Costume Tests
Merlin's
Magic (x4)
*Knight
School
*The
Two Merlins
*Meet
Morgana
*Movie
Magic
and
"Be the King", Lay Lay Music Video.
The
Kid Who Would Be King is a fine modern re-telling of the classic
story, and will likely satisfy fans and teens in particular. It
reminds me a bit of the Percy Jackson films in a way, films
that desperately want to capture the magic of Harry Potter, but miss
the mark.
Take
a look into the life stores of Danny and Ron's Rescue, how they have
rescued over 10,000 dogs and turn their farm into a rescue for dogs
that were lost, abandon, abused or just thrown away. As they tell
their story of how they came to be and what influenced them to create
a rescue they share their passion, joys, trials and difficulties in
Ron Davis' Life
In The Doghouse
(2018).
Danny
and Ron are a couple who has devoted their lives to saving dogs.
After Hurricane Katrina, hundred of dogs were left to starve and fend
for themselves. Danny and Ron took it on themselves to take in all
those dogs left behind and find homes for them. Through the years
they converted their farm into a haven for dogs, the dogs don't live
with them ...they live with the dogs. Over the years they have taken
dogs who's owners have given up on them, from puppy mills or dogs who
were about to be euthanized. Their story is how they keep the farm
running, everyday taking in more and more dogs, rehabilitate them and
then find new owners from, that it doesn't not matter if they were
stray, mutts or in need of special care. True dog lovers don't care
about pedigree or perfection, but how much love you can give to a
dog.
This
was a heart warming tale how two men learned to care for dogs and
found a whole lot more by helping dogs, they find life, meaning and
purpose in their lives and each other. Life might not be easy
raising, cleaning and feeding hundreds of dogs each day but to them
it is worth to know they are able to change or save even a single
dog's life.
By
coincidence (like Digital Lives Matter), the 1080p 1.78 X 1
digital High Definition image has some motion blur, but looks fine
otherwise, while the sound is surprisingly lossy
Dolby Digital 5.1 with issues and limits. There are no extras.
Finally
we have a film directed by a man who happens to be named John Waters,
but it is not the controversial 'shock' director we know now but a
journeyman director under contract to the old MGM just after WWII
helming a comedy with Wallace Berry. He was a big star at the time
and plays a former boxer running places in the Bowery in the early
part of the decade as The
Mighty McGurk
(1947).
Edward
Arnold is his boss and he is well-known, but his hard fighting and
hard fun is about to be interrupted when a young boy (Dean Stockwell,
decades before the TV hit Quantum
Leap,
et al) who is a little streetwise and English in origin. At first,
it is not a good match, but just as that changes, local child
services wants to take the boy away. Can McGurk stop them?
Stockwell
makes this a curio as much as anything and the film is not bad for 85
minutes, but it may be a not long and drawn out when all is said and
done. You can see why Berry was a star at the time and the
supporting cast (including a young Cameron Mitchel, Dorothy Patrick
and Aline MacManon) help. Warner Archive has issued this on DVD and
now you can see it for yourself.
The
1.33 X 1 black & white image transfer can show the age of the
materials used with print damage and softness that suggests an older
transfer and second-generation material that extends to background
noise on the
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack of the old optical mono
theatrical sound. The film needs some restoration, but at least this
includes an Original Theatrical Trailer.
To
order The
Big Fix
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it and other great exclusives while
supplies last at these links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
and
to order The Mighty McGurk Warner Archive DVD, go to this link
for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Big,
Mighty),
Ricky Chiang and James
Lockhart (4K)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
