Gregory's Girl (1980/Film Movement Blu-ray)/Iron Fists and Kung-Fu Kicks (2019*)/The Naked Wanderer (2018/*both Umbrella Region 4 PAL Import DVDs)/The Simpsons: The Complete Nineteenth Season (2007 - 2008/Fox DVD Set)/Veep: The Complete Seventh Season (2019 Final Season/HBO/Warner Blu-ray Set)

Picture: B/B-/C+/B/B+ Sound: C+/B-/C+/B/B+ Extras: B-/D/D/B/C+ Main Programs: B-*/B/C+/B+/B

PLEASE NOTE: The Iron Fists and Naked Wanderer Import DVDs are now only available from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment in Australia, can only play on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD players that can handle Region 4-locked PAL DVDs and can be ordered from the link below.

Now for a new set of comedies, including a documentary we hope more people get to see...

In a sea of mostly bad recent teen films, especially bad comedies, Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl (1980) is suddenly 40 years old (!!!) and has aged better than many might have expected, though it was a hit in its time with a solid following through the years. A group of voyeuristic young early teens in Scotland have a healthy interest in women, but hardly understand what they are dealing with in an earlier, kinder time. Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) is quirky, shy and sees the world a little differently than most, but has friends. He also loves soccer (or football in Europe).

A guy thing, everyone goes into shock when young Dorothy (Dee Hepburn) decides to not only try out for the team, especially male-dominated for the time, but is as good as just about anyone who tries out. Will she be on the team? Gregory sure hopes so and fall in love with her immediately, then spends all kinds of time trying to get to know her, get close to her and do anything else that makes sense.

She is uncertain at first, but they seem to hit it off, but its hard to tell what will happen next, including how Gregory and everyone else will handle her subversive-by-default presence. Half the fun will be getting to all the answers.

Forsyth proves to be a solid journeyman director, especially having directed this and That Sinking Feeling (see link below) back to back and has a knack for humor, but the cast is also very good here and the flow and pace are just fine, honest and believable, with some nice surprises in storyline and in the ways the characters act. I saw this film at first with its 'clarity dub' and did not like it as much, then I discovered I was passed a secondary soundtrack and though it might take more effort to concentrate and hear what is being said, the film works best with its original dialogue recording down o the humor of all the awkward moments and how the characters actually are. Nice to see the film saved and out in such a fine new special edition.

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is from a fine new HD scan that delivers color better than any version (or clips or stills) of the film that I have seen over the years, though age shows at times, I liked the results here. Though I hoped for lossless sound, both the original and enhanced/dubbed English soundtracks are only here in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is fine and though dialogue is clearer on the dub, it does not sound as hood or authentic as the originally recorded accents.

Extras include an illustrated booklet on the film including informative text and an essay by film scholar Jonathan Murray, while the disc adds a feature length audio commentary track by Director Forsyth and Mark Kermode, two on-camera Forsyth interviews (one vintage) and Gregory's Girl Memories on camera interview with Clare Grogan (also a successful pop song singer).

For more from director Forsyth, see our coverage of the great import Blu-ray of That Sinking Feeling at this link:

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12716/Gloria+(2013/Lionsgate+DVD)/Lewis+Black:+Old+

Iron Fists and Kung-Fu Kicks (2019) is a fun documentary that explores Hong Kong martial arts cinema, its evolution, and a focus on its icons. There's large sections on Bruce Lee, David Carradine, and others, and how the genre has gone through its ups and downs over the years. There is also sections on Australian martial arts movies that's pretty interesting and another on Suburbia and how Hong Kong martial arts movies playing on television captured a new audience.

Finally, it descends into Hollywood and how martial arts mixed over into gymnastics and of course into movies. For a while in the '90s, there was a crisis in Hong Kong where there weren't as many Hong Kong movies being made in the country and how many of the best Hong Kong filmmakers moved to LA. It is good at talking about the cinema industry too. It also cites the first Matrix film as a groundbreaking point for Americans to accept Hong Kong style martial arts in cinema and how it lead to further collaborations. Then into the YouTube culture and how young people have been inspired to make their own indie films inspired by classic martial arts and even independent filmmakers in other countries.

Some interviews include Jessica Henwick, Scott Adkins, JuJu Chan, Amy Johnston, Cecil Arif Rahman, and James Young to name just a few.

Presented in anamorphically enhanced standard definition with a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a fine sounding 5.1 English lossy Dolby Digital mix. Though compression issues are evident, the film looks and sounds passable on this aging format.

No extras.

This is an informative documentary that's cleverly made and produced.

Alan Lindsay's The Naked Wanderer (2018) is a high concept comedy that could go wrong in so many ways and has some issues, but it also has some real laughs and never gets really stupid as it might have had it come from Hollywood. Angus Mclaren plays Jake, a man who is certain he has fallen in love with his girlfriend (Meagan Hajjar) that after some diving, he brings out a ring to propose to her. Too bad she was panning to break up with him later that day!

Disgusted, he gets down in the dumps, then comes up with an idea: accept a crazy challenge by a big media mogul (John Cleese, a bit out of it here) to walk across Australia for charity... and naked! Well, pretty much almost. So he goes to it and of course, gets the expected attention and comments, but enough support to keep going on. He also meets another woman, but that Ex also shows up as do plenty of problems and complications. Still, he keeps hanging in there, but some of the incidents are really bad and it is the hot season. Can he make it?

The film gets a bit ridiculous at times and does not hold together overall, but with some trims and alterations, this could have easily been better. Still, the cast is a plus with some good energy and I was glad I saw it for what did work. Those interested might want to go out of their way for it too.

The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is not bad for an HD shoot and takes advantage of the many outdoor locations (sadder to see after the catastrophic wildfires that just happened since this was made) and the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 well recorded enough to enjoy, if not a sonic stunner. It is a comedy, after all.

There are sadly no extras.

Matt Groening's classic cartoon, The Simpsons (1989 - current), finally releases its 19th season on DVD courtesy of Fox after keeping fans waiting for two years. This season originally aired on Fox between 2007 and 2008, and the animated show (as of this writing) is currently in its 31st Season. This one is the Nineteenth.

Set in Springfield, The Simpsons follows the Simpsons family of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie and the family's many misadventures. A pop culture milestone, the show manages to maintain being fresh with its social commentary that appeals to adults and kids alike.

The main Simpsons voice cast all return with Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer to name a few.

Special guest voices include Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Glenn Close, Stephen Colbert, Matt Dillon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jack Black and ''Weird Al'' Yankovic.

Episodes include He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs, The Homer of Seville, Midnight Towboy, I Don't Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Treehouse of Horror XVIII, Little Orphan Millie, Husbands and Knives, Funeral for a Fiend, Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind, E Pluribus Wiggum, That '90s Show, Love, Springfieldian Style, The Debarted, Dial 'N' for Nerder, Smoke on the Daughter, Papa Don't Leech, Apocalypse Cow, Any Given Sundance, Mona Leaves-A, and All About Lisa.

The Simpsons: Season 19 is presented in standard definition on DVD with its original 1.33:1 full screen aspect ratio and lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. The animation translates fine onto DVD and reflects its original television broadcast. Having no commercials and watermarks makes for a much more enjoyable watch.

Special Features:

Commentaries on every episode with writers, actors, directors

A Plea for Sanity featurette

Thank You featurette

Special Language feature

and collectible packaging with a full color insert booklet.

While The Simpsons is available to stream and is certainly on cable, there is an advantage to getting the show on DVD if you're a big fan. Each set has very unique original artwork and loads of interesting commentaries and extras. While not in HD, this set is still worth the price tag.

Finally, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Seinfeld) in the Seventh and Final Season, HBO's political comedy series Veep. The show looks at the behind the scenes worlds of politics through the eyes of Selina Meyer who has had a controversial career. The show celebrates her rises and falls in the political world as she runs for President. We have covered previous seasons on this series elsewhere on this site.

Seven episodes are on one Blu-ray disc and include Iowa, Discovery Weekend, Pledge, South Carolina, Super Tuesday, Oslo, and the series finale - Veep. The show also stars Timothy C. Simons, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, and Sam Richardson.

Veep is presented in 1080p high definition with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The show is nicely shot and on the level with other HBO productions even though it is a comedy, the money is certainly on the screen. A digital copy is included. A digital copy is also included.

Special Features include:

Audio Commentaries

Character Retrospectives

and Invitation to Set

Veep is a funny political satire that makes you feel as if you are behind the scenes of a political event. While it may make more sense to someone aware of the inner workings of politics, it has enough quirky humor to entertain.

To order either of the Umbrella import DVDs, Iron Fists and Naked Wanderer, go to this link for them and more hard to find releases:

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/

- Nicholas Sheffo (Girl, Naked) and James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/