Pitch
Perfect 2 (2015/Universal
Blu-ray w/DVD)/Showdown In
Little Tokyo (1991/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)
Picture:
B- & C+/B- Sound: B & C+/C+ Extras: C+/C- Films:
C+/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Showdown
In Little Tokyo
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
When
films try to find comedy in other genres and do it sloppily, it might
be a hot or just become a cult item. These two films show both
results...
Elizabeth
Banks' Pitch
Perfect 2
(2015) is the commercial success the Hugh Grant vehicle American
Dreamz
had hoped to be, spoofing talent shows, talent shows on TV, reality
TV and backstage antics. A much bigger hit, it was one of the only
R-rated comedies to make money as the cycle died after making much
money. The cast including Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Skylar
Astin, Adam Devine, Katie Sagal and even Banks herself make sense
being cast and there is even a little chemistry here, but this is a
one-to-two joke film and never has any outright laughs.
Its
also never has the few dark moments Dreamz
had, but that makes it more commercial and easier for an audience to
take in, so it is part of Universal's comeback box-office year where
they set all kind of personal and overall box office high-marks. The
result is that you are either going to like it or you're not and the
problem is that it is amusing when you watch, then quickly forgotten
when it winds up. It almost quits while it was ahead.
Extras
include a feature length audio commentary track,
Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes, Gag Reel, plus 6 Blu-ray-exclusive
featurettes and BD Live interactive functions.
Politically
incorrect as it was, Michael Cimino's underrated Year
Of The Dragon
(1985, reviewed elsewhere on this site) became a film that was
ripped-off a few times, inspiring a few similar thrillers (Kaufmann's
Rising
Sun,
Scott's Black
Rain)
and along with Carpenter's Big
Trouble In Little China,
even more comedies, like those lame Rush
Hour
films and Mark L. Lester's Showdown
In Little Tokyo
(1991). Dolph Lundgren (towards the end of his time in high profile
major studio releases) plays a police detective who grew up with
Japanese culture, so when the Yakuza comes to town, high kicks,
karate chops and bullets fly. He also soon finds himself working
with another detective, underplayed by Brandon Lee in one of his few
feature films before his untimely death.
A
bomb in its time, the film has a cult status, though those I talked
about it to who liked it (including some gay-baiting moments
(dialogue included) I doubt would be in any
film today) could remember those wackier moments and the
choreographed fighting is awful. Tia Carrere makes this more
bearable, but is not in it enough, though we see plenty of her when
she is there. Otherwise, the Japanese villains are borderline
stereotypes (proto-racist?) and it 78 minutes, it still seems long
with not enough of Lee. Whose made it a different kind of cult item
than the one it already is.
The
only extra is an Original Theatrical Trailer.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Pitch
Blu-ray is far from perfect with a little more blur and visual flaws
than we should be getting in a current HD shoot, but such comedies
moved to HD first to cut costs and because they rightly felt most
audiences would not tell the difference. However, when all your
making is an oversized sitcom, what's the difference? The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is even softer and harder to
watch, so guess they also expect you'll laugh the flaws away as all
is allegedly so funny. Hmm.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Showdown
can show the age of the materials used, so this is barely that
superior a transfer to all previous releases of the film (the nudity
benefits), but this looks like an older HD master. It does have some
good full color shots, but not enough.
Both
Blu-rays offer DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes, with
Pitch
well mixed and presented enough to sound consistent with a good
soundfield, but nothing special to write home about, so the
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is not only weaker, but very weak. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mix on Showdown
is from
an old Dolby A-type analog soundmaster with Pro Logic surrounds, but
it can decode awkwardly, show its age, be a bit brittle at times and
needs some work along with its image.
To
order the Showdown
In Little Tokyo
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
https://www.warnerarchive.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
