
The
Big Sick
(2017/Lionsgate Blu-ray w/DVD)/Eight
Heads In A Duffel Bag
(1997/Orion/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/My
Blue Heaven
(1990/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Rowan
and Martin's Laugh In: The Complete First Season
(1968 - 1969/Time Life DVD set)/Silicon
Valley: The Complete Fourth Season
(2017/HBO Blu-ray)/VEEP:
The Complete Sixth Season
(2017/HBO Blu-ray set)
Picture:
B+ & B-/B+/B+/B-/B+/B+ Sound: B+ & B-/B+/B/B-/B+/B+
Extras: B/C+/C/B/C/C+ Main Programs: B/B/B/B/C+/B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Eight
Heads In A Duffel Bag
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 My
Blue Heaven
is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series. All can be ordered from the links below.
And
now for a big block of comedy....
The
Big Sick
Producer
Judd Apatow returns The
Big Sick
(2017), a true story centered around the life of a Pakistani Stand-up
Comedian named Kumail Nanjiani, who falls in love with a young woman
named Emily Godron (played by the beautiful Zoe Kazan), who attends
one of his shows.
While
it has plenty of funny moments and strong performances all around the
film dips into dramatic territory with Pakistani planned marriages
while struggling with one man's finding of his true loved one. The
story takes an even more dramatic turn when its discovered that she
has a life threatening illness and he must choose between his
Religious and Family ideals as following his heart.
The
film stars Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, and
Adeel Akhtar.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a
nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track, the film looks
great on Blu-ray. The tones are natural with nice details on
characters and locations and no super distracting visual flaws. Also
included is a DVD version of the film with an anamorphic widescreen
aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track that suffers from
compression issues, as is the norm with the format.
A
Digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features include...
"A
Personal Journey: The Making of The Big Sick" Featurette
"The
Real Story" Featurette
2017
SXSW Film Festival Panel
Cast
& Filmmaker Commentary with Actor-Writer Kumail Nanjiani, Writer
Emily V. Gordon, Producer Barry Mendel and Director Michael Showalter
The
Big Sick: The Other Stuff
Deleted
Scenes
The
Bigger Sick: Stick Around for More Laughs.
Much
like Funny
People
and other Apatow films, The
Big Sick
is funny while being bittersweet at the same time. The film is a bit
on the long side and will make you both laugh and cry. For this
reviewer personally, it was a one time watch but its by no means a
bad film.
Next
up are two gangster comedies that did not quite become the hits their
respective studios had hoped for, but has fans...
Eight
Heads in a Duffel Bag
I
first saw Tom Schulman's Eight
Heads in a Duffel Bag
(1997) in my younger years heavy edited for television. so I am happy
to see it get a great new HD release from Twilight Time uncut. One
of the funniest films of the '90s in this reviewers opinion, Joe
Pesci stars in a film that is non-stop laughs from frame one. Though
it has a bit of cult film status, I'm surprised that the film hasn't
gained more popularity over time. Hopefully, this great new release
will help!
The
film also stars Andy Comeau, Kristy Swanson, Todd Louiso, George
Hamilton, Dyan Cannon, and David Spade. The film is directed by Tom
Schulman (writer of Dead
Poets Society).
A
Mob Bagman named Tommy (Pesci) ends up boarding a flight with a
duffel bag full of eight severed heads, but when his bag gets mixed
up with a Medical Student named Charlie (Corneau), all kinds of
mishaps ensue. Charlie is going to meet his girlfriend's (Swanson)
family for the first time, though their relationship is a bit
rocky... and Tommy goes on a desperate search for Charlie in an
attempt to get the bags back, even going as far as to try to torture
Charlie's friends (Spade, Louiso) in an effort to track him down. As
the clock is ticking for the heads to be delivered to their Mob Boss
Owner, Charlie and Tommy end up meeting again... in an epic
conclusion.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and an
English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless track that brings the
film to life (no pun intended) like never before. The remastered
transfer is very satisfying, with few glaring errors, and a clean
image that brings the film to life.
Special
Features include...
Isolated
Music Track (with some sound effects)
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Collectible
Insert Booklet with Julie Kirgo essay.
While
it's not loaded with extras, there's a lot to like about this
release.
My
Blue Heaven
Steve
Martin and Rick Moranis star in My
Blue Heaven
(1990), which is directed by Herbert Ross (Footloose,
Steel
Magnolias)
with a screenplay by the late Nora Ephron (Sleepless
in Seattle,
When
Harry Met Sally).
Carrying
themes of divorce, hysteria, mob dealings, and even a love story, the
film really tries to throw everything in the kitchen sink and it
oddly works most of the time. The film has great onscreen chemistry
with all of its leads, is beautifully shot and directed, and may be
one of Steve Martin's most underrated performances. It does tend to
drag a bit in the second act and some of Vinnie's actions would
likely be inexcusable in the eyes of law enforcement, but it's easy
to throw some logic out the window with some of the film’s more
comedic moments making up for it.
The
film also stars the lovely Joan Cusack, Melanie Mayron (Real
Genius),
Carol Kane (Scrooged),
Bill Irwin, William Hickley, and a brief turn from Home
Alone
actor Daniel Stern.
My
Blue Heaven
is the story of a Mob trader named Vinnie Antonelli (Martin) who is a
con artist in the purest sense of the word and to is unrooted to a
small suburb in California; a man who can't keep his hands off his
ex-wife's open purse when she turns her back to him in an attempt to
grab her wallet. A man who is fine ripping off his community in
mafia-style in an attempt to pick himself one step ahead.
In
no time flat, his Wife leaves him and he is left with a lot of time
on his hands in new surroundings. While enrolled in the witness
protection program under uptight FBI Agent Barney Coopersmith
(Moranis), a man whose wife leaves him too with his life left
uprooted on a new path and his primary job now keeping Vinnie out of
trouble. There gets to be some road bumps when the third lead Hannah
Stubbs (Cusack), another local authority figure, who tries to condemn
the squandering Vinnie Antonelli at every turn with legal actions.
Can Barney keep Vinnie straight long enough before he goes on trial?
Or will he end up in bars before then?
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
a nice sounding English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless
track (with Pro Logic surrounds from the original old analog A-type
noise reduction Dolby System theatrical release), the presentation on
Blu-ray is crisp and clear throughout. No doubt originally shot on
35mm, the restoration of the film is top notch and Warner has done a
nice job of capturing the very cinematic images on disc and besting
previous versions on lesser formats.
The
only extra is the Original Trailer in 1080p HD.
While
it could have used some new extras, including something from Martin
about the performance of his character, Warner Archive's new Blu-ray
from My
Blue Heaven
is worth tracking down if you're a fan of the film or if the pairing
of Moranis and Martin on screen sparks your interest. It's
definitely worth a watch for seeing those two alone.
Rowan
and Martin's Laugh In: The Complete First Season
Available
on DVD in this highly collectible set from Time Life comes the
classic television show Rowan
and Martin's Laugh In
in its first of six complete seasons. The variety show is available
as Best Of Sets and as a Complete Series Collection available through
Time Life as well. So this is just the beginning of our coverage.
Hosted
by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, the show ran for a staggering
140 episodes through 1968 through 1973 on NBC and features a wide
variety of music, sketch comedy, with roots in vaudeville and
burlesque. The show was created by Ed Friendly and George Schlatter.
Guest
Stars this first time out include Pamela Austin, Barbara Feldon,
Jerry Lewis, Flip Wilson, Leo G. Carroll, Lorne Greene, Buddy
Hackett, Sheldon Leonard, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Tiny Tim, Ben
Wrigley, Sally Field, Terry-Thomas, John Wayne, Inga Neilsen, Joey
Baker, Richard Dawson and a plethora of other special guest stars and
performers.
14
Episodes span 4 standard definition DVDs which feature the show in
its original 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio with an original mono
track. While compression issues are evident with the format and
could be vastly improved in high def, the show looks and sounds fine
for this release and is presented uninterrupted and commercial free.
Special
Features include...
Laugh
In Pilot
25th
Anniversary Cast Reunion Highlights
New
Interview with creator and Executive Producer George Schlatter
Laugh
In Bloopers
This
great little time capsule will make you wish a show like this still
existed now. This definitely captures a more innocent time for
television free of many of the hot topics that weigh down comedy
today. This is a show that older generations will enjoy seeing again
and new generations will look back on with a sense of nostalgic
wonder.
Silicon
Valley: The Complete Fourth Season
Mike
Judge's HBO comedy series Silicon
Valley
returns for a fourth season that brings back the lovable cast of
techno-geeks which includes Thomas Middleditch, Kumail Nanjiani,
Martin Starr, Stephen Tobolowsky, Amanda Crew, and T.J. Miller to
name a few. The show is definitely for the technologically aware
crowd as some of the computer speak could lose some viewers. Still
the show packs a lot of laughs and intelligence and continues to be a
success with a Season
Five
on the way.
Piped
Piper, which consists of a handful of talented guys who are
struggling to make a name for themselves in the highly competitive
world of Silicon Valley. While Richard (Middleditch) continues to
have his own dreams for the company and bold ideas for a 'new
internet', his comrades feel that he should let that dream go and
realize their company is at its best, a video chat company. Dinesh
(Nanjiani) takes his own path along with Gilfoyle (Starr). Erlich
(Miller) continues to struggle with his finances crumbling and Jared
(Woods) attempts take it in a new direction. Big Head (Brener) goes
back to school while over at Hooli, Gavin (Matt Ross) finds himself
threatened by Jack Barker (Stephen Tobolowsky), while Monica (Crew)
struggles to bounce back at Raviga after severing ties with Laurie
(Suzanne Cryer).
The
season consists of ten episodes which include Success
Failure, Terms of Service, Intellectual Property, Teambuilding
Exercise, The Blood Boy, Customer Service, The Patent Trail, The
Keenan Vortex, Hooli-Con,
and Server
Error.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a
crystal clear DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless track, the show
looks and sounds exponentially better than it did in its original
television broadcast. No compression issues but nothing that really
stands out as being exceptional.
A
Digital HD copy is also included.
Special
Features...
Deleted
Scenes
While
not without its funny moments, I feel like this show and VEEP
(reviewed next) carry out with their usual routine and don't evolve
like other shows on the network do.
I
have reviewed all of the previous seasons of the show on this site as
well...
Season
One
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13413/Silicon+Valley+(2014/HBO+Blu-ray+Set
Season
Two
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14172/Silicon+Valley:+The+Complete+Second+Season
Season
Three
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14856/Mad+Families+(2017/Sony+DVD)/Silicon+Valley
VEEP:
The Complete Sixth Season
Julia
Louis-Dreyfus returns in the Sixth
Season
of VEEP
as (now ex-) President Selina Meyer. The show aims for realism while
poking fun at the Political system and throwing some subtle
references to some real Political figures into the mix.
VEEP
also stars Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, and
Timothy Simons.
After
a brief run in office as President and having lost to another woman,
Selina Meyer (who is in a way a character play on Hillary Clinton),
the Politician struggles with her personal life around her crumbling
political one. In this season, she finds many of her staff members
going their separate ways and her sanity starts to lose composer of
itself, often times with hilarious results. With her legacy
depending on the Meyer fund, a charitable fund she starts in an
attempt to salvage her reputation, Meyer finds speed bump after speed
bump as she battles for survival in Washington DC.
Season
Six
features ten episodes which include Omaha,
Library, Georgia, Justice, Chicklet, Qatar, Blurb, Judge, A Woman
First,
and Groundbreaking.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen 1.78:1 and a nice sounding
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless track, the show looks and
sounds much improved on Blu-ray disc with a crisp and clear transfer
with realistic looking tones and an impressive sound mix boost.
A
digital UV copy of the season is also included.
Special
Features...
Seven
exclusive new audio commentaries featuring cast (Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, Timothy Simons, Sam Richardson,
Sarah Sutherland, and Clea DuVall), David Mandel, and additional
Writers, Directors, and Producers.
While
its a bit surprising that it has lasted six seasons, VEEP
has some funny moments but equal moments that make you hate the
Selina Meyer character.
To
order the Eight
Heads In A Duffel Bag
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 My
Blue Heaven
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/