Arizona
4K (2018/RLJ 4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/No
Postage Necessary
(2017/Two Roads Blu-ray)/The
Carol Burnett Show: 50th
Anniversary Special
(2018/Time Life DVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B+/B-/C+ Sound: B+/C+/C+
Extras: C/C-/C Main Programs: C/C/B-
Here's
an odd pair of new comedy films, plus a celebration of a TV comedy
classic...
Arizona
(2018) is an offbeat dark comedy that stars Danny McBride (Vice
Principals,
Tropic
Thunder)
and centers around Cassie (Rosemarie DeWitt of La
La Land
and Rachel
Getting Married)
who is a divorced realtor that works in the 2009 housing crisis and
happens to witness Sonny (McBride) accidentally murder her co-worker
right before her eyes. Afraid to keep her quiet, Sonny kidnaps
Cassie and keeps her in his big house that's about to be
repossessed... and things getting even crazier from there.
The
film also stars Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Gillies, Seth Rogen, and
Kaitlin Olson.
McBride
plays a darker version of himself in this film as he murders multiple
people (and a dog) and DeWitt plays nicely off of him as a normal mom
pushed to her limits. The film has a clean and very cinematic look
and uses its minimal cast to its advantage. Some of the film's
social commentary comes across a little murky and some moments are a
bit over the top, but it's still pretty funny in his own way.
Presented
in 2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High
Definition image and a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix. The nicely shot film looks great on
this new format with more details and texture than the also included
1080p Blu-ray version also included, which shares similar audio and
visual specs. The most noticeable different in presentation is
evident in lowly lit or night scenes, where more grain is present on
the Blu-ray edition. While I wouldn't necessarily consider this a
demo disc worthy release, its the better option for viewing the film
if you have the capability.
Special
Features include "The
Making Of Arizona"
featurette and a Photo Gallery
Arizona
isn't anything out of Danny McBride's comfort zone and will certainly
turn some people off by some of its violence however its definitely
worth a watch if you're a fan of his brand of offbeat dark humor. It
reminded me a bit of The
Cable Guy
where things take some pretty unexpectedly dark turns for the sake of
a few laughs.
Next
is Jeremy Culver's No
Postage Necessary
(2017) is a comedy that throws in everything it can and just juggles
way too much for its own good, starting with the would-be humor of
our lead (George Blagden) going to jail for three years for
committing a hacking cyber crime. Joining him three years later, he
is out of jail and gets a job with the post office? I doubt he would
veer get any government job after his crime and that pasts not funny
either, nor is the moment he gets hit with a car (he lives, so the
film drones on) by what turns out to be our female lead (Charleene
Closshey, who sings some songs on the soundtrack!) who herself make
'bad decisions' about men.
That
is not funny, it turns out to be the beginning of the sexist
stereotype of women who are not together, which I never liked and are
somehow getting made. Then the script adds all kinds of unfunny
funny things and when that makes it a total mess, bits about being a
good Christian (parr of this cycle of Christianity as if it were
invented in the 1980s bad films, et al, also get thrown in. This is
a mess for the most part, but I was surprised the director kept it
going jut the same.
If
this were not so full of itself and paired down considerably, it
would have worked better, maybe. What we get is 104 minutes that
never add up and acting that plays like they are jut reading from the
script.
The
next surprise is that the 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer was actually shot on
35mm Kodak
Color film, but the lack of detail and other transfer issues (who
supervised this?) makes it look like Super 16mm trying to fein scope.
It is odd and has some detail issues. Also problematic is the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix that has real and really odd issues
with compression of the elements throughout. What happened here!?!
Know it is not your system if you play back a copy on your home
theater set up.
Extras
include a brief Making Of clip and a Music Video.
Finally,
we have The
Carol Burnett Show: 50th
Anniversary Special
(2018) celebrating the debut of not only one of the greatest TV
variety shows of all time, but greatest TV shows ever. People
rightly love the show with its tons of memorable moments, skits,
guests and also, what a good looking show it was with its costumes,
sets and atmosphere. Of course, we've reviewed dozens of the DVD of
show elsewhere on this site and will continue to do so. They have
far from exhausted the series long run of gems.
As
the press release notes, Carol does a bit of her beloved Q&A with
the star-studded 50th Anniversary audience including questions from
Pat Boone and Tom Selleck, Carol's guests try out her famous Tarzan
yell - Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Tracee Ellis Ross
all give it a go, but a late, video entry wins the day - Steve
Carell!, Jim Carrey's 10-year-old self re-enacts receiving a reply to
his Carol
Burnett Show
fan letter, Stephen Colbert, Steve Lawrence, Bernadette Peters,
Kristin Chenoweth and Carol all come together for a brand-new musical
number and Harry Connick, Jr. and Carol close out the night with an
emotional performance of the show's theme song - "I'm
So Glad We Had This Time Together".
Other
stars like Kaley Cuoco from Big
Bang Theory
also rightly show up, as does Martin Shoer and Steve Martin. My only
issue with the show is that it is just not long enough and I wish we
got an extended version here, but anything to celebrate this
unbelievable legacy and the guest list proves how strongly people
agree with my thoughts on it.
The
anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image looks good with a mix of new HD footage from
the special with upscaled 1.33 x 1 footage from the series
(windowboxed by translucent strips of the sides of the image). It is
fine and smartly chosen. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is also fine
for all the talking, while the clips from the classic episodes have
been mixed into faux stereo which makes them clear, but they do loose
some warmth and fullness versus their original monophonic broadcast
sound that is present on all the other DVDs.
Extras
(as the press page correctly explains) include red-carpet footage,
backstage interviews, and anniversary wishes from Carol's friends and
fans, plus a tribute booklet with production photos, notes from
Carol's guests, and a special message from Carol herself!
All
in all, it is a solid release all fans should take a look at and will
easily ignite interest in the show from old and new viewers alike.
-
Nicholas
Sheffo and James
Lockhart (Arizona
4K)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
