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Category:    Home > Reviews > Comedy > Relationships > Satire > Family > British TV > Money > China > Medicine > Stand-Up > Politics > Racis > Detectorists: Complete Series (2014 - 2017/Acorn DVD Set)/Girls Vs. Gangsters (2018/Well Go DVD)/Heart Guy: Season Two (2017/Acorn DVD)/Robin Williams: Comic Genius (1978 - 2018/Time Life DVD Box Set)

Detectorists: Complete Series (2014 - 2017/Acorn DVD Set)/Girls Vs. Gangsters (2018/Well Go DVD)/Heart Guy: Season Two (2017/Acorn DVD)/Robin Williams: Comic Genius (1978 - 2018/Time Life DVD Box Set)/Sorry To Bother You (2018/Fox Blu-ray w/DVD)



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



Here's a huge selection of comedy releases in time for the holidays...



We start with Detectorists: Complete Series (2014 - 2017) calling it quits after three seasons, though it did not seem that way when we covered its third season, it final one, here at this link...


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15177/The+Accident+(2006+-+2007)/Ackley+Bridge:+Se


That description of the two brothers (Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook) held true throughout the show, a comedy without a laugh track and leisurely pace that you might only see on British TV versus any U.S. network or streaming service. They are treasure hunters and after finishing the show, they ended while they were on top, ahead and that makes the series a very pleasant watch. Though Jones has proved his dramatic skills (also doing well playing Truman Capote) and action villains (the resent Captain America films), he has great comic abilities, as did his father, the great Freddie Jones.


Also it should be noted that there are a few sly things going on in each show. One thing I caught were references to the hit British TV spy classic The Avengers, thus, the casting if Diana Rigg as a strict older mum, who had Freddie Jones on one of her full color episodes of that series and off the bat, Toby Jones drives a yellow Triumph TR7, the signature car of Joanna Lumley's Purdey on The New Avengers. The show never obsesses on things like this, but they are not coincidental.


The show is worth your time if you enjoy smart but subtle comedy.


Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes (91 min.), Series 2 Christmas Special episode (31 min.), cast interviews (16 min.), and a photo gallery.



After a wild bachelorette party gone wrong, 3 girls somehow end up on the beach naked, handcuffed to each other, one with a new tattoo and an case full of gold in a foreign country. Now if they could only remember what happened to them last night, but that will have to wait because they are being chased by gangsters and they must somehow get their friend to to her wedding altar on time in Zhenzhen Huang's Girls Vs. Gangsters (2018).


Xiwen (Ivy Yi-Han Chen) is about to get married, so her best friends Jialan (Janine Chun-Ning Chang) and Kimmy (Fiona Sit) decide to throw the ultimate bachelorette party for her in Vietnam. After some questionable drinks, they literally wake up on the beach naked and without a clue and with the bride-to-be with a tattoo having no memory of what happened to them last night. And then our three heroine's 'adventure' really begins, fortunately they meet 'Dragon' (Mike Tyson, yes, THAT Mike Tyson) who tries to help them remember what happened (and find their panties and dignity), but also he helps them escape the gangsters who are after them. After unlocking and discovering they have a case full of gold, they are told they have 24 hours to spend it all and then they can return to their normal lives.


This movie was like mix of Girls Gone Wild with The Hangover movie except the actors were much better looking, a bunch of hot Asian female superstars instead of three drunk American males. It is an over the top and unrealistic comedy that make fun of stereotypes, friends, bachelorette parties and the female ego. Never the less... the audience can only laugh at the character's wild ride as they watch the story unfold. Extras include interview with the director and trailers.



After falling from grace, Doctor Hugh Knight (Rodger Corser) was forced to return to his hometown of Whyhope to be the town doctor. But after a year, he has begun to make friends, reconnect with family and learn maybe not so bad getting to know (and care for) people in a small town. Thing is that the sins of the past, the one's he left at home (and in the big city) seems to be catching up with him. At first people weren't able to stand Hugh ...but now they can seem to imagine life without him in Heart Guy: Season Two (2017).


Knight was once a genius heart surgeon in the big city, the golden boy/prodigal son. Unfortunately, he's done everything a bad boy doctor did and was forced to be the town doctor in the town he wanted to get away from. He's slept with his brother's wife, Charlie (girlfriend at the time) had an illegitimate son, Ajax and is currently in love with his coworker/boss, Penny. And while he's no angel, he still hottest guy in a small town. In this season, Hugh and his family must find a way to rid of Nora (Penny's replacement) and get back Penny. Deal with his mother's scandal when they discover some shady voting with her mayor's election campaign. Hayley falls into guilt, sin and temptation with her involvement and then gets engaged with Ajax. Also, Hugh's father needs dialysis need a kidney transplant and Hugh is the only compatible donor.


This was a cute small town drama about family, friends, medical practice and the relationships between them. It is funny because in a small town there is no such thing as privacy and everyone seems has something they are hiding. No extras.



Now for one of the best box sets of the year, the boldly and correctly entitled Robin Williams: Comic Genius (1978 - 2018) offering 22 DVDs of rarely seen, unissued and out of print material for the most part of one of the most important comic performers of all time. Now known for his hit feature films, charity work, politics and the pain in the end of his life form bad health that led to his life's awful end, he was one of the brightest lights in comedy always pulling for those who could not defend themselves and was always the first one to call out hatemongers and other ignorance. Ahead of his time, his loss could not have come at a worst time.


Most of his feature films are widely available, but it actually took years before he had any hit films and many thought he would never have a film career. He promotes some of the films in these clips, but this shows the harder to see and find TV concerts, appearances, some Mork episodes that became his first wide international exposure and other gems that show the producers went way out of their way to compile some very varied materials. Glad they got the rights and work to have here.


This variant of the press release explains what you get...


All five HBO stand-up specials together for the very first time, including Off the Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1983), An Evening at the MET (1986), Live on Broadway (2002) and Weapons of Self Destruction (2009)


Never-before-released concert specials, including Robin's full MGM Grand Garden stand-up from 2007 and the Montreal stop on his last tour, a conversation on stage between Williams and comedian David Steinberg.


Memorable talk show and late night TV appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Graham Norton Show, Saturday Night Live and more.


Rare, never-before-seen clips including early stand-up, raw footage from HBO's promo shoots, a hilarious toast to Richard Pryor by Robin as Mrs. Doubtfire, and more.


Brand new interviews with close friends and family including Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Jay Leno, Eric Idle, David Steinberg, Lewis Black and Zak Williams.


11 hilarious episodes of Mork & Mindy, including the two-part pilot!


James Lipton's Emmy Award-nominated 90-minute interview with Robin on Inside the Actors Studio, plus deleted scenes.


A comprehensive collection of Robin's USO shows around the world.


Original and newly created bonus features including behind-the-scenes footage, local highlights from tour stops, promos and more. Featurettes include: The Early Years, San Francisco: Where It All Started, Comic Genius, and TV's Best Guest.


Critically acclaimed 2018 HBO documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind from Emmy Award-winning director Marina Zenovich and Oscar-winning producer Alex Gibney.


"Robin Williams: Uncensored", a collectible 24-page, full-color memory book featuring rare, archival photos from award-winning photographer Arthur Grace, reminiscences from friends and colleagues, Robin's personal tour notes and more.


Needless to say that is extremely referential and includes the majority of what you are probably going to find anywhere, though if you can play import DVDs, there is even more this box missed from Australian TV worth your time...


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13242/Girls:+The+Complete+Third+Season+(2013/HBO


What amazes me here is the endless creativity and energy, how original he was and even when he got graphic, personal and maybe gross, he never wallowed in the material, but kept ironic distance and even added his new, unique perspective to it. I love the quality of the illustrations in the book included (see the image accompanying this review) and this box easily will refute anyone trying to sell Williams short. Most of all this remains funny, even hilarious and that is why it is extremely great and important that this box was compiled and released. Archival and library quality, you've likely not seen most of this material unless you followed Williams closely over his career. It also suggests that he remains underrated, under-appreciated and when we look back, he'll turn out to be a more important light in our lives than we ever gave him credit for.


Don't miss this set!



The directorial debut of hip hop artist Boots Riley, Sorry To Bother You (2018) is a very unique cinematic ride from the get go. An allegory for the messed up and capitalistic, drug addicted world that we live in, the highly stylized flick at times feels like a music video, but isn't afraid to speak its mind through the voice of the characters.


Starring Lakeith Stanfield, the film takes place in an alternate version of present day Oakland, CA, and centers around a black telemarketer (Stanfield) named Cassius Green who 'sticks to the script' and becomes a 'power caller', which propels him into a more richer, lavish, and bizarre lifestyle. As he rises up the ranks, so do many people in his life as well including his artistic wack-job girlfriend (Tessa Thompson), and greedy co-workers.


The film also stars Danny Glover, Armie Hammer, Terry Crews, Steven Youn, and David Cross.


Special Features include...


Beautiful Clutter with Director Boots Riley


Audio Commentary with Director Boots Riley


Gallery


The Cast of Sorry to Bother You


and The Art of the White Voice.



On to technical playback of all the titles here, Sorry is presented in 1080p high definition with a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the film looks and sounds pretty solid on the Blu-ray format. The film is very colorful and has vibrant colors from cool blues inside the office to a more wide color palette during some of the film's more surreal sequences. The sound design for the film is pretty wild and has dubbing, a bizarre comedic soundtrack, and other surreal happenings.


Also included is an anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image standard definition DVD with the same widescreen specs and a compressed image and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix. A digital copy is also included.


The rest of our list are all DVDs and include anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image presentations on Detectorists (has some slight motion blur and detail softness in places, changing slightly with each season, but is fine for the format) and Heart Guy (more consistent by comparison, but it is a recent season) and the anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Girls being for a feature film looking not bad either.


The Robin Williams content consists of three sources, old NTSC 1.33 X 1 color videotape with some slight flaws (especially when it is a older digital copy), 35mm color 1.33 X 1 for the Mork episodes (which have yet to hit Blu-ray) and anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image for all the HD content. They all look about as good as they can in the older DVD format and upscaling the older NTSC analog video (or PAL analog in older U.K. appearances) is only going to do so much, so this is all just fine. No major problems or issues.


As for sound, Girls has lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 that is good for the format, if not spectacular and likely would sound better in a lossless presentation on a potential Blu-ray, the Acorn and older Williams programming is in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and earliest clips and Mork episodes in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. They too sound fine for their age and under the circumstances. There's little to complain about sonically all around.



- Nicholas Sheffo, Ricky Chiang (Girls, Heart) and James Lockhart (Sorry)

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


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