Giant
Behemoth (1959/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)/Humans
3.0 (2018/Acorn Blu-ray
Set)/Jack The Ripper
(1959/Severin Blu-ray)/Last
Ship: The Complete Fifth Season
(2019 Final Season/Warner
DVD Set)/Time Freak
(2018/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture:
B/B+/B/C+/A- Sound: B/B+/B/C+/B Extras: C+/C/B/C/A Main
Programs: B/C+/B/C/B+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Giant
Behemoth
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
These
genre releases are more interesting a group than many we've looked at
lately, even when they don't always work...
No
doubt attributed to the success of the original Godzilla film
(1954), The Giant Behemoth (1959) is a stop motion giant
monster extravaganza that's newly restored on Blu-ray in HD thanks to
Warner Archive. With special effects by the original King Kong
animator Willis O'Brien, the film has a plot-line similar to other
giant monster fare, and would be prime to remake nowadays with the
technology now available, and as giant monster movies are making a
comeback thanks to the new Godzilla, Pacific Rim films,
and Rampage.
The
film stars Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison, Jack
MacGowran, and Maurice Kauf, and is directed by Eugene Lourie (The
Beast of 2,000 Fathoms).
Set
in modern day 1950s, Marine atomic tests cause changes in the ocean's
ecosystem resulting in dangerous blobs of radiation, and the
resurrection of a dormant dinosaur known as The Giant Behemoth, who
strikes terror and threatens London! But can the giant monster be
stopped before it lays London to ruin?
The
Giant Behemoth is presented here in 1080p high definition black
and white with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (original ratio -
1.85:1) and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix. The
film looks and sounds fantastic considering its age, with little
signs of wear. The special effects aren't quite as impressive as
later Harryhausen films, but all things considered the film looks
great.
Special
Features include a feature length audio commentary with Hollywood SFX
legends Dennis Muren and Phil Tippet and a Trailer.
An
important movie in monster movie history, The
Giant Behemoth
is another great classic lovingly restored by Warner Archive. While
the commentary here is pretty good, it's too bad there aren't more
special features to back it up.
Humans
3.0 (2018) is an interesting British sci-fi series that explores
a possible dark future where artificial intelligence reigns.
Startlingly realistic humanoid robots, known as 'synths', struggle to
fit in and end up in a war with mankind. The show poises many
interesting questions on the subject while exploring the social and
political aspects of it too. Production value is high and the acting
isn't too bad either. This is worth checking out if you're a fan of
the writings of Isaac Asimov or Phillip K. Dick.
Humans
3.0 stars Gemma Chan (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit),
Katherine Parkinson (The Honourable Woman, The IT Crowd),
Tom Goodman-Hill (The Imitation Game), Colin Morgan (The
Fall), Lucy Carless (Suspects), Ivanno Jeremiah (Black
Mirror), Emily Berrington (24: Live Another Day), Sam
Palladio (TV's Nashville), and Mark Bonnar (Catastrophe).
This
1080p Blu-ray edition presents the show in its original 1.85:1
widescreen aspect ratio and pairs it with an English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) lossless track, both of which are of a high quality
for the format and look and sound great. Each episode is presented
in its UK uncut version and are not rated. The production value is
on point and there is definitely some talent behind this, even if
some of it feels like we've seen it before.
Special
Features include...
Behind
the Scenes - Cast and crew talk about what to expect in Series 3, how
the characters have changed, and more. (12 min)
Synths
- Cast and crew discuss all things synth: the two different kinds of
synths, working with new synths, and filming in the synth settlement.
(7 min.)
and
New Characters - Cast and crew talk about the new characters
introduced in Series 3. (5 min.)
“Mary
Clarke... Are you Mary Clarke? Where can I find Mary Clarke?”
Jack
the Ripper is one of the most intriguing real life villains there is
and The White Chapel Murders are still talked about today. Over the
years, there have been several films centering around Jack including
From Hell (2001) and even dating back to Hitchcock's The
Lodger (1927), but this 1959 film directed by future British TV
super-producers Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman remains one of the
best takes on the material.
Originally
released last year from Severin as part of their Black Friday
package, Jack The Ripper (1959) gets a standard re-issue on Blu-ray
here. The only difference with Severin's previous release of the
film is that it had an extra disc with the European cut on it, which
this one is missing.
Several
prostitutes are slain on the dark and foggy London backstreets at the
hand of the brutal killer Jack the Ripper. Leaving notes behind with
his victims, authorities do everything in their power to try and stop
the killer while he goes on a killing spree. The film stars Lee
Patterson, Eddie Byrne, and Betty McDowall to name a few.
Presented
in 1080p high definition in black and white with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 1.66:1 and a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) Mono
mix. The film is nicely shot for its time and was shot back in the
early days of the infamous Shepperton Studios. There are several
different versions of the film including the British, American, and
European cuts. One version has nudity and another does not while the
American version has a different soundtrack and different cut of the
film entirely.
Special
Features include...
British
Version sourced from an older HD telecine master (1080p)
Audio
Commentary With Co-Director/Co-Producer/Co-Cinematographer Robert S.
Baker, Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, Assistant Director Peter Manley,
Moderated by British Horror Historian Marcus Hearn
Alternate/Extended
Continental Takes
Interview
With Denis Meikle, Author of "Jack The Ripper: The Murders
And The Movies"
Gentleman
Jack - The Whitechapel Murders Revisited featurette
Theatrical
Trailer
and
Poster And Still Gallery
The
Last Ship: The Complete Fifth Season
(2019) is also the Final
Season
of a whops I am surprised lasted so long because I found it very,
very formulaic and even condescending when I reviewed the debut
season here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13535/The+Last+Ship:+The+Complete+First+Season+(2
Maybe
it is because the TNT Network is smaller and a season these days for
too many shows is limited to around a dozen shows versus the old days
when a serious season was anywhere from 23 to 28 episodes, so it is
not as impressive as it would have sounded a few decades ago. At
this point, the show led by Eric Dane has somehow survived the viral
global outbreak we saw arriving in the debut episodes and I guess if
everyone died, the show would have ended a few years ago. There is
still chaos and some money is in the show, yet I still find it really
forgettable and there is nothing here we have not seen before, though
the 'war porn' aspect is more obnoxious than ever. Thus, it is like
seeing a train wreck of the worst kind. Looking dated on arrival,
this is for die hard fans of the show or this kind of 'entertainment'
only.
The
creators are lucky it got this far.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image and lossy Dolby Digital 5.1
are passable at best, but this show still has its perpetually generic
look. Extras include a paper slip with a brief episode guide, while
the DVDs add two Making Of featurettes.
Finally,
what would you do if you had a time machine and could go back in
time? Stillman (Asa Butterfield), a genius physics after being
dumped by his girlfriend, Debbie (Sophie Turner) decides to build a
time machine to 're-do' their past so they would never end up
breaking up. Along with his best friend/wingman, Evan (Skyler
Gisondo) they seek to undo everything wrong that happened between him
and Debbie. But time and fate is a fickle thing, can Stillman and
Evan undo the strings of fate itself?
In
Andrew Bowler's Time Freak
(2018), Stillman is a genius and would do anything to get back
the love of his life after she dumped him ...so he invents a time
machine. He drags along his best friend Evan so that he could give
him advice on what he did wrong. Together they would take all the
times Stillman messed up with Debbie and turn them into perfect
moments creating a perfect life where Stillman and Debbie would
always be happy, thus avoiding the break up and finding a future
where they end up together. They eventually succeed (after many
trials and errors), but then Debbie finds out what they did and feel
they had robbed her of life and her free choice. Stillman then
regrets what he did and realizes he created a perfect life for her,
but life without choice isn't a life at all. He then decides to go
back one last time to prevent himself from coming up with the idea of
the time machine. But... you'll have to see the rest to find out what
happens.
This
was a comic, romance science fiction movie. Of course if there is
ever a time machine, what would one do with it? Following the rules
of time travel, would time travel create paradoxes or are there
multiple alternate/possible futures? In the end is everything fated
or does only free will matter?
The
1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is pretty impressive
throughout, especially considering it is a low-budget HD production,
while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is decent and consistent,
if not a sonic demo. The combination is just fine.
Extras
include commentaries, Time Freak the original short film, a
making of the film, gallery and trailers.
To
order The
Giant
Behemoth
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for them and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Ship),
Ricky Chiang (Time)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/