Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Giant Monster > British > Science Fiction > TV > Thriller > Mystery > Serial Killer > Action > War > 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 Fre

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/


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com