
Ballers:
The Complete Series
(2015 - 2019 Blu-ray) + Season
Five
(2019 DVD/both HBO-Warner)/Chill
Factor
(1993/MVD/Arrow Blu-ray)/Countdown
(2019/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)/Lucky
Day
(2019*)/Reform
School Girls
(1986/Umbrella Region 4 PAL Import DVD)/Trauma
Center
(2019/*both Lionsgate Blu-rays)
Picture:
B-/B-/B/B+ & C+/B+/B-/B- Sound: B-/C+/B/B+ & C+/B+/B-/B-
Extras: D/D/B/D/C+/D/C- Main Programs: D/B/C/C/C+/C/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Reform
School Girls
Import DVD is now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can only play on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD
players that can handle Region 4-locked PAL DVDs and can be ordered
from the link below.
And
now for the wackier side of genre action and thriller releases...
We'll
start with Ballers:
The Complete Series
(2015 - 2019) and Season
Five
(2019) which is a show that wants to be a drama, but fails miserably,
is the strangest hit in HBO history (if it is even a hit at all) and
you never hear anyone talk about or site a favorite scene, line of
dialogue or anything else. Apparently playing to a narrow audience,
here is some of our coverage of earlier seasons on Blu-ray...
One
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14229/Ballers:+The+Complete+First+Season+(2016/HB
Two
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14710/Ballers:+The+Complete+Second+Season+(2016/
Three
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15149/Ballers:+The+Complete+Third+Season+(2017/H
Needless
to say one of us totally dismisses this fluff (the nadir of Mark
Wahlberg as a producer of anything) and even our more favorable
coverage only enjoys the show so much. Needless to say my opinion on
the debut season holds and is enforced by the rest of the series,
including Season
Four,
which seems particularly desperate in trying to hold the show
together. Now on a better note, this piece on the Final
Season....
Spencer
(Dwayne Johnson) comes out of retirement but this time not as a
football player or manager ...but as an owner and buys his own team.
Now, he faces his greatest challenge ever, to go against the league
owners and fight for the players. All his former friends, partners
and teammates thinks now that Spencer is an owner, he cares more
about money than them. Can Spencer prove he is still a team player
and a man of the people?
Spencer
was once a football super star and later became their agent/manager.
He is one of the few people in the NFL to retire both rich and
successful, but now he has come out of retirement to face a new and
tougher challenge, to be an owner in the NFL. However, not everyone
is happy to see him back, rivals and old friends are wondering if he
is becoming like all the other owners, greedy and interested only
lining their own pockets. Spencer once again finds himself alone,
with few friends and even fewer allies, and on top of everything
still he has to deal with all the players usual PR nightmares.
This
was a football drama series about players, managers, agents and the
NFL ...however none of this REALLY happened in real life of course.
It is the story about those on the road to success, money and power,
it is about who you know and how you are connected to the billions
dollar sports industry. The problem with football stars and players
are there is no end to the people who think they are the next
'slumdog millionaire', unfortunately there is also no end to the
number shady deals, illegal activities and cover ups and entourage
following every player. Only the main character 'Spencer' tries to
fight for the right thing and the 'American Dream' while all the
other characters drag the dream through the mud.
The
final episodes are...
Protocol
is for Losers
- Spencer decides to come out of retirement and buy his own football
team and fight for lifetime insurance for the players.
It
Must Be the Shoes
- Spencer goes to the Anderson Brothers to secure funding. Joe learns
to Spencer's return and vows to out do Spencer.
Copernicursed
- Spencer tries to recruit Jason as his GM, but Joe steal him away.
Municipal
- Spencer needs a GM and recruits Kisan, but there is footage of him
in a crime. Ricky is kicked out the league for doping and decides to
tries being a radio talk show host.
Crumbs
- Spencer has to decide what to do with Kisan when footage of his
crime leaks out to the press. Ricky's talk show radio give insider
secrets about football players ...which pisses off all his former
teammates.
Edutainment
- Spencer tries to pitch his idea to the NFL owners but is tricked.
Meanwhile, Charles discovers he had multiple heart attacks and
contemplates to quitting in the football industry.
Who
Wants a Lollipop?
- Spencer and Joe make amends with each other and works together
again to help each other reach their goals. Ricky is approached by
Hollywood.
and
Players
Only
- Spencer threatens the NFL owners with a football strike with
evidence of serious injuries of football players to the media. Ricky
helps Spencer on a condition to give an interview on his life and how
be successful as a football player, a manager and owner.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on the DVD with lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 is good for the format, then not a far cry from the
Blu-rays in this case apparently, so you only miss so much. There
are no extras, but the Complete
Series
set has any previous extras and a paper episode guide, but for those
who do not like the show, it is a list of what to skip.
Not
to be confused with the urban drama of the same name, Chill
Factor
(1993) is a micro low budget B movie slasher from the VHS era (which
went under the name Demon
Possessed)
that's been unearthed from the good people at Arrow Video.
Directed
by Christopher Webster (Hellraiser
2: Hellbound),
this spooky flick centers around a snowmobiling trip gone
horrifyingly awry. When a terrible accident occurs, the snowmobilers
end up taking refuge in an abandoned building and of course pull out
a strange ouija board for to pass the time. Well, they end up
conjuring satanic spirits and soon become under the devil's
influence. Around this point in the plot, the film starts to fall
apart and then goes into this ridiculous ending that makes little to
no sense. As far as 'camp' goes, this one definitely takes the cake.
The
film stars Dawn Laurrie, Aaron Kjenaas, and Connie Snyder to name a
few.
Chill
Factor
is presented in 1080p high definition with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and an Original uncompressed 2.0 PCM Stereo audio mix. This is
a brand new 2K restoration from original film elements and
considering its a very low budget production, it looks stunningly
better than expected and certainly the best it has ever looked.
Special
Features include:
Brand
new audio commentary with special effects artist Hank Carlson and
horror writer Josh Hadley
Brand
new on-camera interview with makeup artist Jeffery Lyle Segal
Brand
new on-camera interview with production manager Alexandra Reed
Brand
new on-camera interview with stunt coordinator Gary Paul
Still
Gallery
Original
VHS trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc
Schoenbach
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's Booklet featuring new writing by
Mike White
Chill
Factor
seems like it should have been made in the 1980s and recalls a
simpler time in the world of horror.
There
is an app that predicts and counts down the minutes until your death,
but could it be for real? The new film, Countdown
(2019), explores this idea in a formula that's in the same vein as
the Final
Destination
films. While it is only PG-13, the film offers up some interesting
direction by newcomer Justin Dec and is nicely cut and shot. Had
this been a bit more extreme, it may have found a different (if not
wider) audience.
The
film stars Anne Winters, Elizabeth Lail, Charlie McDermott, Peter
Facinelli, and Talitha Eliana Bateman. The film centers around a
Nurse that gets the new Countdown app, that predicts her death is in
three days down to the minutes and seconds. Can she outsmart the
supernatural force behind this tech? As others soon find out, the
app is defiantly not one that you want to download.
Countdown
is presented in 1080p high definition with a 2.39:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and an audio mix in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1
(48kHz, 24-bit). Also included is a compressed standard definition,
anamorphically enhanced DVD with similar specs but a lossy 5.1 Dolby
Digital mix. The film is surprisingly shot very slick and has some
interesting color and lighting behind it. Namely the shots that show
the staging of the deaths are particularly well done.
No
extras.
I
didn't expect much out of Countdown
judging by its cover art, but it surprisingly wasn't too bad for a
'jump scare' flick. This seems like a movie that Blumhouse would
release, so if you are into that brand of horror then this is one
you'll want to add to your watchlist.
Roger
Avary (co-writer of Pulp
Fiction)
returns to the directing chair (he also directed 2002's The
Rules of Attraction
and Killing
Zoe),
with Lucky
Day
(2019). Two of the characters here are even named 'Red' and 'Honey
Bun', both of which are a characters in Pulp
Fiction.
The film has a similar 'pulpy' feel to it and has plenty of bad
language and violence. However, the film isn't as elegant as
something Tarantino himself would do, Lucky
Day
is worth checking out.
Crispin
Glover plays a fun role here as a French mercenary/serial killer
named Luc whose after a safe cracker named Red (Luke Bracey) who just
got released from prison for being partly responsible for the death
of his brother during a job gone wrong. Red has a beautiful French
wife and daughter (who likes to speak French) and the family has gone
broke. His wife played by Nina Dobrev (Flatliners remake), is
also a struggling artist and has some issues at her art show whenever
the curator makes a pass at her. When Red goes to the party to
support her, they soon find the party is crashed by Luc (Glover) who
comes in gun blazing. As the life of his family is threatened, Red
must do what he can to protect them.
Lucky
Day
is presented in 1080p high definition with a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix. The
presentation here is top notch for Blu-ray and has a decent amount of
detail in the upscale. The film has a decent budget and great color
and lighting and an interesting sound mix that has loads of intricate
sound design. A digital copy is also included.
Special
Features include:
Audio
Commentary by director Roger Avary
and
a Making Of featurette
Lucky
Day
has a silly cast of characters, some of which are a bit too over the
top for their own good. Crispin Glover is especially goofy here and
leaves destruction wherever he goes.
The
late Rock music star Wendy O. Williams and Linda Carol star in Reform
School Girls
(1986), written and directed by Tom DeSimone (who also directed
Prison
Girls
and Concrete
Jungle).
This 'Women in Prison' film is decades before Orange
is the New Black
and isn't so much exploitation as being a bit more on the dark,
comedic side.
The
film centers around a group of teenage girls who get sent to a reform
school that's run by a sadistic warden and a bully (Wendy O.). All
of the girls inside this prison are easy on the eyes and enjoy a good
catfight. But once the disorderly conduct gets out of control, a
revolution starts to boil against the powers that be.
The
film also stars Sybil Danning (a B-movie action icon of the time) and
Pat Ast.
Reform
School Girls
is presented in an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen aspect
ratio and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono English mix, both of which
look and sound fine for the DVD format. Compression issues are
evident but seeing that this is an 80s movie, the upscaling I did
isn't as bad as you'd expect.
No
extras.
Last
and almost least is Matt Eskandari's Trauma
Center
(2019) with Bruce Willis sleepwalking and looking bored in yet
another pretty much straight-to-video production as a cop out for
revenge when two people (an informant and his partner) are killed,
but a witness (Nicky Whelan) survives and he will do what he has to
do to protect her because he is going to get whomever did the
killings if it is his last act on earth!!!... I guess...
I'd
like to think of it as Die
Hard Jr.
meets Moonlighting
Jr.,
but the long, long, long, long, long 87 minutes drone on and on and
on and on and on and Willis does not much to alleviate that sense of
it all being dragged out. Then, when the witness is stuck in the
hospital and potentially the target of the killer, it becomes the
original Halloween
II in
slow motion with zero suspense and when it was all said and done, old
TV medical shows like Medical
Center
seemed like Game
Of Thrones
meets Westworld!
Films
like Motherless
Brooklyn
shows Willis can still act when he cares, but he's just collecting
another paycheck here and even he knows he is going through the
motions here. The pedestrian script does not help and I never bought
this for a minute. If it was any less competent or boring, which it
is very much so, I would have lowered my rating. See at your own
risk, but please do NOT operate heavy machinery or the like while
viewing.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer has some good
color, but is a little soft on the edges throughout and that has
nothing to do with style, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix has a soundfield that is
inconsistent, but most dialogue is clear. A trailer is the only
extra on the disc, but Digital Copy is also included.
To
order the
Reform
School Girls
Umbrella import DVD, go to this link for it and other hard to find
releases at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Ballers
Blu-ray, Center),
Ricky Chiang (Ballers
DVD) and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/