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Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Slasher > Exploitation > Comedy > TV Situation Comedy > Sitcom > Sex > Sports > Satire > Martial Ar > Cut (2000/Blu-ray*)/Fuller House: The Complete Fourth Season (2019/Warner DVD Set)/Hot Dog ...The Movie (1983/Synapse Blu-ray)/Mr. Nice Guy (1997/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/The Wheel (2019 PAL DVD/*both

Cut (2000/Blu-ray*)/Fuller House: The Complete Fourth Season (2019/Warner DVD Set)/Hot Dog ...The Movie (1983/Synapse Blu-ray)/Mr. Nice Guy (1997/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/The Wheel (2019 PAL DVD/*both Umbrella Imports)



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



PLEASE NOTE: The Wheel DVD and Cut Blu-ray are now only available from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment in Australia, can only play on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD players that can handle the PAL DVD format in the case of Wheel, while Mr. Nice Guy is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series. All can be ordered from the links below.



This is a mix of comedy with all kinds of twists and turns, for better and worse....



Molly Ringwald stars in Cut (2000), which is a fun slasher film in the same vein as Scream and Wes Craven's A New Nightmare. A low budget slasher film called 'Hot Blooded' is made and the killer on the set actually commits murder, rendering the film never finished. Decades later a group of film students attempt to complete the film and even get its star Vanessa Turnbill (Ringwald) back as the lead. However the production of the film is cursed and soon the screenplay becomes frighteningly real.


The film also stars Jessica Napier, Sarah Kants, Cathy Adamek, Geoff Revell, and Stephen Curry to name a few.


Cut is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2.0 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) Stereo lossless mix, both of which look and sound fine for the format. The soundtrack is pretty 1990s but works fine for the time period in which the film was made. This is a new 4K restoration from the original 35mm interpolative and has a nice saturated look. To my knowledge, this is the film's first release in HD.


Special Features include:


Audio Commentary with Director Kimble Rendall and Writer Dave Warner


Behind the Scenes of CUT


Interviews with Cast & Crew


Storyboards


HAYRIDE TO HELL Short (1995)


and an Original Theatrical Trailer


Cut is a fun slasher film that's worthy of revisiting in this new release from Umbrella.



It's the next generation of Full House with literally the next generation. Fuller House: The Complete Fourth Season (2019) follows the life of DJ, her sister Stephanie and their best friend Kimmy as they all now live together in their father's San Francisco bay home, raising their kids and babies just like their fathers' did. Now, it's the girl's turn to deal with raising teenagers. Ahh, youth... the pleasure, the pain, ...it's all there... along with the family.


Fuller House continues with along with DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy and their families all living together in the same house. DJ has 3 sons, Jackson, Max and Tommy. Kimmy has one daughter Romona and is being a surrogate mother for Stephanie and Jimmy's baby. For some reason DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy are all single mothers (on and off) in various relationships. DJ basically takes the place her father, as the heart, spirit and leader of the house. Stephanie has taken the place of Uncle Joey and is the funny aunt. And Kimmy has taken Uncle Jesse's place as the irresponsible (but lovable) aunt.


Fuller House is, of course, the continuation of the popular series from the 1980s, Full House. Taking place in the heart of San Francisco with a very extended family all living under one roof. It is the dream of what would life be like if you could live and grow up with a group of your best friends. It is filled with family drama and comedy, mixed in with modern day pop culture reference. The jokes are family oriented and at times it breaks the 4th and 5th wall. From time to time, the original actors from Full House will show up as guest stars.


The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image and lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is the same as the previous DVD sets, professional at best for the older format, but nothing beyond a typical sitcom and there are no extras.


Episodes this time include:


Oh My Santa - It's Christmas and it's up to DJ to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.


Big Night - Steve and DJ goes out on a date but get stuck in traffic and everything goes wrong.


A Sense of Purpose - Stephanie begins turing into a mom-zilla as the baby is coming.


Ghosted - Steve and DJ must find a way to celebrate their 2 week anniversary together.


No Escape - DJ and Steve go out on a double date with Matt and his girlfriend.


Angel's Night Out - DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy go for a girls night out on a 70's cruise, while uncle Joey gets to watch the kids.


President Fuller - Max runs for class president and Stephanie has a showdown with a clown.


Driving Mr. Jackson - Jackson and Romona go to their first high school party ...with beer. Uncle Jesse is really popular with all the single mothers.


Perfect Sons - Fernando's mom comes for a surprise visit, and everyone has to pretend it is 'Fernando's' house.


Golden-Toe Fuller - Jackson becomes a football star, but how long will stardom last?


It's Always Open - DJ worries that Jimmy isn't going to be a responsible father when the baby comes.


The Prom - Jackson and Ramona go to their first prom, but... things go wrong and they all end up single.


and Opening Night - It's ladies night out, but then Kimmy starts going into labor.



Peter Markle's Hot Dog ...The Movie (1983) always gets chuckles still to this day when it is brought up and the idea that it has received an impressive new restoration is getting more laughs as so many serious classics still need work and this film gets the help it needs first, I get the irony. However, the film (a hit at the time) is a bit forgotten, has a following and is one of the best of the films that were made in the wake of the massive blockbuster success of John Landis' National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Porky's and Caddyshack.


Made before the advent of the Internet en masse, the rise of home video, before AIDS was considered a concern for everyone and as the XXX sex film industry was about to capitulate to the home video market, Patrick Houser plays a small town guy who loves skiing and believes he has a talent that would make him a freestyle champ, so he gets a van and drives to a competition, meeting a young lady (Tracy N. Smith) along the way. As they sort of get involved, she sticks with him al the way to his destination, he quickly delves into the events on and off the slopes.


There is his Germanic competition (John Patrick Reger with a pre-Arnold Schwarzenegger accent), his ex-girlfriend (all-time Playboy Magazine Playmate great Shannon Tweed, more than holding her own before ever pairing up with KISS legend Gene Simmons), and David Naughton (Landis' An American Werewolf In London, keeping his clothes on this time) as the head guide to the local team taking on the Germans. The supporting cast and extras are also good, getting in the spirit of things.


For those unfamiliar with these kinds of films, expect nudity and soft core sexual situations, but at the time, it was no big deal and the approach and attitude would continue in films like Youngblood with Rob Lowe (though the Brat Pack films would be strangely sexually oppressive too in their own way) and Real Genius with Val Kilmer (though the genius/geek films would be more about comedy) before movies started becoming too mall friendly and phony, thus killing fun filmmaking like this.


Yes, you can also say some of this is definitely politically incorrect and increasingly, you would not see some of the moments in the film appearing in most films today, so that is sad and makes this a time capsule none of the makers could have imagined it being at the time. Not for children, the film will finally get its due for a whole new generation thanks to this Synapse Blu-ray release and though no masterwork of cinema, it knows what it is, goes with it and that is better than most of the bad comedies and pretentious blockbuster garbage we have suffered through all too often in recent years. Those interested should definitely give this one a look.


The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer comes from a new 4K Ultra HD scan of the original, uncut 35mm negative and though there are a few parts that can show the age of the materials used, but this is far superior a transfer to all previous releases of the film and the color quality is impressive as it is rich. Yes, you can see some heavy grain here and there, but this will surprise those who have never seen the film in a quality film print or have low expectations of the film. The skiing work is a huge beneficiary, though it is not a Warren Miller film or as good as the James Bond skiing sequences of the time (For Your Eyes Only, The Spy Who Loved Me) it tries to emulate at times, its better than many that followed and was itself imitated.


Sound is here in a new DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix as well as a reproduction of its original theatrical monophonic sound in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless sound, but I actually liked the 5.1 mix a bit more and thought it clarified dialogue and music, plus resolved the overall mix better than expected. A truly pleasant upgrade, purists can still turn to the old version if they disagree.


Extras include HOT DOG: THE DOCUMENTARY - An all-new 50-minute featurette including new interviews with director Peter Markle, co-producer/writer Mike Marvin, and cast members David Naughton, Tracy Smith, John Patrick Reger, and Frank Koppala, a Feature Length Audio commentary with co-producer/writer Mike Marvin, Original theatrical trailer, a TV spot, radio spots, and music video. Plus, a paper pullout with liner notes by TEEN MOVIE HELL author, Mike McPadden.



Pre-Rush Hour Jackie Chan stars in Mr. Nice Guy (1997), directed by Sammo Kam-Bo Hung) which is an action packed extravaganza from scene one. Definitely worth seeking out in this exclusive (limited) Warner Archive Collector's Edition, the film has been remastered for Blu-ray and looks better than ever. Fun watching for Jackie Chan's signature fight choreography alone, the simple plot is well executed well here for a fine popcorn muncher.


The film is presented in this release in its full extended original cut (97 min) as well as the original edited (88 min) version of the film as well.


The film also stars Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Karen McLymonth, and Barry Otto to name a few.


A news reporter (Fitzpatrick) gains brutal evidence against a drug lord who has no problem dropping a dump truck full of granite on anyone who crosses him (quite literally in the opening sequence.) Luckily, this reporter bumps into Jackie Chan who helps protect her from this villainous gang, who are hot on their tails.


Mr. Nice Guy is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mix. The score by Peter Kam is lively and fun as well to aid on the journey.


Special Features include:


New Line Cinema Edited Version of the film


and a U.S. Trailer (bad SD quality).



Finally, there are some movies so bad that few ever speak of them. The Wheel (2019), also known as 2099: The Soldier Protocol, is one of those films.


A man in a wheelchair named Matt volunteers for an experimental government program where he is injected with some super serum in hopes of regaining mobility in his legs. After which he is tortured over and over again in different ways and monitored in a program known as 'The Wheel', only he miraculously gains healing abilities just like Wolverine from the X-Men series. Of course, one of the scientists helps him escape and he is soon on the run to escape the facility he is being held in and faces those who tortured him.


The film stars Jackson Gallagher, Kendal Rae, Belinda McClory, Christopher Kirby, and David Arquette with direction by Dee McLachlan.


The Wheel is presented in an anamorphically enhanced standard definition DVD with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. Compression issues are evident throughout as is the norm with the format but it looks as good as it can here. The cinematography isn't too bad given the budget and the fact that most of the film takes place in a futuristic government-type facility. Most of the film is heavily reliant on green screens as nearly every shot has some type of futuristic panels or digital tech of some sort. The result is mixed.


No extras.


The Wheel is soulless and drab with actors that are stiff as boards. The concept has been done before in more effective ways than this. If you can make it to the end, which is a feat in itself even though the film only has a 90 minute runtime, there are a few unpoetic twists that you can see coming from a mile away.



To order either of the Umbrella import Cut Blu-ray and/or Wheel DVD, go to this link for them and other hard to find releases at:


http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/


...and to order the Warner Archive Blu-ray Mr. Nice Guy, go to this link for them and many more great web-exclusive releases at:


http://www.wbshop.com/



- Nicholas Sheffo (Hot Dog), Ricky Chiang (Fuller) and James Lockhart

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


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