
Madness
In The Method
(2019/Cinedigm DVD)/Major
And The Minor
(1942/Paramount/MVD/Arrow Blu-ray)/Step
By Step: The Complete Sixth Season
(1996 - 1997/Warner Archive DVDs)/Whiskey
Galore! (1948)/Maggie
(1954/Film Movement Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B-/B+/B-/B/B Sound: B-/B+/B-/C+/C+ Extras: D/B/D/C+ Main
Programs: C+/B/B/C+/C+
Here's
a new mix of comedy releases...
Fans
of Kevin Smith and Jay and Silent Bob will want to check out Madness
in the Method (2019), a film directed by (and starring) Jason
Mewes himself!
The
film is a funny parody of Mewes' own life and how he has been
typecast for his infamous role as Silent Bob's sidekick. Hoping to
prove Hollywood that he can be a serious actor too, Mewes and Kevin
Smith embark on a journey to track down a book that will allow him to
become the serious actor that he wishes to be. Along the way, he
ends up committing murder and gets the attention of the press, which
somehow helps him land a role in a film, and it isn't long until he
kills again. At first, the film seems like it's going to be an
honest account of Mewes' life and ends up taking a turn into a silly
(and far fetched) dark comedy. Clerks co-Star Brian
O'Halloran shows up as Mewes adversary at one point and pokes some
more fun at these two guys who have obviously been type casted for
their roles in Kevin Smith movies.
The
film has a great cast including Danny Trejo, Vinnie Jones, Gina
Carano, the late Stan Lee, Teri Hatcher, Dean Cain, Casper Van Dien,
Judd Nelson, and many others.
Madness
in the Method is presented in standard definition on DVD with an
anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy
5.1 Dolby Digital mix. The presentation is a bit compressed and of
the norm for the format. The film isn't badly shot and has a
surprisingly professional look and feel to it given the subject
matter. While an HD version would be better, it looks fine here in
an upscale.
No
Extras.
Madness
in the Method is silly fun and definitely worth checking out if
you're a fan of Mewes and/or Kevin Smith.
From
legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder (Some
Like It Hot,
Sunset
Boulevard)
comes the black and white comedy epic The
Major and the Minor
(1942), which has been newly restored in HD courtesy of Arrow
Academy.
The
classic film stars Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland and centers around a
woman who disguises herself as a 11-year-old child to save on an
expensive train fare. Almost apprehended by the conductor and his
men, she hides in the quarters of a Major Philip Kirby (Milland) who
believes she is as young as she says she is, and ends up at a
military academy where Kirby teaches. There she finds it a bit more
difficult to keep up her act when Kirby's fiancee and other grow wise
to her scheme.
The
film also stars Rita Johnson, Diana Lynn, Robert Benchley, and Norma
Varden.
The
Major and the Minor is presented in 1080p high definition on
Blu-ray disc with a 1.37:1 full frame aspect ratio and a great
sounding, lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono mix.
The black and white transfer has been nicely restored here with
plenty of detail in the image and nothing hindering the presentation.
The scan is from the original 35mm camera negative and scanned in
2K, showing off how good Paramount's labs were at the time.
Special
features include:
New
audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin
Half
Fare Please!, a newly filmed video appreciation by film critic
Neil Sinyard
Archival
interview with Ray Milland
Rare
hour-long radio adaptation from 1943 starring Ginger Rogers and Ray
Milland
Image
gallery
Original
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
and
First Pressing Only: collector's book with essay
by Ronald Bergan
I
could see this film getting remade and being an effective comedy
under the right female lead.
The
1990s sitcom Step
by Step
(1991-1998) continues to be released on DVD in its Sixth
Season
courtesy of Warner Archive. The series revolves around a modern
family that are all growing through their own series of comedic
growing pains. Frank Lambert (Patrick Duffy, Dallas,
Man
From Atlantis)
has three children and so does Carol Foster (Suzanne Somers, Three's
Company)
and now they are all under one roof. Each family member has their
own unique personality and there's constant life lessons and morals
to be had. Watching it now is interesting and the show surprisingly
isn't as dated as you might think. There are, however, some really
old cell phones that pop up comedically.
The
TV series stars Staci Keanan, Sasha Mitchell, Angela Watson, Brandon
Call, Christine Larkin, and Christopher Castile to name a few. The
show is similar in some ways to Full House but not quite as
wholesome and cheesy. Step By Step: The Complete Sixth Season
(1996 - 1997) has a cameo by then high-profile model Fabio himself
(he had been the model for many a cheap romance paperback at the
time) in the episode 'Absolutely Fabio'.
Episodes
include Crazy Love, Road Trip, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Just Say
Maybe, The ''L'' word, She's the One, Independence Day, Reality
Bites, Locket Man, How The West Was Won, Absolutely Fabio, Loose
Lips, The Big Date, Future Shock, Show Me The Money, It Didn't Happen
One Night, Macho Man, Ain't Misbehavin', The Facts of Life, Talking
Trash, Walk Like a Man, Shear Madness, The Kissing Game, and
Bonjour Jean-Luc.
The
series is presented on standard definition DVD with a full frame
1.37:1 full frame aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
mix. Though compression issues are evident, it looks fine on DVD but
could be improved with an HD upscale. No commercials or watermarks
make it much more enjoyable to binge watch on disc as opposed to
cable.
No
extras.
Finally,
we have two more classic comedies from the Ealing Studios, both
directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Whiskey
Galore!
(1948) was the first film ever shot totally on location by the studio
and in Scotland, but this comedy about a country forced to go dry
because a shipment of the title alcoholic beverage failed to arrive
due to a shipwreck is not exactly going to be prime feature film
screening at the top of any Alcoholic Anonymous list. Maggie
(1954) is about the plight of a U.S. businessman trying to get
private cargo shipped, only to have to rely on the title ship, a
small 'puffer' that runs on coal, portrayed sentimentally, the
environmental damage the little ship causes makes it much less
endearing, no matter the nostalgia involved.
Both
films still have good casts and some humor worth catching, not to
mention some great location filming, with the mostly unknown cast in
Whiskey (including Joan Greenwood and Basil Radford) handling
their work well, but it is supporting actor Gordon Jackson who was to
go onto greater fame. The amazing Paul Douglas nearly steals the
show in Maggie as a good American businessman with flaws and
makes it at least as believable. James Bond fans will notice the
late Geoffrey Keen, who played the Minister of Defence in every Bond
film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) to The Living Daylights
(1987) in a supporting role here.
Both
even have good slapstick humor moments that do not seem forced, but
these films are not for everybody and some would say they are an
acquired taste. As to say if they merely display 'British' humor
(not far from Scottish) is not accurate either way, but they are
obviously both important enough to be restored and in print, so this
latest Film Movement/Ealing release is as welcome as Titfield
Thunderbolt and the rest scheduled to be issued this year and
beyond. Now you can see for yourself.
The
1080p
1.33 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image on both
films look about as good as they can using the best 35mm film
elements available. There are a few shots on both films that look a
bit brighter than they should or lack some detail, but they are fine
otherwise. The original theatrical mono sound on both are
represented in PCM
2.0 Mono tracks that sound good, but also show the age of the older
productions.
Extras
include an illustrated
booklet on the film including q Blu-ray exclusive 16-page booklet
with notes by film scholar Ronald Bergen, Whisky
Galore!
feature-length audio commentary by John Ellis, Distilling
Whisky Galore!
documentary and The
Real Whisky Galore!
featurette.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Ealing)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/