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 > Music > Rock > Pop > Alternative > Concert > Backstage Musical > Drama > Melodrama > Comedy > Blues > Action > V > Bush: Live In Tampa (2019 w/Blu-ray*)/Inside Daisy Clover (1965/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Joe Walker Lewis: Viva Las Vegas Live (2018/*both MVD/Cleopatra DVD w/CD)/Sonic The Hedgehog 4K (2020/Paramount

Bush: Live In Tampa (2019 w/Blu-ray*)/Inside Daisy Clover (1965/Warner Archive Blu-ray)/Joe Walker Lewis: Viva Las Vegas Live (2018/*both MVD/Cleopatra DVD w/CD)/Sonic The Hedgehog 4K (2020/Paramount 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)



4K Picture: A- Picture: B & C+/B/C+/B+ Sound: C+/B-/C+/A- Extras: C/C-/C+/B- Main Programs: B-



PLEASE NOTE: The Inside Daisy Clover Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the links below.



The following releases involve music directly or indirectly...



We start with Bush: Live In Tampa (2019) with the band still in top form playing hits like Machine Head, Glycerine, Everything Zen, Swallowed and Comedown in this show that features 12 songs with interview moments in between by lead singer Gavin Rossdale, who has some very smart and interesting things to say. Though their Pop Chart success was limited, they kept topping the Rock chart and remain as popular as ever. They can still play and he can still sing.


The show is here on a so-so CD and a DVD that is not bad, but the best way to watch is on Blu-ray, with the show shot and edited just well enough to enjoy. Fans will not be disappointed and save the weak sound (see below), this is a solid introduction (or reintroduction) to the band. This is one of the better concert releases we've seen lately and it is definitely worth a look.


Extras include an illustrated booklet with no text, previews for other Cleopatra concerts on disc and on-camera interview with Rossdale.



Robert Mulligan's Inside Daisy Clover (1965) is another star vehicle for Natalie Wood, playing the title character, a rough tomboy living in a too-small place with her mom (Ruth Gordon) when she is discovered and becomes a singing star (!!!) with help from no less than Christopher Plummer, then gets a marriage proposal from no less than Robert Redford, so the film wants to switch back and forth from grit to ritz all the time. It has musical numbers (directed by the very capable Herbert Ross, a director in his own right) that make it sometimes a backstage musical (Andre and Dory Previn (Valley Of The Dolls) supply the music), but then it becomes a drama and melodrama and then back to be a rough story.


Wood is convincing at both ends of the spectrum, taking place just convincingly enough in the 1930s, then there are good supporting turns form the likes of Roddy McDowell, et al, but the film is a little too all over the place for its won good despite tis ambitions. Also, is is haunted by the 1954 Judy Garland/George Cukor A Star Is Born more than a little, for better and worse. I give the makers credit for trying something different ambitiously and going bonkers in the process, but I did not always buy it. Still, it has enough moments to make it worth a look.


A Road Runner/Coyote animated short War and Pieces (in low def with lossless DTS-MA Mono sound?) and an Original Theatrical Trailer are the extras.



Showing that Blues music is still alive, Joe Walker Lewis: Viva Las Vegas Live (2018) has the singer/guitarist with 12 songs sung very blue, with gusto and energy, backed by solid band and as good as any such show in the genre we have seen in the last few years. I admit that this is not my kind of music, but this plays as authentically as you could imagine and is a nice change of pace from some of the disposable music we get tortured with lately on what seems like a daily basis. Fans will be interested.


Extras (unlisted on the label) include previews for other Cleopatra concerts on disc, a slide show and on-camera interview with Walker.



Finally, most films based on video games are a miss with audiences, but not Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), a sleeper hit that rocked the box office and has now landed at home on 4K UHD and Blu-ray disc. The film is really held up by its villain, Doctor Robotnick played by Jim Carrey, who steals the show and is a great opposite to the cartoony looking Sonic, whose look is now accurate to that of the video games. Infamously, the studio pulled the film and changed the design of the character after internet backlash of his eyes being too far apart. I mean if you're going to adapt Sonic at least make him look like the character!


From another world, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is transported to Earth near a small mountain town. Due to his immense talent for speed, he accidentally knocks out a power grid. Afraid to be seen, he soon befriends a honest Sheriff, who he affectionately calls 'Donut Lord', (James Marsden, who played Cyclops in the Bryan Singer X-Men films) helps him flee the evil Dr. Robotnick (Carrey), and help him retrieve his lost magical rings that help him jump from dimension to dimension. As Robotnick deploys an army of vicious robots and armed bad guys to track down the alien creature, Sonic knocks items off his bucket list, and lives his best life with his newfound human friend and his gorgeous wife (Tika Sumpter).


Sonic is fine for kids and family, and already has a sequel on the way (at the time of this writing) that is supposed to bring other characters from the games into the fold. Some moments, such as Sonic slowing down time to 'bullet time' to change and help his fate, is a trick that has been seen before in the X-Men and the Justice League film with the character of The Flash. However, it's passable even if it's not completely original due to the nature of the character being so fast that it can change reality around its human counterparts. The film does a fun job of subtly including elements from the game such as locations and references that gaming nerds are sure to enjoy as icing on the cake as well.


Special Features include:


Audio Commentary by director Jeff Fowler and the voice of Sonic, Ben Schwartz


Around the World in 80 Seconds - See Sonic's next adventure!


Deleted Scenes - Director Jeff Fowler introduces deleted scenes


Bloopers - Laugh along with Jim Carrey and the cast


"Speed Me Up" Music Video


For the Love of Sonic - Jim Carrey and the cast discuss what Sonic the Hedgehog means to them


Building Robotnik with Jim Carrey - See Jim Carrey bring supervillain Dr. Robotnik to life


The Blue Blur: Origins of Sonic - Explore the origins of the legendary Blue Blur


and Sonic On Set - Visit the set with the voice of Sonic, Ben Schwartz.


One of the better video game adaptations in recent memory, Sonic The Hedgehog may not be completely original, but is still a lot of innocent family fun and slapstick humor.



Now for playback performance. Sonic the Hedgehog 4K is presented in 2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image and a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1. There are several nice audio mixes here include a Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless mix (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) mixdown for older systems), as well as several foreign language tracks. The major differences between the formats here is the level of detail on the animation and wider color range. For a film as heavy on digital special effects as this one, it is definitely worth the 4K UHD update. Also included is the 1080p version on Blu-ray disc with a more compressed image and the same audio mixes.


The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Daisy was shot in real anamorphic 35mm Panavision and produced in 35mm dye-transfer, three-strip Technicolor prints in its original run. This looks pretty much like what you would expect from such a print and results in yet another gem of a restoration from Warner Bros. and Warner Archive. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix is as good as it is ever going to sound, though one wishes it was in stereo when the music kicks in.


The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the Bush concert looks decent, with only a few flaws and some decent color, far above the anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image DVD version also included, though both oddly only offer lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The Walker DVD has the same specs and limits, while both come with bonus CDs (PCM 16/44.1 Stereo each) that are barely warmer or richer than the sound offered on the video disc versions.



To order the Inside Daisy Clover Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for them and many more great web-exclusive releases at:


http://www.wbshop.com/



- Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (4K)

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


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com