American
Society Of Magical Negros
(2023*)/Drive-Away
Dolls
(2024 w/DVD/*both Universal Blu-rays)/Joysticks
(1983/MVD Blu-ray)/Ocean's
Trilogy 4K
(2001, 2004, 2007/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B-/B & C+/B/X Sound: B/B &
C+/C+/B Extras: C+/C/C+/C+ Films: C+/C/C+/C D C-
This
next group of comedies has few laughs, but you might enjoy something
here, somewhere...
Kobi
Libii's The
American Society Of Magical Negros
(2023) is
a one-joke comedy that tries to offer more with Justice Smith as a
struggling artist who discovers a mysterious man (the underrated
David Alan Greer, very restrained here) who turns out to be his
mystery man guide to the title group, who actually exists in secret.
This is meant to be a satire, but it is too lite and could have been
a mall movie in the 1980s.
In
this, they have to drag out this concept for 104 minutes and it could
barely fit a Twilight Zone episode, which it is not. The
ending is bad and the cast tries to make this work, but the script is
just too flat and safe. Now you can see for yourself.
Extras
(per the press release) include Digital Code plus:
CRAFTING
A MAGICAL SOCIETY: Step through the secret entrance and see what
goes into creating a magical society. Hear from cast and crew on
the production design, wardrobe, and cinematography involved in
crafting the fantastical world.
Ethan
Coen's
Drive-Away
Dolls
(2024)
wants to be a Coen-style answer to Thelma
and Louise,
sort of, but becomes an odd, weird film that could have also been
Gregg Araki's The
Living End,
but it does not get that crazy either. It is no Tarantino film
either, but a lite, somewhat stylish and sometimes amusing romp about
two gals (Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan) who fall for each
other as they turn out to have a very valuable and highly illegal
package in a car they rented and do not know it is there.
Of
course, the 'bad guys' (who all all male) try to find them and it
becomes a half-hearted chase film, but not necessarily a good road
movie, action film or any kind of mystery. This is only 83 minutes
long and barely justifies that much screen time, though Pedro Pascal
and Matt Damon do show up. Unfortunately, they cannot save seeing
everything we've seen before and the lesbian jokes are obvious. Of
course, one could argue that having a man, even a highly talented
one, directing a film about lesbians on the run has its own issues,
but the problems and tiredness here go beyond that. Only the most
interested should bother.
Extras
(per the press release) include Digital Code plus:
DRIVE-AWAY
DOLLS: AN ETHAN AND TRICIA PROJECT: Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke
discuss what inspired them to write this story, why they waited 20
years to bring it to life, and what it was like working together on
a project from start to finish for the first time.
THE
DRIVE-AWAY GANG: Sit down with the cast and filmmakers of DRIVE-AWAY
DOLLS as they discuss their roles, getting into character, and the
exciting cameo appearances.
Greydon
Clark's Joysticks
(1983) is
the cheapest film here budget-wise, was meant to be a cheap teen
B-movie comedy and was expected to just make its money back.
Instead, it was a hit in its time, has a big curio factor and against
all these newer or relatively newer films here, is narrowly the best
film on the list. Joe Don Baker is a successful-but-spiteful
business man who is so bitter, he wants to close the local video
parlor where all the teens hang out.
Being
it is the pre-PS5/X-Box/Internet era, you can see how they are nto
going to take this, even when a new employee (Leif Green from Grease
2) is
caught on a still camera with his pants down thanks to two female
pranksters, but before he gets some friends to help him get back at
them, King Vidiot (Jon Gries of Napoleon
Dynamite
and Real
Genius)
shows up at the parlor to have a big, gigantic video game battle and
it will get wackier before this all ends.
Atari
was in the home at the time, but did not have the quality of parlor
games and the idea of having a game on a larger screen was starting
to gain traction, faked in films like this and the Sean Connery James
Bond film Never Say Never Again long before we landed up in the
game-rich Ultra HD era we are now in. There are more teen hijinks
all over the place and some crude humor most films would be afraid of
showing out of political correctness or the like, but it is a film
that holds up far better than anyone making it at the time could have
imagined and is a major milestone in both teen comedies (one of the
last big theatrical indie ones before home video ruined everything)
and a key film for all serious videogame fans who also are all for
The Last Starfighter and that lame Dennis Hopper Super
Mario Bros. film made a few years later.
Cheers
to Clark pulling off one of his better films, flaws and all, while
the cast gives it their all in ways we hardly see in similar films
today. You might find it uneven, but Joysticks has its moments and
is worth visiting or revisiting, especially if you are a videogame
and pulp culture fan.
Extras
(per the press release) include:
Steven
Soderbergh's
Ocean's
Trilogy 4K
(2001, 2004, 2007) is back in upgraded form and even if you are not a
fan, this is likely the best way to experience them outside of a
solid 35mm film print or better digital theatrical presentation. Not
a big fans of these, we reviewed the films way back on the old,
defunct HD-DVD format and you can read all about them here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6466/Ocean%E2%80%99s+Trilogy+(Eleven,+Twelve,+Thi
That
includes a link to a fuller review of the last film (not counting the
very belated Ocean's Eight, reviewed elsewhere on this site)
and I still am amazed that the next films were so bad and just dull
versus building on the first one, which was a remake of a so-so film
in the first place, but this was all about star power at the time and
they made money. You can judge for yourself whether you have seen
them before or not.
Extras
are the same with nothing new repeating all the older extras.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, HDR (10;
Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition images on the
Ocean's 4K set more than correct the redness issues that
plagued the old HD-DVD (and Blu-ray for that matter) sets, but the
first two films show their age from older HD shoots, leaving the
final film looking the best and by default. Sound is now offered in
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes and are good as these
films will ever sound. Glad they did not try to upgrade the sound.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Magical is a
little soft from its HD shoot, but it is not awful, but expect some
softness and blurriness, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix is a mixdown from a
12-track soundmaster that is good enough for a mostly dialogue-driven
film.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Dolls
is a little better, but is no knockout, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix that is also a mixdown from
a 12-track soundmaster, but you have more music and sound effects
here. The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is barely passable
and here for convenience and its lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix weaker
by comparison. Fans will want a 4K edition with better sound at some
point, we guess.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Joysticks
can show the age of the materials used, but this is far superior a
transfer to all previous releases of the film on home video with a
decent 2K
scan and lossless PCM 2.0 Mono that is as good as this film will ever
sound, but it is not bad for its age at that.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
