Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedy. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Blu-ray Review - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: The Complete Series



While looking for something new to watch on Netflix, I came across Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and then I realized that I had the series on Blu-ray. Mill Creek Entertainment had sent me the 8-disc Blu-ray set earlier this year, which I had forgotten about. So, for the past week, I've been binge-watching all 51 episodes.

If you're not living under a rock, like me, then you were probably already aware of the series. I had no clue what it was about until I began watching the first season. It's a wacky comedy, just without a laugh-track.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Review - Pokergeist by Michael Phillip Cash

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Available at AMAZON and Barnes & Noble.

About the Book

Sometimes life, as well as death, is about second chances. Luckless Telly Martin doesn't have a clue. An awful gambler trying to scrape by as a professional poker player, he becomes the protégé of world-famous poker champion Clutch Henderson. The only catch…Clutch is a ghost. Telly and Clutch must navigate the seedy gambling underbelly of Las Vegas learning to trust each other in order to win the elusive International Series of Poker, repair their shattered personal relationships and find redemption in this life and the hereafter.


My Review

Pokergeist has one of the coolest covers I have seen in recent years. It reminds of the episode of the '80s Twilight Zone titled "Dealer's Choice" starring Morgan Freeman.

Just under 250 pages, Pokergeist, the fourth book in A Haunting on Long Island Series, was a quick read for me yesterday afternoon. It centers around Telly Martin who wants to be a professional poker player. However, there's one small problem - he's a horrible gambler! Well, that is until he gets Clutch, who happens to be a ghost, to help him become a great poker player. Between the duo, they make their way to the fictional International Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.

I like to point out that Pokergeist isn't a horror novel by any means. It's a comedy that just happens to have a ghost character. It's well-written with lively dialogue. I liked all the characters except for Telly's girlfriend, Gretchen. Don't ask me why as I don't have an answer. I just didn't like the character. Besides that small nitpick, I enjoyed reading Pokergeist.


About the Author


Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning screenwriter and novelist. He's written many books and screenplays in the horror, suspense, thriller and fantasy genres. He resides on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Blu-ray Review: The Hustle


*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% my own.


AMAZON
Wouldn't you've believed a comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson would be funny?

Unfortunately, that's not the case with The Hustle which was just released to Blu-ray and DVD this week from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. It's also available on Digital HD and On Demand.

Directed by Chris Addison, the film is a gender swapping remake of 1988's comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which itself was a remake of the 1964 classic Bedtime Story.

The Hustle centers around Penny (played by Rebel Wilson), a small-time con artist who makes a living by defrauding wealthy men. On a trip to the French Riviera, Penny runs into Josephine Chesterfield (Anne Hathaway) who just happens to also be a con artist. Eventually, the duo make a bet on who can swindle a young tech billionaire (Alex Sharp) out of his money.

The movie was critical failure but it did manage to pull in $95 million at the box office on a $21 million budget.

Blu-ray Special Features include:
  • Hitting the Mark – We’ll reveal the plans behind the film: from Anne Hathaway’s initial discussions with Jac Schaeffer and Rebel Wilson about updating the story for a modern era to Chris Addison’s collaboration with the cast to craft the comedy on set.
  • Comedy Class – Every actor in the film brings a very different comedic style to their roles. This comic clash helps sell the conflict between Josephine, Penny, and the other characters in the film.
  • Con Artists – The artists behind the camera help bring the story to life…in this case costume designer Emmer Fryer and production designer Alice Normington show off their skills.
  • Feature Commentary by Director Chris Addison 


Final Thoughts

Monday, June 24, 2019

Blu-ray Review: Jury Duty (Retro VHS Look)



Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon
The silly comedy Encino Man was of my favorite guilty pleasure movies from the early '90s. Yes, it was completely stupid, but for some reason it appealed to me during my pre-teen years. Pauly Shore was one of the co-stars in the film and he went on to star in several similar comedies during the '90s, including 1995's Jury Duty, which was released to Blu-ray earlier this month from Mill Creek Entertainment as part of their Retro VHS series.

Directed by John Fortenberry, the film is more of a spoof of 12 Angry Men, where an unemployed Tommy Collins (played by Pauly Shore) finds himself out of a home when his mother and her boyfriend take their mobile home to Las Vegas to get married. Tommy and his chihuahua Peanuts are now homeless, well, that is until he receives a jury summons!

Tommy becomes one of the 12 jurors for a murder trial and as jury foreman he deliberately delays the verdict just so he can be paid $5 per day, get free meals, and live in a nice hotel room (also for free). While attempting to convinced the other jurors of reasonable doubt, he begins to believe the murderer is actually innocent.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Tia Carrere, Brian Doyle-Murray, Stanley Tucci, Abe Vigoda, Charles Napier, and Shelley Winters.


Final Thoughts

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Blu-ray Review: Neighbors (Retro VHS Style)


Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon
Why is it I have a nostalgic feelings towards anything related to the 1980s? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was born in 1981. Plus, everything "entertainment" related is better than anything being released today. 

Studios are well aware of the 1980's nostalgia craze, such as Mill Creek Entertainment, which has been releasing several 1980s films to Blu-ray with retro VHS-style slipcovers. 

The 1981 cult comedy classic "Neighbors" ($14.98; R; 95 minutes) starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cathy Moriarty, and Kathryn Walker arrived on Blu-ray earlier this month. It's a bare bones edition with no special features or bonus extras.

Based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Berger and directed by John G. Avildsen, the film centers around Earl Keese (played by Belushi), a middle age man with a boring job who lives in the middle of nowhere with his disconnected wife, Enid (played by Walker), and their rebellious teenage daughter (played by Lauren-Marie Taylor). After a long day at work, Earl wants nothing more than a peaceful and relaxing night at home, but that doesn't occur on this particular night, as his new neighbors, Vic and Romona (played by Aykroyd and Moriarty) decide to crash his plans.

Vic is extremely obnoxious, rude and downright crazy at times. Ramona is overly sexual and just as insane as Vic. The duo invites themselves over for dinner and end up turning Earl's entire life upside down.


Final Thoughts

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Midnight Horror Review: Attack of the Killer Donuts


AMAZON

While cleaning up a pile of junk from my desk, I stumbled upon a blank cardboard DVD envelope, which I had no clue what was inside until I actually opened it. To my surprise, inside the envelope was a DVD-R copy of Attack of the Killer Donuts that was sent to me by Level 33 Entertainment. I had completely forgotten about having the movie!

My apologizes to Level 33 Entertainment for my extremely long delay with this review!

Directed by Scott Wheeler, the film stars Justin Ray, Kayla Compton, Ben Heyman, Kassandra Voyagi, Fredrick Burn, C. Thomas Howell, and Michael Swan.

Attack of the Killer Donuts centers around a twenty-something Johnny, a slacker who lives with his mother and Uncle Luther, a scientist. He spends his days working at a local doughnut shop with his friend Michelle, who has a crush on him.

One day Uncle Luther comes into the shop wanting to "borrow" Johnny's laptop and accidentally dumps a green substance into the fryer pan. Unknowingly to them, Johnny and Michelle fry donuts all afternoon that have been infected with the green substance, which reanimates the donuts into murderous creatures.

Nothing can stop the killer donuts from munching on the townsfolk, not even the town's two dumb cops (played by  Fredrick Burn and C. Thomas Howell). It's up to Johnny, Michelle, and Howard (played by Ben Heyman) - Johnny's best friend who happens to be sleeping with his mother - to stop the donuts' killing spree.



Final Thoughts

Sunday, October 4, 2015

DVD Review: The Last Man On Earth: The Complete First Season



The Last Man On Earth:  The Complete First Season
Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Schaal
Studio: 20th Century Fox Entertainment
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Retail: $37.29
ASIN: B012D2WIDE
Running Time: 282 minutes
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
  
Now available to own on DVD is Fox's hit comedy series The Last Man On Earth starring comedians Will Forte and Kristen Schaal. Special Features includes a Commentary on The Elephant in the Room, Commentary on Screw the Moon, Survival of the Funniest: Creating The Last Man on Earth, The Last Man On Earth Q&A Panel, Deleted Scenes and a Gag Reel.

Set in the year 2020, one whole year after a deadly virus wiped out humanity, the last man on Earth is Phil Miller (played Will Forte), a man who spent months traveling across the USA, Canada and Mexico looking for survivors. Through his travels he left messages on road signs stating that he is alive in Tucson, Arizona, his hometown.

Phil finds a nice house in Tucson and moves in. He spends his days drinking tequila from a kiddie pool (which he also bathes in), setting things on fire and hanging out with his buddies, whom are all sports balls with faces painted on them.


Eventually the loneliness gets to him and he plans on committing suicide, but out of nowhere he finds the last woman on Earth - Carol Andrew Pilbasian (played by Kristen Schaal), a very annoying
woman from Delaware. She had saw the messages that Phil had left on the road signs and came to Tucson looking for him. She is determined that they should get married and repopulate the Earth. At first Phil nothing wants to do with Carol, even though she moves in next door to him, but eventually he agrees to marry her.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

DVD Review - Man Of The House

Man Of The House
Director: Stephen Herek
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: February 3, 2015
Retail: $9.98
ASIN: B00QMWEIVC
Running Time: 100 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Being re-released to DVD today from Mill Creek Entertainment is the 2005 comedy Man Of The House. The film was directed by Stephen Herek and stars Tommy Lee Jones. There are no special features or extras on the single-disc DVD.

Man Of The House centers on a group of college cheerleaders, Heather (played by Vanessa Ferlito), Evie (played by Monica Keena), Barb (played by Kelli Garner), Anne (played by Christina Milian) and Teresa (played by Paula Garcés), whom witness a murder. The girls are brought to the local police station to take their statements, but the all have different descriptions of the shooter. With no other choice, Texas Ranger Roland Sharp (played by Tommy Lee Jones) is assigned to watch over the cheerleaders just in case the murderer attempts to harm them.

Of course Ranger Sharp doesn't get along with the five young woman, especially since he is living with them. All the girls want to do is party and prepare theor cheerleading skills for the next home-game, but all Ranger Sharp wants them to do is to stay in their house. This way it is easier for him to protect them. He wasn't planning on the cheerleaders trying to rebel against, attempting to steal his pizza, wearing clothes around the house that shows way too much skin and interfering with his relationship with his estranged daughter  Emma (played by Shannon Marie Woodward). The cheerleaders even try to help him on his date with the English teacher, Molly (played by Anne Archer.

While Ranger Sharp is being distracted by trying to protect the cheerleaders, the murderer is getting closer and closer to finding their location.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

DVD Review - Wilfred: The Complete Third Season


Wilfred: The Complete Third Season
Starring: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, Fiona Gubelmann, Dorian Brown
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: June 24, 2014
Retail: $29.95
ASIN: B00L9IJF8A
Running Time: 286 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD over the summer is FXX's Wilfred: The Complete Third Season, which is made available for fans through the Amazon VOD service. It is the American version based on Australian TV series of the same name that also starred Jason Gann as Wilfred. There are no extras or special features on the two-disc set.

Yes, the series came to an end last month, but the fans can still enjoy the 13 episode third season, in which Ryan (played by Elijah Wood) is still seeing the man-like-dog (payed by Jason Gann) that belongs to his neighbor, Jenna Mueller (played by Jenna Mueller).

Poor Ryan starts to question his sanity as Wilfred continues to make his life a living hell. He decides to search for Wilfred's first owner to seek out why the dog is talking to him. Their friendship is put to the test when Wilfred befriends the mailman. Things take a twisted turn when Jenna forbids Ryan from hanging out with Wilfred.

The episodes on the two-disc set are:

Friday, February 1, 2013

DVD Review - Hearts Afire: The Complete Series

Hearts Afire: The Complete Series
Starring: John Ritter, Markie Post, Billy Bob Thornton
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment:
Release Date: January 8, 2013
ASIN: B00A2XQTF0
MSRP: $29.98
Number of Discs: 7
Running Time: 1410 minutes
Rated: TV-PG

Review:

In the fall of 1992, the late John Ritter (Three's Company) returned to television in the political sitcom Hearts Afire, playing John Hartman, a senator's aid and a recently divorced father of two boys. His life is flipped upside down when a down-on-her-luck journalist Georgie Anne Lahti (played by Night Court's Markie Post) walks into his office looking for a job and ends up staying at his house. Sparks fly between the two and they eventually tie the knot before the end of the first season. The second season changed the series setting from Washington D.C. to John's southern home town, where they buy a local newspaper office.

Billy Bob Thornton costarred for the entire series' run as Billy Bob Davis. Two and a Half Men's Conchata Ferrell joined the cast during the second season as Dr. Madeline Stoessinger; although she did play another character during the first season for two episodes. 

Mill Creek Entertainment has recently released the complete series with special features that includes bloopers and outtakes.

The episodes are:

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Movie Review - Dark Shadows

I’m an avid Dark Shadows fan as I use to watch the original soap when it aired in reruns on the former Scifi Channel, and I recently watch the DVD of the 1991 revival series. I was aware of all the mixed reviews that Tim Burton’s remake received, but I still wanted to see the film. Dark Shadows happened to playing at my small local theater last weekend and I went to see the film at the Sunday matinee.

The film starts in the year 1760, where the Collins along with their young son Barnabas leave Liverpool and travel to the United States, where they open up a fishing port in Maine. Years go by and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) grows up to be somewhat of a playboy, fooling around a servant, Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), who is actually a powerful witch. Barnabas falls in love with Josette du Pres and rejects Angelique’s affections, but the witch doesn’t like rejection. She forces Josette to jump off a cliff, and one by one the Collins die. All but Barnabas as Angelique has cursed him into a vampire. When the town people find out about the vampire, they chain Barnabas inside a coffin and bury him.

It’s now 1972 and a young woman named Maggie Evans is arriving at the Collinwood Manor. She is running away from her haunting past and uses the name Victoria Winters as she accepts the job as David Collin’s governess.