Disc Reviews

Jane Austen is a novelist from the 18^th century whose novels continue to stand the test of time; though she gained prominence during her lifetime, I would dare say that she has become very fashionable, with many of her novels being required learning for most schools or at the very least on the summer reading list. Her credits include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park; however, the novel that serves as the basis for the film we are reviewing today may be her most famous work, Emma. This property is no stranger to adaptation, having been adapted in the form of a 1996 television film starring Kate Beckinsale, as well as that same year into a theatrical film starring Gwyneth Paltrow. This time around, the film stars Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role. Though this is not the film I was hoping to see Taylor-Joy in this year (this is my subtle ploy to demand the release of The New Mutants), I must admit that she does a fine job of taking on the role that has already been tackled by top talent. Granted, this is not the type of movie that I am normally drawn to; it is my wife’s bread and butter, so naturally it was an experience that we shared. Basically a period piece romantic comedy, as anticipated it was a big hit with her, and fortunately there was some humor for me to appreciate as well.

Emma Woodhouse is an affluent young woman, who after her governess weds, believing she bears some responsibility for the union, imagines herself a matchmaker. Despite the objections of her father (Bill  Nighy), she attempts to find a suitable match for her latest governess, Harriet Smith (Mia Goth). This proves to be quite an undertaking as her matches prove a number of times to be unsuccessful for a number of reasons, including a social mismatching, as well as them having eyes for another (i.e. Emma herself). During this period, she also encounters Mr. Knightly (Johnny Flynn), a kind and compassionate person for whom she begins developing feelings; however, her affections may have competition in the form of the very woman she is attempting to set up.

So I had an interest in this film since I saw the preview for it; Blake Lively cast in her own revenge film. I know there is no shortage of this type of film. Luc Besson has actually made a career out of this type of film archetype, with each film being excellent in my opinion. Lively has never attempted anything of this nature, which I always find intriguing, to see an actress stretch her creative muscles. Sadly, I wasn’t able to convince my wife or my friends of the film’s potential, so on the rare occasion that I attend movies in a personal nature, I wasn’t able to steer anyone towards seeing this film with me. I mean, Blake Lively, Jude Law, and Sterling K. Brown -- you would have thought I wouldn’t have to do that much convincing, but sadly everyone I showed the trailer to felt that the film’s premise had been done before. I won’t dispute that there have been several films that are similar, but in my opinion, The Rhythm Section brings a unique grittiness to the genre. It took some type to see the film, and though I do feel that the film rushed its conclusion, I thoroughly found it enjoyable, and the mentor/mentee dynamic between Law and Lively was a huge selling point for the film.

Lively plays Stephanie Patrick. After her family is killed in a plane crash that she was meant to be in, she retreats into a life of drugs and prostitution. One day she is approached by reporter Keith Proctor (Raza Jaffrey, Homeland), who informs her that the plane crash, which was initially believed to be a tragic accident, was actually a terrorist attack that was covered up. Stephanie immediately is drawn into the world of covert intelligence as she attempts to unravel who was behind the crash. Aided by a former British intelligence agent (Jude Law), she trains to exact her revenge on the people who killed her family. However, in the world of espionage, everything isn’t always what it seems.

"Good evening. My name's Wayne. Some of you may have seen me before. I hope so. I've been kicking around Hollywood a long time. I've made a lot of pictures out here. All kinds. Some of them have been westerns, and that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight. A western. A new television show called "Gunsmoke". When I first heard about the show "Gunsmoke", I knew there was only one man to play in it. James Arness. He's a young fellow, and may be new to some of you. But I've worked with him, and I predict he'll be a big star. And now, I'm proud to present "Gunsmoke"."

That was John Wayne introducing the television audiences of 1955 to Gunsmoke. Gunsmoke fans have had a long wait to get the full series on DVD, and that long wait is finally ended. If you have been picking up the seasons as they have been released along the way, sometimes in half-season sets, you only had a season remaining to complete your collection. If you waited or have become a recent fan of the classic western, another alternative has presented itself. CBS has released the entire 20 seasons in one collection. Even if you have been collecting all along, you should consider selling or gifting your single or half-season sets and opt to have them all in one place anyway. Those cases take up a lot of room on the DVD shelf, and while this collection isn’t exactly tiny, it does take up less space, with an option to store on its side where it takes up very little shelf space, but you’ll need almost 13 inches of headroom on your shelf. Even on its side it's a good third less space than all of those cases. The design is simple and quite functional. Inside of a strong cardboard case you'll find the 20 seasons split out over six large plastic cases. The seasons are contained in the following six groups: 1-4, 5-7, 8-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-20. The boxes avoid those stacked spindles, a choice I highly approve of. The box is an attractive case that looks like it's leather-bound with a panoramic color photograph of the main characters on one side. It's open on the back, allowing easy access to the discs. If you're facing a considerable amount of "Shelter In Place", this is going to make those weeks fly by. There are 635 episodes. The early episodes are a half-hour; the majority are one hour each. The series is also split almost 50-50 in black & white or color. Seasons 1-11 are in black & white, while the remainder of the seasons are in color. We're talking the original full-frame presentation. These episodes have not been monkeyed with. Subtitles show up starting with Season 5. There's not much in bonus features. There are some production promos and vintage television commercials. There are a couple of commentary tracks spread throughout. There is a rather nice wrap-up feature on the final season. There are a few other brief extras throughout this collection that spans 143 discs. Finally, if you want to know how that all adds up, how about 440 1/2 hours? That's going to be some binge-watching right there. It'll make a great gift if you are already thinking about getting an early start on your holiday shopping.

For all intents and purposes, Season 7 is the final season of Ray Donovan. The end came rather suddenly and after it was too late to create and film some kind of satisfying finale for the series. The cast and crew were taken by surprise, so you can imagine how the fans of the show are taking this. To make matters worse, the last episode, while not a complete cliffhanger, leaves too many strands of thread that weren't connected. There's nothing satisfying about this finale, and that created waves in the world of fandom. Star Trek is famous as being the first television show that a network cancelled and then brought back because of a huge letter-writing campaign that flooded network executives and pushed them into an unprecedented action for that time. The show was brought back. Imagine what those rabid fans could have done today with the internet and social media. The call has gone out, and while Showtime has made no move to offer any kind of reversal or concession, the show's star reached out with a somewhat cryptic message of hope. He assured fans that the Donovan family isn't finished just yet. What that reprieve might be, there isn't a clue offered, but it's doubtful at this point that the show will return as an 8th season. The likely scenarios include a Showtime film like we saw recently for Deadwood. There's a shot at a feature film at the theatres, which is where Star Trek's original crew ended up. There's always a chance of a revival mini-series like we've seen over at Fox for The X-Files and Prison Break. I don't know what form it might take, but I do believe the characters will return in some way. Unfortunately new global circumstances have placed pretty much all television shows, films, and other outlets for entertainment in doubt, at least in the short term. Eventually we will get out of this, but I suspect Ray Donovan won't be the first priority out of the gate. Fans are going to have to be patient here. I believe it will happen, but I'm as equally convinced that it won't happen soon. So for now you're going to have to savor these last 10 episodes for a while, and this DVD release gives you the means to do just that.

There are two events from the past that are driving the events of this season. Ray (Schreiber) and the family still feel the loss of Abby. That death from Season 5 hangs over everyone as if it had just happened. The other event deals with the circumstances from last season. The cops that waged war on the Donovans and took daughter Bridget (Dorsey) hostage. It ended with a bloody massacre that baptized Bridget's fiancée Smitty (Rogers) into the family. Bodies were dismembered and heads disposed of ... but not for long. Fishermen come up with a bowling ball bag containing one of those heads. Detective Perry (Bernstine) uses it to launch a full-scale investigation into the Donovan family, and it's going to be brutal.