Pads & Panels

Comedy Central Round-Up No. 2
Hannibal Buress, Reggie Watts, Paul F. Tompkins

Reviews by: Bill Jones

When it comes to stand-up comedy on television, Comedy Central more or less has the market cornered. And the network’s DVD and CD departments have been pushing out plenty of the television specials in the uncensored and uncut format (really, the right way to watch a comedian’s set) for home consumption. Pads & Panels decided to help its readers wade through some of Comedy Central’s latest offerings.

The Comedian: Hannibal Buress

The DVD: Animal Furnace (Also on CD)

Rating:

The latest stand-up special from Hannibal Buress, Animal Furnace may be Comedy Central’s best release of the year to date. The Chicago native has been a writer on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, which speaks to his background in comedy. But for once the quotes on the back of the box actually go a long way in letting people know why he’s worth checking out, or at least the list of names that provided those quotes — Chris Rock, Jim Gaffigan, Demetri Martin and Mike Birbiglia. Toss in dash of Kyle Kinane (not on the box), too, and it’s easy to get an idea of both the quality and style that comes with his performance. With an infectious smile, Buress appears to have a great time on stage as he launches into stories about the TSA, stolen credit cards, Canada, college newspapers and even food. The CD doesn’t deviate from the DVD, but it’s better in my opinion to have the visual in his case. The DVD also includes and awesome bonus feature chronicling the week before recording his special. (more…)

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Comedy Central Round-Up No. 1
Jo Koy, J.B. Smoove, Patton Oswalt

Reviews by: Bill Jones

When it comes to stand-up comedy on television, Comedy Central more or less has the market cornered. And the network’s DVD and CD departments have been pushing out plenty of the television specials in the uncensored and uncut format (really, the right way to watch a comedian’s set) for home consumption. Pads & Panels decided to help its readers wade through some of Comedy Central’s latest offerings.

The Comedian: Jo Koy

The DVD: Lights Out

Rating:

Many may recognize Jo Koy from his roundtable appearances on Chelsea Lately, which may also tell a lot of people whether or not this is a guy they want to check out. But don’t be deterred. Despite that background and some over-animated box shots, Lights Out proves to be an entertaining show. The comedy comes in a decidedly traditional formula, with Koy tackling topics like fatherhood, growing up with Filipino women and sleep apnea. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time watching this one-hour special. The DVD also contains two special features, one of which sees Koy’s mother interviewing him for the radio, which is a fun little twist. (more…)

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Title: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Format: Extra Dope Edition Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: R (Theatrical), Unrated (Extended)

Directed by: Todd Strauss-Schulson

Written by: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris

Studio: Warner Bros.

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle may have been one of the best surprise standout comedies when it was released in 2004 (not to mention one of the best product tie-ins around), but the series took a sharp dive with the 2008 sequel Harold & Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay, which was nothing short of torture in its own right.

But maybe, just maybe, it was worth enduring to get to 2011’s unexpected sequel, A Very Harold & Kumar (3D) Christmas. While the duo’s Christmas special doesn’t quite find the former glory of the original, it is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor and in theaters it opted to embrace 3D technology fully, finding many of its laughs in jump-out-of-the-screen gags. (more…)

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Title: Ho! The Morally Questionable Cartoons of Ivan Brunetti

Writer: Ivan Brunetti

Artist: Ivan Brunetti

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Ivan Brunetti is the classic crass-for-the-sake-of-crass kind of guy. Ho! collects the “best of” from his Haw! and Hee! books and tosses a few new cartoons into the mix. But as Patton Oswalt asks in his introduction, “What’s left?” (more…)

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