The latest entertainment news and reviews in 4K UHD, Blu-ray, movies and more…
Produced and written by John Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch, the beloved teen classic PRETTY IN PINK is the latest addition to the Paramount Presents line. Newly remastered from a 4K transfer supervised by Deutch, the film arrives on Blu-ray for the first time ever June 16, 2020.
A masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy, AIRPLANE! celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020 with a brand-new Blu-ray in the Paramount Presents line, as well as a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook, both arriving on July 21, 2020 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Originally released in July of 1980, AIRPLANE! was a major hit and become a pop culture touchstone. Voted “one of the 10 funniest movies ever made” by the American Film Institute, the film continues to be widely referenced and quoted 40 years after its theatrical debut.
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Continue reading ‘AIRPLANE! Celebrates 40 Years With A New Blu-ray July 21st!’
One of the best archival efforts going on with Scream Factory the past year has been their Universal Horror Collection series. Now hitting Volume 5, with Volume 6 already announced, they are highlighting and saving four horror titles from the Universal vaults that aren’t quite as well known as the standard Classic Monsters fare. Usually there will be a theme to it, or sometimes it feels a film would be picked up because of an actor associated with horror. This fifth volume feels like a fresh new lot as it showcases a more ape/jungle type theme with the films involved. A closer look finds a standalone film that closely relates to a trilogy within the set. The “Cheena, The Ape Woman” films all are included here. Not familiar with them, I’m excited to be introduced. One of them has never been on DVD or Blu-ray before and the others have only just recently had Universal DVDs in the last 5 years, or been subject to those bargain bin and 100-Sci Fi Films collections which aren’t known for having the best of transfers. You can pre-order the set to have when it becomes available on June 16th! Continue reading ‘Universal Horror Collection: Volume 5 (Blu-ray Review)’
CBS has decided that its going all in with the Star Trek game when it comes to their streaming channel CBS All Access. The streaming platform launched with the debut of Star Trek: Discovery (Which is heading into its third season) and then added Star Trek: Picard the following year. We will soon see even more series with The Lower Decks and the recently announced Strange New Worlds. For Discovery, in between the seasons and such, they’ve had this little short films or interludes that tie in and act as little excursions called Short Treks. They follow characters in the series or sometimes not, just relative to places or events going on. They’ve been plenty fun and pretty well regarded. Short Treks has been an exclusive to CBS All Access until now, as Star Trek fans want to collect, so they are bringing brought to Blu-ray (Shame, no 4K, but this keeps in line with the Discovery releases). You can pre-order to have when it arrives June 2nd! Continue reading ‘Star Trek: Short Treks (Blu-ray Review)’
Sonic the Hedgehog made its awareness even more well known thanks to online fan whining and pouting about the look of the character after the first trailer. This lead to the movie being pulled and set for a later date in order to improve the animation. And I’ll agree, it did look better, but old and animation or new, the movie itself was still going to be the same despite that irrelevant detail getting a fix. And the film got in and made itself some money just in time before theaters began closing their doors. The film also received an advanced digital release upon that shift in movie watching climate, but now is available on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray to own (Released on May 19th). You can relive or check out for the first time all the speedy animated hedgehog versus crazy 90s-like Jim Carrey antics paired with James Marsden smolder when you order it from the paid Amazon Associate link below. Thanks in advance to Lt. Grammar Police for the gripes. Continue reading ‘Sonic The Hedgehog (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
I’ve been a fan of Leigh Whannell (And James Wan) since the the original Saw put them on the map. Long have I admired how those can make five dollars look like 80 million dollars on the screen. The two, in both their respective directing careers have showcase such smaller film that have larger impacts and experiences. Heck, just the other day, Forbes’ Scott Mendelson pointed out with Aquaman that sure its an expensive movie, but he’s shocked it wasn’t even more expensive to an ungodly degree. Whannell isn’t quite to overstuffed budgeted blockbuster tentpoles yet, but he certainly is on track. His previous film, Upgrade, was my favorite film of 2018. So, it was with great excitement when not only did I hear he was directing a new Invisible Man feature, but that he was teaming with Blumhouse for it. That’s about as perfect a marriage as can be. And perfect it was. You’ll be able to check out this modern horror masterpiece in the finest 4K presentation when it arrives on May 26th! Continue reading ‘The Invisible Man (2020) (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
No, you’re seeing that correctly. Something Harley Quinn related is being reviewed on Why So Blu and the name “Brian White” is not attached to it. Is the man too cool for animation? Well, no, actually. Does he have it against subscribing to another streaming service? Nope, he subscribes to the DC Universe service. And yes, while we are at it, he LOVES the animated Harley Quinn show (check out his Interview w/ Patrick Shumacker HERE). Won’t shut up about it actually. But, when it comes to the decision to release it on DVD only for physical media…well…he’s none too happy. Though, I tried to explain to him that its animated and the type of animation it was done in wasn’t going to make it matter much, he wasn’t having it. Personally, I watched the freebies offered on YouTube for the show and wanted to seek more, so I thank him for the opportunity to do that now with the review. If you’re wanting to actually own the show, you can do so by pre-ordereing it in time for its June 2nd street date on (sigh) DVD. Continue reading ‘Harley Quinn: The Complete First Season (DVD Review)’
This spring has been representative of two things for me. One is that, for better or worse, being stuck in shelter-in-place has been helpful in some ways and hurtful in others. On a lighter note, two is that we have been blessed with so many fantastic catalog titles coming out to keep us happy at home. Jaws is one such release, coming out on 4K Blu-ray (finally) in celebration of its 45th anniversary. The movie is just as you remember it being – tense, well crafted, slyly funny, and iconic. The new edition will certainly make the film’s fans very happy! Without further ado, here’s all you need to know about the Jaws 45th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray!
Continue reading ‘Jaws (45th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray Review)’
As I’ve been doing more of recently, this article will be providing screen capture comparisons for a new edition of a title previously available on Blu-ray. For this article we’ll be looking at Escape From L.A. Paramount released a bare bones edition back in 2010 and on May 26, Scream Factory will be putting out a brand new Collector’s Edition of it. This new version boasts a new 4K transfer from the original camera negative. This piece will only be screenshot comparisons of the two. For a full review of the Collector’s Edition, you see what I had to say by CLICKING HERE. Which one do you think sports a more friendly image to your eyes? Let me know down in the comments. Order links are available for both at the bottom!
Shout!/Scream Factory is damn close to achieving their goal of releasing every John Carpenter film under their banner on Blu-ray. With the release of Escape From L.A. – Collector’s Edition, that leaves only Dark Star, Christine, Ghosts of Mars, The Ward, and the 2 Masters Of Horror features Cigarette Burns and Pro-Life to get the treatment. Personally, I would be most tickled if they released a collection of his college short films as a release. Escape From L.A. was bound to be with Scream Factory once they started doing Paramount titles. Unfortunately, there is no John Carpenter or Kurt Russell inclusion on the new bonus features. Still, we are given plenty of new interviews and a brand new 4K transfer from the original negative. While most love the original, many are not so hot on its west coast follow up. But, maybe its time for a revisit and reassessment 24 years later. It arrives on Blu-ray May 26th, and you can pre-order a copy using the Amazon Associates link below.
Continue reading ‘Escape From L.A. – Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
Warner Archive Collection continues to thrill and excite fans of class cinema and genre cinema throughout the year with beautiful restorations and affordable prices. For June, they are exciting both crowds at the same time with one single release in 1933’s The Mystery Of The Wax Museum. Another film from directing legend Michael Curtiz, it was previously available only in SD as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray release for the Vincent Price-starring House of Wax. Now, by itself it has been released with a brand new restoration (House Of Wax is getting a new release, too next month). It also features some brand new bonus material that includes an interview with the iconic Fay Wray’s daughter. Once thought to a be a film lost forever, it now has been brought up to wonderfully restored standards by by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and can delight collector’s of every corner. The film was released on May 12, and is available now using the paid Amazon Associate’s link following the review.
Continue reading ‘The Mystery Of The Wax Museum (Blu-ray Review)’
On January 30th of this year, Michael Schur’s The Good Place came to its natural conclusion. Schur may not be a household name, but the guy is responsible as a writer or producer for unarguably some of the best television comedy of the last decade. While his name might not ring a bell, perhaps The Office, Master of None, Parks and Recreation or Brooklyn Nine-Nine ring a bell? And if you’ve not indulged in those, well you may want to start taking a gander. Of all his creations and efforts, The Good Place might just be he’s crowning jewel. More than character, more than comedy, its a bit of discovery, mystery and a full on philosophical exploration of a good many things regarding the human life and afterlife. The great people at Shout! Factory are doing us all a good solid and making sure this series gets its rightful do on Blu-ray instead of finding itself on a lame DVD or sentenced to be found on streaming services only. You’ll be able to pick up their complete series set complete with some bonus features and all episodes when it arrives on May 19th! Continue reading ‘The Good Place: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)’
We Summon The Darkness was a Fantastic Fest hit last year, a new entry to the ever growing list of quality indie horror comedies we’ve seen in the last few years. It boasts a cast of the Alexandra Daddario and Johnny Knoxville and nifty spin on common horror plots/twists/turns. The Blu-ray is coming on June 9th, so let this digital review promote that a bit as the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented review copies of this film from going out or being easily feasible. The digital release was on April 10, so you can rent or buy it now for pretty solid, affordable pricing. Hell, the Blu-ray is only currently $16.99 to pre-order, so maybe you just jump on it (Though my review, while positive, may tell you otherwise). However, you may choose, one of the ways to watch is on Amazon Prime, and it helps the site a little when you use the Amazon Associates paid link below to do so. But, it is also available via Vudu, AppleTV and FandangoNow if those are your preferred avenues. Continue reading ‘We Summon The Darkness (Digital HD Review)’
DreamWorks Animation presents TROLLS WORLD TOUR, a music- filled, exciting adventure that’s sure to make the whole family sing, dance, and have fun again and again. Join Poppy, Branch, and the rest of the Trolls in the all-new Dance Party Edition exclusively on Digital June 23, 2020 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray™, and DVD July 7, 2020 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The Dance Party Edition includes an interactive dance party mode where viewers are introduced to dance moves to learn while they watch the film, lyrics to sing along, and surprises featuring their favorite characters! This special Dance Party Edition includes bonus content, such as an exclusive original short film starring the unforgettable Tiny Diamond, deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes exclusives with the power-house musical cast of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, George Clinton and many more. This fun and entertaining family film is the must-own movie of the summer. Continue reading ‘The Most Controversial Film Of 2020, TROLLS WORLD TOUR, Defies Theaters With A 4K Blu-ray July 7th!’
One of the most genre-defining (not to mention genre-defying!) horror-comedies imaginable, and one of the key Hong Kong blockbuster hits of the 1980s, the popularity and influence of Mr. Vampire cannot be overstated. Spawning at least four sequels and countless spin-offs and imitations, this Hong Kong horror-comedy to end them all was an understandable crowd-pleasing sensation, and triggered a wave of jiangshi (“hopping vampire”) movies. Produced by the legendary Sammo Hung, the original Mr. Vampire is essential viewing for anyone interested in the 80s golden age of Hong Kong cinema. In a career-making performance, the late Lam Ching-ying is Master Kau, expert on all matters of the supernatural. When Kau and his two bumbling students, Man Choi (famous comedian Ricky Hui) and Chou (Fist of Legend‘s Chin Siu-ho), exhume a corpse for reburial, things go frighteningly and hilariously awry when the cadaver is revealed to be a hopping vampire. With the undead on the loose, Master Kau is blamed for the chaos, and must work with his students to put the spirits to rest before the vampire’s own granddaughter (80s Hong Kong action icon Moon Lee) gets bitten. Fighting the vampires with everything from sticky rice to filing down the bloodsucker’s fangs, the trio must defeat an increasing number of ghoulish dangers. Continue reading ‘‘Mr. Vampire’ [Eureka Classics] on Blu-ray July 20, 2020!’
This August, Paul Schrader’s seductive thriller The Comfort of Strangers– adapted by Harold Pinter from the novel by Ian McEwan- will join the Criterion Collection in a new 4K restoration. A landmark of poetic realism that went on to influence the French New Wave, Jean Renoir’s Provence-set drama Toni will make its first appearance on Blu-ray and DVD. Also debuting on home video is Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker’s Town Bloody Hall, an electrifying record of second-wave feminism and its discontents that captures a legendary 1971 debate between Norman Mailer and four prominent female thinkers and activists. Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta’s urgent political thriller The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum will also debut on Blu-ray. Plus, our previously announced fifteen-Blu-ray box set The Complete Films of Agnès Varda will collect the life’s work of an artist who never stopped expanding the notion of what a movie can be.Continue reading ‘Renoir, Schrader, Varda & More Coming to The Criterion Collection August 2020’
This trio of classic 1930s horror films—Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, and The Raven—is also distinguished by a trio of factors regarding their production. Most notably, each film is based on a work by master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe. Part of the legendary wave of horror films made by Universal Pictures in the 30s, all three feature dynamic performances from Dracula‘s Bela Lugosi, with two of them also enlivened by the appearance of Frankenstein‘s Boris Karloff. And finally, all three benefit from being rare examples of Pre-Code studio horror, their sometimes startling depictions of sadism and shock a result of being crafted during that brief period in Hollywood before the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code’s rigid guidelines for moral content. Director Robert Florey, who gave the Marx Brothers their cinema start with The Cocoanuts in 1929, worked with Metropolis cinematographer Karl Freund to give a German Expressionism look to Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), with Lugosi as a mad scientist running a twisted carnival sideshow in 19th-century Paris, and murdering women to find a mate for his talking ape main attraction. Lugosi and Karloff teamed forces for the first time in The Black Cat, a nightmarish psychodrama that became Universal’s biggest hit of 1934, with Detour director Edgar G. Ulmer bringing a feverish flair to the tale of a satanic, necrophiliac architect (Karloff) locked in battle with an old friend (Lugosi) in search of his family. Prolific B-movie director Lew Landers made 1935’s The Raven so grotesque that all American horror films were banned in the U.K. for two years in its wake. Specifically referencing Poe within its story, Lugosi is a plastic surgeon obsessed with the writer, who tortures fleeing murderer Karloff through monstrous medical means. Continue reading ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, and The Raven on Blu-ray July 20, 2020!’
Years after a bacterium killed 31 million people, David Oscar must come out of hiding and face his past. He is tracked down by the remaining members of his former rebel group, who persuade him to take part in an important mission which they believe will lead to a cure for the infected and will destroy the pharmaceutical company they believe to be responsible for the sickness. As they break into a secure facility expecting to find the cure, they discover a young girl who has been held captive and subjected to experiments for years. As David and his companions help her escape the company facility, the mutation inside her body manifests itself and the rebels discover why she has been kept under lock and key all this time. Continue reading ‘‘Kill Mode’ on Blu-ray & DVD June 16, 2020!’
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