Candyman – Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)
One of the biggest holes in the United Stats Blu-ray library has been 1992’s Candyman, inspired by the Clive Barker short story “The Forbidden”. Available on a straightforward UK Blu-ray for many years, its come as a shocker considering its iconic villain (Played by the brilliant Tony Todd) and the fact it is considered one of the greatest horror films of the 1990s and all time. FINALLY, this is drought is over and it’ll will be releasing in spectacular fashion on November 20th when Scream Factory brings their 2-Disc Blu-ray to the table. Last month saw Arrow release a deluxe edition for the UK, but now its Scream Factory’s turn to wow us. Pre-order is available for this MUST HAVE title by clicking the Amazon link following the review. Continue reading ‘Candyman – Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
Much of Disney’s live action output has been live action renditions of previously animated films. There are some that have been interesting aspects or sort of follow ups to what may have come before. Christopher Robin, one of Disney’s later movies in its summer output, follows the life of Winnie the Pooh’s Christopher Robin long after he’d grown and left his childhood friends behind. The film did some solid box office, ALLLLMOST clearing $100 million in the US alone. I’m not sure the budget on the film as to know what degree of success it was or wasn’t. You can pick up the film already on Blu-ray as it was released on November 6th. The release comes with a DVD and a digital copy and nice little set of featurettes. Blu-ray only, no 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. 
While it shouldn’t have been, the box office success and juggernaut attitude of Crazy Rich Asians took the US by storm at the end of the summer. It played like a programmer of old, opening to $26 million and legging it all the way to over $173 million. I mean, damn, the movie almost did $200 million in the states alone. Its been awhile since we had a big dominant comedy of that stature. Its all but guaranteed we will get to see the full trilogy of novels adapted to the big screen. And hopefully will kick off some more heavily Asian casted and cultured movies in the United States that aren’t just imports. You’ll be able to pick this one up when Warner Bros releases the film on November 20th. Pre-order a copy to have ready for watching and rewatching over the the Thanksgiving holiday weekend! 
The masters of horror Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Robert Englund (A Nightmare On Elm Street Franchise) and Stephen King (Creepshow, Misery) join to bring you a shocking tale of terror. Available December 11th, 2018 from Scream Factory, The Mangler features a new 4K print of the original camera negative from the uncut version. The release also contains several new bonus features, including a new audio commentary with co-writer Stephen David Brooks, a new interview with actor Robert Englund, rare behind-the-scenes footage, and more! Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com 
Coming along for the Blu-ray ride with the 20th anniversary of Urban Legend is its sequel Urban Legends: Final Cut. Unlike its predecessor, Final Cut has never been on Blu-ray before, so its making its debut here. But, like the first one, this little slasher had a cast of nobodies that later did become somebodies. In the right light, this is a pretty fun swift little slasher that people may fine themselves enjoying more with an 18-year distance and less uptight about the stakes of watching it. Anyway, while its not getting a 2 and a half hour documentary on making it, they are putting for a nice little retro mini-doc for the film and a new interview with actress Jessica Cauffiel (Perhaps while she was doing a Valentine interview). It arrives the same day as the original, November 20th. 
Scream Factory has been crushing it with the late 90s pop horror as of late, especially due to the new sublicensing they have been doing through Warner Bros and Sony. And with that, comes the slashers that were refreshed and reborn during that time. One of the most notable of such that wasn’t Scream, was Jamie Blanks’ Urban Legend. Sub out scary movies for the age old tales of fear from yesteryear and its pretty easy to run with. This will be the first of two Collector’s Editions of Blanks’ slashers (Valentine is finally coming in February), getting a whopping 2-disc treatment. And, they’ve brought almost every back for this with the exception of an obvious pair of actors you could easily guess don’t show up. I’ll give you a hint before we dive in, but this is a pretty special release that you should lock in your pre-order for in time to watch November 20th! 
Worlds will collide when “Smallfoot” arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital. The film stars Channing Tatum (“21 Jump Street,” “Magic Mike,” “The Hateful Eight”) as the yeti, Migo, and James Corden (“Trolls,” TV’s “The Late Late Show with James Corden”) as the smallfoot, Percy. “Smallfoot” was directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, Annie Award-winning director of “Over the Hedge” and Annie nominee for the “Chicken Run” and “James and the Giant Peach” screenplays. The film also stars Zendaya (“The Greatest Showman,” TV’s “K.C. Undercover”), Oscar winner Common (“Wanted,” “Selma”), LeBron James (“Trainwreck,” TV’s “The LeBrons”), Danny DeVito (“Matilda,” TV’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Gina Rodriguez (“Deepwater Horizon,” TV’s “Jane the Virgin”), Yara Shahidi (TV’s “Black-ish,” TV’s “Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia”), Ely Henry (“Some Freaks”) and Jimmy Tatro (“22 Jump Street”). 
I’m not sure what milestone hit for Wolfgang Petersen’s Air Force One to jump to Blu-ray, but I’m not going to question grabbing an awesome 1990s action movie here on the best format with both a picture and audio jump in quality. Perhaps they selected putting the Harrison Ford US President defends his plane against terrorists film on November 6th to coincide with the midterm elections that took place earlier in the week. If so, you’re one clever little pony over there, Sony. As mentioned, this new edition will feature a new Atmos mix and will carry over the Wolfgang Petersen audio commentary from the previous release (“Legacy Bonus Features” being the hot term now). I apologize for no pre-order link (Amazon’s search is more difficult than need be for it), but I’m sure if you peruse the internet well enough, you’ll be able to snag a copy. 
It bummed me out that I wasn’t able to make it to Blindspotting during its wider theatrical run. It seemed like I had a lot of time to catch it, but the stars never aligned just perfectly for me. Luckily, I do review Blu-rays, so now the opportunity has arisen and I’m jumping at it. And they are rewarding me with, of all things, an ATMOS track! This film that wow’d audiences at Sundance and SXSW makes it way home with two feature commentaries and some featurettes to boot. It looks like a nice little release given the circumstances or it not being a major wide venture. Hopefully it hangs around for some awards steam and gets a pick me up. You can pick it up on your own when arrives November 20th. Pre-order using the Amazon link below. 
We are going to be getting a fifth and final film covering the life and times of one John Rambo, as portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. Lionsgate is taking the original three film and giving them the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray update before that happens next year. No word as of yet on the fourth film from 10 years ago, but one can assume they won’t leave that one hanging dry for long. Now that Rambo has been laid out, how about our old pal Jigsaw get his series ported over to 4K? Sorry, I’ll stay on point. This review will be covering the third film, a film that was easily the weakest of the original run and almost self-parody. BUT, still pretty darn entertaining as just some junky 1980s action picture. You can pre-order it by using the Amazon link following the review. 
Stephen King is so hot right now, right? After It exploded in theaters worldwide, it would seem people are chomping at the bit for new adaptations. We’ll see if people are pumped for Pet Sematary continues to keep the fire burning next Spring. In the meantime, lets get the older films based on his works some continued love on the Blu-ray format. Last month saw Maximum Overdrive land itself a Vestron Video debut. Now, Scream Factory will be putting together one of his least popular works in that of Sleepwalkers, directed by Mick Garris who is no stranger to directing a King adaptation. While the film is what it is, the story of the film, I’m sure could be quite entertaining and that’s what works so well with these Collector’s Editions. We’ll be able to find out when it releases on Blu-ray November 6th! 
While Fox was supposed to have an X-Men team proper film out this year, well three (Or was it four?) of them originally, they wound up with just Deadpool making its release date. Dark Phoenix and New Mutants have been bumped multiple times and the Channing Tatum Gambit movie just seems like a fun talking point to make the news rounds every once in a while like a Crow reboot. They did have a film that sold itself on being very much like an X-Men movie, but not a part of any Marvel universe and skewing toward the young adult dystopian future novel crowd. Because, well, its based off of one. The film came out to poor critic reviews (Audiences loved it going by data sites) and an incredibly sad box office performance. You’ll be able to pick it up and check out what everyone missed when it arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray October 30th. 
If looks could kill, he wouldn’t need a chainsaw. “Leatherface” is BACK! Scream Factory proudly presents the fourth installment of the terrifying franchise
Spike Lee’s first foray into the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format obviously comes with his latest film, BlacKkKlansman. And its a tremendous pick as he delivered one of his all-time best films this year. Its a film that tells an unbelievably true story of infiltrating and humiliating America’s most despicable hate group. While the film is sadly timely and is very prescient for our times, its also wildly entertaining, educational procedural with suspense and tasteful comedic elements. The release seems pretty light on extras, but at least its carrying a nice Dolby Atmos track to tell the story. You’ll be able to pick this one up on November 6th, giving you ample time to watch it before it (Hopefully) makes some noise with Academy nominations. Pre-order using the Amazon link below. 
