Mother (Criterion #1232) (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
November 20th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
For lack of a better word, families are a trip. Children feel like their siblings are favored over them. Mothers feel envious of a son’s bonding with their father. Daughters resent mothers for their inherent similarities. Fathers want their sons to follow in their footsteps in exacting ways. A trip, right? In Albert Brooks’ Mother, we use an experiment to find out just how deep those “mommy issues” can get. The Criterion Collection released Mother along with Real Life, and with my own recent pickup of the film, I felt compelled to write about it! Read more below and see if you can relate to Albert Brooks’ John Henderson.
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Home invasion/stalker films will always put me on edge. The horror ones, such as Halloween that involve serial killers will always have me shouting at the screen. Thrillers like Panic Room are tense wonderful exercises in testing my blood pressure. I love these types of films. Mike Flanagan’s Hush sits somewhere in between horror and thriller and did nothing to calm my nerves while I watched it. So where does the film sit in my critical view? Find out more about the film and Shout Studios/Scream Factory’s 4-Disc collector’s edition 4K UHD Blu-ray below!
Do you remember the 1992 LA Riots? I know I do. The whole debacle was covered by news outlets much like they did in The Hunger Games, filling homes with the disparate violence and angry response to the unjust not guilty verdict given to the police officers who beat an unarmed Rodney King one awful night. The uprising was monumental and devastating. No doubt a response that law enforcement and racist people wanted the black community to make at the time, we are still haunted by this tragic moment in the 90’s. 1992 is the first film to my knowledge that is based on that fateful April day, even with a dramatized heist thriller embedded in the story, the history remains on the screen. Read more about 1992 and see where the film lies in its historical accuracy.
When I see or hear about action films about assassins, I feel like they’re either going to go the way of the dark such as something like John Wick or we will get a film in the style of the silliest of Guy Ritchie films. A kindred spirit film to Kill Bill perhaps? I like the subgenre, but there’s always that one or the other feeling. The Killer’s Game is the latest assassin action flick to hit cinemas and now, very quickly, 4K UHD Blu-ray. Another of Lionsgate’s not so successful films of 2024, The Killer’s Game came with no fanfare when it was released to theaters barely 2 months ago. Did the film deserve more than it got? Find out below, and don’t forget to watch out for stalking assassins!
Over my 5 years at whysoblu.com, you may have read about my love for legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Vertigo is in my Letterboxd top 4 and has a special place in my heart as one of the first films I ever watched to the point of analyzing it. Among others include the usual suspects for the incredible auteur: Rear Window, The Birds, Notorious, Rebecca, Strangers on a Train and so many others. And then there’s North By Northwest. A genre-hopping masterpiece, the film takes the viewer on an unexpectedly funny adventure that truly has kept people on their toes for 65 years. Celebrating that milestone this year and finally arriving on 4K UHD Blu-ray, read on to find out how the classic film fares on the best physical format!
It’s hard for me to imagine a cinematic world without The Terminator. The iconic cyborg tale turns 40 years old this year, and astonishingly, we are only 5 years away from the 2029 that he travelled from. I also hold The Terminator in high regard that the first film was one of the things that terrified me as a child, but also its incredible sequel, T2, is the first R-rated movie I was allowed to see, at age 5. Read more on the timeless and timely classic below. I’ll also include some related links to the Terminator universe that we’ve shared here over the years!
A lot of people recognize Larry David these days. Back when Curb Your Enthusiasm debuted 25 years ago with a little special, nobody realized that the show would not only last as long as it did, but even outliving 
Veep began as a charming comedy series about the ins and outs of being the Vice President of the US. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer turned out to be a lot more than just a foil for the President and her journey lasted 7 years, and all the way to the best seat in the Oval Office. Now, just in time for an election year, we get Veep: The Complete Series, collected on Blu-ray together for the first time! Read our archival reviews inside and find out my insights as well!
In 1994, The Crow was officially released following the shocking and tragic on-set shooting and death of Brandon Lee. Filming continued with doubles and the film was dedicated to Lee’s memory. The film became an iconic independent film that spawned some direct-to-video sequels and a soundtrack of Industrial Rock that pleased fans of the genre. This reboot of The Crow began its creative stages way back in 2008. I say that because we will revisit that tidbit later in our review. So read on for more about this new telling of The Crow and be on the lookout for more on the film and it’s 1994 counterpart too!
M. Night Shyamalan has attempted since his earlier films to create stories that we haven’t seen before.Even if the premise is like something we’ve seen, the film is almost always unique. This includes films that aren’t necessarily that great, and some really incredible films. Where does Trap lie in his filmography? How unique is the setup of a serial killer seeking escape in the middle of a huge concert? Find out now, and don’t forget to check out recent reviews for 
I was immediately intrigued about the premise of Blink Twice when the publicity for the film began. The movie offered a psychological thriller, something that has been missing from cinemas a lot of the time recently. Zoë Kravitz in her first film as director took an ambitious story and ran with it. Read more about the Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum led film and see if the film is worth a watch on Blu-ray!
After The Sixth Sense, I believe that Signs may be M. Night Shyamalan’s biggest success to date. The creepy aliens-on-earth story struck similar emotional chords at The Sixth Sense did and gave Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix some excellent moments of acting. Now the film is 22 years old, so I wonder – Does the film have the same impact that it did in 2002? Read more about Signs in the review and in case you missed it, check out our review of The Sixth Sense 
The first film released in VistaVision and a HUGE spectacle in 1954, White Christmas is undoubtedly a staple in many film fans’ holiday viewing queue. For me, White Christmas started as the movie my mother would show us to make us nod off on Christmas Eve and now is the one I can’t wait to watch as soon as Thanksgiving ends. Now celebrating 70 years, the film has made its way to 4K UHD thanks to Paramount Home Entertainment. Read more on my love of the film below as well as the excellent 4K presentation too!
By no means am I a video game afficionado. I can honestly say the last game I played was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on a PSII that I HAD to have. I had other games, but I only ever played this one. I wasn’t very good at the game and my attention span for gaming had never been the best. Despite my distaste for gaming, I still am easily aware of video games and Borderlands is a series of games that I know of. Don’t ask me anything about it though, but the title, I know for sure! All kidding aside, I was intrigued when Eli Roth’s film adaptation was announced. With a huge cast of recognizable talent and what seemed like a nice sized budget to make something big and fun for the spring, I was immediately ensconced when I saw the negative press and the abysmal box office returns. Read more about the film below and what happens to be a reference grade 4K Blu-ray!
