Archive for the 'Blu-ray Reviews' Category
June 24th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
They’re back — and this time, they’re adults (sort of). The American Reunion Blu-ray from 88 Films brings the original American Pie crew together again for one more chaotic weekend of nostalgia, regrets, and just enough heart to keep things from getting sticky. It’s been over a decade since the East Great Falls gang graduated, and this belated sequel aims to close the loop with a send-off that’s louder, raunchier, and – surprisingly — more grounded than expected. Fans can now own both the theatrical and unrated cuts in this Deluxe Collector’s Edition, which includes a 40-page photo book, a rigid slipcase, an O-ring slipcover with newly commissioned artwork, and a strong 1080p HD transfer backed by DTS-HD audio. Whether you grew up with this crew or are meeting them for the first time, this set goes big on presentation — and thankfully, it delivers.
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June 24th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
There was a time when American Pie 2 felt like the gold standard for early-2000s summer sequels: more raunch, more chaos, and more Stifler. Revisiting it now, the laughs don’t quite hit like they used to — but nostalgia has its own flavor, and this deluxe 4K UHD Blu-ray from 88 Films serves it up with whipped cream on top. While the film itself may land closer to “fond smirk” than full-blown hysterics, the presentation is anything but half-baked. This is a surprisingly sharp and generously loaded release that gives the gang’s second outing a glow-up worthy of the party house it wrecks. This American Pie 2 4K UHD Blu-ray from 88 Films is a throwback with a fresh coat of gloss. Continue reading ‘American Pie 2 (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 22nd, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Fury announced itself with a bang in theaters way back in 2014. The film is not just a war epic. The film discusses moral threads of war. It tests your own thoughts on what you would do fighting in a tank. The characters breathe life into the story and bring forth more than just another movie showing the senseless tragedies of war. Sony is revisiting the film now 7 years removed from its original UHD release, adding Dolby Vision and a collectible Steelbook to tempt Steelbook aficionados!
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June 21st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Black Torment Blu-ray from 88 Films revives a moody slice of British gothic mystery that plays its shadowy cards like a proper whodunnit. Released in 1964 and long overshadowed by Hammer’s louder horrors, this low-key thriller builds tension with creaky staircases, hushed servants, and one very dead former wife. Is it a ghost story? A setup? Or just a nobleman slowly losing his grip? The final reveal lands somewhere between classic drawing-room suspense and a twist worthy of The Prestige — which makes it all the more fun to rewatch. Continue reading ‘The Black Torment (Blu-ray Review)’
June 20th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Disney continues its trend of reviving classic properties with (mostly) live-action remakes. The latest attempt?
Snow White—and it’s a doozy. Between questionable casting choices, a few original songs, and CGI dwarves that belong in a horror film, you might be asking yourself:
Is this new journey worth taking? So where do I land? Am I a princess purist, or does this reimagining of
Snow White breathe new life into the 1937 classic?
Continue reading ‘Snow White (2025) (4K UHD Steelbook Review)’
June 20th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
When Bring It On burst into theaters in 2000, few expected a teen cheerleading comedy to become a pop culture touchstone. But 25 years later, it’s clear the film not only brought it, it stayed. Directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jessica Bendinger, Bring It On did more than showcase high-flying stunts and fierce rivalries—it tapped into larger conversations about race, privilege, and identity, all while keeping us entertained with whip-smart dialogue and cheer-worthy performances.
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June 20th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Witch from Nepal Blu-ray from 88 Films brings one of Hong Kong cinema’s strangest supernatural curios back into the spotlight. Part romance, part mystical fever dream, part action-fantasy, this 1986 oddity stars Chow Yun-fat in a role that swerves from spiritual awakening to bare-chested brawling. Shot partially on location in Nepal, it’s a visually interesting but narratively chaotic ride. Now cleaned up in HD and dressed in slick collector packaging, this release might catch the eye of genre collectors. But not every oddity is a hidden gem.
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June 20th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
There’s no mistaking it — Gate of Flesh Blu-ray is one of the grimiest, gutsiest cult releases 88 Films has ever put out. Originally released in Japan as Carmen 1945, this 1988 reimagining of postwar Tokyo dives deep into the neon-lit back alleys of desperation, sex work, and survival. Set in the ashes of defeat, where the only currency is flesh and power shifts with every glance, Gate of Flesh blends exploitation and melodrama with razor-sharp social critique. Now available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, this Blu-ray disc packs serious punch for collectors of transgressive cinema and fans of bold Japanese filmmaking. Continue reading ‘Gate of Flesh (Blu-ray Review)’
June 19th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
It seems like just yesterday that I was writing up the 45th anniversary edition of Jaws. Brandishing a beautiful new transfer and stacked with bonus features and Dolby Atmos, the release was a highlight of lockdown in 2020. Now, Jaws is 50. Read it again. Fifty. 5. 0. And we still love the film so much. Steven Spielberg captured lightning in a bottle and made magic. People are still trying to make a movie this infectious and likable. We’ve had some, yes, but nothing beats this, arguably the first summer blockbuster. Now at 50, Universal has re-released Jaws in 4K and added a new documentary, Jaws @50, here on its own separate Blu-ray! Read on about Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition!
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June 19th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
When I Know What You Did Last Summer hit theaters in October 1997, it arrived with a sharpened hook and a lot of baggage. Riding the coattails of Scream‘s slasher revival just a year earlier—and sharing the same screenwriter, Kevin Williamson—the film was poised to be a hit. And it was, commercially. But critically? Not so much. Now, nearly three decades later, it’s worth asking: Was the film unfairly dismissed at the time, or does it remain a glossy relic of the teen horror boom with more style than substance?
Continue reading ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer (4K UHD Steelbook Review)’
June 18th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
If Monster Squad had been filtered through a Central European fever dream, you might land somewhere near Freckled Max and the Spooks — a long-lost Gothic oddity from Slovak auteur Juraj Jakubisko. Restored in all its haunted fairytale glory, this 1987 horror-comedy finally arrives on Blu-ray thanks to Deaf Crocodile Films and Comeback Company. Set in the shadow of Frankenstein’s castle, it’s a melancholic monster mash filled with slapstick, sorrow, and strange charm. And now, for the first time in the U.S., you can finally step into Max’s weird, whimsical world — fully subtitled and lovingly remastered. Continue reading ‘Freckled Max and the Spooks (Blu-ray Review)’
June 17th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Welcome to a dream made of static and sculpture, where logic is left at the door and emotion drives every frame. The Cathedral of New Emotions arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Deaf Crocodile Films, who continue to champion the visually bold and narratively unconventional. Directed by Helmut Herbst and originally released in 2006, this experimental animated feature embraces the chaos and collage of the Dada art movement. It plays more like a manifesto than a narrative — part digital tapestry, part audiovisual riddle. Viewers are thrust into a world where architecture speaks, abstraction reigns, and coherence is optional. Whether that experience resonates or overwhelms will depend on your taste for cinematic anarchy, but one thing is certain: it’s unlike anything else on your shelf. Continue reading ‘The Cathedral of New Emotions (Blu-ray Review)’
June 17th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Sometimes there’s nothing more satisfying than a quick and pulpy thriller. Something that you can watch and wrap up in less than 100 minutes is preferable. If it goes beyond that it’s still moving at a pace that’s fast and loose. You are on the edge of your seat and hoping for the best for your protagonist. These are the films I crave a lot of the time as a movie fan. Drop joins the rank of “villain-on-the-phone” thrillers such as Cellular and Phonebooth this time using an app to create the tension. So does Drop drop the ball or make its way into the ranks of great modern thrillers?
Continue reading ‘Drop (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 13th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
It seems that 4K physical collectors have been salivating for classic James Bond films since the format’s infancy. Since 2016, there have been blogs, rumors and requests for 007 to make the big leap to 4K. We did receive the newest Bond films in the format in a box set and individually some years back, but nothing until the release of the Sean Connery 007 James Bond Collection, now available from Warner Bros. and Amazon/MGM Studios. Given a new 4K restoration makeover and some new audio mixes, this new set is sure to please die-hard fans of the iconic franchise and maybe even entice some newcomers to check out the origins of the incredible Bond, James Bond.
Continue reading ‘The Sean Connery 007 James Bond Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 13th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to marry someone who accidentally unlocks godlike cartoon powers, I Married a Strange Person! has you covered. This 1997 animated cult classic by Bill Plympton is finally on Blu-ray, and it’s just as weird, wild, and wonderfully warped as you remember. But how does it look and sound in HD? And what’s packed into the disc? Let’s dig into this off-the-wall release from Deaf Crocodile. Continue reading ‘I Married A Strange Person! (Blu-ray Review)’
June 5th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Deaf Crocodile’s Felidae 4K UHD Blu-ray brings new life to a film long banned in some countries, hard to find in others, and barely whispered about outside cult animation circles. A murder mystery soaked in blood, brains, and philosophical dread, this is adult animation that doesn’t pull punches. It’s stylish, savage, and smart enough to make you forget you’re watching cats. And with Deaf Crocodile’s new 4K restoration, it finally gets the claws-out revival it deserves.
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June 5th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
You’ve never seen post-apocalyptic animation quite like this. Originally released in 1985, Gwen and the Book of Sand is a surrealist fever dream — part Dune, part daydream — blending the stark desolation of a desert world with hand-painted beauty and philosophical weight. Beautifully restored in 4K with the director’s participation for La Traverse Films in France, this new HDR edition from Deaf Crocodile feels less like a reissue and more like an archaeological triumph. For fans of Moebius, René Laloux, or the tactile strangeness of La Planète Sauvage, this one’s a must-see. But even if you’ve never heard of Gwen before, this UHD Blu-ray might just leave you hypnotized. But even if you’ve never heard of Gwen before, this Gwen and the Book of Sand 4K UHD Blu-ray might just leave you hypnotized. Continue reading ‘Gwen and the Book of Sand (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 1st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Woman in the Yard is a restrained psychological thriller that unfolds with deliberate pacing and a focus on atmosphere. Set mostly within a single location, it centers on quiet tension and subtle character dynamics rather than overt twists or spectacle. This The Woman in the Yard Blu-ray review explores how the film’s quiet mood plays out over its runtime. Much of the impact depends on mood and interpretation, with long silences and measured performances shaping the overall experience. It’s the kind of story that lingers more in tone than in plot.
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