Universal Classic Monsters: Icons Of Horror Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Finally, the OGs of cinematic horror, the Universal Classic Monsters, are seeing their time in the…moonlight…for the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. The original outings of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monsters, the Invisible Man and the Wolf Man arrived in the Icons Of Horror Collection on October 5th. Typically they’ve unleashed a bigger set for their debut, holding out on The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera and The Creature From the Black Lagoon this time out. Hopefully they are still to come. But, the good news is Spanish Dracula snuck its way on here AND its in 4K Ultra-HD. So this set may boast 4 movies, but in reality it is 5. All previous bonus features are carried over and found on the 4K discs. If you find this review skimpy, its because I’ve covered the monsters plenty before in my writings. If you’re wanting some more detailed stuff you can find it on Why So Blu or my old blog Naptown Nerd. You can order yourself a copy of this set using the paid Amazon Associates link below.
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One of the year’s finest films, The Green Knight is making its way on to the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format, to hopefully continue build audience on this nifty little Arthurian tale. Regardless of whether you liked it or didn’t, its certainly one of the most interesting films of 2021 to check out that got a wider, more mainstream release in the the theater. The Dev Patel film comes with an Atmos track and a nice handful of featurettes to round out the release. Lionsgate is putting out the A24 film as per usual, and you’ll be able to have it to own on October 12th. Preorder links are already live, and you are very welcome to use the paid Amazon Associates link that follows this review at the bottom of the page.
While I missed the boat on the original Space Jam, I understand the idea of trying to cash in on it again, generations later with LeBron James. Its a sort of cute and harmless little bit of nostalgia, kind of like the original was in just coming into existence. The film wound up finding itself some nice success, finishing in the top 10 global earners for the summer and had decent numbers stateside as well as its day and date streaming on HBO Max. Now the fourth quarter is here for the film’s release and its arriving on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. It’ll be in a combo pack with the Blu-ray version and have a digital code. Space Jam: A New Legacy will have 4 featurettes and deleted scenes to round out the bonus material. You can pre-order yourself a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review down below.
While we bask in the continued greatness and experience of Once Upon A Time …In Hollywood, there’s plenty of work to be done on the home video catalog for Quentin Tarantino. We don’t have much at all of it on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. We get a bit of a jump on it this month, as 2009’s Inglourious Basterds makes its way to the format. The film was considered somewhat of a big bounce back for Tarantino after Grindhouse failed to find more than a cult audience. It also introduced much of the world to the wonderful Christoph Waltz. It arrives in a combo pack and retains its bonus features while not adding anything new to the mix for this release. Nonetheless, getting a new 4K remaster of a Tarantino film from Sony is treat enough itself. You’ll be able to own it starting on October 12th and can pre-order yourself a copy by utilizing the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom of the page.
One of the summer 2021 box office season’s biggest surprises was the Ryan Reynolds led Free Guy. A film which many of us were very familiar with, seeing the trailer in theaters and online for a quite a long time. That was the case with plenty of movies, but Free Guy sort of stuck out. However, it wound up being a pretty nice hit and was an original film having people wanting to got to the theater to see it. That’s a great thing. The movie being pretty good had something to do with that as well. Now it arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray from Fox via Disney and you can own it with its Atmos track and assorted bonus features on October 12th.
For the past 4 years, Warner Bros has been gifting us one pristine restoration of a Stanley Kubrick film in the September/October frame. Staring with 2001: A Space Odyssey and movie through The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, we now arrive on 1971’s A Clockwork Orange. A film notable for making quite a statement, finding itself to be a controversial piece of cinema in response to its release, later becoming a staple of college dorm room posters and angsty teen imagery. With the pattern set of the 3 previous releases on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray, it was a foregone conclusion that A Clockwork Orange would be this year’s. That makes it look very much like Eyes Wide Shut will be for 2022. A Clockwork Orange is out now, having released on September 21st. You can order yourself a copy from the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
One of M. Night Shyamalan’s most beloved films, Unbreakable, turns twenty whole years old this year. A film that was quite a bit ahead of its time in bringing the comic book superhero into a more grounded nature, its interesting to see it in light of what came in the twenty years since release. To honor its age and legacy, Disney is giving the film a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release. No new extras or audio, but the film’s picture is getting the boost. You’ll also be able to complete the trilogy to have it join the 4K releases of Split and Glass. You’ll eventually be able to order the film on Amazon at some point, and I may update this review with a paid Amazon Associates link, but right now there is no active or visible listing. Unbreakable arrives on the format September 21st.
The Fast and Furious “saga” has been the best and biggest film franchise that isn’t Marvel. Working in its own world and continuity, eliciting spinoffs now even. F9: The Fast Saga was delayed last year only to become the surefire big movie of the summer this year when it finally dropped. It brought back fan favorite Sung Kang from the auto garage afterlife and swapped Dwayne Johnson for John Cena in terms of former wrestler turned actor star quality. You’ll be able to add the film to your collection when it jumps onto the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format, which includes a Director’s Cut of the film and some terrific extras. You can pre-order using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review below to ensure yourself a fine copy of this disc when it arrives September 21st.
Film collectors rejoice! The long thought “dead format” of home physical media continues to grow and expand into the 4K era. 1995’s The Shawshank Redemption has been on many a fan’s wish list for the format since coming out in 2016. Was Andy Dufresne’s story worth the wait for glorious 4K? Did Warner continue its streak of great looking 4K discs? Releasing today (9/14/2021) in standard and steelbook forms, find out more about the film and it’s new disc below, and click the paid link at the end if you haven’t gotten your copy already!
Despite everyone’s huffing and gruffing and sharing disappointment over lifeless Disney retreads of their animated classics in live action form, they keep making money. So, until that stops, they’ll keep turning them out in a rather seasonal and scheduled fashion. I have to wonder if they’ll ever make it to Home On The Range or The Emperor’s New Groove. Cruella became the latest, taking the Maleficent route in focusing on the villain. Strange to say, but every once in a while, these things are gonna click and strike well (The Jungle Book). Lucky enough, the Emma Stone led film was just that. Now it arrives on physical media form after a run in theaters and Disney+ (Both premiere and regular access) on September 21st. At the time of this review, now Amazon pre-order links are available, but check back if you’d like to order from and support Why So Blu.
After spending a little over the first half of the year delivering on the small screen, Marvel returned to theaters in July with the long awaited Black Widow. Long awaited by a delay of over a year, but also for seeing Scarlett Johansson’s super popular take on the character get her own solo film. The film’s bigger story and headlines have been heavy on its box office and legal proceedings with Scarlett Johansson on how it was delivered to audiences. This was a day and date premiere in theaters and Disney+. Aside from that, its coming home for real ownership on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on September 14th. A quick 2 months following the theatrical drop. There’s a light array of extras put on the disc along with an Atmos track for us home theater junkies. You can order yourself a copy of the film using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review (Link not currently available as of this posting).
It feels like we should’ve already been at this point by now; the Star Trek films on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. But alas, Paramount has waited for the 55th anniversary of the show’s television premiere to do so. And in waiting, it feels like they almost are here unprepared. This “Original 4-Movie Collection” is quite an odd way to come out of the gates. Its almost as if they didn’t finish restoration on The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country in time. And I suppose I applaud getting something out, but you knew this was coming. Anyway, minor quibble aside, I’m very excited to finally see these 4 films restored with a quality upgrade. This set is arriving this week (released on Tuesday, September 7th), the day before the anniversary of the airing of “The Man Trap”, which introduced us to Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu and Scotty. This set includes The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home. You can order it using the link below.
While I don’t agree with or appreciate the toxic way in which fanboys went about demanding the “Snyder Cut” of 2017’s Justice League, I’m happy that it existed, was greenlit to be finished and we were able to all check it out. Debuting as a crown jewel of HBO MAX, it was the talk of town for comic book movie nerddom for a bit. Even if it underwhelmed with its streaming numbers, it felt like a rewarding experience for those who wanted it and converted plenty who didn’t believe. A nice closing chapter on the lengthy saga of 4 years. We can now all move on. Already available outside the US (Likely because not every country has HBO MAX access), the film dubbed Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be available on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on September 7th. You can pre-order the set from the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review to have when it arrives just after Labor day.
One of the unfortunate box office disappointments this summer was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s big offering of the musical In The Heights. One of the best reviewed movies of the year (And judging from social media reaction, it was very well received), it failed to strike anything at the box office. In addition, the numbers of its simultaneous HBO MAX release were underwhelming as well. Perhaps with it available through digital purchase and rental as well as physical media, it can begin to build a cult audience and shine on for years to come. Said physical media release is getting a boffo 4K disc with an Atmos track and plenty of extras and watching options (Sing-Along) to enjoy the film by. You can pre-order the film using the paid Amazon Associates link below so you can have one when it releases on August 31st.
When stone cold home video classics hit milestones, you damn well know they are going to be taken advantage of with a brand new release. Thus, the second release of Labyrinth on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for its 35th anniversary. However, this isn’t just the same discs in fancy new clothes. They’ve also gone back and tweaked the transfer, added the stereo track in lossless form and supplied new bonus material in the form of deleted scenes and never before seen audition tapes. I have to say, they’ve put quite the marvelous package together which includes nifty packaging and a booklet. You can order the new edition from the paid Amazon Associates link below as it arrived back on August 17th.
Known as the second most fruitful and successful cinematic universe, The Conjuring series has done so quite effortlessly and as casual as ever. It hasn’t been until recently that it was really even being tagged as such a thing. The Warren-led films as the well to which to return, but Annabelle, The Nun and other upcoming spin offs are making some ground on their own. Entry number three, The Devil Made Me Do It has been one of the films this summer that has shared a day and date theatrical and streaming release to rather solid success as it was available for one month as a part of HBO MAX when it released to theaters. It now comes to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray, making it the first with the Warrens to be on the format but second in the series after The Nun (Of note: there was a planned but scrapped 4K release of the second Conjuring). This possession horror film will be hitting shelves on August 24th and you can pre-order it using the link below.
To think its been 35 years since, like other little boys my age, I felt the despair and sadness of losing a hand drawn hero in his own big movie. One of the more fascinating bits of children’s entertainment in film history has been The Transformers: The Movie. Its a case of toys driving decisions, wanting only to make the best you can but not fully understanding what you have and what your audience was looking for. And with time, there have been newer ways of taking in the appreciation of this relic of 1980s children’s entertainment. As an adult, I actually think I appreciate, enjoy and admire this film more than I even did in my youth. And Shout! Factory is giving me yet another new way to look back on it and enjoy once again. Their 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray edition, with a brand new transfer, audio and bonus features will be arriving August 3rd. Feel free to pre-order yourself a copy of it by using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
In the pandemic times, Disney’s handling of their Pixar titles has been rather interesting to say the least. First, Soul’s theatrical release was postponed and then became a Disney+ exclusive, available for free on Christmas Day and a period after. Now, Pixar’s follow up film, Luca also shared the fate of passing over a featured theatrical release and went straight to Disney+ as an exclusive. And these are not the “Premiere Access” titles either, where you pay a $29.99 premium to have it early on the app. Luckily for us physical media enthusiasts, they aren’t skimping out or forgetting us like they are the theaters. Luca, like Soul before it, is arriving on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray right in line with the theatrical to home video window. You’ll be able to purchase this sea monster takes to land tale when it arrives on August 3rd. There is a paid Amazon Associates ordering link below the review if this is a film you fancy adding to your collection.
