La La Land (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Who would have thought the innocent and just plain enjoyable La La Land from Damien Chazelle would have drawn up so much drama and controversy after being loved upon its launch. But that’s Oscar season for you. One minute you’re the favorite, and when you received all the (Well deserved) praise and award accolades to go with it, then its cool to turn the tables and bring the hate. It happens every year. Word to the wise: despite who wins an award, you can love BOTH La La Land and Moonlight. Nothing says you can’t. While it was my favorite film of 2017, I’m relieved La La Land lost the Best Picture award (Shortly after winning it) to Moonlight as I was tiring over all the crap it was getting, as that would have only brought on more. Chazelle just made a loving, charming and fun little film harkening to a that all of a sudden became some sort of evil film promoting racism and being incredibly misguided. If you missed this wonderful film, you’ll be able to check it out on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD April 25th. Continue reading ‘La La Land (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
It wasn’t until I completed my Christmas Eve review of Underworld on 4K Blu-ray (
Like it or not I’m going to start this 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review of Planet Earth II off by admitting I’m not generally a fan of documentaries. Unless the subject matter really interests me I tend to find them boring and rather uninteresting. I’m sorry. I’m just wired ignorantly like that. However, if you’re and A//V enthusiast like us all here there’s no denying the special place 
In celebration of the 4K Ultra HD release Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, the latest adventure and series starter in the wizarding world lived in by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Warner Bros is format jumping the original films in the series. They’ll all get that higher resolution with High Dynamic Range applied to them, to look sharper, prettier and newer. In my opinion, Warner Bros has been one of the more impressive studios when it comes to upgrading their catalog titles to 4K. One would think they are going to a lot of attention to one of their biggest franchises ever. They are releasing them in waves, with the four David Yates films (The back half of the series) being the first to come out. No date is set yet for the first four, but they’ll be here soon enough. This review will focus on the final chapter of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 from 2011. It, and the others will be available March 28th. 
In celebration of the 4K Ultra HD release Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, the latest adventure and series starter in the wizarding world lived in by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Warner Bros is format jumping the original films in the series. They’ll all get that higher resolution with High Dynamic Range applied to them, to look sharper, prettier and newer. In my opinion, Warner Bros has been one of the more impressive studios when it comes to upgrading their catalog titles to 4K. One would think they are going to a lot of attention to one of their biggest franchises ever. They are releasing them in waves, with the four David Yates films (The back half of the series) being the first to come out. No date is set yet for the first four, but they’ll be here soon enough. This review will focus on the sixth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from 2009. It, and the others will be available March 28th. 
Why Him? is ordinarily not the kind of film I would go see in the theaters. Had it not been for two key factors I don’t think I would have gone. First it had the very irresistible and hilarious trailers on its side. That Red-band one was insane. Although I went in hoping that all the funny parts were not included in said trailers. Second, there was the nod to “from the makers of I Love You Man.” I love that comedy flick! So as you can see right from the get go I was walking into Why Him? ahead in the count. Now is the moment of truth and also the chance to have fun with the title’s question mark. What did I think of Why Him? That is the question we are all pondering here, right? Why Him? 
Ahh…the Smurfs. That song; La la la-la la la, Sing a happy song. La la la-la la la, Smurf it all day long. La la la-la la la. Smurf along with me! La la la-la la la. Simple as can be. Next time you’re feeling blue just let a smile begin, Happy things will come to you..So smurf yourself a grin! La la la-la la la, Now you know the tune, You’ll be Smurfing soon! When I was a kid, I was singing along, but after this movie, maybe I’m more in tuned to what cartoon Gargamel said during that opening sequence in the animated (Well, 2D television cartoon animated) “Oooooo I hate Smurfs! I’ll get you, I’ll get all of you if it’s the last thing I ever do! hehehehe!” Oh yeah, we’re here reviewing the debut of the 2011 film on 4K UHD Blu-ray. The sequel to the film is already available on the format (One of the launch titles), but this one is jumping in on March 28th. 
In celebration of the 4K Ultra HD release Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, the latest adventure and series starter in the wizarding world lived in by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Warner Bros is format jumping the original films in the series. They’ll all get that higher resolution with High Dynamic Range applied to them, to look sharper, prettier and newer. In my opinion, Warner Bros has been one of the more impressive studios when it comes to upgrading their catalog titles to 4K. One would think they are going to a lot of attention to one of their biggest franchises ever. They are releasing them in waves, with the four David Yates films (The back half of the series) being the first to come out. No date is set yet for the first four, but they’ll be here soon enough. This review will focus on the first part of the finale of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 from 2010. It, and the others will be available March 28th. 
In celebration of the 4K Ultra HD release Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, the latest adventure and series starter in the wizarding world lived in by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Warner Bros is format jumping the original films in the series. They’ll all get that higher resolution with High Dynamic Range applied to them, to look sharper, prettier and newer. In my opinion, Warner Bros has been one of the more impressive studios when it comes to upgrading their catalog titles to 4K. One would think they are going to a lot of attention to one of their biggest franchises ever. They are releasing them in waves, with the four David Yates films (The back half of the series) being the first to come out. No date is set yet for the first four, but they’ll be here soon enough. This review will focus on the fifth film in the series (Also the longest of the novels), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix from 2007. It, and the others will be available March 28th. 
The wizarding world of Harry Potter led one of the most impressive runs in cinematic franchise history. Not only did all seven books in the series get adapted, but there were eight films. Aside from one major change due to a death, the films managed to keep its cast intact for the entire telling of J.K. Rowling’s story. Harry Potter started before brand IP became a major thing and it left us as it was becoming one. Being that its one of the most successful and popular cinematic IPs ever, it could only lay dormant for so long. What direction to go with it now that a major eight film story has taken place and the characters completed their important arcs? Well, the answer is backward. J.K. Rowling has returned to give us a new story based loosely off the adventures of a fictional author of a book in the wizarding world. And back in November, we began what is to be a five film journey on its own about events well before even Harry Potter’s parents were around. The magic was not gone, as Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them made almost a billion dollars worldwide. It now makes its way to 4K Ultra-HD and Blu-ray March 28th. 
Illumination Entertainment, the animation studio most known for those darn Minions. Actually, I enjoy the Despicable Me films, its just the one that focused on the little side characters was a giant waste of time (Though, I’m sure those seven and under probably loved it). While that’s the flagship, they’ve actually carved quite a remarkable track record in six short years. All but two of their films have made over a half a billion dollars worldwide. Which, one of those two was The Lorax which did exceedingly well at 348 million worldwide. They hit big in summer and winter in 2016, showing they are much more than the Minion house. The Secret Life of Pets almost made a billion dollars in the summer and the film we are reviewing here, Sing, made over half a billion running up against Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. They appear to be a major force to be reckoned with, holding their own in a world usually owned by Disney and Pixar. Sing proved to be quite popular, not just with audiences, but seemingly winning over critics as well. It comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 21st! 
In 2016, director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg teamed for a pair of action-oriented films base on real life big headline stories trying to display American heroism. The first was Deepwater Horizon, focusing on the 2010 oil spill and the other was Patriots Day that was about the bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon and hunt for the terrorists behind it. Patriots Day came out in a limited fashion in 2016 and was spread more wide in early January. Maybe it was too early for this one or just too much else to see, but despite good reviews, the film failed to connect with audiences and underperformed. Its now maybe hoping to find audience at home with its 4K UHD Blu-ray release, coming on March 21st. You can check it out early via streaming and digital, but physical is always the preferred method of delivery and you can ensure yourself a copy on release day by pre-ordering from the Amazon link provided below. 
Passengers is a film that I have a lot of history with personally speaking. The original script for Passengers was written by Jon Spaihts way back in 2007, and had been in development hell for years now. I mention this because not only have my own projects been in development hell, but this very script was my first read in a screenwriting class I took at Cleveland State University way back when. I remember this time period too because at one point the film was set to star Keanu Reeves and Emily Blunt. God this movie would have been fantastic with Emily as the leading female. Eventually in 2014 it it was announced that Sony had won the auction for the rights to the sci-fi flick and here we are. It’s 2017 and Passengers came out theatrically last year, but more importantly it’s finally here in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray! 
I’m a big fan of the spy/espionage subgenre of dramas, thrillers and action films. Whether it be James Bond, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Jason Bourne or Bridge of Spies, I’m down for some those deceitful antics. While 2015 was the year of the spy film (Or return, there were a lot), 2016 was of course rather light. It had me looking forward to this Marion Cotillard (love her) and Brad Pitt team up, Allied. I didn’t make it to the theater, and medicore reviews led me to feel I had no rush to get there. However, I’m still excited to check it out on the new 4K UHD Blu-ray that will be available February 28th. 
Ahhh, the treasure trolls. They’ve been around forever. Everyone grew up with one, knows what they are, sold a lot of items based on different colors of hair. Popular damn things. Are they still? Not sure. However, wow, it has taken a REALLY long time for them to get a movie off the ground, right? You would have thought this movie would have been attempted or come out in the 1990s, on the second wave of their big fad (Originally made in 1959, they became popular in the 1970s first). It could have been regular 2D hand drawn or a CG movie. But, nope. Here we are in 2017 (Well, the film was released last year so 2016) and its finally here. If it would have came out then, though, they wouldn’t have likely instantly hit gold with a big pop song for the movie. Yes, they’ve got Justin Timberlake who (when it comes to music) is just instant success. The film is available for purchase on 4K UHD Blu-ray and regular Blu-ray on February 7th. 
Bad Santa has been a Christmas tradition in my family since 2004. You see we don’t have any kids of my own and nor do I want any. We have three dogs and they are enough work, bills and responsibility. The best kind of kids in my opinion are other peoples’ kids, but I digress. My reason for telling you all of this is because of my next statement. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m some kind of horrible person or parent for that matter. Every year and every Christmas morning Bad Santa is on repeat in my household. It’s my own Christmas tradition and last year was no exception. The only odd thing about last year, well last Thanksgiving, was the fact that they came out with a sequel brilliantly called Bad Santa 2. Much to my surprise I did not get around to checking it out, mostly because of all the negative reviews. How’s that to sell you on reading the rest of this 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review? Ha!
Ang Lee is one of modern cinemas most celebrated and colorful directors when it comes to his filmography. He has constantly challenged himself, pushed boundaries and always seems ahead of the curve. Things he does that seems odd, taboo or weird now end up becoming somewhat a bit of normalcy later on. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is his latest foray down that road. And yes, there’s a movie here, a plot, actors and all the like, but its not been the buzz and discussion for the film at all. Lee has instilled the highest framerate ever used on a film; 120fps. The talk of this movie was all about that technological movement and nothing to do with the film. For its 4K UHD Blu-ray debut, the frame rate is being cut in half to 60fps; a home video landmark (Still a big deal considering, in some theaters The Hobbit films were 48fps). People will get a chance to see this for themselves when the film releases on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. 
Arrival is one of those films that when you first see the theatrical trailer for it just cries out to you. It screams that you must see me. Who knows. Maybe it’s the aliens in the film that called out to me. I don’t know but whatever it was I was smitten by the very first trailer I saw of it. I knew that as soon as I saw 
