Avatar (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
2023 is the year we are supposed to see majority of the remainder for James Cameron’s catalog to be out on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Thanks to the help of his latest megabuster sequel, the original Avatar has made its way to the format. Sporting a new Dolby Atmos track and updated restoration, transfer, the disc hit the stores on June 20th. Its a 3-Disc set with 1 4K UHD disc and 2 accompanying Blu-rays. The second disc of said standard Blu-rays contains the extras. You’ll also get a digital code for redemption as well as a load of the original extras (and a couple new). This is an event film certainly worthy of most film collections, and you can make it yours with the ease of clicking the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
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One thing the studio folks seem to be learning here is…when you have a lower budgeted project…try popping it in the theaters to make some cash instead of being a streaming exclusive. Its two-fold. You make money in the theaters and then it becomes a more attracting thing to stream because of that. Warner learned that the right way with Evil Dead Rise, the fifth film in the Sam Raimi created series. Intended for Max, it wound up with quite a successful theatrical run. Now, its come to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray…without bonus features. Bummer, but hey, owning it on disc should be good enough for us collectors these days. It arrived on June 27th. You can order yourself a copy by clicking the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Warner is continuing to keep its promise on bringing a swath of classic catalog titles to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for the first time for its 100th anniversary. Continuing on in June is the release of National Lampoon’s Vacation starring Chevy Chase in time for its 40th anniversary. No new features are here, but you do get a brand new transfer and lossless audio. The disc was released to the wild on June 27th. You can order yourself a copy by clicking on the paid Amazon Associates link at the end of the review.
One of the most gigantic movies of the year, and our only billion dollar earner in 2023, is The Super Mario Bros. Movie. A film that was predestined for success, it reached out to many generations in terms of interest. It still is making money, but Universal was like…lets do home video already. And so, on June 13th, they popped it out with no real notice. I personally didn’t get the 4K press release until it was already on shelves. But, anywho, there are a couple featurettes here and an Atmos track to bring it to live. Order yourself a copy, if you please, by using the paid Amazon Associates link at the end of the review.
John Wick: Chapter 4 proved one of the biggest blasts of “I friggin’ love movies” you could get in the first quarter of 2023. This latest installment on the hitman underground franchise with Keanu Reeves in the lead opened to rave reviews and big box office. Its now come home to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for you to take in. Released on June 9th, it came with a Dolby Atmos track and a smattering of featurettes. You can order the film by on 4K by using the paid Amazon Associate link at the bottom of this review.
Movies that feature exorcism can either be the stuff of cinema legend (The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) or pure trash (Prey for the Devil). When this Russell Crowe shocker was released earlier in the spring, it did some decent business overseas and divided critics. Bringing The Pope’s Exorcist home on 6/13, you can now see for yourself where this newest entry in the exorcism subgenre fits. You’ll find a paid link at the end for you to snag yourself a copy!
Renfield was a project that sounded interesting and kept getting more and more interesting with casting, production details and then a pretty dynamite little trailer. And for the most part, the film absolutely delivered. Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver to enough people, being one of the more high profile unsuccessful films of 2023. Regardless, the Nicolas Cage plays Dracula flick has arrived on Blu-ray (June 6th) and you can either own the delightful little film you saw in the theater or check it out for the first time. It comes equipped with a 7.1 track and a pretty impressive host of extras for a film that bombed. If you’re interested in grabbing it now, don’t hesitate any further and order a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
One of the year’s more notable wide releases that didn’t really connect with anyone, yet had an intriguing premise and trailer was that of the Adam Driver-starring 65. This comes from the writing team behind the A Quiet Place movies. This one bombed pretty badly, but no is the time to safely take it in; the comfort of your own home. The film released on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on May 30th. 65 comes loaded with some featurettes, deleted material and a Dolby Atmos track. You can order yourself a copy of Adam Driver vs Dinos by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom of the page.
One the year’s big surprises was the big time appreciation for Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. While people debate on the how good or worthy House of The Dragon and The Rings Of Power are on television, the original geek fantasy property took to the big screen for a well rounded, singular tale that aimed at a full enjoyment in one sitting. And now, you can own one of the year’s most like films on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. It comes with plenty of featurettes and an Atmos track. It was released on May 30th and you can order yourself a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom of this page. Scroll…or…roll your mouse to find it.
A personal favorite comic book superhero film of mine from the last 15 years is that of David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! It hit a lot of sweet spots for me and was an all around delightful affair. With that movie doing some lighter business, I was grateful we got a sequel. It took some time to get here, but Shazam! Fury of the Gods released this past March to some disappointing numbers. But, as I said, I was happy to have just one more adventure with these heroes. Debuting on Max and 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on May 23rd, the disc is loaded with bonus features, including a half hour of deleted material and a commentary from Sandberg. You can order yourself a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
One of the better ongoing franchise IPs for the last 8 years has been the resurgence of Rocky via Creed, which launched in 2016 with Ryan Coogler’s instant classic that garnered Sylvester Stallone his second acting Oscar nomination for the character of Rocky Balboa and continued the rise of Michael B. Jordan as a name above marquee star. The third film in the series, Creed III, saw the directorial debut of Michael B. Jordan. It was a big hit this past March, which was loaded with quality new releases in various franchises. The 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release, complete with two featurettes and deleted scenes, arrived on May 23rd. You can order yourself a copy of it by clicking on the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Scream Factory continues its upgrades of previous Collector’s Edition titles with Wes Craven’s The People Under The Stairs. Here’s hoping maybe some more Craven is coming somewhere down the pipeline. This updated disc will feature a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Extra from the previous edition are ported over as well as the interviews featured on the 2013 Arrow Video Blu-ray of the film. You can pre-order the release, which comes out at the very end of the month on May 30th, by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the end of the review.
An essential piece of the multimedia lore of Superman has been the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940s. They’ve been on Blu-ray before, via a more rough and not high quality. The Superman film box set included them, but they were rough SD ports from the DVD set of those film. Warner Bros, in coordination with the 4K Superman set coming out this month, is putting a restored/remastered standalone release of them out on May 16th. Popping on a new featurette, will this be a definitive version of these or will people still wish better could happen. Well, read the review and discover for yourself. And if you feel the need to dive in, go ahead and pre-order a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
One of the most anticipated sets for most home video collectors when a format changes is that of the Christopher Reeve-led Superman films that ran for a decade. Surprisingly still the pinnacle Superman on film to this day, the whole series will be arriving on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on May 9th. The original film had been released prior, but now we have the other 3, including the 2006 Richard Donner cut of the second one. This is a rather port the extras and update the video and audio release, but so much has been said and done with this, that’s just fine by me. My one wish would be an extended cut of Superman IV, but I know I’m in a short order of folks who would pay good money for that. You can order yourself a copy of Superman: 5-Film Collection (1978-1987) by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Its nice that M. Night Shyamalan has found some footing again in being a solid filmmakers. While he’s not getting a hit every time out, the output is rather rock solid and of legit public interest. There was a a time when his name popping up in a trailer would yield audible groans from an audience. But since The Visit, he’s been a pretty dependable genre filmmaker. This time, he’s here with the apocalyptic drama Knock At The Cabin. The film was a mild success this past February and wound up hitting Peacock early. Now you’ll be able to own a pristine 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray copy of it, complete with Atmos sound and some fun featurettes. The release date is May 9th, and you can pre-order yourself a copy from the paid Amazon Associates link below.
Kicking off Marvel’s “Phase 5” of its cinematic universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be arriving on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on May 16th. Already available digitally and on Disney+, the film will be able to actually own and in its best possible presentation that day to go along with some nifty extras and Atmos sound. This piece of the puzzle underwhelmed from any number of perspectives and brought forth some interesting conversations regarding the state of the MCU as well as the treatment of digital artists by juggernaut studio. For those of you keeping up with the home video releases, you can pre-order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review to hopefully have at your doorstep at or in close proximity to the release date.
Shout! Factory has really been coming in hot with their set releases of classic Hong Kong action films of the 70s and 80s. Touting a few Jackie Chan collections and a Sonny Chiba one, their next set features the early work of Donnie Yen. The Tiger Cage Collection features three films more known as cult classics of their “heroic bloodshed” era, sitting in the shadows of the John Woo/Chow Yun Fat epics. Armed with brand new interviews, commentaries and other goodies, this three disc set will be available on May 9th. You can pre-order yourself a copy now using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review at the bottom of the page.
