Archive for the 'Blu-ray Reviews' Category
May 9th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
The Prosecutor Blu-ray review looks at Donnie Yen’s latest genre-bender — a courtroom thriller that isn’t afraid to throw punches between the legal arguments. Released in 2024, this slick blend of legal drama and martial arts mayhem is part tense procedural, part action-packed throwdown. Donnie Yen directs and stars, bringing his usual intensity and precision to both the courtroom and the chaos. It’s a film that shifts gears often but never loses its grip on tension or style. Continue reading ‘The Prosecutor (Blu-ray Review)’
May 8th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Shōhei Imamura’s The Eel arrives on Blu-ray in a stellar special edition from Radiance Films, giving fans the definitive home video release of this Palme d’Or-winning gem. If you’ve never seen The Eel (1997), this is the perfect way to experience Imamura’s meditative and offbeat drama in its full context — complete with both the original theatrical cut and the extended director’s cut. The Eel Blu-ray is a must for collectors of Japanese cinema, especially those who appreciate the intersection of human strangeness, personal redemption, and the quietly surreal. Continue reading ‘The Eel (Blu-ray Review)’
May 8th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
This Cat Blu-ray review takes a look at one of the coolest crime thrillers to come out of 1980s Germany. Directed by Dominik Graf, this slick little heist film blends moody atmosphere, tight suspense, and sharp performances in a way that still feels fresh. Radiance Films gives The Cat a proper Blu-ray debut with a new HD restoration, English subtitles, and a nice batch of extras that dig into its legacy. If you’re into slow-burn tension, stylish criminals, and old-school analog grit, this one’s definitely worth checking out. Continue reading ‘The Cat (Blu-ray Review)’
May 7th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
The 80’s signified a death nell for the Western genre. People didn’t want to go and see action scenes of gunslingers and horseback chases. Nobody cared about the hard times of post-Civil War America and that historical time. As much a shame as it was, it happened. Now, in 2025, we have a luxury of revisiting some of those films we may have forgotten about. Pale Rider is one of a few Clint Eastwood films that flew under my radar but may be a fan favorite for some. This year, celebrating its 40th anniversary, Pale Rider is the 3rdrelease in Warner Bros.’ trio of Eastwood classics arriving on 4K UHD Blu-ray this spring. The film comes off the screen like a myth, and it’s a simple story that turns out to be quite excellent because of its simplicity.
Continue reading ‘Pale Rider (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
May 7th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
In this newly restored Mosfilm release, our Zerograd Blu-ray review unpacks Karen Shakhnazarov’s darkly comic vision of a city where logic goes to die.If you like your surrealism dry and your bureaucracy soaked in absurdity, Zerograd might just be your next cult obsession. Newly restored in 2K and released on Blu-ray by Deaf Crocodile, this 1988 film from director Karen Shakhnazarov plays like Kafka by way of Monty Python, with a splash of Agatha Christie and a hint of Brazil. The story follows Varakin, a mild-mannered engineer who arrives in a remote Soviet city where the logic is circular, the locals are eerily polite, and the cake might be made of your own face. Zerograd is part noir, part social satire, and all weird. Continue reading ‘Zerograd (Blu-ray Review)’
May 7th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
In this The Outcasts Blu-ray review, we look at Robert Wynne-Simmons’ long-lost 1982 folk horror gem about suspicion, magic, and madness in rural Ireland. Recently restored by the Irish Film Institute and brought to the U.S. for the first time by Deaf Crocodile, the film captures the essence of folk storytelling with an eerie poetic spirit. This release sheds new light on a forgotten chapter of Irish cinema and features a trove of extras that highlight Wynne-Simmons’ roots in atmospheric storytelling. With its first official U.S. release, The Outcasts Blu-ray finally brings this haunting Irish folk tale to a wider audience. Continue reading ‘The Outcasts (Blu-ray Review)’
May 6th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
When Clint Eastwood ventured into directing, he did so with a splash with Play Misty For Me in 1971. Following that thriller, Eastwood took turns in the director’s chair making small films like Breezy before his first western High Plains Drifter. When The Outlaw Josey Wales debuted in 1976, the film became a catapult into the stratosphere, reinvigorating the western genre and naming Clint Eastwood as a directing and acting force. Making his mark in both arenas as a filmmaker and acting auteur, Eastwood struck a chord with audiences enhancing his famous “Man with No Name” character by not only naming him, but adding some major depth to his character, even in deep shadows.
Continue reading ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
May 5th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
In this Gandhi Steelbook 4K UHD Blu-ray review, we explore Richard Attenborough’s 1982 historical epic in its most visually stunning form to date. This Sony Pictures release offers a gorgeous 4K remaster, a comprehensive suite of special features, and a chance to revisit — or discover for the first time — Ben Kingsley’s career-defining portrayal of the iconic civil rights leader. With Dolby Vision HDR and multiple audio formats including Atmos, this edition brings new life to the film’s sweeping scope and quiet power alike. The limited edition Steelbook packaging is the icing on the cake, making it as much a collector’s item as it is a cinematic milestone.
Continue reading ‘Gandhi (Steelbook 4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
May 5th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
In this The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians Blu-ray review, we dive into a wildly imaginative Czech cult film filled with baroque visuals, Monty Python-style absurdity, and old-school genre magic. Directed by Oldrich Lipský and adapted from a story by Jules Verne, this 1981 film finally gets the high-def restoration it deserves thanks to Deaf Crocodile. If you’re into gothic castles, bizarre gadgets, and theatrical Eastern European humor, you’re in for a treat.
Continue reading ‘The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (Blu-ray Review)’
May 4th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
In this Tamala 2010 Blu-ray review, we explore one of the strangest and most stylish cult anime releases to hit physical media. Part space punk satire, part surrealist fever dream, Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space delivers a genre-defying experience that’s equal parts cute and unsettling. This high-def release from Deaf Crocodile gives the film new life with a clean transfer, solid audio, and a surprisingly deep set of extras. Whether you’re a fan of experimental animation, dystopian sci-fi, or just want something that fries your brain in the best way, this Blu-ray is worth a closer look.
Continue reading ‘Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space (Blu-ray Review)’
May 1st, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Trapped Ashes is a twisted homage to classic horror anthologies like Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow, featuring four surreal and macabre tales directed by genre legends Joe Dante, Ken Russell, Monte Hellman, Sean Cunningham, and Oscar-winner John “Gaeta-Tron” Gaeta. When seven strangers — including John Saxon and Henry Gibson — become trapped in a haunted Hollywood studio house, they’re forced to reveal their darkest memories to survive. The stories include a cadaver-implant nightmare (The Girl With The Golden Breasts), a ghostly encounter in Japan (Jibaku), a seductive muse entangling young Kubrick (Stanley’s Girlfriend), and a grotesque womb-bound twin (My Twin the Worm). With striking visuals by FX legend Robert Skotak (Aliens, T2) and an eerie score by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell), the film is a visually rich, darkly surreal tribute to horror cinema. Trapped Ashes is now fully restored in 4K UHD Blu-ray! Continue reading ‘Trapped Ashes (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
April 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Show Aikawa is back as the superhero like no other in maverick director Takashi Miike (Audition, One Missed Call) and screenwriter Kankuro Kudo’s (Go, Ping Pong) subversive and darkly satirical sequel to their 2004 homage to the golden era of Japan’s tokusatsu TV shows. It’s 2025, and our hero Shinichi finds himself waking up minus memory, zebra stripes and zebra powers in an authoritarian dystopian future. Tokyo has been taken over by a sinister ultra right-wing governor named Kozo, who has reconstructed and rechristened the capital as Zebra City and mandated a twice-daily five-minute purge called Zebra Time in which all crime is legal and his Zebra Police readily pitch themselves into the resulting free-for-all. It’s a society dominated by screens, and the screens dominated by a sultry pop diva named Zebra Queen, who just happens to be Kozo’s daughter. Can Shinichi regain his Zebraman powers to thwart the Kozo and the Zebra Queen’s plans to export their dark vision across the world? Zebraman 2 is released on Blu-ray in the UK May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (Blu-ray Review)’
April 29th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Plane is scheduled for re-departure with a brand-new look, arriving April 29 on 4K UHD SteelBook + Blu-ray + Digital from Lionsgate. Gerard Butler and Mike Colter return for this nail-biting action-thriller, now packaged in an all-new SteelBook exclusively at Amazon. Plane will be available on 4K Ultra HD SteelBook April 29th for the suggested retail price of $34.99. Order Plane on 4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook now! Continue reading ‘Plane (4K UHD SteelBook Blu-ray Review)’
April 28th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
25 years ago, I was 13 years old and getting into my cinema exploration. I’d loved movies forever of course. Now, though, was my time to really get into my own types of films. I found myself really drawn to thrillers and mysteries. Things that challenged me always got to the front of my movie queue. When I saw the trailer for What Lies Beneath way back when, I was sold based on the star power of Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, and the creepy way the trailer toyed with my senses. Now, after what feels like a lifetime, What Lies Beneath lands on 4K UHD Blu-ray, and I’ve had quite an education on thrillers. So, how does the film stand up today? And how does Robert Zemeckis’ creep-fest look and sound in a new format?
Continue reading ‘What Lies Beneath (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
April 27th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
This spring is the spring of the Clint Eastwood 4K disc! Debuting April 29th is not one but three classic Eastwood films. I’m excited to share with you my reviews of them all, but not as excited as I am first and foremost to write about Dirty Harry. A film loosely based on the infamous Zodiac killer that terrorized the Bay Area in the 60’s, Eastwood’s Harry Callahan was someone who either made you cheer or repulsed you. For me, he was a bad man in the best of ways. Now, 54 years removed from this first outing, a 4K disc is finally arriving. Here, I’ll dive into my thoughts on the legendary character and film and of course go over how the new transfer and Atmos mix are too!
Continue reading ‘Dirty Harry (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
April 27th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Does anyone else ever feel like the time has been more fleeting than ever lately? It feels like just yesterday I was running into Walmart to purchase a copy of Lilo & Stitch on DVD for my mother. Then I get out of my own delusional head and realize that was way back in 2002. Now, here in real life, it’s 2025 and Lilo & Stitchis making its way back into cinemas for a live-action revival. Disney has been riding the wave, so to speak, and decided to re-release the original animated feature on 4K UHD Blu-ray, just in time for the new film’s theatrical release! So how does that gorgeous hand-drawn animation hold up in 4K you ask? Find out more and always remember: “Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind…”
Continue reading ‘Lilo & Stitch (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
April 23rd, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
An affectionate homage to the heyday of Japan’s tokusatsu superhero TV shows, directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins) and written by Kankuro Kudo (Go, Ping Pong), Zebraman stars the legendary Show Aikawa as Shinichi, a teacher facing a midlife crisis, as his family collapses around him. To escape from the bitter reality of his daily he existence, Shinichi takes to secretly dressing up as Zebraman, the eponymous hero of an obscure 1970s TV series from when he was a kid that was cancelled after just seven episodes. Meanwhile, as his life collapses around him, aliens are at large and readying themselves to take over planet Earth. Can Shinichi overcome his lack of confidence to channel his childhood fantasies into saving the world? Zebraman is released in the UK on Blu-ray May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Zebraman (Blu-ray Review)’
April 19th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
A dangerous criminal escapes captivity – but luckily crime-busting super-swordswoman Leng Rushuang (Shih Szu, Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires) is on his trail. However, she has doubts about his guilt, and she’s not going to stop fighting until she’s sure the right man is being punished. Co-starring Lo Lieh (Dragons Forever) and the unmistakable Dean Shek (Drunken Master), Lady of the Law is a choice cut from the golden age of Hong Kong swordplay. 88 Films are proud to present this slice-and-dice classic on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Lady of the Law (Blu-ray Review)’
