Dune (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Cleaning house with Why So Blu’s 2021 Top Ten lists, Dune might just be the one film we all strongly agreed on here at the site. And we are not alone in our love for one of the most impressive spectacles of the theater-going experience in the last year. Spoiling my review ahead, it absolutely winds up translating here to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray which is another bit of Denis Villeneuve’s impressive talents, whether it be his preference to how people view the film or not (Which, I argue most of these “MUST BE SEEN IN THE THEATER TYPES” strictly are meaning for your first time and if that’s the best available offering). You can now own the film on the current best way to view it, 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray, having released on January 11th. It comes with a quaking Atmos tracks and some solid extras to fill out the experience. If you so please and haven’t done so yet, you can order Dune using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
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For a few years now, Scream Factory has become the premiere spot for cranking out the Hammer Horror catalog onto Blu-ay. Long releasing at miniscule efforts, since they’ve stepped in, both the quantity and quality of what is coming from the history of one of horror’s most legendary studios has been a relief and a joy to collect. Its even inspired other smaller distributors and studios to up their game, seeing as (duh) its a brand and catalog collector’s are wanting. Though much prior to this, and during their first year of existence, The Vampire Lovers (correct me if I’m wrong) was the first Hammer title put out by the distributor. They are now revisiting it with not only brand new featurettes and a commentary, but a 4K scan of the original negative to boot. Having done Lust for a Vampire in a Collector’s Edition recently, this now has 2/3 of the Karnstein trilogy under the Scream Factory banner. This title released on December 21st and you can order it using the paid Amazon Associates link below. 
While the tentpoles and franchises are our given multimedia events of every filmgoing year, Wes Anderson is certainly one for the indies or cinephile market. For myself, he’s a clear my schedule and get to his latest film immediately kind of director. And in 2021, it felt like I was loaded with directors fitting that bill. The French Dispatch was a film delayed from last year, though proved well worth the wait. It came out in the very fabled and totally loaded month of October and seemed to not do his typically gangbusters per theater numbers. Perhaps his is of the audience not quite comfortable returning to the big screens yet. Nonetheless, its now on home video to check out as the Blu-ray was released on December 28th. Unfortunately there is jack squat in terms of bonus features, though the movie IS strong enough to warrant purchase on its own. You can order yourself a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link below.
The Wolf of Wall Street for me needs no introduction.
This year has been a very interesting one for the film world. Some movies were sent straight into the home. Some had hybrid releases. Some came and went without so much as a peep. Copshop is one of the latter variety. The film came and went with little to no fanfare from its distributor Universal and even makes its debut on Blu-ray quietly tomorrow (12/7/21) with not much going for it publicity wise. I wonder if the filmmakers knew something we didn’t or if they were hoping audiences would find a diamond in the rough. Read on for my thoughts below and be sure to click the paid link at the bottom to get yourself a copy of Copshop.
Rolling on through their catalog and still putting out 4K physical media, I’m grateful Disney is still doing it and has also landed on 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Robert Zemeckis film not only was a hybrid of animation and live action, but also the perfect mesh of youth and adult enjoyment. The film comes to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray with an upgrade in the picture department and a new Atmos track to hear it by. Unfortunately there are no new extras to add this time around, but the former Blu-ray is included for those. This arrives on the format on December 7th. At some point, the Amazon ordering link will reappear, and then I’ll post the paid Amazon Associates link if you so choose to order from this site. But until then, there are other places you can secure yourself a pre-order.
October was quite a crowded month in terms of big new theatrical releases. When that happens, of course some thing or things get left by the wayside and aren’t the prime choice of movie goers. One of the biggies that happened to was Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. There’s been a lot of huffing and puffing about Ridley Scott’s hypothesizing as to why it didn’t pan out, but that’s beside the point. The film is excellent and you should certainly check it out whenever you have the time, wherever you can find it to watch (Hopefully not on your phone though, but if that’s your thing, so be it). Next to theatrical, its coming the best way for home possible, as a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release with an Atmos track. There is one featurette with it, but its over 30 minutes long, so that’s at least a nice conceit. The Last Duel arrives on the format online and in stores on December 14th. You can pre-order yourself a copy of it by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review below.
One of cinema’s greatest and most true blue, time honored cult classics is turning 50 years young this year, which is right smack dab in the middle of the age gap between our two leads. That fil is Hal Ashby’s dark romantic comedy Harold and Maude. Paramount is commemorating the milestone by adding it to the Paramount Presents line. The film is receiving a new 4K make-over from the original negative as well as a new 5.1 mix from newly discovered materials. Yusuf / Cat Stevens has sat down for a brand new interview and you get a commentary with Cameron Crowe and the writer of Ed Wood as bonus features. This new disc will arrive on December 7th, and you can order yourself a copy now by using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
Its rather nice and refreshing to have Rick and Morty back in regular rotation on Adult Swim. It feels almost too good to be true. The fifth season of the show just concluded its terrific run and we’ll be heading into a sixth season in the next year. Warner Bros and Adult Swim are putting it out onto Blu-ray, which will also come with a collectible steelbook packaging. The release comes with a nice array of short featurettes and a digital code for every episode of the season. You’ll be able to pick up the complete season on Blu-ray when it arrives in stores, both online and physical on December 7th. If you’d like to order one, you can use the paid Amazon Associates link that follows this review.
James Wan is one of our best mainstream working directors today. No matter what he’s working on, the minute it comes out you really need to see it. His craft and joy of movie making is infectious through every one of his projects. Personally, for me, I love the fact that he and frequent collaborator tend to make low budget movies made for ten bucks look like they were made for 100 million. Wan’s latest effort is a “one for me” film in that of Malignant, squeezing between Aquaman features. The film sadly didn’t fare so well at the box office and had a simultaneous release on HBO Max. Unfortunately, at this time, we aren’t getting a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release and simply a standard Blu-ray with a sole 15 minute featurette. If the film continues to find a following, perhaps we can get a deluxe release by someone somewhere down the line. For now, you can pick it up on physical media on standard Blu-ray and you can do so by using the paid Amazon Associates link following this review.
The Warner Archive Collection continued journey through the Michael Curtiz catalog ends the year on the longtime heralded Angels With Dirty Faces. This is a notable film in the canon of James Cagney. Of this release, Warner Archive Collection states “It’s back and looking better than ever! The acclaimed Warner Bros. gangster classic which paired off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O’Brien for the sixth time in this timeless and unforgettable film. Cagney’s Rocky Sullivan is a charismatic ghetto tough whose underworld rise makes him a hero to a gang of slum punks. O’Brien is Father Connolly, the boyhood chum-turned-priest who vows to end Rocky’s influence. Other top talents join them including Humphrey Bogart as a scheming lawyer, Ann Sheridan (in her first major leading-lady role) as Rocky’s hard-edged girlfriend and the Dead End Kids as worshipful street urchins, all ably directed by the great Michael Curtiz (Casablanca). The 1938 New York Film Critics Best Actor Award came Cagney’s way, as well as one of the film’s three Oscar® nominations. Watch the film’s shocking finale and you’ll know why.” You can order this loaded release by using the paid Amazon Associate link at the bottom of the page.
One of the bread and butter best things Warner Archive Collection does is turn out beautiful restorations of old Technicolor produced films of Hollywood yesteryear. On December 14th, they’ll be stunning us with a brand new 4K restoration of the 1952 box office smash Ivanhoe, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Fontaine. Of Ivanhoe, “M-G-M spared no expense and brought their top box-office talent to film this opulent Technicolor® epic to England to film this box-office smash which starred not one, but two Taylors. Related only as studio royalty, long-time leading man Robert Taylor played opposite the incomparable Elizabeth Taylor in this action-packed adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s legendary novel.” The film comes with an Oscar winning Tom and Jerry cartoon as a bonus feature in addition to the trailer (All of which is in HD). You can order yourself a copy of Ivanhoe by utilizing the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom of the page.
Paramount continues to lovingly and impressively dig into their back catalog, improving upon previous releases and finally getting around to some titles missing from the Blu-ray format. On November 30th, they are doing both ends of the spectrum with a pair of Warren Beatty films; 1978’s Heaven Can Wait and 1981’s epic Reds. Both of them having brand new 4K transfers. Reds was Beatty’s big sweeping epic from 1981. Its the one that landed him is Academy Award for Best Director. While nominated for a pretty outstanding 12 Academy Awards, it managed to go home with three. It comes with the bonus features from the 25th anniversary edition as well as the new transfer approved by Vittorio Storraro. You can order yourself a copy for a heck of deal by using the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the page following the review.
