The Protégé (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
While I didn’t know much about the film at all prior to seeing the trailer, the fact that a film like The Protégé was getting a big theatrical release excited me. An low key action thriller with a star that isn’t quite a household name (At one movie I saw the trailer with an audience member loudly blurted out “Who the hell is Maggie Q?”) feels like the type of “big new streaming movie of the week” for the like of a Netflix, Amazon or Hulu. Alas, the film made nary a scratch during the pandemic era box office and is making its way to the home video market where hopefully more people will see it. Lionsgate is putting it out on a pretty new 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release that arrived back on October 19th. Order it using the paid Amazon Associates link below.
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It has been rather nice to see M. Night Shyamalan come back into the fold and shake the stigma of him being a has-been filmmaker. Having some well reviewed hits will tend to do that. Moving on from his Unbreakable series, he now sets sights for where his career can now go. First stop is Old, about a magic beach that rapidly ages people. The film was a rather solid hit at the box office this past summer. This high concept horror tale arrived on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray back on October 19th. It comes with an Atmos track and a nice collection of featurettes and deleted scenes. You can order yourself a copy of the film by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review. It also helps out the site.
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.
I’m probably not at all alone in this, but I was quite surprised by Escape Room a few years back. A film based on a real life recreation that feels like the film series Saw had inspired was an odd sort of “coming full circle” bit of parody. However, the movie itself provided a lot of B-movie type fun and was an enjoyable fare. So when Escape Room: Tournament of Champions was announced, I said “Bring it on”. Especially with that ridiculous title AND that the trailer featured an equally silly title drop line in it. This next chapter in the series will be coming to Blu-ray on October 5th and features two cuts of the film. There will be a nice little array of bonus features to plop on to the disc as well. If you see yourself a champion of tournaments, and escaping rooms enthusiast, perhaps you’ll pre-order a copy of the film from the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of this review. Its not too hard to escape once you click.
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 my first crushes in my life from my own memory was that of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. As a child in the 80s, she hosted spooky movies on TV and was a spokesperson for many a beer or other kind of television commercial. Cassandra Peterson in character was the poisoned apple of my young little eye. During he pop culture apex she was given her own starring film. Oddly enough it wouldn’t be for another 13 years that she’d see her second. Elvira’s Haunted Hills. While having a couple screenings, it wound up a direct to video release. Thankfully, the folks at Scream Factory see it fit to celebrate this cult item with a brand new collector’s edition of it featuring a 4K restoration and some new bonus features. The Blu-ray lands on shelves (likely virtual shelves) on October 5th, which gives you plenty of time to order it from the paid Amazon Associates link below to have in time and watch during your spooky season cinema sessions!
The Flash resumed business as usual on the CW this past year, albeit with a later start than normal. But, that was the case for all of their shows as the pandemic caused them to halt and abruptly end their previous seasons and new Covid-conscience shooting methods took a bit more time to get things going. The Scarlet Speedster has long remained the most popular character and show since its debut as the first spinoff of Arrow and now will continue to an eighth season. Where it’s predecessor once close out on an eighth season, The Flash appears like it may continue on. Perhaps the pandemic has extended its life beyond plans. But before that season begins, you can catch up by watching the Seventh Season on Blu-ray when it arrives on October 12th. It features some deleted scenes, gag reel and featurettes. You can own it and add to your collection by using the paid Amazon Associates pre-order link that follows after the review.
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.
Directed by Hal Ashby and written by Colin Higgins, the critically acclaimed cult classic HAROLD AND MAUDE arrives on Blu-ray as part of the Paramount Presents line December 7, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Originally released on December 20, 1971, HAROLD AND MAUDE celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and has been beautifully restored and remastered for this Limited-Edition release. For the restoration, the original negative was scanned in 4K and careful color correction and cleanup were undertaken to pay homage to director of photography John Alonzo’s memorable work and honor the look of the film. In addition, the incredible soundtrack was completely remixed using recently discovered tracks to add clarity and depth.
The Marx Bros are one of cinema’s greatest comedic groups of all time. In fact, their work comes so early in the history of the medium that they very much are pioneers of comedy. In an important way, they were sort of a bridge between silent films and talkies. Universal released a nice set years ago on Blu-ray, but that was only roughly have of the catalog. The other half remained in a set over at Warner Bros. With the September 28th release of A Night At The Opera, Warner Bros begins the march through that set. It includes all the bonus materials that were previously released on the DVD disc. One can hope this becomes an almost monthly endeavor like the Michael Curtiz films or at least at the pace of the Thin Man series. You can order yourself a copy of the hilarious A Night At The Opera on Blu-ray by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
I’ll probably sound like a very broken record here, but one of my favorite things to look out for in the Warner Archive monthly set of catalog releases is a new one from the filmography of Michael Curtiz. The director has a ton of movies to his name, so there is a lot still out there (Including Captain Blood, dangit!). With almost a once a month spot for him in the schedule, September has landed on Santa Fe Trail. This one is another of his collaborations with actor superstar of the time, Errol Flynn. Also appearing in the film is former President of the United States Ronald Reagan. You be able to take a beautiful, new high definition look at the film when you order it. Santa Fe Trail was released on September 14th. You can use the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review if you’d like to do so and help out the site.
The 1970s were not short on films serving as character studies of some of the more ruthless individuals. The anti-heroes as we like to call them. 1978 saw Dustin Hoffman playing an ex-con freshly released from prison who just couldn’t keep away from the people and the life in Straight Time. As heralded as the film was upon release (Roger Ebert’s top film of that year), it seems to have drifted far from the conversation in terms of classics and films to study from the cinematic yesteryear. Judging by it finally coming to Blu-ray in 2021, that basically confirms its importance in the studio catalog. No matter, Warner Archive Collection is finally putting out the film. It was released on Blu-ray on September 21sth. In addition to an upgrade in sound and picture quality, the disc also features a commentary from Dustin Hoffman and the director. You can order yourself a copy to own (You really should check this one out) from the paid Amazon Associates link below the review.
Batwoman just wrapped up its second season as it heads into a third one coming very soon. The second season was largely noted as Ruby Rose dropped a bombshell that she wouldn’t be returning. Not the first time a big star has left a show. But, in today’s superhero climate, how would that be handled. My thoughts on that make up the bulk of my review, but its important. The second season gets some extras in the form of a gag reel, deleted scenes and two featurettes for the Blu-ray release. It will be available on September 21st, which you can order yourself a copy by using the glorious paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
When Night of the Animated Dead was announced about a month ago, it rather took me by surprise. I had no idea this project existed, let alone was being worked on. George Romero’s legendary film has been remade a few times over the years to vary degrees of intrigue and success (I do like the Tom Savini directed HBO movie quite a bit). An animated take is an interesting spin if done right. The film boasts a casts of notables including horror queen Katharine Isabelle in a role as well as the likes of Josh Duhamel, Dule Hill and Jimmi Simpson. There’s a featurette on making it included in this release as well as a digital copy. Night of the Animated Dead will arrive on Blu-ray on October 5th, giving you plenty of time this Halloween season to add it to your roster of spooky movies to marathon through.
Paramount Presents continues to do good on bringing out films that haven’t been on Blu-ray before in such exciting and classy fashion. And they bounce around all different eras, genres and decades in their historic catalog. While not the first time on Blu-ray, the United States is getting treated to its first release of Jonathan Mostow’s Breakdown starring Kurt Russell. This rather loved cult film (though it was #1 opening weekend) arrives with a brand new 4K restoration of the film. There is also a nice list of new bonus features that include interviews (Jonathan Mostow, Kathleen Quinlan, Martha De Laurentis), an alternate opening and Kurt Russell on a commentary track. Its a very exciting package for this film to have, making the wait on it well worth it. The film arrived on Blu-ray on September 21st, and you may order it using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
One of the most demanded for Blu-ray horror films from the 1980s for many years has been 1982’s Alone in the Dark. Heck, it even made my Wishlist one year, and that was rather late as I’d been forgetting it since the first one I did 8 years ago. This early New Line Cinemas movie has been a cult favorite for many years, even receiving a special edition back in the DVD days. Luckily it has wound up in the caring hands at Scream Factory for its debut on the Blu-ray format. It features some new bonus material and the old stuff as well as new 2K transfer. Alone in the Dark was released back on September 14th, but there was a delay in the distribution facilities getting them out. This title wasn’t alone in that, as many have seen delays or late shipping in production. To grab yourself this wonderful horror collector’s item, use the paid Amazon Associates link below to secure yourself a copy!
