The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season (Blu-ray Review)
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.
Continue reading ‘The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season (Blu-ray 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!
For the past 4 years, Warner Bros has been gifting us one pristine restoration of a Stanley Kubrick film in the September/October frame. Staring with 2001: A Space Odyssey and movie through The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, we now arrive on 1971’s A Clockwork Orange. A film notable for making quite a statement, finding itself to be a controversial piece of cinema in response to its release, later becoming a staple of college dorm room posters and angsty teen imagery. With the pattern set of the 3 previous releases on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray, it was a foregone conclusion that A Clockwork Orange would be this year’s. That makes it look very much like Eyes Wide Shut will be for 2022. A Clockwork Orange is out now, having released on September 21st. You can order yourself a copy from the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
One of M. Night Shyamalan’s most beloved films, Unbreakable, turns twenty whole years old this year. A film that was quite a bit ahead of its time in bringing the comic book superhero into a more grounded nature, its interesting to see it in light of what came in the twenty years since release. To honor its age and legacy, Disney is giving the film a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release. No new extras or audio, but the film’s picture is getting the boost. You’ll also be able to complete the trilogy to have it join the 4K releases of Split and Glass. You’ll eventually be able to order the film on Amazon at some point, and I may update this review with a paid Amazon Associates link, but right now there is no active or visible listing. Unbreakable arrives on the format September 21st.
In what seems like an incredibly perfect match, Shout! Factory will be releasing new digitally remastered versions of the first four films from the wonderful stop-motion animation studio, LAIKA. Those films include Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings. In addition to the new restorations, every release will feature new bonus features while carrying over the old ones. Also, a booklet is included inside the packaging. For today’s review, we’ll be taking a look at their fourth feature Kubo and the Two Strings, which found LAIKA taking aim at crafting something out of the samurai lore. ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings are the second wave of these LAIKA Blu-rays arriving from Shout! Factory on September 14th. The other two films were released back in August. You can land yourself a copy of Kubo and the Two Strings by clicking the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review. 
The Fast and Furious “saga” has been the best and biggest film franchise that isn’t Marvel. Working in its own world and continuity, eliciting spinoffs now even. F9: The Fast Saga was delayed last year only to become the surefire big movie of the summer this year when it finally dropped. It brought back fan favorite Sung Kang from the auto garage afterlife and swapped Dwayne Johnson for John Cena in terms of former wrestler turned actor star quality. You’ll be able to add the film to your collection when it jumps onto the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format, which includes a Director’s Cut of the film and some terrific extras. You can pre-order using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review below to ensure yourself a fine copy of this disc when it arrives September 21st.
Perhaps because I’m a little older and not hip to everything, I had no idea about @zola until I returned to theaters after being fully vaccinated. Spiral: From The Book Of Saw was my first film back and it had a trailer attached to it that caught my attention and stuck in my brain plenty after. I’m pretty sure @zola didn’t play near me, but I really wanted to see it. So when a review copy was offered my way, I quickly snatched it up. The Twitter/Reddit thread turned motion picture was released on Blu-ray on September 14th. It includes a commentary as well as deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. The film can be yours to own by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Film collectors rejoice! The long thought “dead format” of home physical media continues to grow and expand into the 4K era. 1995’s The Shawshank Redemption has been on many a fan’s wish list for the format since coming out in 2016. Was Andy Dufresne’s story worth the wait for glorious 4K? Did Warner continue its streak of great looking 4K discs? Releasing today (9/14/2021) in standard and steelbook forms, find out more about the film and it’s new disc below, and click the paid link at the end if you haven’t gotten your copy already!
Despite everyone’s huffing and gruffing and sharing disappointment over lifeless Disney retreads of their animated classics in live action form, they keep making money. So, until that stops, they’ll keep turning them out in a rather seasonal and scheduled fashion. I have to wonder if they’ll ever make it to Home On The Range or The Emperor’s New Groove. Cruella became the latest, taking the Maleficent route in focusing on the villain. Strange to say, but every once in a while, these things are gonna click and strike well (The Jungle Book). Lucky enough, the Emma Stone led film was just that. Now it arrives on physical media form after a run in theaters and Disney+ (Both premiere and regular access) on September 21st. At the time of this review, now Amazon pre-order links are available, but check back if you’d like to order from and support Why So Blu.
