Promising Young Woman (Blu-ray Review)
Now nominated for many prestigious Academy Awards (including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing), Promising Young Woman has arrived on Blu-ray. The film has crafted lots of worthwhile praise as well as conversation in this strongly voiced film. This Blu-ray release has brought on the unfortunate conversation about crappy cover art, which I cannot argue with. The film garnered some really cool art and they went with a pretty garbage, generic image to represent this powerful film. Regardless, its getting a commentary and a couple quick featurettes to expand the experience on physical media. It arrived on March 16th and you can order it using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
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At the end of the month, Warner Archive Collection will debut the Val Lewton produced Boris Karloff horror classic Isle Of The Dead. This was almost released by Scream Factory not too long ago, but the release wound up abandoned with no real clear explanation. Perhaps restoration was too costly, or maybe Warner Bros wanted to do it on their own. Nonetheless, here it is finally. And its had a glorious 4K restoration done to it. There are even a couple of bonus features here as well. Many are excited about this release and they likely won’t be leaving or purchasing it with any disappointment. You can pre-order it now to lock yourself in for a copy when it arrives on March 30th. There is a paid Amazon Associates link below you can use, should you want to help out the site a tad.
Warner Archive Collection will be unveiling Edward Dmytryk film Crossfire to Blu-ray for the first time this month. Considered one of the peak film noir movies of the hey dey for the genre, it garnered itself five Academy Award nominations. All of which were in the major categories; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. They’ve also done a brand new 4K restoration for this release, coming from the original camera negative. A commentary and an archival featurette accompany the film on the disc. Crossfire will be coming out on March 16th. Pre-orders are up now and you can do such by clicking the pad Amazon Associates link following the review.
vAs big a Bruce Campbell fanatic as I was back in the 1990s, when Synapse Films announced they were releasing his starring film Running Time on Blu-ray for the first time, I had no idea what it was. Awareness wasn’t what it was back then, there was no social media and only a few news sites. Not like we are today with loaded marketing sites masquerading as “news” where we know about everything all time time. Big or small. Nonetheless, I was excited to check it out. Synapse has restored it in 2K and also put a new interview with Bruce Campbell on the disc. Its their first release in a while. It’ll be available on March 16th. But, you can pre-order it now if you so please. And one way to do so is by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows this review. You can also order it straight from Synapse Films by going to their site.
Well, look at that everyone, wishes have been granted and wrongs have been righted as Warner Archive Collection brings Harley Quinn: The Complete First And Second Seasons to Blu-ray! You’ll remember last year I reviewed the DVD for the show which airs in HD on HBO MAX (And formerly the DC Comics streaming service where it had began). And what a joy as Season 2 of the show continues the goodwill from the first season and escalates it to an even greater quality. Seriously, this show is hilarious and the second season even had a bit that was very Monty Python-esque. To which, I have to give it major props. This one is available already, as it came out on February 16th. You can order it from the paid Amazon link below, and it truly gets my recommend. I’ll definitely eat crow on this series, that when it was announced I shrugged. Consider me a big fan!
While we eagerly await the next batch of Rick and Morty episodes to be unleashed upon the world, we can always revisit them. Some of you do that OnDemand or by way of Hulu. But us cool kids revisit it on Blu-ray with all the bonus goodies and commentaries. Rick and Morty have had some terrific Blu-ray releases over its 4 seasons. And now, instead of buying them all separate or buying the Seasons 1-3 set and Season 4 together, you can buy all 4 seasons in one fell swoop with Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-4 set. No, nothing new in terms of extras or added presentation. But, you do get some new artwork, shelf space saved and sweet poster for you grandmother’s basement’s wall. This set will be available on March 2nd, but you can pre-order it now to have it for or around the day it releases. You can also used the paid Amazon Associate’s link following the review to do so. If you’re the kind, thoughtful type (Sorry about the grandmother’s basement joke. I’m sure she keeps it tidy for you).
Through a 5-film Blu-ray collection, Paramount is filling in some gaps in the John Hughes filmography on the format. Like Some Kind of Wonderful, 1988’s She’s Having A Baby is getting is time in the Blu-ray spotlight finally with this new set as well. Sadly, no new bonus materials have been done for this one, however, there’s a terrific interview that star Kevin Bacon did with John Hughes from around the time this film came out that is included here (Or ported over). She’s Having A Baby (I feel like this title needs to be super expressive when you say it) is is another blind spot in my John Hughes watching, so I’m happy to be tackling it on a good format for this review. You can own the film as part of the John Hughes 5-Movie Collection (Which also has Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Some Kind of Wonderful) when it arrives February 23rd. Its available for pre-order using the paid Amazon Associate’s link following the review.
Through a 5-film Blu-ray collection, Paramount is filling in some gaps in the John Hughes filmography on the format. One of those is the 1987 film Some Kind of Wonderful. Deemed as a response to Pretty In Pink, the film has not made the jump from DVD since it debuted in 2002 (And had a Special Edition in 2006). Conveniently enough, in this same set it is packaged with the Paramount Presents edition of Pretty In Pink that came out last year (A debut on Blu-ray itself). Luckily, thanks to that, they have a new bonus feature of Howard Deutch talking about the film. You can own the film as part of the John Hughes 5-Movie Collection (Which also has Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and She’s Having A Baby) when it arrives February 23rd. Its available for pre-order using the paid Amazon Associate’s link following the review. 
Neill Blomkamp really struck a chord with District 9. It was an interesting, funny and thought provoking take on current world and equality issues. Sometimes, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, the film evoked some savage reality even in a Sci-fi realm. Elysium followed in 2013. Not carrying over the humor, the District 9formula is once again used, but differently. Did Blomkamp bite off more than he could chew? Was branching off from Peter Jackson a help or a hindrance. I weigh in below on what could be yet another reference disc from Sony. Click the link at the end to order your copy, and if you feel so inclined, let me know what you think of the film!
Warner Archive Collection’s February lineup dug into a lot of very early classic Hollywood stuff, but one title stood out from the pack. 1990’s Pump Up The Volume was the most “recent” film from this month’s catalog to make its debut on Blu-ray. The Christian Slater pirate radio teen drama is a cult favorite and seems a little past due for release. Unfortunately, it doesn’t carry more than a trailer in terms of bonus materials, but having the film look and sound great finally, 22 years after it came out on DVD, is a fair compromise to have and keep from begging. Sure, it had a reissue on DVD a couple years ago, but this thing came out in 1999. Yes, it had a snap case. This arrives on Blu-ray February 23rd. And you can pre-order your copies now. You may use the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review if you so choose.
It surely sucks not being able to get to see movies I’m very excited about in the theater. Freaky is one of those films. Yes, it did have a theatrical release, but I’m not heading back to the theater anytime soon. Luckily this was a Blumhouse film and theatrically did well considering its budget. It likely did terrific on its VOD premiere, which is how I saw it back in December. Now, its arriving for even more consumption on Blu-ray, where I’m sure its going to be getting plenty of spins in this house. It has nice swath of short featurettes and a commentary from director Christopher Landon included as well as a digital code and the standard DVD version. The film arrives on Blu-ray February 9th. That gives you plenty of time to still pre-order it. You can do so by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing came out at just the right time. Released in 1989 with a new wave of social commentary on the injustices of racism in America, the groundbreaking classic breathed new life into an old, ever relevant topic. Now, 32 years later, the film still feels as fresh and timely in 2021 and is making its 4K Blu-ray review too! Find out my thoughts on this brilliant film below, and be sure to click the paid link at the end to get your copy!
Every so often, the Paramount Presents line does a double dip and improves the quality of a past classic. They started the line with two of them and recently did Trading Places. Now, for its 50th anniversary, they are putting out a new edition of 1971’s phenomenon Love Story starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal. Its a film that was quite well regarding and an awards darling during its time, but seems to have a reflection on it as being a bit plain despite how groundbreaking it was seen at the time. Perhaps this new release will bring a restored discussion on the film. Paramount has given the film a new 4K restoration as well as a couple new featurettes, one with Leonard Maltin and the other a TCM introduction from a time it was on television. It’ll release in time to have it for some Valentine’s Day movies watching (If you’re not like me and watching Valentine’s Day themed slashers all day) on February 9th. You can order yourself a copy from the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
