A Tale Of Two Cities (Blu-ray Review)
A Tale of Two Cities is one of those great classic novels that has been adapted by film and television almost as long as they’ve been around. One of the earliest adaptations is the 1935 version from legendary producer David O. Selznick. I believe its the first “talkie” production of the film. Warner Archive Collection has chosen it to be one of their titles for their February slate. They’ve been going very classic in the past few months and A Tale of Two Cities more than fits the bill. The Blu-ray will come with a full audio drama/radio play adaptation as well as some classic MGM cartoons and a PSA video about 3-D. The film will make its debut on February 9th. You can pre-order the film using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
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Paramount Presents continues to dig into the studio’s history from all eras and fill in the missing gaps of their Blu-ray catalog. Elizabethtown, Cameron Crowe’s 2005 effort, is a surprising film to be lacking. It came out the year before Blu-ray/HD-DVD launched, which feels like it would have made the film a candidate for an upgrade. Being a recent romantic dramedy to showcase the new format seemed like a good spot for Elizabethtown. But alas, here we are 16 years later and the film is finally making its debut on Blu-ray, as HD-DVD failed to catch on and we now have a new 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format that is roughly 5 years old. Crazy to think about. Just me? Well, Paramount Presents has given the film a 4K restoration as well as a new interview with Cameron Crowe for its debut onto Blu-ray. It arrives just in time for Valentine’s Day, hitting (probably virtual) shelves on February 9th! You can pre-order using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
Fatman came to homes quick as a flash just in time for the holidays. Reading about the movie was enough for me to think the premise was sort of bat$h** crazy. Seeing it is a whole ‘nother animal. If you have your tongue placed firmly in cheek though, you may be pleasantly surprised. Check out more about this “new holiday classic” below and be sure to click the paid link at the end to get your copy! I know I’m a day late (weeks, really) but hopefully my thoughts aren’t a dollar short…
Truth be told, I have never seen a Sharknado film in its entirety, though I have seen my fair share of campy movies. There never seems to be a shortage of the style which can be a double-edged sword. Some are just bad they are funny and some are just so bad that they’re, well, bad. The first low-budget campy title of 2021 is none other than Sky Sharks, directed by Marc Fehse (The Power of Soul). Fehse and crew take viewers on a 106-minute romp that combines sci-fi with humor, action and gore…plenty of gore. A film that is definitely not for the squeamish at heart, or the prude at heart for that matter, Sky Sharks deliberately delivers as an in-your-face production.
Batman is back again in the DCAU with Batman: Soul of the Dragon. I believe this is two releases in a row for the caped crusader, following last year’s A Death In The Family choose your own adventure thing-a-m0-bob. Like Gotham By Gaslight before, Soul of the Dragon is an elseworld story changing things up to try out some different style and substance. And honestly, that’s where its at with me currently. I wish the live action films would get this crazy with Batman and stop taking him so dead seriously. But, don’t get me wrong, Matt Reeves doing Batman excites me a lot and I’m there the moment it arrives. Soul of the Dragon arrives on January 25th on both 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray and regular ‘ol Blu-ray. There’s a load of bonus features plopped onto this as well. You can pre-order from the paid Amazon Associates link below.
A film’s 65th anniversary is just as good as any to finally make its debut on Blu-ray. Such is the case of the Danny Kaye medieval musical comedy The Court Jester, which becomes the latest on the line of Paramount Presents titles, specializing in giving films their long awaited due on the format. While the film doesn’t tout any real sufficient supplemental material (Much of this production has long passed and was their any to begin with?), you should sleep on the restoration of the film, shot on the highly regarded VistaVision format of its time. There is a nice little fluff bit with Leonard Maltin giving a brief history on the film, so its not completely void of bonus features. The Court Jester arrives on Blu-ray January 25th. Pre-orders have been open, and you can use the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the review if you choose, so you are able to secure yourself a brand new copy for new release day (Or close to, as we know how deliveries are right now).
Everyone wants their franchise to have Blumhouse take the reigns these days. And I’m not of the opinion to argue against it as I love Jason Blum’s low budget business model. Cult classic teen horror film The Craft is the latest to get the Blumhouse treatment with The Craft: Legacy. Reaching us over the Halloween season via VOD, it was met with some excitement and those saying “Why mess!?!” To the latter, they didn’t touch anything about the original. You’ll be just fine. As a matter of fact, there’s a terrific Scream Factory Blu-ray of it. But this review is for the Blu-ray for the NEW one. Not a remake, but a sequel that kinda sorta acts as a fresh start. So, lets put it in the Lega-Sequel category of resurrecting IPs. This release is available now as it was released back on December 22nd (Review copies were delayed because…well, you know this). You can order a copy of the Blu-ray, which comes with a digital code, using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
Warner Bros has given us our first taste of the Middle Earth saga on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Luckily, they’ve decided to start us off with the video and audio. Apparently the extras like the bonus features on the discs as well as sheik packaging will be coming along later this year. Fair enough! I’m not the most gigantic fan of The Lord of the Rings, even though I consider the films great and absolutely admire what Peter Jackson has pulled off, so these early sets probably satisfy my appetite well enough. I reviewed the original trilogy last night and now its onto everybody’s favorite – The Hobbit Trilogy! The films currently are out of stock and went quickly right after they came out last month. However, it appears more are on the way and set to arrive on January 19th! So, if you missed out, you’ll want to get your order in now and not potentially miss another wave of the fantastic little journey. Paid Amazon Associates link available at the end of the review. 
Spell arrived as a VOD release just in time for Halloween. From the trailer the film appeared to be a bonkers reimagining of Misery with a twist – Hoodoo comes into play rather than an obsession. Does it live up to its name, casting a spell on viewers? Or is there simply no magic there at all. Find out more below and order yourself a copy with the “paid” Amazon link at the end!
Love and Monsters has had itself a bit of a production history. This film has a genesis dating back to 2012. And even after it was made it found itself shifting back and forth. At one point it was supposed to be releases last month. But with the pandemic and people trying out at home premieres for some movies, Love and Monsters founds its to VOD back in October of 2020. I’m not sure of its financial success from taking that avenue, but the film sure was a bit of a critical and audience darling. Paramount has even opted to put it out on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for its debut on physical media. It only has a 7.1 audio track and some fluffy bonus materials, but in all honesty, I’d say that’s a pretty decent package for a new movie that’s gone through what Love and Monsters has. Its available now, having been released on January 5th.
Chernobyl made its 4K UHD Blu-ray debut at the beginning of December. However, as Lethal Weapon character Martin Riggs would say “It’s the silly season” and with my day job and other commitments keeping me busy I wasn’t able to watch thee miniseries as quickly as I’d like. But no worry, as I have for you here my in depth look at Chernobyl. Be sure to check for the paid link below to order your copy
As railroads started bringing scores of passengers—most importantly, businessmen and families with money, natch—into the southwestern United States, it quickly became apparent to enterprising sorts that catering to those weary commuters would be good business. Fred Harvey did just that with his Harvey House Restaurants in the late 19th century, promising good food, a clean place to relax, and efficient yet polite and attractive servers, which sounded like heaven to anyone stuck on a train for lengthy periods. So named The Harvey Girls, these young women tweaked the adage of “Go west, young man” before taking it to heart. They were able to make an honest living on their own and stay in a safe, chaperoned home with other women, which was no small thing for unmarried ladies during the transition away from the “wild” part of the Wild West.
The werewolf sub-genre of horror is quite possibly one of the more frequently explored and quite possibly the one that tends to entice rather easily. Some can take it in a new direction, some can have impressive make-up work and some can be notable if just for a moment in the film. The Wolf of Snow Hollow brings another new and interesting take to the table as it balances as both a comedy and horror film. Its also notable for being one of the final performances and films from the late, great Robert Forster. Warner Bros is giving it a nice Blu-ray release after a little bit of a small theatrical and VOD run this past fall. It comes with some numerous, but fluffy and short bonus materials to make for a pretty nice overall package. The Wolf of Snow Hollow releases to the format on December 15th, and you can order yourself a copy using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
