Archenemy (Blu-ray Review)
February 16th, 2021 by Gerard Iribe
Max Fist (Joe Manganiello) is a local drunk who claims to be a superhero from the planet Chromium. He tells anyone who will listen that he was pulled into a wormhole, falling through time and space, and dropped to earth without any of his powers. No one pays any attention to Max except a teenager named Hamster (Skylan Brooks) who can’t get enough of Max’s stories. When Hamster and his sister (Zolee Griggs) get in trouble with a vicious drug syndicate led by The Manager (Glenn Howerton), Max takes to the streets as a brutal vigilante hellbent on proving himself as the hero no one believes him to be. Archenemy is out on Blu-ray February 16, 2021! Continue reading ‘Archenemy (Blu-ray 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.
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.
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. 
