The Postcard Killings (Blu-ray Review)
May 26th, 2020 by Gerard Iribe
In The Postcard Killings, based on the James Patterson and Liza Marklund #1 New York Times bestselling novel, NY Detective Jacob Kanon’s (Jeffery Dean Morgan) world is destroyed when his daughter and son-in-law are brutally murdered in London. Unable to sit idly by and do nothing, Jacob travels to London get the answers he needs. As he learns of similar heinous murders happening across Europe – each preceded by a postcard sent to a local journalist – Jacob is in a race against time to stop the killings and find justice for his little girl. Continue reading ‘The Postcard Killings (Blu-ray Review)’
I’ve been a fan of Leigh Whannell (And James Wan) since the the original Saw put them on the map. Long have I admired how those can make five dollars look like 80 million dollars on the screen. The two, in both their respective directing careers have showcase such smaller film that have larger impacts and experiences. Heck, just the other day, Forbes’ Scott Mendelson pointed out with Aquaman that sure its an expensive movie, but he’s shocked it wasn’t even more expensive to an ungodly degree. Whannell isn’t quite to overstuffed budgeted blockbuster tentpoles yet, but he certainly is on track. His previous film, Upgrade, was my favorite film of 2018. So, it was with great excitement when not only did I hear he was directing a new Invisible Man feature, but that he was teaming with Blumhouse for it. That’s about as perfect a marriage as can be. And perfect it was. You’ll be able to check out this modern horror masterpiece in the finest 4K presentation when it arrives on May 26th! 
This spring has been representative of two things for me. One is that, for better or worse, being stuck in shelter-in-place has been helpful in some ways and hurtful in others. On a lighter note, two is that we have been blessed with so many fantastic catalog titles coming out to keep us happy at home. Jaws is one such release, coming out on 4K Blu-ray (finally) in celebration of its 45th anniversary. The movie is just as you remember it being – tense, well crafted, slyly funny, and iconic. The new edition will certainly make the film’s fans very happy! Without further ado, here’s all you need to know about the Jaws 45th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray!
As I’ve been doing more of recently, this article will be providing screen capture comparisons for a new edition of a title previously available on Blu-ray. For this article we’ll be looking at Escape From L.A. Paramount released a bare bones edition back in 2010 and on May 26, Scream Factory will be putting out a brand new Collector’s Edition of it. This new version boasts a new 4K transfer from the original camera negative. This piece will only be screenshot comparisons of the two. For a full review of the Collector’s Edition, you see what I had to say by 
Earlier this month, HBO premiered the documentary focused on legendary Hollywood icon Natalie Wood (Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind), whose story is one met with a tragic end. In a bit of a company aligning things together and timing them right, Warner Archive Collection is releasing Inside Daisy Clover, a film that gave Wood a real meaty, Oscar worthy role that was unfortunately maligned and unappreciated when it came out due to some dated politics of the era. However, it still nabbed Natalie Wood a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globes and the film itself had 3 Academy Award nominations (Including Ruth Gordon for Best Supporting Actress). In the years since, it had found some steam and appreciation on VHS and television airing for being a film that had a positive representation (For its time) for the gay community in that of Robert Redford’s character. You can check out the film, which became available on May 12, by using the Amazon Associates paid link after the review.
Warner Archive Collection continues to thrill and excite fans of class cinema and genre cinema throughout the year with beautiful restorations and affordable prices. For June, they are exciting both crowds at the same time with one single release in 1933’s The Mystery Of The Wax Museum. Another film from directing legend Michael Curtiz, it was previously available only in SD as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray release for the Vincent Price-starring House of Wax. Now, by itself it has been released with a brand new restoration (House Of Wax is getting a new release, too next month). It also features some brand new bonus material that includes an interview with the iconic Fay Wray’s daughter. Once thought to a be a film lost forever, it now has been brought up to wonderfully restored standards by by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and can delight collector’s of every corner. The film was released on May 12, and is available now using the paid Amazon Associate’s link following the review.
On January 30th of this year, Michael Schur’s The Good Place came to its natural conclusion. Schur may not be a household name, but the guy is responsible as a writer or producer for unarguably some of the best television comedy of the last decade. While his name might not ring a bell, perhaps The Office, Master of None, Parks and Recreation or Brooklyn Nine-Nine ring a bell? And if you’ve not indulged in those, well you may want to start taking a gander. Of all his creations and efforts, The Good Place might just be he’s crowning jewel. More than character, more than comedy, its a bit of discovery, mystery and a full on philosophical exploration of a good many things regarding the human life and afterlife. The great people at Shout! Factory are doing us all a good solid and making sure this series gets its rightful do on Blu-ray instead of finding itself on a lame DVD or sentenced to be found on streaming services only. You’ll be able to pick up their complete series set complete with some bonus features and all episodes when it arrives on May 19th! 
Paramount is unloading a trio of Tom Cruise headlining films on May 19, including Top Gun, Days of Thunder and the 2005 Steven Spielberg adaptation of War of the Worlds. No doubt these were ready to be released in anticipation of Top Gun: Maverick this summer, but alas that film has moved to December. Luckily these 4K Ultra-HD Blu-rays move on as originally planned. This review is covering War of the Worlds, a film I actually hold close to my heart as it has a special place for me. It was the first film I saw in the fabled Grauman’s Chinese Theater when I moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2005. I enjoyed the film well enough then and more upon subsequent viewings, but regardless of its quality I will always carry that special memory with me. Nonetheless, as mentioned, it arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on May 19th and you can land yourself a copy of it to hopefully be delivered as soon as it can using the Amazon Associates link following the review. 
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is a movie title I have loved saying over and over for some time now. It rolls off the tip of my tongue like a youth’s belly skin does over a wet 
Days of Thunder here finds me doing some of my first writing in a long time.
Well, it finally happened… We finally have Top Gun in 4K. The iconic action classic finally hits home in the best way to watch films at home. The sights, the sounds, the sweat, the soundtrack. The film is a cultural standpoint for blockbuster filmmaking. There is something special that radiates through this movie that is almost unexplainable. At one point, this was a film I avoided like the plague. Does the film still hold up? How about the transfer? Let’s go in depth below, and don’t forget to click the paid link at the bottom to preorder your copy of Top Gun, available May 19th!
When the time allows and I have the capable resources to do so, I’m going to do more of these screenshot comparisons as more and more films are seeing new transfers on standard Blu-ray instead of opting for a jump to 4K Ultra-HD. For this latest rendition, we will be looking at 10 screenshots of the new Scream Factory Collector’s Edition of Hammer Horror’s 1961 film The Curse of the Werewolf against the previously available version found in the 2016 set, Hammer Horror 8-Film Collection from Universal Studios. When the Universal set was released, there were plenty of framing gripes and debates as to what the correct aspect ratios should be on these vintage films from Hammer studios. Nonetheless, one could assume the true form is the one that looks the best, but even then, you never know. Follow along here to see for yourself. As always, I think these are best judged when in motion, but screencaps can tell a bit of the story as well. 
The Paramount Presents titles are getting a lot of attention and are a curiosity among collectors right now wondering whether or not as to upgrade with these new video transfers. Its been a little bit of a mixed and debated result so far on the titles. With Flashdance, I admittedly do not own the previous Blu-ray edition, so I cannot compare the two on a personal level. I did scour the interwebs for the thoughts and some screenshots of the old one before coming to my perspective on the Paramount Presents 4K transfer (
