The Book of Clarence (Blu-ray Review)
March 28th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Biblical stories were once all the rage in cinema. Grand scale, huge scope and sweeping storytelling kept people coming to the theaters in droves once upon a time. Then, suddenly, there was a very serious drought in the genre. All the stories had been done, and the ones people came up with, especially in recent times have been few and far between and often very disappointing. The announcement of The Book of Clarencefollowed by an equally intriguing trailer led me to think it was the right time for a new spin on a once beloved genre. Read more about the vivid and fresh The Book of Clarence below and feel free to click the cover art at the end to get your copy on Blu-ray today!
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The Addams Family has always been a great source of creepy fun for TV and Film fans. The creepy, kooky, altogether ooky family has been able to transcend both media formats providing fun, somewhat scary, yet still family friendly thrills and laughs. Wednesday certainly took the streaming crowd by storm when it debuted on Netflix in 2022. With Jenny Ortega in a star making embodiment of the titular character, how could you go wrong?! Icing on the cake, we now have a physical release of the show. Downside, it’s only a Blu-ray, but collectors can’t always be choosers. See more about Wednesday below and click the cover art at the end for a paid Amazon link to buy your own copy.
The Color Purple is being touted as a “bold new take on a beloved classic.” I find that interesting since the musical found in this new film version is the one that was on Broadway beginning in 2005. Having never seen this Broadway version, only hearing the music of the show, I must wonder what the differences are. The film unfortunately didn’t finish theatrically the way it started and garnered only one Oscar nod despite so many reasons for it to earn more than that. Read more about The Color Purple below and be sure click the cover art at the end for a paid Amazon link to get your own copy of the film.
The romantic comedy has seemingly become a thing of the past. It’s a strange sentence to even write, but the once popular genre has maybe one film per year to represent it, where once there were what seemed like dozens of Romcoms coming out yearly. No Hard Feelings was last year’s offering, not doing as well theatrically as I would’ve hoped. Christmas 2023 saw the release of Anyone But You, and so far, this seems to be the only Romcom that’s theatrically released this year. Here’s hoping there are more, and they take notes from this one. Read my obviously positive review of Anyone But You below and be sure to order your own copy clicking the paid Amazon link at the end (pssst… it’s the cover art!).
Ridley Scott’s Alien set the standard for horror based Sci-fi. His film left audiences terrified with some wonderfully calculated scenes and subtle scares. With the end of that film, it almost feels like it would be impossible to top it. Then came Aliens. With James Cameron in the director’s chair, what was the outcome? Of course, we know the story, a sequel that stands with and sometimes surpasses the original. Read more about Aliens below. I promise not to bore you with over-retold facts! Be sure to click the artwork at the end of the review to access the paid link to get your own copy!
True Lies is another James Cameron film that collectors have been clamoring to have on a newer format for many years. This is a non-stop, funny, thrilling film and is the kind of movie that home theater enthusiasts love because it’s an audio and visual dream. This was a demo videotape for places like Circuit City and The Good Guys way back in the 90’s. How does this classic hold up in 4K? Read on below and find out my thoughts. Don’t forget to click the artwork at the end for a paid link to order your own copy!
The first Aquaman felt very fresh to me. Jason Mamoa’s Arthur Curry didn’t take himself too seriously. The scenery was colorful and immersive, and the story was easy to follow. This was peak mainstream entertainment. Escapist fun if you will. Now that we know the fallout of anticipation following Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and it’s less than stellar critical and commercial response, I had to ask myself if that negative response was worthwhile or not… So, take a look at my thoughts below and if you feel so inclined, click the home media artwork at the end to get yourself a copy!
The Abyss happens to be one of my top 5 films of all time. The movie is a mix of action, sci-fi, drama and suspense that has yet to, in my very humble opinion, be topped by other movies with the same mixture. The movie is one that people have been begging for a new physical release of forever. The 2000’s era DVD was revolutionary in the days of the square box TV but has long needed a major overhaul. Does this disc live up to the much-anticipated hype? Read on below for my retrospective reflection on the film, plus all the technical details you can imagine! Be sure to click the cover art for a paid link to purchase your own copy of this masterpiece in the best physical media format!
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things took the festival crowd by storm before a wide release in December of 2023. The early notes were that it was another odd ride from Lanthimos and Emma Stone was going to be winning a lot of awards from her work. Pair that with some buzz from general audiences (taking over $100 million worldwide) and then 11 Academy Award nominations, it’s safe to say that the film has etched its way into modern film culture. But does that make Poor Things a good film? Find out by reading more, and make sure to click the cover art below to access an Amazon link to order your own copy of the film which will be for sale on 3/13/24!
Wish seemed like a sure-fire hit when trailers were released. A throwback to the classic Disney features of the past, the film practically came with a built in audience of children AND adults. But on a $200 million dollar budget and making $185 Million worldwide proved otherwise. The trend of Disney animated features of any kind not doing well continues, and for me anyway, this feels unfair. Read my insights on Wish and make sure to click the cover art for a paid link to purchase your own copy!
The Beverly Hills Cop series has always varied in quality. The first film is an unquantifiable 80’s classic that was a huge hit in its era, making Eddie Murphy a superstar. The sequel carried 80’s excess and although it did very well, was critically savaged. By the time Cop III rolled around, not even Eddie Murphy was interested. The film didn’t perform well and critically was murdered upon release. There are a very limited few that can say they enjoy the third film all that much, but as most collectors do, we must complete the set. And here we have Cop III arriving on 4K UHD Blu-ray in time for its 30th anniversary. Of course, this one has memories attached to it for me, and so I have a soft spot for the film. Read all about it below and click the cover art for a paid Amazon link to get your own copy, should you feel so compelled!
I have been a fan of Willy Wonka since I was a young kid. I had the Charlie and the Chocolate Factorybooks and read them over and over. I even had an audiobook on cassette that used to lull me to sleep on many nights. I was soothed by the narrator and the story was so visual even on the page that I went right to that factory, wished I was Charlie and wanted so much to win by being a good kid. The sense memory of it all, right? The 1971 film with Gene Wilder as the titular Willy Wonka was also a fever dream of goodness. Part whimsy and charm, part acid trip, even now I love that film. When Johnny Depp stepped into Wonka’s shoes, I was intrigued and then sadly disappointed by the results. When I heard the filmmakers behind Paddington were working on another Wonka tale, I of course got interested. Those are such sweet films. Did Paul King and his cast and crew deliver? Read on below and be sure to click the cover artwork at the end to order a copy of this candy-coated film!
Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers made a splash at the Telluride Film Festival in the summertime. It became an immediate critical hit for audiences and was quickly purchased for distribution by Searchlight Pictures. The film is itself a remake of a Japanese film The Discarnates which is itself an adaptation of the 1987 Japanese novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada. This tale of love found and dealing with grief may have been a critical smash, but does it hold up for us mere mortal film fans? Find out below and be sure to give it a watch on Hulu or make a digital purchase wherever you buy digital films!
I don’t think anyone could have imagined how cathartic a movie like Contagion could be before Covid. The film is a creepy reminder of 2020 now, and even if our pandemic ended up being nothing like the one in the film, to a point anyway, it’s a look into what might have been. Take an in-depth look at Contagion below and see if my thoughts are shared with yours. As a surprising choice to make the jump the UHD Blu-ray, it may be a prime time to revisit the film.
