Police Story [Eureka Classics] (Blu-ray Review)
Two of Jackie Chan s most iconic films explode onto Blu-ray from incredible new 4K restorations! Featuring some of the most dangerous stunts ever performed on camera, Police Story and Police Story 2 are a dazzling blend of gritty action cop drama and impeccably choreographed martial-arts sequences that revitalized the Hong Kong action genre and established Jackie Chan as a worldwide superstar. Police Story – considered by Jackie Chan himself to be his best film in terms of pure action, Police Story stars Chan as super cop Chan Ka-Kui, who goes up against a notorious crime lord in a series of escalating set-pieces that resulted in many of Jackie’s stunt team being hospitalized. Police Story 2 – Demoted to traffic cop after the events of the first film, Chan Ka-Kui is reinstated to the detective unit when a deadly gang of explosive experts blow up a building and threaten to blow up more if their demands are not met. Featuring yet more bravura stunt work, and even more injuries to its cast and crew, Police Story 2 is to this day considered one of the best action films ever made. Presented from brand new 4K restorations and fully uncut, Eureka Classics is proud to present Jackie Chan s Police Story and Police Story 2 for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK in a special Limited Edition Box Set. Continue reading ‘Police Story [Eureka Classics] (Blu-ray Review)’
On August 21st, Scream Factory will once again re-enter the world of one of cinema’s greatest showmen; William Castle. Two releases are on the way, one of those being the Joan Crawford led Strait-Jacket. Oddly enough, on the same day, Mill Creek is also releasing this title as a double feature with the film Berserk. Yes, that one is much cheaper, but as a reminder, you’re getting what you pay for. Look no further than Criterion’s Night of the Living Dead and Mill Creeks for an easy example. Scream Factory’s will be coming with a pretty substantial amount of bonus materials new and old. Be sure to keep your William Castle collection going with this release and pre-order from the Amazon link below to ensure you have one come release day! 
On August 21st, Scream Factory will once again re-enter the world of one of cinema’s greatest showmen; William Castle. Two releases are on the way, one of them being the classic buzzing experience of The Tingler. With The Tingler, Scream Factory has notched themselves another Vincent Price film for their canon. You’ll remember they did three lovely collections of his works, which probably won’t be seeing a fourth for the forseeable future. But, this is Price AND Castle, which is exciting. It features some terrific features, both new for this release and classic ones to boot. You’ll want to get this pre-order in so you can experience this old schlocky thriller on day 1, by using the Amazon pre-order link below (And thanks as always when you do). 
We’re getting a brand new Predator film in September. We have a new 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray home video format. Makes too much sense, right? And Fox knows that. Originally, it was thought just the original was coming, but smartly, we’re getting the three Predator outings without a Xenomorph. This is a big deal for the videophile crowd as the transfer for Predator that has been used in the last few releases is one of massive controversy and has been the poster child for DNR abuse and doing too much in restoration for Blu-ray. The big question is if Fox took notes and how they’d approach it now. This is one of the coolest 4K Ultra-HD collections coming this year, so scroll on down after the review and order yourself a copy on Amazon to retire your old release(s). 
Brainscan feels perfectly at home as a part of Shout! Factory’s Scream Factory line. This 1990s film definitely can find itself in the “cult” status as the movie barely made itself known (Or even people aware) at the box office (Debuted at #10, didn’t even make $4.5 million) and likely found its life via premium cable movies channels and video rental stores. This was during the period where they were trying to make Edward Furlong a “thing”, only to find that unless its Terminator 2: Judgement Day, people weren’t going to show up. This film will be getting the love nobody probably ever expected it to deserve, with a load of brand new bonus features/interviews on this cool Blu-ray set. You can pre-order it from the Amazon link below to have it when it arrives on August 28th! 
Return of the Living Dead: Part II isn’t the only James Karen film that Scream Factory will be releasing on August 11th. Rodman Flender’s 1991 film, The Unborn starring Brooke Adams, will also be making its Blu-ray debut. This pregnancy, demon baby horror film produced by Roger Corman is in no way related to the 2009 film of the same title. This one actually wound up with a sequel as well. The release will feature a new 2K scan of the original film elements and a commentary from director Rodman Flender to boot. Hail as “More frightening than Rosemary’s Baby”, this is one you may want to revisit or add to your growing collection. You can ensure you have a copy by August 14, by pre-ordering from the Amazon link following the review. 
Back when I did Brandon’s Blu-ray Wishlist as a somewhat weekly piece instead of annual, Return of the Living Dead: Part II made my list for its own article. It was a pipe dream then, as it belonged to Warner Bros, who wasn’t licensing out or doing much with schlocky B-horror titles at all. And likely, we wouldn’t have it with the appropriate soundtrack/score in play (Their DVD replaced it with new music, which is available as an “Alternate Audio Track”). I received a lot of flack for “wishing” it, because, well its not that great a movie, but its part of the Return series and for some damn reason, I do return to it every now and then. I dunno, classic bad zombie movies can still be fun (Hello, Nightmare City). Wish granted, haters. And who better to put this out than Scream Factory, rubbing it in your face with a boatload of new features and restoring the original music. Go ahead, try not to pick it up on October 14th. Well, maybe you won’t, but I’m in! 
Maybe you’ve heard of this movie? Haha. What kind of introduction does Avengers: Infinity War need not require? The film is the biggest movie of the summer and probably the most talked about and referenced one as well. And with good purpose, this is not only a big movie, but its a pretty sizeable event too. And its only half the story to boot! Disney is bringing it to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on August 14th to help you cope or relive your grieving at home. The film will feature a commentary track as well as some featurettes, deleted scenes and the as usual worthless gag reel. There are also many special versions like steelbooks and the like available at other retailers, but if you don’t care to mess with all that and just want the bread and butter, then pre-order from our Amazon link below. 
The flagship of the DCTV universe on the CW network, Arrow (Which, well, its deemed the “Arrowverse” for that reason), will be heading into its seventh season this coming fall. Oliver Queen have gone from being hip and dark, too cool to call the vigilante what he is to fully embracing the Green Arrow. Its been a ride and still has held itself strong while the universe surrounding it has introduced meta humans, time travel, aliens and more. As always, the previous season arrives on Blu-ray, giving you ample time to catch up before the next season (If you decided not to catch up using Netflix first). It will come with the usual set of bonus materials to accompany it. You can pick yourself up a copy on or pre-order one for the release date August 14th. 
Before you ask, “Where’s The Transporter and Transporter 2 on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray?”, remember that those are 20th Century Fox films and…I guess soon to be Disney’s. Lionsgate distributed the third film in the Jason Statham action franchise which sorta kick started his whole “action man” persona following some popular turns in Guy Ritchie films. As Lionsgate isn’t waiting for anyone when it comes to releasing catalog titles (And good on them, too), here comes Transporter 3 aligning itself with the release of Statham’s summer sharketacular film The Meg. This one gets the picture and audio upgrade (Atmos) and retains all of the prior bonus materials on the 4K Ultra-HD disc. You’ll be able to grab this one on August 7th, 3 days before The Meg. So now, the ball is in your court to put out The Transporter and Transporter 2 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray Fox! 
The next film in the wonderful DCAU canon is The Death of Superman. Yes, you heard that correctly. We all know that 11 years ago they did this story with Superman: Doomsday. But, that was now over a decade ago, and now they want to do it with their current Justice League DCAU canon. Also, they aren’t cramming the whole thing into one and out to prove these things matter. That Superman Doomsday is the film that laregely got us where we are with the DCAU. This new version solely focuses on the Death portion with Reign of the Supermen to follow. You can pick this one up on August 7th, and there are different limited edition versions going around through specific retailers and the like. This review will cover the set that includes the battered and beaten Superman figurine. 
All good things must come to an end, and it was with great heart that we said farewell to Star Wars: Rebels in 2018. Before we met Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren and BB-8, we first began our Disney helmed Star Wars adventures with Ezra, Kanan, Hera, Sabine and Chopper. Upon its premiere, the follow up to producer Dave Filioni’s The Clone Wars, immediately captured that classic Star Wars vibe. The journey of Star Wars Rebels may have found some familiar faces along the way, but their story and contributions to the Rebel Alliance were all their own. You’ll be able to complete your Blu-ray Rebels collection with the new 2-Disc Season Four set, arriving on July 31st. The Force is strong with this release, so you’ll want to make sure and order yourself a copy from the Amazon link below. 
If Rodney Dangerfield once could go Back To School, then surely Melissa McCarthy can and enroll and become the Life Of The Party. That’s just what she did during the Thanos Avenger’s Infinity War box office onslaught of the summer of 2018. She managed to notch another little comedy hit under her belt as some solid counter programming during that stretch (Also hanging in there against another comedy, Overboard). Warner Bros is bringing the comedy, directed by her husband Ben Falcone, to Blu-ray (No 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for McCarthy yet) on August 7th. The release contains the usual suspects for a comedy film (Gag Reel, Line-O-Rama) as well as the DVD version and a digital copy as well. You can pre-order yourself a copy using the Amazon link below. 
There is a slow, quiet magic to the films of Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, The Man Without a Past) that allows the viewer to be lulled into the idea that there is just a simple story going on with some dry humor and then it turns out one is watching a scathing indictment of society dressed up as a slow moving dramatic tale. With The Other Side of Hope, the director maintains that skill and applies it to a story about a Syrian refugee and a Finnish shirt salesperson separately attempting to change the courses of their respective lives. It is an odd film that requires attention, patience, and a likely a second viewing to fully soak it up.
Aquaman, the former butt of every superhero joke is no longer a laughing matter. With a reinvention of his look and character in the 2000s, he’s been brought to the live action fold a badass and played by the most manly of men Jason Momoa. With his solo feature outing due for release in December, its time to start building that awareness with the kiddos and such. And thus, he’s the new focal point of the latest LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes movie. This straight to video feature arrives on Blu-ray on July 31st. You can also pick up a limited edition version of the film that includes not an Aquaman LEGO figure but that of the Jessica Cruz iteration of Green Lantern who is also in the film. Pre-order below to entertain the kiddos (And maybe yourself) when it becomes available July 31st. 
