The Sandlot – 25th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Review)
I tend to not be very shy about my distaste for a lot of kid-friendly films that various members of my generation cherish. It’s not that I enjoy hating on Hook or Jumanji (for being terrible movies), I have no nostalgic love for them because I didn’t like them when I was young, so I certainly don’t have much care for them now. All of this is a way of saying I am completely fine celebrating The Sandlot, as it is a wonderful coming-of-age film that blends elements of underdog sports movies with the mythic storytelling of an urban legend about a great, big dog. The film has seen its share of Blu-ray releases, but this year is the 25th anniversary, meaning Fox decided to put out another edition of the cult favorite, even if there was still hardly any effort going into the disc itself.
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With superheroes dominating the box office many months of the year, it’s only natural that TV attempt to follow suit in its own way. We have the Arrow-verse, Gotham, and multiple Marvel Studios Netflix series, among other examples. FX got in the game too last year with Legion. Inspired by the Marvel Comics character, Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley took on the property and made an interesting, exciting, and very stylish series about a mutant diagnosed with schizophrenia, resulting in an uneven perspective on his own life, to say the least. Dan Stevens leads a strong ensemble cast in this eight-episode first season that happens to be my favorite of the different superhero shows currently on air. Now, with the second season fast approaching, the complete season one is now available to own.
Shout! Factory, under their Shout Select banner, is bringing the Dan Aykroyd starring comedy Doctor Detroit to Blu-ray for the very first time. Michael Pressman’s film, that also starred Fran Drescher, was a high profile film for the summer of 1983 that ended up falling quite short of expectations. However, it caught on with some people and has become a cult classic over the years since its release. Shout! Factory is bringing the film to Blu-ray with some new bonus features that include an interview and commentary with director Michael Pressman. You’ll find it coming out on April 24th to the format. Amazon pre-orders are available now, so feel free to use the link after the review to secure yourself a copy of this cult classic comedy when it releases. 
In 1978, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong made their feature film debut in UP IN SMOKE, the outrageously funny classic inspired by their now legendary comedy routines of the early ‘70s. Following massive success with over 10 million comedy albums sold, four Grammy nominations and a win for Best Comedy Recording for “Los Cochinos,” Cheech and Chong took Hollywood by storm when UP IN SMOKE became a smash hit, establishing the pair as the reigning comedy duo of a new generation. Today, the film still has viewers rolling in the aisles and maintains surprising cultural relevance four decades after its original release. Paramount will be celebrating the anniversary of the film but lighting up a fresh new Blu-ray release of the film with some all new bonus materials. You’ll be able to have it with plenty time to get ready for 4/20 when the it release on April 10th. 
Legend of the Mountain is the story of a young scholar, Ho Yunqing (Shih Jun, A Touch of Zen, Dragon Inn), is tasked by an eminent monk to transcribe a Buddhist sutra said to have immense power over the spirits of the afterlife. To execute his work in peace, he travels to an isolated monastery deep in the mountains, where he encounters a number of strange people, including the mysterious and beautiful Melody (Hsu Feng, A Touch of Zen, Dragon Inn). As malicious spirits attempt to steal the sutra, Ho becomes entangled in a conflict between duelling forces of good and evil. Will he leave the mountain alive? 
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the latest installment of the “Saga” series of Star Wars films, may have made loads and loads of money at the box office, but it is making home video history for the series when it arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray March 27th. Rian Johnson’s chapter finds itself being the first to be released on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. It joins 1977’s original Star Wars (Super 8, BetaMax, VHS, CED), The Phantom Menace (DVD) and The Clone Wars feature film (Blu-ray) as being the “first” Star Wars by itself on home video formats. Any new thing like that is a pretty big deal in the giant world of Star Wars fandom. Heck, if I could, I’d collect every possible physical home video format release of the original trilogy that I could (Sorry, streaming is a nice backup option, but doesn’t feel like “collecting” to me). You can own Star Wars: The Last Jedi by clicking the Amazon link following the review. 
This past holiday season, Jumanji and The Greatest Showman showed that even with a Star Wars movie around, there was still winter money to be made at the box office. Hoping to be like the film Sing! the year before, an animated movie that thrived alongside a Star Wars, Ferdinand released to some solid reviews. The film mad some okay money and did well worldwide, but didn’t really launch like I’m sure its creators and respective studio would have liked. But, it’ll now have its chance to thrive in the home video world. The animated film features the voices of people from all over the map like John Cena, Kate McKinnon and Peyton Manning. The film is currently available on all formats and you can order yourself a copy from the link following the review. 
The early 1980s wasn’t just high time for the horror genre with just slasher films. Though those took a lot of the spotlight, the werewolf film was proving a pretty lucrative and prosperous business as well. An American Werewolf In London and The Howling were the bigger names of them, but there were many others sprouting out. Schlock master Larry Cohen contributed one in 1981, Full Moon High. The film starred a young Adam Arkin as a high school werewolf, beating Michael J. Fox’s Teen Wolf to the punch by about four whole years (Six if you want to count that this movie started film in 1979). Like Teen Wolf (And Teen Wolf, Too), Scream Factory has their hands on this one and is bringing it over to Blu-ray on April 10. You can already pre-order it by clicking the link below. 
Truth be told I really have no right reviewing this. Yes, I’m tackling this one by default because I have two 4K Ultra HD setups at home, but I have never seen the original Jumanji starring Robin Williams. Is that bad? I’m told no because I surveyed a lot of my peers and none of them had any great things to say about the classic family film. So if they don’t have any kind words, then why should I waste my valuable time on it? However, I feel very different about this 2017 reboot of the action/adventure comedy. This very likable Rock-driven (Dwayne Johnson) vehicle has had mammoth legs at the box office and thee’s always the added attraction of Nebula (Karen Gillan) to gaze upon here too. Heck, I even hear there’s talk of not one, but two sequels already planned in this world. So hell yeah. Sign me up. I am very eager to tackle Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle down below for the very first time and bonus…on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray too. Let me put on some bug spray and I’ll be right back. It’s a jungle out there! 
Stephen King’s Pet Sematary was adapted into quite a popular 1989 film that stands as one of his more popular works that wound up getting a sequel (Can someone please put that one on Blu-ray next, please) like the Children of the Corn films and the Sometimes They Come Back films. Its had two Blu-ray releases that had some okay bonus materials included. However, now, we get Unearthed & Untold: The Path To Pet Sematary which is a feature-length documentary chronicling the first film. With no big desire from the studio that holds the rights to do a big collector’s edition or beefed up release (In this age of streaming, this is scaringly becoming a norm), this documentary sits alone. But in all honesty, its that “Disc 2” you’re wanting to go with your standard Blu-ray release of it. Like the Creepshow one before, Synapse Films is adding the Pet Sematary one now to their catalog. You can order it (Released on March 13th) using the Amazon link below. 
Holding on as one of the most long-demanded films to come to Blu-ray in the United States, in celebration of its 40th anniversary and with just days left on the calendar, the long awaited Suspiria release from Synapse Films made its debut. A labor of love, said Blu-ray as well as nationwide revival screenings set the film world on fire with this new 4K restoration that took years to develop. With the original limited Steelbook edition sold out, Synapse is giving you another shot at owning Dario Argento’s masterpiece. There’s a film only edition and a two disc edition that comes with the bonus features in the limited edition release. They are both currently available now, and any serious film fan or Blu-ray collector should be owning this historic restoration. 
Path of Blood is a tribute the samurai films of yesteryear (A genre I quite adore) from writer/director/animator Eric Power. The film uses the animation style of “cut paper animation” (paper stop motion). Which, you’re right for your mind instantly wandering over and thinking of South Park as they utilize the style as well. The film is a feature version of a short film from Power and took a few years to bring up. Released in 2013, the film is finally getting a home video Blu-ray release in the United States. Synapse Films has brought the film over the high definition format in a Special Edition that was release March 13th (Meaning, you can buy it now). If you’re someone into the samurai films, this homage is something you may want to take a look at. Grab yourself a copy by pre-ordering from the link below. 
The Shape of Water had me very curious. It’s not because it’s brought to you by the masterful mind of Guillermo del Toro, but it’s because of our resident MPAA certified reviewer, Sir Aaron Neuwirth. He gave it an overwhelming 5 doggies out of 5 doggies over 
Every popular film must find itself a way to being a trilogy, right? Well, that’s the case now with the Pitch Perfect franchise. Personally, I found the first film to be charming enough and it was quite popular enough to warrant an encore performance or a victory lap of sorts. That victory lap turned into a really really awful film, but it did make money, so here with are with our third film about a zany female collegiate acapella group. And hey, it didn’t total as much money as the second film, but still made plenty enough to count your winnings take it home and bid the world adieu. This final performance of the Bellas will be making its way to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on March 20th (The first two films will also see an upgrade on this date). Don’t be one of those lazy pitches, pre-order yourself to have it on release. 
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the 10th film in the Children of the Corn franchise, Children of the Corn: Runaway. This one is the 9th in the ‘canon’ storyline as the television remake doesn’t count. This series with Stephen King roots hasn’t had a theatrically released entry since 1995’s barely in theaters Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (The feature film debut of Charlize Theron). They have appeared to have thrived on straight to video features. Heck, I even kept up with them for awhile, and funnily enough, I confess, I own every one of them on Blu-ray (Eeek!). I think this film was originally scheduled to come out earlier (Maybe 2017), but its finally hitting here now. You’ll be able to check out the latest monthly Lionsgate straight to video entry of a long running horror franchise on March 13th! 
