The Dark Knight (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Christopher Nolan released his tenth directed feature film in 2017, the escape/evacuation World War II thriller chronicling the events of Dunkirk. Being well regarded as one of the best directors of the the twenty first century; one of the rare breed who manages to consistently please the general audience and critical one alike. Breaking out with Memento and finding major success in reinventing Batman on the big screen, Nolan has been an influential voice in cinema and made many modern classics. Commemorating ten films, Warner Bros has put together a box set containing the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray debut of the segment of his work from Batman Begins to Dunkirk. Releasing on December 19th, you have the option for a full box set, individual releases or a trilogy set with just the Dark Knight films. We have already reviewed the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-rays of Dunkirk and Interstellar and will continue with the Batman trilogy and Inception (We were not sent The Prestige for review). In this review, we’ll be covering Nolan’s masterpiece comic book superhero opus, The Dark Knight. Continue reading ‘The Dark Knight (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
Christopher Nolan released his tenth directed feature film in 2017, the escape/evacuation World War II thriller chronicling the events of Dunkirk. Being well regarded as one of the best directors of the the twenty first century; one of the rare breed who manages to consistently please the general audience and critical one alike. Breaking out with Memento and finding major success in reinventing Batman on the big screen, Nolan has been an influential voice in cinema and made many modern classics. Commemorating ten films, Warner Bros has put together a box set containing the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray debut of the segment of his work from Batman Begins to Dunkirk. Releasing on December 19th, you have the option for a full box set, individual releases or a trilogy set with just the Dark Knight films. We have already reviewed the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-rays of Dunkirk and Interstellar and will continue with the Batman trilogy and Inception (We were not sent The Prestige for review). In this review, we cover Batman Begins. 
2017 has been a banner year for the horror genre both with critical acclaim, audience adoration and big box office intake. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the bigger stories of 2017 in how huge horror has been. Whether it be confirming of brand trust recognition with horror profiteering masters Blumhouse or the massive success of the cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s IT, everyone has seen some success. Everyone, except this movie Friend Request that I’m covering today. While English language and released this past September, its actually a 2016 English Language German film. Maybe Lionsgate just picked it up to roll the dice on just having a low budget, teen-friendly horror film to grab a couple dollars with. I don’t know how much their acquisition valued at, but the box office probably didn’t cover it. So now, they look toward this Blu-ray that releases on January 9th to probably recoup. 
We’re currently in the middle of a heated debate about a divisive Star Wars film, but earlier in the year we had a moment with a little arthouse picture that got a wide release. Darren Aronofsky returned to more or less his roots with the very challenging and not audience friendly mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence. The film saw critical praise (Which, seemingly has gone down since its release) and audience ire. The film outright bombed, which means many of you probably didn’t even go to see it in the theaters. Well, now’s your chance to take a look at it in the comfort of your own home. And why not give the film a gander on the best possible format while you’re at it? On December 19th, this trivial film will be available on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for your digestion. Order yourself a copy if you loved it or are curious from the Amazon link provided below. 
First there was Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass in 2010 and then there was Kingsman: The Secret Service (Aaron Neuwirth’s review of it all 
Who here is not looking forward to this December 19th Interstellar 4K release on Ultra HD Blu-ray, not to mention the rest of Christopher Nolan films previously announced 
One the most demanded and begged for vintage horror titles of the last so many years to get boosted to the Blu-ray format has been Hell Night. The Linda Blair-led slasher film from the producer of Halloween (Irwin Yablans) seemed like it was one of those “long way off” or “not gonna happen” deals. Anchor Bay had last had it, but they let the rights go away and whoever had them wasn’t giving them up or nobody knew where exactly it went to after Anchor Bay’s expired. Well, leave it to Scream Factory to take that challenge and deliver upon it. Their Collector’s Edition release will include a 4K transfer from the best existing 35mm print and has a boatload of brand new interview. You can the first big release of next year now so you can have it when it arrives on January 2nd. 
Brought to you by Olive Films, Tchaikovsky’s classic musical fantasy Nutcracker, The Motion Picture features members of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. This is the classic holiday story of Clara, a young girl who dreams of a prince and a magical kingdom of sweets. Led by the odd toymaker Drosselmeier she is guided into a land of enchanted toys, giant mice, and sugary sweets. The film is directed by Carroll Ballard, conceived by Kent Stowell and Maurice Sendak, photographed by Stephen H. Burum, with the music of Tchaikovsky conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. A great film to bring you that great holiday feeling.
Men In Black is 20 years old? Damn! Within a period of years it managed to put out a trilogy of films. It has proved to be a well that Will Smith has gone back to time and time again to grab himself a little piece of blockbuster. Recently it had made waves when there as talk that the Jonah Hill/Channing Tatum-led 21 Jump Street relaunch series would spend its third film crossing over with the Men In Black franchise. Now THAT is something that would have been so insane that I would have KILLED to see it. Unfortunately that’s not coming to fruition probably ever. But, what is coming fruition for the 20th anniversary is a nice 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray box set. The set features all the same features as before, but with a new 4K transfer and Dolby Atmos tracks. And its available now. So order yourself a copy from the Amazon linkage you find below at the very bottom. 
Christopher Nolan stands as one of maybe our last great filmmakers that have bridged the gap of their visions to big budget mainstream productions. While he gained esteem and clout through making some Batman films, he’s used it to distance himself and become a household name among directors not unlike Quentin Tarantino or Steven Spielberg. His films are original and his name attached to it make the film an event. They are both impressive and success stories at the box office. His latest, a passionate endeavor on the more little known battle of Dunkirk, amazed audiences and critics alike with its bold choice to be primarily shot in IMAX. While nobody’s home is going to accurately replicate that experience, you’ll still be able to enjoy this landmark war film when it comes to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on December 19th as a standalone or part of the 4K Ultra-HD Christopher Nolan box set. 
Director S. Craig Zahler caught the attention of many with his 2015 film Bone Tomahawk. I know here at Why So Blu, many of us were quite fond of that little Western-horror hybrid gem. Now he returns with his follow up, Brawl In Cell Block 99, a sorta prison thriller starring the likes of Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Marc Blucas and the loveable Udo Kier. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, this one had a smaller theatrical run, paired with a VOD release shortly after. The film has received many positive marks from all around the globe, most of them praising Vince Vaughn as giving one of his career best performances. RLJE Films is surprising us with not just a Blu-ray and DVD release, but a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray home video edition of the film on December 26th. 
Twin Peaks was a true cult sensation. The short lived show is probably the biggest such television program since the original Star Trek. It only had life for 2 seasons and almost 30 episodes. Fandom never died on the show, it delivered a film prequel by Lynch himself and was one of the few televisions shows to have a complete series release on VHS. When Netflix rolled out the show, it found a new life with many newcomers entering the world of Twin Peaks. Now, finally, the series received a popular return and Showtime gave the show an completely unfiltered 18 episode run with every single hour directed and written by David Lynch himself. Now, we get the full collection, with a proper and full on “go for broke” Blu-ray set, coming December 5th. 
In addition to our exclusive 2017 Game of Thrones Hall H Comic-Con coverage 
In terms of horror franchising, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Or Chainsaw as just one word, it varies) is the messiest of the bunch in terms of finding any semblance of continuity or hold. They’ve had sequels, soft reboots, remakes, prequels to remakes, sequels that ignore all the rest and now we have a prequel to the original in the world of the sequel that ignored all the rest. To make matters all the more confusing, it named itself the same as the third film. Well, if there is one constant its the title character of this (And the third film), the horror icon Leatherface. This latest installment was moved around, delayed and then finally debuted in a couple theaters and straight to VOD. Now, just a couple months later you can pick it up on Blu-ray December 12th. 
A New Leaf, presented by Olive Films is a dark, sarcastic, deadpan comedy from writer-director-comedian Elaine May. It stars Walter Matthau as Henry Graham, who, due to his extravagant lifestyle and having no job, has emptied his bank account of his inheritance entirely. After pleading with the Uncle who raised him for a loan, Henry convinces Uncle Harry to give him the money under the terms that the loan must be repaid within six weeks or Henry will forfeit all of his property used as collateral. With the aid of his gentleman’s gentleman, Harold, George Rose, Henry decides to marry into wealth, and once the vows have been taken he’ll decide how to handle getting out of the marriage. Enter wealthy heiress Henrietta Lowell, played by May, a klutzy botanist and the woman of Henry’s get-rich-quick-scheme dreams. But as best laid plans often go, Henry must weather the obstacles placed in his path not only by his Uncle Harry but by Andy McPherson, Jack Weston, Henrietta’s jealous and unscrupulous lawyer.
Olive Films has done a terrific job with the high definition transfer of Operation Petticoat. Cary Grant is the commander of a wheezy old submarine which he gets underway and operational through his conniving junior officer, Tony Curtis. In a series of improbable but acceptable situations, the sub takes on as passengers five army nurses, a few Filipino families including expectant mothers, and a goat. Some of the situations are predictable, such as those arising when chesty nurses meet seamen in a sub’s narrow corridors. At first, this odd group of characters seems poised to eternal conflict, but as it happens in these comedies, they soon learn to complement each other and become indispensable as a team.
