3:10 To Yuma (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Well, what do you know? Just like that, James Mangold’s 3:10 To Yuma is 10 years old this year. Doesn’t feel like its been that long. Mangold is seeing some of his greatest success (Critical & Box Office) this year, too with the Hugh Jackman-Wolverine sendoff Logan. 3:10 To Yuma is one of his strongest films and one of the best westerns (not the hotel chain) of the 2000s. When people whine and moan about remakes, here is a prime candidate and a more modern one to throw in their faces as to prove their whole false generality of “remakes/reboots/reimaginings suck” tiredness as false. Lionsgate is now bringing it over to the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format alongside the Expendables movies on May 2nd. Check out or revisit this terrific western with a great enhanced picture featuring HDR and an all new DTS:X audio track! Continue reading ‘3:10 To Yuma (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
The Ring was quite the phenomenon right as the century began. Naomi Watts headlined the US remake of the popular Japanese film and it changed the genre for a good half decade. It was something fresh and different for audiences (Though I’ve always argued part of this film’s ghost agenda and resolution was very much a Stir of Echoes retread), leading to remakes of other popular Japanese ghost films like The Grudge, Pulse and Shutter. Gore Verbinski’s film received a sequel that wasn’t well received and there the franchise died, not making it to the 4 films that its overseas sister-series had. But, things never truly die, as brand recognition is all the rage nowadays and the the spinner landed upon The Ring to be revisited. Rings came, went and confirmed nobody was interested anymore and apparently took Jason Voorhees along with it (You’re really dumb as hell to think these two thing correlate, Paramount execs!). You, too can have another chance to avoid it, confirm how bad it is, or be the first to be the person to find it underappreciated and write a piece to hopefully reevaluate it in a couple years. So many possibilities! Anyway, this one comes out May 2nd on Blu-ray and carries digital copies of the first film (As a thank you) and the sequel (To ask the questions “Were we at least better than this?”). Pre-order below if you choose! 
Willard was a really solid success, playing in theaters for quite some time. Forgotten, kinda, to many, is that the film produced a sequel called Ben (After the lead rat in the original film). But, its not really forgotten, due to one factor. Had the film not had a theme song that was done by the Jackson Five’s and later King of Pop, Michael Jackson, it could have very well been forgotten to the annals of film history (Except nowadays, we remember everything nowadays). That song brought an undeserving prestige with it as it was a big hit for Jackson (one of his earliest solo works) and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. It didn’t win, but Scream Factory wins in bringing this ratty sequel to the Blu-ray format to pair with its release of Willard. Ben will be available on May 16th as well. 
Like most of my generation, I believe I first came into consciousness of Willard with the 2003 remake. What looked like an odd, cooky horror film starring Crispin Glover and Laura Harring about a guy who seemingly had some sort of weird psychic thing with his pet rat looked just right up the alley for that of Glover. When it released, I came to find it wasn’t an original film, but a remake of one from 30 years prior. Digging even further down that rabbit hole, I’d find that movie even got a sequel that had an Academy Award nominated song, made historically notable because it was performed by Michael Jackson. Willard and its sequel, Ben, will be making their way to Blu-ray courtesy of the Scream Factory label. You can go ahead and pre-order them to have them in their your mailbox on release day, which is May 16. 
Gold was a film that went through a bit of a lengthy journey to finally getting its way to production. Pitched as a more modern Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the film once had director Michael Mann attached to film it. Mann eventually left it to film Blackhat. Finally the film was made and released this past January to mixed reviews and a low box office (Though it had limited release to qualify for awards which in Oscar terms, it did nothing). Most praised the continued excellence of Matthew McConaughey but didn’t find a lot else. Said performance was the one where he went horseshoe bald and gained 40 pounds for his role. You’ll be able to see for yourself when the movie comes to Blu-ray on May 2nd. You can pre-order using the Amazon link below if you so wish. 
This spring, bring home a trio of celebrated Broadway favorites on Blu-ray with new releases from home entertainment imprint Shout Broadway. Featuring timeless American standards and some of the world’s biggest stars, titles being released include the award-winning 1999 Royal National Theatre production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical classic, Oklahoma!, starring Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables, The Prestige) and Maureen Lipman (The Pianist); the masterful 1999 London revival of the 1949 Tony® Award-winning Best Musical, Kiss Me, Kate, starring Rachel York and Brent Barrett; and the film adaptation of Tony award-winning Broadway smash Man of La Mancha, starring Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren. Spotlighting musicals and performances that deserve a place on your shelf, Shout Broadway features some of the greatest stage and screen productions ever captured. From recent hits to all-time favorites and Hollywood gems, Shout Broadway celebrates the best in theater and beyond. 
Still vcan’t get enough of that 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series victory? That first one in over one hundred years or so? You bought the first Blu-ray release and enjoyed the heartfelt little documentary. You were hardcore and picked yourself up the Collector’s Edition with every game on it. Now, you’re going to be the super Cubby loyalist and grab yourself this Ultimate Edition of Game 7. Why not be happy with the one you have in the Collector’s Edition? Well, this comes with a disc that has a long montage of the victory parade as well as lengthy highlights of the other series leading up to the championship as well as the World Series itself. Who this might be the best for is someone who didn’t want the collector’s edition, but wouldn’t mind dabbling in just having this one complete game (the one that mattered). Well, whoever you are, you have your chance at this one on May 9th, so get your order in and have it on day of release. 
Walter Hill’s cult classic rock n’ roll fable Streets of Fire is finally making its way to Blu-ray in the United States after previously only being available in the UK and Germany among other countries that seem to get the cool stuff way before us. But, for the patient (Or not region free), the waiting has paid off as Shout! Factory wound up being the people to introduce it to the format in the United States and slapped it with its still fresh Shout! Select label and a Collector’s Edition at that. With some serious sick new key art on its slip cover, the release comes loaded with two discs to rock out with plenty of classic bonus features as well as a brand new feature length documentary (Yes, that’s 2 feature length making of documentaries on here). You’ll be able to check it out for yourself on May 16th, with the pre-order below, but stay tuned for my review in the meantime. 
Disco is defined as a genre of dance music containing elements of funk, soul, pop, and salsa. I define it as a whole lot of fun. Although being born in 1974 doesn’t constitute you to essentially remember living during the solid gold age of disco quite well, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t a fan of it and still am. Like Paul Stanley of KISS always said there’s just something about that disco bass shaking your rump to onstage or in the case of a nightclub like in Saturday Night Fever, the dance floor. Speaking of Saturday Night Fever (do you like my segue into our topic here?) there’s no bigger fan of the 1977 movie than me. It’s one of my Top 5 all-time favorites. Why? Well for starters Saturday Night Fever has something for everyone. What more can you really ask for in a motion picture? You have teenage angst, promiscuous sex, pregnancy, squabbling parents, drinking, racism, gangs, fashion, glitter, lights, hair, drama, romance, betrayal, dancing, disco balls and best of all that Bee Gees infused soundtrack. Oh yeah! I’m just getting started here too. 
Serial Mom is the John Waters film I’m most familiar with (Though admittedly he’s a director I just haven’t completely familiarized myself with that much). While not doing much at the box office, it became a video store staple in the 1990s and with that, a cult classic. At least, that for the teen/college generation of the 90s for the time. It also seemed to be a movie that was on Cinemax all the time during the 90s as well. That’s how I first came to see the movie the first few times. Now, its getting lots of that cult classic love that only a distributor like Scream Factory can give with their coveted Collector’s Edition label. And, its coming just in time for Mother’s Day. So, pre-order to have yourself a copy when it releases on May 9th! 
Sylvester Stallone’s all action heroes all the time series The Expendables will be complete now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with Lionsgate’s releasing of the first two films come May 2nd. Both are seeing just a picture and audio update on the films themselves as no new bonus features are being added to these new editions. As a matter of fact, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains no supplemental features. But, each release comes with the standard Blu-ray release of the theatrical version of the film and with that comes all of its bonus material (Including a full Comic Con panel and feature length documentary on making the film). Be sure to pre-order yourself a copy today to ensure you have both of these muscle-heavy films on May 2nd. This review will be covering the 2012 sequel that brought in Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris to the world of Barney Ross. 
Troll Hunter made some noise and buzz back in 2010, the second feature from director Andre Ovredal. It wouldn’t be for another six years before his next feature would be in front of us. The Autopsy of Jane Doe garnered acclaim when it showed at Fantastic Fest and continued to garner buzz from the horror world with subsequent screenings and the like. Its now making its way to Blu-ray courtesy of the modern horror pair up that has been thriving for years; Scream Factory and IFC Midnight. Like a “We’ll air ’em and you stock em in stores” kind of relationship they have. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is one of their latest distribution ventures and you’ll be able to have it to own when it drops on a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack May 2nd. 
Sylvester Stallone’s all action heroes all the time series The Expendables will be complete now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with Lionsgate’s releasing of the first two films come May 2nd. Both are seeing just a picture and audio update on the films themselves as no new bonus features are being added to these new editions. As a matter of fact, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains no supplemental features. But, each release comes with the standard Blu-ray release of the theatrical version of the film and with that comes all of its bonus material (Including a full Comic Con panel and feature length documentary on making the film). Be sure to pre-order yourself a copy today to ensure you have both of these muscle-heavy films on May 2nd. This review will be covering the first film in the series that landed upon us back in 2010. 
Food, folks and now a film. I’m lovin’ it. Okay, I’ll stop with the silly McDonald’s puns. Like the fast food empire it became, everyone pretty much knows the name Ray Kroc when you hear it. You know him just like you know Colonel Sanders in association with KFC. He’s someone studied in the history, economics and business books. But does anyone know the real stringy details of how he got to where he is? Well, now the director of The Blind Side and writer of The Wrestler want to give you a chance to learn more of Kroc’s rise to restaurant king. Armed with award friendly Michael Keaton, The Founder shows Kroc’s start as a lowly salesman to falling in love with a burger stand and making it national. While it didn’t quite hit the award season hard like the Weinsteins may have wanted, it did get some buzz around release and now will probably find a solid audience here on Blu-ray and streaming when it becomes available April 18th. 
Who would have thought the innocent and just plain enjoyable La La Land from Damien Chazelle would have drawn up so much drama and controversy after being loved upon its launch. But that’s Oscar season for you. One minute you’re the favorite, and when you received all the (Well deserved) praise and award accolades to go with it, then its cool to turn the tables and bring the hate. It happens every year. Word to the wise: despite who wins an award, you can love BOTH La La Land and Moonlight. Nothing says you can’t. While it was my favorite film of 2017, I’m relieved La La Land lost the Best Picture award (Shortly after winning it) to Moonlight as I was tiring over all the crap it was getting, as that would have only brought on more. Chazelle just made a loving, charming and fun little film harkening to a that all of a sudden became some sort of evil film promoting racism and being incredibly misguided. If you missed this wonderful film, you’ll be able to check it out on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD April 25th. 
Why are you wearing that stupid man suit? Fifteen years before Stranger Things combined science-fiction, Spielberg-ian touches and 80s nostalgia to much acclaim, Richard Kelly set the template – and the high-water mark – with his debut feature, Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems, it would slowly find its audience and emerge as arguably the first cult classic of the new millennium. Donnie is a troubled high school student: in therapy, prone to sleepwalking and in possession of an imaginary friend, a six-foot rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days 06 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds. During that time he will navigate teenage life, narrowly avoid death in the form of a falling jet engine, follow Frank’s maladjusted instructions and try to maintain the space-time continuum. Described by its director as “The Catcher in the Rye as told by Philip K. Dick”, Donnie Darko combines an eye-catching, eclectic cast – pre-stardom Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, heartthrob Patrick Swayze, former child star Drew Barrymore, Oscar nominees Mary McDonnell and Katherine Ross, and television favorite Noah Wyle – and an evocative soundtrack of 80s classics by Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears and Duran Duran. This brand-new 4K restoration, carried out exclusively for this release by 
Step inside – we’ve been expecting you! At long-last, 
