Logan (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Logan is a film that really needs no elaborate setup to whet your appetite for. If you have not already, you should be practically dying to see this one. The mere fact that this even got made with an R-rating is no doubt thanks to the brilliance and success of last year’s Deadpool. Had it not been for that film, which proved in a world of failed Kick-Ass movies R-rated comic book films can indeed thrive, I’m quite sure Logan would have been slapped with that dread PG-13 rating. Luckily for us that’s not the case in our present scenario. So let the bloodshed ensue with glorious reveal and the F-bombs roll off tongues like spit flies when yelling because we’re gathered here to talk all things Logan releasing on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD May 23rd. Let’s go on one more ride with mighty Wolverine who has given us his all the past 17 years! Makes me feel old, what about you? Ha ha!
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Shout! Broadway rounds out its little spring run of musicals with another filmed stage performance, this time of the 1949 Tony Award winning show, Kiss Me Kate. Now, that’s not the actual 1949 production, but another 1999 one like Oklahoma. Cole Porter’s beloved classic Kiss Me, Kate receives “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” in this masterful 1999 London revival. With backstage shenanigans, gangsters trying to “Brush Up [Their] Shakespeare,” and a collection of Porter tunes that any “Tom, Dick, or Harry” will love, Kiss Me, Kate remains an all-time favorite of musical fans. You can check out its US Blu-ray debut by pre-ordering yourself a copy (Along with Oklahoma! while you’re at it) for its release day, May 30th! 
One of the most widely known musicals of all time from one of the most well known musical makers of all time, Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! has been part of the cultural lexicon since it arrived in 1943. Sure, maybe you’ve never seen it done on Broadway, by a local theater troupe, a high school production or even the film adaptation, but you probably know a song or three from it as well as a name or a line or two. Its been that stapled into pop culture. I mean…who doesn’t know “Oh what a beautiful morning…” or hasn’t made a darkly humored joke using the song? Shout! Broadway is bringing a rendition of the classic musical from 1999 that stars Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman right before that whole X-Men thing launched. You can pre-order this to see his berzerker rage held in check to have it on release day May 30th. 
I first was introduced to the legend of Don Quixote when I was in my Spanish class in either middle school or high school (Forgive me, its been a while, I can’t pinpoint that). We learned about the story and then followed it up by watching this film, Man of La Mancha starring Sophia Loren and Peter O’Toole. And, that’s the only time I’ve seen it. And forever director/Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam was trying to get some epic based on this story off the ground. That sorta topic would ALWAYS come up in his interviews. But, that’s really my only experience with it. Shout! Factory has now launched a Shout! Broadway line of films and Man of La Mancha is going to be one of its first titles. You can order down below or from their site for this US Blu-ray debut of Arthur Hiller’s film, available April 25th. 
Its hard to believe this DC Comics animated film is turning eight years old in 2017. When it was released, it was but the fourth of these edgier cartoons with PG-13 ratings featuring the DC super heroes. Now they are somewhere around thirty with more to come. These come at a pace where they can afford to hit and miss while constantly crutching on the Batman mythos with much frequency. Wonder Woman’s debut was a big standout right away, and the best reviewed of the bunch. It got the tone, story and characters perfect. While what came before was pretty solid, this one put thing on another pedestal. I haven’t seen every one of these, but Wonder Woman still is on that pedestal holding strong. It went out of print a while back, so with the new film coming out, Warner Bros is re-releasing it with a couple new featurettes. If you didn’t have it before, now’s the time to grab it when it streets on May 16th. 
It’s a headache from hell! From Frank Henenlotter, the man behind such cult horror favorites as Basket Case and Frankenhooker, comes Brain Damage – the ultimate head-trip, now finally on Blu-ray from 
While I have been completely disgusted by what has been transpiring with the divided American public this year (rioting, violence, demonstrations, destruction, etc) since the Presidential Inauguration there’s no doubt about it, the women very much have the power in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Feminists and enemies of President Trump cannot argue that. Without the many women players in this particular outing our titular hero would not have been the smashing success he is. You hear that feminists? Equal opportunities are everywhere in this new Paramount outing, which if you’re keeping score is the third film in this wild xXx action franchise. So now that I have my little political rant off my chest, as I too feel like a piece of meat at times, let’s talk about the good, the bad and the ugly in xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
Back in my old quality control days for Blu-ray and DVD, it also included the short lived HD-DVD format. Toshiba’s failed high definition discs did beat Blu-ray to market. In the testing world, I’ve mentioned the first two titles were Goodfellas and Million Dollar Baby. Well, the third was Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. This was the one that truly showcased how much you could cram on a disc (And even after, that would be surpassed). Now, for the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest Westerns of all time (You could argue THE greatest), its going to dabble in the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. Not only is it getting a new transfer, but finally it will be equipped with lossless audio carrying over all of the previous bonus material. You can pre-order the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray in time to have it on release day of May 16th. 
I honestly never saw this happening when I walked out of this one theatrically. My first viewing of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter left me with a giddy smile on my face rather than one of disgust and regret. After covering Resident Evil: Afterlife 
Its not often that I get super hyped for one of the modern movies that Scream Factory & IFC Midnight put out. Some of them, yeah, I look forward to, but catching the trailer on Beyond the Gates grabbed me and had me wanting to skip the rest of it as to not spoil. A film backed and starring legend Barbara Crampton, I was already interested, but when I saw what it was ACTUALLY about, I was thrilled. VCR board games are something that totally fascinated me when I was a kid and still do. I still have me Clue: The VCR Mystery Game in good condition, though nobody will ever play it with me (As was then as is now). Community did an episode on these during their run. Now here comes a sweet looking horror movie about one. Now, if the movie can live up to the excitement I have to watch it. We’ll see, but I have a feeling Scream Factory has another winner on their hands. You can order yourself a copy to check it out by using the Amazon link below. 
So yeah I’m a guy. And yes I have not only reviewed Fifty Shades Darker here on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, but this is admittedly the second time I saw the film. The first was in the theater! Okay, here’s my man card. The truth of the story is like the first film the studio strategically releases this title anchored on the Hallmark holiday of Valentine’s Day. So us guys have no choice but to take our women out to see this one. Just like paying taxes each year it’s our civic duty to the special ladies in our lives. Truth be told also that I actually read the first novel in this franchise. I did not like it enough to warrant reading the subsequent novels, but I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t the least bit curious as to what happens to Anna and Mr. Grey. So that’s my lovely lead in to this 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review. You guys wanna suffer some more paragraphs with me? Come on! Misery loves company. 
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! 
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. 
