X-Men: Apocalypse (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
X-Men (along with Blade) is credited with giving launch to the 2nd wave of comic book superhero movies. Its also, cleverly, still going along within its own continuity. Two years ago, Bryan Singer returned to the franchise he gave life with the fun and exciting Days Of Future Past. That film melded together the original cast with the younger First Class team. The film both worked as a sequel to First Class and sort of a cap off to the original crew. That film sort of ended on a clean slate, allowing this universe to cross old territories and new without worry. They decided to begin with the biggest mutant villain there is, Apocalypse, while re-introducing some of the more popular mutants that had been absent for a few films. Continue reading ‘X-Men: Apocalypse (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
Back in the days I used to fashion myself as a pretty big Ghostbusters fan. I lost count how many times I seen the original back in the 80’s, but I can honestly attest to only seeing the second film once. We all know how bad that film is so I won’t even go there. Needless to say a third Ghostbusters film has been rumored to be in the works now for decades. Did they need a third Ghostbusters film? Of course they did not, but you can’t keep a good cash cow down forever. Sooner or later it’s going to rear its ugly head, hence this year’s Independence Day: Resurgence. So that’s where things get interesting. I was convinced that this reboot of the “franchise” was going to suck hard based on my animosity towards the film’s first trailer, but a recent visit with the original Ghostbusters on 4K UHD Blu-ray made me think otherwise. This 2016 entry is an absolute blast! 
I have to admit, even with the ridiculous latest entry in the family, X-Men: Apocalypse, I’m ecstatic to be tackling X-Men: First Class here. Ask me why. I dare you! Well, since you asked, I suppose the only nice thing to do would be to divulge. I’m “ultra” excited for this one simply because ever since they did this First Class I haven’t looked back. With the exception of Wolverine’s character, I had some small issues with the original X-Men films, especially the third one. However, First Class came along and totally made me a fan again with it’s reboot characteristics, vintage “freshness” and fantastic young cast. It’s an absolute blast. Needless to say I’m stoked about First Class making its 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut this past Tuesday. So let’s get started! 
The Legend of Tarzan feels like a film that was set up to fail from the very start. How much interest is there really with a modern day telling of Tarzan where your leading man sports blonde locks? The trailers were personally satisfying, but something about it just reeked of stay away to me. That’s why I never saw this one theatrically. Now don’t get me wrong. I love me some Alexander Skarsgard. I grew up watching and adoring him as Eric in True Blood and his casting here had absolutely nothing to do with my staying away from this property theatrically. Admittedly so I’m not much of a Tarzan fan. I could care less really. However, that state of mind all changed after seeing Suicide Squad this past August. I realized something about The Legend of Tarzan I failed to initially see. Margot Robbie is in this one! Hello, Jane! Me Tarzan! 
Every summer folks flock to see the giant superhero blockbusters, the big animated features for the family (That a lot of adults get more out of), large scale epics, Purge movies and some of those small films that click along the way. Forgotten among the ranks sometimes are the straight comedies and rom coms with notable casts. You gotta fill that void a couple times a month and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates was one of those movies. It felt like you couldn’t escape that trailer no matter what you went to see from the Spring until it came out. A trailer that felt it was giving away the best the film had to offer. While I kinda looked at it as one I’d wait for home video on, I still was kinda interested based on the cast. The movie was a decent sized hit while being unfavorable with the critics. But, hey, everyone has a different sense of humor. 
Before visiting The Great Gatsby theatrically, I strongly held the opinion that this was either going to be one of those films you’d love or you’d hate with absolutely no middle ground in the equation. I know I found myself seriously conflicted in how I felt about it for months before I saw it. The first trailer did nothing to persuade me that this was a film I must-see. Other than my infinite love for Baz Luhrmann’s 
In Blood Father, which comes out on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on October 11th, Mel Gibson (Maverick, Payback) effortlessly transcends his troubled public persona to portray a gruff semi-racist man trying to escape his past by telling the only woman is his life to shut up and follow his instructions lest she find herself facing physical violence. Additionally, it has some pretty brutal and fun action scenes and doesn’t take itself too seriously, so it might just be worth a watch. 
When my reviewer Gerard Iribe and Aaron Neuwirth (his Comic-Con 2012 coverage 
The 1980s was a decade that offered many new iconic horror villains and continued the lore and mythology of ones introduced in the 1970s. It was a kind of resurgence of horror characters, harkening back to the days of the Universal monsters back in the 1940s. At the tail end of the decade we were introduced to one of its last and most iconic monsters, Chucky! This evil was predicated on the fear of the sort of creepy My Buddy and Kid Sister dolls that were quite popular with the kiddos back in the day. Even though we couldn’t see the movie, we all knew who Chucky was and feared this idea of him. He got his due with multiple sequels, even being the leading franchise horror guy through to the mid-90s as horror was in a down period and he was the only one doing something and/or active. Today we travel back to his original haunting, courtesy of a fresh, brand new release from Scream Factory. 
Nicolas Winding Refn is one of the most visionary and abstract directors we have in the current mold. He’s a filmmaker whose films will probably age a lot better in critical circles than they are received in present day. They polarize and split audiences. His films feature an equal amount of boos and standing ovations at Cannes. No matter the love or the hate, they are a visceral experience and no matter your outcome at the end, are worth plopping down to sit and watch. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Only God Forgives, its one I’ve sat on the shelf for now and hope to dust off and revisit it again down the road. Maybe it was I that wasn’t ready for it, yet. That didn’t stop me from being incredibly excited for his latest film, The Neon Demon, which had me drooling with excitement to see it from the sight of the first trailer when it was released. 
Central Intelligence is a movie that came and went theatrically that I cared nothing about. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see it, but I just didn’t want to see it theatrically if that makes any sense. I believed Central Intelligence to just be one of those throwaway films that we merely deem mediocre or passable. I guess looking back I was dead wrong. Not only was Central Intelligence favorable with most critics, but it was also very strong in the box office. That’s where it counts anyway, right? Absolutely! A movie’s not made for art. It’s made for one purpose only. Well, okay two! Films are produced like packaged lunch meat to pack those seats in the theaters and make a profit. Money makes the world go around and that’s Hollywood for you. I got a little off topic, eh? So Central Intelligence… 
Make no mistake about it, Everest is not going to win any feel good movie-of-the-year awards on the new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format. It’s a very cold and brutal experience to behold especially now that it’s crystal clear and more pronounced than ever on the new home media format. The extra clarity of the 4K Ultra HD presentation makes it even more-so an agonizing, painful experience to sit through. However, it’s an experience you’ll come back to again and again like an aging boxer once you get a gander at all its majesty on the 4K format. You can take that to the bank and cash it. So come on in, let me be your guide and I’ll show you around Universal’s 4K Ultra HD treatment of 2015’s Everest. 
The first film adaptation of a Stephen King book, Carrie was a box office hit, garnering Academy Award® nominations for the up and coming star Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter), and film veteran Piper Laurie (The Hustler), a rare accomplishment for the horror genre at the time. In 1976, Carrie, the 
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment celebrates the 30th anniversary of the generation-defining fantasy: LABYRINTH, newly restored in 4K. Directed by renowned filmmaker Jim Henson, executive produced by George Lucas (Star Wars) and with a screenplay by Monty Python’s Terry Jones, LABYRINTH stars David Bowie (The Prestige) and Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (Best Supporting Actress, A Beautiful Mind, 2001) in the story of a girl (Connelly) who must save her little brother from the Goblin King (Bowie). LABYRINTH is presented with an all-new 4K restoration and exclusive Dolby Atmos sound on both the Blu-ray and the 4K Ultra HD releases. The film was fully restored from the 35mm original camera negative, thereby utilizing in 4K the full resolution, detail and color depth inherent in the film. 4K Ultra HD brings the full power of this restoration into the home, featuring four times the resolution of high definition, high dynamic range (HDR)–which produces brilliant highlights, vibrant colors and greater contrast on compatible displays–and Dolby Atmos audio, remixed specifically for the home theater environment, delivering captivating sound that places and moves audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. 
Lionsgate is exhuming classic horror films with a red carpet rollout this fall for the limited edition Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Hours of materials have been assembled for the Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray™ releases, starting with with Chopping Mall andBlood Diner, and continuing with Waxwork and Waxwork II: Lost in Time Double Feature,Return of the Living Dead 3, andC.H.U.D. II: Bud the CHUD, these re-releases are for the collector and horror fan alike and will be available for a limited amount of time. Each limited-edition feature, transferred from the original film elements to high-definition Blu-ray™, is packed with special features like Blood Diner’s new making of and audio commentary with director Jackie Kong. 
Lionsgate is exhuming classic horror films with a red carpet rollout this fall for the limited edition Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Hours of materials have been assembled for the Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray™ releases, starting with with Chopping Mall and Blood Diner, and continuing with Waxwork and Waxwork II: Lost in Time Double Feature, Return of the Living Dead 3, andC.H.U.D. II: Bud the CHUD, these re-releases are for the collector and horror fan alike and will be available for a limited amount of time. Each limited-edition feature, transferred from the original film elements to high-definition Blu-ray™, is packed with special features including brand-new audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and interviews with cast & crew — including one with Chopping Mall’s robot! 
