Goodbye To You, Why So Blu!
December 12th, 2023 by Brandon Peters
With the posting of this piece, my tenure at Why So Blu? has come to a close. After 10+ years and publishing over 1,800 reviews and articles, I have returned my keys to the building to Brian White. I walk away on my own accord with nothing but glowing things to say about Brian and my time here writing for the site I’ve called home for so long. No, I have not succumbed to the giant, spooky streaming monster. I will still be collecting, promoting, and having a passion for physical media after this. It’s something that is never going to change in me.
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In good years and “bad” years at the movies, there are still great films gifted upon us. Old faithfuls deliver and new voices step into the light. Small films will climb high and a blockbuster or two will remind people of why something needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. And in every year, as a film writer, we craft together our Top 10, 20, 30…films of the year. No matter the year, its never an easy task for people who appreciate the art and love and live for the medium. For 2022, culminating a top 10 was aggravating as the cuts to make were pretty deep. There were films I’d love to highlight, but being honest with myself, I have to go with what meant more to me while at the same time not being phony in trying to include what I “should” or exclude something because plenty of other people will have it on their lists and I want to be hip and different just for the sake of trying to stand out. As I say every year, there were plenty of films I still wish I would have been able to get to, but at some point, you have to call “time” and just get to it. With all top 10s, its that person’s film experience for the year. Whether they were able to see 12 films of 200, their top 10 is their top 10. So, let’s get to cracking on my Top 10 Films of 2022! 
2022 is coming to a close as possibly the strongest year for 4K we’ve seen or may yet to see. Many gigantic staples of cinema made their jump this year as well as some regular offenders in the collectibles department. Blu-ray was solid, but this was the first year I noticed a shift and found it hard to scrape up a list. Or, moreso easier to. The 4K list could have been a top 50, but we are going to stick with 10. As I did last year, I’m doing these via videos again. One video is for my favorite standard Blu-ray releases of 2022 and the other my faves in the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray department. As always, thank you for your reads, comments and pre-orders throughout the year. I’m already excited for 2023’s first couple months for 4Ks and am excited as the rest of the year unfolds. Next year I’ll also hit 10 years of writing physical media reviews here at Why So Blu? which feels utterly insane! 
David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends is now playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock. And I’m sure EVERYONE on social media has their very strong opinions on it for better or for worse. Either way, I love seeing that big dork in the white mask return again and again on the big screen. Also returning in Halloween Ends is Blue Oyster Cult’s 1976 rock staple “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” the first song ever featured in a Halloween movie. While Halloween has been more known for scores than they have soundtracks, there are some notable songs featured in the films and even attempts to nab a hit single and sell records while counting box office receipts. I wanted to look at each film in the series and select one song that significantly ties into the movie in some way, SHAPE or form that feels memorable. Some are less memorable than others, some are a bit of a stretch, and some you may not even remember. 
Halloween Kills arrives to everyone on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray tomorrow – January 11th! We are offering you a chance to win a free copy of the film with this brand new giveaway! All you need to do is watch the video below and follow the instructions. Have your entry in by Friday, January 14th (1/14/2022). I’ll be announcing the winner later that very same day. Make sure you either subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on Twitter or Instagram @brandon4KUHD. New Michael Myers movie, not hard to enter, and a chance to take home a free copy of this wonderful 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Why not give it a shot?
Last week was the favorite physical media I had to weed down to a short list, this week its the actual films of 2021 to which I must choose a mere 10. As is true in any year, its hard as hell to crack this thing down to 20-30, let alone 10. But, that’s the sort of “fun stress” we film writers/reviewers tend to enjoy putting ourselves through. This year seemed super loaded with filmmakers I admire and adore and it pained me to cut some of them from this list. At the end of the day, there were films I just found I want to watch more and others that surprised me or took me for a wild and unique journey, while some just kind of did their thing (very) well. My final cut that didn’t make the list might end up being one I revisit or think about more than some of these on here. I’m pretty certain there’s a few here I like more than most and are probably on the other end of the spectrum and despised by people. But here, on this day, this 29th day of December at the end of the year, this is how I have felt in this moment, in this capsule. 
The year comes to a close in a matter of days, so that means its time break out the obligatory end of year/best of/top 10 of things from 2021. This year saw a nice surge in titles coming to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray, ending the year with Criterion FINALLY getting on board and getting involved in a big way to launch. Up front, time has not been something I’ve had much of in the past few weeks, so I’ll be delivering both my Top 10 standard Blu-ray list and my Top 10 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray lists via my 4K BLUsday method – on video! For those who like to read, As much as I appreciate your love of the typed word, my digits didn’t have it in them this year for that. I’ll provide you a cheat sheet below the video, but if you watch the video you’ll receive my reasoning for each choice. Thanks, as always, for indulging me!
It’s been 8 years since I published my first Blu-ray Wishlist article during my first year writing here at Why So Blu. In 2013, I decided to take something always on my brain and put it to text. From DVD to Blu-ray, late in their life, I have always been curious on just what films haven’t made the jump to the format. Not every theatrical film made it to VHS, BetaMax or CED. Even less made it to Laserdisc. And not every film on VHS made it to DVD. And it only continues to shrink from there. As many a cool release or double dip upgrade comes out on a title we love, so many are still missing. So many fans of those films continually waiting for a picture improvement from whatever format they currently cling to. The purpose for it was to have fun and see what other people would be wanting or bring to my attention that I hadn’t realized was missing. I even had too big of eyes and attempted it as a weekly series in 2014, but quickly realized I’m probably better suited for it as an annual piece. At the end of the day, it created an awareness and sometimes the distributors did indeed take note. Shout! Factory once responded to one of Twitter that they had attempted one of the titles I listed but were not successful. 
F9: The Fast Saga shifts gears from the theater to Blu-ray on September 21st! We are offering you a chance to win a free copy of the film with this brand new giveaway! All you need to do is watch the video below and follow the instructions. Have your entry in by Monday, September 20th (9/20/2021). I’ll be announcing the winner on my 4K BLUsday segment on YouTube the very next day, Tuesday September 21st (9/21/2021). Make sure you either subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on Twitter or Instagram @brandon4KUHD. Fun film, not hard to enter, and a chance to take home a free copy of this wonderful Blu-ray. Why not give it a shot?
Hi everybody! I have a really quick giveaway going on for Promising Young Woman on Blu-ray. All you need to do is watch the video below and follow the instructions. Have your entry in by Monday, March 15 (3/15/2021). I’ll be announcing the winner on my 4K BLUsday segment on YouTube the very next day, Tuesday March 16 (3/16/2021). Make sure you either subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on Twitter or Instagram @brandon4KUHD. Great film, not hard to enter, and a chance to take home a free copy of this wonderful Blu-ray. Why not give it a shot?
I’ll spare you the “What a crazy year this was!” jargon as you already know. You lived through it, too. Like every cinephile, I sure do miss going to theaters and oddly not having that option made me feel like I saw a lot less “important stuff” or “contenders” this year. Yet, at the same time, I kind of did? There were many films at the time of this writing I wasn’t able to get to, didn’t have access too, or hadn’t ponied up $20 for VOD rental or whatnot. Plus, at the start of 2020 I was making a concentrated effort to not cram down films/television so much as I have in years past. Take my time, relax, not hurry. Let the ones I do watch soak up and think about them more. For better or for worse, I’d like what I take in to keep some staying power in my brain. I’m older, I have small children and my short term memory isn’t always what it used to be. However, when crafting my list I was very happy with it in the end, and I do have strong feelings toward every single one of the films on it (plus many of the ones cut) quite a bit. Despite many big films getting moved, the year was still littered with great material. A lot of which, I wish the opportunity to see it in the theater would’ve been an option. Then again, I have some rather against the grain picks this year and I’m pretty satisfied with that. 
I’m not the first person to tell you 2020 has felt like forever and a day and then forever again. We were fortunate to have still been given a constant flux of new 4K Ultra-HD and standard Blu-ray releases despite the global pandemic. Heck, When charting back for this list, I was stunned at some of my contenders, having them feel like they came out last year because it felt so long ago. In a positive perspective for 2020, in regards to home video collecting, the year has relieved and renewed my faith in studios to keep delivering and finding new ways to build excitement with collecting. Disney aside, every studio has shown new strategies and refreshed dedication in backing physical media. Warner Bros has continued sub licensing, but also seems to be putting a little more effort into the bonus materials for Warner Archive. Paramount has released the Presents line as well as just shooting out some bare bones releases of stuff never on the format before with new regularity. And that’s not even to begin discussing the continued excitement from the likes of Shout! Factory, Blue Underground, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin Films, Arrow Video and more as they all have invested in 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. In other words, it was a pretty damn good outing for physical media in 2020, even if it wasn’t for the health of the global population. 
That time of year is upon us again, as we take a look at films that have still yet to arrive on Blu-ray in the year 2020. Looking ahead to next year, there are STILL so many terrific and worthy films of the format upgrade. Things seem to be shifting too, and we are in a spot where the home video landscape is pushing more toward the collector than ever before. Aside from Disney, the studios seems to be recalibrating their efforts in bringing more titles and better versions of those titles to our players. Paramount especially has been active this year with both its Paramount Presents label and just getting some stuff the hell out regardless (IE: The Two Jakes, Private Parts). The independent studios are getting the reigns on bigger titles and the studios themselves are putting in a bit better effort. Sony is killing it with polling collectors for the Columbia Classics line which hopefully becomes an annual set. I ask those who cry out to proclaim the death of physical media regularly, then why am I increasingly happier and happier year in and year out? 
4K BLUsday returns on election day in the United States (Please get out and VOTE). A rather ho-hum release day in terms of both announcements from the past week as well as movie coming out today. Still there is plenty to be excited about. We are about to enter that weird late December through February period where the studios aren’t going overboard after their big holiday releases hangover. On the YouTube Channel I have our Full Metal Jacket contest winner as well as a new contest for a digital code of 2019’s The Addams Family animated film. Please note, that code is an iTunes exclusive and not redeemable through other digital services. Listen to the podcast, watch the video, more details below!
