A Joel Schumacher Tribute – Top Five Films
We recently lost someone who in my humble movie opinion was a filmmaker who possessed a distinctive style and a definitive movie magic quality – Director Joel Schumacher sadly passed away after a yearlong battle with cancer. Having been a fan of his work since I was a kid, I can honestly say that some of his films had a long-lasting effect on me. And while there were some outings that were merely just entertaining (Phone Booth had its moments!) and fluffy (Batman Forever is a guilty pleasure for sure!), there were also more than enough notable and even five-star flicks of his that broke ground to have their rightful place in cinema history. (And I have reviews going back years that rave about the selections below!) From bitter businessmen who have had enough to the hijinks of a wacky cab company, here’s my tribute to the late great Joel Schumacher with a look at his…Top Five Films.
Continue reading ‘A Joel Schumacher Tribute – Top Five Films’
I’m calling it. 2019 was the best end of the decade year since 1999. If I had the time, I could have easily made a list of 25 or maybe even 50 films. The MCU came to a conclusion (for now) with the fantastic crowd pleaser and box office record-breaker Avengers: Endgame. Studio pics and one particular foreign flick had economic inequality on the brain with Ready or Not, Knives Out, and Oscar hopeful Parasite. We also saw the best teen film in nearly two decades (Ghost World was the last one). This was also another great year for women standing up for themselves, whether on the stage in Her Smell, on a different kind of stage in Hustlers, or on the streets of New York in Brittany Runs a Marathon. In the end, I try to have lists of ten that exemplify a range of what I love about movies. 2019 did not disappoint.
Here I am, returning once again for my seventh Top 10 Films list in my Why So Blu career. And like any other year, I feel like I have a good handle on things to make a top list until I actually go to write it. 2019, due to life things, was a year where I missed out on more than I normally would have and I thought the list would be simpler in the end. Turns out, it was just as hard as any other and my final pick was an incredibly tough choice to make among the ones fighting for that 10 spot. While the task to list out, narrow down, weed out and make excruciating cuts is a frustrating task, it makes me happy that I am enjoying so many movies to such degrees year in and year out. So many people poo poo the “current state of movies” and my honest advice that you need to do some work (Not hard work even) and seek out something you’re mildly curious on. Don’t feel handcuffed to blockbusters, stop judging thing so hard on the trailers you’re seeing and go see something out of your comfort zone. If it doesn’t work out, well, maybe it will next time. That’s the gamble and fun of movies. Follow things by creators (Directors, writers) and not genre. Don’t be afraid of challenging yourself once in a while. Don’t be afraid of watching something ridiculous once in a while (And appreciating what fluff is). Enjoy movies. All kinds. Explore. Remember…Star Wars was once something weird and new. 
2019 was an interesting year for me. I had a great dream realized that I thought would only happen in the form of Amazon or iTunes reviews — I was invited to write about movies here at WhySoBlu. This exceptional opportunity has afforded me the privilege to share with you my passion for film as a whole, to share a small dose of me with every article I write. This has been a dream for me as long as I can remember. With my last 2019 film list and my first official post of the year, I want to thank my colleagues Aaron, Brandon, Brian, Corey, Gerard, Gregg, and Peter. Thank you for giving me so many great reviews to read and to look up to. You all have wonderful ways with words and I hope that I find myself continually influenced by your work. I’d also like to give a shout out to my husband B. for his patience and understanding with my writing. He hears a lot about my critiques now and he’s been essential in sharing his opinions as well. We’ve become like a more amiable Siskel and Ebert at home. For all the readers of WhySoBlu, I thank you just as much for your continued reading, sharing and mutual love of film and physical media. I hope you enjoy reading about my top 10 films of 2019 and find a few surprises in there!
I sound like a broken record, but every single year this Top 10 movie list keeps getting harder to write.
The triumph of cinema for the 2010s has been varied, to say the least. While streaming became the medium of choice for millions, blockbusters still broke records, and smaller films, whether seen on a phone or big screen, created much by way of discussion. We close out the decade with the old “what is cinema?” question back in the conversation. True cinephiles would simply throw shade, offering their best Billie Eilish “Duh,” but for those who think of movies as merely “entertainment,” Martin Scorsese’s remark about the MCU films not being “real cinema” was a brain-busting WTF moment. Still, the decade began with business as usual (franchises, Oscar-bait). It ended with what felt, for some, like the very survival of more adult fare, which too was an overreaction. Along the way, great strides in diversity arrived by way of #OscarsSoWhite, the success of Black Panther, gender-focused shakeups, and more.
Much like it was for me last year the highlight of 2019 on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format were mostly the exceptional catalog releases we received. I hope they keep them coming! Here’s looking at you Star Wars (Skywalker Saga sans the original theatrical presentations), Back to the Future and many more next year. And while we expect our 2019 theatrical releases to look pristine and sound amazing on 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc it’s these aforementioned catalog releases that manage to surprise and delight us physical film collectors and aficionados out there. Yes it sucks having to double dip on titles you already own sometimes on multiple formats, but don’t you want to own the best version of the movie? That’s a rhetorical question because of course you flippin’ do! You wouldn’t be reading this otherwise. It feeds our passions! This is who we are. I have spoken. 
I do long for the days of Robert Venditti writing X-O Manowar. I also miss the ongoing Vader series dearly. Alas, all good things must come to an end, but fear not! Each year the comic book industry provides new surprises as well as continuity of greatness. In addition, it is important to mention the case of two landmark achievements in 2019. Both the series Detective Comics and Marvel Comics each reached their 1,000th issue this year and both were done very differently. The former was a collection of short Batman stories, while the latter was a massive collection of one-page stories ranging from Daredevil to Darth Vader. Personally, I found nothing to be gained by a story contained on a single page, but to each their own. Enough talk, onto the awards!
Another calendar year has come and gone in the “death of physical media” era we’ve been living in for years upon years now. While I think in the eyes of those of us collectors who prefer ownership, things are still thriving and benefiting us immensely (You SPOIL us, Reverend Entertainment!), 2019 has seen the desire of the big studios’ future plans come more to fruition. At Why So Blu alone, there have seen severe disappointments with announcements of digital only 4K Ultra-HD releases (The Limey, in particular) and new beloved movies only getting a standard Blu-ray release with bare minimum bonus features (Midsommar). On the brighter side, stingy big studios allergic to sub-licensing their catalogs have begun to soften their stance and the unthinkable of Warner Bros, Paramount and Sony (Moreso in terms of allowing new bonus features, something they used to not do) started unloading onto us in 2019. Your move, Lionsgate (The most head scratching and frustrating studio with catalog releases). As I’ve been saying for years, I don’t see a death for physical media ever happening, it’ll just be changing and a smaller output that has standards already have been practiced for almost 10 years now. It’ll evolve to look more like the current state of vinyl records in its future, and that’s okay. The people who are still passionate about putting these out know how to blast excitement into it (I mean, who doesn’t get antsy about the Vinegar Syndrome Black Friday sale every year?). But, enough about the future, let us get to the now, my Top 4K Ultra-HD and Top Blu-ray titles released in the 2019 calendar year. 
Happy Holiday, folks! This time of year means the WSB staff opens the floodgates on their top 10’s. While I didn’t experience the treasure trove of films in the theater this year I had hoped for (by quality, not amount), the list of quality Blu-rays was lengthy, but alas, narrow it to ten we must. I did finally experience what WSB-founder Blu-ray Brian has been stating for some time now about Disney Blu-rays. While I absolutely loved Captain Marvel as a film, the audio on its Blu-ray release was incredibly mundane and severely disappointing. Shame on you, Disney. Off the list it went. Rest assured, however, there were plenty of titles clamoring to make our lists and while Captain Marvel on disc was left in the dust, there is more than enough entertainment to fill out ten impressive releases.
OK, so here’s the thing… I’m kind of, sort of, terrible at this sort of thing. Who can confine themselves to ten of anything? Ten artists. Ten singers. Ten favorite foods… Ten of anything seems like a lot but if you’re an over-thinker like myself, chances are ten is never enough. There’s always that one more something that becomes the “might have been” on the list! With this, my first top-ten list for this absolutely amazing website, I have been going over my choices day by day and have decided to try my very best to contain myself and even as you read this list published now, I’m thinking of whether or not I need to go back and revise… I kid you not, ten is just not enough! I am so excited that 2019 was yet another step in the right direction for film fans who love physical media and this year’s huge amount of 4K Blu-rays have been wonderfully varied and so many amazingly done releases have come out for us to cherish, critique and revisit. I’ve done my best to compile my favorites and hope I have some of you saying “Absolutely!” And others saying “I’ll have to check that one out!” Enjoy!
Welcome back to another edition of Brandon’s Blu-ray Wishlist. The second one this year as 2019’s had to be pushed to January last time. But alas, I’m back and on time here with another set of 10 films or TV programs that have yet to be blessed/restored/made-over with the Blu-ray format (Or 4K Ultra-HD now for that matter). The usual rules apply as always. To appear on the wishlist, a title cannot have been released anywhere on the globe (If its only in another region, its STILL on the format). Also, if it has been announced in some sort of professional or reliable manner (IE: Peter Jackson has discussed that Meet the Feebles and Bad Taste ARE getting released). After the list, in the comments, list of some of theme you’re hoping finally see the light of day or you are STILL waiting to see the light of day in the comments (We are already WELL aware of The Abyss and True Lies, so lets get a bit more creative, shall we?). 
