Night School (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
You know that old saying don’t judge a book by its cover? Well that’s exactly what I did here with 2018’s Kevin Hart comedy Night School. I thought the trailer looked putrid and I honestly wanted nothing to do with ever seeing the film. Evidently the rest of my team shares those sentiments as when I received this title no one was clamoring to do the needful with. Therefore, I thought I was taking one for the team. What shocked me though is what I really found was a good time. The comedy I wanted nothing to do with won me over. Now don’t get ahead of me. It’s not going to win any movie of the year prizes or anything like that. However, unlike the majority of critics out there I found Night School to not only be above average, but one that I’m stoked about adding to my personal home media collection for future viewings of. Continue reading ‘Night School (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
This year was the first time since I started doing this ten years ago where my ‘worst of the year’ list was compiled before my ‘best of’. Both have since fluctuated with the titles on those lists, but the moral of the story is that while 2018 had some great films, I never felt it was a great year for films. In the final weekend before this article was due, I crammed in four theater visits in 48 hours for the most accurate top 10 list I could compile (unfortunately Vice came out too late to be viewed for this list). Little did I know three of those four wouldn’t even come close to making this list (sorry, Aquaman, I’m elated you finally got a film but it’s just too long and the Black Manta actor was awful). Nevertheless, the films that did make this were very worthy of my movie-loving appreciation for any number of reasons. As always, here’s my disclaimer that this list isn’t claiming each of these films are super artsy or award-worthy. Some of them will likely walk away with a Golden Globe or Oscar. Others are just definitive popcorn movies that were pure fun. Either way, it’s quite a mash-up of action, emotion and great storytelling.
2017 and 2018 have felt like the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format has been embracing and enjoying bringing us the back catalog of one Steven Spielberg. His latest films, The Post and Ready Player One, hitting the format right away of course, but we are getting the classics too, from all eras be it Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Jurassic Park. This year has also given us both films that have landed him his Best Director Academy Award wins. Capping off the year, we are being given the 4K Ultra-HD debut of the multiple Oscar winning (Including Best Picture) masterpiece about the Holocaust, Schindler’s List. The film was made available on the last new release Tuesday, December 18th, of the year and can be ordered by clicking the Amazon link below. 
For 50 years, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey has blown away audiences and inspired some of our biggest and best films and filmmakers. In celebration of this milestone, front by Christopher Nolan, the film was restored and rereleased in IMAX theaters to commemorate the occasion. Its amazing that a film from 1968 was already perfect for the format and could make such an easy transition, but that is the genius and master stroke that is the film that escalated Stanley Kubrick from very good filmmaker to legend overnight. Warner Bros is also not hesitating and bringing it to the best possible home presentation when it released the film on December 18th to the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. Originally slated for October 30th, the released suffered from a couple delays for reasons I’m not sure of, but if something’s going to be great, its always worth the wait (And indeed this one was). Don’t hesitate, order yourself a copy from the Amazon link below. 
For some reason I thought I would be last out of the Why So Blu? crew in terms of listing our Top-10 films of 2018. Nope! Looks like I’m first, so my selections are on deck. As is customary with my Top-10 list of films – I was not able to watch everything I wanted to before my cut-off date. I’m going to list my Top-10 selections in a streamlined fashion and I will omit any honorable mentions due to time and scheduling. You want a Top-10 list, well, that’s what you’re gonna get! Without further ado, let’s get busy! 
With only two more columns to go here at 
Well this is it film fans! Not only is this officially the last Encapsulated Movie Reviews of 2018, but also the final review column ever for this humble film critic. That’s right, after a few amazing years right here at 
Horror is doing what its doing and doing it well from all sorts of angles and subgenres. Be it awards-level prestigious like Hereditary, original blockbusters like A Quiet Place, familiar territory like It or a beloved franchise getting a new entry like Halloween, its covered. One overlooked, but important sublet of the genre is the family or kid horror film. We saw an all-timer in RL Stine’s Goosebumps a few years back (That even having a sequel this year). This year saw The House With A Clock In Its Walls, based on a popular book and directed by one of the modern experts in directing horror, Eli Roth. Keeping familiarity with the kids, Jack Black is here in the film for good measure. Its such that I feel like many people could have been confused and thought this Goosebumps-related. Universal has brought its hit film to the 4K Ultra-HD format (Unlike you, Goosebumps 2!) and you can pick it up at any time, as it was released on the last new release Tuesday of the year, December 18th. 
One of my favorite and most frustrating times of the movie writing season is the end of the year “TOP X” lists. They are a lot of fun, but also hurt the brain when trying to weed through all the releases and then put them in a specific order. When it came to 2018, the year was one full of significant and terrific upgrades of previously released titles. Whether it be the format jump to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray or a brand new Blu-ray release, the year showed that you’re doing more than just buying the same thing again for a new bonus feature. DVD and VHS brought about “double dipping” but in the case of standard Blu-ray, you’re actually getting an (ideally) improved picture and audio presentation to leap past your previous edition. It truly does fall under the term “upgrade”. New 4K and 2K scan restorations have yielded some impressive results and “fixed” many collector’s issues with the previous versions of a film. While us 4K Ultra-HD users pine for EVERYTHING to come to the format, many of the 4K restorations put on Blu-ray are keeping us satisfied with some of the smaller films for now. 
It was only a matter of time I suppose, but here we are winding down on 2018 and low and behold we unbelievably, finally have an Aquaman movie. The masterful James Wan pulled off the what was almost deemed the impossible. He defied the odds and marvelously brought to the big screen an absurd superhero project, which has been in development hell since 2004. That’s right we finally get the Aquaman! Now I have never been that big on the character like most hardcore DC Comics fans, but Wan has my full attention now. The character of Aquaman for me amounted to very little in both 
For me the highlight of 2018 on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format were the great catalog releases we received. We expect our 2018 theatrical releases to look pristine and sound great on 4K UHD Blu-ray (with some Disney ones being the exception to that rule). However, it’s the catalog releases that always manage to surprise and delight the film “collecting” (that’s for you 
Golden Globe® and Emmy ® winner Claire Foy (Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama, “The Crown,” 2017; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, “The Crown,” 2018) brings to life the iconic role of Lisbeth Salander in the next exciting chapter of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise, THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB, debuting on digital and Movies Anywhere January 22, 2019 and on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD February 5, 2019 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Director Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead; Don’t Breathe) brings insurmountable suspense and tension to the film adaptation of the fourth book of the acclaimed Millennium series to create a thrilling cinematic experience. THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB also stars Sverrir Gudnason (Borg vs. McEnroe), Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out; Sorry to Bother You, TV’s “Atlanta”), Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) and Stephen Merchant (Logan; Hot Fuzz). 
Next year will mark the 40th Anniversary of the Steve Martin/Carl Reiner comedy, The Jerk. 1979 was a launchpad year for Martin as a leading man in this film, but he also partook in The Muppet Movie and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as well. Not only has The Jerk been Martin’s cinematic starting point, but its also come to be one of his most beloved works. A sort of cult-like item now with the passage of time, it was a massive hit back upon release featuring great reviews and making close to 3/4 of a $100 million dollars. For a comedy in 1979, that’s pretty huge. Shout! Factory seems the perfect company to celebrate the film with a new Blu-ray, having previously released all of his television specials, with this brand new edition coming December 18th. Pre-order yourself a copy of this classic using the Amazon link below. 
If there is one director that has been tied to brand, in terms of Blu-ray labels, its John Carpenter and Scream Factory. One of his most acclaimed and biggest box office hits, Starman, is now receiving the Collector’s Edition treatment (Which kicked off the label back in 2012 with two Carpenter produced Halloween sequels, mind you). Starman also lead actor Jeff Bridges to his first Academy Award nomination. Its a big film that’s notoriety just kind of went away over time. Back in the day, this title would be used to sell other Carpenter films whereas they never would have sold him on ones that would instantly get attention today like The Thing or They Live. Starman will have a new transfer and documentary and be available for purchase on December 18th, giving you plenty of time to stuff the John Carpenter obsessed loved one’s stocking in time for the Christmas holiday if you use the Amazon link below. 
This year every time a new month came in, my money went out. I found an impressive array of discs released in 2018 and there was definitely some jockeying for position that took place with this list since mid-summer. For instance, DC Comics’ Justice League had been a mainstay on here until recently when one release after another pushed it off the list. Still, that film does have my favorite steelbook to date, but we’re not counting points for artwork here. We’re looking at quality of the production and the library of content. Extras aren’t the be all end all, but they can make or break a title entering this list so let’s see who made the cut.
