Westworld Season 2: The Door (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Yours truly originally covered the first season of Westworld, also known as The Maze, on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray over here. Truth be told it’s a very boring, but also thrilling watch at times. Admittedly so I fell hard asleep the first time I attempted to watch the first episode of the second season during its initial airing on HBO. Try as I could I had a hard time remembering what happened in the first season and for the life of me I could not stay awake for the duration of the initial hour I tried to invest. It was as yawn inducing as the Comic-Con panel for the show I suffered through here. When this one got offered to us I initially asked my resident 4K reviewer peer on the site here, Brandon Peters, if he had any interest. Smartly he declined. Therefore, I’m back, made to suffer at times, and hoping for some gratuitous female physiques to at least capture my attention throughout this second season of Westworld. Ha! Sometimes you just need to be careful with what you wish for as you just might get…the OPPOSITE. Continue reading ‘Westworld Season 2: The Door (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
Seems to be a lot of these former wishlist titles have mine have been getting scratched off in just the last couple of months. A big and surprising one has been Howard Hawks’ classic The Thing From Another World. We are finally getting it here (Available NOW, I believe, after being delayed from November) in 2018. While John Carpenter’s remake of the film has scored itself quite a few editions on Blu-ray, this one has seemingly been collecting dust. Unlike Carpenter’s version, we unfortunately get no special edition or any bonus materials to speak of (Aside from trailers). What needs to be remembered, is its important that at least the film carries on and is restored to the newer and better format first and foremost. Hawks’ film is an important piece of genre history for both horror and science fiction and should grace every genre collector’s shelves. Have it grace yours by using the wonderful Amazon link below. 
Over a decade ago, Why So Blu founder Brian White brought to my attention a website based out of Winnipeg that did reviews of recently released Blu-rays. When he asked the lone admin of that site how he accumulates the material to write about, Brian was rather surprised to learn that the film studios send them out. “Do you send them back when you’re done?” The answer was a simple ‘no’. As the gears started turning in Brian’s head, his love for movies started dating a knack for writing and it wasn’t long after that the two got married.
Silent Night, Deadly Night is a film franchise that is notoriously legendary in its first two entries for entirely different reasons. As has been noted, the first film was one of the most controversial and protested films of the 1980s. Part 2 didn’t catch its legacy until 2006 when it became and internet meme for one of its most outrageous moments and line readings. Its not the holidays around my house if “Garbage Day” isn’t referenced 10,000 or more times. The film’s star had dropped off the map, leaving Hollywood in 1992. Like Mark Patton before him, Eric Freeman finally resurfaced a couple years ago, and we can now finally get his story about working on the film he’s most known for. And you’ll be able to see that on the Scream Factory Collector’s Edition of Silent, Night Deadly Night Part 2. They’ve loaded this one up with interviews and a short film follow up on the character made for this Blu-ray. It’ll sit nicely next to the first one in your collection, so pre-order your copy from the Amazon link below today! 
Smallfoot, which kinda seemed like a smaller movie, actually surprised me when I checked out its Box Office report. It didn’t cross the $100 million mark domestically ($82 million), but did cross it on the global release scale with over $200 million. It opened solid at the end of October neck and neck with Night School and than sorta snuck through the powerhouse October of Venom, Halloween and A Star Is Born as the kids animated movie of choice. It features the powerhouse vocal stylings of Channing Tatum, LeBron James, James Corden and Gina Rodriguez. And hey, smart move here, as Warner Brothers is getting this one out to Blu-ray (No 4K, boo!) before/during the Holiday season. It’ll be out next Tuesday, so go ahead and get the pre-order in for the kiddos to watch now or throw in as a gift from them or your fellow Yeti enthusiast. 
This riveting mystery thriller by Brian De Palma (Carrie, Raising Cain) will leave you breathless. On January 15th, 2019, Shout! Factory will release this sinister melodrama as a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. Obsession features new bonus material including a new audio commentary with author Douglas Keesey, and new interviews with producer George Litto and editor Paul Hirsh, as well as the vintage featurette “Obsession Revised”, theatrical trailer, still gallery and more! Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com.
Back with more films from 2018 new and old counting down to the end of the year and those highly anticipated Top Ten lists. This week sees three new outings, an exclusive single night director’s cut and a couple of notables that film folks have been chatting up all on the critical chopping block. Tales of unlikely friendships, aging hitmen, Christmas tales with bite, the damning cycle of abuse, killing in five parts and a murder mystery hatched out of self preservation all make up the six flicks covered via this week’s Encapsulated Movie Reviews. Check out the short opinions on Green Book, Asher, All The Creatures Were Stirring, Gemini, Back Roads and The House That Jack Built: Director’s Cut below.
Charles Bronson stars as a rogue cop pursuing a deranged killer in the action-packed suspense-thriller 10 to Midnight. Serving up vigilante justice as only he can, Bronson delivers one of his most riveting performances in this film. On January 22nd, 2019, Scream Factory brings this Cannon Group classic to Blu-ray as a Collector’s Edition loaded with new bonus features, including a new 4k scan of the original camera negative, new interviews with actor Andrew Stevens, producer Lance Hool, actor Robert F. Lyons, and actress Jeana Tomasina Keough; as well as a new audio commentary with writer and historian Paul Talbot. Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com. 
The terror is now everywhere! Scream Factory proudly presents Howling III on Blu-ray for the first time on January 15, 2019. This release of the third entry in the popular werewolf horror franchise features an all-new digital transfer and new bonus features including interviews and audio commentary with director Phillippe Mora.
Rooster Teeth and Cinedigm recently announced that the newest story in the Red Vs. Blue universe will arrive on digital platforms on November 6, 2018 and Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack on January 1, 2019. Red Vs. Blue follows two groups of soldiers in the distant future who are battling for control of the least desirable piece of real estate in the known universe: a box canyon in the middle of nowhere. “The Shisno Paradox has already amassed quite a buzz among fans with 470,00 views on YouTube for just the introduction to the show! The fan base for this series is so dedicated, which is showcased by the fact that Red Vs. Blue is internet’s longest running web series, and we look forward to being offer our fan base the chance to own the latest in chapter in the RVB universe,” said Joe Nicolosi, Director of Red Vs. Blue. Read on to find out how to win a free copy! 
Lt. Cobretti is a one-man assault team whose laser-mount submachine gun and pearl-handled Colt .45 spit pure crime-stopping venom! Sylvester Stallone stars as Marion Cobretti. But to those who know him – and those who wish they didn’t – he’s Cobra, a street-tough, big-city detective who does jobs nobody else wants or dares to do. On January 22, 2019, SCREAM FACTORY™ is proud to present 80’s action-packed cult thriller COBRA Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. Directed by George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II,Tombstone), the film stars Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Creed), Brigitte Nielsen (Creed II, Red Sonja), and Reni Santoni (Muder One, The Practice. A must-have for movie collectors and loyal fans, this definitive collector’s edition contains new 2K scan of the film, new interviews and special bonus content. Pre-order is available now at ShoutFactory.com. 
Way back when, which “when” is October the ninth of 2018, Scream Factory unleashed the 1999 remake of William Castle’s House On Haunted Hill. The original was a Vincent Price classic, and in a time when remakes weren’t really a thing yet, this got a 1990s Scream-era makeover. And oddly, its been one of them that’s been absent from the Blu-ray library this whole time. There has been a German release from 2010 and a Spanish region one from 2014. For those who can’t import or go region free, it does them no good. But when someone like Scream Factory gets the helm, it makes it somewhat worth the wait. The straight to video sequel of all things, has been available this whole time though. Heck, that came out during one the inaugural years of the format, even! This Collector’s Edition ports over all the bonus materials on the previous release as well as a couple of new interviews. None of the cast came back though, sorry. Order yourself a copy of this classic now by clicking the Amazon link following the review. 
You’re in for a fun scare when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment unleashes GOOSEBUMPS 2 debuting on Digital and available via the Movies Anywhere App on December 25 and coming to Blu-ray™ and DVD January 15. Slappy the devious ventriloquist dummy returns to run amuck, in this second installment of the family-friendly franchise based on R.L. Stine’s beloved book series. Standing in Slappy’s way is a terrifyingly talented cast including Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Jeremy Ray Taylor (It), Caleel Harris (Castle Rock), and Chris Parnell (Rick and Morty), with Ken Jeong (Crazy Rich Asians). 
In celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary, Shout Select will release the seminal romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally… in a collector’s edition Blu-ray set on January 8th, 2019. This release features a new transfer restored from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, and comes packed with bonus features, including new interviews with Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal. Fans can preorder this Collector’s Edition set now at shoutfactory.com.
Whereas 2018 was not the best year for films (in my humble opinion), it proved to be an exceptional year for comics. The world of Spider-Man saw one massive tie-in after another between the PS4 game, the upcoming animated film and the Spider-Geddon series. Valiant did a slight but impactful retooling of its popular Ninjak series, now referring to him as Ninja-K, the eleventh assassin of his kind (A through K) in Her Majesty’s service. DC made their own statement with the Drowned Earth story arc, establishing the importance and strength of Aquaman as the half-Atlantean, half-human gets ready for his own feature film later this month. Long story short (too late), there was no shortage of entertainment from comic book publishers these past twelve months. You’ll see some familiarity from last year on this article and a few new titles that are certainly worth checking out. After all, why else would they be on this list?
