‘Cure’ [Kuya] [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD April 23, 2018!
Released to critical acclaim in both the East and the West, Cure was a breakthrough film for director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a nerve shredding thriller about the hunt for a serial killer in a bleak and decaying Tokyo. A series of murders have been committed by ordinary people who claim to have had no control over their horrifying actions. Following the only link a mysterious stranger who had brief contact with each perpetrator and their victim detective Kenichi Takabe ( Kôji Yakusho, 13 Assassins, Tokyo Sonata) places his own sanity on the line as he tries to end the wave of inexplicable terror. Described as one of the greatest films of all time by Bong Joon-ho ( The Host, Snowpiercer), Cure is a deeply unsettling masterpiece of its genre, and has shockingly been unavailable on home video in the UK until now. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Cure in a special Dual Format edition. Continue reading ‘‘Cure’ [Kuya] [Eureka! Masters of Cinema] on Blu-ray & DVD April 23, 2018!’
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the latest installment of the “Saga” series of Star Wars films, may have made loads and loads of money at the box office, but it is making home video history for the series when it arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray March 27th. Rian Johnson’s chapter finds itself being the first to be released on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. It joins 1977’s original Star Wars (Super 8, BetaMax, VHS, CED), The Phantom Menace (DVD) and The Clone Wars feature film (Blu-ray) as being the “first” Star Wars by itself on home video formats. Any new thing like that is a pretty big deal in the giant world of Star Wars fandom. Heck, if I could, I’d collect every possible physical home video format release of the original trilogy that I could (Sorry, streaming is a nice backup option, but doesn’t feel like “collecting” to me). You can own Star Wars: The Last Jedi by clicking the Amazon link following the review. 
Time to head down the awards road this week in search of some great lesser known films helmed by women (even my #1 film of 2017 The Lure was directed by female filmmaking force to be reckoned with Agnieszka Smoczynska!) – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick. Heading north to the home of some stellar Canadian cinema, today’s selection was the debut of a fabulous actress who decided to exercise her filmmaking chops. Taking an inspiring short story and creating a layered and utterly emotional first feature, this one focuses on what all great films do – the characters. Proving true love for another knows no bounds, it’s impossible for a gent smitten to be…Away From Her.
If you’re familiar with the some of today’s most popular board games (no, I don’t mean Monopoly or Sorry), then you’re probably familiar with Asmodee (azz-mo-day). The French publisher is a behemoth in the industry and currently oversees production of many massively popular board, card and role-playing games like Hanabi, Splendor, Ticket to Ride, Dead of Winter and Star Wars X-Wing. Of course, to get to the point they are at today, they have acquired a number of other game publishers along the way such as Fantasy Flight, Days of Wonder, and most recently Mayfair Games and Lookout Spiele. While some raise an eyebrow to the number of companies Asmodee is amassing, there is no denying they excel at what they do. So what else do you do when you own nearly everything in sight? You turn it into a movie.
As a huge fan of the first Pacific Rim I can honestly say I have been waiting for the second installment for quite some time now. Dubbed Pacific Rim Uprising we finally get another story, which Guillermo del Toro said one day would happen. However, no one really believed so did they? This time though del Toro has passed on the directing torch. We’ll talk more about that down below. For now I want to focus on the mere surprise that this film actually exists and I believe we have China to thank for that. The people there enthusiastically embraced the first outing and I’m sure the studio/producers are banking on this one’s success out there again. Lightning can strike twice and let’s hope it does because while I want more movies made like this I’m not going to lie. The film’s trailers left me very underwhelmed, but I love being proven wrong. I was hoping that would at least be the case here. 
This past holiday season, Jumanji and The Greatest Showman showed that even with a Star Wars movie around, there was still winter money to be made at the box office. Hoping to be like the film Sing! the year before, an animated movie that thrived alongside a Star Wars, Ferdinand released to some solid reviews. The film mad some okay money and did well worldwide, but didn’t really launch like I’m sure its creators and respective studio would have liked. But, it’ll now have its chance to thrive in the home video world. The animated film features the voices of people from all over the map like John Cena, Kate McKinnon and Peyton Manning. The film is currently available on all formats and you can order yourself a copy from the link following the review. 
Five flicks brave indie dissection this week in the humble continuation of shedding some light on the lesser-known cinematic outings. Suspense tales that may or may not be a figment of the imagination, a disturbing look at what happens after an assault, a boy searching for his trusty four-legged companion on an isolated island, a girl fighting bullies, family and even monsters from another realm and high school love rekindled in the center of a wrestling ring make up the films featured in this edition of Encapsulated Movie Reviews. Check out the short opinions on Unsane, Beauty And The Dogs, Isle Of Dogs, I Kill Giants and Chokeslam below!
Vampires! Voodoo! Vixens! Victims! Terror waits for you in every room. A quartet of frightening fables is presented in The House That Dripped Blood, which comes to Blu-ray for the first time on May 8, 2018.
The early 1980s wasn’t just high time for the horror genre with just slasher films. Though those took a lot of the spotlight, the werewolf film was proving a pretty lucrative and prosperous business as well. An American Werewolf In London and The Howling were the bigger names of them, but there were many others sprouting out. Schlock master Larry Cohen contributed one in 1981, Full Moon High. The film starred a young Adam Arkin as a high school werewolf, beating Michael J. Fox’s Teen Wolf to the punch by about four whole years (Six if you want to count that this movie started film in 1979). Like Teen Wolf (And Teen Wolf, Too), Scream Factory has their hands on this one and is bringing it over to Blu-ray on April 10. You can already pre-order it by clicking the link below. 
As a middle school student enjoying what I figured was just a raunchy cartoon on Comedy Central, I would have never expected South Park to be on the air for 21 years. I also would never have expected the level of growth and, I hesitate to say “maturity,” but let’s use relevance the show has maintained over its run. On June 5, 2018, Season 21 comes to Blu-ray and DVD and I am stoked to continue watching what will, strangely, end up being one of the longest running and persistently entertaining shows in the history of television. Read on for the details. 
Truth be told I really have no right reviewing this. Yes, I’m tackling this one by default because I have two 4K Ultra HD setups at home, but I have never seen the original Jumanji starring Robin Williams. Is that bad? I’m told no because I surveyed a lot of my peers and none of them had any great things to say about the classic family film. So if they don’t have any kind words, then why should I waste my valuable time on it? However, I feel very different about this 2017 reboot of the action/adventure comedy. This very likable Rock-driven (Dwayne Johnson) vehicle has had mammoth legs at the box office and thee’s always the added attraction of Nebula (Karen Gillan) to gaze upon here too. Heck, I even hear there’s talk of not one, but two sequels already planned in this world. So hell yeah. Sign me up. I am very eager to tackle Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle down below for the very first time and bonus…on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray too. Let me put on some bug spray and I’ll be right back. It’s a jungle out there! 
Stephen King’s Pet Sematary was adapted into quite a popular 1989 film that stands as one of his more popular works that wound up getting a sequel (Can someone please put that one on Blu-ray next, please) like the Children of the Corn films and the Sometimes They Come Back films. Its had two Blu-ray releases that had some okay bonus materials included. However, now, we get Unearthed & Untold: The Path To Pet Sematary which is a feature-length documentary chronicling the first film. With no big desire from the studio that holds the rights to do a big collector’s edition or beefed up release (In this age of streaming, this is scaringly becoming a norm), this documentary sits alone. But in all honesty, its that “Disc 2” you’re wanting to go with your standard Blu-ray release of it. Like the Creepshow one before, Synapse Films is adding the Pet Sematary one now to their catalog. You can order it (Released on March 13th) using the Amazon link below. 
Holding on as one of the most long-demanded films to come to Blu-ray in the United States, in celebration of its 40th anniversary and with just days left on the calendar, the long awaited Suspiria release from Synapse Films made its debut. A labor of love, said Blu-ray as well as nationwide revival screenings set the film world on fire with this new 4K restoration that took years to develop. With the original limited Steelbook edition sold out, Synapse is giving you another shot at owning Dario Argento’s masterpiece. There’s a film only edition and a two disc edition that comes with the bonus features in the limited edition release. They are both currently available now, and any serious film fan or Blu-ray collector should be owning this historic restoration. 
Path of Blood is a tribute the samurai films of yesteryear (A genre I quite adore) from writer/director/animator Eric Power. The film uses the animation style of “cut paper animation” (paper stop motion). Which, you’re right for your mind instantly wandering over and thinking of South Park as they utilize the style as well. The film is a feature version of a short film from Power and took a few years to bring up. Released in 2013, the film is finally getting a home video Blu-ray release in the United States. Synapse Films has brought the film over the high definition format in a Special Edition that was release March 13th (Meaning, you can buy it now). If you’re someone into the samurai films, this homage is something you may want to take a look at. Grab yourself a copy by pre-ordering from the link below. 
It’s taxing to find good horror on comic book shelves. Many titles that try their hand at the genre are underwhelming while others may just come across as kid-like and are more goofy than scary. Now don’t get me wrong. The horror gems can still be found out there. The first to come to mind is Joe Hill’s resounding Lock & Key, which not only turned some keys, but plenty of heads as well. This title didn’t garner international attention because the covers were pretty. Content was solid to say the least. Yet that brings us to today when horror comic books aren’t exactly commonplace. Let’s correct that right now. I give you Infidel.
