The Whale (Blu-ray Review)
March 15th, 2023 by Brandon Peters
Nominated for three Academy Awards this past Sunday, Darren Aronofsky’s film adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s stage play The Whale is now out on Blu-ray. Releasing on March 14th, the film comes with a digital code and two featurettes. As with most A24 films, its only getting a standard Blu-ray release upon its home video debut. Of those three awards, it took home Best Actor (Brendan Fraser) and Best Hair and Make-up. The only one it didn’t snag was Best Supporting Actress (Hong Chau). Fraser’s win did help A24 pull off a clean sweep of all the acting awards as a studio at this year’s Oscars. If you’re wanting to own the film, you can use the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the page, following the review.
The filmgoing year of 2023 has already begun to great success with the box office smash, well review and audience-liked horror comedy M3GAN. The film went beyond its viral marketing fun to become a film that stood all on its own just fine. One would have thought it would lead to a nice 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release, but like many Blumhouse or James Wan projects, just a standard Blu-ray with mayyyyyybe a 4K later on down the road. M3GAN will include 3 featurettes and the Unrated Cut of the film (its not really a whole lot different). It will be available online and in stores on March 21st. You can order yourself a copy to be to you at or around the release by using the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of this review.
A creator’s big swing. A huge 3 hour Hollywood history epic. High Oscar hopes. Largely divisive reaction. Box office bombing. Minimal Oscar love. That’s the wild ride that was Damien Chazelle’s Babylon just a few months back during the holiday season. I, for one, loved the film but many were taken aback and almost turned into nuns when it came to what the film dished out. Nonetheless, its probably going to have a bit of a cult fanbase that grows in years to come. And one way to keepsake it or check it out is the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray edition that is arriving on March 21st. It comes with some featuerettes as well as the option to put it on your shelf in collectible steelbook packaging. The Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva fictional drama about Hollywood’s transition from silent to sound can be yours if you pre-order it now using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review at the bottom of the page.
William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III has had quite the cult surge over its lifetime since being released in 1990. Its largely gone from middling reviewed, forgotten about by modern audiences of the time film to being generally accepted as a bonafide horror classic and the best Exorcist sequel in present day. The film has been fully appreciated for more than just that one good jump scare hidden within it. Scream Factory surely knows this and is upgrading their boffo Collector’s Edition from a few years back to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray at the end of the month on March 28th. Included here are all the previous bells and whistles as well as the theatrical edition that features a 2022 4K scan of the original camera negative. You can order the film now so you can have it on or around the release date by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows this review.
Millions of viewers know now why loyal gamers have been clamoring for a worthy adaptation of The Last of Us. Based on the famed video game of the same name, the HBO original drama series marked HBO’s second largest debut, behind only “House of the Dragon,” and has shown consistent growth throughout its first season culminating in a 75% increase in Sunday night’s finale audience. Recently renewed for a second season, fans can own all nine episodes of the critically-acclaimed first season along with nearly 3 hours of special features including 3 all-new featurettes, when The Last of Us: The Complete First Season comes to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on July 18, 2023 and will be available to purchase Digitally* on April 11, 2023. The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival. 
Based on the novel Julia by Peter Straub, the atmospheric supernatural thriller The Haunting of Julia (aka Full Circle) has developed a cult following amongst film fans for its intelligent yet deeply chilling take on a modern ghost story. Never before available on DVD or Blu-ray in the US, this long-sought after film will be available on physical media for the first time in decades as a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack on April 18, 2023 from Scream Factory. The Haunting of Julia features a new 4K restoration from the original negative as well as a bevy of brand-new bonus features including an Audio Commentary by director Richard Loncraine and film historian Simon Fitzjohn, an interview with actor Tom Conti, an interview with actress Samantha Gates, the featurette Park Life where Simon Fitzjohn revisits the locations from the film, featurette A Haunting Retrospective with film critic/author Kim Newman, and more! Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com 
Rocky movies mean the world to me. Let me start by saying that. The Rocky films are sacred to me and have personally got me through some tough times in life, which I’ll elaborate on in a moment. However, is the price of admission here to get these films on the 4K UHD Disc format worth it? I think that’s the more relevant question to be addressed here. Truth be told when these were announced I didn’t even get excited. I’ve been so disappointed with the quality of some of the catalog films I have seen recently on 4K Disc that I just wasn’t whet with anticipation here. But come on man! We’re talking Rocky Balboa. So let me do this. Let me set aside some of the problems I have with this “Knockout” release for the moment and tell you about my love for the Rocky and now Creed film franchises. Deal? Don’t worry. We’ll get to my beefs soon enough. 
Whitney Houston lived an entire life in the public eye. From her early days as a background singer and model, to TV guest actress and finally singing superstar and leading lady, Whitney never really shed the pre-destined image of herself. She was a chameleon, working through each circle, code switching along the way. This drew sharp criticism from the peanut gallery and often caused her to publicly act out when she grew tired of putting on the brave face of America’s Sweetheart. Kasi Lemmons, Naomi Ackie, The Estate of Whitney Houston, Anthony McCarten, and Clive Davis among a huge number of others came together to create a definitive film portrait of the decade long gone Whitney, and for the sum of its parts, it feels a little flat. I go in depth below on Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and you can click the paid link at the end if you want to get your own copy of the recently released Blu-ray.
Warner Bros. Discovery has meticulously remastered Max Fleischer’s treasured set of 17 animated Superman shorts from the original 35mm source elements. Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 will be available to purchase Digitally on HD and on Blu-ray May 16, 2023. Superman made his comic book debut in 1938, appearing in Action Comics #1 (dated June 1938, but officially published on April 18, 1938), and the Man of Steel’s popularity grew with his subsequent radio program. Max Fleischer gave the world’s first Super Hero his initial animated spotlight, producing 17 theatrical animated shorts from September 1941 to July 1943 that further elevated the character’s profile, and added many significant aspects to his canon – including coining many of Superman’s patented catchphrases and attributes. 
When I was making my Top 10 films of 2022 list, Sarah Polley’s Women Talking was one of my very last cuts. Its a terrific film that wound up being pretty silent come awards season chatter whereas it seemed like it was going to be a big player. For the Academy Awards, its been nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Nonetheless, some recognizing is better than none. You’ll be able to bring the film home on standard Blu-ray when it hits the market on March 7th. Unfortunately no 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray at this time, but a physical release is something to be grateful for (I’M STILL WAITING BARBARIAN ON AT LEAST REGULAR BLU-RAY!). The film with a stacked cast full of great performances is available to pre-order now and you can do so by scrolling all the way to the bottom of this page and clicking on the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
The Spider-Man universe has a lot going on right now. I’m talking traffic at Times Square busy. Spider-Gwen has clones, Silk is back, Miles Morales is trying to find his way, and Dark Web made a chaotic splash, and then there’s Janine Godbe. Godbe is the former girlfriend of Ben Reilly, a clone Spider-Man. When Reilly’s memories were erased and he became the villain Chasm, Janine Godbe hit the road with her collection of supernatural masks to become Hallow’s Eve.
Last week Image launched its newest series, and despite its title, the concept is definitely from out of town. Local Man is created and written by the duo of Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) and Tony Fleecs (Star Wars Adventures) and the tandem has approached the first issue in a most unique way. Jack Xaver, better known by his hero name Crossjack, is a former member of the super team Third Gen. The comic book is actually set up quite unconventionally where the back cover starts with Third Gen in action ripping through a horde of supposed baddies. If you flip the comic book over to the other cover, however, it delves into the modern day aftermath of Jack Xaver back home at his parents’ place in a small town called Farmington. So what got this guy the boot?
As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, five films featuring the iconic DC Super Hero Superman – Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Superman III, and Superman IV – will be available for purchase in a five-film collection on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital on April 18. Based on the DC character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Superman films star Christopher Reeve as the legendary “Man of Steel.” On April 18, the Superman 1978 – 1987 5-Film Collection will be available to purchase on Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Disc from online and in-store at major retailers and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more. The Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Packs will include an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the feature films in 4K with HDR, a Blu-ray disc with the feature films and special features in HD, and a Digital version of each film. Ultra HD Blu-ray showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before. 
