Archive Page 3
January 6th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
One can never fault David Fincher for not having a style. His films are full of images that are dense with detail. The stories are always different. Fincher never tells the same kind of story, and I love his work for that very reason. When Se7en was released in 1995, the grisly thriller was a huge success universally and spawned a style that people still try to replicate 30 years later. Now, we get the long awaited 4K UHD Blu-ray release of Se7en, and of course, we want to know, “what’s in the box?”
Continue reading ‘Se7en (30th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
January 6th, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
IT’S OFFICIAL! Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown and Kill Bill Volume 1 and Kill Bill Volume 2 make their debut on 4K UHD along with a re-print release of his debut feature Reservoir Dogs via limited edition collectible SteelBooks® on January 21, 2024. Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Volume 1, and Kill Bill Volume 2 will also have standard national retail releases.
Continue reading ‘Coming 1/21/25: 4 QUENTIN TARANTINO MASTERPIECES Debut on 4K UHD Blu-ray!’
January 2nd, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
At the time of its first episode, Saturday Night Live was being set up to fail. The whole story leading up to the live premiere was lore, retold times over. Chaos, musical performances, improv… it was an insane proposition in 1975. Now here we are on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of SNL, and the film Saturday Night presents the whole evening leading up to that iconic phrase “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night!”Read more about Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, and see if those crazy 90 minutes pre-premiere are movie worthy.
Continue reading ‘Saturday Night (Blu-ray Review)’
January 2nd, 2025 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Once upon a time, the action genre wasn’t all superheroes and spies. We had cops or criminals, action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger, and usually even the bad would do decent box office business. Jean Claude Van Damme was one of the 80s’ biggest prospects at one point. Handsome with an accent and a very well-conditioned body, he was goals for the men in the audience, and eye-candy for their dates. Bloodsport ushered in the resurgence of martial arts films in the US. Following up with Kickboxer it is clear that Van Damme and his collaborators from Bloodsport wanted to add some depth to the very simple story they’d created. How does it fare 35 years later and in 4K? Shake your booty into the review and find out!
Continue reading ‘Kickboxer (35th Anniversary 4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Review)’
December 30th, 2024 by Gerard Iribe
A landmark in the history of Japanese cinema, Cure was the breakthrough film for director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who would go on to make several further modern masterpieces in Pulse, Creepy and Tokyo Sonata. Released to critical acclaim in both the East and the West, this nerve-shredding thriller charts the hunt for a depraved 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 actions, many of them having killed friends, co-workers or even their spouse. There are only two links between each crime: an X carved into the neck of each victim, and a mysterious stranger who seems to have had brief contact with the perpetrator a short period of time before each killing. But to follow these leads and end a seemingly inexplicable wave of terror, police detective Kenichi Takabe (Koji Yakusho, 13 Assassins) will need to put his own sanity on the line and endure a descent into hell. Described as one of the greatest films of all time by Bong Joon-ho, the filmmaker behind Memories of Murder, The Host, Snowpiercer and Parasite, Cure is a cerebral and deeply unsettling hybrid of police procedural, serial killer film and horror movie to stand with The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. Having given the film its UK Blu-ray premiere in 2018, the Masters of Cinema series is now proud to present the film on 4K UHD Blu-ray January 27, 2025! Continue reading ‘Cure (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
December 27th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Sitting as one of the premiere entries in their filmography, if not the greatest one they’ve made, No Country for Old Men is an incredible film from Joel and Ethan Coen. Adapted from the 2005 novel by the late Cormac McCarthy, this neo-noir western thriller finds the brothers exploring fate, self-determination, nihilism, and circumstance, not unlike many of their other features but handled brutal sincerity and pitch-black humor. The film would go on to be one of the Coens’ biggest successes in terms of both box office and critical acclaim, as it would go on to win many major awards, including Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Criterion Collection has now seen fit to bring this masterpiece to 4K, complete with a terrific new transfer and a few new extras. That’s good enough for a coin toss.
Continue reading ‘No Country for Old Men – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
December 26th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Ring in the New Year with the grand cinematic triumph WICKED! After setting the record for the biggest opening for a movie based on a Broadway show ever and nominated for four Golden Globes® including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the thrillifying, must-have musical adaptation will be available exclusively on digital platforms to purchase or rent in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve on December 31, 2024, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Having cast a captivating spell on film audiences around the world, the film has earned Certified Fresh and Verified Hot designations on Rotten Tomatoes and a wickedly stunning “A” CinemaScore. Experience the magic of the spellbinding film with a dazzling bonus Sing-Along version, a 40-minute journey through Oz that celebrates the film’s transformative on-screen magic, deleted & extended scenes and so much more only when you purchase from participating digital retailers nationwide, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu), Comcast Xfinity, Cox, and Microsoft Movies & TV. WICKED will also debut on 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ and DVD on February 4, 2025.
Continue reading ‘WICKED Comes to Digital On New Years’ Eve and 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD On Feb. 4th!’
December 23rd, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Director Ridley Scott’s action-packed epic GLADIATOR II continues to thrill audiences around the world, having already earned over $416 million at the global box office. Fans will be able to relive the astonishing spectacle at home—along with a wealth of behind-the-scenes bonus content—when it arrives to purchase on Digital December 24, 2024 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Hailed as “the single greatest movie of the year” (Dave Morales, FOX TV) and “an epic sequel worthy of its Oscar®-winning predecessor” (Scott Mantz, KTLA), GLADIATOR II boasts breathtaking action and sensational performances from a star-powered cast, including Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and the sublime Denzel Washington in “one of his most charismatic and riveting performances” (Clayton Davis, Variety).
Continue reading ‘GLADIATOR II Comes to Digital This Christmas Eve, and 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD This March!’
December 20th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
After captivating and creeping out audiences in theaters and on Mubi, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is set to debut on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on January 21st!
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You. Only better in every way. You’ve got to try this product: The Substance. It changed my life. Demi Moore gives a career-best performance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister past her prime and suddenly fired from her fitness TV show by repellent studio head Harvey (Dennis Quaid). She is then drawn to the opportunity presented by a mysterious new drug: THE SUBSTANCE. All it takes is one injection and she is reborn – temporarily – as the gorgeous, twentysomething Sue (Margaret Qualley). The only rule? Time needs to be split: exactly one week in one body, then one week in the other. No exceptions. A perfect balance. What could go wrong?
Continue reading ‘THE SUBSTANCE Takes Hold on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on January 21st’
December 18th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fan-favorite superhero thriller Constantine, the 2005 film will be available for purchase Digitally in 4K Ultra HD and on 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc on February 18. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keanu Reeves, the film marks the directorial debut of Francis Lawrence. The newly remastered film will also include new bonus content featuring Keanu Reeves and Francis Lawrence reflecting on the making of the film 20 years later.
Continue reading ‘Fan Favorite CONSTANTINE Comes to 4K UHD Blu-ray February 18th!’
December 17th, 2024 by Gerard Iribe
Fritz Lang made two of the defining works of early German cinema with Dr Mabuse the Gambler and The Testament of Dr Mabuse, two masterpieces centred on Norbert Jacques’ nefarious literary supervillain. In 1960, Lang was charged by Artur Brauner’s CCC Film with making a third crime thriller centred on the infamous Dr Mabuse, completing a trilogy nearly forty years in the making. A huge success, The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse gave CCC the confidence to launch into an entire series focused on the master criminal between 1960 and 1964, all starring Wolfgang Priess in the title role. All six films are presented here alongside a wealth of new and archival extras. Mabuse Lives! Dr Mabuse at CCC: 1960 – 1964 is released on Blu-ray April 1, 2025! Continue reading ‘Mabuse Lives! Dr Mabuse At CCC: 1960-1964 on Blu-ray April 1, 2025!’
December 17th, 2024 by Gerard Iribe
Set in Republic era China, The Daredevils follows Yang Ta-ying (Lo Mang) as he sets out to avenge his father, a military commander who was murdered in cold blood by Han Pei-tsang (Wong Lik), a thief-turned-soldier who killed Yang’s father – along with the rest of his family – to take control of his estate and his army. With the help of his friends Chen Feng (Chiang Sheng), Fu Quanyi (Lu Feng), and Xin Zheng (Sun Chien), he sets out for justice. Then, in Ode to Gallantry, a lone martial artist nicknamed “Mongrel” is continually drawn into an intense struggle between several warring martial arts clans after he stumbles across the Black Iron Token, which entitles the owner to have any wish granted by Xie Yanke (Wong Lik), a brutal kung fu master. The Daredevils & Ode to Gallantry: Two Venom Mob Films is released on Blu-ray March 25, 2025! Continue reading ‘The Daredevils & Ode To Gallantry: Two Venom Mob Films on Blu-ray March 25!’
December 16th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
In celebration of its 40th Anniversary, Re-Animator returns, and for the first time ever, in a stunning 4K UHD restoration, approved by producer Brian Yuzna. The restoration brings new life to this horror classic, based on H.P. Lovecraft’s twisted tale. The new 40th Anniversary 4K UHD Re-Animator poster and trailer dropped today! Pre-orders were also launched today on the Ignite Films website, where it will be exclusively available for the entire 40th Anniversary Year, until 2026, announced Jan Willem Bosman Jansen of Ignite Films and Jim Quan of Eagle Rock Pictures, this morning.
–
Continue reading ‘Stuart Gordon’s Bloodfest, RE-ANIMATOR, Celebrtes 40th Anniversary With New 4K UHD Release From Ignite Films’
December 16th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
A coming-of-age comedy starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky, MY GIRL is an irresistible story of first love and loss. Chlumsky makes an extraordinary acting debut as Vada Sultenfuss, a precocious 11-year-old tomboy obsessed with death. Dan Aykroyd is her widowed father, the town mortician, and Jamie Lee Curtis is the cosmetician he employs. Macaulay Culkin, in an endearing performance, is Thomas J., the boy next door who idolizes Vada. Their summer adventures — from first kiss to last farewell — introduce Vada to the world of adolescence. The perfect film for parents to share with their children, MY GIRL is a motion picture to cherish.
Continue reading ‘MY GIRL – On 4K UHD Blu-ray February 25th!’
December 16th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Religion has been a great subject to mine for cinema this year. A great deal of the films centering on religion have in fact been in the horror and thriller genres, and interestingly, the films presented this year have also met with much acclaim from critics and audiences. Long since the days of The Omen and The Exorcist, the dark side of faith has been ripe for the screen. Now onto Conclave, a film that has much going on and happens to be not only respectful to its Catholic-centered subject, but also its audience. Led by a first-rate cast and excellent moody direction from Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), Conclave comes out just in time to stuff a stocking of the film fan in your family!
Continue reading ‘Conclave (Blu-ray Review)’
December 13th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in March to the Criterion Collection: A Woman of Paris, Charlie Chaplin’s long-overlooked silent masterpiece; Godzilla vs. Biollante, a high point in the mythology of the King of the Monsters, directed by Kazuki Omori; Night Moves, Arthur Penn’s haunting 1970s neo-noir; and Choose Me, a seductive neon dream about human desire, directed by Alan Rudolph. PLUS: Michael Mann’s Thief, the American auteur’s stylish debut, and Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear, one of the greatest thrillers ever made—now on 4K UHD.
–
Continue reading ‘Godzilla vs. Biollante, Night Moves, Thief 4K and More Coming to The Criterion Collection March 2025’
December 12th, 2024 by Gerard Iribe
THE SOCIAL NETWORK, directed by David Fincher, is the stunning tale of a new breed of cultural insurgent: a punk genius who sparked a revolution and changed the face of human interaction for a generation, and perhaps forever. Shot through with emotional brutality and unexpected humor, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website’s unfathomable success. With a complex, incisive screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and a brilliant cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, THE SOCIAL NETWORK bears witness to the birth of an idea that rewove the fabric of society even as it unraveled the friendship of its creators. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture (2010). Continue reading ‘Social Network on 4K UHD Blu-ray February 18!’
December 11th, 2024 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
OK, so let’s just get it out of the way now – We know that Joker: Folie À Deux was a monumental failure this year. The enticing mixture of Phoenix and Gaga and some musical sequences seemed like a heady continuation of the original Joker, a film I still think about to this day as an incredible meditation of a man’s downfall in succumbing to the destruction of his own mental health. The 2020’s answer to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, Joker was rife for an explosive continuation. Now, you ask me… is the sequel as awful as we’ve read about and been made to believe? Don your clown makeup and read on and see for yourself. You may want to tap dance after you’ve read my thoughts…
Continue reading ‘Joker: Folie À Deux (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
