Brian White’s Top 10 Most Treasured Blu-rays Released In 2015
Like last year, I really didn’t acquire as many Blu-ray titles in 2015 as I typically do in a 12-month calendar. Also like last year, there are Blu-ray titles that I reviewed personally and held onto, but the others made their way into my collection when they were either priced exceptionally well (most recently this Ultimate James Bond Collection here) or “Day 1” titles that I just couldn’t live without (Marvel titles Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man for instance come to mind). So once again, for this year’s TOP 10 list, I’m gonna make things super simple with the following three criteria. The below mentioned Blu-ray titles, whether they be films or television series, were all released on Blu-ray in the calendar year of 2015 and are all in my personal collection, but for one reason or another whether it be replay value, presentation, packaging or whatnot, they are my favorite Blu-rays of 2015. Ready to get started? I am! Continue reading ‘Brian White’s Top 10 Most Treasured Blu-rays Released In 2015′
I can’t tell you how much I used to look forward to Friday nights growing up in my late teens and early twenties. It wasn’t for the partying, drinking and dates, but instead it was the night that the newest episode of The X-Files would premiere on primetime television (at least for the first four seasons). I use to record them live on VHS and try my best to also edit out all the commercial breaks (utilizing the pause button) so I could watch them over and over. So that’s my sad life, but seriously…the truth is really out there…and now it can be found in its entirety as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment exposes the complete world of The X-Files on Blu-ray for the very first time – just ahead of the series reemerging on Sunday, January 24, 2016. Just an FYI…The X-Files – The Collector’s Set also features a slot for this upcoming six-episode event series. It was released on December 8th, and basically gave us fans the chance to own a piece of television history and one of the year’s must-have giftset collections. However, you can also purchase each season individually on Blu-ray too. So now that you know the pertinent 411 and my sad young adulthood, let’s check out this HUGE Blu-ray set in more detail down below. We have a lot of ground to cover. 
I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this. Since Austin did not screen Star Wars: The Force Awakens for us prior to its release like glorious Los Angeles did for all my friends out there I told myself no way was I going to write a movie review for free about a film entry in one of my favorite all-time movie franchises. However, how else are you supposed to kill another three hours in line waiting to see this film for a second time within 12 hours in IMAX yet again? I know that’s a rhetorical question and I could be spending my time doing many other things, but why the hell not, right? Again, that is strictly rhetorical. Haha. Let me get my groove back like Stella once did and get busy down below. We have a space opera, thirty years in the making, to discuss. 
Hang on to your barf bags, buckle up, and get ready for the genre ride of the year when Scream Factory, in conjunction with IFC Midnight, releases the horror thriller Contracted: Phase 2 on January 12th, 2016. Picking up immediately after the events of the first film, Contracted: Phase 2 follows Riley (Matt Mercer – Contracted), now infected and running out of time, as he attempts to find out more about the virus and its mysterious host. Starring 
Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company are proud to announce the home entertainment release of the delectable “four star feast” (Pete Hammond, Deadline) Burnt starring the “strong ensemble cast” (Philippa Hawker, The Sydney Morning Herald) Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper, Upcoming: Joy) Sienna Miller (American Sniper), Omar Sy (Jurassic World, The Intouchables), Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds, Rush), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex Machina), Matthew Rhys ( TV’s “Brothers & Sisters”, TV’s “The Americans”), Lily James (Cinderella, TV’s “Downton Abbey”) with Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Playing for Keeps), and Emma Thompson (Men, Women and Children, Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually). 
In 1992, Marvel Comics was the #1 publisher of comic books in the world, largely due to its dynamic artwork. At the height of this popularity, in response to what they believed to be years of mistreatment toward creative talent, a small – but influential – group of artists left Marvel Comics to form their own company, Image Comics. Led by the outspoken Todd McFarlane (Spawn), this group kicked off a revolution that not only changed the comic industry forever, but has had an indelible influence on mainstream pop culture that continues to this day. But with great power came great turmoil, as Rob Liefeld (Deadpool), Jim Lee (X-Men), Marc Silvestri (Wolverine), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Whilce Portacio (X-Factor) and Jim Valentino (Guardians Of The Galaxy) almost immediately began to unravel the very bond that united them. 
Hoo doggie! If you’re lookin’ for fast paced, non-stop action, then you’ve come to the right place! The trailer for Star Trek: Beyond, the third installment to the rebooted Star Trek franchise, has arrived and it’s not holding back any punches. I really dug the direction they took with the first two films. It seemed like the main goal when rebooting Gene Roddenberry’s vision was to amp up the action, but still try to maintain the strong character relationships that define both the movies and TV series. This is a teaser in the purest sense of the word in that they don’t really tell us much about the story but rather they just throw you into a blender of explosions, laser beams, and people running for their lives! It seems like director Justin Linn (“The Fast and the Furious” franchise) is well aware of the monumental action films that’ll be coming out next year, so he’s putting his best foot forward. 
Ok, so here we go. Once again Michael Bay has somehow gotten his hands on another one of our favorite 80’s cartoons. Chalk o’block full of the usual “Bayism’s”; You got your massive exploding vehicles that look like fireworks for some reason, hulking CGI characters, and of course the scantily clad ladies. I saw the first Turtles movie that came out a couple years ago and I gotta say, aside from it being a little Megan Fox heavy, I really liked it! As a life long Turtles fan I was thrilled to see these characters back to goof around with each other.
It has been called the deadliest battle in the history of all wars, with almost 4 million casualties. Lasting over 6 months, a major Soviet city was decimated and most of its citizens killed, ordered not to flee by Stalin himself. It is a monumental story that has never been told like this before, and this December, Synapse Films is proud to present the Blu-ray premiere of STALINGRAD, the critically acclaimed WWII documentary nominated for the 2003 International Emmy Award for Best Documentary. Filmed from both the German and Russian perspective, the series contains footage shot by soldiers during the siege. The Russian archives opened their doors to the filmmakers, granting them exclusive access to previously unreleased material. The series also contains digitally restored archive film as well as 3-D animation to recreate the city of Stalingrad and plot the course of its destruction. Originally broadcast in both Germany and Russia in truncated editions, this special edition DVD contains all three STALINGRAD documentaries including THE ATTACK, THE KESSEL and THE DOOM in their original uncut forms and a wealth of extra supplementary materials. 
Narrated by Terrence Howard, the rich musical legacy of the Mississippi Delta and Memphis comes alive in the award-winning documentary Take Me to the River. 
I reviewed the first movie 
