F9: The Fast Saga (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
The Fast and Furious “saga” has been the best and biggest film franchise that isn’t Marvel. Working in its own world and continuity, eliciting spinoffs now even. F9: The Fast Saga was delayed last year only to become the surefire big movie of the summer this year when it finally dropped. It brought back fan favorite Sung Kang from the auto garage afterlife and swapped Dwayne Johnson for John Cena in terms of former wrestler turned actor star quality. You’ll be able to add the film to your collection when it jumps onto the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format, which includes a Director’s Cut of the film and some terrific extras. You can pre-order using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review below to ensure yourself a fine copy of this disc when it arrives September 21st.
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Perhaps because I’m a little older and not hip to everything, I had no idea about @zola until I returned to theaters after being fully vaccinated. Spiral: From The Book Of Saw was my first film back and it had a trailer attached to it that caught my attention and stuck in my brain plenty after. I’m pretty sure @zola didn’t play near me, but I really wanted to see it. So when a review copy was offered my way, I quickly snatched it up. The Twitter/Reddit thread turned motion picture was released on Blu-ray on September 14th. It includes a commentary as well as deleted scenes and a making-of featurette. The film can be yours to own by using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
This weekend, Searchlight Pictures’ dramatic adaptation of the similarly titled documentary from 2000, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, opens exclusively in theaters. The doc was narrated by RuPaul, while this film, at the very least, features a single lip sync for your life moment. It also sports a strong cast that includes Jessica Chastain as Tammy, Andrew Garfield as her husband Jim Bakker, and Vincent D’Onofrio in a smaller role as the larger-than-life Jerry Falwell. In their heyday, these three individuals were massively successful televangelists. Will that be enough to satisfy Tammy’s fans, especially in the LGBTQ community? Like 2017’s I, Tonya, director Michael Showalter is aiming for an empathetic look at Tammy Faye Bakker, a woman who might very well have been the lone advocate for the gay community during the AIDS crisis among the ultra right-winged Christians.
Film collectors rejoice! The long thought “dead format” of home physical media continues to grow and expand into the 4K era. 1995’s The Shawshank Redemption has been on many a fan’s wish list for the format since coming out in 2016. Was Andy Dufresne’s story worth the wait for glorious 4K? Did Warner continue its streak of great looking 4K discs? Releasing today (9/14/2021) in standard and steelbook forms, find out more about the film and it’s new disc below, and click the paid link at the end if you haven’t gotten your copy already!
A deadly assassin is out for vengeance in the “bold, brilliant and relentlessly bad-ass” (Mark S. Allen, ABC-TV) action thriller The Protégé, taking aim on Digital September 21, and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and On Demand October 19 from Lionsgate. Headlined by OscarⓇ nominee Michael Keaton (2014, Actor in a Leading Role, Birdman; Spiderman: Homecoming,), Maggie Q (“Nikita,” Divergent) and OscarⓇ nominee Samuel L. Jackson (1994, Actor in a Supporting Role, Pulp Fiction; Avengers: Endgame), alongside Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), the “sharp and surprisingly intelligent” (Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post) film was written by Richard Wenk (The Equalizer franchise and The Expendables) and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale and GoldenEye). 
Despite everyone’s huffing and gruffing and sharing disappointment over lifeless Disney retreads of their animated classics in live action form, they keep making money. So, until that stops, they’ll keep turning them out in a rather seasonal and scheduled fashion. I have to wonder if they’ll ever make it to Home On The Range or The Emperor’s New Groove. Cruella became the latest, taking the Maleficent route in focusing on the villain. Strange to say, but every once in a while, these things are gonna click and strike well (The Jungle Book). Lucky enough, the Emma Stone led film was just that. Now it arrives on physical media form after a run in theaters and Disney+ (Both premiere and regular access) on September 21st. At the time of this review, now Amazon pre-order links are available, but check back if you’d like to order from and support Why So Blu.
In the thrilling sequel to the breakout hit, DON’T BREATHE 2 reprises Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), who has been hiding out for several years in an isolated cabin. He lives with a young girl and has recreated the family stolen from him by a drunk driver. Their quiet life together is shattered when a group of unseemly criminals kidnaps her and forces Norman to tap into even darker and more creative instincts in an effort to save her.
After spending a little over the first half of the year delivering on the small screen, Marvel returned to theaters in July with the long awaited Black Widow. Long awaited by a delay of over a year, but also for seeing Scarlett Johansson’s super popular take on the character get her own solo film. The film’s bigger story and headlines have been heavy on its box office and legal proceedings with Scarlett Johansson on how it was delivered to audiences. This was a day and date premiere in theaters and Disney+. Aside from that, its coming home for real ownership on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray on September 14th. A quick 2 months following the theatrical drop. There’s a light array of extras put on the disc along with an Atmos track for us home theater junkies. You can order yourself a copy of the film using the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review (Link not currently available as of this posting).
Directed by Martin Scorsese and hailed as “a bolt of brilliance” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) and “a masterpiece for a new generation” (James Verniere, The Boston Herald), the electrifying story of American excess THE WOLF OF WALL STREET arrives on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever December 14, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Nominated for five Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jonah Hill) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Terence Winter), THE WOLF OF WALL STREETwas one of the most acclaimed films of 2013, earning over $390 million worldwide. 
What’s weirder: a studio horror film that’s not screened for critics or one that’s screened mere hours before release? James Wan’s Malignant is a little of both as some members of the press didn’t get invites while others did, but the screening was, as already mentioned, only hours before the film opened at your local theater and via your TV on HBO Max. Coming off its first weekend, the film has a healthy 74% at RottenTomatoes. Audiences weren’t as kind, though, with Cinemascore being a paltry C. As yours truly hit play at midnight last Friday on HBO Max, I didn’t know what I was going to experience. Would it be a trainwreck from arguably the past decade’s biggest name in horror? Or a masterpiece that would change the scare-fest landscape? At the very least, I’d get to see Anabelle’s own Annabelle Wallis donning a ridiculous raven wig, so that’s something to behold. 111 minutes later…
After an “are they dead?”, “is Vestron over with?” period, Vestron Video returned last year with a pair of releases, then quickly disappeared again. Now, they seem to be finding a little bit of consistency with The Wraith last month and more announced for the future. August saw this release of Sundown: The Vampire In Retreat. Now, while I’m familiar with the works of Anthony Hickox, David Carradine and Bruce Campbell, I had never known or heard of anything to do with this movie until Vestron announced the release. And this sucker is plenty loaded with interviews and commentary. They also have it priced pretty stellar for a new Collector’s Series release of something. You can order yourself a copy of the film by using the paid Amazon Associates link below.
In what seems like an incredibly perfect match, Shout! Factory will be releasing new digitally remastered versions of the first four films from the wonderful stop-motion animation studio, LAIKA. Those films include Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings. In addition to the new restorations, every release will feature new bonus features while carrying over the old ones. Also, a booklet is included inside the packaging. For today’s review, we’ll be taking a look at their sophomore effort ParaNorman, which found LAIKA really flexing and taking a rather giant swing after their breakout feature. ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings are the second wave of these LAIKA Blu-rays arriving from Shout! Factory on September 14th. The other two films were released back in August. You can land yourself a copy of ParaNorman by clicking the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review.
It feels like we should’ve already been at this point by now; the Star Trek films on the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. But alas, Paramount has waited for the 55th anniversary of the show’s television premiere to do so. And in waiting, it feels like they almost are here unprepared. This “Original 4-Movie Collection” is quite an odd way to come out of the gates. Its almost as if they didn’t finish restoration on The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country in time. And I suppose I applaud getting something out, but you knew this was coming. Anyway, minor quibble aside, I’m very excited to finally see these 4 films restored with a quality upgrade. This set is arriving this week (released on Tuesday, September 7th), the day before the anniversary of the airing of “The Man Trap”, which introduced us to Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu and Scotty. This set includes The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home. You can order it using the link below.
From Director Wes Craven (A Nightmare On Elm Street, Scream) comes a terrifying tale of technology gone haywire! A lonely teenage genius, a specialist in brain research, has two best friends: his remarkable robot and a beautiful girl next door. When tragedy strikes both of his friends, he desperately tries to save them by pushing technology beyond its mortal limits into a terrifying new realm. Like a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, Paul discovers too late that he has created a rampaging monster!
Celebrate 20 years of adventure and friendship as Warner Bros. releases the Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition, timed to the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The 31-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga contains new special features along with the theatrical and extended versions of all six films in 4K Ultra HD and on Blu-ray discs remastered from the 4K master. The Ultimate Collector’s Edition will be released on October 26. The Ultimate Collector’s Edition includes the theatrical and extended versions of the six films from New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures in 4K UHD with HDR – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. 
Witness the collection of the most degenerate delinquents in the DC lineup when “The Suicide Squad” arrives for Premium Digital Ownership at home on September 17. The film is directed by James Gunn (the “Guardian of Galaxy” films) from his own screenplay and stars Margot Robbie (“Birds of Prey,” “Bombshell”), Idris Elba (“Avengers: Infinity War”), John Cena (“Bumblebee”), Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”), and Jai Courtney (the “Divergent” franchise). The film will also be available on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD beginning on October 26. The film was produced by Charles Roven and Peter Safran, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo, Nikolas Korda and Richard Suckle executive producing. The film also stars Peter Capaldi (“World War Z,” TV’s “Doctor Who”), David Dastmalchian (“Ant-Man and the Wasp”), Daniela Melchior (“Parque Mayer”), Michael Rooker (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films), Alice Braga (“Elysium”), Pete Davidson (“The King of Staten Island,” TV’s “Saturday Night Live”). 
