Top Gun (4K Steelbook Review)
December 3rd, 2020 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
Well, it finally happened… We finally have Top Gun in 4K. And now also, we finally get the earlier promised steenbok, too! The iconic action classic finally hits home in the best way to watch films at home. The sights, the sounds, the sweat, the soundtrack. The film is a cultural standpoint for blockbuster filmmaking. There is something special that radiates through this movie that is almost unexplainable. At one point, this was a film I avoided like the plague. Does the film still hold up? How about the transfer? Let’s go in depth below, and don’t forget to click the paid link at the bottom to order your copy of Top Gun 4K Steelbook, available now!
Paramount Presents is fast becoming a favorite catalog collection for me. Some releases are out of the box while others are lovingly reissued in a more deluxe way. While sometimes the features leave a little to be desired, often the new masters make the discs well worth the purchase. With Eddie Murphy’s classics Trading Places and The Golden Child being added to the line this week, I feel like a kid in a candy store. Like Coming To America, Trading Places is also a member of my 100+ viewing club. I can recite the film line for line and still find so much joy in all the classic scenes. Does it stand up now that Paramount has given it the “presents” treatment? Read on below and snag your copy by clicking the paid link at the end!
More Cruise in 4K? Many an enthusiast is probably so excited for Collateral on 4K Blu-ray. I remember my reaction to the film initially being cool. Does the Cruise/Jamie Foxx/Michael Mann mixture work now 16 years later? Check out more with this in-depth review and click the paid link at the end to get your copy of Collateral being released on December 8th!
Coming to America goes on a short list of films I’ve seen over 100 times. This is a film that captures irreverent humor and imminent sweetness in equal doses. This is also the first time the world was given the opportunity to see Eddie Murphy at the height of his powers taking on a romantic lead, but also being tasked with the challenge of taking on different roles under still brilliant makeup work. When the announcement was made that Paramount was bringing some classic Eddie films to 4K and Paramount Presents Blu-ray, this title was the one I was most anxious to check out. Read my thoughts and appreciations in-depth below and be sure to click the paid links at the end to get your copy of Coming to America!
Perry Mason arrived with quite a buzz to HBO Max at launch. Each week, my writing colleagues would be abuzz about the next episode, keeping things exciting and still spoiler free. Me being the physical media purist I strive to be, I waited until this awesome new Blu-ray set arrived to check the series out. Does it hold up to the buzz and the reaction? Is it a victim of the retread blues? Check out my thoughts below and be sure to click the paid link at the end to order your copy!
AH HA! Earlier this year, Paramount release The Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy to standard Blu-ray. It marked the first time the sequels were released on Blu-ray in the United States and boasted new 4K transfers for every film. We all wondered why not a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray release of them, then? Well, Paramount heard us, or the dollars were there for that trilogy set to suggest they knew we loved these movies. So, here we are 11 months later and the original film is getting the upgrade! Hell yeah! I’m okay with that. Its arriving with the same bonus features and audio, just the films 4K restoration is now in its native form. I’m very excited that it is a part of this Eddie Murphy celebration that Paramount is seemingly having on December 1st! You’ll find reviews coming for Coming To America 4K and the Paramount Presents for Trading Places and The Golden Child in the coming weeks on this very site. But, let’s kick things off with some Axel F! Pre-order available from the paid Amazon Associates link below.
One of the many odd titles never on Blu-ray before was Robert Altman’s contribution to the comic book movie lexicon in 1980’s Popeye. Sure, the film isn’t perfect, but its had a legacy of being remembered and stars the late and great screen legend Robin Williams in its titular role. Turning 40 years old, Paramount has now given it the green light for Blu-ray. Surprisingly, this would seem fit for the Paramount Presents label having never been released before and getting new supplemental features, but alas its getting regular release. Kindly enough, its debut price is of the most generous variety – $9.99 at the time of this review. Popeye: 40th Anniversary Edition will arrive (maybe) on shelves and in online stores December 1st.
Whether its movies or the TV series, I consider myself a Mission: Impossible fan. Its one of the best contributions we had from the spy fantasy entertainment phenomenon that took the 1960s by storm. With the breath of life and determination of one Tom Cruise, the series has maintained a pop culture staple for 54 years and counting. We have two more films still on the horizon from the current movie run. Paramount has left the television series absent from Blu-ray until now. On December 1st, they will be releasing every episode from the original 7 season run of the show on Blu-ray for the first time. Despite the massive 46 disc boxed effort, unfortunately no bonus features new or old are coming with it. That’s a damn shame, considering some already do exist. However, at this juncture I suppose we need to be grateful they have restored them and keep them living to die another day in a different format. Pre-orders are available now via the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the review.
Omari Hardwick (“Power,” Sorry to Bother You), Loretta Devine (“Black-ish,” Crash) and John Beasley (The Sum of All Fears, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) star in the terrifying thriller SPELL. The film arrives on Blu-ray & DVD January 12, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment.
During my first year working in DVD quality control, one of the coolest things we worked on were the Warner Bros sets of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection. These things were a master class on the shorts, coming with great bonus material, conversations about racially insensitive material and more. Top to bottom, an entertainment and education in Looney Tunes. They were a hot item too and are now largely out of print. With Blu-ray, Bugs Bunny, Taz, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Wiley E. Coyote and the gang have been quite absent. Now, to celebrate the 80th birthday for Bugs Bunny, the first step has been made. In the Bugs Bunny: 80th Anniversary Collection, 60 original shorts have been restored proper to go with a new documentary, bonus cartoons and much more in this excellent box set from Warner Bros that includes an exclusive Funko Pop. Fans can only hope that maybe they take a character by character approach and a Daffy Duck or Roadrunner set could be on the horizon. This arrives December 1st and can be pre-ordered now from the paid Amazon Associates link below!
Renowned animation producer Bruce Timm takes the Dark Knight back to the 1970s for a supernatural-laden martial arts extravaganza in Batman: Soul Of The Dragon, the next entry in the popular series of the DC Universe Movies. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the feature-length animated film will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital starting January 12, 2021, and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Blu-ray on January 26, 2021. Order due date is December 22, 2020. The film is rated R for some violence. Batman: Soul Of The Dragon will be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Blu-ray as well as on Digital. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc in 4K with HDR, a Blu-ray disc featuring the film in hi-definition, and a digital version of the movie. The Blu-ray features a Blu-ray disc with the film in hi-definition and a digital version of the movie. 
Rambo: The Complete SteelBook Collection may not be a necessity due to the double dipping nature of it all, but for the right fan it’s a very much appreciated way to house all the Rambo films on 4K Ultra HD Disc in 5 separate collectible steelbook arrangements within one hard shell vessel. Yes I know that was a long sentence. However, talking about Rambo movies makes me excited! The 5-movie set also comes with original art by some of today’s most celebrated illustrators (we’ll show you around in much more detail down below) featuring five uniquely designed steelbooks by Justin Erickson, Ken Taylor, Grzegorz Domaradzki, Vance Kelly, and John Guydo, housed in a large, custom SteelBook case. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this the collection features all five action-packed Rambo films including First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, Rambo, and Rambo: Last Blood. This was released on October 27th. We just got our review copy! And I’m very excited to show you all around. Read on! 
