Batman: Soul Of The Dragon (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Batman is back again in the DCAU with Batman: Soul of the Dragon. I believe this is two releases in a row for the caped crusader, following last year’s A Death In The Family choose your own adventure thing-a-m0-bob. Like Gotham By Gaslight before, Soul of the Dragon is an elseworld story changing things up to try out some different style and substance. And honestly, that’s where its at with me currently. I wish the live action films would get this crazy with Batman and stop taking him so dead seriously. But, don’t get me wrong, Matt Reeves doing Batman excites me a lot and I’m there the moment it arrives. Soul of the Dragon arrives on January 25th on both 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray and regular ‘ol Blu-ray. There’s a load of bonus features plopped onto this as well. You can pre-order from the paid Amazon Associates link below.
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A film’s 65th anniversary is just as good as any to finally make its debut on Blu-ray. Such is the case of the Danny Kaye medieval musical comedy The Court Jester, which becomes the latest on the line of Paramount Presents titles, specializing in giving films their long awaited due on the format. While the film doesn’t tout any real sufficient supplemental material (Much of this production has long passed and was their any to begin with?), you should sleep on the restoration of the film, shot on the highly regarded VistaVision format of its time. There is a nice little fluff bit with Leonard Maltin giving a brief history on the film, so its not completely void of bonus features. The Court Jester arrives on Blu-ray January 25th. Pre-orders have been open, and you can use the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the review if you choose, so you are able to secure yourself a brand new copy for new release day (Or close to, as we know how deliveries are right now).
How does one describe this series currently found on Amazon Prime? It is certainly a menagerie of emotions that effectively collide and mingle in the ten-episode run of season one. Originating from YouTube and then being picked up by Prime, the show was created by Shawn Simmons, known for his writing credits on smaller productions such as the School of Rock series and the 2018 film Now We’re Talking. As 2019 rolled around, Simmons got the chance he was looking for in this series he passionately pitched to YouTube not all that long ago.
Everyone wants their franchise to have Blumhouse take the reigns these days. And I’m not of the opinion to argue against it as I love Jason Blum’s low budget business model. Cult classic teen horror film The Craft is the latest to get the Blumhouse treatment with The Craft: Legacy. Reaching us over the Halloween season via VOD, it was met with some excitement and those saying “Why mess!?!” To the latter, they didn’t touch anything about the original. You’ll be just fine. As a matter of fact, there’s a terrific Scream Factory Blu-ray of it. But this review is for the Blu-ray for the NEW one. Not a remake, but a sequel that kinda sorta acts as a fresh start. So, lets put it in the Lega-Sequel category of resurrecting IPs. This release is available now as it was released back on December 22nd (Review copies were delayed because…well, you know this). You can order a copy of the Blu-ray, which comes with a digital code, using the paid Amazon Associates link following the review.
Warner Bros has given us our first taste of the Middle Earth saga on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Luckily, they’ve decided to start us off with the video and audio. Apparently the extras like the bonus features on the discs as well as sheik packaging will be coming along later this year. Fair enough! I’m not the most gigantic fan of The Lord of the Rings, even though I consider the films great and absolutely admire what Peter Jackson has pulled off, so these early sets probably satisfy my appetite well enough. I reviewed the original trilogy last night and now its onto everybody’s favorite – The Hobbit Trilogy! The films currently are out of stock and went quickly right after they came out last month. However, it appears more are on the way and set to arrive on January 19th! So, if you missed out, you’ll want to get your order in now and not potentially miss another wave of the fantastic little journey. Paid Amazon Associates link available at the end of the review. 
Wubba-lubba-dub-dub! From creators Justin Roiland (“Adventure Time”) and Dan Harmon (“Community”), go on an intergalactic journey across the multi-verse with the release of Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-4 boxed set from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 2, 2021. Get ready to binge on one of cables #1 watched comedies – and follow the misadventures of America’s favorite crazy scientist and his grandchildren with this outrageous boxed set which includes all 41 episodes from the first four seasons of the award-winning series, along with copious special features, including audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, past animatic sketches, and more. For a limited time, fans who purchase the set will receive an exclusive poster from the series. Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-4 is priced to own for the DVD and Blu-ray, which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Rick and Morty also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers. 
From publisher Absolute Comics comes the brand new series, Amped. With literary duties provided bywriter Brian Augustyn (The Flash, Lady Death), Amped puts a unique spin on the super hero team genre which seems to have been done time and again. Still, Augustyn finds a way to inject some much needed creativity into this realm and makes it work quite well to say the least. With effective visuals from artist Pasquale Qualano (Doctor Who, Heavy Metal), we get a cognitive effort here from the pairing which delivers a solid premier. So what’s it all about anyway?
Spell arrived as a VOD release just in time for Halloween. From the trailer the film appeared to be a bonkers reimagining of Misery with a twist – Hoodoo comes into play rather than an obsession. Does it live up to its name, casting a spell on viewers? Or is there simply no magic there at all. Find out more below and order yourself a copy with the “paid” Amazon link at the end!
It lives 50 feet beneath the city. It’s 36 feet long. It weighs 2,000 pounds… and it’s about to break out! 
Sooooo (again), 2020, amirite? If there ever a year to lose myself with a controller and 4K TV, this was it. I spent the better part of the year obsessing about playing many great games. Then September arrived, and like many nerds, I became more obsessed over securing an online order for a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. True, I was initially bummed I wouldn’t be going to my local Gamestop at midnight on Nov 10th and 12th, but in the interest of being safe, I was fortunate enough snag a preorder. Then I just needed to wait eight weeks to greet my neighborhood FedEx peep with social distancing in place. The actual games to play on these big consoles (looking at you, PS5) were the best kind of pricy distractions. More web-slinging! Thrills involving a nemesis! An island full of wisecracking animals! And an ever relatable tale about a pandemic that turned everyone into polarizing monsters. That last one was just the reaction to the game on social media.
Love and Monsters has had itself a bit of a production history. This film has a genesis dating back to 2012. And even after it was made it found itself shifting back and forth. At one point it was supposed to be releases last month. But with the pandemic and people trying out at home premieres for some movies, Love and Monsters founds its to VOD back in October of 2020. I’m not sure of its financial success from taking that avenue, but the film sure was a bit of a critical and audience darling. Paramount has even opted to put it out on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray for its debut on physical media. It only has a 7.1 audio track and some fluffy bonus materials, but in all honesty, I’d say that’s a pretty decent package for a new movie that’s gone through what Love and Monsters has. Its available now, having been released on January 5th.
Sooooo, 2020 amirite? I’ve never been happier for a year to end. Of course, with the pandemic still ongoing and awaiting a vaccine to reach millions, this was the first time I haven’t seen 70-100 movies in theaters since…. I dunno, the 90s? I have loved reviewing theatrical releases for this site and hope to do so again before 2021 ends. Were there great films in 2020? Of course. Did I miss a ton of them? I did. This past year, in lockdown, I spent more time with games than cinema. So by December, I found myself perusing other best-of lists to see what I missed. So, while the following shows that there was a lot to love creatively, I really miss seeing these films on the big screen. I did see a few like Birds of Prey and Emma. pre-lockdown, in actual theaters, but the art of the movies overall was appreciated via VOD and streaming services this time around.
I’ll spare you the “What a crazy year this was!” jargon as you already know. You lived through it, too. Like every cinephile, I sure do miss going to theaters and oddly not having that option made me feel like I saw a lot less “important stuff” or “contenders” this year. Yet, at the same time, I kind of did? There were many films at the time of this writing I wasn’t able to get to, didn’t have access too, or hadn’t ponied up $20 for VOD rental or whatnot. Plus, at the start of 2020 I was making a concentrated effort to not cram down films/television so much as I have in years past. Take my time, relax, not hurry. Let the ones I do watch soak up and think about them more. For better or for worse, I’d like what I take in to keep some staying power in my brain. I’m older, I have small children and my short term memory isn’t always what it used to be. However, when crafting my list I was very happy with it in the end, and I do have strong feelings toward every single one of the films on it (plus many of the ones cut) quite a bit. Despite many big films getting moved, the year was still littered with great material. A lot of which, I wish the opportunity to see it in the theater would’ve been an option. Then again, I have some rather against the grain picks this year and I’m pretty satisfied with that. 
