‘This Gun for Hire’ on Blu-ray September 14, 2020!
Eureka Entertainment to release THIS GUN FOR HIRE, a highly influential film-noir starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, presented on Blu-ray from a 4K scan of the original film elements. Available for the first time in the UK as part of the Eureka Classics range September 14, 2020! One of the most revered film-noir hits of the 1940s, This Gun for Hire was also the debut teaming of Veronica Lake, in one of her sultriest and most iconic roles, and Alan Ladd. Following the success of the film, the duo would go on to team up in several more features, although This Gun for Hire remains their most fondly remembered pairing. Ladd as a frightening yet oddly sympathetic hit man was only fourth-billed in this defining early noir, yet it became the breakout role that turned him into a star. As The New York Times said of Ladd upon the film’s 1942 release, “He is really an actor to watch. After this stinging performance, he has something to live up to or live down.” Lake is nightclub chanteuse Ellen, and her police detective boyfriend Michael (Robert Preston) is on the hunt for assassin-for-hire Philip Raven (Ladd), after Raven performed a hit on a chemist with a secret formula and a taste for blackmail. When Raven’s employer Gates (Laird Cregar) double crosses him after the job is done, Raven seeks revenge, and his path crosses with Ellen after she is hired to perform at Gates’ club. Raven learns that the stolen formula is for a poison gas that is to be sold to the Japanese, and his pangs of conscience and revelations of his tortured past turn Ellen’s fear into compassion, just as dangerous forces close in on Raven. But Ellen is still unsure if Raven can be trusted… Continue reading ‘‘This Gun for Hire’ on Blu-ray September 14, 2020!’
Very exciting news was announced recently and we are able to share here on Why So Blu – THE MASTER, Alfred Hitchcock, is finally receiving his due on 4K Ultra-HD this September. Beginning with Rear Window, Vertigo and The Birds, we can only hope this is the beginning of a full update of the original Blu-ray set released many moons ago. Who WOULDN’T want these in their collection? 2020 has been a fantastic year so far for catalog titles on 4K Ultra-HD and it looks to just keep getting better and better. More details will probably show up in the coming month or so, as well as a pre-order, but from now, here is the statement from Universal regarding this collection. I cannot wait for this release!
Not enough Egoyan details the first time around? No worries – 
Scream Factory™ has announced the release of more classic horror films, with the August 25 drop of Volume 6 of the incredibly popular Universal Horror Collection. The set contains 4 films on Blu-ray™, and is packed with new bonus features and new 2K scans of the films.
Ahoy there! The #1 selling home entertainment television series of all time, and most-watched series in HBO history, Game of Thrones remains a blockbuster hit and cultural sensation. Now, for the first time ever, the entire series can be owned in spectacular 4K Ultra HD when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection on 4K Ultra HD Blu-rayT on November 3, 2020. Featuring all 73 episodes along with over 15 hours of bonus content, plus Digital Copy (US only), this must-have set is priced to own. Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 are also available to own on Digital in HD via purchase from digital retailers. 
Nothing says deep movie dissection like a good old-fashioned career interview – except maybe one you can watch. Yearning for a beyond the norm detailed Q&A from the comfort of your own home? Love The Adjuster, Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter? 
Since the award-winning drama series’ debut, Westworld has captivated audiences by exploring the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin with the latest season delving into the questions surrounding free will. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will be releasing 
Experience the “unexpected and utterly enchanting” (Oliver Jones, Observer) stylish and contemporary female lead comedy THE HIGH NOTE, available on digital now, On Demand July 21, 2020, and on Blu-ray™ and DVD August 11, 2020 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Emmy® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Tracee Ellis Ross (“Blackish”) stars as Grace Davis, a music icon who elevates her career to the next level with the help of Maggie, her ambitious assistant (Dakota Johnson; Fifty Shades of Grey franchise), in the delightful and glamorous film that brings a lighthearted humor to the illustrious and trendy LA music scene. Directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) and written by Flora Greeson, a former personal assistant in the music industry, THE HIGH NOTE features a showstopping cast alongside Ross and Johnson including Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Luce), Bill Pullman (“The Sinner”), Zoë Chao (Where’d You Go, Bernadette), and June Diane Raphael (The Disaster Artist) with Eddie Izzard (Ocean’s Thirteen) and Ice Cube (Ride Along).
Trying to do my critical part during this time of quarantine and no open theaters, I thought it proper to take a gander at the wave of indie flicks hitting home for those in need of some good movie comfort. And despite the lack of current productions, there are still a massive amount of movies hitting various services to help those with a hankering for their film fix. I weed through a whopping nine titles, from well-woven dramas about father and daughters to horror outings set down under, I brave a batch of nine hopefuls to give you the skinny on what’s hot and not. Check out the Encapsulated Movie Reviews for Guest of Honour, YES, GOD, YES, Relic, Two Heads Creek, We Are Little Zombies, Parallax, All Hail The Popcorn King, The Beach House and Superhuman: The Invisible Made Visible below!
Paramount Presents returns this month with two new editions of classics from Jerry Zucker that helped launch the 1980s and 1990s decades. One of which is the romance phenomenon that was Ghost. The Patrick Swayze / Demi Moore paranormal romantic drama nabbed Whoopi Goldberg an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Bruce Joel Rubin some Oscar hardware for Best Original Screenplay. It was also up for three more awards for that year, including Best Picture. Maybe hard to realize today or appreciate, but Ghost made over HALF A BILLION DOLLARS at the box office in 1990 ($217 million of that in the United States off of a $12 million opening). Ghost was everywhere and a staple in pop culture. Everybody knows the lines, the clay scene, everything. Now you can look at it again with a brand new 4K transfer when it arrives on the Paramount Presents label featuring a new interview with the director, Jerry Zucker. Pre-order now to secure your copy for its release date on July 21.
October 13th!!!! From producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and director, Neill Blomkamp comes a startlingly original science fiction thriller that “soars on the imagination of its creators” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). With stunning special effects and gritty realism, the film plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed… only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet.
One of the joys of covering the Scream Factory titles for me is the ability to revisit some films that I haven’t seen in a significantly long time with a completely refreshed pair of eyes. Does it always pan out? No. But its still exciting to have another look. Thirteen Ghosts was a film I didn’t think much of (Or care for) back when it was released in 2001, but I was always a much different person then that I am now. While I wasn’t particularly fond of it, I’ve noticed over the years that there does seem to be a cult following for this one, so I’m looking forward to another chance. Regardless, this second release for the film (Originally on a double feature release with the 2005 House of Wax remake) is quite loaded and given the typical loving touches that Scream Factory is known for. They even nabbed Shannon Elizabeth (Very much an “it girl” in the early 2000s when this came out) back for an interview. You can pre-order now to secure a copy for the July 28th release date.
A provocative and squirm-inducing psychological thriller, Swallow follows one woman’s unraveling as she struggles to reclaim independence in the face of an oppressive system by whatever means possible. Written and directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis (The Swell Season), this critically acclaimed film makes its Blu-ray and DVD debut August 4, 2020 from Scream Factory, in conjunction with IFC Midnight. Fans of this unnerving tale can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com.
