The High Note (Blu-ray Review)
August 8th, 2020 by Adam Toroni-Byrne
The High Note came out in the middle of the pandemic with little to no fanfare. The ads touting the film as a feel-good hit made it seem like it would be another film passed over for bigger louder summer fare. Interestingly enough, the following on demand wasn’t too bad, and the film is a small but mighty one that beckons to be revisited once you’ve finished your first viewing. Read more about The High Note below and be sure to click the paid link at the end to get your copy, which will be released August 11th!
With the CW’s flagship Arrowverse show, um, Arrow, having its final curtain call following the Infinite Crisis mini-series, a new vigilante show would arise to fill that void in its wake. Batwoman was the character to do so, filling the familiar streets of Gotham with a new angle with familiar vibes and new characters. One of the big attractions in the show’s launch was the high profile casting of Ruby Rose in the title role as Kate Kane. Unfortunately, that spark was short lived as she exited the show after two years in the role and only one (COVID shortened) season of the show (She debuted in the previous years’ crossover event). All eyes and interest will be on how the show’s second season handles this pivot, but you can return to that inaugural and unique season of Batwoman when it arrives on Bu-ray later this month (August 18). Pre-order links up are up now all around, but its always appreciated when you click on the paid Amazon Associates link that follows the review. 
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 300, the highly-acclaimed 2007cutting-edge, heart-pounding, visual masterpiece from director Zack Snyder, will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and Digital on October 6. Based on the stylized graphic novel from icon Frank Miller (Sin City), 300 is an epic action-adventure about the 300 Spartan warriors led by the heroic King Leonidas who challenged Xerxes and his massive Persian army at the ancient Battle of Thermopylae. Facing insurmountable odds, they fought to the death to defend their honor and freedom, inspiring all of Greece to unite against the enemy. 
One of the most successful live-action video game film franchises of all time gets an upgrade when the RESIDENT EVIL 4K ULTRA HD COLLECTION arrives on November 3rd from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This limited-edition gift set marks the first time that fans will be able to experience all six films on 4K Ultra HD disc with High Dynamic Range and Dolby Atmos audio. The films will also be available digitally in 4K with HDR.
Scream Factory continues its digging through the Paramount catalog vault this month and uncovers 1990s film version of the television anthology horror series Tales From The Darkside. Slapped with a Collector’s Edition label, its coming to Blu-ray for the very first item and is accompanied by a brand new impressive six-part retrospective documentary. The film boasts a load of talent, including the likes of Julianne Moore, Christian Slater, Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi and James Remar while crafting stories from Stephen King, George A. Romero, Arthur Conan Doyle with effects from KNB. That’s kind of a star studded roster all around. This edition comes with some really impressive new key art and other archival material as well. You can put a pre-order in now at Shout! Factory’s website or by using the paid Amazon link that follows the review. Tales From The Darkside: The Movie arrives in stores and online August 25th.
For the past (a little over a) year, Scream Factory has been blessing us every couple months with a Universal Horror Collection. Each set gathering four films from the 1930s-1950s that weren’t of the Classic Monsters canon and putting them onto Blu-ray for the first time. Many of them starring legends like Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill. The previous set even put out a monster’s entire series (“Cheena, the Ape Woman”) for the first time. Some primarily science fiction movies have squeezed their way into these sets as well, and are certainly a welcomed addition. Sadly, Scream Factory has announced that this sixth set will be the last one in the series. I’m sure if they are able to, they will pick it up again, but for now, that’s all She-Wolf of London wrote. Its going out with a bang too, with films featuring Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and Barbara Shelley. You can pre-order the set from the paid Amazon link below to complete your set when it arrives August 25th.
As a kid in the 1990s I was addicted to the tales from the Midnight Society coming to every Saturday night on Nickelodeon. Or I believe they were calling it “SNICK” back then (Or something to that regard). Sometimes spooky, sometimes just fun horror/monster stuff to enjoy, the show has long been fabled among my generation and a few after mine. It seemed ripe for a revisit and Nickelodeon agreed, giving it a 3-episode limited revival last year. Now, that updated version will be hitting…*looks down*…DVD on August 11th. Viva physical media though, right? The DVD will contain all 3 of the new episodes as well as 3 of the “fan-favorite” classic episodes to give us the best of both worlds. If you’re interested in owning it, no matter the format, go ahead and use the paid Amazon link following the review. Its only like $12 right now and that’s not bad. Or grab it to spook your kids if you got ’em. That’s a pretty good idea, too!
One of Hollywood’s most legendary and electric onscreen and offscreen couples of all time were Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The duo starred in a total of nine films together from 1942’s Woman of the Year all the way to 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, with the run only ending due to the death of Tracy that same year. As a couple they were their own brand and franchise and have seldom been match or had anything like it in the history of cinema before and after. Warner Archive Collection will be bringing two of their classics to Blu-ray for the first time in August, 1945’s Without Love and 1952’s Pat and Mike. This review will be taking a look at the sports romantic comedy Pat and Mike that also stars Aldo Ray and has smaller roles filled by the likes of later stars Charles Bronson and Chuck Connors. You can pre-order the film now and find it available on Warner Archive Collection’s own shop for release on August 25th.
Growing up, I had parents that were big fans of John Travolta. Pretty much, if he was in a movie playing in theaters, we were seeing it. If we missed it, we were renting it the week it came out on VHS. They were mostly addicted to the subpar outings of his. An unfortunate piece of trivia for me, is that due to this, I’ve seen every movie in the Look Who’s Talking series in theaters. And of course, one film we DIDN’T go see him for in theaters was Pulp Fiction. Go figure. Anyway, what does my crying and griping about my parents taking me to Mr. Travolta’s lesser projects have relevance for here? Well, I saw Michael opening weekend. Which is the film for which the Blu-ray I’m about to review is of. I didn’t remember much of this Nora Ephron film, so I felt maybe it’d be neat to revisit it when the Warner Archive Collection August titles came by my desk. The film will be available for the first time on August 11th and can be pre-ordered on their website or from the paid Amazon link below.
Five fascinating tales from the iconic DC canon, including the first interactive film presentation in Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) history, come to animated life in DC Showcase – Batman: Death in the Family. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the anthology of 2019-2020 animated shorts arrives from WBHE on Blu-ray and Digital starting October 13, 2020. Anchoring the compilation of shorts is Batman: Death in the Family, WBHE’s first-ever venture into interactive storytelling that allows fans to choose where the story goes through an innovative navigation guided by the viewer’s remote control. Central to the extended-length short is an adaptation of “Batman: A Death in the Family,” the 1988 landmark DC event where fans voted by telephone to determine the story’s ending.
