When reviewing a label release for something I have never seen, it is always interesting to see how the movie looks and what the restoration does to it as there are no nostalgia/rose-colored glasses towards the project itself. The only… Read More ›
home video
“Once Upon a Time in the West” is one of 2024’s best 4K releases.
Typically, studio-released 4Ks have been poor and strip-mined of late. Usually, if you want a good edition, you’re paying out extra payola to a boutique brand with a severely limited run. But the Paramount Presents label has outdone itself with… Read More ›
Steven Soderbergh’s “Magic Mike” receives a bare first-time 4K UHD edition from WB Pictures.
The career of actor Channing Tatum is a lesson in agility and endurance. He first appeared in 2005’s Coach Carter, but it wouldn’t be until 2006’s Step Up when he would capture audiences’ attention. Since then, Tatum has bounced from… Read More ›
Imprint Films brings Akira Kurosawa’s unfinished film, “The Sea is Watching,” to Blu-ray.
The Sea is Watching is the latest splash in the ongoing wave of previously unavailable East Asian films coming to America through boutique Blu-ray labels, this one through Imprint: Asia. It’s the second-to-last screenplay from one of the greatest Maestros… Read More ›
“Mean Girls” on 4K UHD is so fetch.
It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years (what???) since we learned about the daughter of the inventor of Toaster Strudel, and, more importantly, about how learning to not be a mean girl/queen B or you’ll get… Read More ›
The Best and Worst “Scooby-Doo” films debut in HD on the same Blu-ray.
Most Scooby-Doo films are just alright. They are often glorified hour-long episodes of the series, or Archie Comics-style cameo machines. But starting in 1998 and ending in 2003, there was a run of good-to-great straight-to-VHS films, Scooby-Doo! On Zombie Island… Read More ›
“Noryang: Deadly Sea” Blu-ray Giveaway
In 2014, director Kim Han-Min began his epic three-film tale documenting Korean naval history with The Admiral: Roaring Currents, following it up in 2022 with Hansan: Rising Dragon. At the end of 2023, the story concluded with Noryang: Deadly Sea, a… Read More ›
Lies, secrets, and murder make up a great deal of “Dune: Part Two,” available on home video now.
Author Frank Herbert reportedly got the spark for the concept of his book Dune after observing conservation attempts along the Oregon coastline, creating from this a science fiction action-adventure tale that would inspire readers for generations. Parts of this inspiration… Read More ›
With an amazing transfer and a ton of extra features, Arrow’s 4K UHD restoration of “Basket Case” is a must-own for horror fans.
Having only seen one Frank Henenlotter film, Brain Damage, prior, there was some idea of what to possibly expect from his directorial debut, Basket Case. However, even having seen Brain Damage, I don’t think anything could have properly prepared me… Read More ›
“The Scarface Mob” never had better looking mugshots than in Arrow’s Blu-ray release.
For a “movie” that is 65 years old and was originally a two-part series premiere pilot, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would look as clean and crisp as it possibly does. It is truly so… Read More ›
“The Crow” 4K Digital Code Giveaway
The 1990s brought forth a number of cinematic comic book adaptations. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dick Tracy, and Darkman in 1990; The Rocketeer in 1991; Batman Returns in 1992; Batman Forever, Judge Dredd, and The Mask in 1995; The Phantom in 1996; and,… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection adds Mikhail Kalatozov’s drama “I Am Cuba” into the collection.
Films can be more than just the latest sci-fi/superhero blockbuster or summer comedy. Some films aspire to teach audiences lessons and history. I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba), a 1964 political propaganda film, is one such story. Its historical richness and… Read More ›
With “The Crow” in first-time 4K UHD, it’s easy to believe that love will prevail.
Photosensitivity Warning: The opening sequence and several throughout the film include either flashes of light or strobing that may be triggering for photosensitive viewers. There are certain phrases, certain references, one can make that will elicit a specific response within… Read More ›
Bertrand Mandico’s “She Is Conann” questions whether or not crushing your enemies is truly what’s best in life.
Photosensitivity Warning: There are multiple scenes in which either a character is using a camera with flash or a strobe is used (often at length). Proceed with absolute caution. In the realm of action fantasy, John Milius’s 1982 sword and… Read More ›
“Hardware Wars” Blu-ray Giveaway
Since George Lucas’s Star Wars released into theaters in 1977, filmmakers have been trying to capture that same magic. So much so that filmmaker Zack Snyder described his Rebel Moon series as his Star Wars and brother filmmakers Joe and Anthony… Read More ›
Bring home three of a kind to a full house with the “Ocean’s Trilogy” on 4K UHD for the first time.
Remakes are almost always met with the same reaction upon announcement: “why?”. To many, remakes are a sign of laziness on the part of studios, opting to lean-in on what audiences know or have a relationship with rather than taking… Read More ›
Comic book adaptation “Madame Web” arrives on home video with bonus materials that’ll educate the fans of this Sony-run Marvel film.
It’s been stated before, but it bears reminding: expectations can ruin an experience. This is equally true when the hype ahead of something implies one thing when the truth is something very different. In the real world, it can look… Read More ›
“Dogfight” is a heavyweight film and a lightweight Criterion release.
Nothing in the 1991 film Dogfight is black and white, no matter what the greyscale filter on the box’s cover art and poster may imply. Or maybe, everything is. A cable classic that found its audience after release, Dogfight couldn’t… Read More ›
Let the “Mean Girls” movie musical be “A Cautionary Tale:” classics don’t need remakes.
The original Mean Girls starring Lindsay Lohan (Freaky Friday), Rachel McAdams (Game Night), Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body), and Lacey Chabert (Not Another Teen Movie), was released almost exactly 20 years ago on April 30, 2004. Inspired by Queen Bees and… Read More ›
Jazz and animation flow in animated powerhouse “BLUE GIANT” on home video via Shout! Studios.
Adaptations are growing in number more and more these days in entertainment. If there’s not a cinematic version of a book, show, or comic, there’s a television one. Often times, these tales involve beings of incredible strength or speed, of… Read More ›