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Inglourious Basterds (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 20th, 2021

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“My name is Lt. Aldo Raine, and I’m putting together a special team, and I need me eight soldiers. Eight Jewish-American soldiers. Now, y’all might’ve heard rumors about the armada happening soon. Well, we’ll be leaving a little earlier. We’re gonna be dropped into France, dressed as civilians. And once we’re in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin’ guerrilla army, we’re gonna be doin’ one thing and one thing only … killin’ Nazis. We will be cruel to the German, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their brothers we leave behind us. And the German won’t be able to help themselves but to imagine the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives. And the Germans will be sickened by us, and the German will talk about us, and the German will fear us. And when the German closes their eyes at night and they’re tortured by their subconscious for the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with. Sound good?”

All right, so I’m a bit late to the party on this one, but I wanted to toss in my two bits anyway.
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The Shawshank Redemption (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2021

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“I must admit I didn’t think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him; looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. That was my first impression of the man.”

Our first, middle, and last impression of writer Stephen King has always been one thing. He’s considered the King of the Modern Horror Novel. Pretty much everything he has ever written has found its way to the small or large screen and often with various versions over the years. The problem is that King is such a visceral writer, and his novels tend to be so long that it’s very difficult and damn near impossible to translate a good King story for television or the box office. No matter how hard some of the best filmmakers have tried, an alarming number of King’s written masterpieces have fallen flat at the box office.
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F9: The Fast Saga – Director’s Cut (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2021

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” Okay, listen up! I want 50 of the best men! I want guns! I want wheels, freaking X-wing fighters — I don’t care! The Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca if you can get ahold of him. Money’s no object. Go.”

The year 2020 and nearly half of 2021 make up a time in our lives we’d all like to try to forget. And while the remnants of a pandemic that is not quite over still intrude on our realities, many aspects of our lives are starting to return. We’re spending time with our family and friends again. Those simple parts of our lives we once took for granted are starting to return, and I suspect we’re all apt to savor them just a little bit more from now on.
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Zack Snyder’s Justice League (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 18th, 2021

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When Justice League hit the box office in 2017 it was met by relatively good box office numbers but not warmly received overall. It was a troubled shoot. During production Zack Snyder had to leave the director’s chair when his daughter Autumn passed away. When you consider how hard the folks at DC have been chasing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was no surprise that they brought in Joss Whedon to pick up the pieces and finish the film. Whedon, of course, directed the first Avengers film for Marvel, which turned into the perfect example of how to bring a diverse group of heroes together for a film. Whedon was also the king of the ensemble cast from his early days on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and later Firefly. The first problem was that Whedon and Snyder have very polar opposite styles. Snyder rules with tons of angst, darkness and brooding characters.
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Star Trek: The Original 4-Film Collection (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 16th, 2021

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“Space…The Final Frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!”

From the moment of the first UHD releases, I have had a wish list of films I wanted to see in 4K. Most of them have finally reached my home theater video shelf, but there remain a few elusive titles that I am still waiting for. Paramount is doing a great job, but two of my most wished for UHD franchises happen to be The Godfather films and the original Star Trek films. I’m still waiting for The Godfather, but the Star Trek wait is somewhat over. I say somewhat because this new release from Paramount contains those first four films. Star Trek: The Motion Picture is eventually going to be released with upgraded f/x and a few other upgrades. But the original version of the film is included with the trilogy of The Wrath Of Kahn, The Search For Spock, and The Voyage Home.
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Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on September 9th, 2021

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It would seem that the animated film and the 2021 live-action film suffer from the same issue: more time is dedicated to setting up the tournament than the actual tournament itself. I suppose I should take solace in the fact that the two are consistent; however, I’m afraid that is not the case for me. I would have much preferred that proper time be allocated to what is supposed to be the main plot of the film. The whole point of this franchise is to show champions fighting to protect the Earth realm, but it would seem that more time is shown depicting the underhandedness that the other realms attempt to use in order to secure Earth realm by other means. If that was the case, hell, why even have a tournament, if our fate is going to be decided through other measures. OK, that is my little rant about the film, but in truth, it is not a great film, but I wouldn’t go so far as to categorize it as terrible one. There are a few things to enjoy about it. Want to know more? Keep reading.
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In the Heights (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 2nd, 2021

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Every decade or so sees the popularity of a Broadway stage show become something of a cultural phenomenon. When I was young, Cats and Annie were the big-event shows. Over the years it’s been Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom Of The Opera, and more recently, Rent. In these last few years the stage champ has been Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. To say that it has been one of the more popular shows in the last few years would be an understatement. Based very loosely on the historical life of Alexander Hamilton, it is still currently the hardest ticket to get in New York City. Lost in the excitement and fame over Hamilton is that Miranda has had another rather large success with In The Heights. The play was selected best musical in 2003. While it never did come close to the success of Hamilton, it was also once a hard ticket to obtain. Just one year after Hamilton made it to the big screen, In The Heights will get its chance to offer moviegoers something to help bring them back to the cinemas.
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The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 1st, 2021

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What James Wan did with The Conjuring (2013) was something I don’t think anyone expected, he didn’t just deliver a haunted house film that’s genuinely scary as well as being a technical achievement, but also he kicked off a successful franchise that’s now seven films deep with no signs of stopping. I’ll admit when it comes to the stories about Ed and Lorraine Warren I have a bit of a bias. I’m a sucker for just about any and every paranormal show out there, and I’ve read numerous books about the Warrens and their case files. Everything from the “true” story behind the Amityville house, the “real” Annabelle, to some of the not-so-famous cases (at least the ones we haven’t seen a movie about). Whether you believe in the paranormal or feel the Warrens were nothing more than skilled hoaxers, the stories behind their cases are the stuff that will always make for a great campfire story, and as it’s been proven, some successful and entertaining films.
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The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 27th, 2021

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“Boring is still always best.”

To preface this review, I feel I should tell you just how big a fan I am of the original film (The Hitman’s Bodyguard). It’s a movie that I have watched more times than I can count. There is something about that film for me that just works. Maybe it is the chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, the way that they perfectly play off one another. Perhaps it’s that there is an air of philosophy to it, where they both argue that their occupation is just and the manner in which they argue it is so passionate that you can see both sides of the argument. Maybe it’s just the fact that it was chock full of action. Either way, suffice to say this movie holds a special charm for me.
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GI Joe Retaliation (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on August 9th, 2021

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Retaliation resumes sometime after the original movie. Duke (Channing Tatum) is now leader of his own team, which includes Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), Snake Eyes (Ray Park), and Flint (DJ Cotrona). After completing a successful mission, the team returns to base camp and awaits extraction. Dropping their guard, the group enjoys downtime; however, when a security patrol arrives ahead of schedule, it does not go unnoticed. Their suspicions are proven right, as a massive assault devastates the camp. Unable to adequately defend themselves, the team suffers heavy casualties including a vital and precious member of the team. (I’m sure you’ll have no trouble figuring out who.)
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A Quiet Place Part II (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 30th, 2021

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If it feels like you’ve been waiting a while for this film, well, you wouldn’t be wrong. Originally the plan was to release the film March 20, 2020, but this would be one of the first of many films that would be shelved due to the pandemic. There was talk about possibly releasing the film on one of the numerous streaming services out there, but thankfully it was decided to hold out till the lockdowns would end and movie theaters would open up wide across the US. It’s been a long wait for this highly anticipated sequel; was it worth it? I didn’t review the first film, but while I wasn’t exactly blown away by the film the first time around, as I’ve revisited the film I have to admit the film has grown on me, and I’d say it was my second favorite horror film released in 2018 (Sorry, Hereditary continues to knock my socks off to this day.)
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Spiral (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 26th, 2021

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Just when you thought the Saw franchise had finally claimed its final victim in Jigsaw, Lionsgate has decided to keep the gruesome franchise going with Spiral. I know it seemed like the character of Jigsaw had finally been milked (or bled) for all its worth; what more can they do with this franchise? Honestly, when I first heard about this film, I groaned. I love horror, and I love gore, but even I was feeling the franchise had gotten a bit stale. As it turns out, there does seem to be more story to be juiced from this franchise, and I’ll say it right now, this film was the game changer the franchise needed, and it helps pave the way for plenty of pain, revenge, and justice down the road. This is a film that was long overdue to the franchise, and I’ll go so far as to say it’s perhaps my favorite film of the series since the release of the first film.
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Almost Famous (Steelbook) (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 23rd, 2021

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“Some people have a hard time explaining rock ‘n’ roll. I don’t think anyone can really explain rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe Pete Townshend, but that’s okay. Rock ‘n’ roll is a lifestyle and a way of thinking… and it’s not about money and popularity. Although, some money would be nice … And one of these people is gonna save the world. And that means that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world… all of us together. And the chicks are great. But what it all comes down to is that thing. The indefinable thing when people catch something in your music.”

It doesn’t take much more than that little piece of dialog to understand that Cameron Crowe really gets what rock ‘n’ roll was once all about. If you need more proof than that, then you’re in luck, because Paramount is giving you 163 minutes of proof, and for the first time in UHD Blu-ray in all the glory of 4K. Almost Famous is one of the best rock movies ever made.
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Mortal Kombat (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on July 21st, 2021

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“Throughout history, different cultures all over the world reference a great tournament of champions. That dragon marking, I think it’s an invitation to fight for something known as Mortal Kombat.”

While I do rate this adaptation of the popular video game better than its incarnations that came before it in the 90s, I still wouldn’t categorize it as a great movie. It’s a bit too short on explanation to reach that level. It starts off promising with a showdown battle between the two most popular characters of the game, played by Joe Taslim (Sub-Zero) and Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion). The fight is everything that I expected it to be; well-orchestrated with the right amount of bloodshed. However, as the story goes on, the quality of the storytelling takes a hit as the film takes the position that the audience is already well-versed in the backstory of the film.
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Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 18th, 2021

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Just in time for the first days of shooting on the next and final Indiana Jones film, Paramount cashes in on the renewed interest with the long-awaited, at least from this reviewer, release of the first four films in the Indiana Jones franchise on UHD Blu-ray in full ultra high definition complete with HDR and Dolby Vision. OK, I lied about the long-awaited four films. Most of us have long-awaited two out of the first four films, but Paramount gets that. That’s why the original Blu-ray release and again the 4K release doesn’t give you the option yet to just pick the two you want. If you want Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Last Crusade in 4K, you’re stuck with the other two. I’ll take that deal, and you should, too. Here’s why.
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Godzilla vs. Kong (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 18th, 2021

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Ever since the release of Godzilla in 2014, just the possibility of this film has been highly anticipated. The last time we got to see these two titans go head to head, it was in the 1963 version of Kong vs, Godzilla. Sure, it has some value as a campy romp, but you’ll have a difficult time convincing anyone that it was actually a good movie. No matter what fans may think of the new Monsterverse that we’ve gotten, I feel what can be agreed upon is that each of the films has given us an impressive look at these monsters, not just in their design, but in their fights. While I’m pretty open about my affection for these titans and how happy I am to see them finally get their due beyond the man-in-suit films (which of course I still enjoy and adore), it’s still no surprise to me that the weakest parts have always been the human aspect of the films.
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Super 8 (Blu-ray UHD) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 4th, 2021

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By David Annandale

It is 1979. While filming a Super 8 horror movie, a group of young friends on the cusp of adolescence witness a spectacular train wreck. They later discover that they accidentally captured evidence that there was an alien creature on the train, and it is now loose in their small town. But if the mysterious disappearance of dogs, engines, and (increasingly) people wasn’t trouble enough, the military descends upon the community with an agenda far more merciless and inhuman than that of the alien itself. I was 12 in 1979, and I was shooting Super 8 monster movies, so I get the nostalgia that writer/director J.J. Abrams is going for here, and this is an utterly unapologetic exercise in nostalgia. Abrams is out to recreate the experience of a Spielberg movie from that era, and with the man himself acting as producer, the mission is accomplished
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My Fair Lady (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 25th, 2021

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By John Ceballos

“She’s quite a common girl, very common indeed.”

Of course, we don’t need 50 years of hindsight — or more than 100 years, if you want to go all the way back to the original 1913 staging of George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” — to know that there’s nothing common about cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle. And there’s nothing ordinary about 1964’s My Fair Lady, the beloved Oscar-winning musical that now gets an uncommonly (but appropriately) lavish ultra-high-resolution release. Chances are you know the story. But even if you don’t, its rags-to-riches DNA can be found in everything from Cinderella to Pretty Woman. In early 20th century London, Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) is a brilliant and unbearably arrogant phonetics scholar who can spot a person’s place of origin simply by hearing them utter a few words. Higgins is fascinated by the English language
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Justice Society: World War II (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 18th, 2021

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It started in 2013 with Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. DC decided to follow the Marvel MCU model and release a series of DC property films in a 16-film phase that ended last year with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. After 16 films with a couple of branch-offs, that phase/story has come to a close, and a new phase begins with Justice Society: World War II. The stories were pretty much based on the New 52 reboot of the DC comics universe. There have been some exceptional films in the series and a couple of duds. The animation styles varied and conformed to the type of story being told. With the release of Justice Society: World War II we enter a new phase, and so far the theme or source of the new films hasn’t been revealed. We know the next two films will be based on the Batman: The Long Halloween comic. After that it appears the DC folks’ lips are sealed. While that two-part adventure looks quite enticing, the new series of films opens with a very average entry.
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Wonder Woman 1984 (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2021

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“Welcome to the future. Life is good! But it can be better. And why shouldn’t it be? All you need is to want it. Think about finally having everything you always wanted.”

In 1917 Patty Jenkins teamed up with Israeli actress Gal Gadot to create one of the best comic book movies of all time. Wonder Woman had everything. It sported a really good lead actress surrounded by a really good supporting cast. It had a grand scope but still gave us characters at the core with wonderful chemistry and heart. We got plenty of action and huge set pieces without giving up anything in the trenches. It was easily the best superhero film of the decade and the best DC/Warner hero film since the 1978 Donner Superman movie. But the trouble here is that Jenkins already had an incredible formula going here but couldn’t resist the temptation to want everything.
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The Ten Commandments (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 2nd, 2021

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“The theme of this picture is whether man ought to be ruled by God’s law, or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator, like Rameses. Are men the property of the state, or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today. Our intention was not to create a story, but to be worthy of a divinely inspired story, created 3,000 years ago, the five books of Moses. The story takes three hours and 39 minutes to unfold. There will be an intermission. Thank you for your attention.”

A sure sign that Easter is just around the corner is yet another home video release of perennial seasonal favorite The Ten Commandments. In years past, we got the multi-disc edition, complete with original silent version of the film. This particular version is rather more stripped down, as far as features go, but it does mark the film’s debut release on UHD Blu-ray and in 4K. Unlike previous editions, this one takes full advantage of the superior source material. The film was shot on 70 mm film, and that gives us an equivalent of 8K in today’s resolution terms.
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News of the World (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 31st, 2021

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“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, and I’m here tonight to bring y’all the news from across this great world of ours. Now, I know how life is in these parts, working a trade sunup to sundown. No time for reading newspapers. Am I correct?”

How about reading a review for Universal’s News Of The World? If you spare a few minutes, I’ll tell you a little something about the film, and you might just end up with a copy of the film on UHD Blu-ray in 4K on your home video shelves. I’m certainly glad there’s a copy on mine. The film is based on the novel by Paulette Jiles with a screenplay by Luke Davies and director Paul Greengrass.
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Godzilla (2014) (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 24th, 2021

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“It’s not the end of the world.”

Just in time for the delayed release of Godzilla vs. Kong, we get a look back to the very beginning of this particular string of films. Of course it all really started back in 1954, but for our purposes this was the beginning of the current Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures franchise featuring the true king of the monsters. Now Warner has released the film on UHD Blu-ray and in glorious 4K. So before you head to the cinemas or (God forbid) your phone screens for the latest battle, check in here to relive round one.
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The Croods: A New Age ( UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 9th, 2021

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They say that timing is everything. When Dreamworks released The Croods back in 2013, it performed rather nicely both at the box office and on home video. The combined take brought the studio over a billion dollars and a bit of a comeback for their animated studio branch. It appeared to be the anchor for a new franchise that could hold its own against such juggernauts as Ice Age, Shrek, and pretty much anything Pixar puts out. I expected there to be a follow-up, but I didn’t expect it to take over seven years. Kids have relatively short attention spans, and sequels really need to strike while the box-office iron is hot. That wasn’t the case here. I’m not sure what the holdup might have been. The project was quickly greenlit by Dreamworks, and we should have seen something in a couple of years at the longest. Instead it took the better part of a decade, and the film faced a double whammy when it finally was ready for release.
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Do the Right Thing (UHD Blu-ray) (4K)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on March 4th, 2021

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“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

This quote is one of two featured at the end of the film, the other coming from another prominent civil rights leader, Malcolm X. In his quote speaks about how though there are good people in the world, there are also a good many bad, and those bad people tend to be in positions of power that grant them protections from their misdeeds.
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