Tag: blurayreview
REPO MAN 4K Review: This Criterion Release Rocks
For those who like a good dose of honesty and chaos, the 1984 punk cult classic debut from Alex Cox (Sid and Nancy, Straight to Hell), Repo Man is out in a 4K/Blu-ray combo. The release is beautiful; from the...
UHF 4K Review: Shout Factory Helps Bring Joy Decades Later
What can be said about UHF that hasn’t been said before? “Weird Al” Yankovic and his manager/the director of the film, Jay Levey, pulled off something that was originally released in 1989. Oh, simpler times. The film is a ridiculous,...
4K Review: THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS
On May 30th, Scream Factory will release a 4K/Blu-ray combo of The People Under the Stairs. I’ve seen the horror-comedy a number of times. Even though it was first released in 1991, the socio-political element of the rich eating those...
4K Review: SHAFT
The Criterion Collection has tons of great new 4K releases lately, including groundbreaker Gordon Parks’ (The Learning Tree, Leadbelly) Shaft. This 1971 cultural sucker punch had an undeniable effect on the film industry then, helping launch the Blaxploitation phenomenon. If...
4K Review: THE GODFATHER TRILOGY Box Set
Out this week in North America from Paramount Pictures comes the brand-new 4K edition of Francis Ford Coppola's classic films, or at least some of them, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III, which comes in both the...
4K Review: ALLIGATOR Shines on Home Video
Steven Spielberg is responsible for many things in the film world, including the popular spate of “animals attack” films of the ‘70s and early ‘80s, whether he liked it or not. One of the best of these films was the...
4K Review: Criterion's Sublime, Horrifying THE PIANO
The Piano is a difficult and amazing film. It asks viewers to fully invest in the images, sounds, in its nuances, subtext, foreshadowing, and provocations. It’s not a difficult film to understand on its most surface level, but it is...
Blu-ray Review: Delightful Camp and Horror in PARANOIAC
Ah, Hammer Horror, a happy (ish) gateway drug to the more horrific, violent, terrifying modern films of today. Hammer was known for mainly campy and gothic bodice-ripping films, dripping with lurid colors and malice, along with a certain off-the-rails glee....
Blu-ray Review: ELVIRA'S HAUNTED HILLS Kills
Though I was lucky enough to have seen the original Elvira film, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, in theatres, the second adventure of the "Mistress of the Dark" escaped me in the early 2000s. Thankfully, Scream Factory (Shout! Factory's rad horror...
Blu-ray Review: THE DEAD ZONE Remains Devastating, Prophetic
The Dead Zone. I've seen this 1983 film several times, and with each viewing, I love the film more. Scream Factory's recently released collector's edition of The Dead Zone is the definitive home "video" version (at least so far). Directed...
Blu-ray Review: The 4K INDIANA JONES Box Set will Melt Your Face
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), the adventurous archeologist and my favorite Nazi puncher of all time, is back in a gorgeous 4K Blu-ray set with a ridiculous amount of extras fit for a legend. As they're filming the fifth version...
Blu-ray Review: Criterion's PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET Provokes
Pickup on South Street was released in 1953 and directed by Samuel Fuller (The Baron of Arizona, The Crimson Kimono, Shock Corridor). This 80-minute noir is an in-depth look at the seedier side of society, in which Fuller was well versed....
Blu-ray Review: Criterion's Massive WORLD OF WONG KAR WAI Box Set
Physical media is a beautiful thing for those who still treasure it. It can be held, viewed, borrowed, or even traded or sold, and unless something happens to it, there's never a chance that your chosen streaming service won't have...
Blu-ray Review: The Flawed, Fascinating JUST A GIGOLO
Out on June 29th here in North America, Shout Factory releases --- to my knowledge --- a rarely-seen David Bowie film on Blu-ray, Just a Gigolo. Bowie stars as Paul Ambrosius von Przygodski, a Prussian solider whose been injured in...
Blu-ray Review: MEMORIES OF MURDER
This week, the Criterion Collection released Bong Joon-Ho's (Parasite, The Host) Memories of Murder in North America on double-disc Blu-ray and DVD. This film was the Oscar-winner's second feature, and was a huge breakout for him, having topped the South Korean...
Blu-ray Review: EVENT HORIZON 4K
"Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see." Uttered in devious delight, this iconic line from Sam Neill's futuristic mad scientist Dr. Weir, has stuck in my head since Event Horizon's original 1997 theatrical release. Originally, the film had...
Blu-ray Review: THE HIT, a Funny, Reflective Crime Story
The 1984 film The Hit is out today on Criterion Collection --- and they're having a 50% off flash sale right now, so if you've been waiting to score some awesome box sets, get to it ASAP. (For those of...
Blu-ray Review: THE ELEPHANT MAN Criterion Release Stuns
In this crazy industry, it's often someone with at least a semblance of power that can give a filmmaker his or her big break. After all, not all filmmakers come from rich, connected families (though it helps immensely and this...
Blu-ray Review: TO YOUR LAST DEATH: Supremely Smart, Animated Carnage
Happy October, weirdos! If you're looking for something different to watch in celebration of the spookiest month of the year, here's a strange and smart animated full-length horror film for you to check out. I first saw To Your Last...
Blu-ray Review: THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS, the Sickness of Bad Love
There are plenty of disturbing films in the world. One of them is a 1990 release, directed by Paul Schrader (First Reformed, Cat People, American Gigolo, and writer closely tied to Martin Scosese with Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last...
