Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 29, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Following his introduction to Marvel’s well-established “Cinematic Universe” in Captain America: Civil War, the beloved Spider-Man has been fully rebooted (again) in the wildly enjoyable Homecoming. Decked out in a new high-tech costume, he’s eager for big adventures, but until then, he occupies himself as a local do-gooder in his Queens neighborhood—when not attending high school. Young star Tom Holland is a perfect fit for Peter Parker and his alter ego, an agile dancer/athlete with an irresistible wide-eyed enthusiasm.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 19, 2019  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
An animated Spider-Man movie? In the midst of the character's latest live-action reboot? Using six different iterations of the character, all but one of which are only known to die-hard comic book fans? A direct-to-video tie-in, right? Wrong: Not only was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a big-screen box-office success, it also snagged an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of 2018.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Chris Chiarella  |  May 06, 2022  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Nostalgia--that "twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone" as Don Draper famously explained it--can be a potent ally to the modern filmmaker. With its risky and highly publicized meta-twist (which I won't spoil here, just in case), Spider-Man: No Way Home managed to complete director Jon Watts' arachno-trilogy on an epic scale, capping not only this story arc but one far grander, much as Avengers: Endgame did for the whole of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Continue Reading »
Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Spiral
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 29, 2021  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
An attempt to revive the popular Saw franchise, Spiral (full title "Spiral: From the Book of Saw," whatever that means) continues the legacy of creative torture-horror under the direction of Darren Lynn Bousman who long ago helmed Saws II-IV. The sadistic madman-with-an-axe-to-grind known as Jigsaw is long dead and now a new serial killer is on the loose, an apparent copycat except this time the murderer is specifically targeting dirty cops with his elaborate, painful deathtraps. Once again, the victims must make the brutal choice to do something horrible to themselves to escape or die in gruesome fashion.

Continue Reading »
Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition 4K
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 07, 2022  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
With the theatrical re-release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture earlier this year, a new generation of fans has discovered its charms, thanks in large part to an extensive upgrade to the creator-approved Director’s Edition released on DVD in 2001 — the version personally overseen by director Robert Wise to better represent the movie the way he wanted to debut it back in 1979. But, now, a stunning new version of the film has emerged in the 2022 Director’s Edition, which presents this classic movie in 4K/HDR and Dolby Atmos for the first time.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Trek: The Next Generation 4-Movie Collection
Chris Chiarella  |  Jun 16, 2023  | 
Generations, 118 mins.
Picture
Sound
Extras
First Contact, 111 mins.
Picture
Sound
Extras
Insurrection, 103 mins.
Picture
Sound
Extras
Nemisis, 116 mins.
Picture
Sound
Extras

Like The Original Series before it, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a product of its time. Whereas Kirk & Co. embraced broad drama and the two-fisted clichés of ‘60s television on their space-faring adventures, Next Gen was more refined, drawing upon our greater understanding of science fact and taking lots and lots of time to discuss the characters’ feelings, too.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Wars: Episode VIII-The Last Jedi
Dennis Burger  |  Jul 27, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Is Star Wars art or entertainment? The simplest answer to that question is, “It’s both, of course.” But Episode VIII: The Last Jedi proves the question to be less simple than it first appears. Because of all its silly creatures, swashbuckling adventure sequences, million-dollar-a-minute special effects, and cheeky humor, The Last Jedi is at its heart a deeply personal, deeply thematic, deeply deconstructive, big-budget indie film that forces longtime fans to contend with questions about what Star Wars even is and why its unique blend of mythology, arthouse pastiche, and B-movie kitsch works as well as it does.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Chris Chiarella  |  Jul 31, 2020  | 
There is nothing like Star Wars. Across its three trilogies of Roman-numeraled Episodes, creator George Lucas and the inheritors of his galaxy far, far away opened the minds of audiences across the globe as well as across generations of fiercely devoted fans, thanks to their unique spin on epic fantasy. Love it, hate it, or anywhere in the middle: Star Wars has left an undeniable mark on the world of entertainment.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Suicide Squad
David Vaughn  |  Apr 21, 2017  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
What if Superman hadn’t been a good guy? Could the government do anything about it? After the events in Batman v Superman, members of the U.S. government are nervous that aliens and metahumans could wreak havoc upon the Earth at their whim and there would be nothing the human race could do about it. With this in mind, a covert government agent named Amanda Waller hatches a plan to use incarcerated supervillains to form her “Task Force X” in order to combat evil forces in the world. To control them, she has explosive devices implanted in their necks that will detonate if they decide to not follow orders. As circumstances have it, her team is needed shortly after it’s formed to battle an ancient villain named Incubus who has invaded Midway City.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Sullenly Last Summer
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 09, 2023  | 
A funny thing happened on the way to the multiplex.

See, when studios invest hundreds of millions of dollars in their intended tentpole movies, they’re betting that sufficient tens of millions of people will be buying seats and popcorn to offset these exorbitant costs.

One of the ways they hedge these bets is to feature familiar characters in sequels, remakes, reboots and other sorts of “franchises'' with (they assume) a certain built-in audience. Of course, the movies need to be of a certain level of watchability and even rewatchability to reach that goal, and therein lies the challenge.

Continue Reading »
Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Superman Film Collection: 1978-1987
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 13, 2023  | 

The Big Blue Boy Scout Reaches New Heights in 4K

To generations of fans the world over, Christopher Reeve simply was Superman. His look, his manner, his commitment to the dual role of lovable oaf Clark Kent of Smallville and Kal-El of Krypton defined the character and set the bar, perhaps impossibly high, for all who dared follow. And while these movies might not have always achieved that same high standard, Reeve and his co-stars have left a substantial cinematic legacy, commemorated in Warner’s Superman Film Collection: 1978-1987.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Tenet
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 02, 2021  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
This is how director Christopher Nolan does time travel. Actually, to hear him tell it, this is how he does a spy thriller, inspired by the Bonds of his youth and enhanced with all of the mind-bending trappings we've come to expect from one of filmdom's brainiest auteurs. The central conceit of Tenet—one that commands audiences to pay full attention lest they be left behind—is the recent discovery of a temporal anomaly, possibly man-made, that can send certain objects backwards in time, rather than in the usual direction.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Chris Chiarella  |  Mar 23, 2018  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
It’s time to remind everyone what a big deal Terminator 2: Judgment Day still is. The action/adventure genre underwent a serious evolution in the ’80s, and by 1991, to be taken seriously, T2 had to be bigger and better than anything that had come before.

And it was.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Terminator: Dark Fate
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 10, 2020  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Linda Hamilton is back as pistol-packin' mama Sarah Connor and badass as ever, her days dedicated to a familiar mission: ridding the world of killer robots. Dark Fate is James Cameron's first active role in the franchise he created—here as a producer and co-writer—since 1996's T2:3D theme park ride, which surely accounts for much of the movie's old-shoe feel.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Batman
Chris Chiarella  |  Jul 15, 2022  | 
Picture
Sound
Extras
Batman movies keep evolving, changing and—surprisingly—getting better with each reboot, in one way or another. Director Tim Burton's Batman relied heavily upon its extreme art deco design to sweep away the goofiness of the Adam West TV incarnation, before that film series quickly descended into its own absurdity. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy was the cure, finding ways to make believable the exploits of a vigilante dressed as a flying mouse fighting a clown and a scarecrow, owing in large part to inspired casting choices.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X