Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

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Blade Runner 2049
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 13, 2018  | 
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The 1982 science-fiction opus Blade Runner remains an undeniable visual spectacle that fired the imaginations of many a viewer. While neither a bona fide critical or commercial success upon debut, it visualized a Los Angeles of the future beyond anything we’d seen before and set the stage for endless fan speculation that has led to five different studio-sanctioned cuts thus far. The sequel, 2049, was released to much of that same indifference. Thirty-five years coming, it still failed to generate a response befitting a cult franchise of this magnitude.
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Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Feb 02, 2018  | 
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Ridley Scott’s stunning dystopian allegory about the meaning of life, where technology ends and humanity begins, Blade Runner—from the Philip K. Dick cyberpunk novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?—draws from many influences. Perhaps the strongest are the classic Fritz Lang film Metropolis and the Heavy Metal sci-fi magazines of the 1970s. The story follows gruff lawman Deckard (Harrison Ford) chasing androids called “replicants” that are nearly indistinguishable from humans.
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Bohemian Rhapsody
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 22, 2019  | 
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The indisputable success of Bohemian Rhapsody confirms what many of us have known for decades: Queen was one of the biggest rock bands in the world, and their late frontman Freddie Mercury was one of the singularly most polarizing and mesmerizing popular-music performers of the 20th century.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Bound
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 09, 2024  | 
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After early stints writing comic books and the screenplay for Richard Donner’s Assassins, the Wachowskis (Lana and Lilly) were ready to make their directorial debut with Bound, an edgy suspense thriller with a surprisingly sweet, intense love story at its core. Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon star as two women who concoct a risky scheme to steal $2 million from the mob as a way out of their mob-connected lifestyles. As often happens, their careful plotting counts for nothing when miscalculations send the plan sideways.

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Bullet Train
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 18, 2022  | 
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Technically not a "non-stop thrill ride" (it's a classy commuter vehicle so passengers need to board and disembark periodically), Bullet Train is nonetheless a rousing, violent and quite funny adventure. The story moves as fast as the locomotive itself, indulging themes of fate, luck and revenge as an errand boy (Brad Pitt) dealing with a midlife crisis runs afoul of assassins and international crime syndicates, all of them circling a high-value briefcase while the clock counts down to their ultimate destination.
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Bumblebee
Roger Kanno  |  May 03, 2019  | 
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Bumblebee is the sixth entry in the live-action Transformers franchise, but for much of this film, the title character is the only robot that appears onscreen. Directed by Travis Knight, who previously directed Kubo and the Two Strings, it has its share of action scenes, but also makes an effort to be character-driven by exploring the relationship between Bumblebee and the teenage girl who discovers him, Charlie. Set on Earth in the 1980s, Bumblebee can be a little predictable and even a bit corny at times, but nonetheless remains thoroughly enjoyable throughout.
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Captain Marvel
Chris Chiarella  |  Jun 28, 2019  | 
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Intergalactic Kree warrior Vers (Brie Larson) is a total badass. And that might be the problem with the latest MCU solo outing, Captain Marvel. If the cryptic flashbacks of her former life are to be believed, she's always been tough as nails, even as a kid, so there's no real character arc—an essential component for Marvel superheroes.
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Captain Underpants
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 05, 2018  | 
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Based on a series of twelve children’s books, Captain Underpants: The Original Superhero is the story of Best Friends Forever George and Harold. To stay sane in their suffocating grammar school, they write comics starring their imagined superhero, Captain Underpants. They also engage in elaborate pranks, to the dismay of their insufferable, warden-like principal, Mr. Krupp.
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Cars 3
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 23, 2018  | 
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In the original Cars, from 2006, hotshot racecar Lightning McQueen learned to be a gracious winner but a winner nonetheless. In Cars 2, Pixar learned that they could produce a less than sparkling sequel. Now, in Cars 3, the second Disney-Pixar property to produce a threequel (after Toy Story 3), McQueen is getting older, losing his edge, and suffering both losses and trash talk from newer, sleeker, faster racers. But he goes back into training, gets up to speed (so to speak), and is on the verge of motoring back to the top when….OK, you don’t expect spoilers, do you?
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Casablanca
Ralph Potts  |  Dec 16, 2022  | 
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As a film enthusiast and writer, I often find myself involved in discussions revolving around what are my favorite films, and what I consider to be The Best Film of All Time. Neither question can be simply answered, however there is no doubt that Casablanca will always be a part of the conversation.
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Child's Play
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 28, 2022  | 
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Chucky, the possessed plaything who would go on to become one of the premier icons of late 20th-Century horror, got his start right here in this 1988 outing. When a dying serial killer with a fondness for the occult transfers his soul into the only vessel available—the hot new talking doll on display at a toy store—little Chuck winds up going home with a single mom and is soon in the hands of a cherubic six-year-old boy.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Chinatown
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 02, 2024  | 
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Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson as a world-weary private investigator, is an entertaining and brilliantly constructed period fiction about the very real history of Los Angeles. Paramount’s new 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition offers up a generous complement of bonus content that teaches us plenty about the true events on which the story is based as well as behind-the-scenes drama.

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Cinderella
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 24, 2023  | 
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Perfect for holiday weekend family time, Disney’s beloved Cinderella proffers a more traditional telling, distinct from the versions by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm or even Rodgers & Hammerstein’s subsequent musical take on the story. It remains an emotionally satisfying and an all-too-human tale of an oppressed young woman forced to work as a servant in her own family home. On the night she reaches her lowest emotional ebb, she’s rewarded for her inherent kindness with a magical gift — conditions attached — that might just be enough to deliver her from her current predicament.

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Coco
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 24, 2018  | 
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Miguel, a feisty youngster in small town Mexico, loves music, particularly the work of his hero, the long dead guitar and singing star, Ernesto de la Cruz. But because his great-great grandfather abandoned his wife and daughter for a career in music, his family remains virulently opposed to music and forbids Miguel’s having anything to do with it.
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Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 1
Chris Chiarella  |  Jun 12, 2020  | 
It's around this time of year that a few disparate "guy" movies new to the format or re-released usually pop up on Blu-ray or Ultra HD Blu-ray. That's because, as I've said since the early DVD days, discs make fantastic gifts, and not just for Father's Day. But Sony chose a different path for 2020, opening the door of its vast and prestigious Columbia Pictures vault to debut six titles on 4K Blu-ray as the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 1.
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