The Magnificent Seven, featuring an Oscar-nominated score and launched three film careers, is now available on 4K Ultra HD. Shout! Factory presents the film with a new restoration and color grade from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. However, only the 4K UHD disc presents the film in Dolby Vision. Charles Lang’s anamorphic cinematography is as glorious as it can be with the new restoration. Both audio commentaries are on each disc but…
"The Magnificent Seven Is Now On 4K Ultra HD"
Champions–an English-language remake of Spanish Goya Award-winning Campeones–is an inspirational sports comedy about basketball. It’s pretty sad that we live in a world where more often than not, it’s the English-language remake that gets someone to watch the film. That’s not to say that I don’t get it because I do. I know people that refuse to watch subtitled movies just because. At the same time, I always have a fear that the subtitles and…
"Champions: An Inspirational Sports Comedy"
The Mask of Zorro gets a Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD SteelBook in celebration of the film’s upcoming 25th anniversary in July. This is a placeholder for my formal review as the review copy of the new 4K UHD SteelBook is set to arrive today. My plan is to watch the film at my soonest convenience and replace this placeholder with the formal review. Much like Air Force One, this is another case in which…
"The Mask of Zorro Gets Limited Edition 4K UHD Steelbook"
Air Force One marked its 25th anniversary and Sony is celebrating by releasing the film on a 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition SteelBook. Technically speaking, this release is not a special anniversary edition. That being said, there is a key difference from the previous 4K UHD release in 2020. This edition features Dolby Vision whereas the previous version does not. Aside from minor changes, what follows below is my original review from 2020: Air Force…
"Air Force One Gets 4K UHD Limited Edition SteelBook"
Michael Curtiz’s Oscar-winning Mildred Pierce is now available for audiences to bring home on 4K Ultra HD with many bonus features. The film came to the screen a few years after James Cain’s novel was published. It doesn’t follow the novel as faithfully as the miniseries. After a divorce during the Depression, Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) is now the successful owner of a restaurant chain. But all is not well at home as we eventually…
"Mildred Pierce Gets Criterion 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray"
Robert Altman brought Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye to the screen 50 years ago in a neo-noir crime thriller starring Elliott Gould. Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is no stranger to the screen. Raymond Chandler created the private detective for a short story in 1939’s The Big Sleep. The first film adaptation came in 1942. Throughout the years, Robert Mitchum is the only actor to make two appearances as Marlowe on the big screen. Until this…
"The Long Goodbye Marks 50th Anniversary"
The Oscar may have been originally produced as a drama but the film will forever be remembered as a campy comedy about Oscar night. You’d be forgiven if you thought Allan Carr was involved with the film. After all, the Grease producer produced one of the worst shows in its history. But just as that night effectively ended his career, this film basically did the same for director Russell Rouse and screenwriter Clarence Greene. They…
"The Oscar: A Nearly Unwatchable Campy Satire"
Based on the hit Broadway play of the same name, The Front Page was the first of several adaptations to hit the big screen. Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur penned the 1928 play. Unfortunately, the 1931 film could use something of a restoration for its picture. I understand the film is over 90 years old and also preserved by the Academy Film Archive. However, the picture is too grainy when watching on streaming. I watched…
"The Front Page (1931) Is Not As Great As His Girl Friday"
As Shrinking heads down the backstretch of its first season. legendary actor Harrison Ford is turning in some of the best work in his career. When the review embargo lifted in January, there were six episodes available for review at the time on the Apple TV+ press site. Since that time, all ten episodes have been made available for press to view. I can say with 100% certainty after finishing the season that Harrison Ford…
"Harrison Ford is Emmy-Worthy in Shrinking"
The Towering Inferno is nearing 50 years old but the epic star-studded disaster thriller still has audiences on the edge of their seat. “You know, we were lucky tonight. Body count’s less than 200. You know, one of these days, you’re gonna kill 10,000 in one of these firetraps, and I’m gonna keep eating smoke and bringing out bodies until somebody asks us…how to build them.” – SFFD Chief Michael O’Halloran (Steve McQueen). The film…
"The Towering Inferno: An Epic Disaster Thriller"