4k-UHD/Movie Review: Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

 

Snake Eyes is the 2021 film that tells the story of the two ninjas in the G.I. Joe universe, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. It is a total reboot of the G.I. Joe movie franchise and not a sequel to Rise of Cobra or Retaliation. It was directed by Robert Schwentke and stars Henry Golding, Andrew Koji, Haruka Abe, Samara Weaving, Ursula Corbero, and Takehiro Hira. The supporting cast includes Iko Uwais, Peter Mensah, James Hiroyuki Liao, and Eri Ishida. The movie begins with a young (unnamed) boy witnessing the murder of his father. Then the story jumps 20 years, and the boy, now known as Snake Eyes, participates in underground fighting. He begins working for the Yakuza when a boss promises to find the man who killed his father. We learn this was in exchange for infiltrating the Arashikage ninja clan by helping a clan member named Tommy, the Yakuza boss's cousin, escape after he was discovered spying on the Yakuza. Tommy takes Snake Eyes to the Arashikage clan's dojo to initiate him into the group. Throughout the movie, we learn that Cobra and G.I. Joe are tangentially involved, and their involvement grows as the story progresses. The only characters from each group that appear in the film are The Baroness (played by Corbero) and Scarlett (played by Weaving). In the end, we learn how Storm Shadow got his name and why He and Snake Eyes became enemies. 

The 4k release is a single-disc release. The A/V quality is very good, especially if you have a large screen and a good sound system. The bonus features are not extensive, but what is included is good. Those include an animated short telling the story of Snake Eyes' sword, a couple of minutes of deleted scenes, a couple of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a featurette on the history of the Arashikage clan. 

This is a good action movie with a decent story. I wouldn't say it is as good as Rise of Cobra overall, but it's better than Retaliation. However, it has no ties to either of those films. It is mostly an action film, but it does mix in some comedy and even dramatic moments. There is also a bit of a love story in there, but it is not the focus of the story. Golding and Koji do a good job in their roles, and the movie provides a good background for their characters; however, they are not the versions they would be presented as in the animated series at this point. Overall, it is a decent reboot of the live-action franchise and leaves room for future movies that continue the story or shift focus to other characters. Ultimately, it is not a movie that will appeal to everyone, but if you grew up with G.I. Joe and especially if you liked the ninja characters, this is worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

 

Frozen Empire is the 2024 direct sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The movie was written by Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman, and directed by Kenan. It brings back the entire main cast, including McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd, and Carrie Coon. It also brings back Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts to reprise their roles from the original films. Also returning from the 1984 film is William Atherton, reprising his role as Walter Peck, who remains a thorn in the Ghostbusters' side. Logan Kim and Celeste O'Connor reprise their roles from Afterlife, and the new additions to the cast in this film include Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster. 

In this movie, the new Ghostbusters have returned to New York and are working out of the old firehouse. Peck, who is now the mayor of NY, is trying to find a way to shut the operation down for good and forces the team to bench Phoebe because she is a minor. She befriends a ghost in the park (played by Lind), who, in turn, is being manipulated by a demigod named Garraka to help free him from an orb, so he can release all of the ghosts who have been trapped, which will allow him to conquer humanity and rule the world.  

The 4k set (which is available both as a regular release and a steelbook release) is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. Both the audio and video are at or near reference quality, especially if you have a large screen and even a decent surround sound system. The only bonus material on the UHD disc is the previews (which can be skipped as each new one loads) and a commentary track by Kenan. The rest of the bonus content is on the standard blu-ray and includes the same previews, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes (ranging from about 4 minutes to just over 20 minutes, and about 9 minutes of deleted scenes. 

Overall, the film is good, but not quite as good as Afterlife. The use of the legacy cast members was perfect; they were used enough to provide the nostalgia boost, but not enough to take away from the new group. There were a lot of callbacks and easter eggs to the original films throughout the movie. The only two surviving original cast members who did not appear were Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver (although there is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Weaver's character, Dana), but they honestly would not have fit into the storyline all that well anyway. The middle part of the movie does plod along a bit, but the action definitely picks up in the final act. Ultimately, if you are a fan of the franchise and liked or loved Afterlife, this is worth checking out. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Ghostbusters / Ghostbusters II

 

This is the limited-edition 4k steelbook release of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2, released in 2023. It was released right around the time Afterlife was coming out, and included a bunch of new bonus content (which the big appeal for many physical media collectors).  The set contains both the original 1981 film and the 1989 follow-up. Ivan Reitman directed both films, and Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver, and Ernie Hudson star. Peter MacNicol was the big addition to the cast in the second film, and the supporting cast members between the two films included William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, David Margulies, and Harris Yulin. Most people are aware of the plots of both films.  The original was a huge hit, and the second was more widely panned when it was released, but it has gained a larger following over the years. I have reviewed them separately and will not repeat what I have already said.

This release is a 5-disc set, containing two UHD discs (one for each film) and three standard blu-ray discs (one for each film and one with just bonus content). The A/V quality of each of the UHD discs is outstanding, especially for Ghostbusters 2, which never received a standard blu-ray release before being released on 4k. So, this is a huge upgrade from the DVD. The original film looks and sounds great in UHD as well, and both films received a great transfer. The only bonus content on the UHD discs are some cast and crew bios. There is bonus content on each of the standard blu-ray discs for each film (including commentary tracks on each film, and interviews with the cast and Reitman), and the bonus disc has additional content, which appears to be mostly archived material carried over from prior physical media releases, such as deleted scenes, a bunch of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, the trailers, etc. So, if you like going through the bonus material, there is a lot (several hours' worth) to go through.

Overall, this is a great release. The movies are both good. Yes, the second one is a bit cheesy, but it is not as bad as some critics made it out to be. Ultimately, if you collect physical media, especially if you like watching bonus content, this is a must-add to your collection.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Fugitive

 

The Fugitive is the 1993 action-thriller/suspense-drama film adaptation of the popular 1960 television show. It was adapted from a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and David Twohy and directed by Andrew Davis. It stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in the main roles and features a great supporting cast, including Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, Jeroen Krabbe, Jane Lynch, and Richard Riehle. In it, Ford plays a prominent surgeon named Richard Kimble, who is arrested and convicted for the murder of his wife (played by Sela Ward). He maintains his innocence, insisting that a one-armed man broke into his house and killed his wife. He escapes custody during a bus accident while being transported to prison and is determined to prove his innocence. Tommy Lee Jones plays Deputy US Marshal Sam Gerard, who leads a group of Marshals to track down Kimble. 

The 4k version is a single-disc release. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is very good. The audio quality is at or near reference quality with a great Dolby Atmos track that sounds wonderful on a surround system. The video quality is not as good as the audio, and shows some imperfections in spots, but it is still very good. All of the bonus material is carried over from the original physical media release, including an introduction by Harrison Ford, Andrew Davis, and Tommy Lee Jones (via phone). Davis and Jones's portion is also included on the audio commentary track, which mostly features Davis with Jones interjecting from time-to-time. There is also a few making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes (that total just around an hour, give or take) and the theatrical trailer. 

Overall, the movie is very good. It absolutely deserved all of the award nominations. While Ford did much of the heavy lifting and was in most of the scenes in the film, Jones dominated nearly every scene he was in and absolutely deserved the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. There is some violence and swearing, but the movie does not push the boundary of the PG-13 rating. The film is extremely well-written and acted and even though it runs a little over two hours, the plot flows well and never seems like it is plodding along. Ultimately, if you are a fan of Ford and/or Jones, or you just like movies that blend action, suspense, and drama, this is absolutely worth checking out. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Free Guy

 

Free Guy is a 2021 comedy directed by Shawn Levy and written by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn. It stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi. Reynolds plays Guy, a bank teller who is actually a non-player character in an online video game called Free City. He goes through pretty much the same routine every day until he encounters Molotov Girl (played by Comer) and starts doing things outside of his programming. In the real world, Molotov Girl is Millie, a game developer trying to prove that the company behind Free City stole code from a game she developed with her former partner, Keys (played by Keery). Waititi plays Antwan, the head of the company behind Free City.

The 4k set is a two-disc set, containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray. It also includes a digital code that can be redeemed on Movies Anywhere. The UHD disc only contains the film, while the bonus features are on the standard Blu-Ray. The A/V quality on the UHD version is good, with great audio quality and decent video quality, although it is not what I would describe as a reference-quality 4k transfer. The extras include a little over five minutes of deleted scenes, a short gag reel, the theatrical trailers, and several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The most interesting of these is the Dude vs. Guy featurette, which shows how the fight scene toward the end of the film was made.

The movie is good. It mixes several different comedy genres, sometimes being an action-comedy, sometimes a spoof-comedy, and sometimes a romantic-comedy. At times, it lampoons gamer and tech bro cultures, but it also dabbles with some ethical questions about artificial intelligence and stealing other people's work. Reynolds is very much in his comedic element with this film, but Comer is the standout, essentially playing two different characters, one in the real world and one in the game. Waititi is also great in his role, and there are some very funny cameos, with the best probably being Channing Tatum's. Since it is a Disney film, there are a couple of Star Wars and MCU jokes thrown in as well. There are some genuinely funny moments, but I did not find myself laughing all the way through. There is some swearing and violence, along with some sexual jokes, but it is not raunchy, and there is no nudity. The PG-13 rating is appropriate. Ultimately, this is a decent comedy that is not a must-watch, but it is worth checking out if you are a fan of Reynolds or are just looking for a relatively family-friendly comedy.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Flashdance

 

Flashdance is the 1983 romantic drama directed by Adrian Lyne, based on a screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri in the leading roles. The supporting cast includes Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson, Kyle T. Heffner, Lee Ving, Ron Karabatsos, and Belinda Bauer. The plot follows an 18-year-old woman named Alex Owens (played by Beals) who works as a welder at a steel mill by day and as a dancer at a local bar by night. Alex dreams of being accepted into a prestigious dance conservatory, but she lacks formal training and is intimidated by the audition process. While she is not a stripper, she and some of the other dancers at the bar are constantly being recruited to work at a local strip club by its owner, Johnny C. (played by Ving), who is a regular at the bar. Along the way, Alex catches the eye of her older boss at the steel mill, Nick Hurley (played by Nouri), and the two begin a relationship that helps her find the courage to pursue her goals.

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray. It also comes with a digital code that can be redeemed on Movies Anywhere. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is okay, but not great. It did not receive a high-quality transfer and is not a huge upgrade over the 1080p version. All of the bonus content is located on the standard Blu-Ray disc and totals about a half hour of runtime. Those extras include a short interview with director Adrian Lyne, a couple of making-of featurettes, and the theatrical trailer.

While the movie was a massive commercial hit when it was first released, it remains a very uneven film. The story does eventually get from point A to point Z, but it gets there in a very haphazard manner, with some of the characters' actions making absolutely no sense. The movie also feels very much stuck in the 1980s, relying heavily on several music montages, including a very out-of-place, cheesy workout sequence that slows down the narrative. Additionally, the storyline of an 18-year-old employee who starts dating her older boss feels a bit creepy nowadays and would not make for a romantic story in the modern day. The acting across the board was okay, and the writing was definitely uneven. Beals did a decent job given that this was her first major acting role, after having done some modeling and having a very small part in one movie before she was cast in this film. It was a pretty big deal to have a biracial lead actress in her first major role, which still makes the movie somewhat groundbreaking. Ultimately, the movie's soundtrack, which features several popular 80s songs, is much better than the film itself, which is dated and does not hold up particularly well. However, it is still worth checking out for fans of 1980s movies, as long as you accept it for what it is and do not expect more than that.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Disclosure Day

 

Disclosure Day is the 2026 science-fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay written by David Koepp. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, and Colin Firth in the leading roles. The supporting cast includes Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel, and Henry Lloyd-Hughes.

The plot follows a television meteorologist, Margaret Fairchild (played by Blunt), and a cybersecurity analyst, Daniel Kelner (played by O'Connor), who unexpectedly find themselves thrown together on a high-stakes mission that neither fully understands. All while being chased by a shadowy organization and helped by an underground resistance group. The movie starts with little setup, starting off with a standoff between O'Connor and Firth's characters. We learn that Kelner has stolen evidence of an extraterrestrial cover-up and plans to disclose the definitive existence of alien life to the entire world. Firth plays a government contractor named Hugo, who is trying to prevent the secret from being released. Margaret begins exhibiting weird behavior and feels a pull to find and help Kelner, all to the dismay of everyone around her, including her boyfriend, Jackson (played by Russell). 

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray. It also comes with a digital code that can be redeemed on Movies Anywhere. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding, and the digital effects are so good that it is genuinely hard to tell what was done with practical effects and what was done digitally. The bonus content is completely included on the UHD disc itself. It features a making-of featurette that runs just under an hour, as well as a short feature focusing on the long-term working relationship between Spielberg and his legendary composer, John Williams. Both features are good and are well worth a look for people who like watching the bonus content on physical releases.

The movie is good, with a nice blend of action, drama, and suspense. It was very well acted, with Blunt and Firth being the clear standouts of the production, although all of the actors did a very good job in their respective roles. The writing was good overall but got a bit cheesy and silly in parts, especially toward the end of the film during the climax. It seems like this is what Spielberg likely would have done with Close Encounters of the Third Kind if the special-effects technology had been good enough back in the late 1970s. While it is not a direct sequel to Close Encounters, it feels like a modern update of that story. Ultimately, it is a very entertaining sci-fi thriller that is absolutely worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Fight Club

 

Fight Club is the 1999 psychological drama film directed by David Fincher and based on the debut novel by Chuck Palahniuk, who also assisted with the story adaptation alongside screenwriter Jim Uhls. The film stars Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter in the leading roles. The supporting cast includes Meat Loaf Aday, Jared Leto, Zach Grenier, Peter Iacangelo, and David Andrews.

The story follows an unnamed narrator (played by Norton) who is an unfulfilled, insomniac corporate worker looking for meaning in his consumer-driven life. His world changes completely after he crosses paths with a charismatic and eccentric soap salesman named Tyler Durden (played by Pitt). Together, the two men establish an underground, no-holds-barred sparring circuit called "Fight Club" as a form of radical male psychotherapy for other disgruntled men. The club quickly evolves into a widespread, anti-corporate vigilante organization known as Project Mayhem. The plot is definitely a bit mind-bending, but very good, blending action, drama, and comedy while operating as an intense social commentary. The story touches heavily on deep thematic concepts like mental illness, the desperate human need to be a part of something larger than oneself, and the internal struggle of striving to be completely different from who you are. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray. This specific release is packaged in a collectible Steelbook edition, though a standard 4K non-steelbook version is also available. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding, and both the video and audio transfers are at or near reference-quality for 4K discs. There are four different full-length commentary tracks, all of which are included on the UHD disc itself. The first track features Fincher alone, the second brings together Fincher, Pitt, and Norton in the same room with Bonham Carter recorded separately, the third features the novel's author Chuck Palahniuk and screenwriter Jim Uhls, and the fourth is a highly technical commentary track by several members of the production team. While there is definitely some narrative overlap in the information shared across the different tracks, for the most part each track maintains its own unique feel and tone. The second track featuring Fincher and the main cast members is easily the most entertaining of the bunch.

The rest of the extensive bonus content is on the standard Blu-Ray disc and is carried over entirely from the film's original physical media release. There is a massive amount of behind-the-scenes and making-of material included, alongside some highly functional interactive features that provide a lot of material for people who love going through bonus content. This includes a robust search index that allows you to select specific production topics to either jump straight to the exact point in the movie where it is mentioned or immediately play a corresponding segment from the bonus features. There is also a dedicated commentary guide option that plays the film with visual on-screen pop-ups that tell you exactly what is being discussed on each of the four individual commentary tracks at that precise moment in the timeline.

The film remains great and was exceptionally well acted, especially by the core cast members. The film is rated R, earning its rating for strong violence, frequent swearing, sexual content, and some brief nudity. Looking back at the production, it is almost amazing that Pitt, Bonham Carter, or Norton did not develop and die of lung cancer during the shoot because they were all either heavily smoking or actively breathing in second-hand smoke in nearly every single scene. The writing includes many iconic lines, and Fincher's distinct cinematic style holds up incredibly well. Ultimately, it is a unique, offbeat film that holds up well and is worth watching. If you are someone who collects physical media, this reference-quality 4K release is well worth adding to your collection.