VOL. 104
BRIEF REMEMBRANCES OF THE RECEMTLY RELEASED
SUPERMAN (2025) - TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE (2005) - AZTEC BATMAN: CLASH OF EMPIRES (2025) - LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION (1974-1983) - THE LAST OF US; THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON (2025) - WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY: SEASONS 1 & 2 (2023-2025)
4k Ultra HD + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Pag
Duration: 129 Minutes 22 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1)with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen
Director: James Gunn
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell
James Gunn take on Superman starring David Corenswet (Twisters) in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent returns the franchise to it's comic book roots, far removed from the world of realism, and i love that about it. It's gloriously rooted in the comic-book, I love the awe-shucks good-natured incarnation of the character of Clark and his alter-ego Supes. He works at the Daily Planet, is involved in a relationship with intrepid reporter Lois lane Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), who knows his secret identity, and then we have tech billionaire Lex Luthor
Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) who seeks to exploits supes recent meddling in world affairs to bring the man of steel down. other heroes who show up come by way of the Justice Gang, including Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion, Slither), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced, Alien: Romulus), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi, For All Mankind), and Superman’s four-legged dog Krypto. On the other side we have Luthor, and a goofy metahuman known as the "Hammer of Boravia", who surprisingly soundly hands Supes his first defeat at the start of the film. This is the first Superman film since Donner's original that have me that sense of wonder, which is no easy feet considering how inundated with superhero flicks the world has been that last 20 years, I just felt uplifted at a time when i think the world need some uplifting, and that might come off as a bit schmaltzy, but when that final scene kicks in with Iggy Pop/Teddybears song "Punk Rocker" I was elated and cheering this flick on. Corenswet embodies our hero with an unbridled enthusiasm and love of life that i adored, and special mention to Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, a character i never paid much attention to but who stole every scene he was in. The 4K UHD looks and sounds absolutely wonderful with the Dolby Atmos/vision enhancements, we have bold, vivid colors, texture and detail is razor sharp, and the sound design is dazzling. we also get a wonderful array of extras that include an expansive hour-long making of doc, loads of featurettes, a Krypto animated short, digital copy and slipcover.
Special Features:
- Krypto Saves the Day!: School Bus Scuffle (5:33)
- Adventures in Making Superman (58:58)
- Icons Forever: Superman’s Enduring Legacy (6:07)
- Lex Luthor: The Mind of a Master Villain (5:22)
- Kryptunes: The Music of Superman (6:34)
- Paws to Pixels: Krypto is Born (5:54)
- Breaking News: The Daily Planet Returns (5:26)
- The Ultimate Villain (5:08)
- The Justice Gang (10:31)
- A New Era: DC Takes Off (4:43)
- Slipcover
- Digital Copy
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TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE (2005)
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 77 Minutes 10 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Mike Johnson, Tim Burton
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Jane Horrocks, Enn Reitel, Deep Roy, Danny Elfman, Stephen Ballantyne
The stop-motion animation classic Corpse Bride, based on a 19th-century Russian folktale, wherein a young man (Johnny Depp, Sleepy Hollow) mistakenly weds a corpse (Helena Bonham Carter, Fight Club) deeply upsetting his flesh-and-blood fiancé (Emily Watson, Dune: Prophecy). the film also features a stellar supporting voice cast including Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney (Wolfen), Richard E. Grant (Warlock), Christopher Lee (Dracula: Prince of Darkness), Michael Gough (House of Seven Corpses), Jane Horrocks (Absolutely Fabulous), Deep Roy (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). the film gets the 4K upgrade from Warner Bros. for it's 20th anniversary, as the source was a 2K intermediate this is basically an upscale, but even still the fresh 4K scan with HDR10 color-grading offers an uptick in depth, clarity, resolution and a richness of color. the film in the land of the living has gothic coldness to it, desaturated with an almost monochromatic color palette, while the Land of the Dead is full of vivid colors and Mario Bava-esque lighting schemes that really make the most of the WCG. Likewise the Atmos upgrade on the audio from is appreciated, Danny Elfman's score and the songs heard throughout sound terrific, and have a fullness to them that is most pleasing from start to finish. The 2-disc release offers an array of archival and new extras, including two new featurettes that explore the development and visual style of the film, these feature interviews with producer Allison Abbate, screenwriter John August, and co-director Mike Johnson. this release also includes a slipcover and a digital copy of the film.
Special Features:
- NEW! Digging up the Past: The Minds Behind “The Corpse Bride” (8:26)
- NEW! ‘Til Death Do Us Art” A “Corpse Bride” Reflection (6:18)
- Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds (4:56)
- Inside the Two Worlds of the Corpse Bride (4:03)
- Making Puppets Tick (6:33)
- The Animators: The Breath of Life (6:38)
- The Corpse Bride Pre-Production Galleries (13:28)
Tim Burton: Dark vs. Light (3:39)
- Voices from the Underworld (5:59)
- The Voices Behind the Voice (7:36)
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AZTEC BATMAN: CLASH OF EMPIRES (2025)
4K Ultra HD + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Discovery
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 89 Minutes 36 Seconds
Audio: Spanish or English DTS-DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Juan Meza-Léon
Cast: Horacio García Rojas, Omar Chaparro, Álvaro Morte (Spanish Version), Jay Hernandez Raymond Cruz (English Version)
Warner Bros. Animation, Mexico's Ánima and Brazil's Chatrone team up for this Elsworlds style re-imaging of the Batman origin story set in the era and culture of 1520's Mesoamerica, where tragedy strikes Yohualli Coatl, a young Aztec prince, whose father is murdered by the treacherous Hernán Cortés and his army of Spanish conquistadors. To warn King Moctezuma and his high priest, Yoka, of the imminent danger coming their way, he ends up in Tenochtitlán where he trains in the temple of the bat god Tzinacan, becoming a bat-themed warrior. along the way he encounters other DC variants by way of Jaguar Woman, the enchanting spirit Forest Ivy, and the Spaniards, who embody both two-face and Azrael. Of course we also get an incarnation of the Joker via priest named Yoka who falls under the corruptive influence of the war-god Huitzilopochtli who drives him insane with a desire for human sacrifices. it's an interesting spin on the characters, we get some terrific character designs and the Aztec city makes for an eye-catching backdrop, and it gets pretty dark with human sacrifices and death, trippy spiritual visions, and visceral fight sequences, earning it's R-rating. at a certain point i did feel they were just adding DC characters because they could , feeling it cold have stood on it's own without the expansive rogues gallery, but I was keen on the animation style and action sequences, so it's forgivable. We get the prerequisite training montages as Yohualli models a Aztec Batman suit after the Aztec bat-god, and creates an arsenal of bat-gadgets the surely stretch credulity, including a freakin' bat-glider. The 4K UHD from WB looks terrific, and we get an English DTS-HD MA dub-track, which sounds fine, but the original Spanish audio track only get a lossy Dolby 2.0 track, which is a shame because it is the better audio option. Extras include a pair of featurettes featuring screenwriter Ernie Altbacker and voice actor Jay Hernandez who does the English dub for out titular hero, plus a digital copy of the film.
Special Features:
- The Battle Cry of Aztec Batman – Go behind the scenes and inside the voiceover booth with Jay Hernandez as he fulfils a childhood dream and reveals the creative process of becoming Batman (3:49)
- The Batman Mythology and Aztec Inspiration – Screenwriter Ernie Altbacker and Jay Hernandez reveal the film’s approach to melding the historically accurate world of the Aztecs with the iconic cast of Batman conic book characters (6:26).
- Digital Copy
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LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE: THE COMPLETE SERIES
45-Disc Blu-ray Set
Label: Lionsgate
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating:
Duration: 10200 Minutes
Audio: English 2.0 DTS HD-MA; Dolby Digital 2.0 French; Dolby Digital 2.0 Spanish with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Directors: Michael Landon, William F. Claxton, Victor French, Leo Penn, Alf Kjellin
Cast: Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson, Sidney Greenbush
OMG, talk about nostalgia in a box, all eleven seasons of Little House on Prairie, based on the young adult book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder about a pioneer family's struggle to build a new life for themselves on the rugged and untamed American Frontier of the 1870's, lead by father Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon, I Was a Teenage Werewolf) and mother Caroline (Karen Grassle, Wyatt Earp)
a beloved show which ran from 1974 to 1983 arrives on a 45-disc Blu-ray collection, complete with the three post-series made-for-television films. this was back when there were four TV channels, everybody of a certain age grew up watching this. This was prime family TV viewing , I remember watching this with my entire family, and making jokes to my grandmother that it was a documentary about her childhood, much to her chagrin. Having this complete series set allowed me to revisit a few episodes that I started to believe were just fever dreams that never happened, like "The Monster of Walnut Grove" (S3E5) where little Laura (Melissa Gilbert, Batman: The Animated Series) believes she saw Mr. Oelson (Richard Bull, High Plains Drifter) decapitate his nagging wife Harriett (Katherine MacGregor) with a sword, or "The Halloween Dream" (S6E7) wherein Albert (Matthew Labyorteaux, Deadly Friend) dresses an an Indian for Halloween and dreams he is mistaken for the son of an Indian chief, or "Home Again Pt1 & 2", a very special two-parter in season nine where Albert returns home to Walnut Grove from the city and has to battle morphine addiction. Perhaps the one episode that was the most rewarding to see again was one I believed involved kids eating mushrooms and tripping balls, imagining giant-insects, I've talked about that memory for years and people looked at me ike I had bugs crawling out my ears, but that episode exists, sort of, the episode is "The Godsister" (S5E14) wherein the younger Carrie (Lindsay Sidney Greenbush) feeling lonely imagines a friend named Alyssa and they venture into the forest where they finds giant fruit only to be scared off by a giant-spider, so it did exist, sort of, but no magic shrooms. Overall, the show was a heartwarming examination of pioneer life, it wasn't all weird, that's just the stuff I remember because I am weird, but I remember the show being quite affecting on me, especially another two-part very special episode that was the finale of season four where Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson, Happy Birthday To Me) goes blind, a trust me you, I had tears in my eyes! other characters I loved as a kid, and even now re-watching these, were the aforementioned Harriet Oelson who was the town gossip, and of course her bratty daughter Nellie (Alison Arngrim) who is a manipulative Goldilocks, and I always loved seeing Victor French as the gruff Isaiah Edwards, and the craggy-faced Kevin Hagen (Pork Chop Hill) as the kindly Dr. Baker. It's great to see the series live on on Blu-ray, remastered and looking better than ever, plus we get the three television movie that followed the series, and the pilot episode which I do not think I'd ever seen it. The 45-disc set arrives in three DVD-sized Epik-Pak keepcases, which is not ideal, but at least the discs are not stacked. On the reverse side of the wraps we get a episode and extras listing. the three cases are housed in a side-loading slipcase, that's pretty flimsy, but does the job. Ideally we would have gotten a more rigid slipbox with individual high volume Blu-ray keepcase like we did with the Murder She Wrote set, but I am still pleased to have this series on Blu-ray in it's complete form, and looking better than ever.
Special Features:
- Original Screen Test with Michael Landon & Melissa Gilbert
- The Little House Phenomenon 40th Anniversary Documentary, parts 1-6
- Movie Specials; A Look Back to Yesterday, The last Farewell. Bless All the Dear Children
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THE LAST OF US: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON (2025) 3-Disc 4K Ultra HD SteelBook Edition
Region Code: Region-Free
Duration; 420 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez, Jeffrey Wright. Catherine O’Hara
The second season of HBO's post-apocalyptic video game adaptation The Last of Us picks up five years after the events of the first season, we find that Joel (Pedro Pascal, Bloodsucking Bastards) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey, Game of Thrones) have an intensely strained relationship based on the events of the last season, which I won't spoil here. Now living in Jackson, Wyoming fortified community with Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna, Gravy), Ellie has made friends via Dina (Isabela Merced, Alien: Romulus) and Jesse (Young Mazino, Opus) and things while strained between the pair of them, look good, That is until a big event, fallout from the events of season one, which again I will not spoil, but if you're familiar with the game which I was not, it might not be that big of a surprise. Episode two of the season is a banger, setting up the dramatic arc of the season with an injected horde attack on Jackson that looks amazing, the people of Jackson defending their walled community like a medieval castle, with a big brute of a mushroom head ca;;ed a "bloater" showing up. That spurs Ellie to track down a woman named Abby (Kaitlyn Dever, Booksmart), a member of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), to Seattle on an all consuming mission of revenge. I know this season had some serious hate lobbed against it, largely ill-will because of the big event I would assume, and while i too confess I was a bit soured by it, I still thought the season was strong, it took a bit for it to get back on track for me. My favorite stuff outside of ep. 2 are the flashbacks that further explore Ellie and Joel's complicated relationship, why it became so strained, and attempts on both ends to mend those tears.
This season also features Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Isaac, the leader of the WLA, and the return of Catherine O’Hara (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice) as the Jackson community therapist, Gail, who Joel seeks therapy from which is wild, considering the backstory and the fate of her husband. The series continues to look phenomenal, and this 4K set looks stunning with Dolby Vision HDR, the blend of live-action, digital rendering, and practical special effects blends seamlessly, advancing significantly over the streaming version. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos audio impresses from start to finish. Dialogue is crisp and defined, the sounds of gunfire, explosions and more discreet sounds like the noises emitted from infected "clickers" and "bloaters" are creepy as Hell.
Special Features:
- Ellie’s Ultimate Revenge (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) (16:49)
- Beneath the Surface: The Visual FX of The Last of Us (New Featurette Exclusive to 4K, BD and DVD) (16:41)
- Growing the World of The Last of Us (2:02)
- Welcome to Jackson (Set Tour) (3:24)
- Joel's Journey to Season 2 (2:39)
- Ellie's Journey to Season 2 (2:58)
- Pedro and Bella Q&A (6:35)
- Battle of Jackson, Deconstructed (11;13)
- Open Book: Isabela Merced & Young Mazino (5:07)
- Mushroom Taste Test (4:33)
- Character Featurette – Joel (0:56)
- Character Featurette – Ellie (0:51)
- Character Featurette – Abby (0:54)
- Character Featurette – Dina (0:53)
- Stalker Showdown, Deconstructed (3:21)
- Camera Roll: Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced & Young Mazino (3:13)
- In Action (4:34)
- Making of: The Last of Us: Episode #1 (8:53), Episode #2 (9:08), Episode #3 (12:13), Episode #4 (11:23), Episode #5 (8:32), Episode #6 (11:05), Episode #7 (12:07) Episodes:
1. Future Days
2. Through the Valley
3. The Path
4. Day One
5. Feel Her Love
6. The Price
7. Convergence
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THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY - SEASON 1 AND 2 (2023-2025)
2-Disc Blu-ray Set
Label: Acorn Media International
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 378 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HA MA with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2:1)
Director:
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Cohan, Logan Kim, Željko Ivanek, Mahina Napoleon
At the end of The Walking Dead series proper back in 2022 Maggie’s (Lauren Cohan, The Boy) son, Hershel (Logan Kim), is abducted by the Croat (Zeljko Ivanek, TV's Oz), a former member of Negan's old community the Saviors who now runs the Burazi faction operating of Manhattan, which like everywhere else in the world has become a crumbling wasteland full of overgrown vegetation, decaying skyscrapers and various warring factions, but the Croat's group has an advantage, thanks to his knowledge of engineering he is able to process methane to fuel electricity. Maggie and Neagn become an unlikely team-up, I say unlikely because of the grotesque killing of her husband on THD years earlier, the pair entre Manhattan in search of her son, while trying to evade Perlie Armstrong (Gaius Charles, Friday Night Lights), a marshal for the New Babylon Federation, who are on Negan's trail after he killed five men for assaulting his wife. The main drama here is the twisted relationship between the Maggie and Negan, she wants him dead but they are both benefitting from the team-up. The second season is more of the same, only now Negan finds himself begrudgingly aligned with Dama's growing empire after she kidnaps his wife and son, while Maggie ends up with the New Babylon Federation to rescue her son from the corruptive influence of Dama. The pair now thrown into opposite sides of a brutal turf war that threatens to consume the entire island of Manhattan, all the while Maggie finds her son growing distant from her under Dama's influence, and Negan tries to save a young girl named Ginny (Mahina Napoleon) whose father he killed - so its all a bit complicated. I was only lukewarm on season 1 and thought that season two was actually quite an improvement with loads of undead action and gore, some fantastic imagery of the crumbling Manhattan skyline and skyscrapers, and Negan with his barbed wire bat Lucille, now electrified thanks to un upgrade from the Croat, which is a fun upgrade. I was a bit torn on the Maggie wanting to kill Negan but never actually doing it, it's dramatic and is the defining trait of her character, but it's also pretty annoying, too. regardless, it; fun stuff overall, the effects are gruesome, the violence is potent, and the apocalyptic Manhattan gives t An Escape from New York vibe. This 2-disc set from Acorn Media International offers a solid HD presentation with uncompressed audio and optional English subtitles, as well as a decent slate of extras.
Special Features:
- 2023 Wondercon Panel
- Episode Insiders
- Show Me More
