Category: Thoughts

A quick one here.  I have added a Kurt Russell (my favorite actor) review page which contains copies of every single one I’ve written whether it was here or on Upcomingdiscs.com.  Obviously, a lot of these are old reviews and thoughts about his movies which probably need to be updated.  Especially the part where there are two reviews for Escape from LA, one for the 4K and one for the blu-ray.  In reality, I should only keep the one for the blu-ray because the 4k one only contains pieces of my previous review mixed in with comments that I didn’t write.  However, I wanted to go ahead and just export it all, make a page and then clean it up a little later.  There are gaps here I would certainly like to address and I want to add to this obviously over time.  What I don’t want to do though is watch a bunch of Kurt Russell movies in a row and then don’t touch anything for a couple of years.  That’s not really conducive.  Any ideas, feel free to leave comments on this post.  Enjoy.

3/6 Edit – After cleaning it up and playing with it, I think I have it like I want.  I don’t like the thumbnails as small as they are but then I have to consider mobile.  Of course, keep in mind there are two ways to access Kurt Russell reviews, one by the side bar on the right (that will give you the page format) and then the table format is the menu on top.  Table format is sortable by title, film score and publish date (default).  Any ideas to improve are most welcome.

Hi folks, I’m sure some of you wondered if the site had died or perhaps something happened to me.  I am glad to say that neither of those things happened.  Well, I say that with baited breath since the month of February and up until today I pretty much was going through some major depression issues that led to some tough times.  Tough times where I did not care one way or another what happened to me and distanced myself from my family that I such deeply love.  As you can see, I did not write for a solid month, nothing about movies, nothing about music, nothing about my celebration of both Miley Cyrus and Kylie Minogue winning Grammys.  Was that freaking great or what?  I called the Miley Cyrus one, you can go back and look if you don’t believe me.

Continue reading “Upcoming Review for March 2024 and Explanation of Absence” →

Hopefully, most of you have read my reviews on the The Wailing 4k as well as The Man From Nowhere 4k.  If not, I’ll wait.  Read it?  Okay, good.  Now, in both of these reviews there was one thing that was critically missing.  The Dolby ATMOS track despite being advertised on both of the cases was very much missing from the new track.  Instead, what we received was the original 5.1 track from the respective blu-rays.  Much to my surprise, Well Go is sending out replacement discs.  I filled out my online form recently, was asked for a proof of purchase and a mailing address which I naturally provided.

What I didn’t expect was later that day, I received a notice from USPS Informed Delivery saying that the shipping label from Plano, Tx (where Well Go calls its home) was already produced.  If this holds true, I could be seeing the new discs in a week or two, maybe sooner.  Very excellent news, and of course I would take the time to update everyone on how they sound.  Hopefully, it’s not replacing the 5.1 track and rather sitting alongside it.  But the news had me excited and I thought I would share it with you.

By the way, if you have your own discs of these two movies in 4k and want to replace your own copies, just go over to https://wellgousa.com/contact-us. Fill out the form, and then they should send you an email within a few hours where you can attach your proof of purchase along with a mailing address.  Anyway, that’s it, I wanted to share that tidbit of wonderful news.  Enjoy.

I really hope everyone had a nice holiday, full of presents and moments that make this season always a little special.  It’s time to get back to work and I will have for you three reviews at the very least in the month of January.  These discs are provided to me because of the fine people at Upcomingdiscs.com.  Once again, it seems like I’ve drawn the foreign language straw and every single one of them is in French.  Two French films from the late 70’s/early 80’s and a sequel to a wonderful French animated film from GKids and Shout Factory.  Let’s take a brief look at these films. Continue reading “Upcoming Reviews for January 2024” →

Hopefully all of you enjoyed my reviews from the middle of October until the beginning of November.  I would like to say that I got more things to review from Upcomingdiscs.com but things do tend to get stalled during this time of year so unfortunately I do not.  I did receive a note earlier this week that I might have two gift sets coming to me from Shout but that won’t be until sometime in December.

Those sets are the Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray set and Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time Collector’s Edition.  Now, there is absolutely no guarantee I will get those sets, and I will frankly be surprised if they do show up on my doorstep especially with the holiday season.  Even if I only get one of these two sets, I will be overjoyed as they are very nice collections. (More after the jump).

Continue reading “Upcoming Reviews for November/December 2023” →

Unlike the previous month, this month when it comes to reviewing is almost certainly going to be way more productive.  To this point, I’ve already snuck in two Film reviews for Paw Patrol and A Haunting in Venice in which I can’t remember the last time I went to the theater in two straight weeks.  I don’t know if I’m going to sneak in any other movies but while I was at  A Haunting in Venice, I did see posters for the re-release of A Nightmare Before Christmas and something called Inspector Sun as possible films to see with my wife and son.  Obviously, if we went to the former, I probably would not write a review, but it’s still worth mentioning.

However, it looks like that I’m getting four discs from Upcomingdiscs.com to review this week.  Most of it is from Film Movement, but I am getting one 4k as well.  I don’t think I will be able to slide in any other reviews on my own (unless I go to the theater for something else), but it all depends on how quickly I finish these four first.  I have also provided a link to more information if you are curious about these films and don’t want to wait for my reviews.

Passion (2008) – Blu-Ray from Film Movement – This one I have wanted since I knew it was going to be available.  From the same director, I greatly enjoyed Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and need to watch Drive My Car (have the Criterion copy from the last B&N sale) but I just haven’t had the time.  The added fact is that Film Movement rarely does blu-rays (I mention this all the time in my reviews) and so the fact that they are releasing this one in blu-ray is certainly something to take notice of.

The Night of the 12th (2022) – DVD from Film Movement – This is a French mystery film that looks 200% up my alley considering my reviews of such films like The Third Murder and Unidentified.  Now thankfully if I do like it a lot, it has been released in Blu-Ray but I would have to import from the UK.  It might surprise you but I do not own a region free Blu-Ray player and bypass region restrictions with my Panasonic 4k player which has a nifty top menu feature that gets around those things about 75% of the time.  I’ve literally had a region free player on my Amazon wishlist for a very long time.  Mostly because I have no idea where to put it.  Anyway, should be an excellent film.

Cracked (2022) – DVD From Film Movement – Most of you know I don’t really review Horror movies.  It’s not my thing, especially when there are a couple of people on Upcomingdiscs that are FAR more gifted with the genre than I’ll ever be.  However, neither of them to my knowledge really want to dive into foreign horror films which is where I get the call so to speak.  See my review of Seire earlier this year.  So this is a Thai film about some scary pieces of art.  Not sure what to think or even if I’ll like it, but it has an interesting premise and Asian horror films really are top notch typically.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023) – 4k from Warner Bros – One of these things is not like the others.  But seriously, I have watched just about everything Mortal Kombat animation or live action since the very first movie in 1995.  The animated features have always been something of a mixed bag but they always deliver on the action and really make use of the 4k format.  This should be no different and also deals with my favorite character not named Scorpion in Johnny Cage.  Cage was the unsung hero of the first live action film (and what they did with him in the 2nd film was absolutely ridiculous), and I can’t wait to see this one.  I know picture and audio will most likely not disappoint but I’m hopeful that the story is interesting enough.  I still need to see Snow Blind by the way, that should be a Black Friday type title somewhere for sure.

Anyway, thought I would share those four with the regular readers of this site.  Feel free to drop your comments below and enjoy!

I looked at my calendar this morning and was amazed that we are already a week into August.  What makes this worse is that my reviews/posts have been completely non-existent since I finished up the run of Police Story reviews.  It was a major project for myself and I was so glad I finished it.  I even had a side project that I was going to include as part of that franchise but while the discs materialized, I couldn’t find what I wanted to on the subject and my plans got derailed for the moment, at least until I get some hardware that should help things.  It’s a long story.  Then I had the idea to review Millennium Mambo, a recent Kino blu-ray release, and that also went by the waste side.  But there is some hope in the next week or so that I should have a few reviews to bring to you.

Continue reading “Where the Heck Have I Been for the Last Month?” →

Well, much like 2022, this year is starting off with a whimper when it comes to reviews or anything else.  The website I traditionally write for is pretty dead with releases and I was hoping I would at least get Boxtrolls and Kubo on Steelbook (or even plain 4k) to review (since I got Coraline and Paranorman).  No such luck, radio silence.  It’s not my webmaster’s fault, I’ve been friends with him for years.  There is a complete lack of product coming in.

I do have several things on pre-order as I’ve built up something of a list for March through May and will list them below.  I have zero issue posting reviews here, I generally try and post at Upcomingdiscs since that’s where I get my review discs from.  However, if I’m buying the darn things, then I don’t have that same liability.

In late March, I am receiving the Dragonslayer 4k steelbook.  Dragonslayer is the classic 1981 film and to this point had only been available on DVD.  It’s the one with Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke. and Ralph Richardson.  Actually was nominated for 2 Academy Awards (Visual Effects, Music).  I haven’t watched it well since I bought the DVD (so mid 2000’s), so I’m pretty excited.  Problem is I’m concerned that since it is Paramount, they have a sketchy history with their 4k’s.  Take a look at Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 4k if nothing else.

Next I have two titles coming in April, one in the beginning, one in the end.  April 4th, I have the Big Easy on Blu-Ray from the folks at Kino.  Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, 1986, my wheelhouse when it comes to films.

April 25th comes something I’m extremely excited about, Police Story III or the stateside name, Super Cop in 4k from the people at 88 Films.  This should be a very impressive boxset and I will probably need to re-visit my copies of Police Story I and II (Criterion release).   If you are curious why I did not get the Eureka 4k trilogy, well UK releases are not exactly easy to get anymore and it’s really hard for me to part with Criterion releases.  I still have not upgraded my Criterion blu-ray releases of such movies like Silence of the Lambs or Dressed to Kill even though they each have fine 4k releases.  Also, I have the Chinese Blu-Ray 4k Remaster release of Police Story III and will do my best to do comparisons.  Though I’m willing to bet this release from 88 films blows it out of the water.

Finally, I have a Blu-Ray audio pre-order for May 12th of Tears for Fears’ first album, The Hurting.  SDEShop (TheSDEShop.com) is having a pre-order for it through the 17th.  Vinyl copies have already sold out, but the Blu-Ray audio does remain available.  It’s important to note that there were other Blu-Ray audio copies of this album but they have long since sold out.  Now they go for $75-$100 dollars on Ebay or Amazon.  So the fact that they are doing a re-release with new tracks at less than half the price is huge.

So in a nutshell, that’s what this site has to look forward to.  At the very least, I’ll do reviews of those, and maybe throw something else in that compliments them.  For example, when I do Tears for Fears Blu-Ray Audio, maybe I’ll also do my reviews of my blu-ray audio copies of Songs from the Big Chair or Tipping Point.  Seeds of Love was unfortunately stuck in a giant box set and didn’t get a separate release to my knowledge :(.  Anyway, yes the site is still alive, it’s just a matter of work and well things to review.  Take care and enjoy.

So, it’s been a whole month into 2022, and I haven’t written a word.  Work has been busy and the home life has been busy as well.  My wife is still recovering but getting better with each day.  It’s a marvel really what pneumonia has done to her, even more so than the actual COVID itself.  But we are surviving and moving forward which is fantastic.

Anyway, on to some site news.  So the bill came due for my website hosting this past month.  I pay for every 3 years and then of course I pay a domain renewal every year.  The good news since you are reading this, I paid my bill.  I will admit however, there was some pause this year due to everything going on and the extra money would have helped even if I do set it aside in the ole budget.  I can’t guarantee that come 2025 I will keep going unless some things really change.  I love having my own website, but let’s face facts…the pandemic (I take full blame but the timing is uncanny) has taken a big ole crap on my creative strain and I spend most of my time taking care of my family, not searching for new content.

What am I doing with my time, well watching wise I am watching a few tv shows including Peacemaker (fantastic so far) and finishing up season 5 of Endeavour (I know I’m two seasons behind) along with whatever movie the missus and me decide to throw on. Oh and the usual dose of pretty much anything that’s on Discovery+ except for those really bad reality shows (I’m sorry, I can’t get behind 600+ lb life or east la hollywood wives or whatever that garbage is).  But if its Cooking Related (Alex vs America is great or anything with Guy Fieri), True Crime or the Paranormal, I’m all about it.  Though to be fair, my wife just makes fun of me when I watch the Ghost shows so those tend to be at a minimum.

Books, I am currently reading Legends of the Dragonrealm Vol. 1 by Richard Knaak and have finished the first two books in that anthology.  I should be done with that tomb by mid February.  I’ve enjoyed it a lot but honestly I think I like the Turning War trilogy a little better than these three books here.  In gaming, I am currently playing Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean (almost done with the second film) and Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart (point and click from Artifex Mundi).  There was an announcement about a week ago that Nightmares from the Deep was delisted, and while I wasn’t worried about my copy suddenly disappearing, I was concerned about me forgetting about it.  So rather than let it get swallowed up by the backlog monster, I decided to just go ahead and start it.  It’s okay, but there is nothing unexpected as of yet.  It actually seems to be one of the easier Artifex titles.  But I’ll shut up in case it starts getting a lot harder.

I also am still playing Hades even though I royally suck at the game.  Something like 70 escapes and I’ve only beaten Hades twice.  But I’m making my way through the story and actually have over half of the achievements.  I also am trying to finish Murdered: Soul Suspect though I think I missed a collectible so I got to go back and figure out what that is before I finish it out because I’m right before the last major part (aka the point of no return).  So it’s now or never and I really don’t want to play the game again.  In January, I did a bit of backtracking as well and finished up the remaining achievements for Scott Pilgrim (both 360 and Xbox One versions) as well as the first Sam and Max game.  I also played a game on my X1 called Omno which required some good hands in order to make it through the various sections.  But I finished it and didn’t miss anything.  Though I start to wonder at my age is if these type of games will start to allude me.  I already play a lot of games that require more thinking than any sort of quick reflexes.  Though I do play a ton of beat em ups still but let’s face facts, those games were never really are that hard for me.  I dunno, I just see how frustrated I got with Omno (though I never quit), and wonder.

I do need to do a little more with this site and figure out a theme going forward.  Whether it’s reviewing a game every couple of weeks or perhaps review 2 films a month and a game while I am providing news about what is going on.  So let’s do this.  Starting this month, I will review at least one game and 2 movies (blu-rays) a month starting this month here in February.  Then usually what happens is other things spawn from that.  The problem is I don’t really want to review Lego: POTC or Nightmares from the Deep, lol.  I’ll figure it out, and there should be more content soon.  Enjoy.

It’s been a rough month and a half on the ole household.  Arguably the worst Thanksgiving I’ve ever had (even surpassing the one where I ate Chinese with my mom and dad in a very cramped one bedroom apartment in the middle of Houston).  Not so much for the Thanksgiving itself, but for what went on directly after Thanksgiving which was 100% attributable to the occasion.

My wife, mother in-law, and father-in-law all caught some form of COVID.  I was spared because I got jabbed (due to my work requirements).  My son did catch it as well but he shook it off like nobody’s business (that kid is a freaking tank).  My wife easily had the worst of it, spending ten days at the local hospital.  She was home for Christmas, but she is still having major issues, just less of them as she continues to improve.

While my wife was fighting for her health, I was busy trying to juggle a full time job and take care of my son who is not nearly old enough to take care of himself.  Oh, and clean/wash a few things so the house wasn’t a total pigsty.  I sorta succeeded on the last one.  At least I bathed the kid on a regular basis, lol.  I can laugh about it now to some degree but it was extremely stressful.  Mostly I am worried about my wonderful wife who used to run circles around my old and middle-aged self.  That’s not the case anymore, and I feel horrible about it.  Of course, I help her (and my son with what he needs) as much as possible.

Now, I have to worry about the incoming bills despite being insured (don’t worry, the site’s not going anywhere, I need this outlet) and keep my job at the same time so I can take care of my family financially.  It drives me bonkers on most nights and rather than play a game or watch an interesting movie, I tend to stare at the tv, watch Discovery+, Peacock or maybe some wrestling but nothing that requires brain power as it were.  I don’t even find any interest in my book.  Of course, it could have to do with the fact that the book I read during this crisis was the biggest piece of woke garbage I had read in quite sometime, but I digress.

I still struggle with the fact that outside of a few scattered reviews, I don’t really write creatively anymore.  I can’t really call this “creative”, since all I’m doing is passing along the events as they happened.  It’s writing, but nothing more than an exercise to make me feel better and gets words onto a page.  It really is a form of therapy for me even if no one ever quite responds.

That’s really it for right now.  I do have another article to write for this site involving the game Time Pilot which deals more with backwards compatibility and really isn’t part of “THIS”.  I’m not going to end this article with any sort of sappy thing like “Go Get a Shot”, because up until several months ago I was against it and still believe in free will of the individual.  I have zero ill feelings towards my wife and only wish for her to get better.  I need my wife for her warmth, love, and also selfishly for my sanity (which is a fragile thing).  We’ll try to keep it upbeat for the New Year and know that 2022 will be a much better year.  Enjoy.