Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just brought four perennial holiday classics to 4K UHD for the first time. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, “A Christmas Story”, “Elf”, and “The Polar Express” are now available in their own individual Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Packs in sparkling 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and with gorgeous new cover art. Each film will come with 4K, Blu-ray, and digital versions of the film along with their pre-existing special features.

These new 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo Packs for “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, “A Christmas Story”, “Elf”, and “The Polar Express” hit shelves NOVEMBER 1, 2022. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 1989

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 97 Minutes

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik

Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Miriam Flynn, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Guest

As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.

The film is directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. The screenplay is by John Hughes and based on characters by Hughes. The film is produced by Hughes and Tom Jacobsen and stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo and Randy Quaid.

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 1983

Rating: PG

Runtime: 94 Minutes

Director: Bob Clark

Starring: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, R.D. Robb, Zack Ward, Yano Anaya

Set in a 1940s-era Midwestern town and told from the viewpoints of a seven-year-old boy, who only wants one thing for Christmas — a Red Ryder BB gun — the episodic tale chronicles not only his schemes to convince his mother and father to buy him one, but also offers a warmly nostalgic look into 1940s middle-class American life. From the stories of, and narrated by, Jean Shepherd.

The film is directed by Bob Clark. The screenplay is by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark and is based on the novel “In God We Trust: All Other Pay Cash by Shepherd. The film is produced by Rene Dupont and Bob Clark and stars Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin and Peter Billingsley.

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 2003

Rating: PG

Runtime: 97 Minutes

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Will Farrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart

This hilarious Christmas film tells the tale of a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts on Christmas Eve and is transported back to the North Pole and raised as an elf. Years later Buddy learns he is not really an elf and goes on a journey to New York City to find his true identity.

The film is directed by Jon Favreau and written by David Berenbaum. It is produced by Jon Berg, Todd Komarnicki , and Shauna Robertson, and stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner and Bob Newhart.

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 2004

Rating: G

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, Eddie Deezen

When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

The film is directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Zemeckis and William Broyles Jr. It is based on the classic Caldecott award-winning children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg. The film is produced by Steve Starkey, Zemeckis, Gary Goetzman, and William Teitler, and features the voices of Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen.

Ultra HD Blu-ray Languages: English, Spanish, French

Ultra HD Blu-ray Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Parisian French

James Cameron’s much anticipated sequel to his quintessential blockbuster “Avatar” is finally upon us. A while back 20th Century Studios gave us our first tease. Yesterday they dropped the first full trailer for “Avatar: The Way of Water”, and to no surprise it was a visual showcase more than a story reveal. While many of the effects look amazing, it was hard not to notice the clear CGI in some scenes. Still, for me the biggest question mark is the story. So much about the first film’s narrative felt copied-and-pasted from several other movies. I’m really hoping the new “Avatar” has a fresh story to tell.

In the trailer Cameron again treats us to the glory of Pandora. We see its forests, animal life, and most significantly this time around, its waters. We also see Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana reprising their roles as Jake Sully and Neytiri. Set a decade after the events of the first film, we see the couple starting a family and enjoying life on their planet. But we also see the dangers they face just to survive and it’s pretty clear that a greater threat looms in the near distance. Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, CCH Pounder, and Giovanni Ribisi also return while Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, and Jemaine Clement are among the newcomers. I’m really anxious to see how the $250 million investment turns out, especially 13 years after the original.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” hits theaters December 16, 2022. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

One of my favorite films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival was “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul”, a biting and often hilarious critique of pseudo-Christianity and megachurch corruption. Now Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is bringing this snarky satire home with a brand new Blu-Ray Collectors Edition. The film marks the feature directorial debut for writer-director Adamma Ebo and stars the superbly cast Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown as a megachurch power couple trying to bounce back following a huge public scandal. You can read my full film review HERE.

This new Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition of “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” hit shelves NOVEMBER 1, 2022. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 2022

Rating: R

Runtime: 102 Minutes

Director: Adamma Ebo

Starring: Regina Hall, Sterling K. Hall, Nicole Beharie, Conphidance, Austin Crute, Devere Rogers, Avis Marie Barnes

“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” is a satirical comedy starring Regina Hall as Trinitie Childs – the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, who together with her husband Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), once served a congregation in the tens of thousands. But after a scandal forces their church to temporarily close, Trinitie and Lee-Curtis must reopen their church and rebuild their congregation to make the biggest comeback that commodified religion has ever seen.

AVAILABLE TO OWN NOW ON BLU-RAY AND DVD FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

BONUS FEATURES:

• Alternate Opening – Watch the never-before-seen alternate opening for a different take on the beginning of Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes – Watch unreleased scenes from the laugh-out-loud comedy.
  • Showtime
  • Skate Rink
  • Childs in the Attic
  • Trinitie in the Bath
  • Highway Pedestrian Guy
  • Trinitie Bringing Food
  • Trinitie Praying Over Lee-Curtis in Bed
  • Trinitie Sees Sidewalk Woman Again
  • Anita Speaks
• Gag Reel – A highlight reel of bloopers and outtakes featuring main cast.
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
• Subtitles: English SDH, French Canadian, Latin American Spanish
• Languages/Sound: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 for Feature and Dolby Digital 2.0 for Bonus Content) and Latin American Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Robert De Niro plays a small town sheriff in the upcoming crime/revenge thriller “Savage Salvation”. Peculiar title aside, the story looks to cover a lot of familiar crime movie territory. But interesting casting and some potentially good action may make this a pretty fun and gritty feature. It’s directed by Randall Emmett who’s recently been best known for producing the recent wave of direct-to-VOD Bruce Willis movies. Hopefully “Savage Salvation” has a little more to offer.

The trailer sets the story up like this: a former addict named Shelby (played by Jack Huston) is devastated when his fiancé (Willa Fitzgerald) loses her battle to get clean and dies of a heroin overdose. Furious and seeking revenge, Shelby sets out to pay back the drug dealers who supplied her. With the bodies stacking up, a sympathetic sheriff (De Niro) seeks to help Shelby before he takes things too far. Again, several familiar elements to the story, and some of the action looks a little cheap. But hopefully there’s a good enough to story to make it all worthwhile viewing.

“Savage Salvation” opens December 2nd in select theaters and on VOD. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Let me be honest. There’s nothing about the new trailer for the upcoming flick “Plane” that will have any critic rethinking their awards season ballots. Yet I have to admit, I really get a kick out of these wacky (and sometimes undeniably bad) action romps. And sometimes a little disposable nonsense is all I really need from a movie. Gerard Butler has certainly provided plenty of that in recent years. But to be fair, he does occasionally surprise us with an unexpectedly good movie. That considered, it’s hard to tell where “Plane” will land (see what I did there?).

Make no mistake, the generically titled “Plane” looks absolutely absurd. In it Butler plays a commercial pilot named (and this is such a Gerry Butler movie name) Brodie Torrance. When his plane is damaged during a severe storm, he’s forced to do an emergency landing. The problem is he lands in a territory full of hostile militants who take his passengers hostage. With the help of a federal prisoner (Mike Colter), put on his plane for extradition, Brodie sets out to rescue the passengers as only Gerry Butler can. Silly beyond measure but potentially fun….maybe?

“Plane” hits theaters January 27th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has two Clint Eastwood gems as part of their November home video lineup. The first is a beautiful 4K UHD release of Eastwood’s terrific 1979 prison thriller “Escape From Alcatraz”. Inspired by J. Campbell Bruce’s 1963 non-fiction book of the same name, the film saw Eastwood re-teaming with director Don Siegel in what was a gripping and methodically told story that still holds up well today. You can read my full film review HERE.

This new 4K UHD “Escape From Alcatraz” hits shelves NOVEMBER 8, 2022. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 1979

Rating: PG

Runtime: 112 Minutes

Director: Don Siegel

Actors: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Fred Ward, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau, Larry Hankin

Screen legend Clint Eastwood (Coogan’s Bluff, Dirty Harry) and director Don Siegel (Two Mules for Sister Sara, The Beguiled) re-team for their fifth and final film in this fascinating account of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum-security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and “Birdman” Robert Stroud, was only broken once—by three men never heard of again.

Eastwood portrays Frank Morris, the cunning bank robber who masterminded the elaborately detailed and, as far as anyone knows, ultimately successful, escape. Patrick McGoohan (Ice Station Zebra, TV’s The Prisoner) is a superb counterpoint as the suspicious warden. Filmed on location in Alcatraz, this gritty and realistic reenactment of a true story has all the power one expects of an Eastwood/Siegel movie. The stellar cast includes Fred Ward (Remo Williams), Roberts Blossom (Deranged), Jack Thibeau (Sudden Impact), Paul Benjamin (Across 110th Street) and Larry Hankin (Running Scared). Screenplay by Richard Tuggle (Tightrope), based on a book by J. Campbell Bruce.

BONUS FEATURES:

DISC 1 (4KUHD): HDR/Dolby Vision Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative | NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson | 5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Stereo | Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc | Optional English Subtitles

DISC 2 (Blu-ray): HD Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative | NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson | THE GHOSTS OF ALCATRAZ: NEW Interview with Screenwriter Richard Tuggle | TALES FROM THE CELLBLOCK: NEW Interview with Actor Larry Hankin | Theatrical Trailer (Newly Remastered in 2K) | Dual-Layered BD50 Disc | Optional English Subtitles