Blu Tuesday: “Oppenheimer” and More

Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.

Pick of the Week: “Oppenheimer”

“Oppenheimer” feels like the kind of movie that only Christopher Nolan could make — it’s incredibly intimate yet massive in scope, bouncing between different time periods and perspectives to tell the story of one of the most influential and controversial figures of the 20th century. At three hours long, “Oppenheimer” will definitely test some viewers’ patience, but it’s rarely boring and anchored by a pair of excellent performances from Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. It also contains some stunning visuals, an appropriately intense score by Ludwig Göransson and a number of genuinely thrilling sequences (the atomic bomb test, the dueling hearings) that you don’t often find in traditional biopics. Of course, there’s nothing traditional about “Oppenheimer,” which is what makes the film such a unique experience — for both good and ill — and one that’s certain to rack up plenty of honors come award season.

Extras include a seven-part making-of featurette, a “Meet the Press” Q&A panel with Nolan, author Kai Bird and physicists Dr. Kip Thorne, Dr. Thom Mason and Dr. Carlo Rovelli, and more. FINAL VERDICT: BUY

Also Out This Week:

“Expendables 4” — A big part of the allure of the “Expendables” movies was the novelty of seeing the world’s greatest action heroes team up on the big screen, so it’s disappointing that so few of the previous cast members have returned for “Expendables 4.” Even franchise star Sylvester Stallone only appears in a limited role, leaving co-star Jason Statham to take over as the series lead. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast has been replaced with a bunch of has-beens (Megan Fox, 50 Cent) and unknowns (Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran) who lack the action-hero credentials that were once the bedrock of these films. (Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren are still kicking around, but the latter has so little to do that he might as well have just stayed home.) The result is a lame and cheaply made action flick that, if nothing else, will hopefully put an end to the dying franchise once and for all. Extras include an audio commentary by director Scott Waugh and two behind-the-scenes featurettes. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

“Saw X” — Say what you will about the “Saw” franchise, but it’s almost impressive how Lionsgate has continued to crank out new installments even after killing off its main antagonist, milking the series to the point of exhaustion. The “Saw” movies have never been the same without John Kramer/Jigsaw at the center, however, so the character has been brought back again (following 2017’s “Jigsaw”) in a story that takes place before his demise. Though “Saw X” aims for a more thoughtful approach compared to previous entries, it’s yet another completely unnecessary installment that adds nothing to the larger story other than to reaffirm that its central character is a sociopath, no matter how badly the film tries to humanize him. Extras include an audio commentary by director/editor Kevin Greutert, cinematographer Nick Matthews and production designer Anthony Stabley, as well as a making-of documentary, deleted scenes and more. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.