Author: Jason Zingale

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art or link to purchase it from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends. Pick of the Week: “Doctor Sleep” Stephen King has made no secret of his dislike for Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining,” loosely based on his novel of the same name, which only makes director Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of King’s 2013…

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: “Parasite” Bong Joon-ho’s genre-defying film is every bit as excellent as its reputation suggests, masterfully balancing several different tones to tell its dark and socially conscious tale of class warfare. The movie is constantly evolving. Just when you think it’s headed in one direction, with the poor but wily Kim family spinning their web of deceit and slowly integrating themselves into the…

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: “Zombieland: Double Tap” It’s been so long since the release of the original “Zombieland” — 10 years, to be exact — that many fans had already given up hope of a sequel, especially with all four main actors returning. That’s what makes “Double Tap” such a welcome surprise. Though it’s an admittedly inferior sequel, the movie is still a lot of fun…

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: “Gemini Man” Over the last eight years, Ang Lee has pivoted from making complex human dramas like “The Ice Storm” and “Brokeback Mountain” to experimenting with new filmmaking technologies in “Life of Pi,” “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and his latest movie, “Gemini Man.” But while the long-in-development action thriller boasts some pretty groundbreaking (though by no means flawless) visual effects that…

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: “Joker” The last thing that anyone expected from director Todd Phillips (“The Hangover,” “Old School”) was a dark and gritty crime drama like “Joker,” but this deconstruction of the iconic villain is an engaging, intimate study of mental illness that reimagines the character in some pretty clever ways. It’s not surprising to learn that Martin Scorsese once considered directing the movie himself…

Year-end reviews are a tricky proposition in that they really only represent your feelings in the particular moment in time that you publish them. Some movies age better than others, while the rankings themselves are often interchangeable based on your mood or other outside influences. With that said, you probably shouldn’t place too much stock in where the following films landed on my best-of list but rather that they earned a spot at all. Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order): “Ad Astra,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Doctor Sleep,” “Frozen II,” “John Wick: Chapter 3,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Joker,” “Little Women,” “Triple Frontier,” “Us” 10.…

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: “Judy” Based on Peter Quilter’s Tony-nominated play “End of the Rainbow,” the simply titled “Judy” follows legendary performer Judy Garland in the months leading up to her untimely death. Though Garland’s life is one of the more famous showbiz cautionary tales, “Judy” fails to differentiate itself from all the other musical biopics about troubled stars. There are flashbacks to Garland’s early career…

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: “Ad Astra” Following in the footsteps of fellow A-listers like Sandra Bullock, Matt Damon and Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt finally gets his own space-based project with James Gray’s “Ad Astra.” Though it’s not as strong as some of those other films, “Ad Astra” is a nifty little space drama that’s driven by an engrossing tale of one man’s journey to the end…

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: “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film isn’t as instantly likeable as his other movies, but with additional viewings and the foreknowledge that it’s not like most Tarantino films, you really begin to appreciate the finer details of this sprawling tale. “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” is less concerned with plot than creating a mood — it’s a…

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: “Ready or Not” This pitch-black horror comedy about a bride’s wedding night turned deadly when she’s forced to take part in a ritualistic game of Hide and Seek with her new in-laws is basically a riff on “The Most Dangerous Game” with shades of Adam Wingard’s “You’re Next.” But while the movie boasts an interesting premise, it creates more questions than it…