Author: Jason Zingale

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: “Hamnet” Following her detour into blockbuster filmmaking with Marvel’s “Eternals,” director Chloe Zhao returns to more familiar territory with this intimate, character-driven drama about the death of William Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, and how it may have informed one of his most famous tragedies. Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, “Hamnet” presents a unique reimagining of the playwright’s story…

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: “She Shoots Straight” There’s nothing quite like discovering a film for the first time, especially one that’s not even on your radar. Though Corey Yuen’s 1990 action thriller, “She Shoots Straight,” isn’t as well-known compared to other Hong Kong flicks from that era, it’s an underrated gem that ranks as one of the better “girls with guns” films in a subgenre littered…

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: “Predator: Badlands” Dan Trachtenberg might just be one of the most exciting genre directors working today. In addition to the underrated “10 Cloverfield Lane” and his fan-favorite episode of “Black Mirror,” Trachtenberg has single-handedly revived the Predator franchise in just three short years. Though 2022’s “Prey” remains the best film in the series, 2025’s “Predator: Badlands” doesn’t fall too far behind. Much…

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 a Thief” It may have been released only a year before his action masterpiece “Hard Boiled,” but John Woo’s 1991 action-comedy “Once a Thief” is so different from his typical fare that you wouldn’t guess it was made by the same filmmaker. Though it contains familiar faces like Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Chung, who starred together in Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow”…

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: “One Battle After Another” As far as Oscar frontrunners go, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is one of the more deserving films in recent memory. Loosely based on the 1990 novel “Vineland” by Thomas Pynchon, “One Battle After Another” is the rare movie that feels perfectly balanced in every way, finding that sweet spot between comedy and drama, 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: “Yi Yi” It’s been 25 years since the release of director Edward Yang’s final film, the slice-of-life family drama “Yi Yi,” and although a lot about the world has changed in that time, the movie remains as compelling as ever due to its universal themes of life, death, love and regret. An intimate portrait of a middle-class family in Taiwan set over…

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: “Bugonia” It may have taken five years for director Yorgos Lanthimos to deliver a follow-up to 2018’s “The Favourite,” but he’s been on quite the tear since then, cranking out his third film in as many years with “Bugonia.” An English-language adaptation of the 2003 South Korean movie “Save the Green Planet,” “Bugonia” is without a doubt his most accessible film to…

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: “The Killer” When the Hong Kong Cinema Classics label was first announced, two titles were at the top of everyone’s mind: “Hard Boiled” and “The Killer,” the John Woo-directed films that have long divided fans over which is the best. For my money, “Hard Boiled” is Woo’s magnum opus, but this 1989 action-thriller isn’t too far behind thanks to some fantastic set…

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: “The Long Walk” Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” has had quite the journey to the big screen, with filmmakers like George A. Romero and Frank Darabont involved at various points over the years, but it was well worth the wait because it’s one of the best King adaptations in recent memory. On the surface, “The Long Walk” doesn’t seem like particularly great…

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: “A Better Tomorrow Trilogy” 1986’s “A Better Tomorrow” is one of the most important films in the history of Hong Kong cinema. In addition to helping pioneer the heroic bloodshed genre, it launched the careers of director John Woo and star Chow Yun-Fat, who would go on to further define the genre and Hong Kong action in general. Its distinctive style was…