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: “American Made” Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman’s follow-up to their 2014 sci-fi action film “Edge of Tomorrow” isn’t quite as exhilarating, but it’s still a mildly enjoyable crime drama highlighted by a solid lead performance from Cruise. Based on the unbelievable true story of pilot-turned-drug smuggler Barry Seal, “American Made” works as a companion piece to the Netflix series “Narcos” due…

Anyone paying attention to the 2017 news cycle has plenty to be depressed about this year, but thankfully, there have been a lot of great movies to help distract from what’s happening in our nation’s capital, some of which even serve as much-needed commentary on the current political climate. As usual, my annual year-end list features a mix of recognized best-of candidates and a few outliers that hopefully express my unique taste in films, at least compared to my fellow critics. If you don’t see your favorite movie in my top 10 or the Honorable Mentions section below, chances are…

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: “Dunkirk” Leave it to Christopher Nolan to make a WWII film that doesn’t look or feel like a typical war movie. Recounting the miraculous rescue effort of over 330,000 Allied soldiers stranded on the beaches of northern France, “Dunkirk” not only frames the story within a convoluted (and initially confusing) timeline, but does so with unbridled intensity, tossing the audience right into…

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: “Game of Thrones: The Complete Seventh Season” The penultimate season of “Game of Thrones” may not have as many episodes as previous years, but it’s filled with all the drama, action and intrigue that we’ve come to expect from the HBO series. Though the shorter length is certainly disappointing, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have made the most of every precious…

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: “American Assassin” Based on Vince Flynn’s popular series of novels featuring CIA operative Mitch Rapp, “American Assassin” charts the character’s rise from All-American college student to trained government killer. But while the movie may sound like the cinematic heir to the Jason Bourne franchise, it lacks the smarts and memorable action of those films. Dylan O’Brien does a good job in 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: “Logan Lucky” Steven Soderbergh’s much-publicized retirement from directing may not have lasted long (if at all, when you take into account his TV work), but the filmmaker’s welcome return to the big screen is a clever and entertaining crime caper in the same mold as his “Ocean’s” trilogy. Though “Logan Lucky” also operates as a commentary on working-class America and how 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: “Good Time” While he’s best known for his stilted work in the “Twilight” series, Robert Pattinson has steadily built a career that he can finally be proud of. After strong supporting turns in “The Rover” and “The Lost City of Z,” the actor delivers perhaps his best performance yet in Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Good Times” as an ex-convict who hustles and…

As Marvel Studios enters the final stretch of its unprecedented (and largely successful) cinematic experiment, DC’s own series of interconnected movies is still working out the kinks. Though this year’s “Wonder Woman” was an encouraging sign of progress, “Justice League” is a frustrating step backward that, while not as disappointing as “Batman v Superman” and “Suicide Squad,” hasn’t been able to completely eliminate the stench of bad decisions made during the DCEU’s misguided inception. It’s certainly an improvement, most notably the lighter tone that co-writer Joss Whedon brings to the project, but it’s also not as good as it should…

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: “Wind River” Taylor Sheridan is one of the best storytellers working today, so it was only a matter of time before the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water” would try his hand at directing. Though “Wind River” is technically Sheridan’s second feature (following his little-seen 2011 debut, “Vile”), it’s no less impressive. Boasting great performances from Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth…

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: “Westworld: Season One” HBO’s “Westworld” is a really cool premise in search of a great show. Though it has some talented people working behind the scenes, including executive producers Jonathan Nolan and J.J. Abrams, the first season of the sci-fi drama is wildly uneven. So much energy is spent trying to hide the major revelations at the center of its mystery box…