Reviews

When The Last Temptation of Christ fell apart, Scorsese rushed out this frequently understandably forgotten down-and-dirty dark comedy satire, which makes for Criterion UK's first 4K release.  

Gunn's Guardians goes out with a bang in this dark and heartfelt final(-ish) chapter, gifted an unsurprisingly strong 4K that, perhaps more surprisingly for a Disney disc, actually includes some "IMAX" expanded ratio footage.  

Maintaining the unbearably tense modus operandi of his previous Boiling Point, writer/director Philip Barantini targets a topical social media themed home invasion thriller with sofa-gripping results.  

As an action-RPG set in a puppet apocalypse, can this novel Pinocchio-inspired twist on the Souls-like genre carve off something unique, or is it just another gothic horror fairy tale that's lying to itself?  

Apple's iPhone 15 and 15 Plus smartphones for 2023 feature last year's iPhone 14 Pro A16 Bionic chip, a debut 48MP camera, the introduction of Dynamic Island plus the long awaited move to USB-C connectivity... you might not like the new colours though.  

The first of a series of short film adaptations of Roald Dahl short stories, Wes Anderson - after The Fantastic Mr. Fox - once again proves to be the perfect match for these classic Dahl works.  

More classic skull-crushing gameplay fused with beautiful graphics and a restart of the lore, plus a new Invasion mode and a Kameo system to intrigue long-term players and maybe teach this old dog a few new tricks?  

Alejandro Amenabar’s beautiful and poignant ode to classic 60s chiller The Innocents gets a new director-approved 4K restoration that even without HDR manages to provide a wonderfully evocative transfer that is as much of the period as the film itself…  

The ‘New Classic’ range from Naim is nothing less than a complete rework of the core ranges of the company and brings a whole new aesthetic with it. It certainly looks smart but is it any good?  

We take a look at the box-office bomb that was Cutthroat Island; can an incredible set wash away the memory?  

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story gets drawn long for another effective Mike “Netflix horror TV” Flanagan effort which slow burns its horrific shocks as it unleashes the unthinkable.  

A dark and malevolent beast, whose production history is almost as colourful as the myriad characters it portrays, this is a stunning late classic-era film noir from acclaimed auteur Orson Welles, brought back to the fore by another fabulous Eureka 4K restoration.  

While better known for its turntables, AVID has been hard at work developing a range of electronics to go with them. Can the Accent take on the established order?  

Taking "historical inaccuracies" to a whole new level, Jonathan Mostow's U-571 is still a trashily fun sub thriller, gifted a new lease of life with Studiocanal's 4K restoration.  

Brian Duffield, he of The Babysitter and then a bunch of exceedingly plain and irritating sci-fi and horror, has had his latest project plonked down on Disney+. And it’s an exceedingly plain and irritating sci-fi horror…just without any dialogue.  

Embracing the immense world-building established already in the John Wick universe, The Continental shoots through 70s NYC in style.  

Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and their ever-decreasing circle of superannuated chums return for, hopefully, one last adventure that sadly seems to forget what made this premier Geri-Action franchise such a guilty pleasure in the first place…must be their age…  

Neil "In the Company of Men" LaBute sets up Maggie Q's alcoholic veteran for some bloody, brutal home invasion mayhem which ultimately runs out of budget.  

Nick Cassavetes’ strange throwback exploitation flick feels like a holdover from the 70s, playing out with excessive headshots and grim disregard for its characters.  

With a classy move to Titanium, the new A17 Pro chip, a 5x telephoto lens included in the rear camera array and a shift to the convenience of USB-C, has Apple done enough to guarantee another flagship winner?  

Offering a factory-calibrated Filmmaker Mode, 4LED light source for instant on/off and a claimed 3200 lumens, plus, advanced HDR tone mapping and claims of decent black levels, can the BenQ W4000i live up to the flagship billing? Let's find out...  

We take a belated look at Ron Howard's classic Hanks vehicle Apollo 13, gifted a lavish new 4K package courtesy of the Film Vault Collection.  

From labyrinthine folk horror debuts to stiff upper lip WWII moral dilemmas, from insanely balletic girls n’ guns explodathons to murky black and white explorations of the fractures of the human psyche, and from a deep dive into the cinematic works of one of the 20th centuries greatest writers to, well, bizarre Italian goat butts, it can only mean one thing…it’s another Blu-ray release month! - UPDATED WITH 10 BLU-RAYS TO WIN!  

Bethesda’s latest epic RPG adventure promises a giant universe of exploration in one of the biggest games of the year, but can it live up to its potential?  

We dress up as mother and slice our way through the stunning native 4K set of all four Psycho films  

One of the greatest British horror films comes to 4K with an all new scan and in a lavish Collectors set for its 50 year anniversary - it's time to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man!  

Neat produced a Product of the Year, in the form of the Petite Classic so the expectation is high that its big brother, the Elite Classic is going to be rather good too. Can it deliver?  

Heartfelt and inspirational, without being saccharine and unrelatable, and carried by a modest, earnest standout performance from Michael Peña, A Million Miles Away makes the absolute impossible somehow seem so sweetly possible.  

We’ve looked at the ridiculously talented Wiim Mini so now it’s time to see what the next two tiers of their model range can do with the Pro and the Pro+. Do they offer the same precocious value?  

Intimately tapping into the sobering reality of a what-if-you-reunited-with-your childhood-sweetheart scenario, Past Lives gets under your skin with its authenticity and honesty.  

Bill Forsyth’s awkwardly charming and beautifully captured tale of teenage love remains a one-off: it genuinely feels like the childhood we remembered rather than the one the rest of cinema told us we had. And this new 4K restoration from the BFI spruces it up really rather spiffingly…  

Sir Kenneth Branagh returns as Agatha Christie’s famously moustachioed master detective… only this time, it’s not just the living he has to worry about as he takes a delightfully gothic horror inflected trip to Italy’s Floating City…  

Tim Burton’s wonderful ode to all things Hammer and AIP gets a gorgeous new 4K release that lops the head off the previous disc and sends it to a fiery hell…  

Swinging its way on to 4K Blu-ray, Across the Spider-Verse might just redefine how good a disc can be.  

Comic and film writer Kevin Grevioux - best known as the beast of a werewolf in the Underworld movies, which he co-created - turns his hand to directing with this try-hard DTV effort that can't help feeling like a low budget Assassin Club.  

Mark Dacascos lands on Bruce Lee's Warrior, the underrated (Cine)Max martial arts period action-drama from the people behind the excellent Banshee, making the long two-year wait for a third season all the more rewarding - UPDATED for full season review.  

One of the finest Batman tales, this Box Office-flop-turned-Cult-Classic earns a really quite unexpected 4K upgrade.  

Mario Bava’s stunning proto-Giallo returns in a gorgeous new 4K release from Arrow Video whereby murder has never looked so beautiful…  

The REL 212/SX subwoofer is big, tall, heavy and shiny. Like many of the company’s subs, it is finished to perfection. But the latter is a secondary consideration, what most of us want to know is if it can truly deliver the best low end for music and movies…  

AppleTV+ dives into the industry of making shows you can just vibe with... but the vibes here are not all good in Kelly Marcel's adaptation of Victor Lavalle's folklore-inspired horror.