By John Corrado ★★ (out of 4) Mixing elements of a kidnapping thriller with dark Hoodoo magic, Spell is a B-grade horror movie that had the potential to bring something unique to the genre with its almost entirely African-American cast and folklore, but ends up feeling derivative of better films. Marquis T. Woods (Omari Hardwick)… Read More Blu-ray Review: Spell

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) If things were different in the world right now, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, which is being released on Blu-ray this week, would have been one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer movie season. Instead, a global pandemic got in the way, and the British filmmaker’s latest high concept… Read More Blu-ray Review: Tenet

By John Corrado Collateral, director Michael Mann’s slickly made and very entertaining 2004 thriller starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, is receiving a 4K upgrade this week, with a new 4K Ultra HD edition from Paramount. The film follows Max (Foxx), a Los Angeles cab driver whose night takes a dark turn when Vincent (a… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Collateral

By John Corrado Robert Altman’s live action musical version of Popeye, which features Robin Williams in the title role and a selection of songs by Harry Nillson, is a film that has gone through a number of critical reevaluations over the years since it was first released in 1980. But I’m not sure if a… Read More Blu-ray Review: Popeye: 40th Anniversary Edition

By John Corrado Nestled in between his roles in the classic comedies Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America, Eddie Murphy starred in The Golden Child, a 1986 film that isn’t as fondly remembered as his others from the era. The film is being released for the first time on Blu-ray today as part of… Read More Blu-ray Review: The Golden Child

By John Corrado Eddie Murphy starred in a number of classic comedies in the 1980s, and one of the best remains Trading Places, a clever social satire that still holds up quite well. The film is being re-released on Blu-ray today, as part of the Paramount Presents collection. When the rich Duke brothers (Ralph Bellamy… Read More Blu-ray Review: Trading Places

By John Corrado The 1984 Eddie Murphy vehicle Beverly Hills Cop remains a bona fide classic of the action comedy genre, and Paramount is releasing the film for the first time in 4K Ultra HD today. Murphy, in the role that cemented him as a major movie star, plays street-wise Detroit cop Axel Foley, who… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Beverly Hills Cop

By John Corrado With a sequel forthcoming, Paramount is releasing the 1988 Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall comedy Coming to America for the first time on 4K Ultra HD today. There are two editions of the film available, including a regular edition and a collectible Steelbook, which is the cooler of the two. Directed by… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Coming to America (Steelbook)

By John Corrado Earlier this year, Paramount released the 1986 classic Top Gun on 4K Ultra HD, and now the studio is reissuing the 4K edition with collectible Steelbook packaging. Directed by the late Tony Scott, the film of course stars Tom Cruise as cocky fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and it remains an iconic… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Top Gun (Steelbook)

By John Corrado The video game adaptation Sonic the Hedgehog feels like one of those movies that keeps popping back up. To recap, it was initially supposed to be released in theatres last November, before public outcry over the look of Sonic in the trailer led the studio to delay it by several months to… Read More Blu-ray Review: Sonic the Hedgehog: Limited Collector’s Edition

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Spontaneous, the new teen romance about high school kids who start spontaneously exploding, is one of those films that takes a wild and totally original premise and just, well, runs with it. Based on the novel by Aaron Starmer, the film, which is arriving on DVD this week,… Read More DVD Review: Spontaneous

By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) SpongeBob SquarePants, the beloved cartoon character who made his TV debut in 1999, gets a live action reimagining in The SpongeBob Musical, a boisterous stage show that premiered on Broadway in 2017 and received a dozen Tony nominations. Now a filmed version of the show, which was broadcast… Read More DVD Review: The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage!