Squid Ink

Welcome back to the latest episode of Slipped Discs, where I give you a head’s up on what nerdy stuff is available to come home with you, because I still believe in physical media!

Once more, all this information comes from Blu-Ray.com, but they list everything that will be in the stores, whereas I shall provide you with what I feel is the interesting genre fare.

So, as Justin Timberlake warned us…

So how are you all holding up, my Physical Medians? Here at the house of the Squid, my hair is getting longer, my anxiety is getting stronger, and my collection of physical media is getting larger! However, I have put my lock-down time to good use! It took me a few days and probably around 10 hours, but I have completed a database of my DVD/Blu-Ray/4K!

Mostly.

Having completed the inventory, I can see where there are some things that I know are missing, so they must be in my storage unit. Be that as it, um, may (pun?), what matters is I now have everything that’s on my shelves in a handy list. Check it out here, if you would like.

It’s already in need of an update, as I picked up the first season of The Wild Wild West, the original TV series, and received my copy of Joe Stryker! Review to come soon! But let’s see what we can add to our collections this week?

Gretel & Hansel (2020) “A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.” One of the last movies that I caught in the theater this year, I enjoyed this take on the classic story. It had some cool visuals, which is good because you can tell they were counting on them and mood to carry the movie. It very much wants to be a Guillermo del Toro style dark fairy tale, and while it doesn’t quite get there, it’s worth a look.

47 Ronin (2013) “In this fictional version of 18th-century Japan’s most enduring tale, an outcast named Kai joins a group of samurai, led by Oishi Kuranosuke. Together they exact vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who shamed their late master, pushing him to suicide.” I heard that this was visually stunning, with some great action; and considering it’s a lot of the people Keanu went on to work with for John Wick, that’s not surprising. I still haven’t managed to watch it yet, but it has been on my list. Pick it up in Blu-Ray or 4K.

The Mask of Zorro (1998) “It has been 20 years since Don Diego de la Vega successfully fought Spanish oppression in Alta California as the legendary romantic hero, Zorro. Imprisoned for two decades, he now must find a successor to stop Don Rafael Montero–the powerful, former Spanish governor of Alta California who cost de la Vega his freedom, his wife, Esperanza, and his daughter, Elena–who is making plans to purchase California from Mexico’s president, General Santa Anna. Alejandro Murieta, a bandit with a troubled past, is transformed by Don Diego into a new Zorro who he hopes will help him foil Montero’s schemes once and for all. Tracing the heroic story of these highly-charged relationships, the tale follows the new Zorro as he assumes de la Vega’s mantle and enters into a romantic relationship with a woman close to his predecessor’s heart…” This movie is damn near perfect. Antonio Banderas is magnetic, Anthony Hopkins is a genius, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is electric. Great dialogue, fantastic action, excellent direction, this movie buckles my swash, is one of my absolute favorites, and it’s my must-get of the week! Available in Blu and 4K.

The Incredible Hulk (2008) “Scientist Bruce Banner desperately seeks a cure for the gamma radiation that contaminated his cells and turned him into The Hulk. Cut off from his true love Betty Ross and forced to hide from his nemesis, Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, Banner soon comes face-to-face with a new threat: a supremely powerful enemy known as The Abomination.” It amazes me that people still debate if this movie is part of the MCU or not. You would think William Hurt staying on as Thunderbolt Ross would clear that up, but there you go. I know that it doesn’t get a lot of MCU talk, but I think that’s mainly because when it comes to movies, like Spider-Man and Sony, Universal has the Hulk by the purple short pants. Plus, there was the whole swapping of Norton for Ruffalo, but I think that was a trade up. And I’m still waiting for Tim Blake Nelson to return as The Leader! Someone get Peter David to write that script ASAP, please. Anyway, this second film of Phase One is still more good than bad, and worth a revisit if you haven’t seen it in a while. Universal is releasing this 4K/Blu-Ray Steelbook edition, and while it’s not like the other MCU Best Buy exclusive ones, I’m still going to get it for my collection.

Bloodshot (2020) “After he and his wife are murdered, marine Ray Garrison is resurrected by a team of scientists. Enhanced with nanotechnology, he becomes a superhuman, biotech killing machine – Bloodshot. As Ray first trains with fellow super-soldiers, he cannot recall anything from his former life. But when his memories flood back and he remembers the man that killed both him and his wife, he breaks out of the facility to get revenge, only to discover that there’s more to the conspiracy than he thought.” The last movie I saw in the theater before our current global pandemic, please check out my review to see what I thought of Vin’s latest not-car-related adventure.

The Jesus Rolls (2020) “A spin-off of The Big Lebowski (1998) centered on the notable bowler, Jesus Quintana.” Wait, it’s not if Jesus was a baker and not a carpenter? I kid, I kid. Anyway, The Big Lebowski is a fantastic comedy, straight from the minds of the Cohen brothers . . . who had nothing at all to do with the writing, directing, or anything else of this movie. So, it’s one I’m not sure that I want to see, even as much as I love Turturro.

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) “A dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war.” Based on the description, and the poster, I am very interested in this movie. It’s on Shudder, which I subscribe to (and if you’re a horror fan, I highly recommend you do so as well), so I plan on checking this out to see if I want to get it on disc or not.

The Expedition (2008) “A Documentary crew entered an asylum to shoot a documentary on the place on Halloween night 2004. Several mysterious things occurred throughout the night leading up to a missing crew member the following morning.” Another found footage flick where ghost hunters become the hunted. I’d find those shows much more enjoyable if anything like this actually happened, instead of usually just being three or four bozos yelling in the dark on low-light cameras.

Other titles of note: Humans: The Complete Series (2015-2018), Exorcism at 60,000 Feet (2019), Red vs. Blue: Singularity (2019), Insecticidal (2005), Becoming (2019)

So we have quite a few interesting selections this week! And nothing from Shout Factory or Arrow Video! I told you they weren’t paying me! Let me know which of these are a must-buy for you, a pass, or which ones I missed!