Displaying items by tag: Up from the Depths

All right, we’ve been busy here at The Bits these last couple days. Just a quick note first: Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’m not working. I turn 49, if you can believe it, which I can’t. But that’s how these things go. In any case, to make up for it, we’ve got a bunch of good stuff for you all to enjoy today. So let’s get to it...

First, I’ve just spent the last six months putting Samsung’s launch 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the UBD-K8500, through its paces and I have my full review for you to check out today. Suffice it to say that there’s never been a debut player for any format (that I know of) that offers so much quality and performance for such a low price. If you’re thinking about upgrading to 4K Ultra HD and you’re looking for the best value for your dollar, this is the player for you. [Read on here…]

Welcome to a new edition of Pick-Ups!

Welcome to October! I’ve been gone on vacation for the past couple of weeks, but it’s good to be back. I have a lot of reviews to get in this month, including both new and older titles that we haven’t covered here previously, so be prepared for that. I also have a new bi-weekly feature at the beginning of next month, and if you’re a Scream Factory fan, you will definitely appreciate it.

And since it’s the Halloween season, I’ll be attending several theatrical events this month. This weekend we checked out Tim Burton’s latest, which is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and anybody who follows me on Facebook knows how I felt about it... not good. Anyways, Rifftrax is doing a live riffing of Carnival of Souls later this month as well, which I’m a little torn over, but I never miss one of their shows. Also, on October 5 (Wednesday), Fathom Events is presenting Young Frankenstein in theaters for a one night event, which includes a live introduction from Mel Brooks himself. I’m also attending a marathon of all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies on October 29 at my local Alamo Drafthouse. Needless to say, Halloween certainly keeps me busy every year.

And if you’re staying in for much of Halloween this year, then there’s plenty on TV to check out. As a matter of fact, you might want to clear your DVRs as there is a ton of Halloween programming, especially on Turner Classic Movies. They’re showing quite a range of monster movies, slashers, and everything in between. You can read all about it here.

Anyways, let’s move on to some reviews. [Read on here…]

Let’s run down some of the latest Blu-ray and DVD announcements this week...

The big news is that Scream Factory has announced a cool set of FIVE “limited-run” Blu-ray titles (1,000 copies each) that will only be available from the Shout! Factory website (click on the following title links to pre-order). They include a double feature of Deathstalker (1983)/Deathstalker II (1987) and Up from the Depths (1979) due on 8/30, and Message from Space (1978), Timewalker (1982), and The Velvet Vampire (1971) on 9/27. They’re being released as a bit of an experiment by Scream/Shout, partly because new HD masters were available, but also because they want to see if there’s interest/demand for such obscure, deep catalog material. If it turns out there is, they’ll probably make these kind of limited releases a more regular thing.  [Read on here…]