This Week on Blu-ray: December 6-12

For the week of December 6th, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release Clint Eastwood's Cry Macho, starring Clint Eastwood, Eduardo Minett, Natalia Traven, Dwight Yoakam, and Fernanda Urrejola. Only the second acting role for Eastwood since 2012, the script for Cry Macho was written in the 1970s and bounced around Hollywood for decades. In 1988, Eastwood was shown the script with an eye to starring in it, but passed in favor of the Dirty Harry sequel The Dead Pool. After several more unsuccessful attempts to get the film made, it finally came back to Eastwood, who now at the age of 90, agreed to direct, produce and act in the film. Unfortunately, the film was not a success at the box office, grossing approximately $13.6 million globally against a $33 million budget, but hopefully, the film's fortunes will improve on home video. Warner's 4K UHD disc contains HDR, while the included Blu-ray contains two featurettes: Back In The Saddle: The Making Of Cry Macho and Macho and The Mustangs.

Also new from Warner this week is a Blu-ray for Rick and Morty: Season 5. The single-disc Blu-ray contains all 10 episodes and a number of extras, including the exclusive featurette "Fighting Gravity": The Making of Season 5 and several featurettes about the writing, directing and animating of the episodes. A SteelBook edition will also be available.

Finally from Warner this week is a major addition to its Warner Archive Collection: Michael Curtiz's Angels with Dirty Faces, starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, George Bancroft and Joe Downing. The classic gangster film has now been scanned in 4K from its original camera negative and the results are hugely impressive. Reviewer Randy Miller gave the disc's picture quality a perfect 5/5 score and says that "[it] reveals a stunning amount of fine detail, retains its natural film grain, and appears to be very clean thanks to a careful round of manual cleanup. From deep blacks and bright whites to a full range of silvery grays...it's yet another best-case scenario for die-hard fans and purists alike, and will clearly stand as the film's best outing on home video for years to come". Substantial extras are also ported over from the DVD, including the Looney Tunes short Porky and Daffy, which is part of the disc's Warner Night at the Movies 1938 extras package and has been remastered and presented in full 1080p with lossless audio. For a full breakdown of the disc and to see screenshots of the Blu-ray, read Randy's full review here.

New this week from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is a Blu-ray for Joe Carnahan's Copshop, starring Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, Tait Fletcher, Robert Walker Branchaud, and Toby Huss. Official description: Screaming through the Nevada desert in a bullet-ridden Crown Vic, wily con artist Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) hatches a desperate plan to hide out from lethal hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler): He sucker-punches rookie officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) to get himself arrested and locked up in a small-town police station. But jail can't protect Murretto for long. Viddick schemes his own way into detention, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can complete his mission. When the arrival of a competing assassin (Toby Huss) ignites all-out mayhem, mounting threats force Viddick to get creative if he wants to finish the job and escape the explosive situation.

Also from Universal this week is a Blu-ray for Stephen Chbosky's Dear Evan Hansen, starring Ben Platt, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Danny Pino, and Julianne Moore. Reviewer Martin Liebman is impressed with the disc, saying in part that: "The picture reveals environments, from high dollar homes to school hallways, from various natural exteriors to bedrooms, with practically impeccable definition and detail. Likewise, faces are tack-sharp and wonderfully revealing throughout, capturing skin details, makeup, hairs, and other characteristics with faultless definition". Of the film's audio, Liebman continues: "[the[ Dolby Atmos soundtrack carries the film's musical numbers with delightful detail. The instrumentals are exceptionally clear and very widely engaging, offering both front side stretch as well as engaged and balanced surround activity". A lengthy featurette on the film's songs, as well as three other featurettes round out the disc. For a more information, read Martin's full review here.

New from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and 20th Century Studios is a Blu-ray and 4K UHD for Jean-Philippe Vine's Ron's Gone Wrong, featuring the voices of Zach Galifianakis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Olivia Colman, Ed Helms, and Justice Smith. The first animated film for the studio formally known as 20th Century Fox since their acquisition by Disney, Ron's Gone Wrong was released in Ocotober 2021 after bouncing around the release calendar a bit. So far, it has made over $22 million domestically and over $59 million worldwide. Disney's 4K UHD disc includes HDR picture and Dolby Atmos sound, while the included Blu-ray contains the featurettes A Boy and His B*Bot: When Jack Met Zach and Making Ron Right.

Also from Disney this week is a hotly anticipated 4K UHD upgrade for Robert Zemeckis' Who Framed Roger Rabbit, starring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, and Kathleen Turner. The classic live-action / animation hybrid has been remastered and presented with HDR picture and a new Dolby Atmos audio track. Additionally, a Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook edition will also be available. Reviewer Martin Liebman is pleased with the disc's picture, saying in part that: "The image is a solid one, capturing the contrasting essence of real and animated flavors with satisfying balance and visual acumen at both ends. The picture is handsomely filmic, holding to a pleasing grain structure that bears the fruit of a classy filmic image. Grain is consistent in density and presentation elegance throughout...The HDR grading handles the blend of abundant cartoon color and classic noir stylings with excellent balance...this is a solid UHD, a good upgrade from the Blu-ray (particularly in terms of how the HDR grading enhances the film's mood) and a presentation fans are sure to enjoy". Read Martin's full review here.

Turning to catalog titles, Shout Factory has a new release just in time for the holiday season, a 4K UHD upgrade for Michael Dougherty's Krampus: The Naughty Cut (2015), starring Emjay Anthony, Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Stefania LaVie Owen, and Krista Stadler. Featuring additional scenes and adult language previously cut to get a PG-13 rating, Krampus: The Naughty Cut was supervised by Michael Dougherty. Shout Factory's release contains the new cut on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs, with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K UHD disc and a new Dolby Atmos audio track. The Blu-ray includes the previously released extras, as well as nine new interviews with cast and crew members.

Another 4K UHD upgrade this week comes from Kino Lorber, who will bring to the format John Woo's Hard Target, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, Wilford Brimley, and Kasi Lemmons. Presented from a new 4K scan of the unrated version, from the original camera negative, Kino's UHD contains Dolby Vision HDR and several new extras on the included Blu-ray, including new interviews with John Woo and stars Lance Henriksen and Yancy Butler, as well as a new audio commentary by action film historians Brandon Bentley and Mike Leeder.

But perhaps the biggest 4K UHD release of the week comes from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, with The Karate Kid Collection (1984-1989) featuring The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III. All three films feature 4K scans from their original camera negatives, Dolby Vision HDR and audio options in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and original stereo audio. The Karate Kid, which was previously released individually on 4K UHD in 2019 for its 35th anniversary, will now include deleted scenes. The Karate Kid Part II will include previously released extras and both a new deleted scene and a new audio commentary with Ralph Macchio and Tamlyn Tomita. The Karate Kid Part III features a theatrical trailer. Blu-ray copies of each film are also included.