Doctor X (1932/Blu-ray*)/Last Action Hero 4K (1993/Steelbook/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Manifest: The Complete Second Season (2019/DVD/*both Warner Archive)/Primal: The Complete First Season (2021**)/Scavenger (2019/Cleopatra/MVD Blu-ray w/CD)/Supernatural: Complete Fifteenth/Final Season (2021/**both Warner Blu-rays)

4K Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B+/B+/B-/B+/B+/B+ Sound: B+/A-/B-/B+/B+/B+ Extras: B/B/D/C+/C/C+ Main Programs: B/B+/C/B/C+/C+

PLEASE NOTE: The Doctor X Blu-ray and Manifest are now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive series and can be ordered from the links below.

Now for a wide variety of genre releases from the past to now....

Out of distribution for over 30 years and meticulously pieced back together is this startling new restoration is Doctor X (1932), which was filmed in the rare Technicolor two-strip format before the company discovered the full-range three-strip format that put them on the map and revolutionized color forever.

The film centers around the 'Moon Killer' and a Mad Scientist that goes by many names that may or may not be responsible. A detective is own the Doctor's case and soon bites off a bit more than he can chew. The film stars Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray (who would later star in King Kong the following year), Lee Tracy, Preston Foster, John Wray, and Harry Beresford. It is directed by the late Micheal Curtiz (Casablanca).

Doctor X is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with a new 4K restoration from the last known surviving nitrate Technicolor print. The film has an MPEG-4 AVC codec with an original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.37 X 1 and audio mixes in English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono and Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). The restoration is pretty strong here and the predominately green colors pop out quite nicely. It is pretty cool to see a film that is this old looking colorized, but I definitely think it adds to the film. I personally haven't seen the film on lesser formats, but it certainly looks fantastic here in this Warner Archive edition. Occasionally, there are missing frames and that can be a little jarring, but we must be happy with what we can get in this case.

Special Features include:

Alternate B&W version of feature

DOCTOR X (in HD): UCLA Before & After Restoration featurette in HD

New documentary: 'Monsters and Mayhem: The Horror Films of Michael Curtiz' in HD

New feature commentary by author/film historian Alan K. Rode

and Archival feature commentary by Scott MacQueen, head of preservation, UCLA Film and Television Archive

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in Last Action Hero (1993), which a fun spin on the star's own over the top action movie career. While it's pretty dated, the film is still a lot of fun even if it's not one of Arnold's greatest movies. As we all know, Arnold's '90s era career didn't have as many hits as his 80s era career, and this was after the hype of Terminator 2. This 4K UHD re-release is most certainly welcome as the film definitely needed an upgrade, and it's plain to see that it's never looked better than it does here.

The film stars Austin O'Brien, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance, and Frank McRae.

Danny (O'Brien) spends his 11-year-old boy days finding solace in a movie theater watching his favorite action movies starring Jack Slater (Schwarzenegger) on the silver screen. One day his elderly friend, whose also the theater's projectionist, gives him a magical ticket that sucks him into his favorite movie. Although the fictional action movie world is a lot more dangerous and intense than Danny expected firsthand and he soon becomes a partner to his favorite hero and helps him solve a dangerous case close to him thanks to his knowledge of the world and characters. But can Danny escape from this world or will he die within the movie world?

Last Action Hero is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with a HEVC / H.265 codec, a native 4K resolution scan and HDR (HDR10) with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39 X 1 and several audio tracks including a new lossless Dolby Atmos 12-track upgrade, plus the original theatrical Sony Dynamic Digital Sound mix presented as 5.1 and the original theatrical stereo audio mix. This is the film Sony debuted the SDDS 8-track sound system with to compete with DTS and Dolby when digital sound arrived in theaters, but the film bombed and it tool a while to catch on, but it was very competitive and led to some amazing theatrical film sound design. Now upgraded to 12-tracks, its is the first time most people will hear those original tracks.

This is a new scan that's been fully restored from the original camera negative. Also included is a 1080p Blu-ray disc struck from the same new scan with the same audio specs, but a less impressive image.

Special Features include:

Audio Commentary with Director John McTiernan

Deleted & Alternate Scenes (presented in 4K with HDR10)

Alternate Ending (presented in 4K with HDR10)

"Big Gun" Music Video by AC/DC

Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

Theatrical Teaser

and this Limited Edition Steelbook Packaging

It's almost startling out much better this film looks now that it's been restored in 4K. I would definitely suggest it to fans of the film as a worthy upgrade!

A commercial airliner reappears after being missing and the passengers onboard presumed dead for five years in the NBC drama Manifest (2018- present). The second season has arrived on DVD courtesy of Warner Archive in this limited edition 3-disc DVD edition.

Created by Jeff Rake (The Tomorrow People), the show explores the various characters who were on this thought to be missing airline and the stories of how they are coping with being back in society. Of course, there are a lot of questions that arise when this plane comes back to the present and the various characters have flashbacks and stress dealing with this traumatic event. The premise is interesting, but it can't quite shake the television drama feel, and might have been better suited with a more fantasy element. (The Guillermo Del Toro series The Strain had a similar plane missing concept only that involved ravenous vampires.)

Manifest stars Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, Luna Blaise, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Parveen Kaur, Jack Messina, Matt Long, and many others. Robert Zemeckis is one of the executive producers.

13 episodes span three DVD discs and include Fasten Your Seatbelts, Grounded, False Horizon, Black Box, Coordinated Flight, Return Trip, Emergency Exit, Carry On, Airplane Bottles, Course Deviation, Unaccompanied Minors, Call Sign, and Icing Conditions.

Manifest: The Complete Second Season is presented here on standard definition, anamorphically enhanced DVD with a 1.78 X 1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, both of which are of the norm for DVD. There are compression issues, but with the upscaling on a 4K setup, it's not too bad. To see the show on disc commercial and watermark free is a better bet than seeing it on network TV, however, that's for sure.

No extras.

Manifest isn't a bad concept, but it seems a little too dramatic and sappy at times. It might have been better suited to be a feature film rather than a long drawn out series.

Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory, Hotel Transylvania, Power Puff Girls and more, continues to try new and interesting things in the world of animation with his most recent effort as of this writing, Primal (2021), which originally premiered on Adult Swim and Cartoon Network. The epic Complete First Season of the show is now available on the Blu-ray format and tells the story of a growing bond in prehistoric times between a Caveman named Spear and a Dinosaur named Fang. Both are reunited under grisly and tragic circumstances, and end up sticking together to fight for survival against various prey, nature, weather, other cave people, vicious animals, dinosaurs, and more.

10 episodes make up the complete Emmy Award-winning first season and are all presented on one Blu-ray disc. Episodes include Spear and Fang, River of Snakes, A Cold Death, Terror Under the Blood Moon, Rage of the Ape-Men, Scent of Prey, Plague of Madness, Coven of the Damned, The Night Feeder, and Slave of the Scorpion.

The show features the voice talents of Aaron LaPlante, Tom Kenny, Jon Olson, Laetitia Eido, and Amanda Troop.

Beautifully drawn and imagined, Primal is exciting and at times heartbreaking. The series doesn't shy away from gore and has plenty of caveman vs the elements (and dinosaurs) in the prehistoric world that has never quite been done in this way. The image of Spear riding the dinosaur Fang like a cowboy on a horse and hunting for food is just too cool. This sort of reminds me of the classic prehistoric segment in Disney's original Fantasia (1940) film, only pushed more to the extreme.

Primal is presented in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39 X 1 and a lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. There is little to no dialogue in any of the episodes, which adds a lot more power to the sound design and music to help aide the visuals. Speaking of the music here, Tyler Bates did the score and he is known for his work on the 300 series and other Zack Snyder productions. His mix of tribal with more modern electronic tones is definitely unique and interesting to listen to on its own.

The animation is captured well here in the HD format, but could have a little more detail and wider color spectrum on 4K UHD. This presentation is very similar to the HD streaming version on HBO Max. The score by Tyler Bates (300, Watchmen) is cinematic and helps add a cinematic feel to the series.

Special Features: Behind the Scenes Interviews

Primal is definitely intended for a more mature audience as there are some pretty heavy moments and lots of blood and animated gore. But if you are a fan of unique animation and dinosaurs - you gotta check this out as its definitely an interesting and well made project.

If you're a fan of the Mad Max films and / or post apocalyptic genre flicks, you will want to check out the Argentina produced sci-fi film, Scavenger (2019) which is a rough and tough desert set flick that owes a lot to George Miller's franchise in terms of its look and overall design.

Scavenger centers around Tisha - whose an assassin and organ 'dealer' with a dark past (as is the norm for the genre), and who is ultimately out for revenge for a crime that ruined her life and her family. She gets mixed up with all sorts of shady characters, as the film is a sort of western at its core as well.

The film stars Nayla Churruarin, Eric Fleitas, Sofia Lanaro, and Rosa Cuenya Macedo.

Scavenger is presented in 1080p high definition with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85 X 1, and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix. Nayla Churruarin, Eric Fleitas, Sofia Lanaro, and Rosa Cuenya Macedo. For being a lower budgeted production, the cinematography is pretty good, even if it is highly influenced by the Mad Max series.

Special Features include the Trailer and a Slideshow.

It also comes with a 15 track CD soundtrack that features Rosetta Stone, The Meteors, The 69 Cats, Shiny Toy Guns, 616, and more.

While it owes more than a little to the Mad Max franchise, Scavenger fills the needs of the post apocalyptic sub genre with plenty of torture, blood, and a solid soundtrack that one would come to expect. That being said, it isn’t completely original either.

Finally, after fifteen long seasons, Supernatural: The Fifteenth and Final Season (2019 - 2020), is finally available on disc for fans of the teen sci-fi / horror show to complete their collection. Speaking of, if you are a die hard fan, Warner Bros has also released a massive 'complete collection' of the whole series in a staggering 58 disc box set on Blu-ray disc as well! That HAS to set some sort of record!

Nevertheless, the ending to the Supernatural saga is here and is fine for what it is. My opinion of the series hasn't really changed since reviewing past seasons, as I feel if it had less pretty faces and more monsters and dark arts material, it would be more interesting. Its target audience is mostly young adult so I get it.

The Supernatural series stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Mark Sheppard, and Katie Cassidy. The series follows the adventures of two brothers: Sam and Dean Winchester (Padalecki and Ackles) who hunt monsters in the modern world and over various creatures and scenarios that threaten the planet. While the show has some interesting moments, it can never quite escape the teeny bopper feel that constantly looms over it.

20 Episodes in this set include Back and to the Future, Raising Hell, The Rupture, Atomic Monsters, Proverbs 17:3, Golden Time, Last Call, Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven, The Trap, The Heroes' Journey, The Gamblers, Galaxy Brain, Destiny's Child, Last Holiday, Gimme Shelter, Drag Me Away (From You), Unity, Despair, Inherit the Earth, and Carry On.

Supernatural is presented in 1080p high definition and a MPEG-4 AVC codec with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78 X 1 and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix. The show is presented commercial and watermark free and up to the Blu-ray standard. The show is also shot nicely and presented here in a nice collectible set.

Special Features include:

16 feat

Supernatural 2019 Comic-Con Panel

Audio Commentaries

Deleted Scenes

and a Gag Reel

To order either of the Warner Archive releases, the Doctor X Blu-ray and/or Manifest DVD, go to this link for them and many more great web-exclusive releases at:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20

- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/