The 2020 Blu-ray and 4K discs that entertained me [Review]

As 2020 comes to a close, I hear more calls to have Year End coverage in December and January instead of spread across 2021. Trust me when I say I have absolutely no plans for that to happen again. Between a worldwide pandemic, running around like a madman and trying to do something new, we were entertaining many delay throughout 2020. Now, I want to discuss the things I watched and listened to during the past year.

Starting off our coverage is a Winter timed DVD/CD combo from Judy Collins and Jonas F’Jeld. Live from the Oslo Opera House, this is the kind of soft music to play in the background while you tell your parents you’re not coming home to give them the COVID. They’ll blame everyone and call it a grand conspiracy.

All the while, you can have an elderly Judy Collins singing Both Sides Now in the background to put a capper on this bizarre ass retread of The Wonder Years. The DVD/CD combo is bare bones, but the presentation quality beats deep diving on YouTube.

Suckers arrived from Synapse as a cult fan favorite. While I’m all for the cinema of Lori Loughlin and its 2020 resurgence, this isn’t that great of a movie. If I had to pick one Loughlin movie to watch this year, I’d watch the Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD disc for Rad twice. However, I appreciate what Synapse did here with the two film double offering from Roger Nygard.

I’m old enough to have worked in a theater during Trekkies’ theatrical run. But, I never remember seeing Suckers or Six Days in Roswell until the home video/Internet era. The brand new 4K restorations on each movie are incredible. But, there’s nothing in the commentary or deleted scenes to win me over to this film. Even in 2020, sometimes it just shakes out that way.

The Deer Hunter made its 4K UHD debut from Shout Factory in the summer. Honestly, it has to be one of my most played discs this year. While I had planned on doing a full review for this disc, it kept getting stopped by revisits and shuffling around the content calendar. Then, we gained the ability to actually capture 1:1 shots in true 4K.

So, let’s talk about how awesome the disc is with its new interviews, commentary, deleted and extended scenes. Plus, you get some Blu-ray specific features with the interviews, trailer and still gallery. If you guys want, we’ll do a full movie breakdown in 2021.

Cecilia is the Blue Underground release that slipped past me during the initial 4K UHD onslaught of late 2020. I love those 70s/early 80s Euro sex romps from Jess Franco. But, 2020 has seen everyone from Severin to Blue Underground unleashing Franco titles that I’ve rarely had the chance to see.

Blue Underground goes a step further than the competition by providing the original Spanish cut of the film alongside the cut that we all know and love. Plus, you get all of the special features you come to expect with these kinds of BU Blu-ray presentations. I’d recommend a purchase to cult cinema fans.

The Other Lamb is part of the IFC 2020 onslaught of movies that I simply adored this year. We’re going to have a far more in-depth look at how killer of a year IFC had the deeper we get into the End of Year coverage. But for now, let’s talk about why you should buy the Blu-ray.

Basically, it’s the best A/V Quality presentation I’ve seen on a barebones disc all year. While watching a film about a cult using young women to empower themselves isn’t for everyone, it requires your attention. I’d go into more, but we have the biggest love letter to IFC’s 2020 coming up in 2 weeks.

Split Second is a movie I saw in theaters when I was 10 or 11. Naturally, this became the only thing I talked about to my school friends for weeks. Giant monsters, big guns and Rutger Hauer was the definition of cool for Sci-Fi action obsessed dorks of a certain era.

MVD added Split Second to the Rewind Collection in 2020 with a ton of special features. You get the main film with a 4K restoration taken from the 35MM internegative. If that wasn’t enough, you get a commentary and new interviews. Plus, you get deleted scenes from the Japanese cut in SD.

While I would have loved to seen some more HD feature, I’ll take what I can get. It’s fun seeing off-kilter films you loved as a kid being rediscovered in a new era.

The movies I carried over from Christmas 2019 into constant 2020 rotation

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is my favorite film of 2019. As part of the ongoing coverage of how awesome everything was in 2019, we’re just now getting the Top 5…in December…2020. While that might suck, what doesn’t suck is the amazing Blu-ray released by SONY roughly a year ago.

You get featurettes about how much Tarantino loves 1969, the production, the cars, the restoration and everything in between. That stellar Collector’s Edition with the Vinyl is long gone. However, I’d recommend picking up the 4K disc to see Bob Richardson’s stunning cinematography in true Ultra High Definition. It’s worth the effort and extra money.

Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season is the one TV series that I had to keep revisiting. The show ended poorly, but I spent 2020 trying to figure out what went wrong. Having never been a fan of the books, it was harder to get that upset by it. It’s just that nothing really set right with any of those last decisions.

The Blu-ray comes with an In-Episode interactive guide that is exclusive to the Blu-ray. That helps a lot to make sure I understand the lore of the show. Plus, you get featurettes, deleted scenes and commentaries to fill in the rest. I love how annoyed they all still seem to be by that Starbucks cup. It’s petty, but quite funny.

That’s all for this 2020 recap. We’ve got more coming throughout December.