Ready or Not Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Adam Brody, Mark O'Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano
• Directors: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
• Disc Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A/1 
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: 
   R 
   Restricted
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Release Date: December 3, 2019

         In recent years there has been an increase in the number of films taking place in the mansions of extremely wealthy families, and they are often the villains of the narrative. It wasn’t long ago that the wealthy family of You’re Next suffered a home invasion plot, and we recently saw these same themes with the successful murder-mystery Knives Out. And earlier this year was the horror-comedy, Ready or Not. While Knives Out takes the social commentary a step further by making the outsider protagonist an immigrant and lower class employee of the family, Ready or Not features a beautiful blonde bride who has just married into the family. If it weren’t for a supernatural deal with the devil, one can imagine that Ready or Not’s protagonist might have been welcomed into the villainous circle of wealth, which comes with the implication that it was built upon blood of those outside the family.

Hustlers 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart
• Directors: Lorene Scafaria
• Writers: Lorene Scafaria
• Producers: Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Elbaum, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Will Ferrell
• Format: 4K, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: 
   R 
   Restricted
• Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: December 10, 2019
• Run Time: 110 minutes

         It is a positive thing to see a Hollywood film with an Asian lead, especially when it doesn’t have “Asian” in the title, and somehow even more so when it is in a role of sex appeal. It is also extremely positive that a film can be made to take place predominately in a strip club, but somehow manage to avoid objectification of its stripper characters. It is also extremely relevant to tell this story of hustling during a time when much of the population feels disenfranchised, and likely to enjoy the vicarious thrills of the narrative. And somehow even with all of those positives, Hustlers still felt like a movie about a group of women who decided that they were entitled to money from men simply for their unfortunate possession of a penis.