New On Blu-Ray: 'Speed' 4K, 'Raya And The Last Dragon', 'Last Action Hero' 4K, 'Big Fish' 4K, 'Minari', And 'The Father'

It's time again to dive into the wonderful world of Blu-rays. This latest round-up is overloaded with titles, many of which have arrived on 4K for the first time. Check out some worthy new Blu-ray releases below!

Speed isn't really that old – it came out 27 years ago, which I guess does sound like a long time ago – but I'm tempted to say, "They don't make 'em like this anymore." This is a perfect action movie and a perfect distillation of the concept of popcorn entertainment. It's fast, funny, and thrilling. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, not in some metaphorical sense, but literally – there are action sequences here that you can't help but lean towards the screen during, even if you've seen this thing a dozen times already.

You know the story, right? Keanu Reeves is a hotshot bomb squad cop who learns that a terrorist (Dennis Hopper, having a grand old time) has planted a bomb on a bus. If the bus goes above 50 miles per hour, the bomb is armed. If the speed drops below 50, the bus explodes. Of course, the bomb is armed right before Reeves can get on the bus, and now he has to deal with a perpetual motion machine on wheels. An accident leads the normal bus driver to be taken out of the equation, at which point a passenger – played by Sandra Bullock in her star-making role – takes the wheel. Will Reeves and Bullock fall for each other? You better fucking believe it. Will the bus keep speeding through Los Angeles, smashing into stuff along the way? Oh yes. Will you love every minute of it? How could you not?

I don't want to make myself sound like an old fart, but I don't think a movie like Speed could be made today. It's a solo adventure, an original idea, not based on a comic book, or a TV show. And while they made an ill-advised sequel to this, there was no attempt at world-building or franchise-making here. It's just one story told extremely well, with practical effects that feel real, even when we know they're not.

Own or Rent?

You're going to want to own Speed on 4K, folks. This new 4K release makes the film look like it just came out yesterday. There's no reason to not scoop up one of the masterpieces of '90s action cinema right now.

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At the heart of Raya and the Last Dragon is an admirable, but naive message: we should learn to trust one another at all costs, no matter what. I wish this were true, but it's not – not in our world. But hey, Raya and the Last Dragon isn't set in our world, so maybe we can let this one slide. This fantasy epic is set in the land of Kumandra, where dragons once existed many years ago. There are no dragons around anymore, but there are a whole bunch of tribes who don't trust each other.

Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) is the daughter of Chief Benja of the Heart Tribe, and after catastrophe hits, she ends up on an adventure to find Sisu, the titular last dragon, voiced by Awkwafina. From here, Raya is constantly moving, with Raya and Sisu traveling from one location to the next and assembling a rag-tag team in the process. Story-wise, this feels weirdly lacking. And yet, Raya gets by with its charming characters and its absolutely gorgeous animation (there are landscape shots here that look 100% like real places).

Own or Rent?Raya and the Last Dragon is coming to Disney+ in June, and I'm talking about normal Disney+, none of this Premier Access crap. So if you haven't seen this one yet and are only vaguely curious, maybe wait for it to stream. But I think Raya is worth owning.

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When Last Action Hero arrived in 1993, there was an assumption within the halls of Sony Pictures that any movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger was a sure thing. To be fair, that was a somewhat safe assumption – Schwarzenegger was on top of the world at the time, coming off a string of hits. But the belief that Arnold and Arnold alone could save the picture was a mistake, and rather than address script problems, Last Action Hero soldiered on, ballooning its budget and opening with a whimper rather than a bang. The film was a flop, and critics weren't much kinder.

Now, some 28 years later, Last Action Hero has arrived on 4K, and you know what? Time has been kind to the movie. Don't get me wrong – the film has some big problems. But Last Action Hero is also a lot better than its reputation suggests. The story – about a kid who gets sucked into the world of his favorite action movie star via a magic ticket from Houdini himself – is nonsense, but that's okay. The real draw here is the way Last Action Hero parodies action movie genre tropes. While he's not comfortable with the comedic elements, director  John McTiernan obviously knows how to shoot action, and the action here looks great. And the glue holding it all together is Schwarzenegger, who is really trying hard here. The fact that Schwarzenegger was so willing to examine, dissect, and even mock his career and celebrity while he was in his movie star prime is notable and even admirable. And while Austin O'Brien is insufferable as the kid who gets sucked into the movie world, other cast members are solid, especially like Charles Dance, who is clearly having a lot of fun (or at least pretending to) as the film's baddie.

Own or Rent?Last Action Hero has never looked better than it looks on this 4K disc. The original camera negative was used, and the first few moments of the film – which drop us right into the action movie world – look downright stunning. If you've avoided this film based on its reputation, or haven't seen it since it arrived, I suggest buying this and giving it another shot. You might be pleasantly surprised.

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One of Tim Burton's last good movies (his last great movie is Ed Wood), Big Fish is a colorful, dreamy, melancholy meditation on life, death, and telling stories. Billy Crudup is a man who has grown to resent his tall tale-telling father, played by Albert Finney. But now that Finney's character is nearing his death, Crudup wants to cut through the bullshit and learn the truth about his father. Yet sometimes, a story is better than the truth.

While I've always felt that Ewan McGregor is slightly miscast here, playing Finney as a younger man, Big Fish still holds up, although some of it – like the sequence in which McGregor's character courts the girl of his dreams (Alison Lohman) in a manner that could easily be classified as "stalking" – has aged a touch poorly. Ultimately, though, Big Fish serves as a nice reminder of the age when Burton hadn't become a full-blown parody of himself.

Own or Rent?

Another 4K release on this list, and another title that's definitely worth owning – provided you're already on board with the film. I hadn't seen it in years, and was worried that revisiting it would make me realize the film was never good to begin with. But that didn't happen – while I noticed more flaws this time than I did when I was a younger viewer, Big Fish still holds power, and is a worthy addition to your library.

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One of the best movies of last year, Lee Isaac Chung's deeply personal Minari follows a Korean family that moves from California to Arkansas. The patriarch, Jacob, played by Steven Yeun, dreams of making it big as a farmer. But his wife, Monica (Han Ye-ri), is uncomfortable with their new life, and their new residence – a mobile home. This is seen primarily through the eyes of their young son David, played by Alan Kim. Their daughter, Anne, played by Noel Kate Cho, is present too.

When the family needs help watching the children, Monica's mother (Youn Yuh-jung) comes to live with the family, something doesn't react very well too – at first. Chung's film unfolds in its own time – this is not a film in a hurry. That deliberate pace keeps us invested in the family and their troubles, and we come to feel like we genuinely know them, which makes their frequent problems all the more emotionally affecting. The end result is a truly beautiful, gentle film. Lee Isaac Chung claimed he was ready to quit filmmaking after Minari, and he wasn't expecting it to find the audience it did. Here's hoping that Chung keeps on working now, because we need more films from him.

Own or Rent?

Buy this and cherish it. You won't regret it. You could wait for it to show up on a streaming service – probably Amazon, where most A24 movies go. But I truly think this is the type of film worth owning.

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I'm embarrassed to admit I ignored The Father last year. I assumed it was going to be generic Oscar bait, and I didn't bother to look much further into the matter. Of course, The Father did go on to have a good awards season, and also surprised everyone when lead Anthony Hopkins took home Best Actor at the Oscars when everyone (even the ceremony's producers) thought the prize would go to the late Chadwick Boseman.

But here's the thing: The Father is something of a masterpiece. It is a devastating, unique film, and Hopkins gives one of the best performances of his storied career. Hopkins's character is suffering from dementia, and writer-director Florian Zeller makes the fascinating choice to tell this entire story via Hopkins's point of view. As a result of this, things are constantly changing. One minute, Hopkins's daughter Anne will be played by Olivia Colman. But in the very next scene, Anne will be played by Olivia Williams. It confuses the audience just as it confuses the main character, and it effectively puts us in his fractured mindset. It also makes The Father feel like a thriller at times, because we're constantly on edge, waiting to see what confusing change is about to occur next and throw our sense of balance off.

As you might guess, such material is bound to be emotionally taxing, and there are moments here that are so wrought and painful that they may be too damn much for some viewers. But if you can push through the sadness you will find a gem.

Own or Rent?

This is a little tough. While I maintain that this is a fantastic movie, I also understand that it's a bit of a bleak movie as well, and not everyone is going to want to own something like that. So perhaps you should rent The Father first to try it out. But trust me – this is a film worth seeing.

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