Evans Above

Kyle Marvin’s 80 for Brady is inspired by a true story of four friends who began watching football because of their shared love for quarterback Tom Brady. The friends, played by legends Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field, find a way to see Brady and the New England Patriots play in Super Bowl LI and end up on a journey that doesn’t go quite as planned. I’d watch these four legends play cards so spending 98 minutes with them in a light comedy about friendship and fandom is time I’m willing to invest. Paramount is releasing a Blu-ray of the movie and I had a chance to take a look.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It’s a good looking video presentation with plenty of detail from facial features to Patriots jerseys. The colours look great with good black levels and details in the shadows. The video may not be a superstar, but it is a veteran role player that knows how to get the job done.

On the audio side of things, the movie comes with an English Dolby Atmos that folds back to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, and Spanish. It’s somewhat surprising to see a midrange release like this with an Atmos track. Given that it’s an Atmos track, the mix is somewhat front heavy, so expect a light workout for your surrounds and subwoofer. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The 80 for Brady Blu-ray comes a digital code. There are four small featurettes that focus on the production, cast and New England Patriots as well as some deleted scenes.

80 for Brady is a lightweight comedy that serves as an excuse to hang out with four legends and a goat. The video and audio presentation does its job, but won’t blow you away. Unless your a person who needs to have every Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field or Patriots film, this is probably a film you’ll save for streaming.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has released Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray. Tartakovsky’s caveman and dinosaur pairing is an animated show for adults. I don’t mean that in a “Family Guy is raunchy but the kids will still watch” kind of way. Primal is dark, violent, brutal and moving. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The animation looks crisp and clean with strong lines and edges and the colour palette reflects the darkness of the material. There is some colour banding here and I wonder if perhaps presenting the ten episodes over two discs instead of one would lead to less compression artifacts. It’s not a huge problem at all and doesn’t take away that this is just a stunning series to look at.

On the audio side of things, the disk comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, and Dutch. There really isn’t much use of language in the series. The soundscape is alive with action and ambient sounds that move throughout the surrounds. The subwoofer adds some dinosaur worthy weight to the proceedings.

The ten episodes of the second season are, as mentioned, provided on one Blu-ray disc. There is no digital code included. The lone extra is a thirteen minute featurette with Tartakovsky and the production team discuss the series and the creation of an episode.

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray is a worth addition to your library, with my one quibble being the season should probably have been spread over two discs.

Paramount Home Entertainment has just released Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 on both Blu-ray and DVD. I was sent a DVD copy of the season to review. The animated Star Trek comedy series follows the adventures of the lower deck crew of the USS Cerritos. The lower deck crew are voiced by Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Eugene Cordero while the senior officers of the starship are voiced by Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman. In the ten episodes of the second season, we see the trial of Captain Freeman, new relationships begin to develop and lower deck members pondering promotions.

The ten episodes of the season are spread over two discs in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. With room to breathe, the DVD video presentation looks great, with crisp lines to the animation and bold popping primary colours and no sign of compression artifacts. Obviously, the HD Blu-ray presentation will look better, but this is a really good looking DVD.

On the audio side of things, the DVD comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. It’s a fun soundtrack with the ambient whirs, hums and engine throbs placed throughout the soundscape. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The two-disc DVD set does not come with a digital code. There is a nice number of extras with audio commentary and two featurettes.

Fans of Star Trek: Lower Decks will want to pick up season three on Blu-ray, but if your budget is tighter, the Star Trek: Lower Decks Season Three DVD still has really good audio and video for the medium. I’ll link to the better Blu-ray option, but remember to choose DVD if that’s the equipment you have.

I received a review copy of the South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fifth Season Blu-ray the other day and it took a minute to sink in. Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s satirical juggernaut is twenty-five years old. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny have been going at it for twenty-five years. And they’re still only in the fourth grade. The six episodes of this short season deal with crypto ads, Russian invasions, Airsoft and other issues.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The bold colours of South Park’s signature animation style look great and the image is crisp and clean. No sign of compression artifacts or digital noise.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Though not the most immersive track, with only occasional surround usage, the all-important dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized in the mix.

South Park arrives on one Blu-ray disc with no digital code included. Sadly, this 25th anniversary of the show does not merit any special features.

If you’re a South Park completist, you’ll want to add this release to your collection.

Paramount has now released the Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection on 4K and I had the opportunity to check it out. The collection brings together the four TNG films: 1994’s Star Trek: Generations, 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact, 1998’s Star Trek: Insurrection and 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. The movies included are also available individually.

Star Trek: Generations unites Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew with three crew members from the original series, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig). Picard and Kirk join forces to stop Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying a star system.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s a beautiful transfer with excellent detail from the faces and textiles, to the sets and other scenic elements. Grain is natural and hasn’t been digitally smoothed like in some Paramount releases. The colour palette is pleasing and the HDR gives extra oomph to the ship’s displays and specular highlights. There’s no sign of digital noise or compression artifacts. Black levels are deep and there is no loss of detail in shadows or darker scenes.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as a German Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and Spanish, French and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish. It’s a great soundscape that plants you in the action with the surrounds providing both ambient sounds and action effects while the subwoofer adds extra power to the sounds of engines and explosions. Dialogue is centred and clear.

The movie is presented on both 4K and Blu-ray and a digital code is included. While the audio commentary and isolated score is present on the 4K, all the extra (from previous releases) are on the Blu-ray disc. There is a nice number of production, effects and Star Trek Universe featurettes as well as deleted scenes and trailers.

Star Trek: First Contact sees the Federation trying to prevent the Borg from reaching Earth. When the Borg head back in time, Picard and the crew must follow to ensure that Earth’s present isn’t changed by the meddling of the Borg in the past.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Everything I said about the first film goes for this one. It’s an excellent video presentation.

On the audio side of things, your ears have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as a German Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and French, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Again, it’s a great soundtrack, immersing you in the action so much that you’ll expect to get a salary from the Federation. Ambient sounds make excellent use of the surrounds, while action effects move seamlessly through the soundscape. Music is powerful and dynamic and the subwoofer adds extra heft to explosions and other assorted rumbles. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The movie is presented on both 4K and Blu-ray discs and there’s a digital code. There are multiple audio commentaries (available on both discs), while the plethora of bonus items are only on the Blu-ray. These include multiple featurettes on the production and Star Trek Universe, as well as trailers.

Star Trek: Insurrection is a more light-hearted entry in the franchise that features roles played by with F. Murray Abraham, Donna Murphy, and Anthony Zerbe. This time around, the Enterprise heads to rescue Data, who has been on a secret mission to observe the people of Ba’ku. The planet has energies that rejuvenate and the crew uncovers a plot to aid Federation allies the Son’a, a decrepit race dependent on plastic surgery and medicines to ward off aging and death. The rejuvenating particles of Ba’ku has some unintended and humourous effects on the Enterprise crew.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Again, like the previous two, this is an amazing transfer. The film grain is natural and not smoothed digitally, detail is impeccable and the colour palette ranges from popping primaries to the sun-drenched colours of the planet Ba’ku. Black levels are deep and there is no loss of detail in shadows or darker scenes.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as a German Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and French, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Like the other discs, it’s an immersive soundscape with good use of the subwoofer and clear and centred dialogue.

The movie is presented on both 4K and Blu-ray discs and there’s a digital code. There are multiple audio commentaries (available on both discs), while the special features are only on the Blu-ray. The featurettes range from pieces on the production and effects, to looks at the Star Trek Universe, deleted scenes and trailers.

The final title in the collection is Star Trek: Nemesis. A slave rebellion puts Shinzon (Tom Hardy) in charge of the Romulan Empire and he makes overtures of peace towards the Federation. The plot involves clones, both human and android, betrayal and sacrifice in this final voyage for the TNG crew.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Once again, this final film in the set delivers an excellent video presentation with excellent detail in all the usual suspects (faces, textiles and locations), a great colour palette, and pleasing film grain. This film is quite dark but there’s no loss of detail in those scenes.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as a German Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and French, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. As with the previous films, it’s an excellent audio presentation that fills the surround soundscape with action and ambient sounds. The score is powerful and the dialogue is clear and centred.

The movie is presented on both 4K and Blu-ray discs and there’s a digital code. There are multiple audio commentaries (available on both discs), while the special features are only on the Blu-ray. The featurettes range from pieces on the production and effects, to looks at the Star Trek Universe, deleted scenes and trailers.

The Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection 4K set combines excellent audio and video with a universe of extra features. While fans of the franchise can debate the merits of the individual films (some are loved, some are tolerated), there’s no debate that the presentation is amazing. For people that want the full set of TNG films, this is the set to get. As mentioned, the films are also available as individual 4Ks.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has just released Rick and Morty Season 6 in both a standard Blu-ray version and with collectible SteelBook packaging. I had a chance to take a look at the SteelBook. The WB likes disclaimers, so here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

Some real world background: Season 6 is a turning point for Adult Swim’s popular animated series. This is (currently) the last season where show creator — and the voice of Rick and Morty — Justin Roiland is involved in the creation of the show. In August of 2020, Roiland was arrested and charged with domestic violence towards an ex-girlfriend. The charges had gone unnoticed by the media until an NBC story on them in January of 2023. A firestorm of press coverage followed and Adult Swim dismissed him from the show. Just as this new release was being sent out, all charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence. Roiland says he’ll focus on restoring his name.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The animation looks great in this format, with sharp animation lines and a subtle colour palette.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and French and German Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, German and Dutch. The soundscape immerses you in the crazy antics of our heroes, with effects whizzing throughout the surround channels. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The ten episodes of Season 6 are all on one Blu-ray disc. There is no digital code. Extras include shorts with details on each episode as well as some production interviews. The collectible SteelBook case features the family on the front and a tentacle-held “Polaroid” version of the cover art on the back.The inside features artwork from one of the episodes.

Fans of the series will want to add the Rick and Morty Season 6 Blu-ray SteelBook to their home entertainment library. Biting humour is teamed with excellent audio and video. Though a standard Blu-ray is available, collectors will want the SteelBook.

The Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery that follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew starship Enterprise in the decade before the original series. Anson Mount plays Pike, while Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn portray Spock and Number One. The cast is rounded out by Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Bruce Horak. Paramount has just released the ten episode first season and I had the opportunity to check out the Blu-ray SteelBook.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s a great looking video presentation with excellent sharpness and detail in textiles, scenery and facial features. The colour palette looks good and ranges from popping primaries to more muted tones. The black levels are deep and with many scenes in darker conditions, there’s no real loss of detail or crushing.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH and French. The surrounds are put to good use with directional effects and ambient sounds while the subwoofer provides a subtle boost to the low end. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The first season’s ten episodes are spread over three discs, with the third disc also holding the bonus materials. In one extra, Anson Mount takes us through his portrayal of Captain Pike. There’s a look at the production design, an exploration of the storylines and characters, commentary by Anson Mount and Akiva Goldsman, deleted scenes and a gag reel. The SteelBook case in this version is golden-hued. On the front, there’s Pike on a hilltop with a large moon and the Enterprise behind him. A silhouette of the cast is on the back. The interior, which has one disc on the left and two staggered discs on the right, depicts a planetary landscape.

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season One Blu-ray SteelBook combines excellent audio and video with stories that echo the style of the original series that it’s a prequel to. Add in an attractive SteelBook case and this earns a recommendation from me.

Damien Chazelle’s Babylon takes a long look at the excesses of Hollywood in the 1920s. I mean a long look. As in three hours and nine minutes. Maybe it was the runtime that scared people away and turned the movie into a box office bomb. Damien Chazelle’s creation split the critics (with a 56% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences stayed away. It’s audacious. It’s crazy. But in a world of increasingly repetitive superhero movies, can’t we entertain a little audacious and crazy in our life? The movie, which stars Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo and Li Jun Li, is getting a 4K SteelBook from Paramount Home Entertainment and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Babylon was shot on film and the 4K digital transfer looks gorgeous with a pleasing light grain. Details are sharp and abundant from the costumes and sets to the locations and facial features. The colour palette is bold and the HDR gives an added boost to specular highlights. Black levels are nice and deep and there’s no loss of detail in shadows or darker scenes. There’s no apparent compression artifacts or digital noise.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of English Dolby Atmos soundtrack as well as English Descriptive Audio, and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Spanish, French, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, and Thai. The soundtrack shines with the heights and surrounds placing you into the movie’s world with effects and environmental sounds. The score is powerful and dynamic and dialogue is clear and centred with the low-end frequencies adding punch to both the action and the score.

Babylon comes in a three-disc set, with the 4K, a Blu-ray copy and a separate Blu-ray for the bonus features. A digital code is also included. The extras on the bonus disc include a half-hour look at various aspects of the production, pieces on the costumes and score and several deleted scenes. The collectible SteelBook case isn’t much of a showstopper. The black case features the cast in a circular display on the front and a shattering champagne glass on the back. On the inside, there’s a photo of a scene from the film. One disc is on the left, with two other discs stacked on the right side.

Damien Chazelle’s Babylon is an audacious look at the cinema industry in the 1920s. The physical media release pairs gorgeous video with excellent audio. The extra are a bit light and the SteelBook case is underwhelming, so though I’m recommending this, you might want to go for the non-SteelBook version if that’s not important to you.

In Blue’s Big City Adventure, Josh gets a chance to audition for Rainbow Puppy’s Broadway show, so he and Blue skidoo off to the Big Apple. When they get lost, they need the help of their friends, including Steve and Joe, Blue’s previous companions on the show. Full of songs and familiar characters, the 74 minute movie will entertain fans. Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing this Nickelodeon movie on DVD and I had a chance to take a look.

On the video side, this is a nice looking DVD with as much sharpness as the format allows. At its 74 minute length, there’s room to breathe on the disc, so there’s no evidence of compression artifacts. The colour palette is bright and full of vibrant primaries. The live-action and computer-generated animation blend seamlessly.

On the audio side, the disc comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo track. Subtitles are available for English. The music is bright and dynamic, the dialogue and songs are clear and centred and there is some light surround action.

The single DVD disc does not come with a digital code. As for extras, there are some sing-a-longs, a hide-and-seek in NYC and Blue finding some clues.

Blue’s Big City Adventure is a fun and cheerful film that will entertain its audience. Bright and colourful with singing and dancing, this DVD will please young fans of the show.

Paramount Home Entertainment has just released Rugrats: Season 1: Volume 2 on DVD and I had a chance to take a look. This is part of the 2021 computer-animated reboot of the popular Nickelodeon series from the 1990s and follows the adventures of one-year-old Tommy Pickles and his friends and family. The show has a great voice cast that features E. G. Daily, Nancy Cartwright, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Cree Summer, Tommy Dewey, Ashley Rae Spillers, Anna Chlumsky, Timothy Simons, Natalie Morales, Tony Hale, Michael McKean, Nicole Byer and Omar Benson Miller.

This set features twelve episodes spread over the two-disc set. The computer-animation is crisp and detailed and the colour palette ranges from brighter primaries to more muted tones that fit the scenes well, especially in the Halloween episode. It’s a really nice looking disc.

On the audio side, there’s an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo tracks. Subtitles are available for English. The track does have nice use of the surrounds and the dialogue is clear and centred.

The set does not come with a Digital code. With great audio and video and an excellent voice cast, Rugrats: Season 1: Volume 2 is a good addition to your home entertainment library.

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