Evans Above

After seeing the success of 1978’s Halloween, producer/director Sean S. Cunningham decided to make his own horror flick and in 1980 the project, Friday the 13th, was released launching a franchise. It also gave birth to one of the slasher genre’s most iconic characters, Jason Voorhees, though he only appears as a young boy in this film. Paramount has released a 4K and I had a chance to review it.

The movie centres around Camp Crystal Lake, which decades earlier had been the scene of an accidental drowning that was followed by the death of several camp counselors. Despite warnings from the locals, the camp is reopening and several young counselors (including an early film role for Kevin Bacon) arrive to set it up, have fun, and have sex. A mysterious figure has other plans for them and one by one they begin to be the victims of some grisly murders.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is from a new restored remaster sourced from the original camera negatives. The real star of this movie is the black levels. So much horror lurks in the shadows and though so much takes place in dark scenes, these scenes maintain detail in the darkness and the blacks don’t crush. Details abound in the image from the natural scenery of the lake area to the cabins and from the faces and hair to the textiles. The colour palette is great across the spectrum, from the lush greens of foliage to the primaries of clothing. The HDR enhances the specular highlights of camp fires and flashlights.

On the audio side, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track as well as a French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, and French. This is apparently the same 5.1 track featured on Shout Factory’s 2020 Blu-ray. The terror is increased if you feel like you’re in the camp and the surrounds do an excellent job of placing ambient and action effects all around you and low frequencies add some weight to the action. The score is dynamic and the dialogue is clear.

Friday the 13th contains both the theatrical and unrated versions of the movie. There’s a digital code and extras include some production featurettes, a reunion, and an audio commentary.

Parmount’s Friday the 13th 4K gives the iconic slasher great audio and video presentations. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll want to add this to your collection.

With Covidiots and QAnoners making the last few years an absolute freak show, the skewering satire of South Park has been sorely needed. Paramount has just released South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season on Blu-ray and I had a chance to check it out. Cut short by Covid production restrictions, the disc consists of two extended length episodes: The Pandemic Special and South ParQ Vaccination Special. As usual, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and the gang pull no punches as we see the pandemic through the eyes of Cartman, Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Butters.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The 2D animation style is served well by the video presentation with great clarity and sharpness for the animations line art. As expected, the colour palette is full of bold primaries.

On the audio side, there’s a single English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 with subtitles available for English SDH. While a pretty front-heavy mix, effects in the surround channels do their job well. The dialogue is clear and centred.

The disc has zero special features, which is a shame as it would have been nice to have a commentary from Parker and Stone about the challenges they faced for this season.

With all of the heaviness and nuttiness of the last few years, shows like South Park can be a well-timed release valve for the absurdity of this world. If you need that, then the South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season Blu-ray is a good addition to your collection.

For roughly five years between 1963 and 1968, the beach party film genre was a summer hit with teens and if that genre had a king and queen, it would be Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The pair presided over several beach movies like Beach Blanket Bingo and Muscle Beach Party. The films all followed the same formula: teens on holiday, square adults, surf music and silliness. Jump forward to 1987, and Frankie and Annette reteamed for Back to the Beach, which both parodied and paid homage to the genre. To celebrate its 35th anniversary, Paramount has released the movie as part of its Paramount Presents Blu-ray series. I had a chance to look at the standard packaging version released outside the U.S.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The film was restored and mastered from a new 4K scan of the original film elements and the results are great. The image has great detail whether it’s the sand on the beach, the fabric of the various outfits, or the facial features of the performers. The colour palette does the summer beach setting justice with popping primaries, sunny skies and blue waters. Shot on film, the grain structure looks very natural.

On the audio side, the movie comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and a French Dolby Digital 2.0 track. It’s a slightly front-heavy mix with the surrounds getting occasional work here and there for ambient effects. The score is another star and the pop songs sprinkled throughout the film are bright and lively. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized in the mix.

If you’re in the US and get the Paramount Presents packaging, the film comes with a slipcover that opens to reveal the movie’s original poster. Outside the US, the Blu-ray is presented in a standard clamshell case with no slipcover. Both versions come with a digital code. There’s only one extra, a short featurette with director Lyndall Hobbs discussing her director’s journey.

The Back to the Beach Blu-ray gives really nice sound and video to a goofy, fun film the whole family can enjoy. It doesn’t take itself seriously and is good way to head to the beach on a rainy summer’s day.

It’s been 25 years since the sci-fi horror movie Event Horizon was released in theatres. Without giving away anything, the story follows the crew of a rescue vessel sent to rescue the deep space exploration ship, Event Horizon, that has reappeared seven years after its disappearance near Neptune. It’s when they reach the vessel that things start to go really bad for the rescuers. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, Paramount has released a 4K SteelBook edition and I had a chance to check it out. The film stars Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson and Richard T. Jones.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.34:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is stunning. Impressive detail is present throughout from the various ship interiors to faces, textiles and hair. The colour palette has lots of blues, grays, browns and greens and the HDR colour grading presents them with greater depth. It’s a very dark film and the black levels are deep with no loss of detail in shadows or the darkest scenes. It’s simply a beautiful transfer and the new 4K scan removes any source issues. Digital noise or compression artifacts are also absent.

On the audio side, Paramount has not remixed the soundscape to Dolby Atmos. Instead we get the previous 5.1 mix which is available in an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack as well as German, Spanish, French Italian and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. It’s a loud mix, but there are some quieter effects in the surrounds which heighten the tension. The low end gets quite a workout and your subwoofer will be sweating after screening this. Though dialogue is generally clear and well-prioritized in the mix, there are a few moments where dialogue seems thin and less prominent.

The SteelBook release has no extras on the 4K disc, but they are on the included 2008 Paramount Blu-ray release. There is also a digital code. Sadly, given the 25th anniversary, we aren’t getting any new bonus features. We do get audio commentary by director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt, a 103 minute “making of” featurette, an in-depth look at the film of some of the scenes, some deleted and extended scenes with director’s commentary, storyboards for an unshot scene, and a theatrical trailer. The SteelBook case depicts an eye reflect a circle of lights and a bloodied hand. When the plastic slipcover is placed over the SteelBook, it shows hands reaching for the centre of the image. The inside of the case depicts a still from the movie.

The 25th anniversary Event Horizon 4K SteelBook has a stunning video transfer, a solid and entertaining audio presentation, a lengthy amount of extras, and fun SteelBook case. Though it would have been nice to see some anniversary content, that’s just a quibble. Highly recommended.

2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog did very well and its 2022 follow-up, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, adds twice the villainy. Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) opens up a portal to another dimension and out comes Knuckles (Idris Elba), who’s not only the last of his species but a former friend of Sonic (Ben Schwartz). Sonic’s human buddy, Tom (James Marsden), is heading off to a wedding, so Sonic enlists the aid of Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) to stop Robotnik and Knuckles’ nefarious plans. Paramount gave me an early look at the 4K home release.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded upscaled 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is very sharp, whether it’s human faces and textiles, the scenery, or the CGI hairs on Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. The colour palette is the real star, from bright reds and blues to lush greens and earthy browns. The HDR allows the greater colour depth and the deep black levels and darker scenes maintain detail.

On the audio side, your ears have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos track that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, as well as Latin American and Castilian Spanish and French and French Canadian Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The audio is fantastic. The Atmos track makes excellent use of effects in the height channels, and the soundscape has action and ambient effects moving throughout your surrounds. Low frequency effects in your subwoofer give a real deep floor to the action. The score is dynamic and also makes use of the low end, while dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

The 4K disc comes with a digital code and a slipcover. Extras include audio commentary from director Jeff Fowler and Ben Schwartz, an animated short, about 17 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, bloopers, a Kid Cudi music video, an exploration of the cast dynamic, a character study of Knuckles, a rapid-fire Q&A with Schwartz, a look at Robotnik and Carrey, and a piece on Tails.

The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 4K is a fun film with excellent audio and video and a nice selection of extras. Recommended.

With a dollop of action and a ladle of romantic comedy, The Lost City reminded me a bit of Romancing the Stone. Sandra Bullock plays Loretta Sage, an archaeologist turned romance novelist, whose covers always feature the chiseled good looks of male model Alan (Channing Tatum). Loretta finds herself kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire, Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), who believes Loretta can lead him to a priceless jewel. Alan, who thinks he’s just like the heroic character he represents in the books, believes he can rescue Loretta with the help of a former Navy Seal friend (Brad Pitt). Can Loretta be saved? Can her heart be won? Well, now you can find out at home as Paramount has released The Lost City on 4K.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s a beautiful looking video transfer with impressive detail in flora, fauna, fashion, and faces. The real standout is the colour palette with bright primaries, rich greens and browns in the jungle, dazzling blues in the ocean and sky, and the sparkling purple of Bullock’s sequined outfit. Whites look great and the black levels are deep with excellent detail in the shadows. There are no problems with digital noise or compression artifacts.

On the audio side of things we get an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack that falls back to TrueHD 7.1 for those without Atmos. There are also English Descriptive Audio, Czech, German, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), French (France and Canada), Italian and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, German, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), French (France and Canada), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Finnish, Swedish and Thai, so you can lend the movie to your friends at the United Nations. The Atmos soundscape is well used with weather, explosions and aircraft using the height speakers. The surrounds, well, surround you with ambient sounds, while action effects move throughout with great directionality. The score is bright and dynamic and dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

The 4K disc also comes with a digital code. The disc has just under an hour of bonus materials, including a slew of small featurettes with cast and crew discussing production elements, scenes and characters. There are also deleted scenes and blooper.

The Lost City 4K is a fun romp with a great cast, excellent audio and video, and a nice selection of extras, Recommended.

Reno 911!, the Cops-inspired Comedy Central mockumentary about one disastrous police squad, has now spawned its second feature film, Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon. This time around the squad, led by co-creator Thomas Lennon as Lieutenant Jim Dangle, have been tasked with serving papers on ‘Q’, the leader of the far-right nutjobs known as QAnon. After discovering the conspiracy-loving group is having a convention at sea, the officers buy tickets and set sail. Joining Lennon on this excursion are Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Cedric Yarbrough, Carlos Alazraqui, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Niecy Nash, Mary Birdsong, and Ian Roberts. As always, the show skewers politics and society and crosses the line on an equal opportunity basis, so if you’re easily offended and own a fainting couch, this DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment is not for you.

Shot in HD at a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the video presentation downsizes cleanly to the DVD resolution. It’s a bright clean image, with good detail and a nice bright colour palette. The black levels are quite good with no evident crushing. You might actually forget you’re not watching a Blu-ray.

On the audio side, the disc comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and English SDH subtitles. The effects in the surrounds are playful and dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

The DVD disc does not come with a digital code but in terms of extras we do get some hilarious deleted scenes.

If you want to watch a great troupe of comic actors skewer the current world for 85 minutes and you’re not easily offended, then Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon is a fun diversion. Recommended.

Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks – Season 2 on Blu-ray. I was able to review this release which contains the season’s ten episodes on two discs.

For the uninitiated, Star Trek: Lower Decks is an animated series that airs on Paramount+ and focus on the lower decks crew of the starship USS Cerritos. This is the gang that handles the menial tasks on the ship. Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Eugene Cordero voice these crew members, while Dawnn Lewis, Jerry O’Connell, Fred Tatasciore, and Gillian Vigman voice the Cerritos’ senior officers.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The image is crystal clear with sharp lines in the 2D animation. The colour palette pops with great primaries. Black levels are deep with detail in darker areas and the transfer is clear of digital noise or artifacts.

On the audio side, you have a choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as well as French, German, Italian and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish. The surrounds put you in the thick of the action or even just the whirs and beeps of the ship while your subwoofer adds some extra oomph to the proceedings. Dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

Both discs come with extras that include audio commentaries by cast and production staff on some of the episodes, as well as Easter eggs, conceptual animation, a look at the sound, and a detailed breakdown of the second season.

If you’re a Star Trek fan, it’s always fun to see an expansion to the universe. The Star Trek: Lower Decks – Season 2 Blu-ray has great audio and video plus a nice selection of extras. Recommended.

It’s been twenty-five years since Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell graced the big screen in Good Burger. Since that time the movie – which started as a sketch about two fast food workers on the Nickelodeon series All That – has gained a bit of a cult following. Kenan and Kel play Dexter and Ed, whose hi-jinks over the summer include trying to save their jobs from the rival Mondo Burger. To celebrate the movie’s anniversary, Paramount Home Entertainment has released a Blu-ray SteelBook. Let’s take a look…

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. It’s a very good video presentation with clarity and detail in the facial textures, textiles and environments. The colour palette is natural with some good popping primaries. Black levels are good too and though there might be the odd bit of noise here and there, compression artifacts and print issues are infrequent.

On the audio end of things, Good Burger comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as well as a French Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH and French. It’s a great soundtrack with bright dynamic music. Your surrounds have some work to do with atmospheric effects and there’s some low-frequency activity so you’re subwoofer doesn’t feel ignored. Dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized.

The anniversary SteelBoook case is a light blue and features Kenan and Kel in their uniforms behind the film’s title and a delivery vehicle. The back features another shot of the duo superimposed over a milkshake spill. The inside artwork features Kenan and Kel in their uniforms holding a food tray on the left and a big splat on the right with “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger can I take your order?” on top. Both images are over images of burger ingredients. The disc includes a digital code and a video of the original Good Burger sketch from All That. It’s a bit sad that no new material was shot to celebrate the film’s 25th.

Fans of Kenan and Kel who are nostalgic for Good Burger will find very good audio and video presentations in a collectible SteelBook case. Though some new extras would have been nice, nostalgia for your youth will probably override that. Keep in mind that if you already own the previous Blu-ray, the only difference here is the SteelBook packaging.

The British historical drama Downton Abbey, which follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their staff in the post-Edwardian era, ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015. It has since spawned two big screen follow-ups, the latest of which – Downton Abbey: A New Era – has just been released on 4K by Universal. I had a chance to review a copy.

Downton Abbey: A New Era takes place in 1928. The Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) reveals she was bequeathed a French villa by the Marquis de Montmirail and most of the characters head across the channel to check the place out and maybe learn how the Countess came to be the recipient of such largesse. Meanwhile, back at Downton, a film crew is using the estate to shoot a film. Though the fees will cover the costs to repair the leaking roof, the production proves to be more than disruptive.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 digital transfer with Dolby Vision is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The image has amazing clarity and detail with facial textures, environments and textiles looking amazing and enhancing the locations that the story unfolds in. The overall colour palette is subdued. Black levels are very good and there is no loss of detail in the shadows.

On the audio side, your ears have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos track which converts to English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for those without the height speakers. There are also French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. This isn’t a Marvel film, so the more gentle use of surrounds is mainly for ambiance. The score is dynamic and clear and dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

The 4K set also comes with a Blu-ray disc and a digital code. In terms of bonus materials, there’s an audio commentary from director Simon Curtis, a “we’re happy to be back” featurette from the cast, another piece from cast and crew discussing the shoot, a piece with the cast gushing about Maggie Smith, a look at the film within the film, a piece on Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia, and a tongue-in-cheek Q&A piece.

The Downton Abbey: A New Era 4K has excellent audio and video presentations and an okay selection of extras. With such a large cast of characters and a six season back story, it’ll probably be hard for non-fans to get into it without having seen the show first. Fans of Downton Abbey will no doubt want to add this to their collections.

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