Evans Above

As if the world isn’t polarized enough right now, Morbius has viewers dividing into love it or hate it camps. (Okay that might be like it or hate it, but who has time to nitpick?) Directed by Daniel Espinosa, the film stars Jared Leto as Michael Morbius, who has lived with a blood disease his entire life. As a child, he befriended a surrogate brother, Milo, who had the same condition. As an adult, he has become a scientist whose research into the condition is being funded by a now wealthy Milo (Matt Smith). He develops a cure with the help of some vampire bat blood. Instead of side effects like itchy skin and a dry cough, this cure’s side effects turn him into a vampire with superhuman strength and a lust for blood. He tries to curb his appetites, but will other’s wanting the cure be able to do so? Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released the movie in 4K and Blu-ray. I had a chance to review the Blu-ray version.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s a sharp image with excellent detail in textiles, facial features and environments. The colour palette is wide with some scenes bathed in silvers, greys and blues, while others have a more natural palette and of course, the blood is a vivid red. Black levels are pretty good, with the occasional move towards purple and some details can be lost in darker scenes. There is some occasional noise in the image, but no compression artifacts to speak of.

On the audio side, a Dolby Atmos track is reserved for the 4K UHD release, while this Blu-ray release comes with English, French and Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtracks as well as Spanish and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional) and Thai. Your surrounds get a nice workout as effects and ambient sounds move throughout the soundscape and your subwoofer gets to add some serious oomph to the proceedings. Dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

The Morbius Blu-ray come with a DVD copy and a Digital code. Bonus features include outtakes and bloopers, a look at director Espinosa, an exploration of Mobius’ anti-hero status, looks at the stunt work and supporting cast, a “cheat sheet” on the movie’s Easter eggs, a look at the visual effects and some trailers. Please note that the version I received had a digital code. I understand some international versions might not, so check with your retailer.

The Morbius Blu-ray comes with excellent sound and video and an okay collection of extras. If you saw it in the cinema or via streaming and enjoyed it, then you might want to add this to your collection.

Doug Liman’s 2014 sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow stars Tom Cruise as Major William Cage. Though mostly a desk jockey with limited combat experience, he is made to join a battle against aliens and finds himself stuck in a time loop. Based on the 2004 Japanese novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, it also stars Emily Blunt as Sergeant Rita Vrataski, a celebrated hero in his new unit. Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson are also in the cast. The film was released to positive reviews and grossed over $370 million US. Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has now released a 4K version, which I had a chance to review. 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 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded upscaled 4K transfer with HDR10 is presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is sharp with great detail on facial textures, textiles and locations. The HDR10 really improves the colour palette with the highlights of flames and explosions looking great and the earthier tones looking very natural. The cinematography aesthetic for this film leans towards steely blues and greys, but the increased gradients even give those hues a chance to shine. Black levels are deep and there’s good detail in the shadows but sometimes, especially near the end of the film, the blacks tend to border on crushing. Digital noise and compression artifacts are generally absent.

As with many big budget action flicks trying to succeed in multiple markets, Edge of Tomorrow has a lot of audio choices. There’s an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack which folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1. There’s also an English Descriptive Audio track as well as a French (Canadian) and German DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track and French, Italian, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), Chinese, Czech, Hindi, Hungarian, Polish and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available in English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Dutch, Hindi, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Roman, and Swedish. The Atmos track makes good use of the height speakers with explosions, aliens and weapons fire inhabiting the height channels. The surrounds enlist you into the action and your subwoofer adds the needed oomph for battle scenes. The score is powerful and dynamic and dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

The Edge of Tomorrow 4K comes with a digital code and the 2014 Blu-ray release of the film, which is where you’ll find the extras. There’s an introductory featurette hosted by Liman which includes an alternate cut of the Operation Downfall sequences, a look at the armor and arms by the cast and crew, a look at the aliens, deleted scenes and a 43 minute behind-the-scenes doc.

The Edge of Tomorrow combines a great video presentation with an excellent audio presentation and adds in a nice selection of extras on the included Blu-ray. A great cast and great action. Recommended.

The Film Detective has released 1957’s The Brain from Planet Arous on Blu-ray and courtesy of them I was given a chance to look at it. It’s the type of ridiculously silly B movie sci-fi films that were all over the Fifties. It may seem odd that it’s getting a Blu-ray release, but this was a popular genre and though it’s not The Godfather, it’s still a part of film history that would otherwise disappear if labels like The Film Detective didn’t work to preserve it and place it within its cultural context. The film is directed by Nathan Juran, who also brought us The Deadly Mantis, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Gor, an evil brain from outer space, is hellbent on world domination and possesses the body of scientist Steve March (John Agar) to implement his plans. Of course, the only thing that can stop an evil brain from outer space is a good brain from outer space, or at least that’s what Ted Cruz would have us believe. Enter Vol, the aforementioned good brain, who tells March’s fiancee, Sally (Joyce Meadows), that he can save March’s life by possessing her dog. Which brain will win? Will the Earth be saved? Don’t worry, it only takes a goofy 71 minutes to find out.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in two aspect ratios: the original 1.85:1 and a widescreen 1.33:1. I much prefer it in the original aspect ratio. The image, understandably, does have a heavy grain pattern but I found that the details were quite sharp for a Fifties B flick. Sadly, the print that was scanned wasn’t in the best quality so there are quite a few scratches and blemishes on the print.

On the audio end of things, we have an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. Subtitles are available in English SDH and Spanish. The score by Walter Greene sounds great and dialogue is clear.

The Film Detective gives us some nice extras in this release. There’s a 12 page booklet with an essay by Tom Weaver. Weaver also provides an audio commentary that discusses the production and includes input from David Schecter and star Joyce Meadows. She also appears in a 12 minute piece where she discusses her part, her work with Agar and other great tidbits. There’s a biographical look at director Nathan Juran, and another Juran featurette with C. Courtney Joyner.

If you think that The Brain from Planet Arous doesn’t deserve a Blu-ray upgrade, I’d have to disagree with you. The sci-fi B movies of the Fifties influenced many filmmakers, including Tim Burton. Preserving these works gives us the context for the movies we watch today. The Film Detective’s release of The Brain from Planet Arous preserves one of these films and the extras it comes with gives us an historical understanding. If that intrigues you, then I’d add this to your collection.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment has released Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore on 4K and I had a chance to review it courtesy of them. Since WB are a fan of legalese, here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this movie to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine alone. This third entry in the Fantastic Beasts prequels to the Harry Potter franchise sees Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlisting the aid of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and a team of wizards and witches to try and stop the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) from taking over the wizarding world.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation has excellent detail and clarity in its facial textures, textiles and environments. The colour palette is full of a lot of grays and other darker colours but where there are brighter colours, they really come alive. The HDR grading helps the variety of muted tones very well. Black levels are generally pretty deep and the dark scenes and shadows maintain their detail. There’s no sign of digital noise or compression artifacts.

On the audio side, the disc comes with a choice of multiple Atmos tracks, which isn’t that common. There are English, German, and Italian Dolby Atmos tracks as well as an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track, English and German Descriptive Audio tracks, and English, French, German, Italian and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. The Atmos track is put to good use with various height effects, while the surrounds will put you in the action so well you’ll pick up a wand. Explosions and crashes will rock your subwoofer, while dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore also comes with a Blu-ray disc and a digital copy code. The bonus materials are located on the Blu-ray disc. There’s a Dumbledore family tree, a look at the character and the actors who have played him, a guessing game with cast and crew, a look at the Hogwarts set through the eyes of the actors, a look at the fantastic beasts, a look at Newt Scamander, a piece on German locations, a quartet of scene examinations, deleted scenes and a promo for the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that is running in multiple cities.

Studio machinations will decide if this less successful franchise will see more films. The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore 4K comes with very good video and audio presentations and a large selection of extras. Fans of Harry Potter who want to have everything in its universe in their collection will probably be picking this one up.

Mill Creek’s Through the Decades 10 Film Collection: 2000s DVD set presents a sampling of ten films released between 2000 and 2009. Spread over four discs, these movies cover the spectrum from comedies and thrillers to dramas. The ten included films (with synopses from Mill Creek) are:

• Nurse Betty (2000) – Obsessed with her favorite soap opera character, Dr. David Ravell, Betty (Renée Zellweger) travels across the country to meet the man of her dreams while pursued by two hired killers.
• One Night at McCool’s (2001) – Three different men recall how the beautiful Jewel (Liv Tyler) came into McCool’s one night and brought chaos with her. The problem is their stories just don’t seem to line up.
• Spy Game (2001) -Retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) works under the table against agency politics to free Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), the agent he mentored, after Bishop is captured in China during a mission gone wrong and sentenced to death in 24 hours.
• The Emperor’s Club (2002) – Idealistic prep schoolteacher William Hundert (Kevin Kline) takes it upon himself to mentor the unruly, troublemaking son (Emile Hirsch) of a U.S. Senator.
• The Shape of Things (2003) – A quiet, unassuming man (Paul Rudd) begins to change in a major way after meeting and falling for a beautiful art student (Rachel Weisz), and his new personality doesn’t sit well with his best friend.
• 21 Grams (2003) – A freak accident intersects the lives of a dying man (Sean Penn), a grief-stricken mother (Naomi Watts), and an ex-con (Benicio del Toro) who found God in this gripping drama about consequence and human connection.
• Baby Mama (2008) – After learning that she has slim chances of getting pregnant, successful businesswoman Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey) clashes with her surrogate Angie (Amy Poehler) on how best to behave when you’re expecting.
• State of Play (2009) – The killing of a congressional aide sends Washington, D.C. Journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) down a path of cover-ups, corruption, and corporate conspiracies.
• The Hitcher (2007) – When a young couple (Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton) picks up a seemingly harmless hitchhiker (Sean Bean), a good deed becomes a brutal, edge-of-your-seat fight for survival with the open road as the battlefield.
• Cry Wolf (2005) – Eight students at a well-to-do boarding school find that their usual games of lies and deception are no laughing matter when people start dying and no one can be trusted.

Let’s be clear, there are ten films spread over just four DVD discs. DVDs don’t have the resolution or bandwidth of a Blu-ray disc so the video presentations are not crystal clear and there are compression artifacts here and there. If you’re willing to accept that, the presentations are okay.

On the audio side, the movies come with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Again, because of the quantity of films, these are not lossless tracks but they get the job done.

The collection does not come with digital code or bonus materials.

The Through the Decades 10 Film Collection: 2000s DVD set is a perfect sampler plate for the 2000s, especially if you haven’t seen many of the titles before. Mill Creek’s collections give you a chance to check out some movies from the decade at a very reasonable price per film.

Mill Creek’s Through the Decades 10 Film Collection: 2010s DVD set presents a sampling of ten films released between 2000 and 2009. Spread over four discs, these movies cover the spectrum from comedies and thrillers to dramas. The ten included films (with synopses from Mill Creek) are:

• MacGruber (2010) – The legendary MacGruber (Will Forte) faces off against his nemesis Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), who is threatening to level Washington, D.C. with a nuclear warhead.
• The American (2010) – American assassin Jack (George Clooney) has one more job to do before he gets out of the game for good. Hiding out in the Italian countryside, he befriends some of the locals, risking their lives and his own in this taut thriller.
• The Dilemma (2011) – Ronny (Vinve Vaughn) discovers that his best friend and business partner Nick’s wife is having an affair, and struggles with telling Nick (Kevin James) as the biggest opportunity of their career approaches.
• The Adjustment Bureau (2011) – A simple affair between a politician (Matt Damon) and a dancer (Emily Blunt) unfurls into a thrilling race for the truth behind the mysterious organization that seems determined to keep them apart.
• Your Highness (2011) – An arrogant and chivalrous prince (James Franco) and his scoundrel brother (Danny McBride) must work together to rescue the prince’s bride-to-be (Zoey Deschanel) from an evil sorcerer (Justin Theroux).
• The Thing (2011) – The staff of an Antarctic research station are picked off one by one by a ferocious alien organism that can assume the form of those it kills.
• Contraband (2012) – An ex-smuggler (Mark Wahlberg) is dragged back into the business, trafficking millions in counterfeit bills in order to protect his brother-in-law (Caleb Landry Jones) from a powerful drug lord (Giovanni Ribisi).
• Safe House (2012) – Assigned to guard a fugitive (Denzel Washington) in a Cape Town safehouse, a rookie CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) is in over his head when they are attacked by mercenaries and are forced to work together to survive.
• Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) – As an asteroid hurtles towards Earth, a man (Steve Carell) embarks on a cross country road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart (Keira Knightley) , so he won’t have to die alone.
• Black Sea (2014) – A former submarine captain (Jude Law) heads an expedition backed by a questionable investor (Tobias Menzies) to search the bottom of the Black Sea for a sunken Nazi sub loaded with gold.

Mill Creek’s 2010s collection’s ten movies are contained on just four DVD discs, so be aware that these are not movies that will have the clarity of an individual Blu-ray presentation and some compression artifacts are visible. If you’re willing to accept that, the presentations are okay.

On the audio side, the movies come with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Again, because of the quantity of films, these are not lossless tracks but they get the job done.

The collection does not come with digital code or bonus materials.

The Through the Decades 10 Film Collection: 2010s DVD set is a perfect sampler plate for the 2010s, especially if you haven’t seen many of the titles before. Mill Creek’s collections give you a chance to check out some movies from the decade at a very reasonable price per film.

Directed by Jean-François Richet, 2005’s Assault on Precinct 13 is a remake of the 1976 John Carpenter film. Sergeant Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke) is a pill-popping Detroit cop working the graveyard shift at a soon-to-be decommissioned police station. It’s New Years Eve and when a snowstorm diverts a prison truck to the station, Roenick finds himself playing host to mob boss Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne). Things heat up when the station comes under attack by crooked cops out to silence Bishop and Roenick must arm cops and criminals to defend the station. Who can you trust? Mill Creek has now released a Blu-ray of the film, which also stars John Leguizamo, Maria Bello, Ja Rule, Drea de Matteo, Brian Dennehy, Aisha Hinds and Gabriel Byrne.

The 1080p AVC encoded transfer is presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is quite good with detail in facial textures, textiles and locations. The colour palette is natural and the black levels are deep with a good amount of detail in the frequent dark scenes. Compression artifacts are at a minimum.

On the audio side, Assault on Precinct 13 has an English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio soundtrack. English SDH are available. It’s a really good mix and action and ambient effects make good use of the surrounds while your subwoofer adds extra oomph to the proceedings. Dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

Assault on Precinct 13 does not come with a digital code and apart from the trailer, there are no extras.

If you’re looking for a faithful remake of the 1976 film this isn’t it but the 2005 version is a good action flick with a great cast. Mill Creek’s Assault on Precinct 13 Blu-ray gives us quite good audio and video at a great price, so if this is up your alley, I’d recommend it.

Paramount is releasing 1996’s The First Wives Club on Blu-ray for the first time. Those in the US will get the special Paramount Presents packaging. The comedy stars the fantastic trio of Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn in the story of three college friends who decide to get back at their ex-husbands (Dan Hedaya, Victor Garber, and Stephen Collins ) for leaving them for younger women (Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley and Marcia Gay Harden). Comedies like this used to hit the theatres. Now they’re mostly relegated to streaming releases.

The 1080p AVC encoded transfer is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This Blu-ray is off of a newly restored 4K scan, so hopefully down the line we’ll see a 4K of this release. The video presentation looks great with amazing clarity, a fine film grain, and detail in the facial textures and hair, the clothing, and the sets and other locations in the movie. Black levels are nice and deep, there’s no evidence of crushing and there’s detail in the darker scenes. The colour palette is natural with nice flashes of colour that pop but don’t overpower the more muted tones. Flesh tones are natural and digital noise and compression artifacts are absent.

On the audio side of things, we get an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, an English Audio Description track and a French 5.1 Dolby Digital track. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH and French. It’s a very front-heavy mix, though the surrounds do get some light use for ambient atmosphere. You subwoofer basically has the night off, though it would be nice if it could give some more bass floor to the score. Dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix. It’s not a bad audio presentation at all, but it’s not going to wow you.

As mentioned, if you get the US packaging, you’ll get the Paramount Presents slip cover which opens to reveal the original poster. A digital copy code is included. The bonus materials consist of an eleven minute interview with screenwriter Robert Harling and theatrical trailer.

The First Wives Club Blu-ray provides an excellent video presentation coupled with a very good, but front-heavy audio presentation. You can’t go wrong with Bette, Diane and Goldie in a comedy. Recommended.

Mill Creek Entertainment has released the George Clooney Double Feature: The American / Leatherheads Blu-ray combining two of George’s films at a reasonable price point. Let’s take a look…

In 2010’s The American, Clooney plays an assassin and gunsmith who hides out in Castel del Monte, an Italian commune, after a near-death experience has him questioning everyone’s intentions, even that of his handler, Pavel (Johan Leysen). He keeps company with two locals: Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli), a priest, and Clara (Violante Placido), a prostitute. When he accepts one last job from Pavel – making a custom sniper rifle for a fellow killer named Mathilde (Thekla Reuten) – he finds himself questioning everything and everyone. It’s not a fast-paced action flick, but rather a tense, methodical examination of a hitman facing the perils of his chosen profession.

On a lighter note, 2008’s Leatherheads is a sports-themed romantic comedy set in the 1920s. Clooney plays Jimmy “Dodge” Connelly, the captain of the Duluth Bulldogs, a struggling pro football team. Looking to turn around the financial fortunes of the team, he convinces Carter “The Bullet” Rutherford (John Krasinski) to join the team. Rutherford is not only Princeton University’s star player, he’s also a decorated WWI hero. His appearance on the team draws the interest of a Chicago Tribune newspaper reporter, Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellwegger), who’s investigating claims that Rutherford’s heroics may not be all they’re cracked up to be. A love triangle and the machinations of pro sports carry the film to the end zone.

Both movies appear on one Blu-ray disc. The 1080p AVC encoded transfers are presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio for The American and a 1.85:1 aspect ratio for Leatherheads. Both films had previous Universal Blu-rays using the older VC-1 encoding. The newer AVC MPEG-4 encoding does this release some favours. Both films do well for clarity and detail in the usual suspects (facial features, hair, textiles, and environments) and the colour palettes for the most part are quite pleasing and realistic. Black levels are pretty deep. The only issue here is the compression Mill Creek uses to get the two films on one disc, which lends to some abundant macroblocking in some lower light scenes.

On the audio side both films come with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and English SDH subtitles. Any slight concerns for the video quality do not translate to the audio. These are very nice tracks, with good use of the surrounds, bright dynamic music and clear, centred and well prioritized dialogue.

The disc does not come with a digital code for the movies, nor does it come with any supplemental materials.

The George Clooney Double Feature: The American / Leatherheads Blu-ray is an economical way to add two Clooney films to your library if you’re more of a casual physical media consumer. With good video and excellent sound, I’d recommend it at this price point.

It’s been thirty years since Eddie Murphy jumped into the rom-com genre with Boomerang. To mark that anniversary, Paramount Home Entertainment has released a Blu-ray of the film and I had a chance to take an early look. In Boomerang, Murphy plays an ad exec who has a reputation of being a ladies man, notching conquests on his belt and enjoying a life without commitment. When he falls for his new boss (Robin Givens) after a merger, he discovers she’s the female version of him. Suddenly on the receiving end of the treatment he has dished out for years, he discovers how bad he’s made others feel. Could his thoughtful co-worker (Halle Berry) be what he was really looking for? The cast also includes David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt and Chris Rock.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, cropped slightly from the original release’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It’s a good transfer with good detail on the usual suspects (facial textures, textiles and environments) but I think a better transfer could have been done with a better master scan. Colour levels are accurate and though it’s a predominantly natural palette, some primaries do have a nice pop to them. Black levels are deep and there’s fairly good detail in shadows, while grain is slightly more noticeable in darker scenes.

On the audio side, Boomerang features an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack as well as German, French and Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available in English, English SDH, German, French and Japanese. It’s a mostly front-heavy track with the surrounds used sparingly for some effects. The soundtrack is heavy on the bass, so your subwoofer does a bit of work there. Dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

The Blu-ray disc comes with a digital copy code. In terms of extras, there’s a commentary track by director Reginald Hudlin and a few minutes of deleted and extended scenes.

Boomerang has a good transfer and audio presentation. I might have expected a bit more on the extras side. It’s the 30th anniversary after all and Murphy has made a boatload of money for the studio over the years. Still, it’s priced well and a good outing by Murphy, so you should consider adding it to your collection.

[Newest Posts] [Newer Posts] [Older Posts]