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Alien: Covenant (2017)
Ridley kept his promise!
This film is damn near perfect! Ridley did what he said he was going to do, and he came through quite admirably. All these idiots around here who want the first Alien, over and over, should stick to cartoons. This is how to evolve a lagging series into something comprehensible, that can continue to evolve to full circle. Keep them coming Ridley!
The Third Man (1949)
What Criterion edition?!
The Third Man has received a 4K remaster recently, and was released by Studio Canal, in France, Germany, and in the UK. The results are most excellent! Contrast has been greatly improved, as well as shadow detail. This new print is gorgeously dark, as was the artistic intent. Grain also appears well intact and quite even. All the issues that the prior Studio Canal release had, have been eliminated, namely the annoying flickering. This print appears to be free of any damage, scratches, etc. I personally, cannot stress enough how beautiful this print is. The blacks are just perfect! Having only listened to the English DTS-HD master audio.2.0, I can say it sounds excellent! Clarity is front and center, and I did not hear any hissing, or other related age issues, typically found in a film of this age. And, the Harry Lime Theme, played on the Zither, has never sounded better. All in all, this is a truly wonderful release. The digibook(France release) was a nice touch as well, with somewhat better artwork than most releases of this film have seen. I personally also greatly appreciated the excellent array of special features. Mostly, the restoration featurette. Which provided some fascinating insight into the restoration process. Short of a new 4K UHD release, I'll never need another copy of this masterpiece!
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
ET returns with a beautiful transfer!
Without a doubt, one of, if not the best, universal transfers yet. Absolutely gorgeous picture with a lovely, steady fine grain and beautiful color timing. They got everything right on this release. I would put this right next to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As well as Jaws, which was also overseen by Mr. Spielberg.
I, Robot (2004)
I, Robot 3D
Having viewed seemingly countless bad reviews for this title, i simply had to see for myself. I was very excited when i first heard i, robot was coming to bluray 3d. I will usually read reviews just prior to a release and then compare the reviews for any consistencies which make me sway one way or the other. I have viewed i, robot 3d 3 times so far and i just cant figure out why this 3d version was given so many harsh reviews. One thing I've read over and over is that there is no depth and the movie is flat. That puzzles me to no end. One of the very first things i noticed upon playing the movie was in fact, very decent depth. I also didn't experience any ghosting at all, and i always look for it when i watch any 3d movie. There was also a couple fairly decent pop-outs, which i could care less about because i only really prefer good depth in 3d movies. As for the aspect change to 1:78 1, i enjoy that aspect more with 3d movies, but only if the film was shot in that aspect. This movie was not shot in 1:78 1 and the original aspect of 2:39:1 was definitely cut a little off on the sides and given more on the top and bottom. I think it was well done, but i do prefer the original aspect. Other than the aspect, i have no complaints about this movies 3d whatsoever. Im happy to have this in my collection.
Survival of the Dead (2009)
The Hatfields & McCoy's of zombieland!
Yet another wonderful outing from the man, George A.Romero. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, unlike so many others, who seem to think that George Romero's "Of the Dead" movies of late, should all follow the formula used by nearly all other zombie movies of the last decade. Fact is, and should always be, that George Romero makes the movie he wants to make. Sure, continuity is all over the place, from film to film. Who Cares! Its Fantasy, Fiction, Make Believe! None of which should necessarily be logical, or make perfect sense. Fact is George made the movie he always wanted to make, more or less, he just threw zombies in the mix. I thought the whole concept of this movie was fresh for the zombie genre, what with, families that had been feuding for generations, an isolated island, twins who both get turned, and plenty of humor throughout. Every minute of this movie felt to me like an authentic George Romero zombie classic, and I can only hope that he keeps making the films he wants to make.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
A Timeless Classic!
I've been a huge fan of this film since i was 5 years old. I watched it every year on TV with the family, and at the end of every viewing, couldn't wait until the next year to see it again. As i got older, i started buying a copy for whatever format was hot at the time, VHS, Video CD, DVD, onto Bluray. Now as a fan of 3D, i love new releases being filmed in native 3D,but was never a fan of the idea of converting classics into 3D. When i heard The Wizard of Oz was being converted, i about fell over. How could they do this!!!? Well, it happened, and i resisted. That is until i saw the Bestbuy Metalpak. I purchased it solely for the 2D copy and the Metalpak. After a couple months of staring at that Metalpak sitting with all my other Steelbooks and Metalpaks, i decided i had to have a look for myself. So, i watched The Wizard of Oz in 3D, and was blown out of my mind. Even the best conversions out there have several instances of ghosting or other 3D anomalies. NOT THIS RELEASE! This 3D conversion is absolutely perfect. The depth is perfectly deep throughout, and there's no foolishly implemented gimmick shots of things protruding from the screen where they shouldn't be. Even the coloring, which tends to fade in 3D, was bright and popping. This 3D presentation is simply perfect, and any serious Oz fan owes it to themselves to give this a go, you won't be disappointed.
Spectre (2015)
Blofelds return!!
It is truly mind boggling how many people call this film a disappointment. From Casino Royale to Spectre, James Bond has come full circle in arguably the best performance since Connery. To bring back Blofeld, and Spectre after a 30+ year absence, is a stroke of genius. The opening of Spectre alone, was worth the cost of admission to me. Like the title of the first featurette on the Spectre BD, Bonds Biggest Opening, it certainly is. This film really captured the essence of the greatest Bond films, and tweaked them to suit our time. I can easily call this one of my favorite Bond films now, as it has everything that made me love Bond films in the first place. Im also very pleased with the transfer of the BD and the color palette. Folks really need to understand the look of this film on BD is the INTENDED look of the director and D.P. and not shortcomings of the BD.
Vertigo (1958)
A Timeless Masterpiece
Vertigo is without a doubt Hitchcocks finest masterpiece. I believe the score to be Bernard Herrmans masterpiece as well. This film is just absolutely perfect in every single scene. To call this film personal to Hitchcock would be a huge understatement, as so many of Hitch's attributes shine through every scene. The restoration is beautiful and the resulting blu-ray is gorgeous! There's a few 'minor' nitpicks but, nothing to detract from the overall experience. There is one strange occurrence that was not noted in the official review that happens when Scottie and Midge are at Argosy's book store. Halfway through the scene i noticed it start to get dark and darker and darker until it looked liked the lights were turned off in the bookshop. But, when Scottie and Midge leave, the light in the bookstore brightens back up. Very odd. I imagine it could be due to the restoration and severe degradation of some elements. What was done in the restoration is beautiful though, especially the coloring. Gorgeous!