Sigma Reveals Turn-Key Blu-ray Platform

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Sigma Reveals Turn-Key Blu-ray Platform

Sigma Designs revealed their “Blu-ray 8644″ Blu-ray player reference design at the BDA seminar in Shenzhen, China this week. It is a complete, turn-key hardware and software solution, meaning that it allows manufacturer to quickly go into production. All the work has been done ahead of time, so if the manufacturer chooses, they can go straight to production of their own Blu-ray disc player….

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Today on Blu-ray - November 25th

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Today on Blu-ray - November 25th

As a depressed drunk who lives in a trailer home, ‘Hancock’ is not your typical superhero. Sure, he will play the role and help people, but only when its convenient. Will Smith’s character only begins to understand his own importance when he is helped by Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) to clean up his image and show him a side of life that he never knew existed….

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Midnight Meat Train Coming to Blu-ray

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Midnight Meat Train Coming to Blu-ray

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring Clive Barker inspired film ‘The Midnight Meat Train’ to Blu-ray on February 17th, day-and-date with the DVD release. Presented in its director’s cut, video will be presented in 1080p AVC accompanied by a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack….

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Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Announced

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Announced

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring the forth and (maybe) final direct-to-video Futurama release to Blu-ray on February 24th, day-and-date with the DVD release. The title, ‘Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder’, will be presented in 1080p AVC accompanied by a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack….

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Max Payne Planned for Blu-ray Release

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Max Payne Planned for Blu-ray Release

Early advertisement material has revealed that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will bring the Mark Wahlberg video game-based film ‘Max Payne’ in its unrated form to Blu-ray on January 20th, day-and-date with the DVD release. Technical specs have not been announced at this time, but you can expect the typical 1080p AVC and DTS-HD Master Audio treatment from the studio….

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In The Shawshank Redemption, Hope Springs Eternal on Blu-ray (Blu-ray Review)

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

In The Shawshank Redemption, Hope Springs Eternal on Blu-ray (Blu-ray Review)

The technical merits of BD production are solid in this feel-good tale of friendship, freedom and hope.

Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture, and often called ?the best film of the ?90s,? The Shawshank Redemption tells the inspirational tale of two convincts? difficult transcendence from their life in prison to freedom. On first viewing, the movie is heartwarming and preaches the gospel of hope. Those who adore it will enjoy Warner?s special edition Blu-ray, which not only delivers high definition video and improved audio, but includes a 32-page booklet as part of the …

Video

Boasting impressive contrast and definition within its 1.85:1 picture, The Shawshank Redemption features superior resolution compared to all NTSC versions–even upscaled DVD. It also compares well with most other Blu-rays, achieving near reference quality. I decided that minor issues with the depth and loss of detail in the dark areas held it back from a perfect score, but honestly it could not get much better. Grain haters will delight in the clean presentation, although small film granu…

Audio

The audio is not as stellar as the picture quality. At times it is spotty and reminds me a bit of CDs produced using a bad transfer of analog tape-to-digital, though to be fair those are brief moments. The majority of the film is better than those passages. On the “plus” side, the BD does have a Dolby TrueHD track, delivering lossless digital audio at 16-bit 48 kHz, which is not much better than CD quality. At times it sounds like a good CD, with impressive definition, lush presentation and line…

Supplements

The book edition Blu-ray includes all the bonus features from Warner’s special edition DVD, and therefore it is all in standard definition. Frank Darabont’s audio commentary addresses his changes to Stephen King’s story and various production issues. I found the commentary quite boring and uninformative, but your mileage may vary. The bonus features are as follows:

Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at The Shawshank Redemption–clocking in at 32 minutes, this documentary …

Final Words

Since The Shawshank Redemption tells such a wonderful story, some may ask why it deserves criticism at all. Emotional films are very influential because they disarm audiences and make the viewer more susceptible to all their messages. Most of The Shawshank Redemption’s messaging is very admirable–the lack of racial barriers and the emphasis on education and hope. But some is not so admirable. Religion is subtly expressed in the movie as a tool for corruption and lack of morals and……

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Revolver (Blu-ray Review)

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Revolver (Blu-ray Review)

“Your mind will not accept a game this big”

I am going to admit, I didn?t ?get? Revolver, but that is not so say I wasn?t compelled by it. Let?s face it, I sat through this entire movie not quite sure what I was seeing, or what point was being made. This movie is too heavily stylized for my taste, but seemingly stylized just for style’s sake, and nothing more. One thing is clear, If it takes you two featurettes to explain what you are doing, your point is too convoluted for most viewers. While compelling, this movie rambles on like a …

Video

Revolver shoots its way onto the Bluray format in a 1080p/AVC encode framed at a 2:35:1 aspect ratio that is unremarkable, too stylized, and a little mediocre when compared to the best images I have seen on the format. The source appears very strong, as there are no film related blemishes to be seen. Detail and clarity is pretty good in the foreground, but out of focus in the background most of the time. Colors vacillate between nicely saturated and strong, to weak and lacking in pop. Some sc…

Audio

Revolvers lossless 5.1 English Dolby TrueHD track, encoded at 24/48khz does an excellent job of supporting the visuals of this film, and conveying the mood of it as well. It can be aggressive at some points, and fairly subdued dimensionally at others. Ambience is strongly supported in some scenes via aggressive use of the surrounds. Listen to each time the characters are in the pool hall, or the gambling casino. You will here the sound of pool balls bouncing around placed in each of the main …

Supplements

Revolver features all of the extras from the DVD previously released earlier this year. You don?t get the photo gallery, and all of the extra are limited to standard definition non anamorphic widescreen.


Audio Commentary features Guy Ritchie and editor James Herbert and is filled with too much overly deep analysis designed to give a greater understanding of the complexity of the film. Not sure of their success though, as I found it rather convoluted and just plain weird. …

Final Words

I am going to be honest and frank. I cannot recommend this movie, not even to my dog Darnell. However if you are actually intrigued to watch it based on my not so positive review, rent it, that way you don?t have to clutter up your collection with convoluted drivel trying to pass itself off as serious filmmaking. It spends too much time trying to be a mind screw that it just ends up a diffusive, empty, and rather pedestrian effort at recreating a mobster/gangster flick. It has no heart, so I……

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Rambo 1-3 Box Set (Blu-ray Review)

December 1st, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Rambo 1-3 Box Set (Blu-ray Review)

Lionsgate offers the first three ‘Rambo’ films on Blu-ray, priced to own.

Perhaps no other name in the history of motion pictures evokes quite the same response as
“Rambo.” Known the world over as the quintessential action hero, John Rambo is not only
the face of a series of popular Action films, but is also a larger-than-life representation of formidable,
perhaps unbeatable, good old-fashioned American muscle and determination. First introduced in
author David Morrell’s 1972 novel First Blood, a story encapsulating the Vietnam era and
pitting gener…

Video

First Blood

Rating: 4/5

First Blood is not a fancy, glossy, bright picture and will never rival the best of the best
transfers of the slick and modern action movies, but this 2.35:1, 1080p transfer is solid. This is a
somewhat drab looking film that takes place mostly at night and in a damp forrest. Colors don’t
overly
impress, but there is not a lot of color to be seen in the first place. Shades of dark greens, blacks,
and browns permea…

Audio

First Blood

Rating: 4/5

Lionsgate presents First Blood with two audio options: a 1.5 Mbps DTS 5.1 track and a
5.1 Dolby Digital EX track that runs at 640 kbps. The movie was reviewed utilizing the DTS track.
This is a loud and aggressive mix. Goldsmith’s score plays rather subtly and crescendos beautifully
several times throughout, complementing the film perfectly with its clear and mesmerizing tones.
Bass is aggressive. Explosions sound grea…

Supplements

First Blood

Rating: 4/5

Two commentary tracks highlight a fine offering of supplements. The first features David Morrell,
author of the novel First Blood and creator of the John Rambo character.
Coming across as if he were lecturing on the film in a university film survey class, the author
offers informative thoughts throughout, discussing most anything a hardcore Rambo fan
could want to know. The second track is again a solo effort,…

Final Words

John Rambo is an icon of cinema, a larger-than-life Action character, a physical representation of
strength, a symbol of a difficult era, and most importantly, a man who comes to understand who
he
his through decades of self-discovery. The first three Rambo films see the development
of a
troubled character as he fights for his honor, his country, and his friends. The character’s tragic
circumstances and search for meaning in both his life and in the world around him are the ……

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