Evans Above

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Universal is home to the Universal Monsters, the classic films that brought Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy and the Wolf Man and others to the big screen from the early 1900s to the 1950s. Wolf Man, directed by Leigh Whannell and written by Whannel and his wife, Corbett Tuck, reboots the Wolf Man franchise. A man heads with his wife and daughter to close up the cabin of his late estranged father only to face a dangerous creature. He seeks to protect his family but their greatest danger may be from within. The cast includes Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Sam Jaeger. Universal is releasing Wolf Man on 4K and I had a chance to take an early look.

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The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded 4K digital transfer with HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Wolf Man is an incredibly dark film. I’m not saying that in terms of themes, I’m saying that many scenes lack a light source. It’s safe to say that’s an artistic choice and not a transfer issue. In horror, what are minds can conjure up when we’re scared and anxious is often more terrifying than what we can see. When we can see, the image is sharp and detailed with a mostly muted palette.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1. French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 tracks are also available.Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. You may not always be able to see the lurking terror, but boy, can you hear it. The Atmos track immerses you in the scene with the beast lurking above, beside and behind you. Low frequency effects put the pound in heart-pounding. It’s a great soundtrack.

The Wolf Man 4K also comes with a Blu-ray disc and a Digital code, though once again the Canadian version lacks the code. The best special feature is the audio commentary by director Leigh Whannel. There are also some small videos on some of the production elements like creature and sound design.

If you enjoyed the film in the theatres and want to add be a Universal Monsters completist, the Wolf Man 4K does provide an excellent audio experience, a clear but dark video presentation and a great commentary track by the director. For collectors, a limited-edition SteelBook version is also available.

The Wayans family is an entertainment juggernaut whose members have given us variety shows, sitcoms and movies. Between 1995 and 1999, brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans starred in the WB Network sitcom The Wayans Bros. The plots follow the various schemes and mishaps in their lives, with Marlon playing the brother who usually gets them into tight spots. By season two, the pair are running a newsstand. Their dad, played by John Witherspoon, owns Pops’ Joint, a local diner. Warner Brothers Discovery has now released all 101 episodes of the show on DVD with The Wayan Bros.: The Complete Series. I had a chance to take an early look. 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.

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The Wayans Bros. was a standard-definition series broadcast with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Shot on tape, a DVD release is perfect for its release. The colours look good for standard-definition, but obviously it doesn’t have the pop or colour depth of its HD cousins. There are about 7 episodes a disc, so it’s not so overcrowded that compression issues and video quality become an issue.

On the audio side of things, the show has an English Stereo soundtrack. Subtitles are only available on season 1, which has English, French and Spanish subtitles. The soundtrack does what it needs to do, which is present the sitcom dialogue in a clear manner. Music stings and effects are clear.

The Wayans Bros. was unfortunately cancelled in its fifth season due to declining ratings and didn’t even get a proper finale episode, a fact that Shawn Wayans’ character jokes about in the 2000 comedy Scary Movie. People who loved this show growing up and want to own it have the chance now and that’s great as a piece of TV history. The 14-disc DVD set does not include any extras or a digital code.

As I mentioned way back in the last paragraph, I think it’s great when any series gets a complete physical media release as it allows fans of the show to own it and not worry about the whims of a streamer. If this show was your jam back in the Nineties, then The Wayan Bros.: The Complete Series DVD will be a welcome addition to your collection.

Many years back, I worked in a theatre that played host to the Wicked musical tour a few times. The house was always packed, the rush line was always long, and the fans were dedicated. 2024 finally saw the movie Wicked get released with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The first of two instalments, the cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. Universal has released a 4K home version of director Jon M. Chu’s movie and I had a chance to take a look.

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The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The visual presentation is nothing short of magical – I had to go there – with amazing detail and clarity. The HDR gives beautiful depth to the colour palette of popping primaries and lush pastels. Black levels are deep, with no loss of detail in the shadows, while spectral highlights and bright whites show no sign of blooming.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos track that folds back to English Dolby TrueHD 7.1. There are also French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The Atmos soundtrack is immersive, placing your into the environment so well that you might need to learn the choreography. Dialogue and songs are clear and the score is dynamic and powerful.

The 4K disc of Wicked also comes with a Blu-ray copy and digital code, though once again, no digital code for Canada. The Blu-ray disc contains all the special features. They include a sing-along version, deleted and extended scenes, a 46 minute “making of” doc, a look at the Shiz University set and costume designs, a look at the show’s legacy, and two commentaries: one with director Chu and one with Erivo and Grande.

The Wicked 4K appears in your home with a beautiful audio/video presentation, a great cast, and a nice selection of extras. An easy recommendation.

Transformers One is a CG-animated origin story that looks at the start of Optimus Prime (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry) and their evolution from good friends to sworn enemies. Other residents of Cybertron are voiced by Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm. Paramount has released a 4K disc of the movie, including a collectible version with a SteelBook case, which I had a chance to take a look at.

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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 CG-animation looks great with sharp detail on the metallic surfaces of the characters. The colour palette is wide from darker hues to bright primaries and the HDR colour grading punches up the highlights, while the blacks are nice and deep. No real evidence of crushing or banding. Just a real nice animated presentation.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack which folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1. There are also French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Mandarin. The height channels have the characters flying overhead, while the surrounds immerse you in the action. The low frequency mix will definitely rattle a few things during chases and battles. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The Transformers One 4K also comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code. Bonus material includes the filmmakers discussing the origin story, director Josh Cooley and the production design and visual effects team discussing the building of Cybertron, a look at the voice cast, a scene breakdown of the big race, and a look at the film’s climactic battle. The SteelBook case features alternate cover artwork. The front of the case has a large image of Optimus with silhouttes of the other characters walking out of a circle of light on his chest. The back cover features the four main characters after they can transform, with their vehicle shapes below them. The inside artwork features the four main characters.

While fans of the Transformers franchise as a whole will enjoy this origin story, an extra level of nostalgia will hit those who watched the animated series on TV back in the 1980s. The Transformers One 4K delivers great audio and video, plus a handful of extras. For collectors, the SteelBook packaging is an extra draw.

Dean Parisot’s 1999 comedy Galaxy Quest is both a parody of, and an homage to, the Star Trek show and fans. Tim Allen plays Jason Nesmith, an actor who starred in a 1970s sci-fi show called Galaxy Quest as Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, who helmed the starship NSEA Protector. Nesmith now spends most of his time attending fan conventions with his former cast: Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), who played Lieutenant Tawny Madison, the ship’s communications officer, Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), who played Dr. Lazarus, the ship’s science officer, Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub), who played Tech Sergeant Chen, the ship’s chief engineer, and Tommy Webber (Daryl Mitchell), a child actor during the series who played a precocious child pilot. The Thermians, a group of aliens led by Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni), have intercepted the show’s broadcasts and believe it to be a historical record of a real ship’s adventures and request the help of their heroes to protect them from Sarris (Robin Sachs). Can the group of actors find in themselves the bravery their characters had and help this alien race? The cast of Galaxy Quest also includes Sam Rockwell, Patrick Breen, Missi Pyle, Jed Rees, Justin Long, Jeremy Howard, Kaitlin Cullum, Jonathan Feyer, Heidi Swedberg, Wayne Péré, Samuel Lloyd, Rainn Wilson and Joe Frank. The movie is celebrating its 25th anniversary and Paramount has released a 4K version that I’ve had a chance to look at.

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The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded upscaled 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 begins with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio before moving to 1.85:1 and 2.39:1. These aspect ratio changes are an artistic choice moving from the original series, the convention world, and finally the adventure the cast embarks on. I’m making an assumption that it’s an upscaled 4K as Paramount’s press notes don’t explicitly state what elements were scanned in 4K but effect were most likely capped at 2K then. That’s actually a little more technical than I usually dive into as I don’t generally count pixels and care more about a) the movie itself and b) how it looks and how that serves those who love it. How does it look? The image looks sharp with excellent detail in facial features, textiles and environments. There’s also a pleasing level of film grain. Colours, from bold primaries to subdues greys, look very good and black levels are deep without any crush.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Atmos soundtrack that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 as well as French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. For laughs, there’s also a Dolby Digital 2.0 track in the alien Thermian language. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The Atmos track puts the height channels to good use with action and music cues and the surrounds place you in the scene, whether it’s in space or at the conventions. Your subwoofer gets a nice workout too and dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix.

The Galaxy Quest 4K comes with a digital code, but no Blu-ray disc. Once again, a digital code is not available in Canada. A SteelBook edition is also available for those who like those collectible cases. There is one new bonus feature, a Filmmaker Focus with director Dean Parisot, while the legacy materials include some lengthy production and cast featurettes, deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.

Galaxy Quest is both a loving spoof and tribute to sci-fi fandom and a funny movie in its own right with a great cast. Combined with great audio and video and nice features, the Galaxy Quest 4K is easy to recommend.

Black Friday sales used to be a uniquely US thing, but then companies around the world started thinking that starting sales a month or so before Christmas and other seasonal holidays seemed like a good idea.

Warner Brothers had great TV releases throughout the year and I have been lucky to have the opportunity to review many of these, so let’s take a look at some of the titles. I’ll use WB’s copy for the descriptions, then link to our reviews.

Captain Planet: Complete Franchise DVD – “The Planeteers, five teenagers from different parts of the earth, each receive a ring of elemental power—earth, wind, water, fire or heart—to combat eco-villains everywhere in the world. And when they combine the powers of their rings, a new superhero, Captain Planet, is created, with powers far greater than the sum of the five.” Check out our review.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series DVD – “Starring Larry David as an over-the-top version of himself, the iconic Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm offers a tongue-in-cheek depiction of the writer/producer/comedian’s fictionalized life. The comedy series continues to prove how seemingly trivial details of one’s day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events.” Check out our review.

Friends: The Complete Series 4K – “As FRIENDS marks its 30th anniversary this year, the beloved TV series continues to hold an enduring place in popular culture and hearts worldwide. With its witty humour, relatable characters, and memorable catchphrases, FRIENDS transcends generations with its universal appeal, making it a classic that continues to bring joy and laughter to fans around the world.” Check out our review.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 4K – “Every Who down in Who-ville likes Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Who-ville did NOT! So, the cuddly as a cactus Grinch (with termites in his smile and garlic in his soul) tries to wipe out Christmas for the cheerful Who-villains, only to discover – maybe Christmas, he thought doesn’t come from as store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more! Magnificently narrated by Boris Karloff and animated by cartoon legend Chuck Jones, it’s an award-winning Who-roast-beast-feast of a holiday classic!__” Check out our review.

Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-7 DVD – “Rick and Morty is the critically acclaimed, half-hour animated hit comedy series on Adult Swim that follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Rick Sanchez is living with his daughter Beth’s family and constantly bringing her, his son-in-law Jerry, granddaughter Summer, and grandson Morty into intergalactic escapades.” Check out our review.

Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way (Seasons 1-3) Blu-ray or DVD – “In a bitter divorce settlement from her billionaire husband Rupert Mannion, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) becomes the new owner of British football club AFC Richmond. She’s assisted by her Director of Football Operations, Higgins (Jeremy Swift), who formerly worked for her husband. Her first order of business is to fire the team’s current manager and replace him with an idealistic all-American football coach Theodore “Ted” Lasso (Jason Sudeikis). Ted and his friend, assistant Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) cross the pond to take up the management of the team’s “long, albeit modest” history. Ted gets to know the team – including Team Captain Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), top scorer Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) and more – but finds his first friend in the locker room assistant Nathan (Nick Mohammed). Half a world away from his wife and child, Ted could use a friend. But he presses on, nevertheless. Richmond is about to change the way they’re doing things — and from now on — that is the Lasso way.” Check out our review.

Veep: The Complete Series Blu-ray – “Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the Vice President of the United States in this hilarious HBO comedy series. Each episode follows her whirlwind day-to-day existence as she puts out political fires, juggles public and private demands and defends the interests of the chief executive—with whom she shares a uniquely dysfunctional relationship.” Check out our review.

The West Wing: The Complete Series Blu-ray – “Widely considered one of the best series of all time, The West Wing remains a landmark achievement in television, earning 26 Emmys, including four for Outstanding Drama Series. With its sharp writing and memorable ensemble cast, the show continues to inspire audiences with its intimate look at the triumphs, sacrifices and inner politics of the White House.” Check out our review.

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate at this time of the year. Happy festive viewing!

The sitcom Friends may have had its highly-successful run between 1994 and 2004 but it’s still a pop culture juggernaut. It can be found all over syndication and streaming platforms keep the show’s memory going as well. The series, about six young adults finding their way through love and work in New York City, starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. It celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, a celebration made bittersweet by the tragic death of Perry in 2023. Warner Brothers has marked the anniversary by releasing Friends: The Complete Series on 4K. The release was back in September, but I had a chance to review the set as part of Warner Brothers’ holiday gift suggestions. 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.

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The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Just like the Blu-ray and syndicated/streaming versions before it, this aspect ratio differs from the 1.33:1 aspect ratio the show was originally broadcast in and framed for. What does that mean? It means that the original shots for the show were filmed in widescreen and then cropped into the square image for broadcast. The extended visuals on the sides of the frame were never meant to be seen. Though for the most part the widescreen image is not an issue if you’re not an aspect ratio purist, there is the occasional goof like seeing a stand-in instead of a co-star or seeing production tape marks on the floor. It’s not a huge issue, but it does make for a fun “Did you see that?” game. Though the sets, textiles and faces do have more detail than before, I am a little confused why such a milestone show would have roughly 12 episodes on each disc. That’s over 4 hours a disc and doesn’t give the episodes room to breathe, leading to some compression artifacts. Shot on film, the series does have a generally pleasing grain structure, though the last season or two does seem to have some digital noise reduction applied leading to some occasionally waxy faces. The colour palette also seems to be pushed a little to the vivid end at times. Sometimes the colours can seem very bold and the skin tones tend to make everyone look like they just had Ross’ spray tan accident. I don’t usually tend to be obsessed over pixels and HDR — I’m ecstatic to see this show, let alone any TV show get a 4K release — but I guess I’m a little amazed that a show with such a mass appeal (which translates potentially to good sales numbers) wouldn’t get a little extra tender loving care. So does it generally look very good? Yes. To channel Chandler, “Could it be any better?” Also, yes.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, as well as German, French, Japanese, and Castilian-Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, German SDH, French, Japanese, Castilian Spanish, Latin Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Dutch, and Mandarin (Traditional). The lossless audio soundtrack is bright and dynamic, the music sounds great, and the surrounds get some work with ambient effects and studio reactions. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix. Obviously this is a sitcom and not some bone-rattling action flick, but the new lossless audio track is an improvement over the previous Blu-ray release.

The Friends: The Complete Series 4K has the show’s 236 episodes spread over 23 discs with an additional two Blu-ray discs containing most of the special features. There is no digital code. The 4K discs contain audio commentaries for almost 30 of the episodes from producers Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. The Blu-rays contain the legacy bonus materials plus two new pieces – one showing off the props and costumes and another with trivia questions. Legacy features include various production pieces, a look at their time in London, the “Smelly Cat” music video, The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You” music video and trio of short docs. Oddly, extended versions of a few of the episodes can still only be found on the earlier DVD release and the HBO Max reunion from a few years ago is also missing.

The Friends: The Complete Series 4K does have some issues with its video presentation but does add in a new lossless audio soundtrack. If you or a loved one are Friends fans, it still makes a nice present for the holidays, but keep an eye out for sales as it is a pricey collection. For fans of the show, I’ll say it’s a recommendation, but keep those caveats in mind.