Evans Above

The Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery that follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew starship Enterprise in the decade before the original series. Anson Mount plays Pike, while Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn portray Spock and Number One. The cast is rounded out by Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Bruce Horak. Paramount has just released the ten episode first season and I had the opportunity to check out the Blu-ray SteelBook.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s a great looking video presentation with excellent sharpness and detail in textiles, scenery and facial features. The colour palette looks good and ranges from popping primaries to more muted tones. The black levels are deep and with many scenes in darker conditions, there’s no real loss of detail or crushing.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH and French. The surrounds are put to good use with directional effects and ambient sounds while the subwoofer provides a subtle boost to the low end. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The first season’s ten episodes are spread over three discs, with the third disc also holding the bonus materials. In one extra, Anson Mount takes us through his portrayal of Captain Pike. There’s a look at the production design, an exploration of the storylines and characters, commentary by Anson Mount and Akiva Goldsman, deleted scenes and a gag reel. The SteelBook case in this version is golden-hued. On the front, there’s Pike on a hilltop with a large moon and the Enterprise behind him. A silhouette of the cast is on the back. The interior, which has one disc on the left and two staggered discs on the right, depicts a planetary landscape.

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Season One Blu-ray SteelBook combines excellent audio and video with stories that echo the style of the original series that it’s a prequel to. Add in an attractive SteelBook case and this earns a recommendation from me.

Damien Chazelle’s Babylon takes a long look at the excesses of Hollywood in the 1920s. I mean a long look. As in three hours and nine minutes. Maybe it was the runtime that scared people away and turned the movie into a box office bomb. Damien Chazelle’s creation split the critics (with a 56% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences stayed away. It’s audacious. It’s crazy. But in a world of increasingly repetitive superhero movies, can’t we entertain a little audacious and crazy in our life? The movie, which stars Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo and Li Jun Li, is getting a 4K SteelBook from Paramount Home Entertainment and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Babylon was shot on film and the 4K digital transfer looks gorgeous with a pleasing light grain. Details are sharp and abundant from the costumes and sets to the locations and facial features. The colour palette is bold and the HDR gives an added boost to specular highlights. Black levels are nice and deep and there’s no loss of detail in shadows or darker scenes. There’s no apparent compression artifacts or digital noise.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of English Dolby Atmos soundtrack as well as English Descriptive Audio, and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Cantonese, Danish, Spanish, French, Korean, Mandarin, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, and Thai. The soundtrack shines with the heights and surrounds placing you into the movie’s world with effects and environmental sounds. The score is powerful and dynamic and dialogue is clear and centred with the low-end frequencies adding punch to both the action and the score.

Babylon comes in a three-disc set, with the 4K, a Blu-ray copy and a separate Blu-ray for the bonus features. A digital code is also included. The extras on the bonus disc include a half-hour look at various aspects of the production, pieces on the costumes and score and several deleted scenes. The collectible SteelBook case isn’t much of a showstopper. The black case features the cast in a circular display on the front and a shattering champagne glass on the back. On the inside, there’s a photo of a scene from the film. One disc is on the left, with two other discs stacked on the right side.

Damien Chazelle’s Babylon is an audacious look at the cinema industry in the 1920s. The physical media release pairs gorgeous video with excellent audio. The extra are a bit light and the SteelBook case is underwhelming, so though I’m recommending this, you might want to go for the non-SteelBook version if that’s not important to you.

In Blue’s Big City Adventure, Josh gets a chance to audition for Rainbow Puppy’s Broadway show, so he and Blue skidoo off to the Big Apple. When they get lost, they need the help of their friends, including Steve and Joe, Blue’s previous companions on the show. Full of songs and familiar characters, the 74 minute movie will entertain fans. Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing this Nickelodeon movie on DVD and I had a chance to take a look.

On the video side, this is a nice looking DVD with as much sharpness as the format allows. At its 74 minute length, there’s room to breathe on the disc, so there’s no evidence of compression artifacts. The colour palette is bright and full of vibrant primaries. The live-action and computer-generated animation blend seamlessly.

On the audio side, the disc comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo track. Subtitles are available for English. The music is bright and dynamic, the dialogue and songs are clear and centred and there is some light surround action.

The single DVD disc does not come with a digital code. As for extras, there are some sing-a-longs, a hide-and-seek in NYC and Blue finding some clues.

Blue’s Big City Adventure is a fun and cheerful film that will entertain its audience. Bright and colourful with singing and dancing, this DVD will please young fans of the show.

Paramount Home Entertainment has just released Rugrats: Season 1: Volume 2 on DVD and I had a chance to take a look. This is part of the 2021 computer-animated reboot of the popular Nickelodeon series from the 1990s and follows the adventures of one-year-old Tommy Pickles and his friends and family. The show has a great voice cast that features E. G. Daily, Nancy Cartwright, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Cree Summer, Tommy Dewey, Ashley Rae Spillers, Anna Chlumsky, Timothy Simons, Natalie Morales, Tony Hale, Michael McKean, Nicole Byer and Omar Benson Miller.

This set features twelve episodes spread over the two-disc set. The computer-animation is crisp and detailed and the colour palette ranges from brighter primaries to more muted tones that fit the scenes well, especially in the Halloween episode. It’s a really nice looking disc.

On the audio side, there’s an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo tracks. Subtitles are available for English. The track does have nice use of the surrounds and the dialogue is clear and centred.

The set does not come with a Digital code. With great audio and video and an excellent voice cast, Rugrats: Season 1: Volume 2 is a good addition to your home entertainment library.

The 1990 film House Party, which starred Kid and Play, was inducted in 2022 into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry as a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” film. The 2023 remake, which lists LeBron James as one of its producers, doesn’t have that honour in its future. Warner Brothers has just released the film on Blu-ray and DVD. Many reviewers have received DVD copies, presumably so as not to throw good money after bad. I received a DVD copy and as the WB likes disclaimers, here goes: Though Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this release to review, the thoughts and opinions below are mine.

The movie stars Tosin Cole and Jacob Latimore as two friends working as house cleaners as they struggle to make it as party promoters. They’re both facing big bills and need money ASAP. When they learn they’re being fired from their cleaning jobs, they decide to throw a massive party at the house they’re working on, hoping that the cover charge will settle their debts. It just so happens that the house belongs to LeBron James and that’s where the fireworks start. Well, damp fireworks. It’s not that House Party is truly awful — you’ll laugh occasionally — it’s just that it’s the type of film you’ll forget before the end credits are over.

As mentioned, I was given a DVD to review, so in this format it doesn’t have amazing detail. The colour palette is fine and though some detail is lost in the shadows and dark scenes, it’s not like there’s a ton of crushing either.

On the audio side, House Party comes with English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks and subtitles. Dialogue is clear and the bass pounds during the music elements.

The DVD does not come with a digital code, nor are there any extras.

If you simply must watch House Party, I’d recommend catching it on a streaming service.

Warner Brothers is releasing Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 movie Training Day on 4K. The movie, which earned Denzel Washington a Best Actor Oscar, stars Washington as Alonzo Harris, a veteran undercover narcotics officer assigned to train rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke). The two men have different views of justice. Whereas Hoyt is idealistic, Harris’ view of the world is, well, different and that sets up the clash of values that permeates throughout this gritty film. I had a chance to look at the disc. 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 native 4K digital transfer with HDR10 is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. This remastered 4K looks great, with clarity and detail in the facial features, textiles and environments. A natural layer of grain is present and the black levels and HDR really preserves details in the shadows and darker scenes without any crushing. The colour palette is natural with an edge towards green and teal tones. It’s an excellent video presentation.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos that folds back to English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, as well as French Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, and German, Italian, Czech and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Romanian, and Swedish. The soundscape puts you into the downtown LA scene with ambient and action effects moving throughout the surrounds with the Atmos height channels adding to certain scenes. The low-end of the mix adds power to gunshots, engine rumbles and the bass in the soundtrack. The score sounds great and dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

The 4K set comes with a Blu-ray disc as well and a digital code. As for extras, the set comes with standard definition features from the original DVD release. While the audio commentary from director Antoine Fuqua appears on the 4K, the rest are on the Blu-ray. They include an alternate ending, deleted scenes, a “Crossing the Line featurette, a couple of music video, and the theatrical trailer.

The Training Day 4K combines Denzel Washington’s award-winning performance with excellent audio and video. I’d recommend adding it to your home entertainment library.

Frank Grillo teams up again with writer/director John Swab after the two previously worked together on Ida Red and Body Brokers. This time around their flick is Little Dixie, which is getting a DVD and VOD release from Paramount.

Grillo plays Doc, an ex-Special Forces member who now acts as the liaison between a Mexican cartel and the corrupt Oklahoma governor they’ve been in a truce with, Richard Jeffs (Eric Dane), an old military buddy of Doc’s. Despite protests from his Chief of Staff, Billie (Annabeth Gish), Jeffs launches a tough-on-crime initiative that includes the execution of a cartel leader. When the dead man’s brother, Lalo (Maurice Compte), seeks revenge, he sends a tough enforcer, Cuco (Beau Knapp), to take care of Jeffs. Doc must spring into action, but matters are complicated when his daughter becomes a chess piece in the deadly game. Swab and Grillo leave a path of destruction and death in their wake during this low budget action film. It’s bloody and violent, but if revenge is a genre you like, Little Dixie may be for you.

The DVD video presentation is good, with as much detail as that format allows though some scenes here and there feel a bit soft. Detail is sometimes lost in the darker scenes.

On the audio side of things, the disc comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and English subtitles. The disc does not come with a digital code and there are no special features.

Little Dixie is a B movie that knows its position in the cinema universe. Aware it doesn’t have any lofty goals, Little Dixie serves up violence, action and revenge to fans of the genre.

Director Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans is a very personal film for the director. Echoing his childhood and love of film, he had been thinking about the idea for decades but was wary to make it then as he didn’t want elements of the story to hurt his parents. When both his parents had passed, he felt it was the time to tell the story. Universal has released the movie on 4K and I had a chance to take a look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It’s a beautiful presentation with excellent clarity and detail in facial features, textiles, sets and environments. The colour palette is natural and pleasing though skin tones sometimes appear a little cold. The HDR helps punch up some of the tones and specular highlights. Black levels are deep and detail is not lost in the darker scenes, which is very important in this film as so many scenes take place in darkened rooms lit only by a projector. There’s no sign of digital noise or compression artifacts.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as a Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 track and a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, and Spanish. The soundscape uses the surrounds to put you into the scenes in a natural way. This isn’t a pounding action film, but the subwoofer adds a nice natural presence to various moments. John Williams’ score is lush and dynamic and dialogue is clear and centred.

Besides the 4K disc, the set comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code. Three extras cover the personal journey in writing and producing the film, a look at the casting, and a piece covering various elements of the production.

The Fabelmans is a love letter to Spielberg’s family and his passion for cinema. Wonderful performances coupled with excellent audio and video means The Fabelmans is highly recommended.

Paramount Home Entertainment has released On the Come Up on DVD and I had a chance to take a look. The movie, which is actress Sanaa Lathan’s directorial debut, appeared at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and has been on the Paramount+ streaming service. It tells the story of Bri (Jamila Gray), a 16-year-old girl who wants to follow in her dad’s footsteps. He was a popular local rapper about to get his big break before he was gunned down. Bri is now managed by her aunt
(Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and though she struggles in her initial rap battles, her later performances catch the eye of Supreme (Method Man), who managed her father. He holds out the promise of fame but Bri must decide whether to follow the advice and persona he has for her or be true to herself.

The movie is based on the novel by Angie Thomas, who also gave us The Hate U Give. Unfortunately, this adaptation is stuck copying the same beats (no pun intended) as other rap films like Hustle & Flow and 8 Mile. Like sports films, music industry stories walk a fine line between telling a familiar story in an original fashion or coming off as a tired retread. On the Come Up falls into the latter category. Though there are some good performances, especially from Da’Vine Joy Randolph, this isn’t a film that will linger in the memory long.

The video presentation looks pretty good with a pleasing, natural colour palette. As it’s a DVD, there isn’t as much detail as there would be in an HD presentation and there is some loss of detail and some minor crushing in darker scenes.

On the audio side, the disc does offer you the choice of an English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. The music comes off well, with a good low end and dialogue is clear and centred.

On the Come Up doesn’t come with a digital code, but there is a lyric music video and a featurette exploring Black female representation.

Though On the Come Up may not find a home in your physical media library, you can always check it out on Paramount+.

Paramount and Nickelodeon Home Entertainment are releasing The Smurfs (2021) Season 1 Volume 3 on DVD and I had the opportunity to take an early look at this third part of the 2021 reboot.

Our three apple high heroes experience new adventures in this latest edition and, as always, find themselves trying to escape the clutches of Gargamel. Here’s a list of the eight included episodes:

• The Smurfs Show
• Smurfboards / Monkey See, Monkey Do
• Flying Ace / Lab Assistant
• Order of Merit / Smurfy Mother’s Day!
• Leaping Lizards / Cover Story
• Papa Times Two / Fake News
• You’re Fired! / Mirror, Mirror on the Armoire
• Smurfing Places / Poet Slam

As mentioned in previous DVD reviews of HD series, though the show was broadcast in HD market forces and its intended audience means that DVD is a better format for the studio. Despite the lower resolution of the video presentation it still looks quite good and the primary colours of the animation really pop.

On the audio side, the 5.1 soundtrack is mostly front-heavy. Dialogue is clear and centred and music is bright and clear.

Your young fans of the Smurfs will enjoy The Smurfs (2021) Season 1 Volume 3 on DVD.

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