Evans Above

SEAL Team Season 5 has just been released by Paramount on DVD. Though ratings have declined since the show premiered in 2017, it has a loyal group of fans. Season 5 saw a big change for the series as it moved from CBS to the Paramount+ streaming service after the first four episodes. The move off of broadcast does give the writers less restrictions. If you’re new to the series, the show follows Bravo Team, a unit within the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, as they conduct dangerous missions around the globe. The series is led by David Boreanaz and also stars Max Thieriot, Jessica Paré, Neil Brown Jr., A. J. Buckley, and Toni Trucks.

I’ve said this before with TV series and I’ll say it again, since it’s a frequently asked questions. Market forces dictate that most series, except for a select few with avid collecting fanbases, will find that their home entertainment releases will still be on DVD instead of Blu-ray. Though it’s not HD, the 16:9 presentation of this series is still very good, with colours and detail at the top end of the DVD format’s capabilities.

On the audio side, the set comes with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and English SDH subtitles. Though a lot of the mix is front-heavy, the surrounds do get a bit of a workout when the military action is happening. Dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

The 4-disc set does have some special features. They include some deleted scenes, a gag reel and four featurettes that look at the making of the season with cast and producers, a look at the show’s production design, a bit with star David Boreanaz talking about directing some episodes, and a look at the personal props of each team member.

If you’re a fan of the series and want to have a physical copy, then you’ll want to pick up SEAL Team Season 5 on DVD.

NCIS: Hawai’i Season 1 has just been released on DVD by Paramount. It’s the fourth series in the NCIS universe which includes NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans. This series follows the work of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in the tropical state. The cast is led by Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant, the first female Special Agent-in-Charge of the NCIS: Hawaiʻi Field Office. Other cast members include Alex Tarrant, Noah Mills, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Jason Antoon, Tori Anderson, and Kian Talan. The DVD set includes all 22 episodes, including the crossovers with the “mothership” series NCIS.

The beautiful scenery and lush colours of Hawai’i scream out for the better image quality of a Blu-ray, but those looking to see this series in HD have to depend on either the broadcasts or streaming. Not many TV shows get the Blu-ray treatment and when they do, they’re usually shows whose demographics are screaming out for the latest and greatest. Still the video quality on this six DVD set is very good and gives you colours and detail near the top end of the DVD format’s capabilities.

As far as sound goes, the discs come with an English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack and English SDH subtitles. As with many shows on DVD, the soundtrack is rather front-heavy, with the surrounds sparingly used for the odd effect or ambient noise. Dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

As mentioned, the six-disc set comes with all 22 episodes. The discs also feature some extended and deleted scenes, a gag reel, and four featurettes that look at the production, the costumes, the sets and additional info on the crossover episodes.

If you’re a fan of the newest entry in the franchise and want a permanent copy in your home, then you’ll enjoy the NCIS: Hawai’i Season 1 DVD.

The Despicable Me and Minions franchise has been attracting audiences and dollars since the release of Despicable Me in 2010. In this latest instalment, Minions: The Rise of Gru, we get to see everyone’s favourite villain and his pint-sized henchman in a story that takes us back to the 1970s, when Gru (Steve Carell) was just an 11-year-old with dreams of world domination. Universal has just released a 4K version and I had a chance to check it out.

Gru’s always been precocious — I mean most villains wait until their twenties — but this preteen has the possibility of joining the Vicious 6, a group of the most notorious villains in the world. When they make fun of him for his age, Gru manages to steal a precious stone from the group and finds himself the prey in a massive hunt to get it back. Gru is in need of some help and it’s up to the Minions to save their leader. Though the setting is new, many of the hijinks are very familiar, which depending on your point of view is either a nice, comforting diversion or a franchise rehashing what works. The voice cast includes the talents of Alan Arkin, Julie Andrews, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Taraji P. Henson, Russell Brand, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Lawless and Danny Trejo.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded upscaled 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s a crystal clear video presentation that captures the details in the computer animation very well. It’s really detailed animation, so I can actually discuss how much detail there is in elements like hair and textiles. The HDR colour grading also boosts the brightness and colour depth of the dazzling 1970s colour palette. Deep black levels and no evidence of compression issues or digital noise. It just looks great.

On the audio side of things, your ears will be dazzled by the Minions on an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 as well as a Latin American Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 track and European and Canadian French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, Spanish and French. The Atmos is used very well with some of the action taking place above us in the height tracks, while the surrounds immerse you in the world of Gru’s childhood. The score is bright and dynamic, while the low end gives extra heft to both the effects and the bass of the score. Dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized.

The Minions: The Rise of Gru set comes with a 4K disc, a Blu-ray disc and a digital code. There’s roughly sixty minutes of bonus material including two mini-movies, an extended scene, outtakes from the recording sessions, a look at the movie’s key characters, a piece on the animation process, a look at 1970s food, fashion and funk, a piece on the Minion’s martial arts, a craft lesson on building your own lair, a drawing lesson, and how to dress your plush Minions in retro clothes.

The Minions: The Rise of Gru 4K has great video and audio and a fun selection of franchises. If you’re in love with these characters, this one is recommended.

When CBS announced that they were rebooting Magnum P.I. in 2018, many people wondered how they could replace the iconic performance of Tom Selleck. When the new series debuted with Jay Hernandez playing the private investigator and former Navy SEAL, the show gained a new legion of fans. These fans were upset when CBS announced the show was ending after season four and cheered when NBC announced that they had picked it up for a two season deal. Paramount has just released a Magnum P.I. Season 4 DVD set. Hernandez leads a cast that includes Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang.

As mentioned in previous TV on DVD reviews, market forces dictate that most series are released on DVD, which still has the biggest share of the physical media market. So, though Magnum P.I.’s Hawaiian setting screams out for the lushness of Blu-ray, the only way to watch it in full HD is via streaming or broadcast. Still, this 5-disc set with an aspect ratio of 16:9 does a very good job of presenting the 20 episodes of season four. The colour palette is bright and colourful and the detail is pretty good considering we have four episodes per disc.

On the audio side of things, the set has an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with subtitles available for English SDH. Like most TV discs, the mix is a bit front-heavy though ambient noises and effect occasionally make it into the surrounds. Music is clean and bright and dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

As for extras, the 5-disc set comes with a few deleted scenes and a gag reel.

If you’re one of the fans who wailed when the series was cancelled and cheered when it was picked up by NBC for two more seasons, then you’ll enjoy adding the Magnum P.I. Season 4 DVD to your collection.

I can’t believe it’s been 18 years since Tina Fey’s Mean Girls introduced us to take no prisoners high school politics, burn books and Gretchen trying her darnedest to make “Fetch” happen. Paramount has just released a So Fetch! limited-edition Blu-ray SteelBook with a burn book cover. I had a chance to take a look.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This release didn’t earn a new transfer, just a new case, so we’re looking at the same video presentation as the previous Blu-ray releases. It’s a pretty good transfer with good detail in textiles and faces. You know, all the stuff the girl clique known as The Plastics fixate over. The colours in the palette are bright with popping primaries in the fashions. The transfer does have some digital noise. Maybe for the 20th anniversary we can get a 4K scan and release?

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. It’s a very front-heavy mix (which seems to be standard for a lot of comedies) with your surrounds only getting some occasional use. The music is clear and it’s in those moments that your subwoofer gets some chance to workout. Dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized.

The limited-edition SteelBook packaging is the only new thing here. The outside of the bright pink case features the cover of Regina’s burn book while the inside has photographs and quotes from the movie. Bonus materials are carried over from previous releases. They include audio commentary from director Mark Waters, screenwriter and actress Tina Fey and producer Lorne Michaels, some standard production featurettes and trailers.

The Mean Girls So Fetch! limited-edition Blu-ray SteelBook has a good video and audio presentation that’s at a level that’s pretty standard for most comedies. If you don’t already own a copy of Mean Girls, then you may want to pick this one up due to its So Fetch! limited-edition Blu-ray SteelBook packaging.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Adrian Lyne’s sexual thriller Fatal Attraction, Paramount is releasing the 1987 film on 4K. This is just two year’s after it was released on Blu-ray based on the same 4K scan used to make this year’s disc, an act that has many collectors wondering if Paramount is double-dipping more than George Costanza at a funeral reception. I had a chance to take a look.

Michael Douglas plays Dan, a lawyer with a loving wife, Beth (Anne Archer), and a daughter. A reckless fling with a book editor named Alex (Glenn Close) turns dangerous when she angrily begins to stalk him. Close is simply magnificent in the role and it’s worth a viewing just to see that performance.

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 very sharp image with amazing details in the faces, hair and textiles and even the smoke of Alex’s cigarettes. The colour palette leans to more muted fall tones, but the HDR colour grading makes the whites pop. The black levels are a little more problematic. Though most scenes generally don’t lose any details in darker moments, in some darker scenes anyone in a dark outfit is in danger of disappearing into the background. Shot on film, the transfer does have a subtle grain structure, but occasionally it looks like Paramount has tried scrubbing the grain so you get some shots within scenes that suddenly lose a degree of detail.

On the audio side, your ears have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack as well as German, Spanish, French and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. This is the same 5.1 track as previous Blu-ray releases. The film may be a thriller, but the soundtrack is anything but. It’s a very front-heavy soundscape and I’m sure your surrounds will be surprised when they’re very occasionally asked to play some ambient sounds. They’ll also be jealous of your subwoofer, which apparently gets the night off. Dialogue is clear and well-prioritized in the mix.

The 4K set comes with the 4K disc, 2020’s Blu-ray, and a digital code. The extras (all on the included Blu-ray) are a bit light, consisting of audio commentary from Adrian Lyne, an interview with Lyne, some rehearsal footage and an alternate ending.

The Fatal Attraction 4K has a very good video presentation (minus the grain smoothing and black levels) and an underwhelming soundtrack as well as sparse extras. I’d pick it up for the performances and most of the video presentation, but if you do have the 2020 release already, it’s not a huge upgrade.

It seems like just yesterday that Paramount released the Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection on 4K. Well, actually, it was just last September and now, a year later, we get the Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture 6-Movie Collection on 4K. This set contains the following releases: Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Theatrical Cut, Star Trek The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I had a chance to take an early look.

For video and audio details of the first four films (minus Star Trek The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition) check out last year’s review of the Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection. Now let’s get on to the newest addition to the set…

Star Trek The Motion Picture was rushed to meet its 1979 release date but in 2001 Paramount gave director Robert Wise a chance to work on a Director’s Edition for the Special Edition DVDs they were releasing. Wise’s new edit also updated the visual effects. With this release, the print was meticulously restored and the effects upgraded for 4K. The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It looks great, with amazing detail in the textiles, facial features and environments. The colour palette is equally good from muted browns to popping reds and the HDR really highlights the instruments and engine glow. Black levels are deep with great detail in shadows and darker scenes. As a film transfer, there’s a light grain structure. There’s no sign of digital noise or compression artifacts.

On the audio side, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos track that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, as well as French, German and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Danish, German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish. The soundtrack here is an upgrade, as the Director’s Edition gets an Atmos soundscape with everything from sound effects and the score getting a chance to visit your height channels. The surrounds put you in the scene, playing host to ambient sounds and action effects that move seamlessly through the soundscape. There’s plenty of low-frequency action. Dialogue is clear, centred and well-priortized in the mix.

The Director’s edition comes with the 4K, a Blu-ray copy and a digital code. Bonus features are spread between the 4K and the Blu-ray and include old and legacy features. The 4K contains an audio commentary from David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren Dochterman, a commentary by Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins, a text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda and an isolated score track. The Blu-ray contains the new and legacy extras. There’s a new 8-part documentary called The Human Adventure that runs over 48 minutes and focuses on the new cut, three new deleted scenes, effects and costume tests, and a look at the computer display graphics. Legacy features included a look at the Star Trek Universe, storyboards, deleted scenes from the theatrical cut, deleted scenes from the 1983 TV version, a teaser trailer, a theatrical trailer and TV spots.

The second addition to last year’s release, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, came out in 1989. It was helmed by franchise star William Shatner. Shatner wanted to veer away from the action and light comedy of some of the previous instalments and get into science fiction’s more heady themes of humanity’s place in the universe. The story sees the crew chasing a renegade Vulcan searching for God at the centre of the universe. The film went through many rewrites to please both the cast and series creator Gene Roddenberry and a WGA strike led to a shortened pre-production phase. The result was a film that didn’t quite hit with audiences and despite a record opening, quickly plunged in the box office rankings.

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 4K transfer makes all the usual suspects (faces, hair, textiles and sets) look amazing, the colour palette looks great and the black levels are deep. The visual effects of this film were budget-constrained and the 4K only makes those issues stand out more.

On the audio side, there’s an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as French, German and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks and a Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The 7.1 track is the same track from the 2009 Blu-ray release. It’s a great track that makes great use of the surrounds and your subwoofer. The score sounds great and the dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier also comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code. Legacy extras (nothing new for this release) are spread between the 4K and the Blu-ray. The 4K has an audio commentary from William Shatner and Liz Shatner and a commentary from Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman. The Blu-ray contains the aforementioned commentaries as well as various featurettes on the production, the Star Trek Universe, deleted scenes, a production gallery, a gag reel, storyboards, trailers and TV spots.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was the final voyage of the original crew and after the failure of the previous film, Paramount brought in director Nicholas Meyer, who previously directed The Wrath of Khan. The film echoes the ending of the Cold War with a story line that has the Klingons and Federation seeking peace after the Klingons’ home planet’s existence is threatened after its moon is destroyed. Kirk, distrustful of the Klingons, is tasked with escorting their peace emissary. When the Klingon chancellor is assassinated, Kirk and McCoy are blamed, arrested, and sentenced to life by the Klingon warrior General Chang (Christopher Plummer). Peace, trust, loyalty and aging are among the themes explored in this send-off to the original crew of the Starship Enterprise. The 4K disc contains both the theatrical release and the director’s cut.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. As with the other movies in this set, the detail is fantastic from uniforms, facial textures and environments. Again, the colour palette is excellent from muted tones to popping reds and the HDR enhances the highlights. Deep black levels with excellent details in darker scenes. Shot on Super35 film, the grain structure in this transfer looks pretty good.

On the audio side, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country comes with an English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack as well as a German, Spanish, French and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. As with the other films in the set, the 7.1 soundscape makes good use of the surrounds to place you in the action and your subwoofer adds “oomph” to the proceedings. Cliff Eidelman’s score is clear and dynamic and dialogue is clear, centred and well-prioritized in the mix.

The Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 4K comes with both the theatrical release and director’s cut, while the Blu-ray has only the theatrical release. There’s also a digital code. There’s no new extras for this release but there are a lot of legacy extras. The 4K has an audio commentary from Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn, a commentary from Larry Nemecek and Ira Steven Behr and a director’s cut text commentary from Michael and Denise Okuda. The Blu-ray has the two audio commentaries, a 26 minute featurette called “The Perils of Peacemaking”, pieces on the production and farewell to the characters, a series of featurettes for the Star Trek Universe, a tribute to DeForest Kelley, interviews with the cast, a production gallery, storyboards, a convention appearance by Meyer, a teaser trailer and a theatrical trailer.

With entertaining stories, excellent audio and video and a great selection of extras Star Trek fans will not be disappointed adding the Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture 6-Movie Collection on 4K to their collection.

After seeing the success of 1978’s Halloween, producer/director Sean S. Cunningham decided to make his own horror flick and in 1980 the project, Friday the 13th, was released launching a franchise. It also gave birth to one of the slasher genre’s most iconic characters, Jason Voorhees, though he only appears as a young boy in this film. Paramount has released a 4K and I had a chance to review it.

The movie centres around Camp Crystal Lake, which decades earlier had been the scene of an accidental drowning that was followed by the death of several camp counselors. Despite warnings from the locals, the camp is reopening and several young counselors (including an early film role for Kevin Bacon) arrive to set it up, have fun, and have sex. A mysterious figure has other plans for them and one by one they begin to be the victims of some grisly murders.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is from a new restored remaster sourced from the original camera negatives. The real star of this movie is the black levels. So much horror lurks in the shadows and though so much takes place in dark scenes, these scenes maintain detail in the darkness and the blacks don’t crush. Details abound in the image from the natural scenery of the lake area to the cabins and from the faces and hair to the textiles. The colour palette is great across the spectrum, from the lush greens of foliage to the primaries of clothing. The HDR enhances the specular highlights of camp fires and flashlights.

On the audio side, there’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track as well as a French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, and French. This is apparently the same 5.1 track featured on Shout Factory’s 2020 Blu-ray. The terror is increased if you feel like you’re in the camp and the surrounds do an excellent job of placing ambient and action effects all around you and low frequencies add some weight to the action. The score is dynamic and the dialogue is clear.

Friday the 13th contains both the theatrical and unrated versions of the movie. There’s a digital code and extras include some production featurettes, a reunion, and an audio commentary.

Parmount’s Friday the 13th 4K gives the iconic slasher great audio and video presentations. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll want to add this to your collection.

With Covidiots and QAnoners making the last few years an absolute freak show, the skewering satire of South Park has been sorely needed. Paramount has just released South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season on Blu-ray and I had a chance to check it out. Cut short by Covid production restrictions, the disc consists of two extended length episodes: The Pandemic Special and South ParQ Vaccination Special. As usual, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and the gang pull no punches as we see the pandemic through the eyes of Cartman, Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Butters.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The 2D animation style is served well by the video presentation with great clarity and sharpness for the animations line art. As expected, the colour palette is full of bold primaries.

On the audio side, there’s a single English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 with subtitles available for English SDH. While a pretty front-heavy mix, effects in the surround channels do their job well. The dialogue is clear and centred.

The disc has zero special features, which is a shame as it would have been nice to have a commentary from Parker and Stone about the challenges they faced for this season.

With all of the heaviness and nuttiness of the last few years, shows like South Park can be a well-timed release valve for the absurdity of this world. If you need that, then the South Park: The Complete Twenty-Fourth Season Blu-ray is a good addition to your collection.

For roughly five years between 1963 and 1968, the beach party film genre was a summer hit with teens and if that genre had a king and queen, it would be Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The pair presided over several beach movies like Beach Blanket Bingo and Muscle Beach Party. The films all followed the same formula: teens on holiday, square adults, surf music and silliness. Jump forward to 1987, and Frankie and Annette reteamed for Back to the Beach, which both parodied and paid homage to the genre. To celebrate its 35th anniversary, Paramount has released the movie as part of its Paramount Presents Blu-ray series. I had a chance to look at the standard packaging version released outside the U.S.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The film was restored and mastered from a new 4K scan of the original film elements and the results are great. The image has great detail whether it’s the sand on the beach, the fabric of the various outfits, or the facial features of the performers. The colour palette does the summer beach setting justice with popping primaries, sunny skies and blue waters. Shot on film, the grain structure looks very natural.

On the audio side, the movie comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and a French Dolby Digital 2.0 track. It’s a slightly front-heavy mix with the surrounds getting occasional work here and there for ambient effects. The score is another star and the pop songs sprinkled throughout the film are bright and lively. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized in the mix.

If you’re in the US and get the Paramount Presents packaging, the film comes with a slipcover that opens to reveal the movie’s original poster. Outside the US, the Blu-ray is presented in a standard clamshell case with no slipcover. Both versions come with a digital code. There’s only one extra, a short featurette with director Lyndall Hobbs discussing her director’s journey.

The Back to the Beach Blu-ray gives really nice sound and video to a goofy, fun film the whole family can enjoy. It doesn’t take itself seriously and is good way to head to the beach on a rainy summer’s day.

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