Evans Above

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is the story of Ruby (Lana Condor), a typical high school student with one big secret: she and her family are actually krakens, the creatures that have been a part of seafaring myths for ages. When it turns out that one of her friends, Chelsea (Annie Murphy), is actually a mermaid, who have battled the krakens for eons, Ruby must accept who she is and what powers she has. The voice cast of this computer-animated family film also includes Toni Collette, Colman Domingo, and Jane Fonda. Though the plot may seem a little familiar, say, “Turning Red beneath the waves,” Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is an enjoyable film for family viewing. Universal has just released a Blu-ray/DVD combo set and I had a chance to look.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The computer animation, from characters to backgrounds, is beautifully detailed and the colour palette is stunning. I usually say “popping” primaries, but this image takes colour to explosive. Black levels are nice and deep. Audiences of all ages will find something in the video presentation to captivate them.

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 (Canada) Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. It’s a nicely immersive soundtrack (underwater pun not intended) and the surrounds will put you into the scenes nicely with ambient sounds and action effects. The subwoofer adds a nice, deep (ocean) floor to the track and the score is bright an dynamic. Dialogue is clear and centred and never gets overwhelmed by everything else going on.

In the US, the Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken set comes with a Blu-ray, a DVD and a digital code. Once again there is no digital code in the Canadian version. Is it something we said? There’s an audio commentary by directors Kirk DeMicco, Faryn Pearl, and other members of the production team, deleted scenes with introductions, a look at the recording of the voice performances, a look at kraken lore, a couple of featurettes on the voice cast, prom stories, a look at female empowerment in the story and the women on the creative team, and an animation guide.

Though Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken may tread some familiar territory, a great cast, beautiful imagery and positive message will make it and its audience get along swimmingly.

Film Masters, founded by Phil Hopkins, is a new boutique label whose mission is the preservation and restoration of film. The Giant Gila Monster (and its companion release, The Killer Shrews) are the type of low budget films that were perfect for drive-ins or those late night horror shows on your local TV station hosted by some familiar personality in the community. Many of these films are in danger of being lost to the sands of time, but seeing Film Masters lovingly restore them and give them the full bonus materials treatment is a heartening example of preservation work. I had a chance to look at The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews.

Both of the films were directed by Ray Kellogg and produced back-to-back. The Giant Gila Monster follows Chase Winstead (Don Sullivan), a hot rod-obsessed teen who works as a mechanic to support his family. When the town is threatened by a giant lizard, the local sheriff (Fred Graham) knows he has to stop it before it kills again. Can our teen hero help him save the day? Will the sock hop be threatened?

The Killer Shrews stars James Best as Captain Thorne Sherman, who is tasked with dropping supplies off to a remote island where Dr. Marlowe Craigis (Baruch Lumet) has been conducting experiments on shrews. When a hurricane threatens the island, the Captain finds himself trapped there. Did I mention the shrews have escaped and that they’re aggressive, the size of dogs, and poisonous? The cast also includes co-producers Ken Curtis and Gordon McLendon and Ingrid Goude, who was Sweden’s entry in the 1956 Miss Universe pageant. James Best would later go on to play Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in The Dukes of Hazzard.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfers of both films are presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, while a 1.33:1 aspect ratio is also provided to give you that late night pre-widescreen TV experience. Both films have a pleasing grain and a good amount of detail. The Giant Gila Monster is from a 4K scan of the 35mm source materials and the black levels are nice and deep. The Killer Shrews is listed as coming from a restored HD print and is much darker in some scenes. While The Giant Gila Monster used an actual lizard on miniature sets, The Killer Shrews used puppets and dogs in costumes for the title characters, so the extra darkness was an artistic choice to help “hide” the talent.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The mono tracks service the dialogue and music well. I only noticed some occasional minor crackling in The Killer Shrews track.

The 2-disc Blu-ray set also features a 24-page booklet that has photos, posters and two essays by Don Stradley and Jason A. Ney. The Giant Gila Monster includes a trailer, a lengthy interview with Don Sullivan and audio commentary by Larry Strothe, James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan and Matt Weinhold from The Monster Party Podcast. The Killer Shrews extras include an audio commentary by author Jason A. Ney, a featurette on director Ray Kellogg narrated by Larry Blamire and produced by Daniel Griffith’s Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, as well as radio spots for both films.

Film Masters debut offering preserves two drive-in / late night classics and helps provide historical context to the two films. Lovingly presented, this The Giant Gila Monster / The Killer Shrews Blu-ray double bill is recommend for fans of the genre or anyone who loves to see the preservation of a wide range of films.

The CBS drama series Fire Country stars Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, a young convict who volunteers for the California Conservation Camp Program which helps prisoners shorten their sentences by assisting professional firefighters with California’s wildfires. Assigned to his hometown, Bode finds himself working with former friends and other inmates. The main cast is rounded out by Kevin Alejandro, Jordan Calloway, Stephanie Arcila, Jules Latimer, Diane Farr and Billy Burke. Paramount has just released Fire Country: Season One on DVD and I had a chance to take a look.

I sound like a broken broken record, but I do get asked why a recent series that’s broadcast in HD would be released on a standard definition DVD instead of a Blu-ray. Long story short, DVDs are cheaper to make and the studio analyzes what it thinks the home market will be. If the show is super popular or a genre hit with rabid fans it gets a Blu-ray, otherwise it gets a DVD. The video presentation does look pretty good with colour palette that captures the natural surroundings and raging fires well. Black levels and shadow details aren’t as good as a Blu-ray could deliver but are good for the DVD format. With the 22 episodes spread over six discs, the video does have some room to breath so compression artifacts aren’t too bad. The series is presented in a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.

On the audio side of things, the set does come with an English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Like many TV shows the soundtrack can be a little front-heavy though the surrounds and subwoofer do get usage for the environmental sound. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The six-disc DVD set comes with two featurettes that look at the season and the visual effects and there is also a gag reel. The set does not come with a digital code.

If you’re a fan of the series, then you’ll want to pick up Fire Country: Season One on DVD. If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommending checking it out on CBS or Paramount+ and deciding if you want to add it to your collection.

NCIS: Los Angeles premiered on CBS on September 22nd, 2009. Fourteen years and 323 epiosdes later, its successful run on CBS ended on May 21, 2023. The series follows two special agents, Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) and Grisha Callen (Chris O’Donnell), who work undercover for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The supporting cast has included Peter Cambor, Daniela Ruah, Adam Jamal Craig, Linda Hunt, Barrett Foa, Eric Christian Olsen, Renée Felice Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Nia Long, Medalion Rahimi, Caleb Castille and Gerald McRaney. Paramount has just released NCIS: Los Angeles: The Complete Series on DVD and I had a chance to take a look.

The fourteen season set is spread over 81 discs which means this hefty package is not only entertainment but also probably qualifies as home workout equipment. And now we answer the inevitable question: “The show is streaming in HD, so why is this a DVD and not a Blu-ray?” The answer is market analysis. Yes, some previous individual season releases were on Blu-ray but Paramount figures that the market for this complete series set is not big enough to warrant Blu-rays and/or really care if it’s in HD. So we get a DVD release, as DVDs still lead physical media sales and are cheaper to manufacture. The video presentation is presented in a 16:9 aspect ratio and is pretty good for DVD. The colours look good and though we don’t get the same deepness of black levels or shadow detail as a Bu-ray, the video presentation is good. There is some artifacting and compression issues here and there but with an 81 disc set the video does have a bit of room to breathe.

On the audio side of things, you have the typical mish-mash of language choices that TV releases have, with no consistency across the whole series. So, seasons 1-2 have English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, and French 2.0 Dolby Digital. Seasons 3-11 have English 5.1 Dolby Digital and English 2.0 Dolby Digital. Seasons 12-14 have English 5.1 Dolby Digital. As for subtitles, seasons 1-2 have English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Seasons 3-5 have English SDH, Portuguese and Spanish. Seasons 6-7 have English SDH and Portuguese, while seasons 8-14 just have English SDH. Confusing, huh? As with many TV releases, the 5.1 soundtrack can sometimes be front-heavy, while in other scenes the surrounds do get some use with ambient sounds and action effects. LFE usage is quite good. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The 81 disc set doesn’t come with a digital code for the series, but it is packed with over 17 hours of bonus content including crossover episodes with NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i ,behind-the-scenes pieces and deleted scenes.

If you’re an NCIS: Los Angeles fan, this set has good audio and video and a nice selection of extras. It would be great if it was on Blu-ray, but since they may not happen, fans will love NCIS: Los Angeles: The Complete Series DVD set.

The third and final season of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard is in the books and most fans agree that it was a fitting and satisfying ending for the adventures of the beloved captain and his Star Trek: TNG crew. The cast of this season includes Patrick Stewart, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Ed Speleers, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Todd Stashwick, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Michael Dorn, Amanda Plummer, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, and Mica Burton. Paramount has released a Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season Blu-ray SteelBook and I had a chance to take a look.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Sharpness and detail is present in all the usual places: facial features, clothing, sets and locations. The black levels are nice and deep and details remain in the shadows and darker scenes. Sharp-eyed viewers who have already watched the season on Paramount+ will notice that, for some reason, an Enterprise flyby in one scene uses a different VFX shot from the streaming version.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as well as French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. (So you can read Picard saying “Gör det så.”) The surrounds are put to good use whether it’s for the ambient sounds on the vessels or to enhance the action. The dialogue is clear and centred.

The three-disc Blu-ray set does not come with a digital code for the season. Extras include multiple commentaries with cast and crew, deleted scenes, some featurettes, a Q&A, and a gag reel. The SteelBook case features Picard and the crew on the front, a rendering of the Enterprise on the back, and the interior features an image of the crew playing poker.

Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season Blu-ray SteelBook has very good audio and video and a nice collection of extras. If you’re a SteelBook collector, you’ll probably want this version. If you haven’t bought the previous two seasons, you may be interested in the Complete Series Blu-ray being released at the same time or you may want to wait a little while to see if Paramount gives fans a 4K version.

After a four season run and a one-hour special, Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse returns with a new direct-to-video animated movie, Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar. In it, the beloved heavy metal band Dethklok must write a song that will save the planet from doom. The voice cast includes series’ creators Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha as well as Malcolm McDowell, Raya Yarbrough, Mark Hamill, Victor Brandt, Thundercat, King Diamond, Jon Hamm, Scott Ian, Amy Lee, Juliet Mills, Laraine Newman and Livia Zita. Warner Brothers has just released the movie on Blu-ray and I had a chance to have a 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.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It’s a good looking presentation with sharp detail on the line animation. The colour palette ranges from dark blacks, browns and greens to more vibrant reds. Black levels are deep and though there might be some occasional banding here and there, it’s not a big issue at all.

On the audio side of things, the disc comes with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as well as a Spanish Dolby Digital track. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The track sounds great with action and ambient noise moving throughout the soundscape, while the bass pounds during the musical numbers. While the music is king of the hill here. The dialogue is clear and well placed in the mix.

The Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar Blu-ray comes with a digital code (not redeemable in Canada) and a folded poster. There’s also a solid featurette of cast and crew talking about the music and story in this latest release.

Fans of the series will enjoy the Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar Blu-ray. With great audio and video, it’s recommended.

The Fast & Furious franchise is a popcorn-friendly movie series with fast cars and action that routinely defies the laws of physics. I’m also pretty sure that star Vin Diesel gets a bonus payment any time he utters the word “family.” Fast X is, for the Roman numeral challenged, the tenth main movie in the Fast universe. (I’m assuming everything has a universe these days.) Vin is joined in the cast by Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, and Charlize Theron.

In this flick, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) goes up against Dante Reyes (Momoa), who seeks revenge for a laundry list of perceived wrongs. Cars go fast. Family. Cars fly through the air. Family. Cars explode. Family. Universal has released a 4K of the movie and I had a chance to take a look.

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 video presentation is crisp and clear, with tons of detail in facial textures, textiles and environments. The colour palette is enhanced by the HDR and we have bright whites and deep blacks with no loss of detail in the shadows. The specular highlights, whether from fiery explosions or sun bouncing off chrome, look amazing as well.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The Atmos soundtrack puts you in the driver’s seat with the surrounds and height channels delivering both ambient and action sounds and the subwoofers adding a chest-thumping low end to the proceedings. Despite the roar of the engines, dialogue is still clear.

The 4K set comes with a 4K disc as well as a Blu-ray and digital code. Once again, the digital code is omitted from the Canadian version. Extras include a gag reel, a 35-minute behind-the-scenes-doc, scene breakdowns with director Louis Leterrier, a couple of music videos and a few other character/performer featurettes.

Fans of the Fast & Furious franchise will want to take the Fast X 4K for a spin. With great audio and video and some nice extras, it’s a fun ride.

Warner Brothers has released the animated film Babylon 5: The Road Home on 4K and I had a chance to take a look. For the uninitiated, Babylon 5 was a live-action TV series from writer/producer J. Michael Straczynski that ran for five seasons starting in 1994. Its episodes followed the diplomats and military staff aboard the space station Babylon 5, which was commanded by John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner). This animated movie sees Sheridan (who became President of the Interstellar Alliance at the end of the series) tossed into a time bubble and traveling through time and alternate universes. The voice cast of this animated installment includes Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Peter Jurasik, Bill Mumy, Tracy Scoggins, Patricia Tallman, Paul Guyet, Anthony Hansen, Mara Junot, Phil LaMarr, Piotr Michael, Andrew Morgado and Rebecca Riedy.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded 4K digital transfer with HDR10 is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The animation has amazing line detail and there does not appear to be any banding in the colour gradients. The blacks are deep and the palette ranges from popping to more subdued tones.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track or a Dolby Digital Spanish track. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The action moves nicely around the soundscape and the subwoofer adds some weight to the action. Dialogue is clear and prioritized nicely in the mix.

The 4K set also comes with a Blu-ray disc and digital code. The Canadian release does not have a code. There’s an audio commentary by J. Michael Straczynski, Bruce Boxleitner and producer Rick Morales, as well as a featurette with cast and crew discussing returning to the project in animated form.

Fans of the series will enjoy this release. The Babylon 5: The Road Home 4K has great audio and video. Recommended.

I’ve been spending a few days exploring and enjoying Soundies: The Ultimate Collection, a new Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber in conjunction with the Library of Congress. Soundies were WWII-era jukebox short films and these precursors to music videos could be seen on movie jukeboxes in bars. They spanned the breadth of popular music from big band and swing to folk and country. This new collection brings together artists like Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Hoagy Carmichael, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Doris Day, Duke Ellington, Spike Jones, Liberace, Gale Storm, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Merle Travis, and Fats Waller. The segments are introduced by Susan Delson, author of Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time. The four-disc set features 200 of these gems. The collection also does not shy away from the era’s racial, ethnic and gender stereotypes and some of the soundies reflect those views. The set also includes an illustrated 44-page booklet with essays by Susan Delson, Ellen C. Scott and Mark Cantor.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The quality of the various soundies depends on the still-existing source materials, with some scanned from damaged 16mm prints several generations from the original negative and others sourced from well-preserved 35mm original elements, but even the damaged soundies don’t detract from how amazing it is to be able to see them. Apart from any source issues, there’s no evidence of compression artifacts or digital noise from the transfer.

On the audio side of things, the set comes with an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack and English SDH subtitles. Sound quality again depends on the source material and many performances feature some noise and background hiss. Did that distract me? No, not really, because again I was just so happy that these performances have been preserved.

The four-disc set comes with the aforementioned booklet and features several featurettes that look at the history of the soundies as well as the preservation work done to present them to us.

Physical media collectors can always expect to see new releases of the latest tentpole movie or timeless classics. Soundies: The Ultimate Collection is a testament to film preservation and it’s a ray of sunshine to see these get an HD presentation as opposed to being lost to the sands of time. Kudos to Kino Lorber and the Library of Congress for releasing this wonderful set. Definitely recommended to music and film history lovers.

At this point, Yellowstone is an industry unto itself. First, there was Yellowstone. Then the prequel, 1883: A Yellowstone Origin Story. Now there’s 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story. Pretty soon we’ll have 1:07 pm: A Yellowstone Story Slightly After Lunch. Paramount has just released 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story – Season One on Blu-ray and I had a chance to take a look. This time around, Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren star as Jacob and Cara Dutton. Jacob is the older brother of James Dutton, the character played by Tim McGraw in 1883. Besides dealing with their ranch, the Dutton’s world includes drought, Prohibition and the early signs of the Great Depression.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.00:1 aspect ratio. If you’ve only seen the Yellowstone franchise on Paramount+, then watching it on physical media should be an eye-opening experience. Streaming services send a compressed signal and though, yes, it’s HD, it can’t match the detail of a great Blu-ray. The image is sharp and there’s amazing detail in everything from the facial features and period costumes to the rugged landscape and sets. The colour palette is wide from dark woods to popping primaries. Dark levels are nice and deep with no loss of detail in darker areas.

On the audio side of things, we have an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. Subtitles are available for English SDH. The soundtrack immerses you into the landscape with both action and ambient sounds populating the surrounds, while the low end adds some authority to the action. The score is dynamic, while dialogue is clear and centred.

The three-disc set does not come with a Blu-ray code. Each episode gets a featurette that delves into the storyline. There’s a 44 minute look at the story, locations and production, a look at the Indigenous storyline of Teonna Rainwater, a piece on the editing process, and a preview piece on the series and its place in the Yellowstone franchise.

Fans of Yellowstone will be absorbed by 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story – Season One’s characters and story arcs. With excellent audio and video, this earns a recommendation.

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