New to Blu: February 24 – March 1

February 27, 2016 0 Comments

“Bridge of Spies dazzles on Blu-ray … Sourced from film, the transfer presents a light grain overlay that’s attractively even and accentuating of the movie’s finer details while leaving intact a gorgeous cinematic texturing. Every inch of the frame springs to life with complex details revealed with expert precision.”

“The wide 2.40:1 aspect ratio allows cinematographer Janusz Kaminski great freedom in his framing of everything from the bridge in Berlin to courtroom interiors.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Hotel Transylvania 2 is an enjoyable, entertaining animated diversion from Adam Sandler, featuring some nice vocal performances and fluid, stylish animation, boasting an almost reference quality video and audio presentation, although the 3D was mildly disappointing with its shallow depth and minimal popout.

“It’s all reproduced with great detail and finesse here in what must be as close to perfect as we can expect from modern films on HD media.

“There are no snags or tangles at all to this image. It looks incredible.”

“The extras include featurettes about the real historical events and the U-2 spy plane, which will enrich the movie experience.

“The making-of scenes give us an idea of how much of what we see was real and how much was added in digital post. This material is fine except for a few canned ‘moments on the set.’”

“Burnt‘s digitally sourced 1080p transfer satisfies across the board. The image is clean and comes effortlessly detailed. It finds a nice balance between digital flat and film deep.”

“Burnt was shot digitally on Arri Alexa XT Plus equipment and is presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio. As transfers of digitally shot films go, the Burnt Blu-ray is a pretty good one, with a nice level of detail throughout.

“There are some moments in the movie that appear soft – such as the scene over the opening credits – but we learn in the commentary track on this release that such softness was intentional by the director.”

“Audio … did all it was asked to perfectly, but it never had any aspects that took it to the next level. It did a valiant job with dialogue and its soundtrack, and a nice three dimensional sound field during dining scenes at the restaurant.”

“Hotel Transylvania 2‘s expectedly gorgeous 1080p transfer dazzles and delights in every scene. Even as much of the background is bathed in black, foreground colours and details never lag behind.”

“The animated sequel greets audiences with a terrific and wildly entertaining DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack that’ll have the little monsters in the family screaming with joy.

“Much of the attention is kept in the wide and spacious soundstage thanks to a well-balanced channel separation.”

Also new are Batman: Bad Blood, The Four Warriors, Strength and Honour and Steven Wilson: 4/12.