New to Blu: June 19 – 25

Captain Marvel

➢ “The 2K DI may seem an impediment to image quality, but the higher resolution capture really helps in this regard. (Remember, it isn’t just the number of pixels in the image that matters but the quality of those pixels.) Detail is generally strong, and stronger in live action scenes, with nice texturing. This is reduced a bit in darker scenes and action beats with extensive atmospherics (smoke, fog, etc). The HDR grade and wider colour gamut render richer and more nuanced hues compared to the Blu-ray version, with deeper and more detailed blacks, bolder highlights, and stronger contrasts.” — The Digital Bits.

➢ “Disney’s 2160p/HDR UHD presentation of Captain Marvel offers a fairly standard upgrade set over the counterpart 1080p Blu-ray. It is the superior image, not by leaps and bounds, but the added resolution, bitrate, and colour scale all contribute to an image that reveals notably sharper details and bolder and deeper colour hues … Captain Marvel‘s Dolby Atmos soundtrack shares many of the same characteristics as the companion Blu-ray’s 7.1 lossless configuration, including the necessary upward volume knob boost several decibels above reference, calibrated norms.” — Blu-ray.com.

➢ “The Avengers’ Mightiest Hero finds a home on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with a marvelous, near-reference HEVC H.265 encode that surpasses its Blu-ray peer in several areas, making it the preferred way to enjoy this latest entry to the MCU … With crisper, pitch-perfect whites from beginning to end, the sensational action and visuals seem more mesmerising and eye-catching.” — High-Def Digest.

Hotel Mumbai

➢ “Using the typical Arri Alexa cameras and finished at a 2K resolution digital intermediate, Hotel Mumbai looks great on Blu-ray. The film is very heavily stylised, with a sort of sandy amber glow to the film that gives it a parchment type yellowed look. Lights are over exposed and give glowing halos, but there are moments of neutral colour grading, such as in the hotel’s kitchen where everything is crystal clear and sharp as a tack.” — AV Nirvana.

➢ “This is a solid high definition video presentation from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Images are resolved with appreciable detail that reveals plenty of discernible texture during close up camera shots. The exterior pans of the locations depicted in the story are clearly rendered while offering lucid long-range visual acuity that allows the physical structure of buildings, streets and objects in backgrounds to be discernible.” — AVS Forum.

☞ Also new are Project Blue Book: Season 1, Dragon Ball Super – The Movie: Broly and Steamboy, and re-issues on 4K-UHD of Fast & The Furious 4 and Fast & The Furious 5, and on Blu-ray of Krull and Starman.