New to Blu: June 8 – 14

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies dazzles on Blu-ray. The 1080p presentation is home to gorgeous colours and sturdy details. The digital sheen is apparent, but rarely does the image’s inherent flatness and inorganic, smooth texturing distract from the picture’s gorgeous visuals. Period costumes are resplendent.”

“Sharpness excelled. If any softness emerged, I didn’t detect it, as the image consistently looked accurate and concise. I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws failed to impact the production as well.”

“The DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack has many moments that really make use of the sound and one of which was very early on when a zombie’s head explodes (due to a bullet hitting it) and I actually jumped in my seat! If that isn’t the epitome of a good soundtrack then I don’t know what is.”

“Dirty Grandpa benefits from its sunny locations, where bright lighting conditions and some good use of vivid splashes of colour delivers an appealing and natural looking palette.

“Detail is commendable in midrange and close-up shots, but some wider shots look a little hazy and/or murky at times.”

“Honestly, with a movie filmed so recently, I was surprised it looked so average on Blu-ray.  Much of the movie appears soft almost out of focus. Long shots are especially hazy.

“Detail is okay during close-ups, but some detail is washed out in sun-soaked beach scenes. White balance is too hot causing bright whites that wash out edges and detail.”

“We get a serviceable DTS HD track. The surrounds do get some usage, but this is mostly a front driven film. Still, vocals are strong and clear with no issues.”

“Ghosts of the Abyss finally makes its Australian Blu-ray debut courtesy of Via Vision, who provide three viewing options. The hour-long original theatrical feature can be viewed in both 3D and 2D, while the extended edition is also on this set, in regular old 2D.

“In keeping with the movie’s theatrical exhibition, all presentations of Ghosts of the Abyss on this disc are framed at 1.78:1.

“Since all versions plus the extras are available on a single disc, there is a certain amount of compression here, but the video nevertheless looks satisfactory for the most part.”

Also new are Zoolander 2 – Magnum Edition (“details are strong and colours nice and bold“), The Finest Hours (“good contrast and colour on the whole”), Misconduct (“well detailed and stable”), Cut Bank (“some minor but nagging issues with compression”), Anomalies (“gorgeous, with appropriate, well-saturated colour”), Tale of Tales, Even Lambs Have Teeth, Term Life and Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld.

Season one of Ballers is the only TV-on-BD newcomer (“detail is amazingly impeccable throughout in the textures, skin pigments, backgrounds, clothing, vegetation and the many water environments”).

But ‘toon fans can choose from DC: Justice League vs Teen Titans and the anime titles Date A Live II – Complete Series Two, Assassination Classroom – Part 1 Limited Edition, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc Movie Collection, Assassination Classroom – Part 1, No-Rin – The Complete Series, Fairy Tale – Collection 19 and Psycho-pass – The Complete Season 1.

Dr Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, at last debuts re-releases on Blu-ray this week, complete with a pop-up trivia track, split-screen interviews with Peter Sellers and George C Scott, and an interview with former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Other notable reissues include David Cronenberg Collection, which combines Shivers and Dead Zone with, for the first time on disc in NZ, Rabid, Glory, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, The Seventh Sign, The Mothman Prophecies and Kindergarten Cop 2.