New to Blu: November 26-December 2

November 27, 2014 0 Comments

Transformers: Age of Extinction lands here two months after its US release but with all the Stateside trimmings intact, from its groundbreaking audio to several hours of extras.

“Your high definition display is going to love this Blu-ray. It’s a sumptuous visual feast of razor sharp details and bright, bold colours.

“Everything from the farmlands of Texas to Monument Valley to Chicago to Hong Kong and other China locations looks fantastic. Primary colours are warm and saturated and lush.”

“In 2D, the presentation is flawless …The 3D is surprisingly good. A good portion of the film was shot with the IMAX 3D camera, more than had originally been planned (reports say up to 60% was shot this way,) and it shows.

“Long stretches, all the key sequences, are in the opened up aspect ratio, with just a few shots in 2.35:1 interspersed.”

“This is the first Blu-ray ever to feature Dolby Motherfuckin’ Atmos, a new audio presentation making its way to high-end theatres that uses overhead speakers and an extended surround spread.

“I do not yet have equipment capable of reproducing a true Atmos experience, but this mix and the accompanying 7.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack are amazing on a standard surround system.”

“Whatever wizardry they’re using for the mix is an absolute homerun, offering one of the most aggressive, enveloping audio tracks I’ve ever heard.”

The next Mad Max, Tom Hardy, could afford to rest on his laurels after locking up career-best plaudits for the thriller, Locke, which also has been acclaimed for its Blu-ray transfer and director Andrew Knight’s commentary.

“As is detailed in both the featurette and commentary included on this Blu-ray as supplements, Knight caught the car footage with a battery of Red Epic cameras mounted within the vehicle (which was itself mounted to a low rider truck platform—Hardy is not actually driving).

“The Red cameras have had a lot of press for the range of frequencies they can capture, and that’s put to the test here.”

“With its 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 encoded transfer, Locke makes the most of its limited visual tricks by making what little can actually be seen look very good.”

“Aside from one or two faint references to events happening on-screen, writer/director Knight stays completely away from transcribing Locke’s plot in his commentary, instead offering a relatively deep, interesting perspective on the challenges, rewards, and anecdotes of creating the film.”

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