Bone
Cold (2022*)/Fist
Of The Condor
(2023*)/Sakra
(2023*)/Time Bandits 4K
(1981/Criterion 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Unwelcome
(2022*)/Venture Bros.: The
Complete Series (2004 -
2018/Adult Swim/Cartoon Network/Warner DVD Set)/Young
IP Man (2020/*all Well Go
Blu-rays)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B/B+/B/B-/B+/C+/B+ Sound:
B/B+/B/B-/B+/C+/B+ Extras: C/C/C/B/C/B-/D Main Programs:
C-/C+/B/C/C+/B-/C+
Here
are a wide variety of genre films from fantasy to martial arts to
surreal animation...
Bone
Cold
(2022)
can't decide if it wants to be a creature feature, a psychological
drama, or a casualty of war type film. Two elite snipers are sent on
a mission to eliminate a deadly enemy, but one of them kills the
wrong guy by mistake. Haunted by his mistake, the sniper is
compromised and ends up trying to get his friend out of a hairy
situation where an inhuman creature is also entangled. Highly
reminiscent of Predator in some instances, the film fails to create a
memorable monster with the result being some kind of goofy-looking
digitally enhanced creature you might find at a Spirit Halloween
discount section. It doesn't look alien but kind of like one of
those bad interpretations of an unmasked Jason Voorhees from the
Friday
the 13th
films only with long fingers like a Xenomorph ripped from the Alien
series.
The
film stars Jonathan Stoddard (Falling for a Killer), Matt
Munroe (Independence Day: Resurgence), Trinity Bliss
(Avatar: The Way of Water), Jennifer Khoe (Fear Frequency,
Overrun), Shaan Sharma (TV's The Chosen), Elise Greene
(Torn: A Wicked Trilogy), and newcomer Danielle Poblarp.
Bone
Cold is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with
an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a
lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). Shot
digitally on a lower budget spectrum, the film translates fine to
disc and looks fine with all things considered.
Special
Features:
Making
of Featurette
Blooper
Reel
and
an Original Theatrical Trailer
Bone
Cold is an honest effort, but isn't too original and needed some
stronger leads, more action, and a more memorable monster to pull off
what it sets out to do.
Fist
Of The Condor
(2023)
stars Marko Zaror is a big stakes martial arts adventure from Chile
with high production value and the kind of thrills one would expect
from a film like this that's certainly trying to call back to other
martial arts epics in its wake. The plot isn't too overly
complicated as a martial arts master of the trade (Zaror) must kick
butt in order to protect an ancient manual that contains secrets
within of how to push past the limitations of the human body and
become the ultimate warrior. Of course, there are evil martial
artists that seek to learn this ancient power from the book as well,
but only the worthy warrior will remain standing.
The
film stars Marko Zaror, Eyal Meyer, and Fernanda Urrejola; plus is
directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza.
The
film is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.00:1
and a lossless, English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit).
The money is on the screen and the film was clearly made with
passion and appreciation for the genre. The presentation doesn't
have any glaring issues and actually looks quite nice throughout for
the 2K Blu-ray format.
Special
Features are typical and nothing too special:
Behind
the Scenes
and
a Trailer.
Fist
of the Condor isn't breaking any records for original writing,
but it has enough action and martial arts to keep the attention span
of fans.
International
martial arts super-star Donnie Yen stars and co-directs Sakra
(2023) which is a new adaptation of one of the most influential
martial arts stories of all time: Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
In
the film, Yen stars as a supernatural leader who is exiled after
being framed for murder. As he goes on a journey of self discovery,
he comes across many vicious characters who are out for blood. As
expected, the film showcases beautiful choreography and high
production value with some breathtaking scenes of combat. The disc
itself comes stateside on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with a fine
HD presentation and not too many special features.
The
film stars Donnie Yen, Yuqi Chen, Kara Wai, Yue Wu, and Eddie Cheung.
Action director Kam Ka Wai also co-directs with Yen.
Sakra
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and has several
different audio mixes in Cantonese, Mandarin and English including
lossless Catonese Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older
systems), Mandarin in DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0, and English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo.
Special
Features: a Making Of featurette and an Original Theatrical Trailer.
Sakra
is definitely worth a watch if you're a fan of Donnie Yen or martial
arts films in general.
Terry
Gilliam's Time
Bandits 4K
(1981) is one of the director's most beloved films, yet despite
seeing why, I have never been one of its big fans. Love the cast,
often like the look and that it got made at all is somewhat
remarkable, but now its back and in 4K. For decades, we have seen
many bad home video versions and in all that, The Criterion
Collection edition has been the 'holy grail' (could not resist)
version serious fans have wanted. Now they can get it in this
impressive upgrade.
Here's
a link to my thoughts on the film in a weak, basic Blu-ray no one way
happy with:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10258/Long+Good+Friday+(1980)+++Mona+Lisa+(1986
And
another review by someone who liked the film more in its long
out-of-print DiviMax DVD edition from the now defunct Anchor Bay Home
Video:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/788/Time+Bandits+(Anchor+Bay+DVD/Divimax+Edition
That
DVD
actually had a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound upgrade that was not
bad, but has dated in this era of lossless sound. Of course, the
film has also become a curio for a few reasons and has even larger
fans than any of our reviews here would represent, but
The
2160p
HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image from its new 4K scan of
the original 35mm camera negative has some stylized softness, but is
the best the film has ever looked on home video by a long shot and
has exceptional color. On the one hand, some shots are even above my
letter grade, but on the other, more fo the shots were originally
softer than I though over the years from all those bad transfers and
it turns out more than a few shots (early on at the young boy's home,
for instance) are just soft because they were shot that way.
You
can also see that on the much softer and problematic 1080p 1.85 X 1
digital High Definition image that remains one of all the bad
versions. The sound
on both disc versions is PCM 2.0 Stereo with the original Dolby
A-type analog noise reduction with monophonic surrounds the film was
originally issued in. However, the 4K offers a new transfer from the
original stereo magnetic soundmaster that has more detail and depth
than the regular Blu-ray. Outside of a mint 35mm or maybe 16mm print
of the film in unplayed condition, the 4K version of Time Bandits is
the best way to see the film anywhere.
Extras
include a lenticular paperboard slipcase for the Blu-ray case, a
foldout poster with tech info and an essay by critic David Sterritt,
while the discs add a feature length audio commentary featuring
Gilliam, cowriter-actor Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David
Warner, and Craig Warnock, plus...
Unwelcome
(2022,)
from filmmaker Jon Wright (Grabbers)
and is a pretty original and fun little goblin based horror film. A
married couple needs up moving to Ireland into a nice little home to
get away from the city, but they end up falling prey to some
murderous goblins that grow weary if they are not fed. The film is
by no means a masterpiece, but it's a fun little romp that tries
something different and calls back to some '80s goblin cult classics
such as Ghoulies.
The
film stars Hannah John-Kamen, Douglas Booth, Colm Meaney, Jamie-Lee
O'Donnell, and Kristian Nairn.
Unwelcome
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossless,
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The film feels
professional and cinematic enough and translates fine to the 2K
Blu-ray format.
Special
Features featurettes: Behind the Scenes and Making the Redcaps.
While
not perfect, Unwelcome tries something new and anything with
goblins is always welcome in my book.
The
Venture Bros.: The Complete Series
(2004 - 2018) is finally offered in a full DVD set with all seven
seasons of the more on than off-again TV hit for the Adult Swim block
of Cartoon Network's programming. We have covered most of the
seasons, including some Blu-ray versions, so here are the links to
our past coverage:
Season
Three
Blu-ray/DVD Set (includes details on the first two seasons)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8473/Venture+Bros
Season
Four
Blu-ray Set
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10872/Venture+Bros
DVD
Volume One
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10607/Metalocalypse:+Season+3+(2009/Blu-ray)+++The
Season
Five
Blu-ray Set
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12647/The+Venture+Bros.+-+The+Fifth+Season+(2013/
Season
Six
Blu-ray Set
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14467/Adventure+Time:+The+Complete+Sixth+Season
Season
Seven
DVD Set
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15464/The+LEGO+Movie+2:+The+Second+Part+(2019/W
Most
of them are written by a big fan of the show, but as much as I liked
some things I saw, the approach to humor and deconstruction was
uneven and sometimes too obvious, but I can see the appeal overall
and why the show has fans. It is still being talked about for a
reason, including its free form that we rarely see anywhere on TV
today, despite claims of some kind of 'golden age' which is not as
true as it might seem. Now you can see for yourself with this set.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image and lossy Dolby Digital (2.0
Stereo in early seasons, 5.1 mixes for all the seasons above) are as
good as they can be in this format, even with some softness and minor
aliasing errors. Despite a complaint about on Blu-ray season being
visually disappointing, the show is just coming in as HD video became
a more common part of production. Some fans might want Blu-ray all
the way, but others (like many fans of the classic Dr.
Who
series) will be happy to more than settle for the show in this
format.
Extras
repeat all the previous season releases, though a paper foldout gives
more specifics on the extras and titles of all episodes.
Lastly,
Young
IP Man
(2020) is
an action packed adventure from frame one with impressive martial
arts choreography, cinematography, and production design and the
quality that is to be expected with this fine series of international
films. This is the ''Young Karate Kid'' of the series and shows that
the series that transcend its leading man of Donnie Yen if necessary
in this prequel film which stars Zhao Wnhao.
The
film stars Pantheras Freedman, Jonathan Kos-Read, Feng-bin Mou,
Yuqing Shi, and Xiaohu Tong. When his school is overtaken and
students held for ransom, the Young Ip Man (Freedman) does whatever
he can whilst entered into a dangerous plot in the process.
Young
IP Man is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with
an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.65:1 and a
lossless, Mandarin DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) /
lossy Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 and lossless, English DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 with English subtitles and lossy English Dolby
Digital 2.0.
No
Special Features.
Young
Ip Man isn't bad by any means, but maybe not too memorable in the
long run.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (4K, Venture) and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
