![](/cover/16457/CRIMSONPEAK4KARROWLIMED.jpeg)
Blind
War
(2022/Well Go Blu-ray)/Crimson
Peak 4K
(2015/Universal/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)/Doom
Patrol: The Complete Fourth and Final Season
(2023/Warner Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B-/X/B+ Sound: B/A-/B+
Extras: C-/B+/C+ Main Programs: C/B+/C-
Here's
some releases with darker themes...
Suiqiang
Huo's Blind
War
(2022) has a SWAT captain (Pingqing Chen) permanently blinded after a
situation becomes a disaster and he has to leave the force, but an
old enemy still has a grudge against him and will use his handicap
against him as he also threatens both him and he is daughter. What
can he do? Fight back?
The
premise is not bad, with plenty of built-in challenges, but this film
just goes bonkers with its script and does not care about realism,
coherency or anything else going for broke in a film that makes a
Marvel daredevil project seem ultra-realistic. At first, I thought
it would just get a little excessive here and there, but it goes off
course early and to say it never returns to a place where you can
suspend disbelief is an understatement. Too bad, because the actors
are really trying, but it is for genre fans only.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer has a softness
throughout that undermines the action and further holds back a
project that already has issues. The
Mandarin DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is better, but the
mix is professional at best. The combination is fair, but I wonder
if a 4K version would play better.
Extras
only include an Original Theatrical Trailer for this and three other
Well Go USA releases.
Director
Guillermo Del Toro is a rare breed in Hollywood today. A Director
with a unique visual style and an equally strong writer as well. One
of his lesser celebrated films, Crimson
Peak
(2015), sees its second (and best) release on home video courtesy of
Arrow Video in this single disc edition.
Crimson
Peak
stars Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, and Jessica
Chastain.
A
unique ghost story set in the 1800s, Crimson
Peak
is a gothic romance centering around Edith (Wasikowska) who falls for
the handsome Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) after the mysterious
death of her father. She moves to be with him in his bizarre family
estate known as Crimson Peak with his odd but alluring sister Lady
Lucille (Chastain). Despite being warned by the ghost of her mother
at an early age to 'beware of Crimson Peak', she ends up discovering
that the house has many horrors and sinister secrets hiding within
it... some that involve her new family.
I
feel that this film will get a cult following in the years to come
and will be remembered as a unique landmark in Del Toro's career.
While it's not as strong as The
Shape of Water
or Pan's
Labyrinth,
the film is closer to the tone of some of his Spanish film
productions like The
Devil's Backbone,
but has more of a horror element akin to a Hammer horror film than
other works he has created. Speaking of, there's several shout outs
to Hammer throughout, including the main character's last name
'Cushing' (of course, referring to Hammer horror actor Peter
Cushing), which fans will snicker at. It's too bad Peter Cushing or
Christopher Lee aren't still alive to have made an appearance.
Crimson
Peak 4K
is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with Dolby Vision / HDR10, an
HEVC / H.265 codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and audio
tracks in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit). The
cinematography in this film is breathtaking and captured in heighten
detail in this much improved upon transfer over the previously
released 1080p Blu-ray version. This is a beautiful looking transfer
that is a profound improvement a is definitely the definitive way to
enjoy the film and all of its lush gothic cinematography and sound
design.
Special
Features include:
Audio
commentary by co-writer and director Guillermo del Toro
The
House is Alive: Constructing Crimson Peak,
a feature-length documentary with cast and crew interviews and
extensive behind the scenes footage
Spanish
language interview with Guillermo del Toro
The
Gothic Corridor, The Scullery, The Red Clay Mines, The Limbo Fog Set;
four featurettes exploring different aspects of Allerdale Hall
A
Primer on Gothic Romance,
the director and stars talk about the key traits of Gothic romance
The
Light and Dark of Crimson Peak,
the cast and crew talk about the film's use of color
Hand
Tailored Gothic,
a featurette on the film's striking costumes
A
Living Thing,
a look at the design, modeling and construction of the Allerdale Hall
sets
Beware
of Crimson Peak,
a walking tour around Allerdale Hall with Tom Hiddleston
Crimson
Phantoms,
a featurette on the film's amazing ghosts
Kim
Newman on Crimson Peak and the Tradition of Gothic Romance,
an interview with the author and critic
Violence
and Beauty in Guillermo del Toro's Gothic
Fairy Tale Films,
a video essay by the writer Kat Ellinger
Deleted
scenes
Image
gallery
Original
trailers and TV spots
and
a Reversible Sleeve featuring original and exclusive artwork by
Artist Guy Davis.
Crimson
Peak
on 4K UHD is a welcome and noteworthy upgrade to the previously
released 1080p Blu-ray edition, which also looks strong for the
format.
Previous
seasons of this DC limited series are also available for reference
elsewhere on this site.
DC's
adult spin-off series for Max streaming service, Doom
Patrol
(2023), lands on Blu-ray in its final season, Season
Four.
While the series started off with more creative focus and production
design in its earlier seasons, this last season pretty much moves
along with a feeling like you can tell everyone involved just wanted
it to end already. This is definitely a DC series that will divide
the audience to either those who love it or those who hate it, but
this reviewer feels it drug on a bit too long for its own good.
Doom
Patrol
stars Matt Bomer, April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero, Joivan Wade, Brendan
Fraser, and Alan Tudyk.
Taking
place after the Titans
series, the Doom Patrol, consisting of Robotman, Negative Man,
Elasti-Woman, and Crazy Jane, and led by Dr. Niles Caulder / Chief,
receive a mission from Cyborg (who looks like a cosplayer by the way)
that they cannot ignore and will change their lives and end their
missions once and for all. While the season isn't a total loss and
does have some good moments here and there, it's attempt to mix
melodrama with characters shaped like human butts and language on a
fourth grade level really dumbs it down. James Gunn is a great
example of a writer who can pull this kind of thing off as proven
with Peacemaker
and Suicide
Squad,
but this feels like an imitation of that and might not work for
everyone.
Doom
Patrol
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.20:1 and a lossless,
English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) soundmix. The
film has been translated to 1080p Blu-ray looking fine with no real
issues and matches the about the same level of presentation as the
original broadcast version on streaming. The digital VFX are really
low for a series of this budget. At times this season felt like I was
watching a series on the SyFy channel as some of the effects were
laughably bad. This would be highlighted more prominently in a 2160p
presentation so luckily we don't have to endure that yet.
Special
Features only include three featurettes: Unsung
Heroes,
Transformation
Patrol,
and Off-Off-Broadway.
Doom
Patrol
is finally over and thanks to his Blu-ray set we can finally put the
nail in the coffin so to speak and put this mixed effort to rest.
The pitch meeting for this had to have showcases a more R-rated
approach to a Guardians
of the Galaxy-style
underdog superhuman team-up. A bunch of sarcastic superhero losers
bantering first and fighting later. But I have a feeling James Gunn
(who wrote and directed the Guardians
of the Galaxy
trilogy) would have handled this material differently, making this
feel like a distant rip-off of that style of film.
For
example, it seems like this series didn't really know where it was
going from the get-go as is proven in its hideous series finale.
When monsters shaped like human butts (with teeth) attack an operatic
Sorceress who sings to them whilst opening up other dimensions, I
started to mentally check out. This writing is a new DC low, but
with adult curse words thrown into the mix. It attempts to be
touching at times, but do we really care? None of these characters
have been particularly like-able in the same way that Rocket Raccoon
or Groot were. I think it became apparent to studio heads at the
point this and other series on Max that DC needed saving, and lucky
Peter Safran and James Gunn have come in to stop lackluster product
like this going forward.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Blind)
and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/