WARNER BROS. 4K ULTRA HD EDITION!
THE GOONIES (1985) - BEETLEJUICE (1988) - SHERLOCK HOLMES (2011) - SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011)
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)
Rating: PG
Duration: 114 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen, 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Joe Pantoliano, Lupe Ontiveros, Ke Huy Quan
Amblin Entertainment's The Goonies (1985) was produced Steven Spielberg (Jaws) and directed by Richard Donner (The Omen), a kid adventure flick that came at just the I saw in the cinema and was immediately struck with, an adventure for pirate loot that plunges a band of kids known as the goonies into a swashbuckling quest beyond their wildest dreams, all the while being chased by a family of bumbling bad guys, the Fratellis. This has gone onto become the kid adventure film by which all others are measured, and for good reason, it's a damn near perfect film with great casting and tons of swashbuckling fun, and it's aged particularly well. The new 4K release from Warner Bros. offers a tight-looking UHD presentation with HDR enhancement, that if I am being honest, are not gonna blow your socks off, The murky interiors and low-light adventures certainly have deep blacks and notably superior shadow detail but the film just is not a dazzling visual splendor, but on occasion the HDR does make the colors of stuff Chunk's Hawaiian short pop a little bit. The extras are the same as the 25th Anniversary release and all the extras are on the Blu-ray, which is just the same disc from the last Blu-ray release, not the new transfer. It does come with a cool-looking embossed slipcover as well as a 4K UHD digital code for the film, but The Goonies is not a particularly eye-popping 4K release for those craving candy colored visuals and crazy amounts of fine detail go, and a lack of a Atmos remix seems lazy to me, but the image is technically string and accurate, and is still worth an upgrade if you're 4K enabled.
Special Features:
- Cast Audio Commentary
- Hidden Treasures Pop-Up Track
- "The Making of The Goonies" Vintage Featurette
- Deleted Scenes
- Cyndi Lauper Music Video - "The Goonies R Good Enough"
- Theatrical Trailer
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free (UHD), A (Blu-ray)
Rating: PG
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, TrueHD 7.1, DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder. And Michael Keaton
When a kind-hearted country couple played by Alec Baldwin (The Shadow) and Geena Davis (Thelma &amo Louise) die in a car accident, afterward they return to their beloved home in their ghostly forms to find that it has been taken over by trendy yuppies from the city (Jeffrey Jones, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Catherine O'Hara, After Hours). Having lost their guide to the afterlife they fail to scare them off with their half-hearted haunting, but do manage to befriend the yuppies goth-damaged daughter, played by Winona Rider (Heathers). At their wits-end, and on the verge of being exorcised they call on the afterlife's bio-exorcist Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton, Batman) to scare off the family, which opens up a whole new can of worms for the recently deceased. A strange and wonderful film that introduced the world to Burton's macabre fantasy visions, and also a weird little meditation on death. My favorite stuff in the film coming from supporting cast Sylvia Sidney (Mars Attacks) as an afterlife case worker and Glenn Shadix
(Sleepwalkers) as a yuppie art-damaged wanna-be exorcist. This was my first date movie when I was fifteen, so it still gives me the nostalgic fuzzies whenever I watch it, and this new 4K Ultra HD presentation is fantastic, the HDR10 gives the rustic county colors a kick, and then when things go supernatural with the neon green and blues it's feast for the yes, but not in gaudy overcooked HDR sort of way, it's still true to Burton vision but it allows the colors to shine like never before. Warner Bros. do it up right with a new Dolby Atmos mix that creates a wondrous immersive platform for the haunting hijinx, not to the Danny Elfman (Mars Attacks) score, at a time before he started recycling his own cues.
Again, no new extras, just the three episodes of the cartoon series and a trailer, which is a shame, this is a film long-deserving of a true a special edition with a retrospective making of documentary with all the bells and whistles. Sadly the accompanying Blu-ray is the same improperly 1.78:1 framed HD release as seen before, not a new scan, but we do get a 4K UHD digital code for the film and a spiffy looking slipcover. Lack of bonus features aside this is a very significant upgrade over the 2008 Blu-ray release, stunningly so, and it gets the highest recommendation. Now I want both Burton's Mars Attacks and Sleep Hollow UHD, and I want it right now!
Special Features:
- Three Beetlejuice Cartoon Episodes
- Isolated Music Score
- Trailer
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free, A
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 128 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen, 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009) starring Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) as the titular Holmes and Jude Law (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) as his capable sidearm Dr. John Watson begin investigating a series of ritualistic murders, committed unrepentant occultist named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong, Shazam!). Blackwood is captured by Holmes and his scheduled hanging, but he warns Holmes that death is just the beginning, and sure enough after his burial he seems to have been resurrected and is hatching a diabolical plan that threatens all of Europe and the world. Now with the game properly afoot Holmes and Watson must race to thwart the evil-doers deadly plot. Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes is a kinetic bit of steampunk powered fun with an occult element that I loved, plus the humor is sure-footed and the chemistry between Downey and Law is terrific. Sherlock Holmes on 4K Ultra HD looks quite good, the film is filtered through sepia tone color grading, lots of tans, browns and dull muted colotrs, but the 4K resolution and HDR10 color-grading does give highlights and textures a nice burst, clothing textures look particularity well defines, from the period woolen overcoats to the crushed velvet and greenish highlights throughout it looks much tighter. More so than and autumnal colors the thing the benefits the most from the HDR10 are black levels and shadow detail, with truer, deeper and inkier blacks throughout. Sadly no Atmos, just the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 from the Blu-ray, and the accompanying Blu-ray is the same disc as the previous release, no new scan, and all the same extras, but only on the Blu-ray, no extras on the UHD. We do get an attractive slipcase with a white background along with a 4K digital redemption code. The UHD visuals are superior to the Blu-ray but not vibrantly so, though we do get a tighter more well-defined presentation with warmer colors it's not gonna have that 4K wow-factor but it is an unmistakable upgrade over the Blu-ray.
Special Features:
- Maximum Movie Mode
- Focus Points
- Sherlock Holmes: Reinvented
- BD-Live Functionality
Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free, A
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 129 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p UHD Widescreen, 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan, Geraldine James, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Noomi Rapace
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and Jude Law (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) returned in Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011), now acing off against the detectives greatest nemesis, the cunning Professor Moriarty embodied by Jared Harris (HBO's Chernobyl). The sequel amps up the action with an arms dealer element that ensures plenty of weapons grade bombast in addition to some pleasing bout of fisticuffs, it's an action-packed sequel that takes what you loved about the first film and amps it up to the nth degree. This time we also get some fun globetrotting with the duo travelling to France, Germany and ending in Switzerland, showcasing some other environs outside of dreary old London. Harris is a great counterpoint to Downey's holmes, his equal on so many levels, usually one step ahead of the great detective, with a finale that is not so much razzle-dazzle action as it is a game of wits played over chess. Like the first film the 4K Ultra HD presentation is good but not exactly eye-candy with it's sepia tone color grading with it's drab shades of browns. Also there is no Atmos remix, just the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 from the Blu-ray, and the accompanying Blu-ray is the same disc as the previous release, with no new scan and the same extras relegated to the Blu-ray, there are no extras on the UHD disc. We do get an attractive slipcase with a white background that is complementary to the first film's presentation, along with a 4K digital redemption code. A fun sequel that not gonna have that 4K wow-factor but still an upgrade over the Blu-ray.
Special Features:
- Maximum Movie Mode
- A Game of Shadows Movie App
- Focus Points
If I am going to give one of these for a recommendation over the others and say that it's worth your heard earned dollars it is gonna have to be the Beeltlejuice release, hands down. Not only does it have a stunning 4K presentation with a vibrant and refreshed HDR10 color-grading, but it is the only one among the four to benefit from a new and quite lively Dolby Atmos remix, but it still lacks any new extras, and it's the one that needed new extras the most, so while that is very disappointing the A/V presentation is quite wonderful.
