Displaying items by tag: Oscars

As we so often do, we’re starting the new week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews, including…

Tim’s look at Riccardo Freda’s The Ghost (1963) in 4K Ultra HD from Severin Films, as well as Louis Malle’s The Fire Within (1963) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.

Stephen’s thoughts on Can Evrenol’s Baskin (2015) in 4K Ultra HD, also from Severin.

Dennis’ take on Kenneth Branagh’s Dead Again (1991) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I (1987) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films, and Olaf Ittenbach’s Garden of Love (2003) on Blu-ray from Unearthed Films.

And finally, Stuart’s reviews of George Marshall’s Hold That Blonde! (1945) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Warner Archive’s Robert Taylor Collection on Blu-ray, which includes Devil’s Doorway (1950), Westward the Women (1951), Ivanhoe (1952), and The Last Hunt (1956).

Watch for more new disc reviews here all this week!

Now then, last night was the Academy Awards, and I think it’s safe to say that there weren’t too many surprises in terms of winners and losers. I was certainly glad to see Autumn Durald Arkapaw become the first woman to win Best Cinematography for Sinners, and to see Michael B. Jordan to win Best Actor for the same film.

While I’m talking Michael B. Jordan, this is a good time to mention that he was great in the very first thing I ever saw him in as well, which was NBC’s Friday Night Lights (2009-2011) TV series. The show is fantastic, and it doesn’t get nearly the love it deserves. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. The series brilliantly chronicles small town life in America, and it’s about a lot more than just high school football (though that part is great too). Do give it a look—I think you’ll really enjoy it. [Read on here...]

All right, welcome to a new week Bits readers!

Today is all about James Cameron here at the website, and to that end I’ve just finished knocking out in-depth reviews of the filmmaker’s The Abyss (1989), Aliens (1986), and True Lies (1994) in long-awaited physical 4K Ultra HD and remastered Blu-ray from 20th Century Studios!

The gist is that all three of these discs are worth picking up for Cameron fans and cinephiles, though one of the three titles is a bit complicated. The Abyss is the best looking of the three, nearly on par with the recent Titanic 4K release. Aliens is not far behind in terms of A/V quality and both titles include a nearly complete archive of all past special features created for the films.

True Lies is... well, it looks a lot better than the previous DVD, LaserDisc, and D-VHS releases. Sometimes, it looks fantastic. But at other times, the remastering is a little bit heavy-handed.

It’s still way better looking than StudioCanal’s Terminator 2 4K release though, so it’s a very solid upgrade over previous physical media releases, and it includes some nice features too.

Anyway, you’ll find all of the details in the linked reviews.

But while we’re on the topic of Cameron—and speaking the Terminator—producer Gale Anne Hurd shared over the weekend that plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Cameron’s original The Terminator (1984) are soon to be revealed. And we have good word that a new 4K Ultra HD release will chief among them. In the meantime, you can see her post on X/Twitter here. [Read on here...]

All right, I certainly hope you all had a great weekend and that those of you who watched last night’s Oscar telecast enjoyed it and found all of the winners disserving.

For my money, the Academy actually got it right for a change: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite was far and away the most original and interesting of the Best Picture-nominated films this year and it’s richly deserving of its win. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you should correct that oversight as soon as you can.

I reviewed the film on Blu-ray Disc a few weeks ago here at The Bits (you can read my thoughts here) and I’ve already contacted Universal to ask if the Best Picture win makes it more likely that the studio will finally give the film the physical media 4K release it deserves. We’ll see. [Read on here...]

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Happy Leap Day! All right, we’ve just posted our first Ultra HD Blu-ray review here at The Digital Bits, and its none other than Ridley Scott’s The Martian, which is now available in 4K from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Do check it out, as I think you’ll find it interesting (whether or not you intend to upgrade to UHD anytime soon).

I’m going to be posting a few more UHD title reviews this week here at The Bits, and then early next week I’ll post a larger column talking generally about my experiences with the format after a week’s worth of calibrating, testing, and viewing. I’ll give you my overall impressions, offer some advice on setup, and the like. [Read on here…]

Now where was I?

Sorry, I’ve not been here. I missed a bit – I’ll admit it and it for sure wasn’t to do with health or disinterest or a lack in passion. I just had to do stuff. But now I’m back.

But I come with good stories. Specifically regarding how movie awards season works.  [Read on here...]