Displaying items by tag: The Matrix Trilogy 4K

This is just a quick update to say that there’s going to be no news post today. But the reason is a good one.

First though, over the weekend I posted my in-depth reviews of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Trilogy in 4K Ultra HD here at The Bits.

Like The Matrix in UHD before it, these sequels arrive on the format in fine quality with impressively upgraded image quality and reference-quality Dolby Atmos audio mixes.

They’re definitely recommended, though with the qualification that a few features from the previous The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray set do not carry over. The details are in the review. [Read on here...]

Sadly, the news today is dominated by the announcement that Turner Classic Movies and Criterion’s FilmStruck streaming service for well-curated classic, arthouse, indie, hard-to-find, and cult movies will be shutting down on 11/29 and has already stopped accepting new subscribers. You can read more here and here.

This is apparently driven the desire by AT&T, which recently purchased Time Warner, to streamline its business by cutting niche services. Though FilmStuck was wildly popular with cinephiles, the audience was small compared to the kind of mass market profit-making a modern media conglom-o-monster prefers. Said Turner and WB Digital Media in a statement today:

“We’re incredibly proud of the creativity and innovations produced by the talented and dedicated teams who worked on FilmStruck over the past two years. While FilmStruck has a very loyal fanbase, it remains largely a niche service. We plan to take key learnings from FilmStruck to help shape future business decisions in the direct-to-consumer space and redirect this investment back into our collective portfolios.” [Read on here...]

All right, sorry we’ve been a little low-key here at The Bits this week. We’ve been spending our time in one of two ways:

First, we’re recovering from our recent server and Russian bot issues and doing some upgrading and adjusting to make sure everything is working smoothly going forward.

Second, we’re reviewing Blu-ray and 4K titles like mad!

Today, we’ve posted my looks at Universal’s Invisible Man, The: Complete Legacy Collection and Creature from the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection. Tim has also delivered his thoughts on Maximum Overdrive from Lionsgate’s Vestron Video Collector’s Series. David has offered his thoughts on the Japanese cult classic Battle in Outer Space from Sony. And Dennis has turned in his review of the new City Slickers: Collector’s Edition from Shout! Factory’s Shout Select line-up. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

Sorry for the lack of news posts these last couple of days, as I’ve been slammed working on disc reviews. As such, we’ve got a bunch of new and recent ones for you, including...

My own take on Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron in 4K Ultra HD (my Avengers: Infinity War review is coming soon as well, I just need time to check out the full audio commentary).

Tim’s review of John Carpenter’s Someone’s Watching Me! on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

Dennis’ look of Nicholas Meyer’s The Day After on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And David’s take on Truth or Dare (2018) on Blu-ray from Universal and Blumhouse.Lots more reviews are coming over the next few days, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re kicking things off today with four more reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on the Windrider: Special Collection’s Edition Blu-ray from the MVD Rewind Collection. David has checked out Super Troopers 2 on Blu-ray from Fox. And Dennis has a look for you at William H. Macy’s Krystal on good old DVD from Lionsgate.

Meanwhile, I’ve posted my in-depth review of John McTiernan’s original Predator (1987) on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The disc streets today, and you should be aware that the film looks exactly as it should in 4K, with a great transfer that preserves the original grain. The film has never looked better. Note that the package also includes the previous Ultimate Hunter Edition Blu-ray, which still has the excessive DNR.

As for the Predator 3-Film Collection in 4K Ultra HD, know that Predator 2 also features a terrific new native 4K scan, while Predators is a decent 2K DI upsample. The package also includes the same Blu-ray editions as before. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a few interesting things for you today...

First up, be sure you check out the reviews we’ve posted over the last couple days. To recap, my take on Sony’s Fury and Universal’s Pacific Rim: Uprising in 4K, plus Tim’s look at A Pistol for Ringo/The Return of Ringo from Arrow and Zombie 4: After Death from Severin. Enjoy!

Also here today, we’ve updated the Release Dates & Artwork section with all kinds of new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com links. Shopping through our links helps us keep going here at The Bits, so please do (and we appreciate it)!

And we have a couple of 4K Ultra HD title updates for you. First, it looks like 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing the original Predator in 4K on 8/7. Zavvi currently has it available for pre-order in the UK on 8/6, and Amazon US has a new Predator Trilogy Blu-ray box set listed for 8/7, so it’s likely that the 4K disc will be available then as well. Zavvi is also listing a Predator 3-Movie Collection 4K set that would include Predator, Predator 2, and Predators for release that same day. We’ll have to wait and see if Fox announces this officially. [Read on here...]