Displaying items by tag: Warner Bros

To kick things off today, I’ve got a new review for you: A look at FUNimation’s Speed Racer: The Complete Series Blu-ray, a release I’ve waited years to see. Speed was the first Japanese anime series I ever saw, way back in the late 1960s, long before anyone had any idea what an anime was. Let me tell you, the show looks great in HD; FUNimation has done a really nice job of it. Best of all, the set streeted on Tuesday for just $20 on Amazon.

Now then... some announcements... [Read on here…]

Keeping the essence of Diana Prince was the ultimate goal, according to Wonder Woman producer Geoff Johns and director Patty Jenkins.

They spoke about their passion for the character at the film’s recent WonderCon presentation. Jenkins said a superhero’s origin story is a great way for a child to connect with characters. Wonder Woman is one of the biggest and best-known superheroes but movie goers have never seen her origin story.

Keeping the essence of Diana Prince was the ultimate goal, according to Wonder Woman producer Geoff Johns and director Patty Jenkins. [Read on here…]

All right, the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show is finally under way in Las Vegas today, with a number of the major CE manufacturers holding big press conferences to announce their product line-ups for the year. In fact, I’ve just now sat through Samsung’s big press event (more on that in a minute). I’ll check back in with more tomorrow, but for now let’s get to what news we have so far concerning 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray at the show...

In terms of new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player hardware, obviously Oppo Digital has just launched their debut player on the format, the UDP-203 (SRP $549). I’ve been testing this unit for about a week now and it’s just tremendous. For a first-generation player, it’s very solid, very fast, and it plays just about everything – Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD, plus a wide variety of digital video and audio formats via network and USB. It’s compatible with HDR-10 right out of the box, and it’s also hardware compatible with Dolby Vision; a firmware update in the months ahead will add full Dolby Vision compatibility (keep in mind that no Dolby Vision UHD BD software is yet available, though software is forthcoming – again, more in a moment – and you can stream it now via Netflix and Vudu). Oppo is also working on an audiophile-upgraded version of this player, the UDP-205 (SRP around $1K), due for release later this year. [Read on here…]

Welcome to a new edition of Pick-Ups!

I hope you’re all enjoying your various Halloween marathons, parties, and other activities. I’ve been busy getting a lot of reviews ready as this has been a heavy couple of months for horror releases, as I’m sure you already know. I know I won’t get to all of it before the month is out, but I’ll get to as many of them as I can. I have some good titles lined up for the rest of this week and, hopefully, we won’t have a repeat of Friday and we can stay on schedule.

Anyways, let’s move on to some reviews. [Read on here…]

Welcome to a new edition of Pick-Ups!

Whew. Lemme tell ya. I love Halloween, but it wears me out every year. There’s so much going on, including tons of reviews for the site, that it’s difficult to keep track of it all and still be standing at the end of the day. And unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the Young Frankenstein screening that I mentioned last week as it was sold out, but I may or may not try to attend the encore presentation of it. We’ll see.

Also, I mentioned last week that Turner Classic Movies is showing a ton of great horror movies this month, but you may also want to check out IFC’s schedule. They have some great old B-movie from the 1950s and 1960s that they’re airing regularly, every morning. Definitely something worth putting on while having your coffee if you’re a horror fan.

Anyways, let’s move on to some reviews. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve been busy here at The Bits these last couple days. Just a quick note first: Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’m not working. I turn 49, if you can believe it, which I can’t. But that’s how these things go. In any case, to make up for it, we’ve got a bunch of good stuff for you all to enjoy today. So let’s get to it...

First, I’ve just spent the last six months putting Samsung’s launch 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the UBD-K8500, through its paces and I have my full review for you to check out today. Suffice it to say that there’s never been a debut player for any format (that I know of) that offers so much quality and performance for such a low price. If you’re thinking about upgrading to 4K Ultra HD and you’re looking for the best value for your dollar, this is the player for you. [Read on here…]

All right, let’s get this over with. Our friends over at Trek Core have learned (and they’re right) something that’s going to infuriate Star Trek fans, and sadly suggests that neither Paramount nor Bad Robot have learned from fan complaints about their previous Star Trek Blu-ray mistakes. As you know, Star Trek Beyond is expected to street on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on 11/1, all with lots of extras... except filmmaker audio commentary. Well, you guessed it... once again, the iTunes Digital download version is going to have an exclusive “enhanced” commentary.

[Editor’s Note: Turns out there’s another Target-exclusive Bonus Disc too. See here: “Bonus blu-ray disc with over 90 minutes of extras including 45 minutes of exclusive content: Get a behind the scenes look at the film’s incredible visual effects, costumes and props. Plus, see how Director Justin Lin and the cast and crew of Star Trek Beyond created the climactic Battle of Yorktown, and more!”]

So... yeah. [Read on here…]

We’re kicking off the day today with a couple of new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews... my thoughts on Shout! Factory’s recent Rocky Mountain Express, which is terrific, and Wonders of the Arctic, which is also a nice release. It’s fun to watch these 4K titles mastered from IMAX source material. They really look spectacular. Anyway, I may have at least one more review up today as well if you check back later, which would be Shout!’s Flight of the Butterflies in 4K. So do watch for that.

Here at The Bits today, our own Russell Hammond has just updated the Release Dates & Cover Art section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K cover art, as well as Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anytime you order product from Amazon – literally anything at all – through any of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.  [Read on here…]

So um... yeah. Since yesterday morning, when the SRP and final product images first went up on Amazon – and even before we posted our column on the subject yesterday afternoon – we started getting e-mails and private messages from diehard Rings fans asking: “Is Warner’s Middle Earth: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set really $799.99?!”

I understand the feeling behind that question, believe me, because I feel it too. When I first saw that $799 price listed, I thought surely it was an error. Especially when you consider that the theatrical set was listed at $68.99, and when that price info quickly disappeared.

I figured there was absolutely no way Warner would charge $800 for a Blu-ray release of these films that contained no new disc-based content whatsoever. Had to be a mistake. [Read on here…]

So... yeah. Let’s have today’s good news first.

Remember how we told you late yesterday that Universal was getting reading to release a new The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection – Restored Edition on Blu-ray on 10/18, featuring the recent 4K restorations of The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup. Well, it’s now officially up for pre-order on Amazon.com for $59.98 at this link (and please use our link if you pre-order, because it helps us to keep The Bits going). Here’s what the official cover artwork looks like...  [Read on here…]