Displaying items by tag: Tim Salmons

All right, I’m going to do a quick rundown for you of the major release news over the past few days. I’ve been traveling – over 1800 miles in the last three days – to see the total solar eclipse, which was the experience of a lifetime. Trust me when I say that the difference between seeing a partial eclipse and a total one is literally night and day. It’s well worth experiencing yourself. There’s another one here in the States in just seven years, and more around the rest of the world – one every 18 months somewhere on Earth. If you get the chance to see it yourself, just go. You won’t regret it.

Here at The Bits in the past few days, we’ve posted a trio of new Blu-ray reviews, including Tim’s thoughts on Multiple Maniacs and One-Eyed Jacks from Criterion and, just today, Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead: Season Two. Do give them a look. I should also note that Amazon is finally allowing orders on Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, so if you don’t have it yet, now’s the chance. [Read on here…]

All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Digital Bits...

Just in the last 24 hours, we’ve posted three new disc reviews, including Tim’s thoughts on René Laloux’s classic animated film Fantastic Planet on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection, as well as my two cents on Ridley Scott’s Prometheus in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Fox and also Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. All of them are worth a look, so we hope you enjoy the reviews.

Now then, we have some new announcement news to run down for you today...

First up today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind for release on 4K Ultra HD (in both regular and Limited Edition versions) and Blu-ray formats on 9/19, featuring a new 4K restoration of all three versions of the film (included on BOTH the Blu-ray and 4K editions). Both editions will also include a pair of new featurettes: Three Kinds of Close Encounters, featuring Spielberg with directors J.J. Abrams and Denis Villeneuve, and Steven’s Home Movies & Outtakes. Also included will be legacy features, among them The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind documentary, the Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters featurette, deleted scenes, the 1977 featurette Watch the Skies, Storyboard to Scene Comparisons, an extensive photo gallery, “A View From Above”, and theatrical trailers. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple things for you today…

First, we have three new disc reviews, including Tim’s look at Re-Animator on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, our joint take on Warner’s The LEGO Batman Movie on 4K Ultra HD, and my own look at Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD. All three are worth a look. Re-Animator proves to be the definitive release of that film on Blu-ray and Guardians is a stunning reference-quality 4K release from Disney, even without Dolby Vision. Do give them a look.

More Blu-ray and 4K reviews are on the way, so be sure to stay watch for them. [Read on here…]

All right, sorry for the lack of a news post yesterday, but the reason for it is that we’re hard at work on reviews for you here at The Bits. Speaking of which, late last night I posted my thoughts on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant in 4K Ultra HD format from 20th Century Fox. That streets today. Yesterday afternoon, I also completed a review of Arrow’s new Blu-ray edition of John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, which arrives in stores on 8/29.

Meanwhile, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Scream Factory’s fine new Teen Wolf: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and he’s also taken an exhaustive look at the contents of Sony’s recent Spider-Man: Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray box set. Now, a number of Bits readers have asked me recently what’s in the set, do all the legacy extras carry over, and what new content there may be. Tim has answered all of those questions for you in his review. The highlight of the set if definitely the new Spider-Man 3: Editor’s Cut created by Bob Murawski – we hear it’s a definite improvement upon the theatrical cut. So do give all of the above a look.

Also know that I am currently hard at work on my review of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD format and I hope to have that posted later today. So keep checking back for it. [Read on here…]

We’re kicking things off today with a new Blu-ray review. Tim has posted his thoughts on Andrés Torres’ Bag Boy Lover Boy (2014) now available on BD from Severin Films. You’ll find that here. Note that I’m currently at work on a number of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews, which I expect to post starting tomorrow, so be sure to watch for those.

In announcement news today, Scream Factory has revealed the extras that will be included on their forthcoming Blu-ray release of Dan O’Bannon’s The Resurrected (due on 9/12). Look for a new 2K transfer of the film, a new interview with actress Jane Sibbett (Claire’s Conundrum), a new interview with author S.T. Joshi (The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward), audio commentary (with producers Mark Borde and Kenneth Raich, screenwriter Brent V. Friedman, actor Richard Romanus and make-up effects artist Todd Masters), 4 additional interview featurettes (The Resurrected Man with Chris Sarandon, Abominations & Adaptations with screenwriter Brent Friedman, Grotesque Melodies with composer Richard Band, Lovecraftian Landscapes with production designer Brent Thomas, and Human Experiments with special effects artist Todd Masters), deleted and extended scenes from the workprint, the Japanese trailer and home video trailer, and a photo gallery. You can see the cover artwork at left and pre-order it on Amazon at this link. [Read on here…]

We’ve got a good release news update for you today here at The Bits. But first, a couple of items of note...

This is kind of important for us: It’s getting harder and harder to keep The Bits running, what with server, bandwidth, staff, and other operating costs that seem to be increasing all the time, even as advertising revenue is in decline. It’s a problem many websites are facing these days. But we’re lucky in that we’re an Amazon affiliate. So we’ve just posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. We’d like to humbly ask all our readers: Please use our links when ordering from Amazon. All you have to do is click through any one of our Amazon links here at the site, then we get affiliate credit for literally anything you order from Amazon in that same shopping session. It make a huge difference for us in allowing us to keep The Bits going. This support is critical; it’s the difference between continuing The Bits or not. So we thank you very much for supporting us in this way. [Read on here…]

Hey, folks. I’m be back soon with a larger news update soon. We’ve been doing some server work here at The Bits while we’re in a bit of a lull, plus we’ve been doing some review work as well.

Speaking of which, you may have seen it when I posted it yesterday, but I’ve done a long awaited hardware review: Epson’s PowerLite Home Cinema 5040UB 3 LCD projector. I’ve been demoing it here at The Bits for a few months now and it’s pretty extraordinary. It’s not full native 4K, but it accepts 4K video signals, enhances the imagery via “pixel shifting” to make 4K look almost 4K, makes 1080p HD look more like 4K, displays HDR10 and the entire DCI-P3 color space, and it even displays 3D better than you’ll see in many theatres. If you’re into front projector, it’s one of the best and most affordable home cinema projectors you can buy right now. Do give it a look.

Also, Tim has posted several new Blu-ray reviews, including his thoughts on Paramount’s The Naked Gun Trilogy, Arrow Films’ Pulse, Severin Films/Intervision’s Feed the Light, Grindhouse Releasing’s Massacre Mafia Style, Lionsgate’s Warlock Collection, and Warner Archive’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Enjoy! [Read on here…]

We’re kicking things off today with a brand new View from the Cheap Seats column from our own Bud Elder, who is a genuine walking treasure in his native Oklahoma and everywhere he goes too as far as we’re concerned. This time, he weighs in on Laugh-In, Pink Panther & More Recent Classic Blu-ray/DVD Releases… plus Busey (as in Gary Busey). Bud’s columns are always worth a read, and this one is no different, so do give it a look.

Also today, Tim has turned in two more new Blu-ray reviews, looking at Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (2001) from Arrow Video and the Warlock Collection from Lionsgate via their fine Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Enjoy!

And Russell Hammond has posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, 3D, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. It makes a real difference for us. So thank you! [Read on here…]

Today’s update is a fairly quick one, as we’re working on more new reviews here at the site after finally catching up post Comic-Con.

Speaking of which, Tim has two for you today, including his thoughts on James Gunn’s Slither on Blu-ray from Scream Factory and also the long-awaited Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Blu-ray from the Warner Archive! Both discs are worth your time. And do keep in mind, the better Batman: Mask of the Phantasm sells on Blu-ray, the more likely it is that Warner will be encouraged to re-visit Batman: The Animated Series on the format.

Speaking of Warner Bros, we now have a possible street date (from retail sources) for Wonder Woman on Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD: 9/19. We’re awaiting official confirmation and expect the announcement from the studio any day now. [Read on here…]

Good afternoon, everyone! So there’s a LOT of ground to cover today, including new announcements and some interesting Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K news that came out of Comic-Con this past weekend.

First, though, Tim has checked in with reviews of three films on Blu-ray – reviews originally written by Adam Jahnke here at The Bits, but updated by Tim to cover Shout! Factory and Scream Factory’s recent Steelbook editions: The Fog, They Live, and Escape from New York. Do give them a look.

Also today, Michael Coate is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ron Howard’s Far and Away with a new retrospective in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column. Far and Away, as some of you may know, was one of the last high-profile film productions in 70 mm before the recent theatrical resurgence that’s led (most recently) to Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Michael details the film’s original theatrical release in 70 mm and also interviews Howard biographer Beverly Gray. The article is well worth your time, as always, so we hope you enjoy it. [Read on here…]