Displaying items by tag: Tim Salmons

Afternoon, folks! We’ve got some great stuff for you here at The Bits today…

First up, Tim has turned in a review of Shout! Factory’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume IV, which includes the episodes Space Mutiny, Overdrawn at the Memory Back, Girl in Gold Boots, and Hamlet. The disc is now available, so do give it a look.

Meanwhile, we have a new MOS DEF column from Mark A. Altman as well today, in which he takes a look back at his favorite Blu-ray releases of 2016. We’ll have more from Mark later this week too. Enjoy!

In announcement news today, the BIG news is that Disney and Lucasfilm have just officially set Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for Blu-ray Combo, DVD, and On Demand release on 4/4, with a Digital HD release set for 3/24. There’s no word yet of a 4K version, but it appears that Target and Best Buy will have retail-exclusive Blu-ray 3D versions on 4/4 (per Star Wars.com). The Target package appears to match the Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition. The Best Buy package comes in a Steelbook. Walmart will also have exclusive packaging. Extras on the Blu-rays will include 11 behind-the-scenes featurettes (A Rogue Idea, Jyn: The Rebel, Cassian: The Spy, K-2SO: The Droid, Baze & Chirrut: Guardians of the Whills, Bodhi & Saw: The Pilot & The Revolutionary, The Empire, Visions of Hope: The Look of Rogue One, The Princess & The Governor, Epilogue: The Story Continues, and Rogue Connections). Note that the lack of deleted scenes – and we know there are many – or audio commentary suggests that a more elaborate Collector’s Edition BD release is coming later this year. You can see the cover artwork at the left and below. [Read on here…]

We’re starting today with a pair of new Blu-ray Disc reviews, both of them from Universal. Tim’s given Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings a spin and found it well worth your time, especially if you missed it in the theater. It’s probably the best animated film of 2016, so do give it a look. Tim has also reviewed Universal’s Blu-ray upgrade of Peter Jackson’s King Kong: Ultimate Edition, which includes damn near all of the extras from the previous and elaborate DVD box sets. It’s also available for a great price too – just $13.99 on Amazon right now. Give the reviews a read and I think you’ll enjoy them.

Also, we’ve just posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K cover artwork and pre-order links. As always, anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through any one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it very much. So please do and thank you! [Read on here…]

We’re kicking off today’s update here at The Bits with a trio of new disc reviews...

First up, I spent the whole day yesterday going through Sony’s new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition of Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. The package includes 4K, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and Digital HD. Whatever you may think of the film itself, this A/V presentation is a must have for 4K enthusiasts. Full native 4K in 60 frames per second with High Dynamic Range and Dolby Atmos audio is a helluva thing.

Also, Tim has checked out a pair of regular Blu-rays for you, including Sony’s Don’t Breathe and Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ Haunted Honeymoon. Both are worth your time. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple things for you this evening here at The Bits…

First up, I’ve spent some time this afternoon talking with those involved in mastering and QC for Paramount Home Entertainment, and have just updated my review of Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival in 4K Ultra HD format with much new information about the transfer and HDR. There’s been some concern by other reviewers that the film image is too dark, and that there must be a mastering error, but having reviewed the 4K disc myself here at The Bits, it was my suspicion that the darker image on the 4K disc (compared to the Blu-ray) was a deliberate creative decision by the filmmakers, similar to the situation with Fox’s The Revenant. That suspicion, as it turns out, was correct. So the review has been fully updated with additional details and information that should help to illuminate the situation. You can find that here. [Read on here…]

All right, after several days of hard work (with lots more to go), The Bits is finally up and running on newly-updated database software. You may have noticed that The Bits looks a little different here today, and this is why. We’ve got lots more tweaking to do, and there will probably be some things that are broken around here that we’ll have to get around to fixing, but for now the basics seem to be working. Please bear with us as we dial everything in here at the site and get things buttoned up. Code and functionality updates like this are the bane of any webmaster, but you gotta get them done.

Meanwhile, here at The Bits today, we’ve got a pair of new Blu-ray reviews. Tim has checked out William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A.: Collector’s Edition from Shout Select, as well as Michael Anderson’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze from the Warner Archive.

And I’ve got a whole mess of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews coming, now that our server updates are nearly completed. Watch for those starting Monday with Denis Villeneuve’s The Arrival from Paramount first up on deck.  [Read on here…]

All right, Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K announcements have been few and far between in the last few days, but we’ve got a couple of interesting things to report today to close out the week.

First though, we have four new horror Blu-ray reviews from Tim Salmons for those of you who are fans of the genre. Tim has taken a look at Synapse’s Phenomena: Limited Edition, David Cronenberg’s The Brood from Criterion, Arrow Video’s The Initiation, and Grindhouse Releasing’s I Drink Your Blood. Do give them a look.  [Read on here…]

We’re starting the new week off with a new Scream for a Week column from our own Tim Salmons, featuring new reviews of Scream Factory’s Hellhole, #Horror, and Dreamscape: Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray Disc. Do give them a look.

Also today, we have a few bits of great new title announcement news…

First up, Lionsgate has set Garth Davis’ critically accalaimed film Lion for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/21.  [Read on here…] 

Welcome to our newest column addition Scream for a Week!

Congratulations! You made it to 2017! Starting the column off for the New Year is Lifeforce (reviewed by good ole Dr. Jahnke), the amazing Tobe Hooper/Cannon Films, naked lady vampire masterpiece from the 80's. Following that up are a trio of new reviews, including one for the recently released Dreamscape, which has been given a spiffy new transfer and some nice extras. Next is Hellhole, the mostly-forgotten women in prison movie from the 80's, chock full of sleaze and oddball characters. The last of the new reviews is a relatively recent movie #Horror, which plumbs the depths of cyberbullying. And, last but not least, is an oldy but a goody: Nightmares, the anthology movie that was difficult to obtain for many years. [Read on here...]

Okay, we’ve got some good stuff for you today here at The Bits...

First up, our own Michael Coate has just turned in another new History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at the site, this time featuring a look back at Michael Todd’s Around the World in 80 Days in honor of the film’s 60th anniversary! His roundtable discussion includes film historians Sheldon Hall, Martin Hart, and Kim Holston. Do give it a look, as we think you’ll really enjoy it. And, believe it or not, Michael has one last retrospective History, Legacy & Showmanship column for 2016 coming tomorrow afternoon, so be sure to check back then for it.  [Read on here…]

We kick things off today here at The Bits with a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate. This time, Michael takes a look back at the Bond film Diamonds Are Forever in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary this year (it was originally released in the U.S. on 12/17/1971). His column features another great roundtable discussion with leading Bond experts and film historians, including Jon Burlingame, John Cork, Bill Desowitz, Lee Pfeiffer, and Bruce Scivally. We certainly hope you enjoy it!

Also today, our own Tim Salmons has turned in another new Blu-ray review, this time featuring a look at Arrow Video’s new Creepshow 2: Special Edition. The disc is now available in stores and it’s well worth your time if you’re a fan of the film.  [Read on here…]