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John Sciacca

Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

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Wrath of Kahn

review | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

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The best entry in the Star Trek film series benefits subtly from a 4K HDR upgrade

by John Sciacca
updated June 15, 2023

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is widely considered the best film in the original series of Trek films. It has a great villain, action, an easy-to-understand plot, and a massive shock of an ending that also set up the next film. 

Compared to Star Wars—a film that had a similar budget and that debuted three years earlier—the effects in Khan are noticeably sub-par. (And, admittedly, havent benefitted from decades of the ILM team’s reworking.) Laser blasts and photon torpedoes look like theyve just been drawn in, some of the ship flying sequences and explosions are clearly models, and one scene is very obviously on a stage with matte paintings. We also dont get nearly the stage dressing and attention to detail—just take a look at a lot of the switches and knobs aboard instrument clusters on the Enterprise and it appears they dont do anything. Of course, some of these are just byproducts of the era—and the difference of what weve come to expect from high-quality CGI—that are more noticeable now with 4Ks enhanced resolution and detail.

Filmed in 35mm, the original negative was in terrible shape” and received a 1080p remastering back in 2009 for the Blu-ray release. Theres no word that I could find about the sourcing of this 4K HDR version, but my guess is that it is taken from a 2K digital intermediate.

The big thing youll notice is how clean the images look. Right from the get-go, the opening title sequence and blackness of space just look clean and sharp. The shots in space all look especially good, with deep blacks and bright white star points. There is a fair bit of grain in the opening scenes aboard the Enterprise but that seems to be less noticeable as the film goes on, or maybe I just got used to it.

Another thing that really stood out is a pretty noticeable change in focus and sharpness in some scenes, sometimes even when cutting back and forth to two characters talking. At first, I thought it was maybe vanity defocusing to not show Shatners age but it wasnt—hes sharp and clear in some shots, and soft and diffuse in others. This is all the more noticeable because of the generally sharp edges and images throughout most of the film, with some images looking as clean and sharp as a modern production. When focus is sharp, closeups have tons of detail, revealing every line and wrinkle in Kirks face, pores in Khans chin, or the heavy facial makeup on Spock. You can also really appreciate the rich, thick burgundy felt texture of the uniform jackets worn by the Enterprise crew.

There are some bright highlights in the form of strobing lightning flashes, stars, explosions, and video screens, but where HDR really benefits is in shadow detail and just overall realistic, natural-looking images. Color gamut didnt look especially expanded, but we get some nicely saturated reds and greens.

The 4K HDR download features a 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, which differs from the 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD audio found on the Blu-ray disc (and Kaleidescape Blu-ray download). This mix is heavily focused on the front three channels, and definitely seems pretty undynamic by modern standards.

Audio effects like wind sounds, sirens, alarms, and explosions get a bit of width, as does James Horners score. My processors Dolby upmixer did its best to expand the soundstage, with some steam and engine sounds placed up overhead; and the Enterprise jumping to warp speed had it streak high up across the ceiling. Fortunately, dialogue is pretty clear throughout.

Time has been mostly kind to Wrath of Khan, and it certainly has never looked as good it does here. For Trek fans, this is a no-brainer—its great to revisit the original crew of the Enterprise on one of their finest adventures. But for those new to the series—and younger viewers—might be better served jumping into the new films, which are certainly heavier on the action, effects, and sonic bombast.

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | The 4K HDR upgrade results in improved shadow detail and clean, sharp, natural-looking images throughout

SOUND | The 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is heavily focused on the front three channels and pretty undynamic by modern standards

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Review: Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Dora and the Lost City of Gold

review | Dora and the Lost City of Gold

This imaginative live-action translation of the Nickelodeon series offers an adventure-filled family night at the movies

by John Sciacca
update June 7, 2023

Based on the animated Nickelodeon series Dora the Explorer, Dora and the Lost City of Gold modernizes many of the beloved characters and puts them on a jungle adventure. My oldest daughter, Lauryn, used to watch the animated series, so I was familiar with the main characters: Dora (Isabela Merced), her cousin Diego (Jeff Wahlberg, nephew of those other Wahlbergs), Swiper the stealing fox (voiced by Benicio Del Toro), and Boots the monkey (voiced by Danny Trejo). I also knew about Doras talking Map and Backpack, whose voices are reprised by original voice actors Marc Weiner and Sasha Toro respectively.

Fortunately, you arent required to know anything about the animated series to enjoy City of Gold, but those who are will appreciate some of the clever overt and subtle nods and references to the series sprinkled throughout, such as how Dora occasionally turns to the camera and says things like, This is a golden poison frog. Can you say, severe neuro-toxicity?’” which is one of cartoon-Doras signature educational moves.

There’s a fair bit of action for a kids movie, certainly enough to keep adults entertained, but most of it is fairly tame. And while there is some peril, there are no fatalities or gunplay. Much of the adventure is Goonies-style, with rolling logs, underground water slides, and different puzzle-traps to solve. It also reminded me a bit of Lara Croft-lite, with adventuring Dora taking point and using her wits and skills to lead the group.

Both Boots and Swiper are animated in a far more cartoony style than the hyper-realistic animals featured in The Lion King (2019) but this is by design. However, a couple of other animals (namely a boa constrictor and pair of scorpions) also show their CGI-origins. The film does contain one fully animated scene, which is a great homage to the original series.

Dora on 4K HDR looks way better than any kids movie has any right to. My first note on the film was, Image is super clean and sharp.” Filmed in ArriRaw in 3.4 and 4.5K, Dora is taken from a true 4K digital intermediate, and the image quality definitely shows. Closeups reveal individual strands of hair, the texture of clothing fabric, and the detail of the jungle terrain.

Colors are also vibrant, with lots of bright yellows, greens, blues, and reds. This is especially true in the closing credits song-and-dance number, where the school student body comes together in multi-colored outfits. The bright, daytime jungle scenes also look terrific. And there are a few shots of bright fires and blazing sunsets that also benefit from the wider color gamut, as well as the brilliant, lustrous gold of statues and idols.

HDR is used throughout to deliver deep blacks, especially during the night scenes or when the gang is inside some location solving a puzzle. In one scene, they need to use sunlight and mirrors to bounce bright light around a room using reflective bowls, producing both dark blacks and piercing brightness.

Sonically, Dora also benefits from a fairly dynamic Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The jungle is filled with atmospheric sounds like birds, insects, and dripping water that immerse you in the location. During one scene, arrows whip past and overhead or thunk into walls. The sound team takes other opportunities to get creative with the sound placement, like a ringing school bell, Boots racing around the jungle treetops, water flooding the room, or voices. Bass is also appropriately deep and engaging when called for, especially during the finale at Parapata.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold makes for a fun family night at the movies—entertaining and humorous for adults (my wife especially liked the dig a pooh hole” song), without being too intense or mature for kids. Its a film younger viewers may want to visit more than once, drawn to Doras infectious charm. It also has the bonus of looking and sounding terrific in your home system, making it a real win in my book.

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | Dora on 4K HDR looks way better than a kids movie has any right to, with images that are super clean and sharp

SOUND | Dora also benefits from a fairly dynamic Dolby Atmos soundtrack, with the jungle filled with atmospheric sounds like birds, insects, and dripping water that immerse you in the location

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Review: Jumanji: The Next Level

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

review | Jumanji: The Next Level

This sequel mixes things up inventively from the original, resulting in a solid videogame-like adventure

by John Sciacca
update June 2, 2023

It’s really no surprise that 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle received the sequel greenlight. As star Jack Black, returning to portray game character Professor Shelly Oberon, quips in one of the special features, “After the first film made $900 million, I wasn’t really surprised when they called us back to do another.”

For those unfamiliar with Jumanji, these latest films are a reboot of the 1995 original, which starred Robin Williams. Jumanji is a game (of the board variety in the original, and modernized as a video game here) where players are magically and literally sucked into the game, forced to play as one of several avatars with different skill sets, and have to work together to solve problems and survive in order to complete a quest before they can exit the game back to the real world. Each character has three lives, allowing them to die (repeatedly) in a variety of usually humorous ways.

Along with Black, the rest of the Jungle quintet returns in The Next Level to reprise their roles , including Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Kevin Hart as Mouse Finbar, Nick Jonas as Seaplane McDonough, and Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse. Jake Kasdan returns as director. Joining the crew is new character, thief extraordinaire Ming Fleetfoot, played by Awkwafina. We also get a new villain in the form of Jurgen the Brutal, played by Game of Thrones’ The Hound, Rory McCann.

Instead of rehashing the first film with a different adventure, the writers really mix things up when the game glitches, causing the avatars to be inhabited by different players. This gives the adventurers completely different personalities and allows the actors to really have fun with their roles. On top of the new adventure—to end a massive drought impacting Jumanji by recovering a magical necklace known as the Falcon Jewel, stolen by Jurgen—this new “casting” makes the film feel fresh, and provides lots of opportunities for hilarity. 

At just over two hours, Level has enough time to develop a quest that feels of videogame epic length, with enough time to travel to a variety of new environments, such as a Lawrence of Arabia-esque desert, a Moroccan-type village, and a snow-topped castle. But it never felt too long or like it was wearing out its gags, keeping me interested throughout.

Sony Pictures consistently delivers terrific home video releases, and Level continues this high standard. Shot on ArriRaw at 3.4K, images consistently look terrific, with closeups that bristle with detail and razor-sharp focus. Black wears a tweed vest that has a fine plaid print with each check clearly visible. You can also see the cracks and texture in the backgrounds and costumes, and count individual strands of hair on actors’ heads.

Blacks are deep, clean, and noise-free, and there are many nighttime and indoor scenes that benefit from the use of HDR. The night scenes in the Moroccan village of the Oasis look especially good, with brilliant neon lights along the streets, as well as warm interiors lit by candles and lamps, giving the film a natural, organic look. Interiors of the castle Fortress feature dark rooms lit by shafts of bright light or sun rays streaming through windows, and the snowy mountainside looks appropriately bright without crushing any detail.

Sonically, the Dolby Atmos track is dynamic and active, looking for nearly every opportunity to immerse you in sound. Beyond the big action scenes, there are lots of little environmental sounds like wind blowing, birds chirping, and insects buzzing. One of the recurring sonic elements is the sound of deceased players re-entering the game, with a chime that sounds overhead and has them dropping back into the game from the ceiling. Bass is also solid and weighty, whether from explosions or punches or the jungle drums that resonate from all around to indicate danger. As is typical of Dolby Atmos soundtracks, dialogue is centered and easily intelligible throughout.

Beyond a bit of swearing and some non-bloody videogame violence, Jumanji: Next Level makes a great family night at the movies, offering a plot that will keep everyone engaged and entertained, while looking and sounding great in a luxury home environment.

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | Images consistently look terrific, with closeups that bristle with detail and razor-sharp focus

SOUND | The Dolby Atmos mix is dynamic and active, looking for nearly every opportunity to immerse you in sound

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Review: Jaws

Jaws (1975)

review | Jaws

The film that launched Spielberg’s career gets a respectful 4K HDR/Atmos restoration

by John Sciacca
updated May 30, 2023

I was five when Jaws came out in the summer of 1975, and for my dad thought it would be a good idea to take our family to see it at a drive-in theater. So, I remember Jaws for absolutely ruining night swimming for me for my entire life, and for giving me a fairly unhealthy fear of the water that persists.

So, yeah. Jaws has been a part of my life for just about as long as I remember. And you know what? The film still holds up. The acting, the dialogue, the chemistry, the editing . . . it’s all still great. The best parts of the film are aboard the Orca with Quint (Robert Shaw), Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and Sheriff Brody (Roy Scheider). The dynamic between the three of them is fantastic, and Quint’s monologue about surviving the USS Indianapolis is still powerful and compelling .

Of course, John Williams’ Academy Award-winning score retains all its tension and drama, but even the shark scenes and effects remain believable and frightening. Sure, there are scarier, more brutal, and bloodier shark films out there today, but Jaws sets the standard for scary things in the water, and the bar remains high. About the only thing that really dates the film are the suits worn by Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) and the variety of clearly out-of-fashion swimwear seen on the beaches of Amity.

For its 45th Anniversary release, Universal Studios has given Jaws a full 4K HDR restoration, and this transfer is taken from a new 4K digital intermediate. The transfer retains the look of the 35mm film’s photochemical origins, with grain visible in the pale blue and low-lit evening or sunsetting skies, but it’s as if layers of age have been wiped away to produce images that are just clean and new-looking. This isn’t a movie with lots of sharp, detailed edges—though it appears to look sharper and more detailed later in the film aboard the Orca—or one that has micro-details leaping off the screen, but rather a transfer that retains the best of both its film and digital look to present something that looks both new and correct for its period.

Closeups occasionally reveal plenty of detail, with one shot of the Mayor’s anchor-festooned suit revealing fine, sharp blue single-line pinstriping detail that was horizontal on the lapel and diagonal on the breast and arms; and foreground objects have nice defined edges.But this transfer is more about the overall pristine look than moments of single-strands-of-hair pixel resolution. Some shots look a bit soft and defocused, but this appears to be more an issue with the original focal point during filming than a lack of resolution in the transfer.

They took a pretty delicate touch with the HDR grading, with occasional bright highlights such as the opening flames of the beach fires, or bright lights aboard ships, but the added dynamic range lends itself to more natural and realistic-looking images as light levels get low, and we retain deep blacks but still plenty of shadow details. There are several underwater scenes with a variety of lighting, or with bright lights probing through smoke and mist on top of the water that could cause banding issues, but images remain clean and distortion-free.

When I heard Jaws had been given a Dolby TrueHD Atmos audio makeover I was . . . curious. What could an immersive sound mix do with a 45-year-old mono master short of possibly being used to gimmicky effect that spoiled a classic? Well, much like the video, the new audio track takes the best of the Jaws soundtrack and uses modern technology to expand and improve it. This is most noticeable in John Williams’ fantastic score, which is now lifted above the front channels and mixed into an enveloping canopy overhead, filling the room and surrounding you in the iconic music.

Beyond that, they’ve used audio cues to subtly enhance other moments throughout the film. There are bird chirps, ocean waves crashing or lapping against things, wind sounds, or creaks and groans of the boat rolling in the water that all place you in scenes. On the beach, we get a nice mix of radios playing, and a helicopter flyover as it patrols the waters for sharks.

Dialogue is mostly clear and understandably—especially with Williams’ score given room up in the height speakers—except for a few moments where many people are talking or shouting at once in some of the crowded exterior scenes. Also, don’t expect much from your subwoofer, though it does get a little room to show off during the finale.

The best word I can use to describe this 45th Anniversary release is “restraint.” They used technology where available to improve the experience while careful not to do anything that would be detrimental to the Jaws so many of us remember.

While the Kaleidescape download doesn’t include any of the fairly extensive extras that accompany the 4K Blu-ray disc—which includes two near feature-length documentaries, The Making of Jaws and The Shark is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of Jaws—these are the same extras included with the 2012 Blu-ray release, so if you have that, you aren’t missing out on anything new. 

Jaws is one of my favorite films and this newly restored version illustrates why it remains a classic that belongs in every collection.

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | The transfer retains the look of the 35mm film’s photochemical origins but it’s as if layers of age have been wiped away to produce images that are just clean and new-looking

SOUND | The Atmos mix takes the best of the Jaws soundtrack and uses modern technology to expand and improve it

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Review: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The Last Crusade

review | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The third installment of the Indiana Jones franchise receives the same excellent 4K HDR/Atmos makeover as the previous two titles

by John Sciacca
update May 5, 2023

After the dark tone of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, director Steven Spielberg looked to lighten things up a bit for The Last Crusade, returning Indiana Jones to more of the fun and light-hearted tone that made Raiders of the Lost Ark such a fan favorite. The result is a film that feels far truer to the original and is frankly just more fun to watch.

With The Last Crusade, we get both a prequel and a sequel, with two returning characters who have larger roles in this adventure, including Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), Indiana’s contact in the Middle East, and Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), the museum curator who is the recipient of many of Indy’s finds. More importantly, Crusade expands Indy’s family by adding his father, Professor Henry Jones, played brilliantly by Sean Connery. The dynamic between Harrison Ford and Connery is terrific, showing another facet of Indy’s character, and offering some additional humor and heart to the story, giving Indy something to care about more than just an ancient relic.

This film’s first act involves puzzle solving and adventuring that feels like it formed the blueprint for Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon character in The Da Vinci Code to come years later, before settling into the action that launches characters towards the finale and adventures that take them around the world. It also feels like Spielberg and Ford have settled into the rhythm and feel of Indiana, and the movie just clicks along, hitting familiar beats while also feeling new.

Filmed just eight years after Raiders and five years after Temple, Crusade’s video quality is similar to those films, which is to say the restoration and new 4K digital intermediate make for a great-looking presentation, again bristling with detail in many closeups. On the plus side, I noticed far fewer instances of softness or focus issues compared to Raiders, and right from the opening, skies here looked bluer and less grainy. Tiny details like fine bubbles rising in Jones’ champagne flute, and the texture in clothing like the tweed in his father’s suit, the heavy wool of Nazi SS uniforms, or the texture in Indy’s hat band, and the whiskers and pores on his preternaturally sweaty face are visible throughout.

As with the first film, there are scenes that have such razor sharpness, clarity, and detail that they could pass for modern digitally shot media. One such moment was where Indy and dad are on a motorcycle in front of the crossroads sign to head to Berlin or Venice, which was stunning. Outdoor scenes, specifically the day shots in Venice, look like gorgeous travelogue material, and you can really appreciate the scope of the outdoor tank battle.

The HDR color grading is again reserved but it adds depth and texture to images, especially shadowy and dark scenes or the brightest highlights of the desert. You can also really appreciate the brilliant colors of a stained-glass window in the Venetian church/library.

Like the picture, Crusade’s new Dolby TrueHD Atmos audio mix takes a similar track as the other films, never looking to go too over the top (pun intended), but to just expand and enhance the original mix. Elements like driving wind, rain, and waves crashing up over the sides of a boat, or motorcycles racing up from the back of the room along the sides to pass into the front, and the room-filling roar and crackle of fire are all enhanced and expanded with the new sound mix. We also get more expansion of echoes, such as the hammer blows as Indy is trying to shatter marble, the ambience of water drips inside of catacombs, or tank shells that fly overhead.

Sonically, some of the film’s most dynamic and active moments come when some German fighters are attacking. Here we get planes strafing Ford and Connery in a vehicle, and the planes buzz all around the room, flying overhead, along the sides, and into the back. Their engines and guns are mixed aggressively, and add to the excitement of the moment. While never overused, the subwoofer is called on when appropriate, adding depth and weight to the soundtrack for things like explosions or collisions.

With Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we are brought back to Indy’s beginnings and earlier adventures in the best way possible. Even the ending echoes moments from Raiders’ opening cave scene but in a fresh way. And as our characters literally ride off into the sunset with John Williams’ iconic score erupting from all around, you can’t help but have a great time.

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | Some scenes have such razor sharpness, clarity, and detail that they could pass for modern digitally shot media

SOUND | As with the other Jones films, the Atmos mix never goes too over the top but just expands and enhances the original mix

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Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark

review | Raiders of the Lost Ark

The film that kicked off the Indiana Jones franchise receives a first-rate 4K HDR/Atmos makeover

by John Sciacca
update May 3, 2023

Wanna feel old? How about if I tell you that Raiders of the Lost Ark is celebrating its 40th Anniversary?! Wanna feel a little better about it? To celebrate this milestone, Paramount has re-released all four films in the Indy franchise, all restored and remastered in 4K HDR with new Dolby Atmos audio mixes with all picture work approved by series director, Steven Spielberg. 

Besides remembering seeing the film in the theater when I was 11, I recall when Raiders was first released to home video. At the time, most titles were priced as “Rental,” meaning they were all like $80 and up and sold to chains like Blockbuster. Paramount decided to make a splash with Raiders in the home market, pricing it at a shockingly low (for the time) $39.95, and I remember rushing down to the video store and picking up a copy on Beta the day it was released, barely able to wait until I could get home and watch the finale in slow motion. The film went on to sell over a million copies by 1985, making it the bestselling film of its time.

While the action/adventure genre is well established now, Raiders seemed shockingly fresh when it came out. For almost the entirety of its near-two-hour run time, you are pummeled with one action piece after another as Indiana is constantly thrown into increasingly impossible predicaments.

Sure, after 40 years, some of the bits—like Indy looking for Marion (Karen Allen) through the streets of Cairo as she is hidden in a basket—seem a bit cheesy and silly. But, I think the humor and B-movie-esque qualities are part of what makes it so much fun—such as when the Nazi Toht (Ronald Lacey) menacingly assembles what we think is going to be a weapon to interrogate Marion but what turns out to be a hanger for his coat, or when Indy just pulls out his gun to shoot the large sword-wielding thug, or Indy saying, “I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go.” 

Originally shot on film, this transfer is taken from a new 4K digital intermediate, and it looks mostly fantastic. Closeups can have a startling amount of sharpness and detail. The daylight market and street scenes in Cairo are bright and fantastic, showing the sharp pattern of the bricks and stones, and the textured detail of the walls, and the weave of the baskets. Some scenes look so good, they could be from a modern film, such as the opening shot of the group crowded around the drinking game at Marion’s bar, or the scene of the Nazis at the dig site, which has incredibly sharp focus across the width of characters that fill the screen. I did notice that some scenes have inconsistent or soft focus, especially in the beginning and at the very end of the film when Indy and Marion are walking down the steps. This probably more noticeable because so much of the film just looks so good. I also noticed things like single vine strands or a single, ultra-fine spider web that Indy pulls along with him.

I never found film grain to be objectionable but it is definitely there and most noticeably in outdoor shots that show the powdery blue sky. We have enough grain for the film to show its film roots and retain tons of detail, without being softened away to look like digital mush.

While there was some effects cleanup, apparently this was mainly done to remove lines from the composites, and I never found it objectionable or noticeable in the way Lucas usually likes to go in and modernize his films. One change I did notice was that it was always apparent that the cobra striking at Indy and Marion was behind a piece of glass, and now that has been removed looking like they are in more peril. I also never noticed that the German phrase “Nicht stören” (Do not disturb) was written on one of the buildings in the map room. I’m sure it was always there but the new cleaned-up transfer and sharper resolution make it easier to notice small details like this.

Colors are natural throughout and the opening jungle scenes are both brighter and more contrasty than I recall them, with bright shafts of light pouring in through the trees and wispy smoke. Golds, especially of the Ark, look bright and brilliant. One scene with the lights in Marion’s bar and the various colored bottles of liquor backlit looked really good. Everything just looks as it should, whether it is the green jungle hues, the tans and browns of the desert, or the red-orange of fires.  We also get really nice and deep blacks, and good shadow detail that really benefits from the HDR grading, making dark scenes look more natural.

The sound designers didn’t look to hit you over the head (pun intended) with the new Dolby TrueHD Atmos mix but just to heighten and expand the soundtrack. Right from the opening moments, you’ll notice the sounds of the jungle—bugs, birds, rustling leaves—filling the room and coming all around you. Inside the cave, you hear water drips and splashes that help put you in the scene, plus there’s the sounds of winds howling outside Marion’s bar, the cacophony of downtown Cairo, or the clinks and clanks of machinery aboard the German U-boat. Big obvious sonic moments like the giant boulder rolling overhead are enhanced with weight and texture and it now literally rolls over your head, or the thunder and lightning while they are about to dig into the map room, or the roar of the German plane’s propeller, and the spirits now fly and swirl all around the room and overhead at the big finale. We also get some decent subwoofer involvement when called for, such as explosions, vehicle collisions, or that big boulder.

John Williams’ iconic score is also given more room to expand in this mix, letting you appreciate his music more fully than even before. And all-important dialogue is kept clear and intelligible and mostly in the center channel, except for a couple of fun moments such as Marion screaming “Indy!” as she is being carried around the city in a basket.

Raiders is one of those classic films that belongs in every movie collection, and it has certainly never looked or sounded as good as it does here.

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | Enough grain has been retained for the movie to show its film roots and display tons of detail without being softened away to look like digital mush.

SOUND | The sound designers didn’t look to hit you over the head with the new Atmos mix but just to heighten and expand the soundtrack

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Oscar Nominees 2023

reviews | Oscar Nominees 2023

our comprehensive roundup of this year’s most notable Academy Award picks

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by the Cineluxe staff
updated March 9, 2023

This year’s Oscar nods were so predictable that we were able to lay this page out more than a week ago and only had to make one change after the nominations were actually announced. It’s kind of sad the industry is so committed to sticking with the safe and known—and, as you’ll see from many of our reviewers’ comments, long. But while there don’t seem to be any masterpieces in the 2023 round of picks, there is a decent number of films that are, if nothing else, engaging, diverting, and demo-worthy.

All the Beauty and Bloodshed (2022)

All the Beauty and Bloodshed

Documentary Feature

Review Coming Soon 

Picture, International Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score, Visual Effects, Sound, Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design

“From the opening pastoral scenes of nature in the French countryside that transition to the bleakness and horror of the trenches and No Man’s Land of the Great War, All Quiet on the Western Front captivates with an unflinching visual style, providing one of the most satisfying cinematic experiences offered by a movie from a streaming service this year.”
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Documentary Feature

“The only real complaint I have about All That Breathes is that it ends far too quickly. Granted, the 97-minute runtime already seems brisk on paper, but actually watching it, it doesn’t feel anywhere near that long. Some of that is due to the lack of a conventional narrative but a lot of it boils down to fantastic editing, compelling subjects, and mesmerizing cinematography. One simply hopes HBO eventually releases the thing in UHD/HDR so it can be experienced in its full splendor.”  read more

Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor,  Supporting Actress,  Original Screenplay, Editing, Original Score

The Banshees of Inisherin will no doubt go down as one of the most divisive films of this awards season but likely not for the reasons you might suspect, mainly because I can’t imagine anyone outright hating it. It’s one of the most captivating films of the year. No scene—indeed, no frame—is wasted and its closing credits seem to nip at the heels of its opening imagery. Then again, if you said you found it ploddingly paced, I’d have a hard time arguing with you.”    read more

Visual Effects, Sound, Makeup & Hairstyling

“At nearly three hours, the pacing is slow, and there are often long periods between the next ‘event,’ making it feel long at times. Even when it feels the film is wrapping up, there is another 30 minutes! But, while I don’t think this is the best Batman movie ever, it’s still engaging and entertaining, and director Matt Reeves gives us an interesting new take on the Dark Knight that certainly looks and sounds better when screened at home.”    read more

Actress

“Writer and director Dominik’s liberal use of artistic license and unorthodox filmmaking techniques in telling the story of the legendary Marilyn Monroe is risky. As often as it works, there are equally as many times that it comes across as lurid and cringey. Blonde is sometimes beautiful to look at, with a heroic performance by de Armas, but its content is bleak and disturbing.”    read more

Supporting Actor

Causeway may be a small film that hasn’t received much attention but it is an exquisitely crafted character study with two very fine performances by Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry that elevate it to something special.”    read more

Picture, Actor, Cinematography, Editing, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design

“I can’t comment on how closely the film hews to actual events, or if Colonel Tom Parker was truly as controlling and influential on Elvis Presley as the film portrays, but I did find Elvis entertaining, though a bit long at 2 hours 39 minutes. If you’re a fan of Presley or Baz Luhrmann, it’s definitely worth a watch.”    read more

Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Costume Design

“Despite being a work of legitimate cultural significance, with a message that will still be sending shockwaves through my brain years from now, Everything Everywhere All at Once is also incredibly accessible and wildly entertaining, not to mention slap-happily zany.”    read more

Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Production Design

“The two-hour 31-minute run-time can be a bit plodding. Don’t expect a lot of—or really any—action other than of the emotional kind. While I found the film interesting, scenes can drag a bit. But if you’re a Spielberg fan, this is definitely a movie you’ll want to see, as it accurately depicts his early life and influences.”    read more

Documentary Feature

“Of the two documentary films cobbled together last year from footage shot by Maurice and Katia Krafft, Fire of Love is ultimately the better one. Sara Dosa doesn’t cram her own personality into the film the way Wenrer Herzog does, but she also takes a more childlike and irreverent approach that suits its subjects and subject matter better. I’d love it if you watched both because there are some ways in which Herzog’s film is superior. But if you have to pick one, make it this one, whether it wins the Oscar or not.”    read more

Adapted Screenplay

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is lighter and breezier than the original film but with a similarly clever and intricate plot. It also features first-rate sound and picture quality, making it one of the premier streaming releases of the year.”    read more

Animated Film

“Del Toro’s Pinocchio—a re-imagining of the 1883 novel that has nothing to do with Disney’s take on the property—is a weird and wonderful, utterly soulful fantasy adventure and allegory that almost seems to have been made with no other audience in mind than del Toro himself.    read more

Animated Film

“This is such a compelling little film that anyone with a hint of tolerance for weirdness will get altogether lost in the experience. It’s refreshing to watch a movie that leans so hard into its adorableness without ignoring the difficulties we all face in life. It’s also a delightfully strange feeling to watch a film made with so much sincerity and so little cynicism. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if the original shorts resonated with you in the slightest, I think you’ll love the feature-length Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” read more

RRR

Original Song

RRR may not have been India’s entry in the Academy Award International Feature category this year, but it is a hugely successful and highly accessible film that you don’t have to be a film connoisseur to enjoy. So check out this not so hidden gem of a film on Netflix if you haven’t already.”   read more

Animated Film

“Chris Williams’ The Sea Beast is not perfect but it brings all the charm and well-crafted storytelling of his previous efforts for Disney to his new partnership with Netflix Animation.”
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Picture, Director, Actress,  Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing

Tár can be a maddening film to watch—which makes it an even more maddening film to review. It ticks off all the trendy boxes, not just weighing in on gender politics and the blind destructive power of the howling virtual mob but also adopts a chill, distant, elliptical style that constantly holds the characters at arm’s length. Most troubling of all, it dips into the au courant fantasy realm by having certain key actions hinge on the implausible. It’s hard to take the film’s take on the contemporary world seriously or care a fig about any of its characters when it’s so willing to conveniently veer away from any kind of convincing reality.”    read more

Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Original Song, Visual Effects, Sound

Maverick is like a master class in how to make a blockbuster sequel. The casting and acting are great, the cinematography is fantastic, the plot is simple but compelling, and the action is fast-paced and (mostly) believable. And it plays terrifically in a luxury home theater. It looks and sounds great, is a near-guaranteed crowd pleaser for your next get-together, and has great replay value. In fact, I already can’t wait to watch it again, and it will likely have heavy rotation in your theater’s demo showoff reel!”    read more 

Picture, Director, Original Screenplay

“It’s nearly impossible to tell if writer/director Ruben Östlund desires to watch the ultra-wealthy suffer himself or if he simply assumes his audience is cruel and morally bankrupt. Either way, this muddled and overly long exercise in unfocused schadenfreude manages to be both shallow and thematically incoherent, callous and distant, shockingly disgusting and punishingly boring, and even its contradictions aren’t enough to make it interesting. It’s one of the most soulless and repugnant works of cinema I’ve seen in ages, and the fact that it’s getting any attention this awards season is as scathing an indictment of entertainment industry as I can imagine.”
read more

Animated Film

Turning Red seems to have critics and audiences split, with critics giving it a 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating, matching both Soul and Wall-E, and audiences scoring it a more mediocre 66%, closer to The Good Dinosaur’s 64%. While I didn’t find Turning Red to be among Pixar’s strongest outings, it’s entertaining and looks fantastic, and certainly worth checking out for Disney+ subscribers.”    read more

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Review: The Fabelmans

The Fabelmans (2022)

review | The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg’s thinly disguised autobiography bombed at the box office but is worth a look in its home release

by John Sciacca
December 21, 2022

The body of films directed, produced, and/or written by Steven Spielberg includes some of the most well-known and beloved movies of our time, and any new Spielberg film typically garners loads of attention. Especially when that film is so well received by critics (91% Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (82% audience score) alike and has received five Golden Globe nominations including Best Motion Picture—Drama and Best Director, along with 11 nominations at the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Picture. 

Which is what makes the disastrous box-office performance of The Fabelmans all the more surprising. With an estimated budget of $40 million, it barely made $160,000 in its opening weekend (to be fair, it opened in a very limited release, debuting on just four screens in New York and LA), going on to gross a measly $8 million worldwide. Which means you likely didn’t see The Fabelmans, and if you’re a Spielberg fan, you’re kinda missing out. 

While the film’s synopsis says this is “loosely based on Spielberg’s childhood,” an opening “names have been changed to protect the innocent” title card would be all that separates this from a film that could have just as easily been titled The Spielbergs. And while this movie written, directed, and produced by Spielberg is not an autobiography per se, it is so heavily based on and recreates events from his youth it probably holds more factual content than most actual biopics. Perhaps, though, a straight-up autobiography would have been too personal—or vain—for Spielberg, and as a filmmaker, it is a bit easier to distance himself from the events and remain behind the camera lens.

The two-hour 31-minute run-time can be a bit plodding. Don’t expect a lot of—or really any—action other than of the emotional kind. While I found the film interesting, scenes can drag a bit. 

Ultimately, this is a coming-of-age story, watching Sammy Fabelman (played by Mateo Zoryan as a youth and Gabriel LaBelle as a teenager) grow and be shaped by his family while discovering his passion for filmmaking and working on improving his craft. Sammy is raised in a supportive home by his mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), who was a concert pianist. She is artistic and ethereal and encourages Sammy’s filmmaking. Spielberg described his actual mother as being more of a big sister than a mother and a Peter Pan-type that never wanted to grow up, and Williams definitely captures that spirit. Sammy’s father, Burt (Paul Dano, miles away from his role as Riddler in The Batman), is an engineer whose successes at work result in career advancements that mean moves for the family. Equally important to the family dynamic is “best friend” Bennie played by Seth Rogan, who delivers a dramatic performance that reminded me a bit of his turn as Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs. 

If the goal of this not-autobiography autobiography is to show us how Spielberg developed his love for movies and filmmaking, then mission accomplished. It opens with the family going to the cinema to see Sammy’s first movie, The Greatest Show on Earth. In it, a dramatic train wreck has such an impact on Sammy that he can only come to terms with it by filming and crashing a Lionel train set he received for Chanukah so he can watch it over and over. His staging and filming of the wreck (at least how it’s presented here) is reminiscent of the scene from Super 8, a film Spielberg executive produced. In fact, much of the way Spielberg works with friends and family to get his movies made has the same feel as Charles (Riley Griffiths) in Super 8.

The film’s length and pace give plenty of time to appreciate Sammy’s growing skills as a director, whether setting up shots, his eye for framing, or how he interacts and gives direction to actors. From his earliest home movies, Sammy starts making longer and more elaborate films from The Last Gunfight (the film Spielberg actually made to get his Boy Scout photography merit badge) to Escape to Nowhere, a 40-minute war movie that won First Prize in a statewide competition (you can view a couple minutes of the original Spielberg film here), to Firelight, a precursor to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 

As is Spielberg’s preference, The Fabelmans is shot on actual 35mm film (16mm for some of the home movies) in a 1.85 aspect ratio, and the home transfer is taken from a 4K digital intermediate. Don’t expect this to be a go-to movie to show off your theater. While there are certainly some closeups that reveal loads of detail, like the fine texture and pebbling on a leather varsity jacket, overall this has a softer film look, not the razor sharpness of modern digital films. Also, much of the color palette is full of muted earth tones, with lots of browns, beiges, and tans. We do get some nice highlights from the HDR grading, such as bright lights from film projectors, a car headlight dance, or worklights in garages, but overall the goal is to have a natural, lifelike presentation.

The Kaleidescape release features a DTS-HD Master 5.1-channel audio mix, which is fine for presenting the mostly dialogue-driven film. We do get a bit of scene-appropriate ambience, like the low buzz of fluorescent lights in a school hallway, rustling winds from a swirling tornado, outdoor sounds like wind and insects, passing of traffic, or the whirring click of a film projector spinning. The soundtrack, which often includes piano music in deference to Spielberg’s mother, Leah, is given some width across the front as well as mixed up to the ceiling to expand the soundstage. Your subs will be taking the night off for the most part, though they do come into play during the big train collision, which produces some nice, deep rumble. 

If you’re a Spielberg fan, this is definitely a movie you’ll want to see, as it accurately depicts his early life and influences. One benefit of the film’s poor box-office performance is that it received a fast-track release to the home market. After getting a wide cinematic release on November 23, it was released to digital retailers like Kaleidescape on December 13, so you can appreciate it in the comfort of your own theater now. 

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | Shot on 35mm, some closeups reveal loads of detail, but overall The Fabelmans has a softer look instead of the razor sharpness of modern digital films

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master 5.1 mix is fine for presenting the mostly dialogue-driven film but there is a bit of scene-appropriate ambience

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Review: Black Adam

Black Adam (2022)

review | Black Adam

This latest romp through the DC universe is ultimately unsatisfying—mainly because it doesn’t let The Rock be The Rock

by John Sciacca
November 29, 2022

I’m a fan of superhero movies. And I’m a fan of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Though I never watched him as a wrestler, I think he’s developed into an actor who chooses roles that really suit his persona and comedic timing, like Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw, Jumani, and Jungle Cruise. And if you haven’t given his TV series Young Rock a chance—where he frequently plays off Randall Park—you should give it a watch.

So, I figured Black Adam, the latest entry into DC’s expanding cinematic universe, would be something of a layup, especially after The Rock talked it up so much and shared the grueling training regiment he put himself through to get into hero shape. So when the digital version dropped on Kaleidescape just 30 days after its cinematic release, I grabbed it and planned a family movie night.

But as much as I expected—and even wanted—to enjoy Black Adam, the movie just didn’t work for me. So much of it felt like ripoffs from what other movies had already done. The opening and even the city name of Khandaq felt like Wakanda from Black Panther. Khandaq has a special, powerful, and rare mineral called “eternium,” which, again, was like Panther’s vibranium (or even Avatar’s “unobtanium”). Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan) and his powers felt like things we’ve already seen better from Dr. Strange. The Justice Society has a campus along with a hidden super-jet that is straight out of X-Men. Plus we’ve already had a much more fun movie about Shazam called Shazam!

Now, I can forgive some cinematic borrowing. For all I know, Black Adam’s comic-book origins predate all of these other films. But it feels like in its quest to create a cohesive cinematic world and tie in different heroes and stories, DC has forgotten that the story also needs to be interesting, entertaining, and make sense for those new to the franchise trying to follow along. There were just too many moments where I was wondering, “Wait. Why is this happening?” or, “Who is that guy?” 

DC does its best to shoehorn in some connection to its bigger universe, with the walls of young Amon’s (Bodhi Sabongui) room covered with posters and paraphernalia of other DC stars like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. (Plus, there is a mid-credits scene that places Black Adam right in the heart of the DC heroes.) Ultimately, the film seems most interested in just getting to the next big effects-laden fight scene where multiple heroes from the Justice Society battle Black Adam, this international mercenary group called the Intergang, or otherworldly superbeings, flying around, smashing and destroying things while trying to find and take control of the Crown of Sabbac, a 23-pound crown made from pure eternium that gives the wearer great power. To be fair, the battles are cool, especially when they go into ultra-slo-mo to show how Black Adam “sees” things (again, similar to the Quicksilver effect from the X-Men films). 

Beyond any of that, though, what Black Adam is really missing is any fun and heart, the key ingredients Kevin Feige and Marvel have learned to include in just the right amounts. In trying to make him this dark antihero who kills his enemies—sometimes in manners worthy of Mortal Kombat or reminiscent of the opening-the-ark scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark—instead of bringing them in to face justice, they robbed The Rock of any chance to be The Rock. Sure, we get a Johnson looking as big and menacing as ever, but any CGI’d strong man could have filled the suit.

Fortunately, for home theater owners, Black Adam looks and sounds great. Shot on Arri at 4.5K resolution, the home transfer is taken from a 4K digital intermediate, and images look clean, polished, and terrific throughout. Closeups have incredibly sharp detail and clarity, showing single strands of hair, whiskers, and all the pores in actors’ faces, the bulging veins in The Rock’s head, cracks and texture in rocks, stones, and buildings, or the finest details in clothing, like the etchings in Black Adam’s suit. Though this ultra-clarity and detail comes at the expense of some of the effects and environments, revealing their CGI roots. 

The HDR effects are also abundant and on frequent display during the many fight scenes and make for some stunning visuals. There is glowing red-orange molten fire and vibrant blossoming explosions, bright eye-searing blue-white electrical bolts, the glinting gold from Hawkman’s (Aldis Hodge) suit, along with bright glistening beads of sweat. There are bright flashlights shining in darkened caves, sunlight streaming into darkened rooms, and a “tour” through Khandaq lit up at night. Visually, Black Adam is a treat to watch, and it will push your projector’s light output and tone mapping to its limits.

Equally impressive is the Dolby TrueHD Atmos soundtrack, which immerses you in ways both subtle and bombastic. In some of the external scenes, your listening room will transform into the mountains of Khandaq with the sounds of picks hammering away at rock around you, or you’ll hear the echo of voices, the rumbling and chatter of crowds, or the rustle of wind and sounds of birds. 

And when the action kicks in, so do the sound and volume. You’ll hear Black Adam whooshing off and out of the room, Hawkman and Intergang bikes flying and swooping overhead, Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) swirling wind and debris all around, Dr. Fate’s voice booming overhead, things falling down—or flying up—into the ceiling, plus all manner of damage and destruction as things are hurled and smashed all around the room. And when something explodes, enemies collide, Black Adam charges through a wall, or the Justice Society jet roars past, the bass kicks in, energizing the room with low-frequency effects you’ll feel. 

Black Adam currently has an 89% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes so clearly it resonated with many viewers. And even if you only watch the film once, you’ll likely turn to some of the six pre-bookmarked Kaleidescape scenes in order to show off your system when guests come over, wowing them with the stunning visuals and immersive audio. Plus, with the film still in theaters, you can enjoy it in the highest quality in the comfort of your own home theater via the Kaleidescape download a full 45-days before the 4K disc comes out early next year. 

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | The HDR effects are abundant and on frequent display during the many fight scenes, making for some stunning visuals

SOUND | The impressive Dolby TrueHD Atmos soundtrack immerses you in ways both subtle and bombastic

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Review: Castle Rock

Castle Rock (2019)

review | Castle Rock

This Stephen King-derived Hulu series can be slow at times but definitely delivers the requisite shocks and scares

by John Sciacca
January 31, 2019

“There is a lot of history in this town. Not all of it good . . .”

You might recall a post entitled “Exclusive Content Causes FOMO & Piracy” where I opined how all of these streaming providers coming up with their own content was really frustrating viewers. One of the shows that inspired that post was Castle Rock, a new Hulu original series that takes place in the Stephen King multiverse. 

Now, this is a show I really wanted to see when it was announced, as it checked all of my must-see programming boxes. J. J. Abrams involved? Check. Stephen King an executive producer? Check. Set in the Stephen King world with tons of King Easter eggs? Check. A solid cast featuring several actors who’ve previously been in King adaptations? Check. But, as much as I wanted to see Castle Rock, I was not willing to add another streaming subscription to my monthly credit-card statement. 

Fortunately, you can now experience Castle Rock without a Hulu subscription by purchasing the series on disc (4K UltraHD, Blu-ray, or DVD) or via digital download in HD quality at the Kaleidescape store, which is how I watched. 

Before I get into my review, we need a little background. The problem with turning a Stephen King novel into a film is that when you try to compress 800-plus pages into a two-hour runtime, you end up chopping out so much material that the results are often just pale reflections of the original. Or you go the other way, trying to stretch something that worked well as a 10- to 20-page short story into a two-hour feature that just blunders around lost. (Two of King’s best adaptations—Shawshank and Stand by Me—were actually novellas, providing just the right amount of source material.)

King adaptations tend to work especially well as miniseries, where the source material can be given the room it needs to develop story and characters over multiple hours. Hulu showed they knew how to handle this perfectly with its 2016 eight-episode miniseries 11.22.63, which also happened to be the first pairing of Abrams and King. 

Castle Rock is a 10-episode series that takes place in a small, fictional Maine town that will be familiar to King fans. (Other King works set there include The Dead Zone, Cujo, The Dark Half, Needful Things, and The Mist.) It’s important to stress that while King does get an executive producer credit, he wasn’t involved in crafting this story, or apparently much with the production, and that it isn’t based on any of his stories. 

Rather, Castle Rock is a new tale set in King’s established world and features numerous subtle and overt connections and allusions to previous King works. These include Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn); Diane “Jackie” Torrance (Jane Levy), niece of The Shining’s axe-wielding Jack Torrance; references to a certain rabid dog; events from The Body (which became Stand by Me); the Juniper Hill Psychiatric Hospital; and a certain prison no one wants to visit called Shawshank. 

The opening episode, “Severance,” does a nice job laying the groundwork for what to expect from the series along with introducing us to several principal characters, including death-row lawyer Henry Deaver (Andre Holland), who has his own troubled past connections with Castle Rock. He returns to the town after mysterious prisoner The Kid (Bill Skarsgard), who has apparently been kept locked in solitary confinement in a hidden section of Shawshank for years, utters Deaver’s name and nothing else. And there’s recently retired Shawshank warden Dale Lacy (Terry O’Quinn), who had been keeping The Kid locked away for reasons known only to himself. 

The series is slow in parts but definitely picks up near the end, with Episode 7, “The Queen,” being especially good and featuring a fantastic performance by Sissy Spacek as Ruth Deaver that really deserved some kind of award nomination. Another standout was the gore-filled eighth episode, “Past Perfect,” that actually had my wife scream out. 

There are some nice King-esque jump scares along the way, along with tons of general creepiness as we slowly move towards solving the mystery of who is The Kid and how did he get here, along with the overall question of, “Why is Castle Rock so rotten?” 

The video is mainly a palette of muted browns, grays, and cool blues but images are clean and detailed. Even better is the 5.1-channel DTS-HD audio mix, which does a wonderful job of keeping dialogue understandable while still delivering a lot of sonic atmospherics that certainly add to the experience when watched on a surround system. 

I appreciated the brief “Inside the Episode” rundowns for each episode by the series creators/writers, which offered some explanations and pointed out some of the Easter eggs. The download also includes two new features: “Castle Rock: Blood on the Page” and “Clockwork of Horror.” 

Be sure to watch a couple of minutes into the credits after the final episode, “Romans,” as you get a nice glimpse into what might be in store for the second season Hulu has already committed to. 

Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.

PICTURE | The video is mainly a palette of muted browns, grays, and cool blues but images are clean and detailed

SOUND | The 5.1-channel DTS-HD audio mix does a wonderful job of keeping dialogue understandable while still delivering a lot of sonic atmospherics that certainly add to the experience when watched on a surround system

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