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Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

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Pinocchio (2022)

review | Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

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Del Toro comes up with a compelling reimagining that exists in a universe miles apart from Disney’s animated and live-action takes on the children’s story

by Dennis Burger
December 12, 2022

It’s hard to think of two recent films so diametrically opposed as Guillermo del Toro’s new stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio and the soulless Disney+ “live action” remake of the 1940 animated classic. The latter constantly begs you to marvel at its technological prowess, although it’s hard to imagine anyone involved was proud of any other aspect of this pandering, phone-it-in cash-grab of a production. Del Toro’s Pinocchio, on the other hand—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. 

Adapted by del Toro, along with co-writer Matthew Robbins and co-screenwriter Patrick McHale, the story unsurprisingly takes on shades of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but perhaps the biggest change to the source material is that the filmmakers have transposed the action to 1930s Fascist Italy for reasons that become clearer as the narrative progresses and the themes start to congeal.

If you’re looking for a faithful adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s serialized novel, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for light children’s entertainment, it’s not that, either. In a sense, it reads more like a spiritual sequel to Pan’s Labyrinth. That isn’t to say it isn’t child-friendly but rather that the children most likely to be drawn in by it are the ones who stay up late watching classic Universal monster movies under the blankets and always identified more with the monsters, or grownups who never let that strange child within them grow up completely. As I said, del Toro made this movie for him, not for you, and as the two hours of fantastical animation unfold on the screen, you can practically feel the passion he’s poured into this project for the past 14 or 15 years. 

Granted, that does occasionally lead to a bit of indulgence. Ten or 15 minutes probably could have been cut from the script in the storyboarding stage to tighten things up, especially in the second act. And a couple of the songs do feel like padding. But any such grievances are long forgotten by the film’s end, when del Toro and his colleagues—including co-director Mark Gustafson—bring things to such a satisfying narrative, emotional, and thematic conclusion that you’ll likely find yourself grinning through sobs and tears. 

No doubt, Netflix’ presentation helps sell the constructed reality. It does take the eyes and brain a scene or two to adjust to the fact that the film wasn’t animated on the ones, and some of the camerawork is so good as to be distracting—one simply doesn’t take that for granted in a stop-motion film—but by the time the somewhat Up-esque prologue has finished playing out, you’ll have bought into it all completely. Dolby Vision is used here not to dazzle you or stress-test your display but rather to replicate the quality of natural light, especially during golden-hour shots or in interiors punctuated by stray beams from the sun or the cool glow of the moon. 

The film is so packed with texture that you’d expect there to be some aliasing or moiré here and there even with the 4K resolution, but you couldn’t ask for better in terms of detail or clarity. That’s especially important when it comes to appreciating the film’s incredible sets as well as some of the character design, which do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of unspoken storytelling—such as the differences in the quality of sculpting as you move from the left side of Pinocchio’s carved and chiseled pine head, which becomes sloppier and more unfinished as the drunken Geppetto slid closer to involuntary unconsciousness while working on him. 

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack also does a magnificent job of enhancing immersion without devolving into spectacle, even during the most intense action set-pieces. There’s a lot of exceptionally delicate panning here, as voices move across the front soundstage instead of being locked into the center. If your sound system is up to snuff and properly calibrated, you might not even notice, but it goes a long way toward selling the illusion that this story is unfolding in a legitimately three-dimensional world.

What you will notice, though, is how the sound mixers use the surround soundfield to not only add ambiance but also draw a meaningful distinction between the material and the immaterial, especially with the voice of The Wood Sprite and her sister Death, both voiced by Tilda Swinton.

As the credits rolled and my wife and I tried to discreetly remove the tears from our cheeks and the snot from our noses, I’ll admit that for a brief moment I lamented that this was a Netflix production. It’s deserving of some curated bonus features and perhaps even an audio commentary. And while it doesn’t get the latter, it is accompanied by a half-hour making-of featurette called Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema that starts, unfortunately, as the sort of puff-piece promotional EPK that’s far too common in the world of behind-the-scenes material, packed to the gills with superlatives and platitudes and nothing of substance. As the featurette unfolds, though, we get some deep insight into not only the long journey of adapting the story and designing the film but also the animation process itself. It’s pure gold for fans of stop-motion animation and not to be missed.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | You couldn’t ask for better detail or clarity from the 4K resolution, and Dolby Vision is used not to dazzle you or stress-test your display but rather to replicate the quality of natural light  

SOUND | The Atmos soundtrack does a magnificent job of enhancing immersion without devolving into spectacle, even during the most intense action set-pieces

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Review: Enola Holmes 2

review | Enola Holmes 2

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This strong followup to the Netflix offering about Sherlock Holmes’ smarter sister suggests the developing franchise might have some legs

by Roger Kanno
November 9, 2022

The rather unoriginally titled sequel Enola Holmes 2 is a breath of fresh air in the world of formulaic blockbusters that dominate the filmmaking industry. With a relatively modest budget but a strong cast and the same capable direction and screenwriting as the original, this second adaptation of the literary series demonstrates that the franchise may have staying power. Following up on the 2020 success of the original, Enola Holmes 2 has been available on Netflix since November 4.

The screenplay by Jack Thorne continues Enola’s (Millie Bobby Brown) story as she attempts to establish her own detective agency and emerge from the shadow or her famous brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill). Starting a business as a young woman in the late Victorian era proves to be more difficult than she imagined. And through her investigations, she becomes involved with Sarah Chapman (Sarah Dodd), a historical figure and one of the leaders of the Matchgirls’ strike of 1888 that protested the dangerous working conditions in the Bryant and May match-making factory. The film takes on these heavier themes without becoming overly preachy and maintaining the lighthearted yet quick pace of the first film. 

Much of the film’s charm can be attributed to Brown’s delightful yet nuanced portrayal of Enola. She’s a little older now but still finding her way in a whip-smart but endearing manner. And although she may lack experience at times, she is just as capable, if not more so, than her celebrated brother. Enola is an exceptional role model, and in many respects is a more formidable motion picture hero than many of those who fly through the air and battle space aliens or monsters from other dimensions. 

Harry Bradbeer, who previously directed Phoebe Waller Bridge’s fabulous Fleabag television series, brings the same brisk and street-wise sensibility to this feature film. Enola similarly and slyly breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience, which Brown handles superbly. Enola 2 also benefits from having the charismatic Cavill as the rather grim, but brilliant older Holmes sibling. And while his character doesn’t have as much to do nor is he as engaging as Enola, Cavill provides a sense of stability and measure that perfectly balances the relentless energy and optimism of his character’s sister. In contrast, their flighty mother, Eudoria Holmes is played perfectly by the vibrant Helena Bonham Carter. And even though her screen time is fairly limited, she makes the most of it to really bring her supporting character to life.

The movie is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, and looks extraordinarily film-like and pleasing. The lighting looks very natural if a little dark at times, but is befitting the setting in England during the late nineteenth century. Colors are understandably muted and outdoor scenes shot in historic areas of London suitably exhibit the grimy look the city was known for in that era. And while the Dolby Vision HDR picture doesn’t quite pop like it can, darkly lit scenes such as the inside of Sherlock’s apartment still display a high level of fine detail in the background of his many unkempt furnishings and other belongings. Some scenes are obviously enhanced with CGI, especially when recreating the extensive backdrops of the old city but are done so sparingly and tastefully.

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is superb from the very first scene with enveloping music immediately setting an exciting tone, followed by a realistic piercing police whistle off in the distance. This quickly transitions to the sounds of Enola running through the streets of London with people, horses, and the general hustle and bustle of the city placed realistically around her. The music is especially skillfully integrated with the Foley effects, resulting in a marvelously immersive quality. During dreamlike flashback sequences, echoing voices swirl around the room with deep, ominous music filling all hemispheres of the soundfield to produce a very menacing effect. During the horse-carriage chase, the nature of the sound inside the carriage is quite quiet, with an immediate quality making dialogue very intelligible even though the conversation is at a normal speaking level and many sounds outside the carriage are also audible. The height and surround channels are used more often to create a sense of envelopment rather than for directional effects but the soundtrack is wholly satisfying and adds greatly to the cinematic experience of this film.

All told, Enola Holmes 2 features a solid story and some fine performances along with high production values. I wish more franchise films and films from streaming services were similarly as accomplished and still as thoroughly entertaining for the entire family. 

Roger Kanno began his life-long interest in home cinema almost three decades ago with a collection of LaserDiscs and a Dolby Surround Pro Logic system. Since then, he has seen a lot of movies in his home theater but has an equal fascination with high-end stereo music systems. Roger writes for both Sound & Vision and the SoundStage! Network.

PICTURE | Enola Holmes 2 looks extraordinarily film-like and pleasing, and while the Dolby Vision HDR picture doesn’t pop as much as it could, darkly lit scenes still display a high level of fine detail

SOUND | The Atmos soundtrack is superb from the very first scene. The surround channels are used mostly to create a sense of envelopment rather than for directional effects, but the mix is wholly satisfying and adds greatly to the cinematic experience.

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Review: All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

review | All Quiet on the Western Front

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This German-made Netflix production about the horrors of war seems likely to garner a number of Oscar nods

by Roger Kanno
November 4, 2022

The 2022 release of All Quiet on the Western Front is the third film adaptation of Im Westen nichts Neues, the 1929 novel by World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque. This German production from Amusement Park Film GmbH features a screenplay by Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, and director Edward Berger and had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12 and began streaming on Netflix October 28. 

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. The idealistic and fresh-faced Paul Bäumer’s (Felix Kammerer) ruddy complexion looks youthful and cleanly scrubbed when he and his friends enlist to fight the allied forces. Soon, their tidy but mended and repurposed uniforms and eager expressions are supplanted by the weary and terrified look of seasoned soldiers and the muck and filth of trench warfare. Paul is befriended by Stanislaus Katczinsky, or Kat (Albrecht Schuch), an older and more experienced soldier who takes him under his wing. A second story arc features Matthias Erzberger (Daniel Brühl), the head of the German delegation feverishly working to secure an armistice as they are suffering massive loses in the waning days of the war. 

The juxtaposition of Erzberger practicing quiet diplomacy and the chaos of battle highlight the stark disparity between the absurd politics of war and the harsh realities of combat seen in the prolonged trench warfare scenes throughout the film. These scenes are utterly harrowing as we see the futility of the conflict through Paul’s eyes. Krammerer’s performance is absolutely gripping as we witness the young Paul transform from an idealistic youth to an experienced soldier just trying to survive. 

The backdrop of war is undeniably ugly but All Quiet on the Western Front is a beautiful-looking film nonetheless. The Dolby Vision color grade is definitely cool with a pale-blue light bathing the lightly snow-covered hills of France in early winter. The grimy look of the trenches is perfectly captured, with every tiny detail of caked-on dried mud on the faces and clothing of the soldiers visible. The picture may seem a little washed-out at times but there just aren’t a lot of bright hues in the color palette of this desolate-looking film. As the soldiers gather before the final battle in a courtyard to be addressed by their general, the texture and color of their varying uniforms and complexions is readily apparent, even in long shots. In a particularly wide shot, the differing gray and green uniforms of the soldiers are subtly different, but easily discernible from the uniformly blue coloration of their helmets. Even the fine details of broken tiles and exposed burned timbers of damaged buildings far off in the background were easily visible. 

As with most streamed films, there was some slight banding and artifacts in low-light situations and in smoky backgrounds but otherwise the picture quality was up to the task of reproducing the superb cinematography. In one particular scene, the blue twilight sky fades to jet black and tiny bright-red embers dance beautifully across the foreground and really popped against complete darkness. A single flare then lights up the sky and casts flowing, ever-changing shadows as it falls slowly to earth with the billowing shadowy shapes filling the wide 2.39 frame with hauntingly beautiful imagery.

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack frighteningly captures the sounds of warfare with plenty of echoing explosions and gunfire all around, but the film starts off much more serenely. The opening scene begins with faint wind and cawing birds in the forest as explosions echo far off in the distance. As the focus shifts towards the battleground, occasional machine-gun fire breaks through the silence and strikes the ground with an alarming whooshing sound. When the camera zooms in further, the character of the sound changes to an even more urgent buzzing as bullets hit the dirt and spray it upwards and overhead, landing discretely and alarmingly in the surround channels. Bass is full and loud but not overpowering, with the overall presentation being extremely well balanced and complementing the excellent sound design. 

All Quiet on the Western Front is Germany’s entry into the Best International Feature category for this year’s Academy Awards but it could likely compete in several of the other main Oscar categories. It is that good. It also happens to look and sound great, providing one of the most satisfying cinematic experiences provided by a movie from a streaming service this year.

Roger Kanno began his life-long interest in home cinema almost three decades ago with a collection of LaserDiscs and a Dolby Surround Pro Logic system. Since then, he has seen a lot of movies in his home theater but has an equal fascination with high-end stereo music systems. Roger writes for both Sound & Vision and the SoundStage! Network.

PICTURE | The Dolby Vision presentation perfectly captures the grimy look of the trenches, with every tiny detail of caked-on dried mud on the faces and clothing of the soldiers visible

SOUND | The Atmos soundtrack frighteningly conveys the sounds of warfare with plenty of echoing explosions and gunfire all around. Bass is full and loud but not overpowering,

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Review: Travelin’ Band

Travelin' Band (2022)

review | Travelin’ Band:
Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Albert Hall

This Netflix documentary-slash-concert film convincingly creates the sense of being at the band’s legendary RAH set

by Adam Sohmer
October 28, 2022

Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall reminds me more of the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse twofer than it does a typical concert film. Featuring a 36-minute documentary followed by the complete 50-minute 1970 performance, the film gives a detailed overview of CCR’s rise to popularity up to that point before it gives way to the show. Both pieces work, although the former left me with the impression that director Bob Smeaton could give fans more of a deep dive than the straightforward, just-the-facts-ma’am story narrated by Jeff Bridges.

For a nine year old like me who was as obsessed by music as my friends were by sports, there were two leaders of the pack: The Beatles and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Thanks to parents and other relatives who followed my direction at holiday times, I owned the complete collections of both groups’ albums by the time their respective runs as bands came to an end. 

The new film shares all sorts of links with Beatles projects. Travelin’ Band director Smeaton’s credits include the behemoth Beatles Anthology of 1995. And then there is Giles Martin, son of George and remix master of Beatles albums who along with Sam Okell—another veteran of recent Beatles updates—showed up to bring the original two-channel 1970 soundtrack up to 21st-century standards. (More on that later.) 

Aside from a TV special originally broadcast in the ‘70s and now MIA, not to mention unauthorized biographies pumped out since the time home video was brought to the masses, there is no qualified, authorized documentary on what is arguably one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the past 50-plus years.

Not that the members are quiet about their respective histories in the band. Rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty left the group in 1971 when the group was at its pinnacle after the release of Cosmo’s Factory, deciding he didn’t have ample opportunities for recording his music. Ironically, CCR followed his departure with 1972’s Mardi Gras, the one and only of the band’s albums to feature songs written individually by all three remaining members. The album spawned the Top 10 single “Sweet Hitch-Hiker,” written and sung by John Fogerty, but otherwise came and went without leaving much of an impression on their fanbase. Soon after, the band split, with plenty of anger and lawsuits between Tom Fogerty and his former bandmates right up to modern times. (Fogerty succumbed to AIDS and leukemia in 1991.) 

There is no reason to dwell on the acrimony that shadows the legacy of the band to this day. Even in the documentary portion of Travelin’ Band, the band doesn’t come across as a four-headed unit as much as it does a vehicle for John Fogerty’s music. JF is rarely seen smiling with his colleagues, who praise him and his music when interviewed by the rock press and, as the April 1970 concert at the Royal Albert Hall draws near, news footage and documentary footage of CCR’s then-tour of Europe.

The concert, which was held a few months prior to the release of the singles-packed Cosmo’s Factory, is the real Royal Albert Hall concert, not the post-breakup alleged RAHC released by Fantasy Records that was, in fact, the band in its three-member configuration. As many times as I saw them on programs like Ed Sullivan and The Johnny Cash Show, this is the first time I experienced the breadth of their talent as a cohesive live band. 

Unlike the unseen Woodstock set that ultimately made it to an audio-only release, the RAH set is on fire, with CCR in their prime. The near-complete lack of stage banter makes room for a solid, head-spinning performance that, while it offers no surprises, is as exciting and pitch perfect as any band of the era. 

Surviving clips of their TV appearances belie the band’s knack for rocking out as a real band rather than simply playing note-for-note renditions of their biggest hits. As distant as they seem in the documentary footage, on stage the quartet has a blast blaring through nearly an hour’s worth of fan favorites.

Smeaton’s cut is interesting and solid enough to hold the viewer’s attention, though I wonder why nothing was done to clean up the ultra-grainy image that is reminiscent of Super 8mm home movies. I understand Travelin’ Band was not produced with a Beatles Anthology-size budget, but over-the-counter video technology could sharpen the heavy grit of the surviving film.

Or maybe it did. Though there are no specific details available about the editing process, I trust Netflix gave Smeaton a reasonable budget to make it watchable. In any case, for film stock that supposedly sat untouched for 50 years, the image is more than watchable, if not exactly on par with Get Back, also produced from half-century-old 16mm film stock that Peter Jackson magically turned into a 4K masterpiece that looks as if it was shot within the past few years.

Sonically, Martin and Okell deserve massive kudos for bringing the excitement of the show to the fore, with just enough crowd noise to remind the viewer it is a live show. My 5.1 system placed me in what sounds like the front mezzanine of a 3,000-seat theater, not an arena, with sonic imaging to match the position of the instruments on the stage and just the right amount of echo in the rear. And, like their Fab Four output, bass and drums are noticeably clear and resonant without dominating the mix.

As Jeff Bridges spoke over the last frames of the show in his best Sam Elliot epilogue voice, I was left both satisfied with the concert and hoping for a more detailed authorized documentary with modern-day interviews and commentaries by current and vintage stars alike. But, considering Fogerty’s bald-faced hostility toward his former bandmates, I suspect Travelin’ Band will be the final word in CCR documentation for some time to come. The concert portion of the show makes it well worth the time.

Longtime consumer and professional technology specialist Adam Sohmer is president and owner of Sohmer Associates, LLC, a Brooklyn, NY-based public relations & marketing communications boutique agency catering to leading audio, video, and wireless brands.  Find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

PICTURE | Derived from film stock that supposedly sat untouched for 50 years, the image is more than watchable if not exactly on par with what Peter Jackson was able to do for The Beatles: Get Back

SOUND | The surround mix places you in the front mezzanine of a 3,000-seat theater, with sonic imaging to match the position of the instruments on the stage and just the right amount of echo in the rear

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Review: Dracula (2020)

Dracula (2020)

review | Dracula (2020)

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This three-episode Netflix series takes yet another stab at the Dracula legend but, except for the second episode, fails to hit the mark

by John Higgins
January 21, 2020

The myth of Dracula isnt one I think needs retelling. It, and vampires in general, have been done to death over the past couple decades. But whenever Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss write a project together, Im intrigued.

For the uninitiated, Moffat and Gatiss worked together on the sci-fi favorite Doctor Who before continuing their working relationship with the series Sherlockan intricate and deeply satisfying retelling of the Arthur Conan Doyle character in modern day with fantastic performances. Even before watching Dracula, I noticed that there were already a few similarities between the two series (both being based on existing material with the season being only three 90-ish-minute episodes). If they could do for Dracula what they did for Sherlock Holmes, it would be an excellent, smash-hit TV show.

It certainly is a TV show. Excellent smash hit? That would be a bit of a stretch. There are aspects that stay true to the source material—such as character names, Draculas trip to England, and his typical phobias—but the structure of the retelling is different and the purposes of the different characters are often skewed in some way. That said, it doesnt go far enough in its reinvention to feel distinct and new.

The three episodes are incredibly uneven and while theres some great writing peppered throughout, theres an odd mixture of modern vernacular and attitudes that doesnt fit with the 1800s time period of the first two episodes. (The third episode time jumps 123 years to our present day.) The series can be a bit schlocky, and relies too much on trying to reinvent the myth without truly accomplishing the feat. Theres also rarely any subtlety to the acting or directing. Its very in-your-face throughout.

Of the three episodes, I enjoyed the second the most by far. It takes place almost exclusively on the ship Demeter that brings Dracula to England. There are some interesting glimpses into the character’s past, the relationships between the passengers on the boat, and a mystery of who is traveling in one of the cabins that stays locked. It could almost be treated as a standalone story, save for some references to the first episode.

Where the show does succeed is in its practical effects and accompanying sound design. There are moments that made my body contort and my brain not want to see what was about to be revealed (although I always did, deep down, want the reveal). The sound mix felt very much intended for a television, as it was almost entirely present in the front channels with only obligatory reverb and music sent to the surrounds.

The HDR presentation is used mostly in the visually dark moments, such as Draculas castle in Episode One or the corners of the Demeter in Episode Two. Not unexpectedly for a creature of the night, most of the episodes are dark. One moment of blaring sunlight at the (somewhat disappointing) end shows off the bright end of the HDR spectrum. 

The Dracula delivered to us by Moffat and Gatiss feels like it isnt sure what it wants to be. It doesnt go far enough to be full-on camp but theres too much campiness to feel truly terrifying. Unless youre aching for more Dracula, it might be best to limit your intake to just the second episode.

JOHN HIGGINS lives a life surrounded by audio. When he’s not writing for Cineluxe, IGN,
or Wirecutter, he’s a professional musician and sound editor for TV/film. During his downtime, he’s watching Star Wars or learning from his toddler son, Neil.

PICTURE | The HDR presentation is used mostly in the visually dark moments, such as Draculas castle or the corners of a ship at sea

SOUND | The sound mix feels very much intended for a television, being almost entirely present in the front channels with only obligatory reverb and music sent to the surrounds

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Review: Stranger Things 3

Stranger Things 3 (2019)

review | Stranger Things 3

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Season 3 goes for the gruesome, balancing the horror by taking the series’ first stab at zany

by Dennis Burger
July 8, 2019

Stranger Things 3 is such a tonal, structural, and narrative departure from what’s come before that it can take hardcore fans of the series (raises hand unapologetically) a few episodes to get into this year’s batch of eight episodes. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the first couple episodes. In fact, the show’s creators—collectively known as the Duffer Brothers—demonstrate time and again their ability to lovingly mash up, remix, riff on, and reassemble 1980s pop culture in new and inventive ways. It’s simply that this time around, they’re being a little cheeky about it. 

There’s a poolside scene in the first episode, for example, in which they nab the Cars’ “Moving in Stereo” from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and it’s played in such a way that you can’t help but anticipate exactly what’s coming if you know that film. That anticipation is hilariously subverted, though, setting the stage for a new season that is, at times, something Stranger Things has never really been before: Zany.

Get a few episodes in to Stranger Things 3 and the reason for this starts to become clear. While leaning hard on all the influences that have made the show so beloved to date—Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Richard Donner, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper, Rob Reiner, and all the other giants of genre and coming-of-age fiction from that era—the Duffers also start to bring other, darker influences to the forefront, like early-’80s Sam Raimi and mid-80s David Cronenberg. As such, things can get a little more gruesome this time around.

To balance that, the creators introduce a lot more levity. They’ve mentioned Fletch as a big inspiration for Stranger Things 3, and indeed, elements of the Chevy Chase screwball comedy can be seen in the side-quest of Hopper (the show’s irritable chief of police) and Joyce (the mother of Mike, the unfortunate victim of Stranger Things and Stranger Things 2). 

Add to that some unlikely influences such as Spies Like Us and Red Dawn (the latter of which is ribbed more than revered here), and you’ve got a weird and wonderful pastiche that, on paper at least, seems like it would struggle to hold itself together. But hold together it does. Whether it’s tweaking mall culture, reliving the Cold War tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R, or once again bringing a Dungeons & Dragons campaign to life in the creepiest of ways, Stranger Things 3 succeeds primarily because it’s not merely a gimmicky nostalgia romp—it’s a legitimate love letter to a bygone era. 

As a result of that, some of its tropes may feel a little dated. The show isn’t interested in shades of grey: There are good guys and there are bad guys. And the bad guys are bad because they’re dirty commies hellbent on world destruction or something. Why are they hellbent on world destruction or something? Because they’re the bad guys. Duh. 

But none of the above matters so much as the show’s amazing cast, which features a few new additions this year. Cary Elwes positively chews the scenery as the corrupt mayor of Hawkins, Indiana, whose shady political dealings allowed for the construction of the Russian-financed mall that serves as a front for the nefarious Soviet experiment at the heart of this season. And Maya Hawke (daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) absolutely shines as the misfit mall employee who helps crack the case at the heart of Stranger Things 3. But the original cast, including the impossibly talented Millie Bobby Brown, is still the emotional heart of the show, and it’s their relationships, their emotional ups and downs, their successes and failures that keep us coming back.

Another thing that makes Stranger Things 3 such a fun and effective followup to the first two is that, despite all of its shake-ups in terms of tone, structure, and inspiration, there’s an undeniable through-line in the look of the show. The aesthetic is, unsurprisingly, 1980s through and through, and while capturing that look doesn’t leave a lot of room for super-vivid imagery, the 4K presentation relies heavily on HDR to add depth and texture to the shadows. There’s some nice use of spectacular (though not really eye-reactive) highlights from time to time, but most of the dynamic range is reserved for the lower end of the value scale. As such, you’ll definitely benefit from watching on a display that can handle the distinction between black and oh-so-very-nearly black. 

The 5.1-channel soundtrack also deserves to be experienced on the highest-quality surround sound system possible. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given that Stranger Things 2 was the impetus behind Netflix’s new adaptive studio-quality sound technology. Still, it’s a little shocking just how effective—indeed, aggressive—the mix is this time around. I don’t think my subwoofer has gotten such a raucous workout since Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the surround channels are pushed to their extremes in all the right places, especially in remixing the gloriously nostalgic soundtrack.

My only beef is that Netflix doesn’t give us any bonus features for Stranger Things 3. While another season of Beyond Stranger Things would have been ideal, any sort of extra goodies would have been appreciated. 

Thankfully, the show stands on its own as a binge-worthy romp, especially for those of us who grew up in the era being mythologized. And for what it’s worth, there’s one tiny extra worth mentioning: If you’re the type to hit the stop button as soon as the ending credits start rolling, be sure to stick around past the end of the final episode. There’s a mid-credits sequence that sets the stage for Stranger Things 4, which by all accounts will likely be the show’s swan song.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | Capturing the look of the 1980s doesn’t leave a lot of room for super-vivid imagery, so the 4K presentation relies heavily on HDR to add depth and texture to the shadows 

SOUND | It’s a little shocking just how  aggressive the mix is this time around. The surround channels are pushed to their extremes in all the right places, especially in remixing the gloriously nostalgic soundtrack.

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Review: Blonde

Blonde (2022)

review | Blonde

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This lurid take on Marilyn Monroe’s life sometimes hits the mark but just as often wallows in the muck

by Roger Kanno
October 5, 2022

Andrew Dominik’s Blonde received a standing ovation after its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 14. And while it has a striking visual style and a mesmerizing performance by Ana de Armas starring as Marilyn Monroe, this sensationalized depiction of the iconic film star’s life will not suit everyone’s tastes. Available on Netflix since September 30, it is the first film produced by the streamer to be given an NC-17 rating. It can be difficult to watch with many scenes depicting Monroe’s troubled life as she struggles to deal with the less desirable aspects of fame and the predatory people who surround her.

At times, it feels as though the film is exploiting her legacy more than it’s honoring her memory. However, Blonde does elicit a sense of admiration and sympathy for Monroe, even though it can be both voyeuristic and exploitative. There are a lot of seedy and sensationalistic events depicted whose veracity could be questioned, but whether they are accurate or not is less important than recognizing the toll fame extracted from the intelligent but naïve Norma Jeane Mortensen in her transformation into the screen icon Marilyn Monroe. Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody provide excellent supporting performances as the Ex-Athlete and the Playwright, but it is de Armas’ inspired performance that is the center of this film.

Dominik’s bold vision utilizes surreal, dreamlike imagery; slow-motion; closeups; and several different aspect ratios ranging from 1:1 to 2.39:1. Most of the film is composed at 1.37, like many of Monroe’s early films, but I found the constantly changing ratios to be distracting. The film also alternates between color and black & white with perplexing frequency. The color shots, especially those towards the beginning featuring a very young Norma Jeane and her mother are slightly washed-out with a yellow-sepia tinged character. This conveys the stark and unfulfilling nature of her austere childhood, and although later color scenes feature slightly more color saturation, they still retain a grim, subdued appearance. 

Dolby Vision color grading is used more effectively in scenes incorporating actual footage from Monroe’s films, with vibrant colors that really pop in contrast to Norma Jeane’s real life away from the Hollywood glitz. When the “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is projected in a theater during a gala screening, de Armas is digitally composited into the scene and the gorgeous bright fuchsia of her dress contrasted by the rich, dark blacks of the men’s tuxedos and the blood-red backdrop is visually stunning. This is juxtaposed with the more muted colors in the wider shots of the theater and the audience members as Monroe exclaims, “That thing up on the screen, it isn’t me.”

Black & white scenes also occasionally exhibit a slightly washed-out quality, but dreamlike sequences such as the recreation of the subway-grate scene from The Seven Year Itch looked absolutely gorgeous. There were deep, inky  black backgrounds that beautifully framed Monroe’s bright white dress moving in slow motion with mesmerizing detail in the curves of its flowing fabric and the perfectly and crisply defined pleats.  

Audio is presented in Dolby Atmos and is quite good, with a wide stereo soundstage for music and effective use of all channels to provide a pleasing ambience. The surround and height channels are used occasionally for discrete Foley effects such as the screams of patients in the hallways of the state hospital where Norma Jeane visits her ailing mother. And when she and her mother flee a forest fire in her childhood, the crackling embers of the fire are all around them, but the overall effect, even with the atmospheric music, is not as enveloping and holographic as could be expected.

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.

Roger Kanno began his life-long interest in home cinema almost three decades ago with a collection of LaserDiscs and a Dolby Surround Pro Logic system. Since then, he has seen a lot of movies in his home theater but has an equal fascination with high-end stereo music systems. Roger writes for both Sound & Vision and the SoundStage! Network.

PICTURE | Frequently alternating between color and black & white, the film mostly has a washed-out, subdued look, with Dolby Vision most effectively deployed in the scenes that use footage from Monroe’s actual movies

SOUND | The Atmos soundtrack is quite good, with a wide stereo soundstage for music and effective use of all channels to provide a pleasing ambience

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Review: The Sandman

The Sandman (2022)

review | The Sandman

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This Netflix series honors its supposedly unfilmable source material by conjuring up a convincingly otherworldly fantasy realm

by Dennis Burger
August 23, 2022

I missed the boat on Netflix’ adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman the first time around. Not that I didn’t watch it. I did. It’s just that by the time I finished savoring the 10 episodes initially released in early August, the conversation had moved on. The nerdier corners of the internet collectively lost their minds for like two days, mostly out of sheer shock at the fact that this supposedly unfilmable work of illustrated literature managed to make the leap to the small screen with almost all of its heart and soul (even if not quite all its depth) intact. By the end of that weekend, the conversation was dead. The internet had moved on. All good geeks had binged all ten episodes and given their collective thumbs up or down to every aspect of the adaptation, and there was nothing left to be said.

Until, that is, Netflix sneakily announced and released a bonus episode, two weeks after the first season concluded. And all of a sudden this wonderful meditation on the complexities of human nature, the importance of dreams, the power of hope, and our mothlike fascination with the flame of duality and binary thinking is relevant again, if only for a few days. 

This deeply mythological fantasy series follows the story of Morpheus, aka Dream of the Endless—the lord of dreams and stories—who breaks free from a century of captivity and then strives to reclaim and rebuild his realm in order to save humanity, as well as to undo the damage done by his absence. That description alone will create impressions that don’t match up with the reality of this adaption or its source material. It’s simultaneously sillier and more substantial than anything the uninitiated might be imagining. It’s a serious story about serious subject matter than never takes itself at all seriously. 

To wit: It contains a pitch-perfect adaptation of “The Sound of Her Wings,” perhaps the most poignant story Gaiman has ever written. It is, without question, the story that got me through the loss of my mother nearly two decades ago with my sanity intact, as it forced me to reconsider my attitudes toward death. On the other hand, the show features Patton Oswalt as a talking Raven named Matthew and Mark Hamill as a walking pumpkin named Mervyn. 

It’s also a beautiful series to behold, especially in Dolby Vision, but as with everything else about this show and its inspiration, the imagery is a mix of the sublime and the ridiculous. The dynamic range is pushed to extremes in all the right places, with the intense eye-reactive brightness and impossibly deep shadows often working to sell the believability of environments that are so divorced from waking reality that they almost look cartoonish. 

One visual element that I adore but which has been a source of outrage among the pixel-counting crowd, is  that The Sandman was shot in a rather unconventional way. To my eye, it looks like it was shot with vintage anamorphic lenses but on modern digital cameras. Whatever the reason, despite being framed at around 2.4:1, the picture looks like it was stretched to that height from 2.55:1. 

The stretched-thin composition gives the imagery an otherworldly quality that works to the benefit of the material, especially in making Tom Sturridge—who plays Dream of the Endless so convincingly that it’s sometimes easy to forget he’s a human being—look more like the original illustrations of the character by Sam Kieth and Dave McKean. 

The sound, meanwhile—dominated by long stretches of hushed and brooding dialogue—nonetheless makes wonderful use of Dolby Atmos to build otherworldly environments, enhance the action, or just creep you the heck out or lift your spirits at exactly the right times. YouTuber Object Demo has done a wonderful job of illustrating just how active the Atmos mix is even in one-on-one character exchanges. Normally I would recoil at such busy overhead channels, but in the case of this series, it works with the material rather than against it. There’s also enough gob-smacking deep, body-rumbling bass to test the rigidity of your walls. But through it all, dialogue remains utterly clear and discernible.

One more thing worth noting about the show, independent of its presentation: If the first episode doesn’t land with you, give the second one a chance—and perhaps the third, but definitely the sixth. Much like the original books, each episode carves out its own territory, explores its own themes, digs deep for its own meaning. There’s a through-line, to be sure—several in fact—but although each episode is pretty tonally and thematically consistent, there’s a good bit of variation between them.

The show really hits its stride after the introduction of Dream’s sister, Death, portrayed with the utmost compassion, empathy, and levity by The Good Place‘s Kirby Howell-Baptiste. Then again, the best chapters of the original books always revolved around Death, so this is no great surprise. Howell-Baptiste is, without question, the last actor in the world I would have cast in the role but I would have been wrong. Of all the Endless portrayed in the series thus far, hers is the performance that makes you most believe you’re looking at the anthropomorphic embodiment of a force of nature.  

At any rate, if you’ve already burned through the 10 episodes of The Sandman originally released as Season 1, don’t overlook the new bonus episode, which adapts two stories from the early days of the printed series. The animated “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” in particular is a good indication of how Netflix might adapt some of the material from the graphic novels that might otherwise be difficult to adapt to live action. 

If you haven’t seen any of the show, now’s the perfect time to dip in. But don’t feel the need burn through all 11 episodes in a sitting. Sit with it, reflect on it, let it sink in. This series deserves your attention, but it deserves to be savored like a multi-course dinner, not scarfed down like a cheap bag of Taco Bell. 

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | The dynamic range of the Dolby Vision presentation is pushed to extremes in all the right places, with the intense eye-reactive brightness and impossibly deep shadows often working to sell the believability of the otherworldly environments

SOUND | The sound makes wonderful use of Atmos to build those environments, enhance the action, or just creep you the heck out or lift your spirits at exactly the right times

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Review: The Gray Man

The Gray Man (2022)

review | The Gray Man

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This may not be a Bond or a Bourne but Netflix’ big-budget Ryan Gosling vehicle is still an entertaining and fast-paced actioner

by Roger Kanno
July 27, 2022

With an estimated budget of $200 million, The Gray Man is Netflix’ latest, and most expensive, big-budget thriller. Starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, and Regé-Jean Page, among other award-winning actors, it is co-directed by the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, who have co-directed two each of the Captain America and Avengers movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Based on the book of the same name by Mark Greaney, as with other recent Netflix projects, it is expected to be the start of a film franchise. And like other films from the streamer, The Gray Man received a limited release in theaters on July 15 prior to being made available digitally on July 22. 

Gosling plays Sierra Six, a CIA operative and part of an elite unit of highly skilled assassins. He becomes involved in an operation that goes awry and ends up having to run from the very people he works for. The plot is reminiscent of spy thrillers such as those from the Bourne series or James Bond, and like those other franchises, this film features an outstanding cast. Evans is the main antagonist, Lloyd Hansen, a ruthless killer for hire who plays his character menacingly enough but with just the right amount of douchiness and along with de Armas as a highly skilled CIA operative, Dani Miranda, these three are constantly at the center of the plentiful action. The set pieces are impressive with many memorable action sequences including an incredibly complex fight and chase onboard a tram-train that provides pulse-pounding excitement.

While there is plenty of great action, the character development can be a bit uneven. There is some good chemistry between the leads but, at times, their dialogue and interactions seem stilted. At other times, it is snappy and organic, moving the story along smoothly. It’s not the fault of the actors as they do their best with the material they’re provided. De Armas and Gosling are especially convincing as reluctant heroes, when given the opportunity and the means. The Gray Man may suffer in comparison to some of the accomplished spy thrillers that have come before it but taken on its own terms, is an entertaining and fast-paced actioner.

Although the film may be called The Gray Man, the visuals are anything but gray or drab. Establishing shots of a fireworks display are obviously CGI and stylized to look a bit like a graphic novel, but the Dolby Vision grade provides impressively rich, bright colors and deep, dark blacks. As the scene shifts to the celebration indoors, the constantly changing lighting from the fireworks and spotlights on the dance floor looked fantastic on my OLED display. The composition of shots with infinite blacks in the deepest of shadows contrasted by brilliantly illuminated objects such as colorfully backlit keyboards and LCD displays in an internet gaming café didn’t look particularly natural, but the atmospheric lighting and sharply defined images were certainly impressive. In a particularly challenging scene where smoke from an explosion fills the inside of an apartment building, the clouds of smoke appear with such fine detail that there’s a sense of depth and dimensionality as Six fights a team of Lloyd’s henchmen and the smoke swirls and moves around them in perfect unison. 

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is excellent, as should be expected from a big-budget action picture. During the tram-train fight sequence, the sounds of small-arms fire, explosions, speeding cars, and hand-to-hand combat mixed with the suspenseful music is dizzying in its clarity and ability to create a holographic aural effect. In addition to the aggressive, directional effects during action scenes, the object-based surround mix is used to effectively place eerily echoing voices and atmospheric music in the surround and height channels and move them smoothly around the room during a flashback scene. There is also some great use of popular music as introduced by characters playing records, such as Mark Lindsay’s “Silver Bird” on 45, which is played a couple of times in the film.

If you’re looking for something light and breezy to pass some time and give your home theater a real workout this summer, give The Gray Man a shot.

Roger Kanno began his life-long interest in home cinema almost three decades ago with a collection of LaserDiscs and a Dolby Surround Pro Logic system. Since then, he has seen a lot of movies in his home theater but has an equal fascination with high-end stereo music systems. Roger writes for both Sound & Vision and the SoundStage! Network.

PICTURE | The Dolby Vision grade provides impressively rich, bright colors and deep, dark blacks

SOUND | The Atmos soundtrack is excellent, as should be expected from a big-budget action picture

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Review: The Sea Beast

The Sea Beast (2022)

review | The Sea Beast

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This solid animated adventure from Netflix features an impressive, but somewhat inconsistent, visual style

by Roger Kanno
July 14, 2022

Netflix Animation’s fantastic new full-length feature, The Sea Beast, received limited release in theaters on June 24 and debuted on its streaming service beginning July 8. If you didn’t know that Netflix Animation is a thing, you’re likely not alone. Formed only in 2018, it has had a few critical successes but remains relatively undiscovered. And with the recent upheaval at Netflix, some projects have been cancelled and some staff have left the studio. Still, they have many projects in development and Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion animated version of the classic tale of Pinocchio is expected to be released in December. With that and the release of The Sea Beast, the studio’s profile looks to receive a significant boost in recognition.

Chris Williams, who worked on numerous high-profile Disney projects, including co-directing Bolt, Big Hero 6, and Moana, co-wrote the screenplay with Nell Benjamin and directed this film. The Sea Beast can be a little predictable at times but its story about a time when sea monsters ruled the oceans and posed great perils to sailors is more thought-provoking and character-driven rather than a typical action-adventure tale. There is plenty of action, though, to keep the story moving, some of which might be frightening to young children, but it is otherwise suitable for viewing by the entire family.

The cast includes Karl Urban voicing the character of Jacob, one of the celebrated hunters who fight the sea monsters under the command of Captain Crow (Jared Harris) on their storied ship, Inevitable. He takes a young girl, Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator), under his wing and together they embark on a journey to capture the Red Bluster, the most dangerous and feared of all the sea beasts. The story is filled with a diverse cast of interesting characters and manages to avoid most of the clichés of a nautical animated adventure.

The CGI animation presented in Dolby Vision can look fantastic. Sunlit scenes have a very natural look with the light glistening realistically off the water and the motion of the waves perfectly mimicking that of real life. The movement of the tall ships as they cut through the water and the gentle swaying of their rigging is perfect down to the the most minute detail; the faded individual strands of the ropes, the green oxidation on the brass fittings, and weathered decking all look amazing. The attention to small details is stunning. The captain’s long, dark-gray jacket exhibits great specificity in its stitching and differences in the texture of its well-worn surface that reflect light in different directions. It also moves convincingly with each stride he takes along with his baldric and heavy shirt that each move with the same cadence, but independent of one another. I was often mesmerized by these visuals.

While there is much to admire about the quality of the animation, there were still times when it could look a little cartoonish. Somewhat surprisingly, the rendering of the Red Bluster is quite simplistic, with a mostly smooth body and skin and uniformly red coloration that is fairly nondescript. In contrast, the crab-like sea beast it battles looked much more impressive with its spiky claws and legs with varied textures and colors exhibited by its gorgeous purply-blue, mottled shell.  

The Dolby Atmos audio presentation is also very good at times, even though there could have been more use of the surround and height channels throughout the film. The sound design begins promisingly in the first scene when a young Jacob is lost at sea and attempting to cling to a piece of wreckage from his ship. The sound is enveloping and exciting as the crashing waves and wind surround him, and as he becomes submerged, the ambient sounds of the water fill all of the channels. However, during the subsequent battle scenes with the sea monsters, there was relatively subtle use of the non-front channels to provide a sense of envelopment but little in the way of exciting directional effects. And while the sound always remained clean and well-delineated, there was only occasional use of subsonic bass to provide a real visceral punch to accompany the terrific visuals. 

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.

Roger Kanno began his life-long interest in home cinema almost three decades ago with a collection of LaserDiscs and a Dolby Surround Pro Logic system. Since then, he has seen a lot of movies in his home theater but has an equal fascination with high-end stereo music systems. Roger writes for both Sound & Vision and the SoundStage! Network.

PICTURE | The CGI animation presented in Dolby Vision can look fantastic, with natural-looking sunlit scenes and stunning attention to detail

SOUND | The Atmos audio presentation is very good at times, even though there could have been more use of the surround and height channels

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