(^68) [ April May 2019 [soundandvision.com
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WIDOWS is a taught crime thriller directed by Oscar-winner Steve
McQueen (12 Years a Slave), who co-wrote the script with author
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl). Based on a British television series,
it follows the lives of several women brought together by their
husbands’ criminal pasts and features an outstanding cast led by
an intense performance from Viola Davis, with support from Daniel
Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and others. Told
in a stylish and well-paced manner, Widows holds plenty of twists
and surprises for the viewer. I found the movie to be thoroughly
engrossing.
Shot on 35mm film, Fox’s presentation of the film on Ultra HD
Blu-ray looks excellent, even if it does lack some of the pop and detail
found on the best transfers made from digital intermediates. Dark
indoor shots can sometimes appear a lile so, but there’s strong
delineation of shadows, and the colors are deep, rich, and gorgeous.
As with the film’s indoor scenes, outdoor daytime shots also have
natural, but subdued lighting that complements the straightforward
but first-rate direction and cinematography.
The disc’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack has excellent fidelity, and wide
dynamics when required, but there’s not much in the way of surround
information or overhead effects. Except for an early action scene,
most of the film’s first half is front-channel-centric and dominated
by dialogue. For example, in chapter 4, the sound is pleasing and
analog-like when Viola Davis’s character plays Nina Simone’s cover
of “Wild Is The Wind” on vinyl, but it’s tightly confined to the front
speakers with lile ambience. And
when the action moves to a bowling
alley bar in chapter 6, there is lile
activity in the surround and overhead
speakers to provide a sense of seing.
In the following chapter, a church
service with a boisterous congrega-
tion has a somewhat surprising lack
of surround presence, sounding as if
it were recorded in stereo. Suspense
and a sense of urgency is ramped up
in the film’s second half, with Hans
Zimmer’s score coming alive with
a more enveloping presentation to
complement the onscreen action, but
I still wish there had been beer use
of Atmos throughout to enhance the
cinematic experience.
Fox’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release
also features Widows on regular
1080p Blu-ray with a 7.1 DTS-HD
Master Audio soundtrack plus a
digital download. Extras on the
Blu-ray include a three-part making-of
documentary, a picture gallery, and the
film’s theatrical trailer. OROGER KANNO
WRECK IT RALPH and his new BFF Vanellope have seled into a
familiar routine—starring in their arcade games by day, playing
other games aer work, and hanging out later at Tapper’s (root)
beer joint. But Vanellope’s Sugar Rush game breaks, and to find
the part needed to fix it they sneak into a new WIFI portal at Game
Central Station. It takes them to the totally unfamiliar world of the
Internet, where chaos is inevitable given Ralph’s natural talent for
wrecking things.
While lacking a lile of the charm and newness of the original
Wreck it Ralph, this entry offers a big helping of sentiment along
with gentle humor. The Internet as depicted here will certainly give
rugrats some...uh...interesting ideas on how it looks and works —a
multi-level, multi-colored world crammed with familiar sites such as
Snapchat, Amazon, IMDB, and ebay, plus fictional ones like BuzzTube
and Knowsmore. There’s also Oh My Disney, providing the studio
with endless opportunities to trumpet its Marvel, Disney, and Star
Wars characters. The biggest laughs in the film, in fact, come from a
hilarious send-up of Disney Princesses.
I viewed Ralph on an LG 65-inch OLED TV and a JVC projector
(both 4K and HDR10 capable) and found the film’s image quality and
animation to be stunning. Much of the animation is groundbreaking,
particularly in the action climax. The 4K image (upscaled from a 2K
intermediate) is crisp and clear, the colors bright and deep, and the
use of HDR (HDR10) exceptional, particularly in darker scenes that
allow the many bright highlights to pop.
Those looking for a reference
soundtrack here might be a lile
disappointed. The Dolby Atmos
presentation is effective, but the audio
was mastered at a relatively low level.
There’s lile truly deep, powerful bass,
and the overall dynamic range is
limited in comparison to some of the
best-sounding recent Ultra HD titles
such as The Greatest Showman and
Avengers: Infinity War.
The extras (found only on the
accompanying HD Blu-ray disc) are
extensive. Two trailers are included
(for the upcoming, live-action Aladdin
and Dumbo), plus a promotion for this
summer’s Toy Story 4 (it’s not actually
a trailer, though Buzz and Woody do
show up). There’s also a feature on
the movie’s many Easter Eggs to keep
treasure hunters busy searching for
more animated cat videos (!) plus
excellent, extended shorts on the
making of the film and the soundtrack
music. OTHOMAS J. NORTON
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
STUDIO: Disney
ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
HDR FORMAT: HDR10
AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with
TrueHD 7.1 core
LENGTH: 113 mins.
DIRECTOR: Rich Moore, Phil
Johnston
STARRING: John C. Reilly,
Sarah Silverman, Phil Johnston
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox, 2018
ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
HDR FORMAT: HDR10+ and HDR10
AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with
TrueHD 7.1 core
LENGTH: 129 mins.
DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen
STARRING: Viola Davis, Michelle
Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki,
Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel
Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Robert
Duvall, Liam Neeson
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
UHD BLU-RAY
WIDOWS
UHD BLU-RAY
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