Welcome to The 4K Ultra HD Bazaarvo monthly appointment to find out all about the latest 4K releases and the visual and audio experience they offer. Born of his author's passion for physical media and his desire to share with you the pleasures of cinema at home in his most accomplished form, each issue is the opportunity for the celest wolf to test and evaluate the audio/video performances of many discs released in France and internationally, guiding you through the subtleties of the HDR, the nuances of the WCG and the immersion of 3D soundtracks.
Whether you're a seasoned cinephile looking for the best editions of the market or an amateur wishing to maximize its home-cinema installation, follow the recommendations of our expert and prepare to be amazed by a quality image and sound you thought so far reserved for cinemas. Good reading and enjoy every issue to come! #WeLovePhysicalMedia 📀✨
It is brought to the attention of our dear readers that, in addition to the specified and used viewing equipment, the rendering may differ from one installation to another, whether or not it is calibrated, as well as personal preferences and expectations may influence notation.
Video broadcaster (QD-OLED 4K) : Sony Bravia XR-65A95L
Universal reader : Oppo UDP-203 Audiocom Reference
Multimedia player : R_volution PlayerPro 8K Signature Edition
Pregnant (7.1.4): Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Plus, SB-4000
Image Modes : Professional (SDR or HDR) | Dolby Dark Vision | IMAX Enhanced
Listening modes : Dolby Atmos | Dolby Surround | DTS:X | DTS Neural:X
Contents
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms
Source France | Publisher : Spectrum Films | Release date : 28 March 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 1.85
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Soundtrack
Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
French
Rated 4.5 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 9.5 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – At the height of the legends, this first fracasing part of a future trilogy is a mural with titanium ambitions that aspires to engrave its name in the history of cinematic fantasy (at the side of the Lord of the Rings). A hurricane of Chinese myths in the sublimated Celestial Empire, where the heavens open and the earth trembles under the magnificence of epic battles punctuating court intrigues (adapted from the novel) The institution of the gods) of course demanding but stakeholders.
IMAGE – Dignified by the Gods, this 8K visual surge (but finished in 2K) is an incredible beauty (to a few flawless CGIs) in UHD Dolby Vision. The restitution of fine details is improved (suits, practical decorations, faces), the calibration of colors mobilizes the increased space of the Wide Color Gamut (from the glacial blue to the summer yellows) and the contrasts gain in boldness. More legible obscurity and accentuated light (reflections on armor, flames).
SON – If the French dubbing is not always convincing, there is no major difference (mixing and amplitude) between the two tracks 5.1, tone bands (dynamics and block swollen LFE channel) barred by heroic effects, magical atmospheres and homoric partitions. A hind-tracking tourbillon and fast dialogues (clearly made all the way along) to a fantastic oriental epic particularly noisy. Virtualization DSP to activate.
Star Trek: Section 31
Source France | Publisher : Paramount Pictures | Release date : 07 May 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 3 of 5
Artistic : 4 | Video : 9 | Audio : 9
WORK – Far from Kelvin Timeline and ethical questioning of the universe Star Trek, this spin-off of the series Discovery is only a generic TV production that favours action (without an ounce of tension) at the expense of its narrative (white wire neck). And if the show is big enough to avoid falling into boredom, the characters reduced to archetypes without real emotional depth and the stakes as artificial as the SFX, make it travel to forget.
IMAGE – Coming to improve sharpness (a greater accuracy of textures), enrich the colors (a positively adjusted saturation of the orange hues and blue-violet keys) and strengthen the range of contrasts (a raised density benefiting the depth of the blacks and the vivacity of the light sources), this UHD Dolby Vision transfer explores new worlds inaccessible to its counterpart 1080p. CGI accumulation reduces the definition of a large number of plans.
SON – Precisely and strikingly, the VO Dolby Atmos benefits from a wide sound field where the environmental atmospheres are convincing, the music pleasantly alive and the pyrotechnic effects willingly explosive. All the speakers are exploited (even if it can happen to the verticality of missing the check mark) and while the agitation reigns, the dialogues impose on the front. Less round in the serious and more rough behind, the VF lossy does not fly to the stars.
Companion
Source France | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 04 June 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 9.5 | Audio : 8.5
WORK – Even if too programmatic, this horrific comedy pulp plays with the expectations of the spectators to dynamit the rom-com rose candy and address frontally toxic relations... So as a worthy heir to the Stepford Women, this series B « high concept » Malignant and gentle sneeze takes violently sexism. The staging cleans up its effects, the killings are crazy, the narration is perfectly calculated and casting ensures serious.
IMAGE – From beautifully calibrated digital to upgraded UHD HDR10 performance. Fine details acquire in precision (the exteriors in the woods), the colors studied savourily (pastels which, over the minutes, emancipate towards a saturation satisfied) are more nuanced and the contrasts, better balanced, display more excavated blacks as well as brighter whites (without leaving the felted atmosphere). Indestructible encoding (an average bitrate of 65 Mbit/s).
SON – Technically solid even though loved in its comfort zone, the VO Dolby Atmos is not there to push the boundaries but to prioritize dialogues, with great clarity. There are some atmospheric elements (such as nature and storm) to spice up mixing, but surrounds and verticality remain under control. The heavy atmosphere sometimes laid, well helped by Hrishikesh Hirway's excellent score, enjoys deep bass. VF more reserved (see shots).
Wolf Man
Source France | Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date : 28 May 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 7.5 | Video : 8.5 | Audio : 10
WORK – When The Fly redefines the myth of the werewolf, psychological depth and intimate questioning prevail over gore and fear. So far from the cheaply designed horror movie beast, Leigh Whannell (Invisible Man) takes a new look at one of the classics of fantastic cinema, exploring the intergenerational transmission of traumas in the introspective in camera of the family drama. Between body horror and legacy of Universal MonstersIt bites!
IMAGE – Traveling through frightening shadows and light lights with weak luminous intensity amplifying the feeling of choking, this drowsy photograph with sleek stylized and discreet SFX makes the hairs look UHD HDR10. The details gain in sharpness (the wear of the house, the wooded spaces), the earthy colors in saturation (especially through phosphorescent eyes) and the contrasts in balance (more sustained blacks, better reproduced whites). Some tingling.
SON – The VO Dolby Atmos is a particularly well-designed 3D track, with its scary soundtrack and terrifying sound design, where the slightest effect, from the cracking of the floor to the drizzling breaths, to the forest rusts, is tremendously accentuated at 360°. A disorienting sound immersion with an unlikely directionality (see Blake's POV) and heavy bass (the crash, the shots). The VF shows less fangs.
MadS
Source Germany | Publisher : Capelight Pictures | Release date : 24 April 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
French DTS-HD MA 5.1
German DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
German
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 7.5 | Video : 8.5 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – Turned into a single sequence (a real tour de force), this brutal plunge into the meanderings of addiction sacrifices its narration (pretext) in favor of a sensory experiment aimed at reproducing a « bad trip ». One 28 days later Intimate confusion and paranoia prevail, while the urgency of the exposed situation (the rapid spread of a virus following the inhalation of a new drug) is stimulated by a claustrophobic staging. A pure nightmare.
IMAGE – Captured in 6K (using a RED Raptor camera) with a photo optic Nikon 35 mm, the night photography slightly degraded and permeable to a grain climb (a sensitivity of 5,000 ISO) fits perfectly with the UHD DV project. Warm coloring benefits from WCG (festive lamps, blood), details are better reflected in ambient darkness and light, between public lighting and domestic sources, hypnotizes more. Consolidated compression.
SON – A wave of acoustic fear with twisted sound design and visceral bass that participates in a hallucination (infested with howlings) that is truly graying even if deeply clumsy. The noises (scenarios that are choked here and there) are diabolically spatialized (the crowd, the shooting gusts), Nathaniel Méchaly's score flatters the front stereo, the surround speakers are wildly agitated and the dynamics, under « speed », projects with a rare violence.
Tombstone
Source United States | Publisher : Disney | Release date : 22 April 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.35
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
French (Parisian) Dolby Digital 2.0
English (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 3.5 out of 5
Artistic : 7 | Video : 9 | Audio : 8
WORK – If he excels in historical reconstruction and action (which makes the powder speak in his second part), his scriptural facilities and its too classic structure (a best of the codes of the genre) obscure his weapons. Not a great western therefore (his many production concerns did not have to help), but a pure and hard entertainment at the gold casting (the sling holders Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton) that popularizes Wyatt Earp's famous confrontation.
IMAGE – Gross numerical sharpening, excessive contrasts (crash blacks and blown whites), loose colorimetric palette and geometry defects finally leave Tombstone's legendary town with this UHD Dolby Vision transfer. A beautiful rediscovery with much more refined details, much deeper darkness, undeniably luxuriant primary and otherwise bolder brightness. Silver seed and anamorphic sweetness preserved.
SON – Similar to the 2010 Blu-ray but recorded at a smaller volume, the VO DTS-HD MA 5.1 is somewhat disappointed. Because if the activity surrounds continues to enrich the frontal atmosphere (very wide) and ventilate the partition of Bruce Broughton, the pollronerie of the bass endures (the shots are dated). Despite this, the dynamics are robust and precise sound imaging (see cavalcades). Apart from dubbing, the VFQ 5.1 and the VFF 2.0 surrounds play evenly with a well balanced mixing.
Drop Zone
Source United States | Publisher : Vinegar Syndrome | Release date : 29 April 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.37
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
English
Rated 3.5 out of 5
Artistic : 6.5 | Video : 8.5 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – If the plot lacks altitude and the characters of depth, this under Break item led by the charismatic Wesley Snipes (Blade) captures a certain nostalgic charm of the action of the 90s with its sustained rhythm, its generous dose of aerial cascades and its police suspense with immediate efficiency. Just very classic in short, but a certain adrenaline climb where you should not expect a gentle landing when the testosterone packs.
IMAGE – Newly restored in 4K from the original negative 35 mm, the vibrant photograph by Roy H. Wagner flies in UHD Dolby Vision. The increased resolution jumps to the eye (such as inlays), the silver grain is well defined, the bright colors of Florida (blue sky, greenery, red combination) are more sustained and the management of contrasts is to the suit (more detailed shades and lights). Some redness affects the health of the carnation.
SON – From the hijacking of the Boeing 747 to the freefall sequences, we are dealing with a very agitated DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. The exchanges of dialogues and shots are of great freshness, the spatialisation impresses with its rear activity (airplane overflights, wind gusts in the air), the basses are thundering (aircraft engines, fireworks), the dynamics are not flat as is an aerodrome and the synth lines are clear.
Azrael
Source Germany | Publisher : Plaion Pictures | Release date : 27 February 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
Esperanto DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
German
Rated 3.5 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 7 | Audio : 9
WORK – When the natives of the Village (Shyamalan) find themselves in the terrestrial hell of The Last of Us to the carnivorous creatures of The Descent, angel of death played by a Samara Weaving (the very expressive daughter of Agent Smith) avengeness leaves his anger free. A radical proposal to the frontal graphic violence and sound design nightmare, bringing forth a silent survival in black and red (blood) where religious extremism is crucified.
IMAGE – Dived very regularly in the dark, forest environments benefit from an increased definition, increased light sources (vacillating flames, LED projectors), a neutralized digital grain and more awake colors (some still washed but more woody and bloody). Nevertheless, where the Blu-ray limits the darkness of deep blacks, the present UHD Dolby Vision transfer lightens them too much, altering visceral chills.
SON – A few words in Esperanto aside, this soundtrack stripped of dialogues rests essentially on the heavy breathing of his heroine, the grunts of his characters (more or less human) and above all, the incessant activity of his threatening forest. The spatialisation is evil, the striking sound effects, the sharp music, the suffocating atmospheres and the well exploited LFE channel. Immersion therefore operates brutally, even if the magnitude lacks ferocity.
Inspector Harry
Source France | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 14 May 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.40
HDR10 | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Dolby Digital 1.0 English
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 3.5 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 7 | Audio : 8.5
WORK – Having remodelled the genre by mixing swift justice and nihilism with the seventies sauce, this bitter and provocative urban western with the impassable Clint Eastwood (Cry Macho) in the title role, questions about the boundary between respect for the law and revenge without providing all the answers (criticism of a sclerotic judicial system or apology of the law of the talion ?). Not a political leaflet in short, rather a brutal polar action to the scene without fioriture in a crisis America.
IMAGE – Based on an 8K scan of the 35 mm negative, this UHD transfer calibrated into HDR10 brings to shadow the old Blu-ray. The colours are richer saturated (and rosy), the planes become sharper (within the limits of the sweetness of the source) and the contrasts have been enhanced (blacker darker and more aggressive white). But in the urban jungle, it's not just thugs and criminals who fear Dirty Harry, there's also the silver grain, reduced to a minimum. There's a lot of stuff here and there.
SON – Since justice is not negotiated but takes place at close range, the VO Dolby Atmos (result of the previous corrected remix 5.1) is there to clean up. Far from betraying its foundations, it splits into a new dimension (the emblematic score of Lalo Schifrin) while using back and heights with sobriety. For more authenticity, the mono original mix (clean and robust) in DTS-HD MA 2.0 format is included. VF of a flat period in comparison (see detonations).
Anora
Source United States | Publisher : Criterion | Release date : 29 April 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
English
Rated 4.5 out of 5
Artistic : 9.5 | Video : 9.5 | Audio : 9
WORK – With a heart like this, this deconstruction of the American dream (with its degenerate ugly) where the spirit of the Coen brothers moves in with the Safdie, is an anti-Pretty Woman furibar who starts as a trivial fairy tale before firing the road-trip drolatique. Sensitive, entertaining and intoxicating, this surprisingly touching portrait of a real bad ass (the formidablely energetic Mikey Madison) imposes itself as the best film of his indie director. My golden Palm!
IMAGE – Supervised by Sean Baker in person, this 4K master which overflows with stylistic fioriture benefits from a stabilized 35 mm texture (Kodak Vision3) and refined HDR10 treatment. The more sharp resolution strikes by the natural of its details (at the softness of a beautiful finesse), the maximized contrasts embellish the numerous night scenes and the more delicately saturated colorimetric palette enjoys more vibrant primarys (cf. the reds). A trace of solarization.
SON – Using dynamics (balanced) and bass (weighted) with parsimony, this 5.1 soundtrack captures with as much clarity as precision the cacophony of dialogues (which may overlap), the orgasmic atmosphere of the strip club and the debauchery of parties. Diegetic music does not lack depth or breadth, organic noises are of great proximity and the feeling of enveloping, even if discreet at times, officialises when the time comes.
Pale Rider, the lonely rider
Source France | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 07 May 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Dolby Digital 1.0 English
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 8.5 | Video : 8 | Audio : 8.5
WORK – In a wild America tinted with dust and revenge (quasi supernatural), Clint Eastwood shapes a twilight western tending towards the epure where the bullets of a ghostly preacher resonate as an inevitable judgment. The angel of death has the class, the script (excluded from the clichés of the genre and carried on ecology) plays out appearances and the staging does not fail to... Shut up. A classic of the genre that rides alongside legends.
IMAGE – The pastor does not only rouse the brutes, he also hunts the silver grain (abated to excess)... Yet, gold shines better in the mining village of LaHood! As a result of an 8K digitization of the 35 mm negative, this new 4K master won a duel sound with the previous Blu-ray. Exceptionally sharp, it displays much more determined details (the decorations), more fabulously vibrant colors (the blue sky) and otherwise more demonstrative contrasts.
SON – On the basis of the old 5.1 remix, the VO Dolby Atmos adapts remarkably well to its origins Dolby Stereo (proposed in 2.0 surround for purists). It therefore does not reinvent the wheel, but allows itself to bring there a better separation of the channels (cf. the increased precision of directional effects) and the emphasis of the discreetly disturbing partition of Lennie Niehaus. Soft bass for a more natural look. If the VO is a river, the VF monon is just a stream.
Surviving
Source Germany | Publisher : Capelight Pictures | Release date : 17 April 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 1.85
HDR10 | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
French DTS-HD MA 5.1
German DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
English
German
Rated 3 of 5
Artistic : 5 | Video : 8.5 | Audio : 9
WORK – While the collapse of the world is only a slow agony, clichés on legs consumed by fear and the instinct of survival embark on a hike of the extreme (white wire hue) under the ocean which, following the inversion of magnetic poles, became firm ground. Without the means of its ambitions but committed to the protection of the planet, this catastrophe to the French nevertheless lures too much towards the Z when horror comes. Fragile but brave...
IMAGE – In front of the French Blu-ray, this HDR10 UHD transfer improves the contrast ratio (more detailed number and increased solar light), expands the colorimetric space (for even more suffocating heat) and maintains a better level of detail (the craze on bodies and clothes, rock formations). If the digital noise has generally withdrawn with the sea, it can still be highlighted here and there. CGI (very medium) more exposed.
SON – A VO « multilingual » (many French, a little English) which focuses on dialogues (well audible throughout) without neglecting the environmental atmospheres (the breath of the wind, the splashing of water, torrential rain, the rustling of nature) and other distressing effects (the displacement of giant crabs). Spatialisation is felt fully, bass hit hard, the dynamic range remains on the qui-vive and the score emerges not without wingspan.
The fallen angels
Source France | Publisher : The Jokers | Release date : 18 December 2024
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1
French DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles
French
Rated 3 of 5
Artistic : 9 | Video : 6 | Audio : 9
WORK – A kaleidoscope of broken lives that intertwine without joining one another where night wandering between solitary, always at the edge of light, questions the inaccessibility of the human link. Souls drift in search of this star called love, the voyeur and hypnotic eye of the camera marries this walk and the Hong Kong night becomes a floating space for these isolated people fallen from the sky. Disconcerting, dreamy and deeply melancholic.
IMAGE – While Wong Kar-wai's revisionism is sometimes hard to swallow (modification of the 1.85 format for 2.39, addition of distortions, color change and softening of the 35 mm grain), this expressionist painting is more graphic in UHD Dolby Vision. The details are less blurred, the colorimetric palette benefits from much more luxuriant primary and the contrasts have been adjusted. More pronounced duality between darkness and brightness.
SON – In the « silence » While love is a murmur that no one hears, the VO DTS-HD MA 5.1 shakes with a short energy. Dynamics effectively supports the action related to the disillusioned hit man, surround activity is very present (cf. urban atmospheres), music depicts feelings with a superb emphasis, and the voices off are strongly exuded by the power station. Less immersive, however, VF 2.0 remains balanced.
The Great Silence
Source France | Publisher : Studiocanal | Release date : 24 March 2022
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 1.85
CSD | BT2 BT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2 NT2
HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Soundtrack
Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0
French DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles
French
Rated 3 of 5
Artistic : 9 | Video : 6.5 | Audio : 7.5
WORK – In a snow shroud where the last hopes of a dying resistance smother, the mirage of justice collapses under the bullets of the strongest. Made in 1968, this summit of the western spaghetti « Without voice or law » is a disenchanted requiem for a lost humanity. And constantly sinking into a cold fatalism whose raw violence does not bring redemption or triumph, this last ballad before extinction recalls that the story written by those who hold the revolver.
IMAGE – Resulting from a 2K restoration (93% of the plans) and a 4K scan of an operating copy (the final scene very fluctuating in its rendering), this SDR UHD transfer blows hot and cold. Because so surplus definition there is, what about the scrub of the silver texture? And in this world where all human heat has disappeared, why has colorimetry (slightly) turned yellow (where it is bluished on the Blu-ray) Eureka)? On the other hand, nothing to say about cleaning and contrasts.
SON – Two well-restored monophonic tracks and a pleasant stability despite a dissimilar rendering. Wider (cf. the music of Ennio Morricone) and equipped with purified saigus, the Italian VO (with post-synchronised dialogues) must nevertheless endure a constant breath. This is not the case of the VF, which is more pleasant to listen to (even if more enclosed) despite a slight saturation on the highest notes. In both cases, the shots slam and the score sounds.
Back to Business
Source United States | Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date 1 April 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.00
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English (Quebec) Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 3.5 out of 5
Artistic : 6.5 | Video : 9.5 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – Between adrenaline and complicity in love, this rom-com action (too generic) is an explosive gift for Valentine's Day... Point over sentimentality here, but a festival of waterfalls and bastons at the John Wick With a very absurd humour. The actors are charismatic (in particular Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose), the staging overflows with energy and the concept does the job. Yes, love hurts: like a fist in the face!
IMAGE – Fine detailing (Marvin's duvetous sweater, Raven's facial hairiness, Kippy's wounds), improved color saturation (starting with the red shades of the lovers' feast but also blood) and the contemporaneity of contrasts underlined (between extremely deep blacks and intensely bright whites), spice up this excellent UHD Dolby Vision transfer whose encoding (an average bitrate of 74.2 Mbps) resists violent assaults.
SON – A turbulent Dolby Atmos soundtrack that loves itself in the chaos of the (more or less armed) confrontations with deep directionality and palpable depth. The bullets whistle through the listening room, the music imposes when it wants to wrestle with it and the blows carried are painful. Like effects, voices move in the environment. Verticality perfectly in its place. If the VFQ is looking for as much quarrel as it is, it must have a very sharp dubbing.
Lilo and Stitch (2002)
Source United States | Publisher : Disney | Release date : 06 May 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 1.68
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 4.5 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 9 | Audio : 10
WORK – Spurred of songs and legendary animated mevererie Disney, this classic as hideous as a waitress trolls princesses with perfect hair against an eccentric girl and an alien with four arms. And at the galactic cross between the SF of invasion and the social drama, this mixture of burlesque anarchy and skin-flowering emotion evokes, with deep authenticity, the family in all its forms. Like Stitch, this is a terrible adventure.
IMAGE – If the poverty of the line necessarily persists, watercolour (which marked its return in force) is enriched and compression artifacts swept away. It is therefore not the scaling, a hair better defined in UHD, that digs the difference on the Hawaii archipelago, but actually the Dolby Vision calibration. Pastels gain in warmth and shade, the starry night in depth and bright light sources (the crash of the 626 ship, the fire dance, the reflections on the water).
The 4K restoration was carried out on the alternative mill (that of Disney+). A safe revisionism for the young audience, where Lilo is now hiding behind a pizza box and no longer in the dryer. Two problems of continuity, however. The sound design remains that of closing a door and the home appliances reappear as if by magic on another plane.
SON – Very engaged at the rear and in the heights (opening in the « Aliens », the accident of the road, the surf sessions, the aeronautical final), this unreequalized Dolby Atmos soundtrack (the dynamics and the basses are firm) is marked by a formidable spatialization work coupled with a just unprecedented amplitude on this title. The effects are energetic, expressive atmospheres and music (not just "King") enveloping. VF 5.1 lossy quieter and less spacious.
Mean Streets
Source United Kingdom | Publisher : Second Sight | Release date : 15 January 2024
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 1.85
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English LPCM 1.0
Subtitles
English
Rated 3.5 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 8 | Audio : 7.5
WORK – Classic American cinema of the 70s, this window opens onto a gangster-populated neighborhood looks at the dilemmas of a man who is caught between his conscience and the realities of the criminal environment. A semi-autobiographical work DIY with the means of the edge, where Scorsese seems to deliver a fragment of his own past with his betrayals, hopes, debts and prayers murmured between two glasses. 50 years before Killers of the Flower Moon, his collaboration with De Niro was beginning...
IMAGE – Obtained from the original 35 mm negative (listed in 3K), this UHD DV master approved by its director provides richer textures, a better returned silver grain (l-encoding FiM is fantastic) and enhanced contrasts. The demarcation of shadows is more apparent and the high luminances are more detailed. As for the colours, despite a yellow/green implementation that can cause debate, they are no longer washed and benefit from the WCG (red shades).
SON – Even if hindered by the restrictions inherent in its source (suffocated shots, very sharp music and limited frontal opening), this well-cleaned mono track shows obvious health. The dialogues have never been so clear, the restitution of the sound of vinyls (including crepitations) is authentic and the lively bars of Little Italy come to life with a brand new precision. Surprising dynamics (see car accident) and stability at all tests.
The Killer's Game
Source United States | Publisher : Lionsgate Films | Release date : 19 November 2024
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.00
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
Subtitles
English
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 7 | Video : 10 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – Between scorched battons, well-balanced humour and armed shootings, this action comedy by Dave Bautista (Knock at the Cabin, The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) promises its share of fun and hemorrhagic violence. An efficient and light entertainment certainly in the shadow of John Wick, but where love (for Sofia Boutella) and bullets meet cheerfully in front of an army of assassins (Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, etc.) ready to get rid of them.
IMAGE – Even more detailed and energetic than its counterpart 1080p, this particularly attractive UHD Dolby Vision transfer is a tough solidity. The definition gains a sacred level of precision (pilosity, decorations), slightly softened colours (medical appointments) with some vibrating touches (reds) show new hues (violaceous nuances) and contrasts, between abyssal blacks and bright whites, show more daring.
SON – Great effects do you want, an uninterrupted surround activity, basses that hit hard and a raging dynamic, bombard this Dolby Atmos mixing certainly noisy but always with great clarity. Even when bullets, screams, explosions and other blows invade the sound space (three quarters of the time), dialogues and music remain perfectly balanced. Rather moderate vertical component.
Trolls 3
Source United States | Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date : 16 January 2024
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English (Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English
French
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 7 | Video : 10 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – When the boys band makes their big comeback on the glittery Trolls scene, it is at a festival of musical covers that this psychedelic animation that gives fishing. Unlikely Mix of Mama Mia! and a best-of- NSYNC, this 3rd nostalgic part of the 90s overflows with energy is still as joyfully colorful as well as hammering a well-câlinou feel-good message (the importance of ties and reconciliation through music). A puff of fluo pink air.
IMAGE – To take off the retina, this acidic candy with criar colours and felt textures is even more « stinging » in UHD Dolby Vision. A treat for the eyes where the details are of extraordinary finesse (cf. the texture of the skins and textile fibres), the colorimetric palette explodes on the screen (brighter, more beautifully saturated hues) and contrasts, clearly deeper, adapt better to the different environments (the luminous Vacay Island, the dark minigolf).
SON – A VO Dolby Atmos with zealous leadership, clear dialogues, extensive playlist, striking basses and petulant dynamics, from which one emerges with a groove in the socks. The sound effects are turbulent, the surround scene galvanizes the concert and the musical numbers, supported by the height channels (especially during the performance at Mount Rageous), do not lack punch. VF Dolby Digital 5.1 less nuanced in its mild ambient madness.
Paddington in Peru
Source United Kingdom | Publisher : Studiocanal | Release date : 17 February 2025
Video format
2160p24 | Ratio 2.39
HDR10 | Dolby Vision | BT.2020
HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles
English
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 7.5 | Video : 9.5 | Audio : 9.5
WORK – Faithful to his spirit full of kindness, this third opus takes us on a moving journey, where humour and sincerity mingle with delicacy. A tender and colourful adventure carried by the most adorable bear of the cinema, whose eternal optimism and charming vileness continue to remind us that kindness and curiosity are priceless treasures. Between pure emotion and funny situations, this well-licked family entertainment knows how to touch the heart.
IMAGE – While this is the temporary softening of some of SFX's sips, the more exotic places presented here turbine the WCG by the omnipresence of lush tropical vegetation. This visit to the anti-scratch jungle in UHD Dolby Vision is also full of details that are more refined than in HD (furs, landscapes in the background) and illuminated by light sources with significantly increased intensity. Compression imperceptible.
SON – More muscular and aerial (the rain, the overflights of the seaplane, the rustling of leaves) than those having sounded twice London, this soundtrack Dolby Atmos sometimes unleashed (the river boat accident, the continuation of the rock in the way of the Lost Arch Adventurers) makes us travel in the Amazonian canopy inside an acoustic bubble that overflows with life (see fauna and flora). All the speakers are at the party and the dialogues are clear.
Tops of support:
- The best 4K Blu-ray in support v.1, v.2
- The best 4K Blu-ray to test 3D sound v.1, v.2
- The best 4K Blu-ray 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
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Very cool with the integrated podcast as a format!
Thank you! 🙏