4K - 8K Resolution and/or Dolby Atmos/DTSX Content Reviews

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Kill Bill 1&2 4k Disc

PQ- Disappointing. That's the word I would use to describe the picture quality for these 4k transfers. KB1 being the worst. The picture is maybe a smidge better than blu ray, only because they added HDR. So, the colors do get a little pop, but the overall picture itself has blotches and smudges. It doesn't look like they did anything to upgrade the picture. These movies are from a 2kDI. Which to me, are the worst kind of 4k upgrades. If you want to call them that. They didn't even use the original film scan. These were approved by Tarantino. So that's disappointing that this is what he's calling "good" 4k transfer. KB2 looks better overall. I'm not sure why, they were both shot on film but both were 2kDI's. Closeup's in the 2nd one looked really good. Better lighting I suppose. Overall picture score I'm giving a 5/10.

SQ- Both movies have the original lossless 5.1 mix. They sound great! That's probably the best technical thing about these 4k discs. Dialogue is easy to hear, action scenes have plenty of sound going on around. In the second movie, when they bury the bride, you can hear the dirt flying in from over top. It's pretty cool. Overall sound score I will give an 8/10.

Overall- The actual movies themselves are a fun watch. They aren't my favorite Tarantino movies, but they're fun. I would rate them a 7.5/10 (combined). If you're on the fence about upgrading from your blu ray, I would wait to get these on super sale.

I only watched a few minutes of KB1/KB2, but I can see what you mean regarding the PQ. When I saw them, the first thing I thought was, "Man, these look just like the 1080p versions!"

Technology is great. Good thing most movies these days are shot using 4K digital cameras or at least get transferred immediately to 4K Digital Masters so they will look great forever.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The other Tarantino movie that some reviewers are trying to tell people was "big improvement" was Inglorious Bastards. Universal released the 4k. Didn't get rave reviews. Then Arrow Video (who is a great at 4k transfers) got the rights to the movie and just released their version. Well, there is almost nothing different between them. You have a split base of people saying "big improvements" and other half saying "very minor changes" with supporting pictures. I'm not double dipping. I will just keep my Universal copy. I really hate when the big companies release a 4k transfer and then a year or so later, they sell the rights to a boutique distributor and then they do their own 4k restoration. I would just like it done once and done the right way. I know it's a huge ask.

You getting "Reservoir Dogs" or "Jackie Brown" 4K ?

 

[Movie2099]

You getting "Reservoir Dogs" or "Jackie Brown" 4K ?

Already owned Reservoir Dogs. The one that just came out is a re-release with a new steelbook. I also got Jackie Brown. I actually just watched it a few months ago for the first time. Hahaha, finally got around to it. I do believe this new 4k transfer has been getting positive reviews.

 

[j_garcia]

I only watched a few minutes of KB1/KB2, but I can see what you mean regarding the PQ. When I saw them, the first thing I thought was, "Man, these look just like the 1080p versions!"

Technology is great. Good thing most movies these days are shot using 4K digital cameras or at least get transferred immediately to 4K Digital Masters so they will look great forever.

I have the BDs. Sounds like I probably don't need to upgrade for KB1&2. It sounds like Pulp Fiction is similar, that it wasn't a dramatic upgrade and even the audio was ported over.

Was just reading about the 30th anniversary release of Pulp Fiction and it seems Tarantino is not a fan of physical media and home viewing. So he does not get involved in working on or approving updated home releases. That is likely why the upgrades are not significant.

I did see they are releasing a complete 4K release of Twin Peaks. Seems to include everything - Original series, the second series, Fire Walk With Me, and a ton of bonus content. I went ahead and preordered it, even though it is really only the original 2 season series that I enjoy the most.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I have the BDs. Sounds like I probably don't need to upgrade for KB1&2. It sounds like Pulp Fiction is similar, that it wasn't a dramatic upgrade and even the audio was ported over.

Was just reading about the 30th anniversary release of Pulp Fiction and it seems Tarantino is not a fan of physical media and home viewing. So he does not get involved in working on or approving updated home releases. That is likely why the upgrades are not significant.

I did see they are releasing a complete 4K release of Twin Peaks. Seems to include everything - Original series, the second series, Fire Walk With Me, and a ton of bonus content. I went ahead and preordered it, even though it is really only the original 2 season series that I enjoy the most.

Many older BD to 4K conversions aren’t impressive. One reception is “Se7en”.

 

[Movie2099]

Many older BD to 4K conversions aren’t impressive. One reception is “Se7en”.

If the 4k restoration companies use the actual original film for the 4k scan, the picture is going to look amazing. It's when they don't do that and then take the 2KDI (blu ray) copy and then upgrade that version to 4k and don't make any changes to it. It's the cheap way to turn a buck for some of these bigger studios. Since they can attach Tarantino's name to it, they know they'll make millions from them without having to do a lot of work.

Se7en is a recent example of what actual 4k restoration can do to an older movie. That movie has never looked better.

 

[Movie2099]

I have the BDs. Sounds like I probably don't need to upgrade for KB1&2. It sounds like Pulp Fiction is similar, that it wasn't a dramatic upgrade and even the audio was ported over.

Was just reading about the 30th anniversary release of Pulp Fiction and it seems Tarantino is not a fan of physical media and home viewing. So he does not get involved in working on or approving updated home releases. That is likely why the upgrades are not significant.

I did see they are releasing a complete 4K release of Twin Peaks. Seems to include everything - Original series, the second series, Fire Walk With Me, and a ton of bonus content. I went ahead and preordered it, even though it is really only the original 2 season series that I enjoy the most.

I've never seen Twin Peaks. It's always been something on my radar, but I've never taken the time to watch it. I'm behind on my David Lynch movies. So, I think this year will be a good time to get caught up. I have his version of Dune on my list. I have to pick up Lost Highway and Blue Velvet when they drop on sale. I'm a fan of Wild at Heart. I also need to rewatch Mulholland Drive. Haven't seen it since high school.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've never seen Twin Peaks. It's always been something on my radar, but I've never taken the time to watch it.

I tried watching Twin Praks a few times. Just couldn’t tolerate it. I recently tried again a few weeks ago. Same results.

And so I decided to just read about the plots. And then I really didn’t want to watch Twin Peaks since I hate themes about supernatural spirits.

 

[j_garcia]

I've never seen Twin Peaks. It's always been something on my radar, but I've never taken the time to watch it. I'm behind on my David Lynch movies. So, I think this year will be a good time to get caught up. I have his version of Dune on my list. I have to pick up Lost Highway and Blue Velvet when they drop on sale. I'm a fan of Wild at Heart. I also need to rewatch Mulholland Drive. Haven't seen it since high school.

I loved Wild at Heart. Lost Highway got a little lost for me, good, but very Lynch odd. Mulholland was good. His original Dune, though very much compressed, was very fun to watch. I saw it in theaters.

Twin Peaks isn't about a spirit exactly. It is super campy but also intense. It is an oddball for sure, but that is what made it fun.

My Se7en 4K should be coming tomorrow.

 

[Movie2099]

Haha.

Venom 3 2024 4K ATMOS is another stream-worthy.

Video: Looks great, shot on 4K digital Arri Alexa camera.

Audio: I think I recall some cool ATMOS overhead sounds. Overall SQ is good.

Story: I like it. But another one of those "dumb" brainless action movies. Good enough for streaming.

I watched my copy of Venom 3 on 4k Disc. I have the same conclusion your do with regards to the video. As for the sound, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting more Atmos, but it was mostly just front loaded with minimal overhead interaction. If you're going to make something like Venom 3 where the script is horrible, at least put some good sound into it!

The story/script was horrible. It was a "brainless" action movie. Which is pretty sad, because they have plenty of material to work off of from the comics, but they felt the need to go in random directions with this character. This movie could almost be a standalone movie since almost none if relates to previous material except for one character who we could care less about. They use the multi-verse as a reason to avoid any previous movie and basically start something new. A very, very lazy and weak way to write something. In my opinion. You can absolutely wait for this movie to hit streaming. Which I believe will hit Netflix very soon. I'm giving this movie a 5/10.

 

[j_garcia]

lol, Venom 3 was ever so slightly better than Kraven, and that is not saying much Similarly bad.

My Se7en is delayed; now says Jan 30.

 

[Movie2099]

lol, Venom 3 was ever so slightly better than Kraven, and that is not saying much Similarly bad.

My Se7en is delayed; now says Jan 30.

I've been seeing more delays with movies lately. From Amazon that is. I was supposed to get Substance 4k delivered today, but now won't get until next week. And Vampires 4k by John Carpenter, has been delayed a couple of times. With no reason. Really sucks when you pre-order these movies months ago, to get delays.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Nosferatu 2024 4K ATMOS. Written and directed by Robert Eggers, who also wrote/directed The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman. All of these movies are very highly rated on IMDb.

PQ. Shot on 35 mm analog film and transferred to 4K Digital Master. It looks pretty good on streaming, so maybe it will look better on UHD Disc. Probably not as good looking as most movies shot on 4K Digital Arri Alexa, but could just be my bias against analog.

SQ. Sounds pretty solid overall. I heard some loud thunder and rain in overhead ATMOS, but I don't think there were a whole lot of ATMOS effects. Still, it seems like the SQ was pretty good overall.

Story/Writing. I like it a lot. I think I like it better than Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula movie, a lot better than "The Last Voyage of the Demeter". I liked that all the shots for the Demeter's voyage in Nosferatu was during the dark thunderstorm, not some bright sunny daylight where they could easily kill Dracula - this part was stupid in "The Last Voyage of the Demeter".

I think "Nosferatu 2024" might be my favorite version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Now, why the heck did I hate Robert Eggers' "The Northman"? Vikings and this time period might be my favorite genre of all. But I hated "The Northman". Am I the ONLY one? Should I give "Northman" another look?

 

[j_garcia]

Nosferatu 2024 4K ATMOS. Written and directed by Robert Eggers, who also wrote/directed The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman. All of these movies are very highly rated on IMDb.

PQ. Shot on 35 mm analog film and transferred to 4K Digital Master. It looks pretty good on streaming, so maybe it will look better on UHD Disc. Probably not as good looking as most movies shot on 4K Digital Arri Alexa, but could just be my bias against analog.

SQ. Sounds pretty solid overall. I heard some loud thunder and rain in overhead ATMOS, but I don't think there were a whole lot of ATMOS effects. Still, it seems like the SQ was pretty good overall.

Story/Writing. I like it a lot. I think I like it better than Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula movie, a lot better than "The Last Voyage of the Demeter". I liked that all the shots for the Demeter's voyage in Nosferatu was during the dark thunderstorm, not some bright sunny daylight where they could easily kill Dracula - this part was stupid in "The Last Voyage of the Demeter".

I think "Nosferatu 2024" might be my favorite version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Now, why the heck did I hate Robert Eggers' "The Northman"? Vikings and this time period might be my favorite genre of all. But I hated "The Northman". Am I the ONLY one? Should I give "Northman" another look?

I liked The Northman, but it was VERY slow burn. This one too, I like how he tells it, but also painfully slow to get to the point. I like that it feels "classic" horror, nice cinematography and performances. I did like The Witch a lot and Lighthouse was very strange but good.

Demeter was just OK, but I am a big fan of Coppola's Dracula. Been to his winery in Napa where they have the armor on display.

 

[Movie2099]

Nosferatu 2024 4K ATMOS. Written and directed by Robert Eggers, who also wrote/directed The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman. All of these movies are very highly rated on IMDb.

PQ. Shot on 35 mm analog film and transferred to 4K Digital Master. It looks pretty good on streaming, so maybe it will look better on UHD Disc. Probably not as good looking as most movies shot on 4K Digital Arri Alexa, but could just be my bias against analog.

SQ. Sounds pretty solid overall. I heard some loud thunder and rain in overhead ATMOS, but I don't think there were a whole lot of ATMOS effects. Still, it seems like the SQ was pretty good overall.

Story/Writing. I like it a lot. I think I like it better than Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula movie, a lot better than "The Last Voyage of the Demeter". I liked that all the shots for the Demeter's voyage in Nosferatu was during the dark thunderstorm, not some bright sunny daylight where they could easily kill Dracula - this part was stupid in "The Last Voyage of the Demeter".

I think "Nosferatu 2024" might be my favorite version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Now, why the heck did I hate Robert Eggers' "The Northman"? Vikings and this time period might be my favorite genre of all. But I hated "The Northman". Am I the ONLY one? Should I give "Northman" another look?

Did you see this in the theater? Otherwise the version you happen to see outside the theater is not going to be anything compared to the actual K-scape or 4k disc version. Haha!

I can't wait to get my 4k disc copy. Unfortunately, did not go to theaters to see it. I love Robert Eggers movies. He has a unique style and I love it that his stories are always taking place in historical time periods.

I just re-watched the Northman. Such a great movie! I remember seeing that in theaters. I love the Vikings/Norse time period. Great cinematography and the sound was really good on the 4k disc. Definitely worthy of a multiple viewings.

I have not seen that Demeters Voyage. I have it pre-ordered on 4k disc. I've heard pretty decent things about it. Figure I'll take a chance on it.

 

[j_garcia]

I saw Nosferatu in the theater. It was only in Dolby at like 9pm at all those theaters for some reason, so we saw it in IMAX instead. As mentioned, there are a few good uses of Atmos, but for the most part there is not a lot of reason to use it in this film. It looked great though, except for the 'stache lol. Eggers wanted him to look period and that sort of mustache would be appropriate for the time, but it looks weird.

Eggers said he has no interest in shooting "modern" films, so he will stick to period pieces and fantasy it seems. And his next film could be interesting: a "sequel" to Labyrinth.

 

[Movie2099]

I saw Nosferatu in the theater. It was only in Dolby at like 9pm at all those theaters for some reason, so we saw it in IMAX instead. As mentioned, there are a few good uses of Atmos, but for the most part there is not a lot of reason to use it in this film. It looked great though, except for the 'stache lol. Eggers wanted him to look period and that sort of mustache would be appropriate for the time, but it looks weird.

Eggers said he has no interest in shooting "modern" films, so he will stick to period pieces and fantasy it seems. And his next film could be interesting: a "sequel" to Labyrinth.

I don't trust my local theaters faux IMAX theaters. They call them "E-MAX" since the theater chain is Emagine Theaters. They are using 2k projectors and the sound is hit or miss. For Batman I thought the sound was great, but then for Furiosa it was horrible. When re-watching Furiosa in my own theater, it was like seeing it for the first time. Watching it in true 4k and the sound was 10x better.

I think I've seen movies in a true dolby atmos theater, a long time ago when they first came out. I believe AMC started that?... But haven't gone to that theater in over decade.

 

[Trell]

I don't trust my local theaters faux IMAX theaters. They call them "E-MAX" since the theater chain is Emagine Theaters. They are using 2k projectors and the sound is hit or miss. For Batman I thought the sound was great, but then for Furiosa it was horrible. When re-watching Furiosa in my own theater, it was like seeing it for the first time. Watching it in true 4k and the sound was 10x better.

I think I've seen movies in a true dolby atmos theater, a long time ago when they first came out. I believe AMC started that?... But haven't gone to that theater in over decade.

It must have been 10-15 years since last I watched something in a cinema, for various reasons.

 

[j_garcia]

I don't like most of the IMAX theaters around here either. The quality is random and not always good, including the sound, but none of us wanted to see an almost 3hr movie (with trailers) at 9. Unfortunately, there were some drunk people in the theater who were talking the whole time too. They were far enough away that it wasn't a big deal, but it is just not cool.

 

[Movie2099]

I don't like most of the IMAX theaters around here either. The quality is random and not always good, including the sound, but none of us wanted to see an almost 3hr movie (with trailers) at 9. Unfortunately, there were some drunk people in the theater who were talking the whole time too. They were far enough away that it wasn't a big deal, but it is just not cool.

Our MN Zoo actually had the states only real IMAX screen. The 5-6 story high gigantic behemoth screen, real IMAX projector and sound. The real deal. Tickets were more expensive, around $18 per person. But if you signed up for their membership which was only $30/year. You got discounts on tickets and food. All you had to do was see 3-4 movies a year to equal the yearly membership cost. Anyways, the theater used to be packed Friday and Sat. nights. But then for some reason in 2019/2020 (pre-covid) nobody was going any more. Covid was the death blow. They shut it down and now it's just used for school field trips to show educational films to kids. I think another big reason was the price and the horrible management of the theater. The Zoo hired a 3rd party vendor to manage and run it. They were all lazy piles of garbage. Winter time heat would be cranked up, doesn't feel comfortable when you have 500 people in there and it feels like 85+. Then in the summers they would crank the AC where it was freezing. Then if there was an issue with projector, none of them knew how to fix it, so they'd just shut it down and give you a free movie ticket. I do miss it though. Wife and I would try to hit that place up for all the biggest releases. Go on Sunday for the 1pm showing and it would be almost dead, maybe 20 people total.