John Sciacca Archives - Page 2 of 12

Kaleidescape | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

This documentary-like CGI-driven remake proves to be almost as satisfying as the 1994 original

by John Sciacca
updated August 21, 2023

While it’s tempting to refer to the 2019 remake of The Lion King as the latest in Disney’s string of live-action remakes, following in the footsteps of Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, and Aladdin, it would technically be inaccurate to refer to it as such. Call it whatever you want, this film takes animation photo-realism to the next level with animals and landscapes so detailed and realistic the lines between “real” and “digital” are blurred into non-existence.

But the film’s strict adherence to ultra-realism is also a bit of its downfall, as it removes some of the heart and connection to the characters. In the original version, Disney’s animators humanized the characters by giving them human emotions and expressions. In reality, though, lions—and most jungle animals—only have so many facial expressions, none of which are designed to express sadness or pleasure. Fortunately, the voice casting is spot on, and definitely helps in connecting you with the animals and understanding what they’re feeling.

While the remake runs 30 minutes longer than the animated version, it doesn’t feel like much has been added. Rather, scenes just open and develop at a slower pace, giving you more time to absorb all of the glorious CGI realism.

Part of what made the original so memorable was the Hans Zimmer score and the songs by Elton John and Time Rice, and those remain intact here with some new songs added, and with pop stars Donald Glover and Beyonce Knowles teaming up to perform “Can You Feel the lLove Tonight?” and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner putting their spin on “Hakuna Matata.”

There are only a couple of instances (some water splashing and some of the jungle scenes) where the CGI visuals look anything but lifelike. Colors have a golden, natural shade, with lots of sun and earth tones.

Closeup detail throughout is fantastic, especially of landscapes and animals. In fact, closeups look so good, they only add to the illusion you’re looking at real life. Individual whiskers and strands of fur are clearly visible, as are subtle eye expressions and mouth movements. You can clearly see the claws extend from the lions’ paws as they walk, the wrinkle and texture in elephant’s skin, and individual wisps of hair around Rafiki’s face.

While shot in ArriRaw at 6.5K, this transfer is taken from a 2K digital intermediate. While this doesn’t doom a movie to lower picture quality or mean it isn’t true 4K, I did feel that the backgrounds didn’t have that next level of detail found in some films, instead exhibiting a general softness and lack of detail, especially when contrasted with the terrific detail on tight shots.

With the sun appearing in many shots, HDR is used nicely to deliver a lifelike image. The sun is bright, with the landscape retaining shadow and detail. Also, the bright orange hues of the sun and the varied shades of blue in the sky showed no hints of banding. Some lightning strikes and a roaring fire at the finale also benefit from the HDR grading.

Sonically, the Atmos track isn’t aggressive by any means, but it did offer some nice moments, and served its source material well enough. Dialogue is always clear and understandable, and music is mixed up into the ceiling speakers to give it some more dimension. The mixers took some opportunities to add echo to voices and sounds inside of caves and canyons, to have animals running past your head, or to have some atmospheric sounds in the jungle, but I would have liked them to push these a bit further. While there aren’t a lot of bass-heavy moments, the mixers choose the right moments—like the stampede and pivotal lion roars—to push the LFE channel and heighten the emotional impact.

While The Lion King offers nothing new from a storytelling perspective, it is gamechanging for its use of CGI, and is a terrific-looking film. While a couple of the scenes might be intense for younger viewers, it’s mostly family-friendly fare that is nearly as educational as a documentary and likely more entertaining.

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

PICTURE | Closeup detail is so fantastic that it creates the illusion you’re looking at real life.

SOUND | The Atmos mix isn’t aggressive by any means but does offer some nice moments and serves its source material well enough.

Review: F9: The Fast Saga

review | F9: The Fast Saga

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

This Fast & Furious sequel is absurd throughout, takes itself far too seriously, and makes for a great home theater demo

by John Sciacca
updated August 20, 2023

With F9: The Fast Saga, what started out as a small crew, led by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), who drove souped-up muscle cars to hijack trucking shipments, now finds this “family” of drivers, thieves, and hackers somehow thrust into a situation where they need to travel the globe—and space!—to save the world from a cyberterrorism attack. The best thing to do with this film—along with about any recent entry in the Fast franchise—is to check your sense of reality at the door, grab a bowl of popcorn, turn off the lights, and just let all of the glorious action wash over you. Just expect this film to do virtually everything short of literally jumping a shark.

If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll be happy to know the gang is mostly here, and the film includes nearly every returning member of Toretto’s crew from past films save for Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). We also have Charlize Theron returning as baddie Cipher, along with a new antagonist, Jakob (John Cena) who is—Dun dun DUH!!!—Dominic’s long-estranged brother.

While fans come to F9 expecting a ton of over-the-top action set pieces with crashes and explosions aplenty, with a film like this, you’re also expecting to have a fun time. Part of the problem is that the movie takes itself so seriously—especially Diesel who sulks and growls his way through nearly every take—that is misses the fun part. John Cena’s comedic chops that are wasted here. Instead he spends most of his time on camera trying to out-brood Diesel. The only two characters that seem to remember this isn’t actually life and death and meant to be entertaining are long-time members of Toretto’s crew, Tej (Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson).

So, is it worth your time? Well, it looks and sounds great, so if you’re willing to invest nearly two and a half hours in something for the sake of a quality home theater experience, this delivers.

While IMDB reports F9 was filmed in 3.4K and this is taken from a 2K digital intermediate, the image quality was so terrific throughout that I was sure this was a 4K DI transfer. The only exception to this is the flashback scenes in 1989, which look much softer, grainier, and film-like by design.

Closeups reveal tons of facial detail, including every pore and bit of stubble on Diesel’s face and head, or the texture in the ever-present ribbed muscle-Ts that make up the entirety of his wardrobe. There’s also plenty of detail in long shots, with scenes shot in London and Edinburgh looking fantastic, with razor-sharp building edges and clearly defined brick and stonework.

There are a lot of moments for the HDR grading to shine, with scenes in the dark with bright headlights during night races, flashlights and fluorescent lighting in dark garages, tunnels, and hideouts, and the bright neon lighting and signs in Tokyo. The actors’ faces are also often shown in warm, golden lighting, and HDR gives nice shadow depth and detail.

The audio also delivers with an aggressive Atmos mix, using all of the speakers to immerse you in the action. You get cars racing well outside the main channels, along the side walls and into the back of the room, things zipping and flying overhead, dust and debris from explosions cascading down all around, and the zing of bullet hits. In the film’s quieter moments, we also get some nice ambience with outdoor sounds of bugs, birds, and wind noise. Your subwoofer will get a nice workout as well, with explosions and collisions that deliver satisfying low-end that can rattle your couch.

F9 provides a big summer blockbuster that will likely be a crowd pleasure for a big movie-night watch party. And fans of the franchise will be happy to hear there are already two more films planned to conclude the series.

PICTURE | Image quality was terrific throughout, with the only exception some flashback scenes in 1989, which look much softer, grainier, and film-like by design

SOUND | The audio also delivers with an aggressive Atmos mix, using all of the speakers to immerse you in the action

Review: Die Hard

review | Die Hard

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape | Red Notice

Kaleidescape | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The classic Bruce Willis actioner looks better than ever in 4K HDR—but there’s room for improvement

by John Sciacca
updated August 12, 2023

For Die Hard’s 25th anniversary, 20th Century Fox re-released all of the movies in the franchise in a box set, but those transfers were taken from existing video elements and featured no improvement over the initial Blu-ray release. Fortunately, for the 30th anniversary, the studio decided to right that wrong and gave the original movie a full remaster sourced from a 4K digital intermediate.

It’s hard to imagine anyone not being familiar with Die Hard, but it’s likely been years since you’ve watched it. So the 4K HDR release is a perfect time to revisit this classic, which looks hands-down better than it ever has. I know fellow Cineluxe reviewer Dennis Burger feels “older movies shot on 35mm or larger film stock are the ones that stand to benefit most from the latest Ultra HD and HDR home video standards,” but it’s important to set expectations. Die Hard unquestionably looks the best we’ve seen here but if you’re looking for the gleaming sharpness and every last pixel of detail you’d find from a modern digitally captured film, you’ll likely be disappointed.

There are definitely moments where the added detail and resolution are appreciable, such as the closeups revealing pore detail of the actors’ faces without any of the “waxiness” that can come from overly used DNR. You can also see the weave of fabrics, such as the fine lines in Bruce Willis’s undershirt, and notice the detail on the gold frame sitting on Bonnie Bedelia’s desk. As the limo pulls into Nakatomi Plaza to drop Willis off, you clearly see the sharp lines and detail in the paver stones.

But other scenes look almost out of focus or even blurry, such as one scene in Bedelia’s office when she’s talking to Willis. And while lines and edges are mostly sharp, there are other scenes that reveal some aliasing, such as a pile of sheetrock on one of the unfinished floors of the Nakatomi building.

Black levels are nice, deep and clean, but blacks are sometimes so black that detail is lost, such as with the texturing of Alan Rickman’s suit. Colors are rich, such as the sunset in LA revealing a rich, vibrant red-orange tapestry that has no banding.

HDR is not used aggressively but definitely adds impact to explosions, gunfire, and bright computer-monitor images. It also enhances the fluorescent lighting on the unfinished floors and oncoming headlights, compared to the Blu-ray. The night scenes overlooking LA from the top of the tower also look terrific.

Die Hard was nominated for four Academy Awards including Sound and Sound Effects Editing, so you might have hoped a new immersive sound mix would have been part of the 4K release, but that isn’t the case. What we have here is a DTS HD Master 5.1-channel mix that is certainly serviceable. The musical score is given nice room to breathe across the front channels, and dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand, which is paramount in any sound mix.

Sound mixes have evolved over the past 30 years, and Die Hard doesn’t look for every opportunity to mine deep low-frequency information. Even some of the big explosions don’t have the bass impact you might hope for. But still, bass impact is there for the big moments, such as the rocket-launcher attack on the SWAT vehicle or the elevator-shaft explosion or when the final seal of the bank vault is released. Gunshots—of which there are plenty—have good dynamics.

There is a nice bit of ambient and surround information that upmixes well using a Dolby Surround or DTS:Neural. We get the nice effect of the FBI helicopter flying overhead, sounds of sprinklers from the fire-suppression system, secondary explosions, and glass shattering.

Die Hard was a gamechanger for the action-film genre and is considered one of the best action films of all time. Fortunately, we can enjoy it again looking better than ever. It remains a ton of fun to watch and is a must-have for any home theater collection.

PICTURE | Die Hard unquestionably looks the best we’ve seen here but if you’re looking for the gleaming sharpness and pixel detail of a modern digitally captured film, you’ll likely be disappointed

SOUND | The DTS HD Master 5.1-channel mix is serviceable, with the score given room to breathe across the front channels and the dialogue clear and easy to understand

Review: Total Recall (1990)

review | Total Recall (1990)

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape | Star Wars

Kaleidescape | The Empire Strikes Back

The action and effects still hold up in the 4K HDR/Atmos release of the 1990 Schwarzenegger original

by John Sciacca
updated August 9, 2023

The 1990 version of Total Recall. has been given a 30th-anniversary 4k HDR/Atmos release. Based on the story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick, Recall is directed by Paul Verhoeven, and it definitely has his stylistic thumbprint all over it, especially in the over-the-top gun violence and massive bullet wounds and in-film adverts, which are heavily reminiscent of his other films RoboCop and Starship Troopers.

With a huge (for the day) budget of $65 million, the movie features elaborate sets, makeup, costume design, and world building. Mars feels like a fleshed-out, alien world that has been colonized by humans, including various mutations from intense radiation, and the interiors—especially the location of the alien artifact—seem appropriately huge. Practical special effects abound throughout, as well as some relatively new for-the-time CGI, and the film actually won an Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Originally shot on 35mm film, this transfer is taken from a 4K digital intermediate. Some film grain remains but it’s never distracting. The film certainly didn’t receive the massive grain-reduction smoothening Terminator 2 did. Most scenes—especially those filmed in the bright outdoors—are clear and sharp. Don’t expect the ultra clarity, sharpness, and detail of modern digital images but you’ll definitely appreciate all the detail the source material has to offer.

Especially impressive in its day was the scene of Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) pulling the tracker roughly the size of a golf ball out of his nose. While this would have certainly been a CGI effect today, it was accomplished with the use of an elaborate, incredibly realistic looking puppet, and the effect still holds up, even under 4K’s enhanced resolution, where you can really appreciate the detail that went into creating it. The same goes for the mutant Kuato.

Some scenes, such as on board the subway, look a bit soft. Even within scenes, there can be a bit of inconsistency. When Quaid is in the Rekall offices, the fine check print in McClane’s (Ray Baker) jacket alternates between crisp and defined to soft and unstable. The added resolution also reveals the limitations of the video screens.

What really pops from the new HDR color grading is the vibrant, deeply saturated reds of Mars. From the opening credits, you get searing, neon reds, giving a glimpse into what’s to come. HDR also gives pop to the bright lights on the subway and the neon lights and signs in Venusville, Mars’ red-light district. Blacks are also deep and clean, providing a solid background for the rest of the images to pop.

Sonically, the new Dolby Atmos mix is fairly reserved by modern standards, with most of the mix taking place in the front of the room. But you do get a lot of width across the front, with action spread far left and right. The mix also does a great job with the dialogue, which is clear and understandable throughout.

The height and surround channels are used extensively to expand the musical score, with the additional speakers being deployed for a far more room-filling experience, especially inside the Last Resort Club on Mars where loud music booms from all around.

The sound mixers took some opportunities to extend sound effects into the room to heighten certain moments. Aboard the “Johnny Cab,” we get some nice creaks and groans happening overhead; during gunfights there are some ricochets into the surround speakers; subway announcements emanate from the height speakers; reverb sounds in the mine shafts; and wind swirling and blowing overhead when there is a atmosphere breach.

While Total Recall shows its age in parts—some of the scenes between Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone are a bit groany—it remains a fun action ride, driven by near constant action and a good bit of depth to the story. If your only experience with Total Recall is the disappointing 2012 Colin Farrell remake or from watching the film on DVD, this new 4K HDR remaster is a must-watch.

PICTURE | The 4K transfer can’t provide the ultra clarity, sharpness, and detail of modern digital images but you’ll definitely appreciate all the detail the source material has to offer

SOUND | The Atmos track is fairly reserved by modern standards, with most of the mix taking place in the front channels but with some effort made to extend sound effects into the room to heighten certain moments

Review: Inception

review | Inception

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape | Tenet

Kaleidescape | Top Gun: Maverick

Christopher Nolan’s dream-within-a-dream fest translates especially well into 4K HDR

by John Sciacca
updated August 7, 2023

After the mental calisthenics of watching and trying to unpack Tenet, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to return to another of my favorite Christopher Nolan time-bending films, Inception, when I saw that a 4K HDR transfer was available for download from Kaleidescape.

The core plot is actually fairly simple—getting someone to do something you want them to by planting a simple idea into their subconscious that they believe is their own. But it is the path of getting there that is so complex and visually stunning to watch, as Nolan creates dream worlds within worlds within worlds, with time expanding exponentially the further down you go. What takes seconds in “real life” might equate to hours or even decades multiple dream-levels deep.

Similar to lucid dreaming—a dream where the person is aware they are dreaming and can then exert control over the dream universe—Inception allows for group dreaming where an architect designs and builds the dream world, which is then populated by others who can control the dream, with the actual dreamer filling out the world with the characters of his subconscious mind. (If you’ve seen the film, you’ll understand—if you haven’t, trust me that it actually makes a lot of sense.)

The dream worlds are often filled with fascinating MC Escher-like architecture—entire city blocks that twist upwards at 90 degrees to fold back onto the world, rooms filled with never-ending staircases, topsy-turvy gravity, and cities disintegrating as the dreamworld collapses.

While I don’t think of Inception as an action film, it actually has a surprising amount of action, with the dreamworlds filled with car chases and numerous shootouts. One of the final dream levels—a heavily fortified hospital on top of a snow-covered mountain—always reminds me of a level of a Bond-like video game, using snipers, stealth, and force to overcome a large force on skis and tracked vehicles to infiltrate a massive complex and achieve the objective.

Originally shot on 35mm and 65mm film, there’s no information on the resolution of the digital intermediate used, but there’s tons of detail and resolution in nearly every frame. Closeups reveal loads of facial detail, and you can especially appreciate the detail, design, and fabric texture in the actors’ clothing. For example, in the opening moments, we see Leonardo DiCaprio lying in the surf, and there is sharp line texture and detail in his jacket. Later in the snow-mountain scene, you can appreciate the slightly pebbled texture on the leather accents of their uniforms, or a delicate white-on-white pattern on one of Ken Watanabe’s shirts. There are the occasional shots in soft focus, but this appears to be more a limit of the original material.

While the film has a generally muted greyish, overcast, or steely-blue color palette, there are still plenty of opportunities for the HDR grading to improve the viewing experience. One big difference over the Blu-ray transfer is the enhanced pop of the white shirts worn by many of the actors, and the brightness of the overhead lighting in rooms. The early scene in Watanabe’s castle especially benefits from this, with the lighting looking far more realistic and bathing the room in a rich, warm, golden glow. Interior scenes also benefit from rich shadow detail while still delivering bright highlights either from light streaming in through windows or internal lighting, and the added contrast also benefits the snowy scenes, providing more detail and depth to the white-covered landscape.

The 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master mix is pretty dynamic, with plenty of subtle ambient and aggressive surround effects to place you in the action. From street sounds at a Paris café, to a freight train whizzing past in the side surrounds, to the creaking and groaning of an elevator shaft and cabling, to dynamic gun fire and bullet strikes discreetly placed around the room, to the distinct sounds of objects exploding in air, Inception’s sound mix is active and entertaining.

The film also features some truly massive and immense low-frequency information that will take your subwoofer—and walls—to their limits. From the opening scene, the sounds of waves crashing at the beach pound your room with bass. Even more aggressive are the deep —and lengthy—bass signals when a dreamworld is collapsing, or the crashing of an avalanche.

Nolan re-teams with frequent collaborator Hans Zimmer for the score, and it’s often an aggressive, dynamic, stress-filled mix that assaults from all corners of the room. The finale is heightened by the score, which is like a constant assault on the senses and will get your heart pumping. One of the songs, “Mombasa,” reminded me of the frenetic electronica and bass assault of a Blue Man Group track.

Inception remains incredibly entertaining, and as visually exciting and entertaining as any modern film. With a new 4K HDR transfer, the film looks better than ever, making it the perfect time to revisit this modern classic.

PICTURE | Originally shot on 35mm and 65mm film, there’s tons of detail and resolution in nearly every frame

SOUND | The 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master mix is pretty dynamic, with plenty of subtle ambient and aggressive surround effects to place you in the action

Review: Ford v Ferrari

review | Ford v Ferrari

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape | No Time to Die

This Oscar-nominated account of the Ford/Ferrari racing rivalry effectively puts you in the middle of the on-track action

by John Sciacca
updated August 5, 2023

The old adage “fact is stranger than fiction” applies more to crime dramas like CSI and Dateline, but in the case of Ford v Ferrari fact can be more fascinating than fiction. In the midst of one of its longest sales slumps in years, Ford is looking for a way to re-energize the brand and make its cars relevant to Baby Boomers, who are coming of age and looking for something more exciting to drive. Lee Iacocca’s (Jon Bernthal) solution is to tie the Ford name to winning, specifically at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans where Ferrari has long ruled, including a string of six wins in a row. When Ford’s bid to purchase Ferrari is rudely rebuffed by “il Commendatore” Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone), Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) decides to go all-in on winning Le Mans, spending whatever it takes, and hiring the top race-car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to put together a car and team helmed by veteran British driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale).

If you avoided FvF during its theatrical run because you’re not a car lover or a racing fan, rest assured this film still offers plenty to keep you engaged through its just over 2½-hour runtime. Watching history unfold with a story not many outside the auto or race industry are familiar with is interesting enough, but the dynamic between Shelby and Miles is what really makes the film engaging.

Shot in ArriRaw at 4.5K resolution, FvF is taken from a 4K digital intermediate; and the movie looks terrific, with tons of detail and texture in every scene. The images aren’t overly enhanced with unnatural sharpness but use every pixel for truly high-resolution visuals that bristle with detail. An early scene has Bale working on a car wearing a shirt with a tiny and tight check pattern that reveals every fine square. Closeups show every pore and line in actors’ faces, and the paint jobs on the cars have a glossy, liquid sheen. You can also appreciate the various textures in different suit and shirt fabrics and interiors.

Many of the scenes are shot outdoors, and the day scenes frequently have the sky in that certain shade of powder blue that reveals a bit of digital noise, but this just gives the images a more film-like quality. While HDR isn’t used aggressively, it does provide wonderful shadow detail, adding depth and dimension. Night race scenes benefit in the form of deep blacks while still showing bright headlights. And I’m not sure that the Ferrari’s rosso corsa color actually pushes the boundaries of the wider color gamut but it does pop off the screen.

Beyond these visual qualities, it is the director James Mangold’s (Logan, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) dynamic filming style, angles, and editing of the racing scenes that make FvF so exhilarating. I frequently had to remind myself I was supposed to be reviewing the film instead of just enjoying it in order to pull myself back from the engaging images and story to take note. The race scenes pull you in with various perspectives, from driver view, to low follow, to over the shoulder, to tight on the drivers. You can feel the tension and stress both the racers and the cars are going through as they click through the “eight-and-a-half miles of country roads for 24 hours” at Le Mans.

As good as the images are, race cars are the soul of this movie, and it’s the vehicles’ dialogue through their engine sounds that pulls you into the action. From the opening shots—even before the production credits have finished – there is a swirl of cars racing all around the you with race announcers in different languages filling the room. The crash and bang as they shift up through gears, the throaty room-filling bass of the natural aspirated engines revving up to red line, the cars braking late and hard into a corner—the audio puts you right in the car and sounds fantastic.

Frustratingly, 21st Century Fox refuses to provide Kaleidescape with the Dolby Atmos soundtrack so the download was limited to the 5.1-channel DTS-HD, but that still does an admirable job of putting you square in the action, and the Atmos upmixer provides a nice sense of immersion. Even non-race scenes are filled with ambience, from the sounds of mechanics working, to the echoey expanse of the Ford factory, to the spaciousness of the outside world. My only quibble with the audio was that dialogue—especially Bale’s—was occasionally difficult to understand. I don’t know whether this was due to the noise of the racing drowning out the voices, or just the heavy accent Bale used for Miles.

Ford v Ferrari is an entertaining and dynamic film that looks and sounds fantastic in a luxury home cinema, and one that should be on the very shortlist for your next movie night.

PICTURE | The movie looks terrific, with tons of detail and texture in every scene

SOUND | The 5.1-channel DTS-HD mix does an admirable job of putting you square in the action

Review: Tenet

review | Tenet

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape |
Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Kaleidescape |
Dora and the Lost City of Gold

Christopher Nolan’s epic spy thriller is frequently chaotic and confusing but makes for undeniably great demo material

by John Sciacca
updated July 29, 2023

As a fan of Christopher Nolan’s work, I went and saw Tenet at a theater, renting out the entire auditorium for a private watch party, and I’d been looking forward to its home video release ever since. I left that first viewing of Tenet confused. The story is incredibly complex, with physics concepts like entropy and inverting (or reversing) entropy being key plot points.

Further complicating Tenet is Ludwig Goransson’s often aggressive, kinetic soundmix and blasting sound effects that pummel you almost constantly, especially during key sequences when you’re struggling to keep up with who is where (and when). Then there’s the fact that characters are frequently speaking behind masks, which makes some of the dialogue all but impossible to understand. And it just adds to the frustration when you’re constantly asking yourself, “What did he say?”

While there’s still a good bit I don’t fully understand—maybe on a third or fourth viewing!—I will say I got far more out of a second viewing, thanks to the foreknowledge of why people were doing things and some other visual clues Nolan throws in if you know what to look for. And, with apologies to Mr. Nolan, I think Tenet actually works better at home.

There are a couple of ways to watch Tenet, and depending how you do so will also affect your viewing experience. Watching the 4K HDR version from digital retailers like Kaleidescape, you’ll see a constant 2.20:1 aspect ratio film. However, those watching the physical disc (4K or standard Blu-ray) or watching the HD version of the film from Kaleidescape will see the film in alternating between 1.78:1 and 2.20:1 aspects, switching to 1.78:1 for the scenes shot on IMAX. If you’re watching on a traditional direct-view TV, or have a 16:9 aspect-ratio projection screen, you will likely enjoy the alternating aspect ratio, as the big action scenes will get bigger, filling your entire screen. But if you own a widescreen projection system the constant 2.20:1 ratio is likely preferable and less disruptive.

Shot on 65mm film and in IMAX and taken from a true 4K digital intermediate, Tenet looks gorgeous. It doesn’t have that tack sharpness of movies shot digitally but looks like a movie shot on film in all the right ways. Film grain is absolutely minimal, and the images just look natural and terrific.

Edges are sharp and defined, and closeups bristle with detail. Much of Tenet takes place in the world of billionaires, and the trappings of luxury are beautifully displayed. You can really see and appreciate the character styling in the fine detail, texture, patterns, and prints in the clothing worn by the main characters. Daylight shots of the Amalfi Coast are also just stunning to look at, with the beautiful array of colors and sharply defined buildings contrasted against the craggy cliffs and water.

Blacks are clean, clear, and dark, and we get plenty of bright highlights in the form of explosions or bright lighting. Colors are bright and punchy when called for, like bright yellows of safety vests, or the red-orange of fireballs, or the warm, golden hues of a candlelit dinner. Throughout, Tenet delivers reference-quality video.

Presented in a 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master Audio mix (Nolan famously eschews immersive mixes like Dolby Atmos), the mix is both fantastic and damnably frustrating. It’s fantastic in the way it is just filled with atmospheric sounds both subtle and overt in virtually every scene. Interiors are densely layered with little sounds that fully place you in that space. While not an immersive mix, my Marantz’s processor did a wonderful job of upmixing the 5.1-channel track to provide a fully hemispherical presentation. A scene where gas is filling a room literally fills your room with the hissing-jets of gas coming from all around.

Dynamic sounds are both dynamic and loud. Gunshots sound fantastic, having appropriate weight that engages the subwoofer and delivers the zip and snap of close misses, with bullets slamming into things with appropriate force. Both the opening opera scene and later gun battle on the highway are perfect audio demos to show off your system.

You’ll also never need to wonder if your subs are working, which is a part of why the audio mix can be so frustrating. Bass is frequently on the verge of being overwhelming or crossing over into just walloping you with low-end for no apparent reason, often from the musical score, which frequently is filled with a steady, deep, low-frequency hum, pulse, and throb. But when things blow up, your sub needs to be there to deliver, and it will produce couch-rattling, chest-stomping bass.

Dialogue intelligibility is still a very mixed bag. At its best, you can understand what characters are saying; at its worst, dialogue is so drowned out by background effects and music that it’s impossible to understand, or even hear at all in some cases.

But this is the audio mix Nolan wanted, and it’s the audio mix we’re stuck with, warts and all. Nolan says he likes viewers to experience the confusion and disorientation his characters would be feeling, and that he uses “dialogue as a sound effect, so sometimes it’s mixed slightly underneath the other sound effects or in the other sound effects to emphasize how loud the surrounding noise is.”

Whether you love it, hate it, are confounded by it, Tenet is an experience that plays wonderfully in a luxury home theater. And seeing giant practical effects play out on a big screen—yes, they literally blew up that 747—in pristine quality is worth the price of admission alone.

PICTURE | Although shot on 65mm, film grain is absolutely minimal and the images just look natural and terrific.

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is filled with atmospheric sounds both subtle and overt in virtually every scene but dialogue intelligibility is frequently poor

Review: Gattaca

review | Gattaca

also on Cineluxe

Kaleidescape | Jumanji

Apple TV+ | Macbeth (2021)

This 1997 tale of genetic elitism takes place in a future not so different from our present

by John Sciacca
updated July 28, 2023

Gattaca might seem an odd choice for Sony to select from its catalog to give a new 4K HDR restoration and transfer since the film has never really gained much traction and likely wasn’t on anyone’s list of titles that needed a 4K release. But its themes of institutional discrimination—based on genetics here rather than race—make it timely for viewing, and much of the science in this tale set in the “not-too-distant future” seems pretty much within grasp of our modern technology.

For a sci-fi film, Gattaca has almost no action or even special effects. Instead, it relies on the strength of its premise, and succeeds by just telling an interesting, compelling, and believable story performed by a superb cast. It also has a pretty compressed timeline, with the principal action taking place over a span of just a few days (with some flashbacks to fill in story points), which keeps it moving along.

The title comes from the letters used to label the nucleotide bases of DNA, being adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. In this future, all humans are genetically-typed at birth, and any inherent flaws like a propensity for bi-polar disorder, heart conditions, and even a predicted lifespan are cataloged. This information, which is stored in a national registry, follows you through life, determining what you’re eligible to do. Those with any issues are considered “Invalid” and relegated to performing menial jobs, essentially locked out from being able to succeed.

To ensure children have the best options in life, genetic designers can help with designer DNA—for a price. With these modifications, they can not only eliminate any flaws or defects to make sure children are “Valid,” they can also give them additional skills and traits to excel, and even a lengthened lifespan. But, the better the modifications, the higher the cost. DNA is the commodity in this world, and everything from dating to job interviews is based on a quick scan of one’s genetic material.

Gattaca has a very cool and stylish look, feeling a bit noirish. Although set in the future, vehicles, the architecture, and even technology like watch phones and DNA readers have a retro look. The film doesn’t concern itself with trying to be too futuristic— there are no holograms, hover vehicles, or robots, which makes it easy to buy into.

Originally filmed on 35mm, this version is taken from a 4K digital intermediate. Images are clean throughout, with just a bit of grain and noise in some scenes like light-blue skies or some blown-out whites, and edges are nice and sharp as well.

While the movie doesn’t have the tack-sharp look of modern digitally shot films, it delivers loads of detail without having the grain scrubbed to rob it of its original film look. Closeups show the pinpoint detail and stitching in clothing, or pores and whiskers in actor’s faces. Only one scene really jumped out near the end of the movie where the grain was so cleaned away the images were startlingly modern looking.

Color is also used to give Gattaca its look. We have futuristic cool blues, metallic greys, and blacks in some scenes and rich golden hues in others. The HDR grade does a nice job of delivering deep, clean blacks along with nice shades and rich shadow detail, and with bright highlights and punchy greens from computer monitors and screens.

Gattaca also received a new Dolby TrueHD Atmos sound mix, and while most of the attention is focused on delivering clear dialogue, the additional channels were used to expand the mix and make it more immersive. During the opening, we see bits of fingernails and snips of hair falling on screen in slow motion, and these land and bounce with heavy bass thunks, and we get the delicate sounds of each hair landing and being placed exactly in space in the front of the room. The room also fills with little atmospherics to establish a scene, like hums inside a building, wind blowing, or machinery noise.

The height channels are used to expand the soundtrack by playing the reverb and echo from PA announcements in Gattaca’s offices, or lifting music from a jazz club or piano concerto up for a fuller presentation. The frequent rocket launches also flare up into the ceiling and deliver some nice low end from your subwoofer. Occasionally, the echoing and reverb of voices seems a bit overdone, such as when characters are talking inside Gattaca offices, but it never lasts long enough to be too distracting.

Gattaca might be the perfect sci-fi film for people who aren’t really too into sci-fi. At just 106 minutes, it is long enough to develop its story and characters, but not too long to wear out its welcome.

PICTURE | The 4K HDR transfer delivers loads of detail without having the grain scrubbed to rob the movie of its original film look

SOUND | The new Dolby TrueHD Atmos mix focuses mainly on delivering clear dialogue while using the additional channels to expand the mix and make it more immersive

Review: Nomadland

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This 2021 Best Picture is light on action but big on character and insight, creating an emotionally satisfying movie-watching experience

by John Sciacca
updated July 25, 2023

Nomadland is a quiet, introspective film that focuses almost entirely on the life of a single person, Fern (Frances McDormand), with just brief glimpses into the lives of others around her she happens to cross paths with.

As best I can tell, there is only one other “actor” in the film, David Strathairn, who plays David; a man Fern encounters at one of her Nomad RV destinations, and then crosses paths with again down the road. The rest of the characters in the film are all just regular people, many of them actual nomads playing themselves. Spend a moment letting the end credits roll and you’ll see that every character (save Fern) uses their actual name.

I think this is part of what lends the film its authenticity, and helps McDormand tap into delivering such a real performance. She is playing off the real thoughts and feelings of others, and finding an authentic character. I’m not often taken with the subtleties of the actor’s craft but there were moments here where I was struck by how powerful and rich McDormand’s performance was. There are a couple of pivotal moments, where the anguish on her face help you tap into the anguish of the moment, letting you really empathize with her plight.

When I’m working on film reviews, I keep a notebook where I jot down notes. Typically, they’re things about audio or video quality I want to remember to mention, but with Nomadland I found myself writing down how the movie was making me feel and think—that’s a pretty powerful difference, and I think what makes this film so interesting.

Some of my observations include: “You can have almost nothing but still have pride and take care of the things you do have,” “Choosing how to live and die on your own terms,” “Developing friendships where you can find them and learning to rely on the kindness of strangers,” and “Just because you are down, doesn’t mean you are out.”

I also had a real change of heart towards Fern as I witnessed her journey. Early on, I wrote that she was “living a depressing, solitary existence staying in her van; living, sleeping, eating and spending days working thankless job at Amazon.” But by the end, I changed that view, writing “Fern is a strong, capable, brave, and durable survivor of a woman.”

Director Chloé Zhao—who also wrote the screenplay based on Jessica Bruder’s Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century—chooses to keep the camera in close on the characters, making you focus on them and to really see the emotion in their faces.

Having made the cross-country drive four times myself, you truly see just how wide and vast this nation is, and what seems so small in our digitally, always-connected world is really huge when you have to travel every mile of it, and we experience some of this in Fern’s journey. The cinematography does a beautiful job of capturing the wide, sweeping vistas of open plains and ranges, with deep shadows and contrast as we look out into colorful sunrise and sunsets.

At first, I just thought that Fern had wanderlust, and maybe that is a part of it, but at the end of the film—a time period of a little more than a year—she goes back to one of the small towns to return to her seasonal position at an Amazon fulfillment center. I feel it’s more just a need to stay on the move and not be trapped in one place and to be able to come and go on your terms.

Shot at 3.2K resolution, this digital intermediate is taken from a 2K source, but I never felt at a loss for clarity or resolution. Images are beautifully clean and sharp throughout with tight focus. Closeups reveal tons of detail, whether the lines and creases in characters’ faces, or individual whiskers and strands of hair, or texture in rocks.

Image contrast, depth, and realism are also enhanced by HDR. Several scenes are filmed around campfires, and these have a rich, glowing golden-red light along with deep rich shadows. This also helps lend more realism to the frequent vistas as Fern looks off to the horizon.

I wasn’t expecting a lot in the way of surround sound but was surprised how immersive the 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master mix was. There are near-constant amounts of small background atmospheric sounds that put you into each moment. Whether it’s the creak and groan of springs and metal inside the cramped environs of Fern’s van, or the sound of traffic, people milling about, or dogs barking off in the distance, or the rush of wind outside, the mix does a really nice job of drawing you in. While it’s mostly pretty subtle, this background audio gets pretty dynamic as Fern steps onto the floor of the Amazon distribution center, giving you a feel for the noise and bustle of the job. The audio also does a nice job of conveying Ludovico Einaudi’s mournful-sounding piano soundtrack.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy or be as affected by Nomadland as much as I was. In fact, I can see this a film that you return to when you’re searching for something in your life, or maybe just wanting a glimpse into the freedom of other possibilities. In a year of questionable box-office releases, Nomadland is definitely a high point and worthy of your attention.

PICTURE | Images are beautifully clean and sharp with tight focus, and with closeups revealing tons of detail

SOUND | The 5.1-channel DTS-HD Master mix is surprisingly immersive with near-constant small atmospheric sounds that put you into each moment

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