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Review: A Journal for Jordan

review | A Journal for Jordan

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This Denzel Washington-directed true-life tale of a too-good-to-be-true solider and father has slipped unnoticed into the home market

by John Sciacca
January 22, 2022

I try to keep up with movies—both those being released theatrically and those available for home viewing—but somehow A Journal for Jordan totally slipped under my radar. Even though it’s directed and co-produced by Denzel Washington, whom my wife loves, and stars Michael B. Jordan, whom I’m a big fan of, it managed to sneak quietly into theaters on December 25 and then became available as a PVOD offering from retailers like Kaleidescape on January 11. It wasn’t until I started scrolling through the “New Release Movies” section on Kaleidescape’s mobile app that I realized it was even a thing.

Washington flips around through time to establish the relationship and love story between First Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan) and Dana Canedy (Chante Adams), going forward and back to different points pre and post the birth of their child Jordan (Jalon Christian). And the 2-hour 11-minute runtime gives us plenty of time to learn about these characters and develop some attachment to them, even though we learn right from the beginning that King won’t be around to see the end.

The film begins with flashes of images and bursts of sound from the fateful day when King is killed in action in Baghdad and then cuts to Canedy struggling to raise their son as a single mother working at the New York Times. Prior to deploying, Canedy gives King a journal designed for fathers to fill out so their children can get to know them. A late-night epiphany then inspires her to start writing a journal for her son to learn about the man his father was, which ultimately became the memoir A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor, which is the basis for the film. As Jordan grows older—and starts being bullied at school over his light complexion—Canedy gives him the journal King left behind and starts sharing more about him.

Films based on true stories can certainly have an elastic presentation of the truth, and Jordan definitely presents an idealized version of King as the near-perfect gentleman and soldier—which isn’t to say King wasn’t near perfect. It’s just that Washington shows him as nearly too good to be true, with his only “flaw” being that he frequently cares more—at least as much—for the men in his command as he does for his wife. While Jordan does an admirable job in the role—and at times feels like he’s channeling Washington’s acting style with expressions, mannerisms, or minimalistic line delivery—King doesn’t provide a lot of depth for Jordan to explore.

Available now from Kaleidescape as a Premium Rental in 4K HDR, Jordan is presented in a 2.4:1 aspect ratio. There’s no mention of the format it was shot in or the source of the transfer but images are certainly clean, detailed, and sharp, and my guess is this was taken from a true 4K digital intermediate.

At first it felt like the images in the initial flashbacks were a bit sharper and clearer, making me wonder if it was perhaps a storytelling device Washington was employing to play with how memories often stand out clearer in our mind. But I think I was getting a bit too deep here, and it’s just that the opening scenes are mostly in interiors and don’t have the clarity provided by natural, exterior lighting. There are a lot of exterior day shots in New York City and these look gorgeous, with the camera just swallowing up all that daylight and delivering bright, sharp, beautifully detailed images. Closeups reveal the textural differences in facial detail between Adams and Jordan—her skin smooth and soft, his with some pocks, whiskers, and lines. You can also count each bead in the military dog chain around his neck.

Focus is consistently sharp and tight, letting you see details like the fine lines, edges, and stitching of King’s camouflaged uniform top, the long, tight rows of a tile roof-line, the tight ribs on a shirt Adams wears, or the crisp edges and architectural lines inside a museum. There’s also a lovely outdoor driving scene where the camera pulls back to show a lot of trees alongside the road, where you can clearly see each leafless branch and twig.

The HDR grade is used mainly to deliver consistently natural images, with nice depth and some extra pop from bright sunlight when required. Cities always look beautiful at night in 4K HDR and we get at least one lovely shot of New York all lit up and it doesn’t disappoint. During one scene, Adams goes to a bar with friends, and there are rich golden hues in the lighting behind the bar and in a stairwell. At another point they’re talking with multiple candles lighting the room and the scene has a very natural glow to it. Another scene shows the wonderful depth, shades, and variety of black levels, with King, wearing a black apron over a black shirt, hugging Adams, who is wearing a black dress with her black hair. All black, all visible, all subtly different.

Jordan has a Dolby TrueHD Atmos soundtrack but don’t expect too much from this primarily dialogue-driven story. Fortunately, the dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout, though some of the early scenes feel a tad forward and louder in relation to other sounds. And there are several scenes where music comes in quite loud, booming from all the channels, which seems a bit heavy-handed and might have you reaching for the volume control.

Mostly, the surround and height speakers are used to deliver a nice bit of ambience to establish environments—things like wind blowing through the room or rustling leaves, or the sounds of rolling thunder. When we cut to external shots in New York, your listening space evolves into the cavernous sounds of the city, but then they are quickly replaced with the tight confines of an office space, with little clicks, chatters, and conversations happening around. There are some more dynamics when scenes involve King and the military, with the sounds of planes or helicopters passing overhead, or the sharp crack of rifles on the range. Short of one big explosion, there isn’t a lot to get your subwoofer engaged.

Journal for Jordan sits at that intersection of films panned by critics—currently sitting at a “Rotten” 45% on Rotten Tomatoes—but loved by viewers, with a 95% audience score. This generally means it’s pretty approachable and designed to entertain. After 2021, I’m happy to sit back and watch a feel-good, inspirational film based on a true story, and watch Michael B. Jordan portray a different kind of hero.

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 | The numerous exterior day shots in New York City look gorgeous, with the camera delivering bright, sharp, beautifully detailed images assisted by the HDR grade, which lends some nice depth and some extra pop from bright sunlight when required.

SOUND | Don’t expect too much from the Atmos soundtrack in this primarily dialogue-driven story. While there’s some nice ambience in the surrounds, music cues tend to come in way too loud.

Why HTA is the Real Deal

How to Find the Perfect Integrator, Pt. 1

How to Find the Perfect Integrator, Pt. 2

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Luxury Home Entertainment System?

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Home Entertainment Space

This first-hand account of the Home Technology Association’s rigorous certification process shows why its members are the most credible integrators

by John Sciacca
updated January 20, 2022

During the lengthy period where my career as a custom installer and my role as a technology editor have overlapped, I’ve written numerous articles similar to the pieces by Eric Thies on how to locate a qualified technology integrator. Sadly, none of them seem to have made much of a difference.

I agree with everything Eric said, but principally that most people take almost no time in vetting their integrator. And with the bar so low to becoming one—essentially just placing a magnet on the side of your truck and becoming Joe’s AV, with most states not requiring a license for low-voltage work—has led to a glut of terrible work and dissatisfied customers.

Over the years, our company, Custom Theater and Audio, has resurrected numerous projects for people who let the most random people into their homes to handle the technology install. Even though they comprehend that it’s too complicated for them to do, for whatever reason they think virtually anyone else is qualified to handle their technology needs. I’m not even kidding when I say some people say they hired “some guy” that was walking through the neighborhood putting leaflets on doors, had the flooring guy do it, used the electrician, or used someone the electrician knew. The tragedy is most of these people ended up spending good money to get a system that was never right for their needs or never worked right and then had to pay us to fix or replace it, and frequently ended up with something that couldn’t do what they had initially wanted.

This is exceptionally frustrating and, frankly, bad for the entire industry because all installation companies end up being lumped together in the minds of people who have been burned by bad work. And their experience passed on to others tarnishes the good along with the bad.

That’s one of the reasons why the Home Technology Association (HTA) intrigued me: Could their certification identify the best integration firms and help the cream rise to the top? This would not only help customers looking to hire a good company but (more selfishly) help my company stand out as one of the good guys.

HTA’s Director of Certification Josh Christian says their goal is to do for the custom installation industry what the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has done for diamonds. The GIA allows anyone to walk into virtually any reputable jewelry store and know they’re purchasing a stone that has been independently verified for quality. The HTA doesn’t guarantee that selecting a certified professional will result in terrific performance or outcome. But in a sea of uncertainty, it offers a beacon to help guide you towards making a more informed selection from a pre-qualified group of top candidates.

My company recently went through the application process to became HTA Certified, and I can attest that it is rigorous, taking me several hours to research and gather all of the information required. Compared to the CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association) application—which has you fill out a single-page form asking for only the most basic information (company address, size, gross revenue) and your credit card information, and which essentially approves any company willing to pay the $500 annual registration—HTA mines far deeper into how a company actually operates. It’s clear in going through the process that the HTA’s primary concern is in signing the right companies.

Josh said the application process is so thorough because it helps the HTA to identify the best-in-class installation companies and provide a real look into their business operations and the kinds of jobs they do. And the sheer length and breadth of it scares away exactly the kinds of companies they want to avoid (as does the $400 application fee, which has the applying company putting some skin in the game).

Once certified, companies are listed on HTA’s website. (You can see our company page here.) This snapshot gives a consumer a pretty good idea if an installation company is going to be a good fit for their needs.

HTA understands its certification will only mean something if it actually means something, not only to the industry but to people looking to hire an integrator. They do this by a strict vetting process that only admits the best firms, and by raising awareness with architects, builders, designers, and consumers that choosing a qualified—ideally certified—integration firm matters. While a non-certified firm might do excellent work, going with an HTA-certified company will certainly start your project off on the right path.

Below are some of the key areas the HTA identifies about an integrator so you can decide if they’re the best fit for you

How long have they been in business?
Longevity is generally a good indicator the company will be around when you need service down the road. Bad companies usually don’t last. The average HTA certified company has been in existence for almost 17 years.

How many employees do they have?
Larger companies can often handle bigger projects—and certainly more projects—and potentially respond to service issues in a timelier manner.

What geographical areas do they service?
Working with a company that’s near your home often means faster response times and no trip charges.

What kinds of projects do they focus on?
If you’re building a $15-million 20,000-square-foot home, selecting a company that mainly does $50-thousand 3,500-square-foot homes might not be a good fit. Focusing on companies that specialize in the kind of project you’re considering will likely yield the best results.

What brands are they authorized to sell?
While there are many terrific manufacturers, certain brands define luxury home entertainment and are repeatedly used in the top installations. The manufacturer partners that a company chooses give you a look at the quality of gear the company can provide. This can also be important if you’re interested in a specific automation system like Control4, Crestron, or Savant, as dealers often specialize in one but not all.

How many projects have they done over the past three years in different price categories?
A good snapshot of how busy the company is and the focus of their projects.

What does a typical dedicated theater and media room install cost?
It’s a good idea to see if your budget aligns with the company’s typical installs. HTA’s site also has a 20-question budgeting tool that can be very useful for getting a rough idea of what your cost could be.

What industry awards and certifications do they have?
Bad companies generally don’t win awards or attain industry certifications.

What are their service policies?
No matter how good your system is, at some point it will need to be serviced, and knowing the company’s after-sale policy upfront is a good way to avoid any frustration later on.

Review: A Quiet Place 2

review | A Quiet Place 2

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A bigger budget helps this sequel to the 2018 sleeper horror hit really up the atmospherics—especially with the surround mix

by John Sciacca
July 21, 2021

John Krasinski has clearly attended the Chris Pratt school of “how to reinvent your acting career after playing a lovable goofball for years.” Best known as office-nice-guy Jim Halpert from his nine seasons on The Office, Krasinski has left quiet-Jim behind to become more of an action star, playing the roles of a special-forces operator in 13 Hours and young CIA operative Jack Ryan in Amazon’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series.

Krasinski has also stretched his talents into writing and directing, most notably with the surprise hit A Quiet Place in 2018, which he wrote, directed, and starred in along with his wife, Emily Blunt. After that film raked in over $350 million at the box office against a budget of just $22 million, a sequel was all but inevitable, and Krasinski once again returned to bat the writing/directing/acting cycle.

A Quiet Place 2 took the usual pandemic-postponed path before finally making its way to big screens. Originally planned for a March 2020 release, it was pulled when cinemas across the country closed and then continued to be pushed back. But Krasinski was fairly insistent this movie be seen in a theater as a shared experience and not be pushed to a streamer or PVOD release. Quiet Place 2 ultimately hit theaters on May 28, where it had one of the biggest post-pandemic openings before finally coming to Paramount Plus and becoming available for digital download via other retailers—including Kaleidescape—on July 12 after a shortened 45-day exclusive theatrical window.

Although this sequel can be viewed on its own without having seen the original, you’d really be doing yourself a disservice by doing so. Not only does the first film give you a lot of context to better understand the characters and events of the second film, it’s also a terrifically entertaining movie in its own right with a deeply engrossing and engaging Atmos sound mix.

While the original film begins some 89 days after a sudden and unexplained invasion by a horde of blind, armored alien creatures with hypersensitive hearing and super speed intent on killing every human they encounter and follows the Abbott family as they learn to survive in near total silence to remain hidden from the creatures, the second begins at the first day of the invasion. Not only does this provide a bit of exposition for new viewers, it provides a chance to bring Lee Abbott (Krasinski) back for a bit.

After the opening, Quiet Place 2 jumps ahead to Day 474, a short time after the events of the first film. The Abbott family of Evelyn (Blunt), hearing-impaired teenage daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and adolescent son Marcus (Noah Jupe) are still living on their farm, caring for the infant child born near the end of the first film. After noticing some signal fires on the horizon, the family sets out to try to find a safer place and other survivors, where they meet up with an old family friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy), who is living in an abandoned steel factory that provides a measure of sonic security from the aliens.

While scrolling through a radio dial looking for any signals, they stumble across a station playing “Beyond the Sea” on repeat. Millicent believes this is a clue as to where other survivors are living, and she sets off on a quest to find them and see if she can weaponize her cochlear implant by playing the high-frequency feedback it produces through the radio’s transmitter. But not all of the human survivors are good, which adds another element to the danger.

Similar to the first film, the sequel has a taut sub-90-minute runtime that moves along at a brisk clip. By splitting the family into three groups with separately evolving storylines, there’s always some measure of tension and suspense. And because characters are generally whispering or communicating via sign language, it forces you to pay attention, almost leaning forward in your seat, making you even more susceptible to the film’s several quality jump-scare moments.

This has more action and excitement than the first one and certainly gives a far better look at the aliens. With a much larger budget, it also feels like a “bigger” movie without losing the focus of the first one.

A fair bit of Quiet Place 2 looked a bit soft and grainy, which made a lot more sense after I learned it was shot on 35mm film. While the home transfer is taken from a 4K digital intermediate, it definitely doesn’t have that tack-sharp look of digitally-shot productions. While there are plenty of shots—specifically closeups—that have abundant sharpness, clarity, and detail, there are also quite a few moments—specifically long shots or scenes with extreme low lighting—that are soft and a bit grain-heavy, and more resemble a good Blu-ray transfer than a true 4K film.

Many of the scenes are shot in dark or very low-lit interiors, such as one of the principal locations inside an abandoned steel foundry and often inside an old forge with the door closed. Here HDR gives us nice shadow depth and detail, delivering very natural and realistic image quality. There are also quite a few scenes filmed by firelight (actual fires, candles, or lighters) that benefit from HDR’s wider range.

For a film with “Quiet” in its title, you might not expect the sound mix to play an important role but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, both this and the original film have absolutely terrific Atmos mixes that really help throw you into the scenes. Sound is a vital element to the story, and the mixers take every opportunity to provide directional cues to what is happening, heightening the suspense and tension of the action.

There’s so much tense silence in the films where little clicks, creaks, and noises inform you what is happening—or when you are thrust into the Regan’s silent hearing-space when she is without her cochlear implant, where sound can go almost totally silent, emotionally placing you in the intensity of her character’s peril.

By decreasing the noise floor of other sounds—and knowing that every noise could trigger an attack—you are more in tune and aware of all the tiny sounds that make up the sonic fabric of the world. Whether it is the sound of birds chirping and wind rustling, the clicking and skittering noises of the creatures moving around and overhead, the tinkling of glass bottles, or the flooding rush of a fire sprinkler, you are frequently immersed in the action.

My one sonic nit was that some of Murphy’s dialogue could be a bit difficult to understand. He often speaks with a semi-closed-mouth husky whisper that can make understanding a bit of a challenge, so if your processor offers some form of “dialogue lift,” you might want to engage it.

A Quiet Place 2 is like a classic horror film where suspense and what you don’t see provides much of the scares, which is perfect for people who don’t like what the modern horror genre has become. The violence is mostly bloodless, and not the focus of the film. Not only does it make for a great night at the movies, I think it actually plays better in a well-designed home theater outfitted with an array of Atmos height and surround speakers for the full experience.

PICTURE | Shot on 35mm film, a fair bit of the movie looks a bit soft and grainy, but HDR lends it nice shadow depth and detail, delivering very natural and realistic images

SOUND | Sound is a vital element to the story, and the terrific Atmos mix takes every opportunity to provide directional cues to what is happening, heightening the suspense and tension of the action

Review: Eternals

review | Eternals

the MCU on Cineluxe

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Too long and overpopulated with unfamiliar characters, the lowest-rated MCU entry to date is a slog even for die-hard Marvel fans

by John Sciacca
January 14, 2022

When Eternals came out—the third film in Phase Four of the MCU following Black Widow and Shang-Chi—you just kind of expected it would be another home run. To give the film even more cred, Marvel brought in Chloe Zhao following her Best Picture and Director Academy Awards win for Nomadland to helm the film, who gets a screenplay credit as well. They also stacked the cast with a ton of stars and diversity. In fact, this is by far the most ethnically inclusive cast of any Marvel film, to the point that it almost feels like the filmmakers were going down a list and checking off to make sure everyone was represented.

So, when Eternals debuted as the lowest-rated Marvel film—and the first to be certified Rotten with a critics’ score of only 47%—you couldn’t help but wonder, “What went wrong?”

When it comes to movies, I like to make up my own mind. So while I mentally filed the bad reviews away, it wasn’t going to change my plans to see it when it debuted on Disney+ on January 12. There was a rather humorous and meta comment from one character who says, “DVD? It’s all about streaming now!”

Probably like many of you, I’m not a Marvel super-fan, so I knew absolutely nothing about the comic-book roots of the Eternals characters featured in the film. For the film to be successful, though, it had to work for the uninitiated and serve to bring them into the fold, as well as provide the deeper layers of fan-service to the faithful.

For me, Eternals’ biggest problem is there is just too much. You’re trying to keep up with and learn about ten characters that are likely brand new to you. To add to the learning curve, they all have names that don’t exactly immediately imprint on your mind like Iron Man or Spider-Man. We’ve got Ajak, Sersi, Ikaris, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Gilgamesh, and Thena. And when I’m spending mental energy thinking, “Who is that again? And what is their power?” you’ve probably missed a page in the “How to make a superhero movie” primer.

At one point, my wife said, “XXX just died. I feel like I should care more.” And that’s the other problem—with so many new faces and stories, you never really get the time to care about any of these characters. When Tony Stark died in Endgame it was wrenching because we’d cared about him over the course of numerous films and 13 years. With Eternals, it was almost a relief of, “Well, that’s one less person I have to keep up with.”

At 2 hours and 36 minutes, Eternals is long. Now, I don’t mind a long film, but when it feels long, that’s a problem. There are many parts through the middle that just kind of drag along. At one point, I got up to get a snack and hit pause and my family literally groaned when they saw it still had 41 minutes left. When you’re sitting there wondering, “When is this thing gonna end?” that’s another giant red flag.

One of the things Marvel has done so well is to feel like this is all part of a larger universe, and that everything fits in. While I realize this is the beginning-ish of a new Phase of the MCU, Eternals feels totally disconnected from the rest of the world. There are a couple of forced comments about who will lead the Avengers now and a reference to Thanos erasing half the population, but they’re almost “blink and you’ll miss it” throwaway remarks.

Of course, Eternals has the requisite big, over-the-top, VFX-laden battles, some wide cinematic vistas, and some light-hearted moments, mostly provided by Kuail Nanjiani (Kingo), who I’m a big fan of since his movie The Big Sick, and his valet Karun (Harish Patel).

Disney+ offers the film in either its cinematic 2.39:1 aspect ratio (which will be preferred for projector owners with widescreens) or in IMAX Enhanced, where some scenes are presented in 1.78:1, which fills a traditional 16:9 screen. The Disney+ stream is encoded in Dolby Vision, along with HDR-10. Eternals was shot in 4.5K resolution, and this is sourced from a 4K digital intermediate.

Images are certainly clean, sharp, and noise-free but I never felt like I was getting that tack-sharp ultra-detail of the finest 4K transfers. There is plenty of detail to be sure, especially in closeups, but I was really convinced this was upconverted from a 2K source. There was an uptick in image quality when it cut to the enhanced IMAX images, whether due to the better cameras or IMAX’s DNR process I can’t say, but I felt the expanded height enhanced the scenes where it was used.

Night cityscapes always look stunning in HDR, with the bright, multi-colored lights dotted against a dark background, and shots of London look beautiful. At one point, the characters walk under a dark overpass and there are glowing white lights that have loads of intensity. There are also plenty of brightly lit outdoor scenes, with the golden sun radiating enough to make you squint. A walk through a rocky valley showed lots of texture and shadow detail in the crevices and hollows.

The characters’ powers are often manifested by glowing yellow-gold effects (eye lasers, bolt blasts, weapons) and these have a lot of vibrancy, especially when employed at night. There are also several scenes with really saturated red, such as lava, fires burning, or the glowing red lava-like pools of Arishem, which not only have a lot of intensity but also depth and a variety of shading.

Sonically, the Dolby Atmos track is really engaging and entertaining, with lots of immersive moments both big and small. To be fair, this is one of the first films I’ve watched with a Trinnov Altitude processor I’m reviewing, so I’m sure having that in the system only added to the enjoyment.

There are many moments where characters are running or flying across and all around the room, Deviants creeping and jumping around the back of the room and into corners, or things flying overhead and along the sides. During one scene, Ikaris unleashes some eye-blasts that you can hear traveling through the room and then searing into the side walls.

I found dialogue to be mostly easy to understand, and there are a few scenes where the audio mix gets creative by having voices swirl around and overhead to taunt you, or to give a ton of added weight to Arishem’s voice by having it boom and echo through the room.

Even smaller moments have a lot of air and presence. There is a scene where a lot of fighting is happening way off in the distance, and you can hear these far-off sounds of yelling and gunfire. There are also moments where thunder rolls through the room, or there’s the gentle sound of rain falling, or the whistling of wind.

Disney has often been slagged for producing anemic, bass-less soundtracks but I definitely didn’t find that to be the case. There are lots of moments where your subs will pressurize the room, and impacts and collisions have authoritative weight. An earthquake early on has tons of rumble and rattle with the sounds of objects shaking and falling all around the room. The Deviants also have a really throaty low-bassy growl to their sounds. Plus, any film that has Pink Floyd’s “Time” in Atmos during the opening—with the sounds of drums occurring at all points around the room—is definitely headed in the right direction.

Of course, the film has the now requisite Marvel mid- and end-credits scenes to “tease” upcoming events in the MCU. I’d like to say these scenes were enough to rally me and get me excited for the next chapters in the Eternals story, but sadly, they weren’t.

PICTURE | Images are clean, sharp, and noise-free but never feel like they have the tack-sharp ultra-detail of the finest 4K transfers, instead looking like they were upconverted from a 2K source.

SOUND | The Dolby Atmos track is engaging and entertaining, with lots of immersive moments both big and small, and even the smaller moments have a lot of air and presence.

Cineluxe Basics: Immersive Audio

Cineluxe Basics | Immersive Audio

A Brief History of Surround

To understand what is “next generation” about the latest surround formats, a bit of history is relevant. Surround sound was introduced back in 1940 in Disney’s Fantasia with something called Fantasound, but modern surround formats trace their roots to the 1970s when Dolby introduced Dolby Surround. Dolby regularly updated this technology for both cinema and home applications, and we saw this evolve into Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround EX, Dolby Pro Logic II, and more. One of Dolby’s major cinematic surround competitors, Digital Theater Systems (DTS), introduced its system in 1993 for the release of Jurassic Park, and has introduced updates—and home solutions—similar to Dolby. (Those interested in taking a deeper dive will find the Wikipedia entry on “Surround Sound” fascinating.)

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A tech-free guide to the next-generation surround sound formats

by John Sciacca
January 10, 2022

We realize our readers don’t want to get deep into the weeds with the technical bits, but part of our mission is to provide the basic information you need when not only making a decision about your home entertainment system but also when selecting what to enjoy on it. We use terms like “immersive audio” or “object-based audio” pretty frequently, so having an understanding of what those things mean and why they’re important will give you some context when reading other features and reviews.

The main thing to realize is that all previous versions of surround sound were channel-based, meaning that audio was mixed in the studio for a specific, fixed number of speakers. This started with four channels, then grew to five, and maxed out at a channel count described as 7.1. This included seven main speakers (front left, center, and right, surround left and right, and surround back left and right), with the “.1” designating a channel reserved for low-frequency effects such as explosions or dinosaur foot stomps (which are usually reproduced through a subwoofer).

Besides the fixed channel count, earlier surround formats positioned the sound in a horizontal array around the listener. And even though there might be multiple speakers along the side of a movie theater, they all served to deliver just two channels (left and right surround), meaning audio couldn’t smoothly and realistically move around the space, especially when you had a larger viewing area with multiple rows of seats.

The next-generation surround sound formats are often described as “immersive” or 3D audio because they can not only produce a 360-degree field of sound around you at ear level but also a bubble or canopy of sound overhead, creating a truly three-dimensional audio experience. Another major development of many next-gen surround technologies is moving away from channel-based to object-based mixing. Audio designers now have up to 128 “sound objects” that can be moved anywhere around the room, allowing sounds to be more precisely located. These objects also have size and weight, so a massive starship hovering overhead has a different feel—and plays out of more speakers—than, say, a tennis ball bouncing.

To precisely locate objects around the room, next-generation surround systems—both the soundtracks and the processing hardware—support far more discrete speaker locations, including multiple height speakers placed above listeners to create sounds originating and traveling overhead. Premium home installations can support up to 34 speakers in a 24.1.10 array (24 listener-level speakers and 10 height speakers, with the “.1” again referring to the subwoofer.)

While a full complement of 34 speakers will deliver the ultimate home experience, that isn’t always realistic or practical in every listening room. To accommodate systems with fewer speakers, modern audio processors have a channel renderer that creates a custom audio mix on the fly to remap audio objects to whichever speaker configuration—both number and location—is being used, meaning as little as possible is lost between the theatrical and home audio experience.

Dolby Atmos is the most common next-generation surround format by far, but you should also be aware of DTS:X, IMAX Enhanced, and Auro-3D.

Dolby Atmos

Atmos is supported by every major movie studio, and the number of movies, concerts, video games, and even music albums mixed for Atmos is growing all the time, with hundreds of titles available. Atmos content is available on Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, titles downloaded from the Kaleidescape Movie Store, and from streaming services like Vudu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and streamed audio via Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal.

The most common Atmos speaker layout at home is 7.1.4 (seven listener-level speakers, one subwoofer channel, and four height speakers). This provides an immersive experience in medium-size rooms with full 360-degree audio pans around the listener at ear level as well as good hemispherical coverage overhead, and is supported by nearly all equipment manufacturers.

An Atmos home theater system is far more flexible and adaptable than a channel-based one. With a channel-based approach, the number of speakers is fixed, but while Dolby Atmos will work fine with a basic seven-speaker setup, thanks to the ability of compatible receivers to remap the audio mix, adding more speakers will give you an even powerful experience. For larger rooms with three or more seating positions, high-end Atmos processors from manufacturers like Trinnov, JBL Synthesis, Storm Audio, and Steinway Lyngdorf can support up to 34 speakers, ensuring smoother panning and more even sound distribution across every seat.

DTS:X

Like Atmos, DTS:X is an object-based audio codec that aims to create multi-dimensional sound that moves around you like it would in real life. While DTS:X has a considerable following in movie theaters, there are significantly fewer titles available for home viewing compared to Atmos. DTS:X soundtracks can be found on some Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs as well as on the Kaleidescape Movie Store (with around 40 currently available); no streaming services currently support the format. Much like Atmos, virtually every receiver and processor manufacturer supports DTS:X so it isn’t a hardware choice you’ll need to worry about. While the format maxes out at a speaker count of 7.1.4, the recommended speaker layout and positioning is similar to Atmos, so they work well with each other.

DTS:X Pro

To address home theaters with greater speaker counts, DTS introduced DTS:X Pro in 2020, expanding the number of speakers to 30.2 channels including top height, top surround, and center front height locations, allowing for greater spatial resolution and realism. Existing DTS:X content already has the additional channel metadata embedded so any DTS:X movie you own is ready for the expanded channel count, with the DTS:X Pro processing being handled by a compatible audio processor. DTS:X Pro can be found on higher-end processors from Acurus, Denon, Marantz, and McIntosh and is supported by all of the premium brands, including Trinnov, JBL Synthesis, Storm Audio, and Steinway Lyngdorf.

IMAX Enhanced

DTS and IMAX have created a special variant of the DTS:X processing found in home audio systems to provide a soundtrack that delivers the deeper bass and greater dynamic range found in theatrical IMAX releases. IMAX Enhanced systems have a recommended speaker layout of 7.2.4 (seven listener-level speakers, two subwoofers, and four height speakers). When IMAX DTS:X processing is engaged (typically
triggered by a metadata “flag” in the content), the processor will automatically make adjustments to the settings to maximize the presentation, with the processor displaying some version of “IMAX DTS:X”.

IMAX Enhanced was announced in 2018 but has had a fairly slow rollout, with the format found on just a handful of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. Owners of select 2021 Sony TVs have access to the largest selection of IMAX Enhanced content via Sony’s Bravia Core streaming service, and Disney+ recently started streaming IMAX Enhanced video content on select Marvel titles. Disney+ doesn’t currently support the IMAX DTS:X audio format but has announced it will do so in the future.

Auro-3D

Auro Technologies developed the Auro-3D immersive 3D audio format in 2005. Unlike Atmos and DTS:X, Auro-3D uses channel-based mixing, with three distinct audio layers with speakers placed at ear level, a height layer, and a top layer known as the “Voice of God.” Home Auro-3D speaker systems can support configurations from 9.1 to 13.1 speakers, dividing the side, rear, and ceiling channels into “zones,” allowing for placement of sound at discrete points along the listening-room walls or ceiling as well as within the room itself. Auro’s recommended speaker placements for the height layer differ from both Dolby and DTS, along with its unique implementation of the Voice of God speaker.

Due to a movie-theater partnership with Barco, Auro-3D is employed in theaters throughout Europe but has yet to gain a foothold in the States, and most of the Blu-ray movie discs featuring an Auro-3D soundtrack are only available in Europe. But the format is receiving a lot of attention in the music industry, with several high-resolution releases available from labels like Pure Audio. Auro-3D also uses the company’s “Auro-Matic” upmixing, which is becoming a popular way to listen to traditional stereo recordings in a multichannel speaker environment due to the natural sound quality and ambience the upmixer can extract. Auro isn’t as widely supported by hardware manufacturers but it can be found on premium brands like Trinnov, JBL Synthesis, Storm Audio, and Steinway Lyngdorf as well as on many Denon and Marantz receivers. It will soon make its way to higher-end Yamaha models via an upcoming firmware update.

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Review: Midway (2019)

review | Midway (2019)

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The most recent stab at this pivotal WWII battle gets most of the history right & has lots of action but has a few too many stars

by John Sciacca
February 11, 2020

Midway opens four years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, with Japanese Admiral Yamamoto (Etsushi Toyokawa) ominously telling US intelligence officer Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) that Japan will attack if its oil supplies are threatened. Cut to December 7, 1941 and the Japanese surprise attack , which delivers the US Navy its biggest defeat in history. Midway concerns itself with the events following that attack, and how the US regroups and looks to not only save itself but deliver a counterpunch to the Japanese navy, leading up to the attack known as the Battle of Midway.

With the modern-day might of the US Navy, we don’t often think about just how close to utter defeat its forces were following Pearl Harbor. On that day, more than 2,300 sailors were killed along with another 1,000-plus wounded, 18 ships were sunk or damaged, and 180 planes were destroyed. To restore naval operations, Admiral Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) is brought in to take control of the Pacific Fleet, described as “the most difficult job in the world.”

Following Pearl, the US had just three functional carriers, compared to Japan’s ten, and no functional battleships compared to Japan’s nine, with the Japanese also having more cruisers, bombers, and fighters; and much of their equipment was more modern. If the gamble at Midway didn’t pay off, the United States would have likely been sidelined for much of the war.

The movie does a good job of presenting these stakes, as well as compressing the timeline into an easy-to-follow narrative. If it’s guilty of anything, it’s of trying to cram so many stars into so many roles that none of the characters are really fleshed out. It’s hard for viewers to really care for anyone when they have just a bit of screen time before another new and famous face is trotted out. And there’s more than enough drama in the true events of the war that we don’t need to be distracted by cutaway stories about USO parties or brief shots of home life.

A perfect example is Mandy Moore cast as Ann Best, wife of hotshot pilot Dick Best (Ed Skrein), who feels like she’s just there to put her name in the credits and serves no real role in the film. Dennis Quaid is also underused as Admiral Halsey. Aaron Eckhart is given a small role as Jimmy Doolittle, a pilot awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a near-suicidal bombing mission on Tokyo who must bail out in China and evade capture from the Japanese army, which killed 250,000 Chinese civilians for aiding in Doolittle’s escape (events covered in the 2017 film In Harm’s Way). Musician Nick Jonas is brought in to portray real-life hero Aviation Machinist Bruno Gaido, receiving enough dialogue and backstory to give his character a bit of depth.

It’s tough to build much suspense when retelling a story where most viewers already know the outcome but Midway manages to give the action scenes enough tension that you can’t help but groan as bombs and torpedoes slide just past their targets, missing by scant feet. The film also blatantly telegraphs its heroes. We know early on that cocky pilot Dick Best is going to be play a big role in the air campaign, and when we see him perform a ridiculous landing maneuver onto an aircraft carrier very early on, we know we are going to see this move again later in the film. When Nimitz instructs Layton to make sure the intelligence mistakes of Pearl aren’t repeated, you know the time will come when Layton will have to convince Nimitz to trust him. Or that the friction between Dick Best and Wade McClusky (Luke Evans) will turn into a grudging respect.

Shot on Panavision DXL cameras at 8K resolution, Midway is taken from a 2K digital intermediate, not unusual for a film so heavily laden with CGI effects. Closeups feature lots of detail but don’t seem to have that Nth degree of resolution of films with a true 4K DI. There’s still plenty of detail to appreciate in clothing, from a crocheted top worn by Moore in one scene, to the wooly texture of Japanese officers’ uniforms, to the collar stitching on Americans’ shirts, to the leathery texture of the pilots’ seats.

Since none of the ships portrayed in the film still exist (at least not in their WWII-era state), they all had to be created, and the resolution does lay bare several instances of pretty blatant CGI, where things just look a bit video-gamey. The opening shot of an aircraft carrier with sailors doing PT on the deck just doesn’t ring true, especially if you focus on individual characters long enough. Nor does a scene at a graveyard in Pearl, which just looks . . . off. Any time there are so many computer-generated ships and planes on screen—which is often—there are bound to be a few instances where some shots aren’t perfect but it’s often the long shots that seem to suffer most.

HDR is used to good effect, not just to enhance the brilliant red-orange fireballs that erupt from exploding ships and planes, burning with a vibrant fury and intensity, but also to bring an extra layer of depth and punch to interior shots aboard ships where sunlight in pouring in through port holes or walkways. The ocean gleams in shades of blue, with bright highlights as the sun glints off its surface, and exterior scenes are bright enough to make you squint into the sunny skies. Blacks remain deep and dark, with no banding, which is a challenge with the varying shades of blue and grey in the skies as planes fly in and out of different lighting and cloud cover.

Beyond the visuals, Midway offers a fun ride that sounds fantastic in a home theater. In fact, you might call it a 2-hour 18-minute Dolby Atmos spectacle masquerading as a war movie. The sound mix plays a dynamic role in nearly every scene, and if anyone has every wondered if their height speakers are working or if Atmos can add to the immersion of a movie, just show them any of the aerial attack scenes where the audio lends a wonderful third dimension to plane flyovers.

Planes rip along the side walls and into the back of the room or roar past overhead, diving down on unsuspecting pilots, bullets shredding things around you. Flak shells explode left, right, above, and behind you, with bullets ricocheting all around the room.

Midway will also test your subwoofer’s mettle, with deep bass present throughout. Beyond the bombs and explosions, ships crash through waves with appropriate weight and AAA guns thump you in your seat with repeated blasts. There’s also the constant low, steady, bassy rumble as a steady background reminder that you’re aboard a warship, along with other ambient mechanical sounds to place you on board, or the deep, throaty roar of the planes’ engines. There’s also the carnage of the USS Arizona breaking up after explosions and then ripping itself apart with groans, creaks, and the rumble of crumpling steel.

Available for download now at the Kaleidescape Store ahead of its 4K disc release on February 18, Midway hits enough high points to overlook its flaws and makes for a rollicking night in your home theater, with one of the most dynamic and immersive Dolby Atmos audio tracks I’ve heard in a while.

PICTURE | HDR is used to good effect, not just to enhance the brilliant fireballs that erupt from exploding ships and planes but also to bring an extra layer of depth and punch to interior shots aboard ships where sunlight in pouring in through port holes or walkways

SOUND | You might call Midway a 2-hour 18-minute Dolby Atmos spectacle masquerading as a war movie, with the mix playing a dynamic role in nearly every scene

Review: Kong: Skull Island

review | Kong: Skull Island

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An especially dynamic Atmos soundtrack seriously ups the ante on the kind of roaring, stomping mayhem Kong does best

by John Sciacca
March 9, 2021

With Godzilla vs. Kong getting ready to debut theatrically and streaming on HBO Max on March 31, it seemed like a good time to revisit an earlier film in the franchise, Kong: Skull Island. In the opening of my “4K HDR Wish List,” I wrote, “These are probably films you already own—or have definitely watched—and a new 4K transfer would be a great reason to revisit them,” and that definitely holds true for Skull Island. Released in 2017, I hadn’t watched it in a few years even though I’d upgraded the HD version to the new 4K HDR version with Dolby Atmos some time ago when it became available at Kaleidescape.

While it doesn’t totally apply here, the quote “comedy is tragedy plus time” comes to mind. Skull Island didn’t really stand out in my memory as anything special but on watching it this time, the movie was far more entertaining. Maybe it was the improvements in the audio/video quality, maybe it was having a better projector, maybe it was my daughter seeing it with us for the first time. Whatever the case, Skull Island just worked, having solid pacing, story, acting, and the right amount of quirky just-shy-of-crazy humor courtesy of John C. Reilly.

I’d also forgotten how much star power was brought to bear. Along with John Goodman as head of the government agency Monarch, it unites four actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which might be a record in a non-Marvel film, something I’d need resident MCU-expert Dennis Burger to confirm), including Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), and Corey Hawkins (small part in Iron Man 3 listed as “Navy Op”).

What Skull Island does right is to focus on what it is: Kong on Skull Island. There isn’t a long preamble or slow build-up but rather a small bit of pre-credits setup that establishes a later payoff, a short explanation of the science of how this island has remained off the charts for so long and why it’s so important to investigate it now, a bit of introduction to the team, and then boom! You’re thrust straight into the action. Within the first 25 minutes, we’re transported to the island and in the thick of it. Kind of like with the recent Monster Hunter, you aren’t tuning to a film called Kong: Skull Island for a deeply philosophical examination; rather, you want an engaging and entertaining story wrapped around Kong battling and smashing stuff. This film plays by believable rules and allows you to maintain a suspension of disbelief with none of those head-shaking moments where the visual effects team does something solely for the case of impressing with their skills.

And speaking of the VFX, they’re surprisingly terrific. If Kong looked fake the film would fail, or if they shied away from showing him in all his glory you’d know it was a cheat, but there are plenty of closeups of the giant ape, and his size, scale, and speed are all realistic and impressive. In fact, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for its effects work (losing to Blade Runner: 2049).

Set in 1973 with the Vietnam war winding down, warmonger Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Jackson) is thrilled to have one final op with his Air Cav unit to investigate an uncharted island before returning home stateside. The soldiers head off to the island aboard a convoy of helicopters along with a small team of scientists, including Goodman, an ex-British Special Forces tracker Conrad (Hiddleston), and a photographer Weaver (Larson). The idea is to test Brooks’ (Hawkins) “Hollow Earth” theory by flying around and dropping seismic charges on the island, but this gets the attention—and ire—of one mammoth 100-foot ape, who quickly dispatches the helicopters, leaving the team separated on the ground and trying to survive amidst other threats that are larger than life-sized.

Packard reminds me a bit of the saying, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to look at everything as a nail.” He’s an unabashed warrior and he’s looking for a fight, and Kong is the obvious threat. If Kong has a social message underpinning the story, it would be looking for fights where there aren’t enemies and learning to co-exist with those around us. But the film doesn’t beat us over the head with this, rather making a way to care about and root for Kong.

Eager to avenge his fallen soldiers, Packard goes off on his own agenda, ordering his men to hunt and destroy the ape, and he becomes the obvious antagonist to Kong’s role as island protector. Meanwhile, the separated team of Conrad and Weaver discover Hank Marlow (Reilly), a WWII-pilot who has been stranded on the island for 28 years and learned to co-exist with the natives. Together, they try to regroup with the remaining soldiers and travel across the island to the planned rendezvous point to get off the island.

Shot on Arri at 3.4K resolution, Skull Island is taken from a 2K digital intermediate. While it doesn’t have that hyper-sharp detail and resolution of some modern films, it still looks fantastic, with very clean image quality and sharp, well-defined edges. Still, some scenes are so clean and detailed they could have been filmed yesterday. Closeups can have terrific detail, showing individual stitching in the soldiers’ uniforms and exhibiting pore-level detail on all the actors’ faces save for Brie Larson, whose face always looks angelically smooth.

Early, pre-island scenes in the film have a warm, earth-toned image with picture quality that was a bit reminiscent of The Brady Bunch, and the opening blue skies from the aerial dogfight have a bit of digital noise. On the island, colors are green and lush, with a variety of shades for grass, trees, and foliage.

HDR gives plenty of depth and realism to the many scenes at night or in deep shadow. An early scene in a downtown area in Vietnam lit by bright neon lights pops off the screen. Elsewhere, there are brilliant flashes of lighting and vibrant, rich red-orange flames in the dark night of the island. The Kaleidescape transfer’s high bitrate also does a nice job keeping the island’s fog and smoke from becoming a digital mess.

Sonically, you get a glimpse of what you’re in for in the opening seconds, with planes flying and fighting overhead and buzzing around the room. The overhead flyover—or tracking objects as they pass around and across the room—is a favorite of Atmos theater owners, and this delivers, with plenty of other similar sonic moments such as helicopters swirling around, announcements from PA systems, or the blare of master caution alarms. This dynamic Atmos soundtrack almost constantly has something going on, including big dynamic effects and tons of ambient jungle sounds like bugs and wind rustling leaves in trees.

The soundtrack is heavily influenced by psychedelic, Vietnam-era rock from the late ’60s, which is given a lot of room to play across the front channels and into the height speakers. The mix also does a great job of tracking audio objects, such as when things move left/right of center and then pass into the surrounds off camera. We also get a near-videogame use of localizing threats, as you’ll hear things coming up on our characters from the surround channels. We also get to enjoy a healthy amount of low-frequency effects courtesy of Kong’s stomping footsteps and roars, and from explosions.

Kong: Skull Island give a glimpse of the kinds of battles we can expect in Godzilla vs. Kong as Kong fights the Skull Crawlers, and be sure to stick around all the way through the end credits for a scene that leads us into the sequel. As Marlow said, Kong is young and still growing, and we need him to keep growing to defend us from other threats. If GvK takes place in the current day, this will have given Kong almost 50 years of growing to prepare for the fight, and we’ll want him ready! Skull Island is a surprisingly fun time that makes for a great-looking and -sounding event in your home theater.

PICTURE | Shot in 3.4K and taken from a 2K digital intermediate, Skull Island doesn’t have the hyper-sharp detail and resolution of some modern films but still looks fantastic, with very clean image quality and sharp, well-defined edges.

SOUND | The dynamic Atmos soundtrack almost constantly has something going on, including big dynamic effects, lots of flyovers, and tons of ambient jungle sounds like bugs and wind rustling leaves in trees.

Review: Old

review | Old

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Not one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best, this not-quite-a-horror movie is worth at least a one-time look

by John Sciacca
October 12, 2021

Old is based on the 2010 French-language graphic novel Sandcastle, which I had never heard of. Of course, Shyamalan added his own tweaks to the source material, and with Sandcastle being only 112 pages—and those all filled with illustrated panels—he had some fleshing out to do to get a complete story.

Old reminded me a bit of Season Four of The Twilight Zone, where Rod Serling and team broke away from their tried-and-true formula of taut 30-minutes episodes and went to stories that ran an hour long. The result was some things felt padded and stretched a bit thin, and they learned—when they returned to the 30-minute form for Season Five—that an idea that worked for 30 minutes didn’t necessarily work better when prolonged to 60. (The reverse is true for long material that filmmakers try to excise down to a theatrical run time, as evidenced by so many of Stephen King’s failed adaptations . . .)

While the film certainly has an interesting premise, which is how Shyamalan manages to hook you, at 108 minutes, it feels a bit long and like it is treading water in the middle, with some of the beats repeating themselves, and like something that would have worked better in a shorter form.

A family goes on a vacation at a luxury tropical resort and we discover pretty quickly that Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps) are headed towards a divorce. The holiday is kind of a last family hurrah before they break the news to the kids, Trent (Nolan River) and Maddox (Alexa Swinton). While at the resort, the manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) approaches them and says he likes the family and that he wants to send them to a beautiful and secluded part of the resort he doesn’t just share with everyone. The family piles into a van along with married couple Dr. Charles (Rufus Sewell) and Chrystal (Abbey Lee), their young daughter, Kara (Mikaya Fisher), and Charles’ mother, Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), where they are driven to a secluded area by a resort employee played by Shyamalan in one of his many not-so-cameo roles. When they arrive, Shyamalan loads them up with baskets of food and drinks, and the group walks down a path and through a cave to emerge onto a beautiful beach.

There they see another person sitting alone whom Maddox recognizes as famous rapper Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre), who seems to be nursing an almost constant nosebleed. While swimming, the naked body of a dead woman washes into Trent, and when it is revealed this woman came to the beach with Mid-Sized Sedan, it sets the group into a bit of paranoia. With no cell signal, they try and go back through the cave and find they can’t (anyone trying is hit with a massive headache that knocks them unconscious), and then everyone starts aging at a rapidly accelerated rate to the tune of about one year every 30 minutes.

With the rapid aging, any negative traits like vanity, paranoia, and racial tension quickly come out, and infirmities like blindness, deafness, schizophrenia, and tumors can develop in literally moments. The kids grow in what feels like the blink of an eye, with new actors taking on the roles in nearly every scene. (For example, four different actors play Trent.)

Why is this happening? Is there any way to stop it? What is the deal with the name Mid-Sized Sedan? (Not germane to the movie, but, I mean, come on?! Is that a commentary on something?) And why does it appear that someone is observing them from far away?

Like most of Shyamalan’s films, Old is pretty slow to get going but part of the allure of his movies is seeing where the winding path leads you and what interesting things will happen along the way to see how things play out.

One issue I had is that a lot of the characters really just aren’t that likable. It’s hard to be vested in what happens to people you don’t care about. Plus, they often act in ways that seem completely obtuse to what is happening, almost acting in an odd, robotic manner that makes them unrelatable. (And, no, they aren’t all robots—that isn’t the twist.) And while they are aging rapidly, there seems to be no lingering emotion, thought, or feeling to things that have happened. “Well, so-and-so is dead. Guess we just move on . . .” Further, some of the dialogue is just bad. There were a couple of parts where I literally groaned. Guy is an insurance actuary and he wastes no opportunity to remind us of that and cite some actuary table percentage of the likelihood of something happening.

Also, calling this a “horror” movie seems a stretch. And if you’re a fan of that genre, I think you’ll be in for a real disappointment. It’s as much a horror movie as an episode of The Twilight Zone or a Shyamalan film like, say, The Village. Yes, there are a couple of violent moments, multiple people die, and there are some intense images, but horror? I don’t think so. More like supernatural, but not in an occult-ish way.

Filmed in 35mm and taken from a 4K digital intermediate, Old has a lot of cinematography that is great to look at, especially up on a big screen, with plenty of wonderful vistas of the beach and ocean against the rock and lush jungle backdrop. I never noticed any grain issues, certainly nothing that was distracting, and found images to be clean and sharp throughout, though not having that tack-sharp look of a movie shot digitally.

Closeups have tons of sharp, vivid detail, where you can literally make out single grains of sand or see the fibers in characters’ garments. The detail also makes it easier to appreciate the aging the characters go through as they develop wrinkles and the like. Longer shots—specifically when they are looking back up at the mysterious person watching on the hill—are noticeably softer and devoid of detail, with the trees just lacking the sharpness, almost like they are slightly out of focus.

With most of the film taking place on the beach during the day, the HDR grading certainly helps with the look, giving brilliant highlights and nice shadow detail. You can really appreciate the texture of the rocks and cave walls, and when the sun goes down, there are some nice highlights and added contrast from a fire the characters sit by.

The Dolby Atmos mix was actually a highlight for me, as Shyamalan really leans into the possibilities of immersing the listener in sound and using all the speakers. Jungle sounds frequently fill the room, with birds and wind creating a nice canopy of sound overhead and all around. You also get nice moments like the sounds of the hotel’s lobby Muzak pumping out of the ceiling speakers like you’re walking through the hotel, or the sounds of water dripping down from overhead in the cave complex, or the noise of crashing waves and surf all around.

One thing the mix really plays with is the location of voices. Most films anchor about 90% (or more) in the center speaker, but here we have dialogue that literally swirls 360 degrees around the room as a character is turning and listening to people talking. This is almost a video-game like effect but it really puts you in the moment. It will also lay bare if your speakers have any timbre-matching issues, as you’ll really notice a change in the tone and quality of the dialogue. Bass is mostly restrained—dialogue is a big driver of the movie—but it can be deep when called for, such as when characters enter the cave or when there are powerful waves crashing.

My wife and I did have a bit of problem understanding some of the dialogue. Some of it is a bit forward-sounding, some of the characters have a bit of an accent, and occasionally it can be masked by some of the other sounds going on.

While Old isn’t the best of Shyamalan’s catalog, it certainly isn’t the worst, and it kept me involved enough to see how it was going to wrap. And, I didn’t see the particular “twist” coming but it wasn’t on par with the big “I see dead people!” moment of The Sixth Sense. It was more like, “Yeah, OK, I guess that makes sense.” Also, I felt like he tried to over explain and over resolve the ending, and it would have been better had he, ummm (keeping this spoiler-free . . .) stopped about five minutes before he did and let it be more open-ended.

PICTURE | Even though Old was shot on 35mm, there are never any grain issues and images are clean and sharp throughout, though without the tack-sharp look of a movie shot digitally

SOUND | The Atmos mix is a highlight, with the director really leaning into the possibilities of immersing the listener in sound and using all the speakers

Review: Encanto

review | Encanto

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Disney’s latest is a tale of magic filled with beautiful, vibrant tropical colors that burst off the screen

by John Sciacca
December 27, 2021

I’m totally biased when it comes to Disney Animation. I have two daughters, and when Disney or Pixar releases a film, we’re going to watch it. That doesn’t mean I think they’re all great—it just means they don’t need to do a lot of marketing to get me on board.

When there’s a movie all four of us can sit down, enjoy, and experience together, that’s saying something. (My five-and-a-half year old, Audrey, was very apprehensive about watching, though. The commercial has a “yellow three-headed dragon monster”—it’s actually Cerberus—that scared her, so she thought the movie was going to be about that. After lots of coaxing—and a nearby blanket she could quickly duck under if things got too scary—she decided she could be brave enough to give it a try.) So literally the moment I saw Encanto was available to watch on Disney+—in 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio—I texted my wife and let her know we had our Friday night plans nailed down.

I was already all-in on watching the film, but what really had me interested was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s involvement, as he wrote eight original songs for Encanto (his second Disney Animation collaboration after writing songs for Moana). After Hamilton and In the Heights, Miranda has won me over with his catchy rapid-fire lyrics and layered, reference-dropping song-telling style.

The film follows the Madrigal family, which lives in Columbia in an “Encanto”—a charmed or enchanted place—where a magical candle creates a sentient “Casita” (which means “little house”) for the family to live in, and a village grows around the house. As each member of the family reaches a certain age, a new magical door appears on the Casita, and when they open it, they’re gifted certain super-human abilities—super strength, super hearing, ability to heal, ability to grow flowers, etc.—which they use to help the villagers and continue the magic of the family. When it’s time to receive her gift, young Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) goes to open her door but it disappears, leaving her the only family who doesn’t have a gift, making her the odd one out, with her sisters, the perfect “golden child” Isabela (Diane Guerrero) and super-strong Luisa (Jessica Darrow).

On the night the next Madrigal member, Antonio (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), is to receive his gift, Mirabel has a vision of the Casita crumbling and the candle’s flame being extinguished. When matriarch Abuela Alma (Maria Cecilia Botero) arrives and sees the Casita undamaged, she doesn’t believe Mirabel, causing Mirabel to investigate. She then stumbles across Uncle Bruno (John Lequizamo)—whose gift is having visions of the future—who has exiled himself from the community and whose name no one wants to utter (summed up in the very catchy song, “We don’t talk about Bruno-no-no-no”). When actual cracks start appearing in the Casita—and between family members—Mirabel knows she must do something to save the miracle, the family, and the village.

Like any great piece of writing, Encanto touches on lots of issues and has different layers that will resonate with people in different ways, not just the usual this joke is for adults and this one is for kids. Whether you were the “golden child” and had to live up to the pressure of being perfect or were the family’s backbone everyone relied on or the outcast that seemingly didn’t fit in, Encanto has bits, moments, and characters that will ring true.

There is the very obvious message of fitting in and finding your own talents and embracing your gifts and strengths whatever they are, and not judging your worth based on others. Also, not everyone’s life is as perfect as it may seem, and we all have our own struggles and pressures even when everything might look perfect on the outside (something that will hopefully resonate with all the young girls infected with the toxic Instagram culture). And ultimately, even though no family is perfect, we need to do our best to love them.

As mentioned, the Disney+ presentation is in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR. Taken from a true 4K digital intermediate, it looks gorgeous. Computer animation certainly lends itself to HDR and to delivering bright, vibrant, beautiful images, and Encanto has tropical colors that just burst off the screen.

One of the things that really struck me was the fire effect, specifically around the candle that plays an important role in the film. There are a lot of scenes where you’re able to look at the candle flame, and the animation of the dance and flicker, the lighting, glowing effect, and shadows cast from the candle are just beautiful. The light slowly fading to different shades from the candle can be really tricky for a display, and there were a couple of moments where I noticed a bit of banding, but this might have been an animation style choice and not a streaming-video artifact. But, the lighting work in Encanto is just stunning.

Of course, with animation, the artists carefully scrutinize every frame, so focus is always perfect, with images always sharp and clear. They also pay close attention to every visual detail such as the small frays in rope, stitches in fabric, the texture of stone or tile, and literally individual grains of sand. Beyond the vibrant and lush tropical colors, the family’s doors as they gain their powers have inscriptions that glow a brilliant shade of gold that highlights the strength of the Dolby Vision HDR. (And did Bruno’s red chair remind anyone else of Morpheus’s chair from The Matrix . . ?)

I wouldn’t call Encanto’s Dolby Atmos sound mix overly active but there are some nice moments of ambience that help to place us in the action, such as birds chirping or flying overhead, the sounds of bugs or wind, and then tile and stone cracking and shattering that spreads and expands up into the canopy of the ceiling and out into the room. The audio also opens up the listening environment with some cavernous echoes when appropriate, being drenched in a pouring rainstorm, or the spreading boom of thunder.

The music is the sonic star of the Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and the songs are definitely catchy, with our family singing some of them even a couple of days later. The mix gives the voices space to spread across the front of the room and even up into the ceiling. You can better appreciate the layering during the ensemble numbers, though some of the rapid-fire lyrics (particularly in the opening song “The Family Madrigal”) can be a bit tricky to catch on the first go-round.

Your subwoofers don’t get called on a lot but they do fill in some deep percussion from the songs (particularly during Luisa’s “Surface Pressure”) and give some serious, tactile low end when things come crashing to the ground.

With so many families gathered for the holidays, Encanto offers a wonderful opportunity to round everyone up in your home theater and share an experience. With a message that speaks to the strength of family, gorgeous images that will highlight your video display, and a catchy soundtrack, Encanto offers tantos razones to give it a watch.

PICTURE | Computer animation lends itself to HDR and to delivering bright, vibrant, beautiful images, and Encanto has tropical colors that burst off the screen.

SOUND | The music is the sonic star of the Atmos soundtrack, and the mix gives the voices space to spread across the front of the room and even up into the ceiling.

Review: Onward

review | Onward

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This offering follows the Pixar formula, transcending its RPG roots to appeal to a wide and diverse audience

by John Sciacca
March 22, 2020

Onward is set in the fantasy world of New Mushroomton, a world that was once filled with adventure and wonder and magic. But magic wasn’t easy to master and over time it faded away, and now itls a forgotten skill replaced by technology. I mean, why struggle learning to cast a light spell or rely on a wizard when now everyone can just walk over and flip a switch?

This setting is one of the first unique things for Pixar, in that the film takes place in an entirely fantastical world. Every other Pixar film has been set to some degree in the “real world.” Whether it is the distant future of Wall-E, the underground insect world of A Bug’s Life, inside Riley’s head in Inside Out, or the alternate reality of The Good Dinosaur, the studio’s world building had so far been based on our world. (Even Monstropolis from Monster’s, Inc. and Monster’s University is tied to our world, as the monsters cross over into our side of the closet door.)

Onward also features some deep ties to fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, with tons of references overt and subtle that fans of these games will pick up and love, specifically one gelatinous monster that even passing D&D fans will be familiar with. The movie’s substitute for these is Quests of Yore, “A historically based role-playing scenario.”

In a way, it reminded me of a “Weird” Al Yankovic song like “All About the Pentiums.” You can enjoy the song on the surface for what it is but the deeper you are into geek culture, the more you’ll appreciate its brilliance on different layers. Pixar is known for littering Easter eggs throughout its films, and Onward features more references and hidden jokes than perhaps any other, and the home release allows you to pause and analyze scenes to loot-hunt these treasures at your leisure.

Whether it is The Lion King, Bambi, Frozen, Finding Nemo, or numerous other films, a common theme among Disney heroes is having lost a parent, often in some tragic manner. But no film tackles this subject head-on quite like Onward, where the movie’s entire plot revolves around the opportunity to bring back a lost parent, to spend one last day with him. Also, for the first time we hear Disney characters not only talking about the pain and loss of losing a parent but of the emotions of having to deal with a parent that is sick and dying. Heavy stuff for a “kid’s” movie.

The film focuses on elven brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley Lightfoot (Chris Pratt) some 16 years after their father has died. On Ian’s 16th birthday, their mom, Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), unveils a present their father left behind for when both boys were older than 16. Inside the present are a wizard’s staff, a rare Phoenix Gem, and instructions for casting a “visitation spell” that will allow the father to return for one single day to see how the boys have grown. Of course, things go awry when casting the spell, and dad only returns from the waist down before the Phoenix Gem—an assist element required for casting powerful magic—is destroyed.

This sets up the campaign quest, as the brothers—and the lower-half of dad—head off in Barley’s sweet van, Guinevere, fueled by an appropriately epic mixtape, of course, to follow clues left behind from the magic of old to discover another Phoenix Gem and finish casting the spell before the sun sets and dad is lost forever.

Pixar inhabits this fantasy world with all manner of creatures including gnomes, pixies, mermaids, unicorns, centaurs, cyclops, and goblins, which keeps scenes visually entertaining. And in keeping with the RPG rules, different character classes have different abilities; and it is the shy and awkward Ian (whose name might be a subtle nod to Sir Ian McKellen, who played a certain wizard named Gandalf the Grey in a few Tolkien films) who develops the ability to use the wizard’s staff to cast spells rather than his RPG-obsessed, living the “longest gap year ever,” non-starter brother, Barley, perpetually wearing a jean vest emblazoned with patches and buttons of Metal-like band names and a 20-sided die, like so many of the kids I went to high-school with in the ‘80s.

And like any epic quest, the story begins in an all-too common starting point: The Tavern. From Chaucer’s Tale to Hobbiton’s Green Dragon Inn to numerous D&D campaigns, the Tavern is often the place where parties gather to palaver prior to beginning a campaign. In this case, the Tavern is run by a Manticore (Octavia Spencer), a mythical creature with “a vaguely humanoid head, the body of a lion, and the wings of a dragon, whose long tail ends in a cluster of deadly spikes,” according to D&D rules. With magic gone, our Manticore has lost its bite, and the tavern is now more a family-friendly TGI Friday’s affair. But it serves as the launching point for the brothers’ adventure—as well as a way for the Manticore to do some self-discovery—and provides the first clue to tracking down the Gem.

This review is of the HD version, which looks fantastic in its own right but definitely left me eager to see this visual glory once again in higher resolution and with the added color and punch of HDR when the 4K HDR release becomes available.

As literally every pixel shown on screen is rendered in computer, we get an amazing level of detail, especially in closeups. Literally every strand of hair or fur is visible in perfect detail, as are things like the grain in desks or the stones in walls. Other things have a photo-realistic quality, such as slices of bread, vehicles, or wet roads. Pixar continues upping the ante in computer visuals and Onward picks up where the gorgeous Toy Story 4 left off. Lighting effects are dazzling, whether it is fire, sparkling magic, or light streaming in through windows. Dark spaces like caves or night scenes make for especially vibrant eye candy.

As is the case with every Disney release I’m aware of, the digital HD version—and Blu-ray disc on release—doesn’t contain the object-based Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which is reserved for the premium 4K content. Instead, Onward’s HD version has a 7.1-channel DTS-HD Master audio soundtrack.

While I can’t wait to audition the Atmos track when the 4K version drops, this mix offers plenty to enjoy. There are strong panning and surround effects tracking the onscreen action, especially during the driving scenes on the expressway and the final challenge quest in the tunnels, where multiple objects whiz past your head. Even with the 7.1-channel mix, my processor’s upmixer smartly put sounds up into the ceiling, such as a dragon’s tail swiping overhead or fire breathing across the room. Outdoor scenes feature tons of ambient sounds to place you in the action, and bass is deep and authoritative. I find dialogue to be slightly forward with DTS mixes but had no difficulty understanding all the lines.

Of course, the brilliance of Pixar is in making movies that appeal to a broad range of viewers, and not just for that small subset of hardcore fans of a specific genre or RPG subculture. Unlike any other studio, the studio has a knack for writing stories and jokes that play across multiple levels. Kids appreciate the top-level humor, with other jokes and references for adults, and deeper meanings and storytelling themes that parents recognize.

Ultimately, Onward is Pixar doing what it does best, which is creating movies about deep relationships and going right for the feels at the end. Whether you’re a beginning Level 1 Crafty Rogue or a veteran Level 20 Wizard, there’s plenty in Onward to engage and entertain families of all ages.

PICTURE | As literally every pixel shown on screen is rendered in computer, you get an amazing level of detail, especially in closeups, and even in the HD version reviewed here.

SOUND | The 7.1-channel mix here offers plenty to enjoy, with strong panning and surround effects tracking the onscreen action and outdoor scenes featuring tons of ambient sounds to place you in the story.

John Sciacca

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