Dawn of Justice brings together the entire trinity of DC Universe heroes, arguably the most enduring characters of 20th-century popular culture. So where’s the thrill? The awe? The “wow,” dammit? Let’s focus on the expanded three-hour Ultimate Edition featured in this set, also available separately on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, along with director Zack Snyder’s other two DC forays, Man of Steel and Watchmen.
Legend has it that director Zack Snyder was streaming his Dawn of Justice one day and was unhappy with the color, specifically red, a shade relevant to much more than a certain Last Son of Krypton. And so, the studio took the unusual step of remastering the movie from the existing 4K video transfer and rereleasing it, with the new version addressing Snyder's crimson concerns as well as showcasing the de rigueur IMAX scenes in their full and correct 1.43:1 aspect ratio.
Having already cracked the code to what would yield the best animated Batman of all time (and arguably the best adaptation of The Dark Knight, period), the team behind TV’s The Animated Series was ultimately given the green light to make a PG-rated feature film in that same style. And while small-screen Bats pushed creative boundaries, in theaters he went even further, with blood, violence and even (gulp) sex adding a palpable impact to this wholly satisfying adventure.
What if you could put your home theater (virtually) anywhere?
Simply put, Belkin's PureAV RemoteTV accepts the output of any NTSC video source, converts that analog audio/video signal to MPEG-2, and sends it wirelessly to a display device in another location, in better quality than is possible from similar devices. It essentially eliminates the need for a second source component—not just the hardware, but any related service, as well. Already have a single TV/DVD setup but want to enjoy programming in another room? Want to keep an eye on what someone else is watching or be sure to get your money's worth by displaying your pay-per-view movie on two different TVs? This is the way.
More and more PC fanatics have grown to appreciate the computer as a television, fully exploiting the kick-ass video potential of even a run-of-the-mill PC monitor, first for viewing then for timeshifting/recording and even burning those recordings to DVD. The ATI TV Wonder Elite ($149) has it all covered. A surprisingly complicated chain of technology is necessary to achieve this amount of functionality at this level of quality, although it is all ultimately transparent to the end user, with a very user-friendly interface to boot. The TV Wonder Elite (TVWE) is also designed to work seamlessly with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.
What’s better than a movie on Blu-ray or 4K? How about a whole bunch of movies on Blu-ray and/or 4K, thoughtfully assembled with impressive A/V quality and copious bonus content? Some of these collections were obviously easier to configure, presenting as they do beloved movie series in their entirety, while others no doubt took a bit more effort to populate across a common theme, and we tip our summer bucket hats to the folks who made ‘em all happen.
Even in the face of streaming’s runaway success, TV shows on physical media remain pretty damned popular, aided in large part by the studios’ aggressive ongoing HD and 4K remastering of the classics—largely in service to archiving and to providing the best possible quality on the aforementioned streamers—in addition to the collectability of the latest and greatest series. Whatever the reason, a generous and eclectic new crop has arrived for our viewing enjoyment, so clear some room on those shelves.
The monthly announcements of upcoming Criterion releases often list films I can’t pronounce, let alone recognize. But in truth, the esteemed specialty label splits its attention between lesser- known cinema and popular movies, and this recent Blu-ray menagerie holds a pair of Oscar-winners, an enduring 1985 hit, and a singular genre classic.
Genius teen Hiro Hamada has already lost his parents, but when tragedy strikes again, he uses his scientific know-how to turn mild-mannered, inflatable nurse-bot Baymax into a karate-kicking, armor-plated crime-fighter. But is Hiro out for justice...or vengeance? Either way, the duo can’t win this fight without help, and so they join forces with a group of friends to form their own high-tech super-squad, finding plenty of excitement along the way, as well as some important lessons about what it means to be a hero. Inspired by a relatively obscure Marvel Comic, the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6 is an epic origin saga full of heart and humor.