My Two Cents
Tuesday, 13 April 2021 17:13

Chaos Walking on BD & 4K, plus Wolfwalkers, big changes for Google Play Movies & TV, goodbye Harmony remotes & more

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We start today with another Blu-ray review from Tim. This time he’s taken a look at Mei-Chun Chang’s Dynasty (1977 – aka Qian dao wan li zhu), new on Blu-ray 3D from Kino Lorber Studio Classics with an assist by our friends at the 3-D Film Archive. It’s fun little 3D martial arts actioner and well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the Blu-ray 3D format in particular. Don’t miss it.

Now then, Lionsgate has set Minari for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/18. Extras will include deleted scenes, a making of featurette, and audio commentary with director Lee Isaac Chung and star Yuh-jung Youn.

The company has also set Endangered Species for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/1, with the Digital release expected on 5/28.

And Lionsgate will release Doug Liman’s Chaos Walking on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 5/25. The film stars Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Mads Mikkelsen, and David Oyelowo. We don’t have A/V specs or extras details yet, but it was shot in 6.5K using the Arri Alexa 65, was finished as a native 4K digital intermediate, and it has an Atmos sound mix, so one assumes Lionsgate will go all out on the UHD release. The title is already available for pre-order on Amazon (click here for the link) you can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

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Meanwhile, Screen Media is releasing a film called Senior Moment on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/4, staring William Shatner, Jean Smart, and Christopher Lloyd. A buddy comedy with Lloyd and Shatner, where the latter plays a retired NASA test pilot living in Palm Springs who gets his license revoked for drag racing? All right, I’m in. How can you not want to watch that film? LOL.

Corinth Films has set Freedom for DVD and Digital release on 5/11.

And Kino Lorber will release the country music documentaries Heartworn Highways (1976) and Heartworn Highways Revisited (2015) on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on 4/27.

Also, we have word from Cartoon Brew that the animated Wolfwalkers—currently available for viewing on Apple TV+—will coming to BD and DVD from GKids later this year.

In other news today, Google is apparently winding down their Google Play Movies & TV content store. Starting on 6/15, the app will no longer be available on Roku, and Samsung, LG, and Vizio smart TVs. Content purchased through the store will be viewable via their YouTube app instead. You can read more here at Ars Technica. This is interesting, because—we believe—Google is the sole source of Digital Copy redemptions in Europe. It’s also interesting in light of the fact that Sony—just a month ago—ended their own movie and TV purchases and rentals via the PlayStation Store (read more on that here). And it makes us wonder if there isn’t something larger afoot in the industry, though what it could be we don’t know. Perhaps Movies Anywhere is finally going international? That’s just speculation. We’ll have to keep an eye on this and see what comes of it all.

While we’re on the topic of things winding down, Logitech has confirmed that they’re no longer going to be making the Harmony universal remote. So if you want one, act fast (here’s an Amazon link for you). More here at the Logitech support forum.

The Screening Room A/V in Colorado SpringsAnd finally today, some of you will recall I mentioned the other day that Sony and Kaleidescape have partnered to offer special promotional discounts on the cost of a Kaleidescape Strato player if you purchase select models of Sony home theater projector. So a few Bits readers then asked me how to take advantage of this deal. Well, our friends at The Screening Room A/V in Colorado Springs can help you out with that. The Screening Room A/V is famous in home theater circles for their annual projector shootouts, and owner and founder John Schuermann is a good friend of mine. They’ve created a special page where Digital Bits readers can inquire about this Sony/Kaleidescape offer if interested (you’ll find it here, or by clicking on the logo at the right). Even if you’re just interested in home theater gear in general, or sound technical advice, look no further—there’s no better place to shop. Give them a try and I promise they’ll take good care of you. Just tell ’em The Bits sent you.

All right, we’ll leave you with a look at the cover art for Chaos Walking and a couple other forthcoming titles (click the covers to pre-order them on Amazon)...

Chaos Walking (4K Ultra HD) Dead and Buried (4K Ultra HD) Indiana Jones 4-Film Collection (4K Ultra HD)

Stay tuned!

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

 

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