A sequel that has been a long time coming, but while it once again begs to have its fantasy world explored, can it live up to more than a decade of hype and expectation?
Newcastle Audio Show with Peter Tyson in partnership with AVForums
by AVForums
Peter Tyson Newcastle are holding an open-day audio show at their premises on the 27th and 28th of April and you are invited to come along and listen to some very special systems. The event is free to enter and you are welcome to pop in at any time over the weekend.
Although it echoes the retro stylings of the previously re-imagined 770 and 700 models, this latest speaker ushers in an all-new and more compact/affordable addition to the line-up.
UPDATED 04-April-24 with UK pricing and May release window.
The upgraded lineup is comprised of the Pinnacle, Titan and Tower floorstanders, the Bookshelf, along with a more compact Nano variant, plus a dedicated Centre channel and the Elevation speakers for your Dolby Atmos/surround needs.
The LG G4 adds in a new Alpha 11 AI Processor, Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode, AI Director, MLA+ and Meta Technology 2.0 and promises to replace the G3 as the Best in Class OLED TV for almost all users. Is the G4 worth the upgrade? Watch our video.
Movies & TV Shows
10 Lives (2024) (Sky) Movie Review
by Cas Harlow
Christopher "Duck Duck Goose" Jenkins' sophomore animated feature is an utterly throwaway Sky job that means well, and will at least entertain the little ones, but can't hold a candle - in terms of story or visuals - to the similarly themed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Campfire Audio launches Fathom earphones in the UK
by Ian Collen
The company’s latest in-ear monitors boast six custom-made balanced armature drivers and Phase Harmony Engineering to ensure they hit all the right notes.
The Castle name is back in the UK with a pair of domestically produced speakers and the Earl is here to see if it can win you back to the ways of wood.
LG 2024 TV line-up: From OLED to QNED – everything you need to know
by Ian Collen
UPDATED 03-April-24 with UK OLED pricing: A detailed round-up of all the major new additions and upgrades coming in 2024, from the flagship G4 OLED with Meta technology 2.0 to the C4, MiniLED, webOS 24, and more.
Gaming
Alone in the Dark (PS5) Review
by Mohammad Hamid
With the makings of a contemporary horror classic and an A-list cast, can this latest reboot of the much-loved but often flawed scary-survival action franchise deliver on the thrills and chills?
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Hi-Fi
Pro-Ject Audio unveils two new T2 turntables
by Ian Collen
Adding to the existing T2 W, the new T2 and T2 Super Phono strip away the wireless tech for some more affordable analogue upgrades over the older T1 series.
The other HD MIA Jim Cameron film finally makes its way to UK shores with possibly the most controversial 4K disc of recent times. However, what may be more controversial is that the intervening years simply haven’t been kind and the film itself is sadly nowhere near as much of a classic as we all remember it to be…
Disney's Centennial celebration imagines up an entire origin story from the Studio's own theme music, weaving 100 years of nostalgia into its every fibre - right down to the classical animation style - but ironically failing to find any magic of its own.
Julien Leclercq remakes the 1953 classic for Netflix, but with wages like this, I’d be surprised if you didn’t see Fear shopping at the local food bank.
AVForums Hi-Fi Podcast 1st April 2024 - Turntables and more...
by Phil Hinton
This month we look at Hi-Fi turntables and explore the technology and the vinyl journey. Should you start a vinyl collection from scratch or is the cost just too prohibitive? What are the best turntables to buy and what are the differing technologies and approaches to the playback of vinyl?
James Cameron's 1989 underwater epic The Abyss FINALLY becomes available to home HD consumers, in a stunningly - albeit controversially - remastered new 4K Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos UHD package available only in the US.
Sony's hilariously misjudged expansion of the Spider-Verse continues with this lazily scripted, incompetently crafted TV pilot of a movie which teasingly teeters on the brink of being so bad it's risibly good, but mostly ends up being resoundingly worthless.
UPDATED 03-April-24 with UK pricing: The 2024 TV review season kicks off in style with our review of the 65-inch LG G4 OLED TV. Can this flagship continue where the G3 left off last year and be the Best in Class yet again? Let's find out...
Classic mid-90s courtroom drama, packed full of acting talent and introducing the world to the Edward Norton, that effortlessly entertains, it’s a shame that Paramount’s new 4K blu release will be found guilty of some of the studio’s usual crimes against ‘filmic restorations’…
Following its Oscar win, and in advance of its long overdue Amazon Prime UK bow, we take a belated look at this compelling legal drama. UPDATE - NOW ON AMAZON!
Launching as a Gravity-esque space survival flick, this new Apple TV+ Noomi Rapace sci-fi vehicle soon flashes its mystery box teeth with heady notions of quantum physics and a lot more going on under the hood than you might expect - UPDATED WITH A FULL SEASON REVIEW
Bowers & Wilkins launches 700 Series S3 Signature speakers
by Ian Collen
The new-and-improved range adds further refinements to the 702 S3 floorstander and 705 S3 standmount speakers, along with the HTM71 S3 marking the first centre to earn its illustrious Signature status.
The new True Wireless Stereo package incorporates an xMEMS Cowell speaker alongside the company’s own custom mid/bass driver, while thankfully avoiding the premium price tag of its high-end siblings.
Philips 2024 TV line-up: OLED+, MiniLED and more – all you need to know
by Ian Collen
An in-depth guide covering all of the year’s big new arrivals, including its flagship OLED+959 with second-generation MLA technology and an enhanced Ambilight system, with Philips also introducing the Titan operating system to its line-up.
Game of Thrones' David Benioff and D. B. Weiss reward Netflix's $200 million 2019 exclusivity gamble with a long overdue - and second out of the gate - adaptation of the acclaimed Chinese sci-fi novel... and it's a heady slice of likely divisive hard sci-fi.
Looking for a mains distribution system that combines hefty power delivery capability with some useful smart features? Powergrip thinks they have exactly what you need.
9
Movies & TV Shows
A Blade in the Dark 4K Blu-ray Review
by Mark Costello
Lamberto Bava’s too-gory-for-TV riff on all things Argento and De Palma is an average entry into the late Giallo cycle, which earns its keep thanks to some well executed kills. And 88 Films deliver all that blood in a really strong technical 4K package to boot…
What are the best ISP options without a long-term contract?
by Ian Collen
With one member looking to replace a monthly rolling solution, this thread weighs up some alternative internet service provider options against the recent improvements found in those longer fixed-term contracts.
The Ghosts have returned and they need a-bustin’ in Gil Kenan’s follow up to the super-charming and exceedingly lovable Afterlife…which sadly makes all the mistakes Jason Reitman’s film deftly managed to avoid…
Echoing a similar (though more console-oriented) thread from a few months back, this fresh confessional could prove tempting with more great games to potentially immerse yourself in if you have a lot of spare time on your hands.
Twisted Metal (Paramount +) Premiere TV Show Review
by Mark Costello
The PlayStation videogame franchise series NO-ONE wanted comes to UK shores nine months after a tepid US bow, but it’s probably slightly more fun than you expected it to be…
Is a dedicated DAC preferable to a streamer for Hi-Res audio?
by Ian Collen
While many of the answers to this fair question point to the latter option, this discussion also opens up some welcome recommendations and use-case solutions for getting the best sound at a sensible price.
Doug "Edge of Tomorrow" Liman may be frustrated by this going straight-to-streaming, but Jake Gyllenhaal is absolutely on board for this utterly unabashed 80s remake which totally knows its place, bringing us delicious throwback video rental beat-em-up carnage.
With an all-in fan-service-only self-assuredness, ’97 takes a decision to appeal whole-heartedly to the Millennial nostalgia which holds the original show in such high regard, recreating the feel of a thirty-year-old show as closely as possible... but is this enough?
Halo 2 the game was known for its truncated and confusing narrative, the controversial introduction of an alien playable character and more of the same of its legendary gameplay. What does Halo 2 the series have to offer? Well, after less than hour we already know it’s got a truncated episode count and features more of the same as season one…for better and for worse…UPDATED for full Season review.
Having already provided two different takes on the Borea BR03, Triangle is back again with a spec that feels tailor made for 2024. Does it deliver on the promise?