Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) (Disney+) Movie Review
by Cas Harlow
The concert epic that shook the blockbuster landscape to the tune of a quarter of a billion, Eras is a thoroughly grand and impressively choreographed celebration of the sheer star power of Taylor Swift.
LG 2024 TV line-up: From OLED to QNED – everything you need to know
by Ian Collen
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.
Samsung’s flagship soundbars have for generations now delivered the most immersive audio performances in the soundbar world with their huge amounts of power, four components (including real rear speakers) and massive channel counts. So, can Samsung’s new HW-Q990D - which sticks again at 16 channels - keep the improvements coming?
Continuing her run of Netflix starring vehicles, Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown takes on a competently designed CG dragon in a flabby, frivolous piece of perfectly tolerable night-in entertainment.
Starman (Columbia Classics Vol. 4) 4K Blu-ray Review
by Mark Costello
John Carpenter’s most emotional film still radiates charm and warmth despite its underlying tone of sadness and loss. And it's all the more beautiful on this stunning new 4K restoration from Sony as part of their ongoing Columbia Classics boxsets…
This long-awaited sequel to the 2020 remake of the original classic RPG adds a fresh twist, both in terms of its storyline and gameplay, but can it live up to the weight of expectation?
A loose adaptation of Alasdair Gray's novel, Poor Things is a perfect confluence of art and message, idea and execution, writing and design, Yorgos Lanthimos follows up his Oscar winning film 'The Favourite' with a bona fide masterpiece. UPDATE - Now on Disney+ in 4KDV/DA
Left to languish on Netflix’s shelves for three years after its completion, Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan’s trip to just a couple of clicks on past Solaris is an admirable failure that may find a second life as a cure for arachnophobia…
A Holiday Special of a Marvel movie, it's unsurprising to find the 33rd MCU entry amidst the three lowest rated, and once again Disney display a complete disdain towards the very physical media that might help this flop break even, releasing it on 4K HDR after its streaming bow, and without the Disney+ trappings of Dolby Vision and IMAX Enhancement.
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.
Disney+ confirms ad-supported pricing tier for UK and Europe
by Ian Collen
If you were an early adopter of Disney+ when it launched back in March 2020, the chances are you’ll be receiving your annual subscription renewal notification around this time - and it’ll be a little more than the original £49.99 introductory offer.
The bland and watered down sequel to its more grown-up predecessor, Conan the Destroyer delivers more effects driven set pieces, more humour and less of absolutely everything else. Including quality. It doesn’t stop Arrow from delivering another superb 4K presentation and solid roster of supplemental features for its new UHD release…
The brilliantly brutal sword and sorcery romp that kick started Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ruling of 1980s Hollywood is given a lavish and superb 4K presentation and release from the US arm of Arrow Video…
Ad-supported Amazon Prime Video loses Dolby Vision and Atmos
by Ian Collen
With numerous members reporting the loss since the additional ‘Prime Video Ad Free’ charge was introduced, it's looking like you'll now need to pay the premium price for that premium Dolby content.
With 11 channels of 140W amplification and the capacity to process
13.4-channel audio, the new AVR is set to jump to the top of the series, featuring support for 8K video, Dolby Atmos, and more.
One of the finest pure action movies of all time, Gareth Evans' 2011 breakthrough assaulted audiences upon release, but gets an utterly unexpected new lease of life courtesy of the kind of complete-makeover 4K remaster nobody ever expected it to get.
Charlie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" Kaufman writes a Dreamworks animation for Netflix based on a kid's book about confronting your worst fears?
Matthew Vaughn returns with a typically decadent style explosion that doesn’t know what it wants to be other than absolutely everything for absolutely everybody…
Video game sensation gets big screen adaptation…we all know how this goes, right? But the latest from the Blumhouse production line is both exactly and nothing like what you expect it to be…so is checking it out on Universal’s new 4K release as much a terrible idea as you first may have thought?
Messrs Spielberg and Hanks return to the epic WWII mini-series twenty-three years after Band of Brothers ushered in a new era of event TV, only this time they take to the skies, following the 100th Bomb Group as they take the fight to Germany…
The 11.4-channel model can deliver up to 205W per channel, catering for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround, as well as 8K UHD.
Home AV
Philips reveals new soundbars and headphones for 2024
by Ian Collen
The Dolby Atmos-friendly B6309 heads three new bars promising big things in small packages, while a trio of headphone options aim for precision audio both at home and on the GO.
Reacher's back! The poster of his back exclaims, in perfect tone with the character, and boy is he, with a fabulous kick-start to Amazon's TV show adaptation of the 11th book, Bad Luck and Trouble. UPDATED FOR FULL SEASON REVIEW.
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Home AV
SVS unveils Ultra Evolution speaker series
by Ian Collen
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.
Derivative but effective, Gareth "Rogue One" Edwards' understated sci-fi gem does everything that Snyder's Rebel Moon couldn't, fashioning familiar elements into a pretty compelling new whole.
For All Mankind Season 4 (Apple TV+) TV Show Review
by Cas Harlow
Apple's finest flagship show lands with another deep impact opener, affording a glimpse at what will undoubtedly be another memorable season of this tremendous alternate sci-fi series - UPDATED FOR FULL SEASON REVIEW.
Marvel's new standalone "Spotlight" brand kick-starts with a show that absolutely requires you to have boatloads of previous knowledge, enjoying a decent anti-hero action lead and elevated no end by Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin - UPDATED FOR FULL SEASON.
TCL unveils new miniLED TVs plus Dolby Atmos soundbars at CES 2024
by Andy Bassett
UPDATED 12-Jan-2024: TCL takes its miniLED TVs very seriously indeed and used CES 2024 as a launch pad for a number of expanded and enhanced models alongside new Dolby Atmos soundbars.
Panasonic announces new flagship OLEDs with Fire TV
by Ian Collen
The Z95A and Z93A feature Master OLED panels, with the former implementing MLA technology and both using the new-and-improved HCX Pro AI Processor MKII.
Sharp adds new audio products to home cinema line-up at CES 2024
by Andy Bassett
Sharp expands its home cinema audio options with three new devices that support Dolby Atmos including a compact soundbar which launches alongside surround speakers and a subwoofer that debut the company’s AQUOS Wireless Surround technology.
The harrowing and terrifying yet spiritually uplifting telling of a true tale that belies as well as embodies what it means to be human is a cinematic masterclass from director J.A. Bayona.
Slow Horses: Season 3 - Real Tigers (Apple TV+) TV Show Review
by Cas Harlow
Apple's gloriously grungy spy show returns for its third season in two years, with Gary Oldman still flatulating his way around being the best spy that nobody ever noticed - UPDATED for full review.
Martin Dew reviews Lyngdorf’s MP-50 12-channel preamp/processor after living with it for nearly three years. A long-term test, we might call it. Does an elevation to the world of high-end home cinema processors really make a difference in performance terms?
The film from Hollywood icon James Dean that fully cemented his mythical legacy is a surprisingly nuanced look at the ever-present generational gap that continues to permeate so much of our culture nearly 70 years later. And on WB's 4K restoration, Dean’s star shines brighter and bolder than it has before…
Fashioned from an impossible set of seemingly incongruous ingredients, Young Guns is a cracking Western that earns a stateside 4K release that you may just want to consider importing...