Fully Immersed, Volume 20
When it comes to box office choices, the past few weeks have been an embarassment of riches for movie fans. Spielberg brought Ernest Cline's geektastic Ready Player One to the big screen. Earth's mightiest heroes are currently taking the world by storm in Avengers: Infinity War. And let's not forget the stunning work by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt in A Quiet Place, a delightfully effective film I cannot wait to listen to at home, ironically enough. On the Blu-ray and Ultra HD front, we're only a week away from Black Panther hitting store shelves alongside a number of top shelf catalog titles which have received video and audio updates for their 4K debuts. Here's but a few immersive audio titles recently released or coming soon:
I plan to cover at least a few of the above titles soon. Until then, here's what I've listened to most recently...
Knowing 4K
Lionsgate | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on 4K UHD only
Scanning through Nick Cage's filmography on IMDb, one thing is abundantly clear: the guy stays busy. Granted, an increasing percentage of his films go straight to video, but plenty of them still make it to the multiplex - such as Alex Proyas' Knowing, where Cage plays an M.I.T. professor dealing with a set of eerily accurate predictions recently unearthed in a grade school time capsule. One of Cage's better efforts in recent years, Knowing is a largely dialogue-driven thriller, but there are several large-scale disasters during the film's second half which take full advantage of Lionsgate's surprising new Dolby Atmos soundtrack created for this 4K release. The plane crash is the sonic standout in the film, rendered here with terrifying energy and a convincing sense of immersion. Just as compelling though are the more subtle details, such as the whispering voices heard by the children throughout the film, which seem to hover around and directly above the listener.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure 4K
Fox | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on 4K UHD only
The Maze Runner trilogy of films hasn't exactly set the world on fire. To understand why that is, I turned to my 14-year-old son, a member of the primary target demographic for both the films and the Y.A. series of books on which the films are based. (He's read all the books, too.) "Just like the books, things just got kinda silly and boring after the first one. The first one was good though." Personally, I haven't read the books, but his review seems pretty spot-on for the films. Fox brings the third and final film to disc, once again opting to offer the Dolby Atmos soundtrack exclusively on the 4K release. Grr. If nothing else, The Death Cure at least sounds fantastic. For evidence, look no further than the gangbusters opening scene, a Fast and the Furious meets Mad Max train car heist. This thrilling pre-title sequence features terrific surround directionality and a helicopter slash Harrier jet, which often soars past and hovers thunderously overhead. Wicked.
Paddington 2
Warner | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on Blu-ray
When confronted by a film about an animated bear adorned with a smart, blue coat and a little red hat - a bear who uses his entire body to wash windows when he isn't busy savoring marmalade sandwiches - you do run the considerable risk of saccharine overload. Yet somehow, against all odds, Paddington 2 avoids this trap. Instead, it is one of the sweetest, most good-natured and grin-inducing films in recent memory - and it achieves this without being completely devoid of edge. (Fun fact: Paddington 2 is also a prison drama.) Improving upon its capable predecessor in every way, Paddington 2 also boasts a superior soundtrack, thanks to the Dolby Atmos track Warner brings to Blu-ray. Like the film, this Atmos soundtrack is full, engaging, and well-rounded without being overbearing. The surround and overhead channels complement the mains rather than draw attention to themselves, though there is one particularly fun sonic moment as the camera moves the viewer through and underneath the spinning gears of a clock tower. Fun stuff. Paddington 2 earns my highest recommendation.
Source Code 4K
Lionsgate | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on 4K UHD only
Writing a spoiler-free review of a Duncan Jones sci-fi film is incredibly difficult. Last weekend, I happened to catch Moon for the first time. You remember, that's the one-man-show featuring Sam Rockwell working by himself at a moon base when... I can't tell you the rest without spoiling it. In Source Code, we've got Jake Gyllenhaal in a race against time on a commuter train where a terrorist has planted a bomb... and I can't tell you the rest without spoiling it. Like Moon, Source Code is a smart, thought-provoking slice of adult entertainment and it's best to go in cold without watching the trailer or reading any plot summaries. Hats off to Lionsgate for giving Source Code a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack for its 4K debut. The film's numerous explosions definitely benefit from the height channels and the sound field just sounds bigger than before. An exception is the handful of scenes in a setting I can't talk about, where the overhead channels are used to more effectively confine the viewer and add to the character's panicked sense of claustrophobia.
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