Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. 4K film review. Warner Bros Pictures 1971. Rated U Universal for all.

what can be said about this classic that has made it's debut on 4k apart from a change in screen ratio from 166 .1 to 185.1 so some details are lost it is still a film to be admired in this format. Some are moaning it’s not the best transfer and could’ve been better, but let’s remember it was a lower budget film to begin with, it is 50 years old but in my opinion is a great transfer compared to the Blu-ray version.

Coming with a Dolby Vision transfer but only a true Dolby Hd sound transfer, which still sounds good, but an Atmos mix would’ve been lovely.

The colours in this are bright and vibrant, we have darker black levels and whiter whites, although these are great they’re not perfect. The overall colour pallet is impressive though and shines in 4K and HDR and is a great transfer, yes some critics are right it isn’t perfect, but grain levels show it is an older film with flaws, but still looks lovely rather than impressive, and if you love this film you’ll own it on 4K regardless whether it is crisp clean and perfect, because even some picture flaws this is still a perfect film.

 

Back To The Future Trilogy boxset 4K

 

Back To The Future has finally arrived on 4K and most enthusiasts have rejoiced I for once waited for the reviews to come in, and to wait till the £59.00 uk price tag to come down. Finally purchased it in December and hastily put it in my player to be completely underwhelmed by it. Crushing blacks, grain like I’ve never seen before, the chase scene at Twin Pines Mall as Marty is driving away from the terrorists was awful. To be honest I did some research on my player I was using and changed a few settings this improved the picture a little better, still not happy with picture I purchased another 4K player, better HDMI leads etc.

For a 4K movie costing me £50 has now cost me over £200 plus pounds on new equipment. 

Has it improved the experience to be honest only a little, yes this film looks brighter, some scenes do look amazing and crisp, outdoor scenes look like you’re watching a movie shot last year not 35 years ago on 35mm film. 

Other scenes especially interior ones look dreadful, with still moments of grain structure and moments of colour crushing, the blacks are a disappointment, and with other older movies such as 2001 A Space Odyssey and The Shining, Stand By Me were showcased disks in comparison.

Now is it worth the upgrade, well as a whole package yes, number 2 and 3 are greatly improved, and making the package worth the price, but still the movie most of us love is the original and best, the first instalment, which although looks great I still thought it could’ve been better on 4K and one I’ve argued with on many online sites which I’ve either had to remove myself or asked to leave for my disagreement with other fans of this movie on other 4K sites.

The final question is it worth the upgrade?

Yes but only just and to be honest if you love this movie you will upgrade it regardless of any reviews, my personal opinion it’s not the greatest transfer and certainly is not a showcase disk for the format.

3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Martian 4K review. 20TH Century Fox.

 The Martian 4K review, I had this movie in a four movie showcase boxset from 20TH Century Fox, and this was the best included in the set.

After seeing the Movie on Netflix I decided to watch the 4K disk instead and I'm glad I did, cause although the 1080p upscale on my TV looked good from Netflix it didn't prepare me for the colour pop of the HDR on the physical disk.

The Martian landscapes, the great reds and oranges pop out on-screen, the potatoes growing in the makeshift greenhouses look lush and green. The displays and buttons on displays look vibrant and detailed.

With this set you get the extended cut on 4K, and although some experts agree  the 3D version is the version to watch, the 4K is definitely the best looking this movie will look, with the best use of HDR this is a show disk to convince anyone to convert to 4K media.

Picture Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sound quality ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is it worth the upgrade.... Yes

War Of The Worlds 4k review. Paramount Pictures

The second dream collaboration of Spielberg and Cruise should've been a guaranteed success, but due to strange behaviour from Mr Cruise on the press tour of this movie and his strange behaviour on Opera declaring his love for Katie Holmes, it shadowed the movie, and Paramount cancellation of Cruise's picture deals. 

Shame as this is a great movie, one of Cruise's better performances, unfortunately never shown the love on home media, with an okay picture quality on DVD to a washed out dreadful looking Blu-ray release, we heard that a 4K release would be available and would it be better, well I can say yes it is.

For grain haters this film is full of grain, but picture quality is stunning, it still maintains a strange colour palette, but nighttime scenes where most of this film is set looks great,  the basement scene later on has great amount of detail. The opening attacks look amazing with humans turning into dust clouds seeing every grain of dust on Cruise's jacket. 

The sound mix is the most impressive for me, one that will annoy most neighbors with the booming sounds of the aliens, with a great bass mix, being one of the better movies I've heard on my sound system. With great sound, a great quality picture with a great full screen 16/9 ration although this is not a demo quantity disk, it is the best this film has looked and sounds on home media.

Picture quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sound quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is it worth the upgrade.... Yes.

Midway 4K review 2019, Liongate releasing.

Midway is a film I really wanted to like, I won't go into plot details but rather talk about picture quality.

This is my first disappointment with a 4K UHD title, a film that should've shined on a 4K enabled TV but spectacularly fails. With artificially added grain to make this look like an older film, to shoddy and soft looking CGI effects. The HDR usage is far too strong on this movie with explosions and bullets so bright orange and reds popping on-screen, to over saturation of colours especially whites being far too white, and blacks that were disappointing. It could be my set-up, but I tried every contrast setting, and film settings on my TV and the only time this movie looked good is with HDR turned off.

Picture Quality ⭐⭐⭐

Sound Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is it worth the upgrade... No.

The Dark Knight 4k review. Warner Bros Home Video.

The Dark Knight 4K review.

This film astounded me on how amazing the picture quality is. The blacks are inky, the colours pop out on screen, HDR certainly does it job well on this transfer. The IMAX shot scenes are the standouts though with full screen goodness of colour pop and perfect picture quality, your 4K TV will thank you when you see Bruce Wayne's boat in the ocean, or the opening heist scene with the clown masks showing so much detail and clarity, to the street showdown of Batman Vs The Joker.

We all know this is a five star movie anyway but I cannot repeat enough that if you have a 4K TV please buy this title, it is a must and a show disk to anyone who needs convincing on buying a 4K setup.

Picture Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sound Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Is it worth the upgrade... Yes.