New to Blu Ray is our monthly look at the latest Blu Ray releases. This month we look at some new action, comedy, horror and cable TV releases.
Lionsgate classic action releases: Running Man, Drop Zone, The Phantom and Hard Rain
Interesting what Lionsgate got their hands on. I knew they got Running Man as part of their claim to old Arnold movies (they also got Terminator 2, Total Recall and Red Heat as separate releases). But now they’ve got three Paramount movies too.
The Running Man looks filmy. There’s an overall softness and some grain, but it’s clear. There are some good close-ups and you’ll see occasional details, but even in the prison factory and game zones, only close-ups focus on any details. There’s no super grit. The matte painting of the future city totally holds up, there is some shiny slickness and the flames are nice and bright.
Drop Zone looks like a Paramount transfer, comparable to the movies the studio releases themselves. It’s clear enough to see how scratched up and dirty the print they transferred is, but that’s not uncommon over there. Despite the lackluster print, the film is otherwise clear, sharp and crisp. There are speckles in some scenes because it seems they just didn’t care about keeping the transfer consistent, but for a largely forgotten movie, a fan is lucky to see the packed detail in the Florida environment and colorful scenery of the skydiving jumps.
The Phantom is about the same as Drop Zone, thought it is a cleaner print. There are some good jungles, animals, cave lairs. Then there are also grainy fuzzes in dark scenes.
Hard Rain, one of my personal favorites, fairs better than Drop Zone because it too is a clean print, and maybe a bit worse than The Phantom unfortunately because it’s dark and rainy the whole time, so it fizzles. You do see gritty detail in the dam, the soaked town and gritty action faces. The ocean of water flooding town streets is full of detail and a lot of the movie shines and glistens with the water. You see the grit of rusty, rocky, peeling scenery and it does clear up in the bright light. There is some light highlighting colors in the water.
Smoking Aces
This movie seems to have been shot on extra saturated gritty film stock. It’s crisp and sharp on Blu Ray, but it’s glowing color so it’s not reality, and it hides a good deal of the detail. You’ll see the scruff of rugged guys and the torn up settings, and some porous close-ups, but not all of the criminal grit.
It is a damn colorful film though, from Vegas to Tahoe, casinos, stage shows and hotel suites. It’s a gritty color thanks to the saturated stock. Some of the Tahoe vistas are pretty, and the end credit artist renderings look cool. The frame does fill with carnage to see in HD and the whole movie holds up. There are no transfer errors.
