What have you watched [4K]?

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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YashN

New Member
Jun 28, 2015
951
5
0
Canada

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories on Netflix.

That's a great way to end the day with a short story revolving around people's lives in Tokyo unfolding around a new dish at the Midnight Diner late at night.

This is in Japanese and subtitled, and a great way to do some immersion in Japanese Culture. Even more immersive would be to drink some of the sake or beers they are having, and additionally, to prepare the dish and eat it with them during each episode.

Agape!
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Tom Cruise and Olga Kurylenko star in this adaptation of a Sci-Fi comic if I understand correctly.

The setting is a little barren which would be the case after an apocalypse. Very little colours in most of the settings, probably true to the comics but there's an additional blur effect in many scenes, including just the close-up of faces which I found annoying.

CGI looks really fake in some scenes where the police drone hovers above ground with inserted dust particles. I believe it's generally difficult to make good-looking CGI when we are viewing in 4K if anything in the production chain is done at lower resolution, like 2K.

The story is quite slow for a good half of it, but picks up really well.

This will be reminiscent of a couple of known SF movies and stories.

Overall, still quite enjoyable, but too bad about the overdone blurry effects and other limited colour palette as well as CGI.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Such an improbable story by Douglas Adams of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fame. You expect it to be outrageous, ludicrous and funny, and it's all that.

Within it there's a murder mystery, a sci-fi mystery and witty dialogues as well as incongruous situations.

Some of it is downright ridiculous, but overall there are some great moments in the series. I would have said this is more teen-oriented but the action and crime scenes really are for adults. Barring the violence, it could have a wide appeal.

Great to see Fiona Dourif for the first time in a hallucinated role - learned well from her father, who was cuckoo (one flew over one's nest) and in 'The Exorcist III'.

Jessica Lowndes makes a couple of appearances as well.

Season 1 finishes on a multi-situation cliff-hanger, leaving you wanting for more.
 
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YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Third series after Daredevil and Jessica Jones, before The Defenders.

It can be perceived as a little slow, but I think it's necessary to understand the main character as well as those around him, much like how some time taken in Daredevil initially, actually brings much more depth on the show later on.

There seems to be a lot of filters all around, looking way too dark or brown in 4K. This is probably to give an idea of the gloom around the story, but it is annoying when it is overdone.

Overall, Cage is a hugely powerful being, rising on to a collision course with a character quite similar to Wilson Fisk.

It is a great show to feel how it could have been like to live in Harlem. The main character has some philosophical musings on the black condition in the country and reveres original African-American heroes and martyrs of the land.

I haven't binged it, but so far, I like it better than Jessica Jones.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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The Crown - playing today in 4K and surround as I advise my girlfriend to binge it if she wants to:

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This looks like a really well-made production on Netflix. In Episode 2 today, there are scenes in Kenya and safaris. Reminds me of the time I spent there at the end of last Century.

Picture Quality is great in 4K streamed, and the surround sound is OK.

Great acting as well if you like historical and Royal biographies.

It's a series to watch together with "The King's Speech" and "The Queen".
 

NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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I really enjoyed The Crown Season One, all ten Episodes. ...In 2K.

* I have The King's Speech (2011) on Blu (2K), and I saw The Queen (2006) in 1080p as well, both some time back.
Personally, I much prefer the former of the two...'The King's Speech'.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Canada
I really enjoyed The Crown Season One, all ten Episodes. ...In 2K.

* I have The King's Speech (2011) on Blu (2K), and I saw The Queen (2006) in 1080p as well, both some time back.
Personally, I much prefer the former of the two...'The King's Speech'.

Cool, but... you must watch them in 4K :D

Yep, the King's Speech is a great movie. Classy British.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Netflix gives erroneous search results for Ultra HD and 4K.

There is something a bit shady going on with Netflix.

Recently there has been a set of new Ultra HD/4K shows added, which is great for us.

However, I have noticed odd results when searching for these titles.

I usually input 4K in the search results on the Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player, the Samsung.

If you do this, you will notice a small set of titles, but not all. Luke Cage for instance, doesn't appear.

Now, this afternoon, after preparing lunch for my girlfriend and packing some of her gifts and placing them below our little Christmas tree, I tested a few things:

I searched for Ultra HD instead. This time we get more titles, including the recent ones like The Crown or The OA and Luke Cage appears.

In both these above cases, using the Netflix app on the Samsung UHD player, The Get Down is never shown.


So I went to the web browser, which has a different interface, to do the same searches and this is what I found:

4K and Ultra HD again provide different results, a very small set one (no Luke Cage).

If, on the other hand, you click on the upper left of the screen where it says 'Explore titles related to' either 4K or Ultra HD, then you get the expanded set of titles, including Luke Cage.

Now, here's the funny thing:

1. In the Web Browser, when I browse the extended set, I also get Easy, which is supposedly a steamy movie. Haven't yet checked but I can tell that Netflix now knows how to hook people on shows by including explicit scenes from time to time, not that there's anything wrong with that.

2. I never get Easy in the Samsung app when searching for either 4K or Ultra HD.

3. The Get Down never, ever appears in the above 4 ways of searching and browsing.

Is Netflix censoring search results on the Samsung app or is it an app weakness (Easy)?

How come The Get Down isn't listed in those 4 ways of searching and browsing?

We know Netflix has a long list of genre codes that you can use to browse form the web, but so far, I haven't been able to locate one for 4K and Ultra HD that would give complete results.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Reposting from another thread as I would like to gather all the 4K viewing here:

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Directed by Denis Villeneuve who was also responsible for the very good "Prisoners" with Hugh Jackman, this thriller lives up to the hype around it.

Villeneuve's direction is solid as can be already appreciated from the opening scene, camera work somewhat reminiscent of Scott (Alien) or perhaps Fincher (Se7en).

The picture in 4K is excellent, the surroundings are not too colourful but you can't say the movie is overwhelmed by digital filters as some others are prone to be (actually the filters are there sometimes, but somehow they didn't bother me as much in this movie). Here again, be it stretches of land or roads or street traffic or character closeups, Villeneuve delivers.

The script and directing uses good pacing to install the atmosphere and provides space for the actors to do great work. Nothing is rushed and this is very welcome, apart from perhaps a couple of interactions between Blunt's character and her good friend, where the repetition and the pace seem to slow things down too much.

The music is understated but the backdrop it provides right from the very start fits very well: it is ominous.

The cast is great: Del Toro, Brolin the son, Blunt and Bernthal. Bernthal succeeds yet again, despite a very short role, to bring a lot of additional intensity to 'Sicario'.

The story is compelling but the payoff takes some time to appear. It doesn't mean that the development isn't interesting though, on the contrary. It is about the drug trade and cartels, so if you've watched 'Narcos', you'll enjoy this movie. However, although chronologically it is best to watch 'Narcos' then 'Sicario', I think I'd recommend watching 'Sicario' first then 'Narcos' if you haven't watched either, the reason being the way a cartel is evoked in 'Sicario' is powerful: it is done with awe, fear, terror and other dark sentiments in the voice, so it appears fitting to watch the movie first before then understanding how this name become so feared: the mythology of it just becomes more powerful.

I only have one more negative criticism about this movie (skip this paragraph as I wouldn't want to spoil your enjoyment) and that is about some of the protagonists being a little shallow in terms of character development. This is quite noticeable with Blunt who seems to always have the same sentiments and the same expressions throughout the movie. It's probably a result of how the script was written or the movie directed or both. But a couple of other characters also are like this, including Brolin's.

But this is a small point in an overall excellent movie. It could have been even better, but that won't make you enjoy it less at all.

The directing seems top notch most of the time and the real gem of the movie here is Del Toro, who just as Freeman in Se7en, provides a completely arresting performance despite being understated (like the music) throughout.
 
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YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Another review reposted. For some reason, the copied attachment appears briefly, then disappears.

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Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials in 4K Blu-Ray.

The sequel to the teen Sci-Fi "The Maze Runner", this movie sees the group of escapees from the 'glades' into the arms and base of their saviours, but are they really?

There are a lot of action scenes which are quite well done, and the picture can have a lot of detail as well.

However, this is one movie which suffers from 'Teal and Amber' disease.

While the first movie has an atmosphere of intrigue and of Alien civilisation with it, this one doesn't at all. I miss the mystery and dread that is "The Maze" around the glades.

Giancarlo Esposito, who was nothing short of amazing as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, makes a welcome appearance. The role doesn't provide him with much time or leeway to show his talent though.

In this movie, Kaya Scodelario's face was quite familiar, and that was because we had seen her in 'Tiger House' as well.

This sequel feels like a cross between 'The Walking Dead' and 'The Matrix' at some points.

It is an OK sequel, but not as good as the first one, it just sets up the forthcoming third leg of the series.

The series is likely to appeal to teens, not so much to adults.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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This is supposedly an Epic by Ridley Scott.

I think he has lost his touch. This movie has as back story a mythical and mystical story. It has everything initially to make a rousing Epic of God-like proportions (ah ah).

Why then does it fall short?

A few things:

- A very weak, even effeminate Pharaoh played by Edgerton, supposedly Moses' main foe. His verbalisations and expressions are disconnected and weird.

- An utterly pathetic 'gimmick' in having The I AM THAT I AM, the voice and Godly presence of the burning bush, be a kid.

- The white-washing of characters, often decried by observers perhaps?

Mind you, despite the gimmick mentioned, the very young actor playing the part is excellent.

Bale is great at his role, but also seems a little wooden or at least smaller than his character somehow, but it's probably not his fault.

Now, some of the shots are fantastic in this movie. Seeing this in 4K made us think 'how we did watch movies before 4K?'.

It's a bit colour-deprived, but the scenes with the majestic, living, breathing Egypt are amazing, other scenes are full of detail.

It's an entertaining watch, but there are a few annoying things which make it fall short of the Epic it was meant to be.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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Canada
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We watched the 4K version of The Martian last night.

It's an OK movie by Ridley Scott, not as good as his previous blockbusters, especially after you have seen movies like Gravity. There are similarities.

It's hard to watch Kristen Wiig in a movie with a serious undertone, as I love her in SNL, so I'm always reminded of her goofy mannerisms, so the first scene in which we see her, I am nearly laughing, which is not supposed to happen.

Great to see Chiwetel Ejiofor whom I discovered in Serenity where his screen presence was immense.

In this one, I discovered Mackenzie Davis, who has a very small role.

A lot of the movie elements were seemed quite caricatural to me and I found it overly long.

I thought that Gravity had more gripping moments, but there were still a few interesting ones in The Martian as well.

Would I re-watch it in 4K? Perhaps with the added benefit of HDR and more colours, just as a test, but other than that it is rather formulaic and Damon isn't too convincing as a scientist/botanist in this role. Oddly, in a segment of the movie, he isn't seen for a good while while Earth is trying to find out how to help him. It feels weird to re-connect with the main protagonist after this long pause.

Other than that, it's not a great movie for 4K: there is a distinct lack of variety of colours and perhaps even too stringent filters as the scenes on Earth seem not to have realistic skin tones, unless our TV is badly calibrated but I did calibrate it and have no issues with skin tones on other movies.

An Extended version in Ultra-HD 4K will be released soon, so the studios have also found a way of milking consumers on this platform too... Not sure we'll bother getting the new one.
 

YashN

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Jun 28, 2015
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X-Men: Apocalypse was far better-looking and more enjoyable than the so-so X-Men: Days of Future Past.

We can see the origins of some of the X-Men in this one, and the story is okay, nothing extraordinary.

McAvoy does a great job as usual, as does Fassbender, who is regularly superlative and one of the best of his generation.

The movie is let down by some odd changes of pace and timing, like closeups of people stopping to talk while there is actual chaos all around.

Overall, this feels like a reboot within the franchise (yet again?) but the 4K experience is quite thrilling.

Regarding the full X-Men series, things can get confusing here as well, since there's an alternate timeline with DOFP, and there's also an alternate view of it all if you consider the Wolverine character which is set quite apart from the others as he has his own solo movies, the most recent being Logan.
 

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