Ultra HD Blu-ray

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Mark Craven  |  Feb 16, 2018  |  0 comments

Say 'Spielbergian' and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the film that probably pops into most people's heads. On the surface, it's a simple tale of boy meets alien, boy and alien become friends, boy loses alien, but like all good flicks there's more here than mere story, from the wonderful puppet design and John Williams's spine-tingling score to the script's understanding of its childhood characters and Spielberg's deft direction. It treads a fine line between involving drama and syrupy sentimentality, though.

John Archer  |  Feb 12, 2018  |  0 comments

This crime thriller hit cinemas earlier this year like a force of nature. Writer-director Edgar Wright's combination of ultra-slick action, rocking indie soundtrack, cult characters, music-based editing and memorable dialogue came out of nowhere to persuade us that, mercifully, there are still people in Hollywood willing to take a big-budget chance on a strong script and original idea. Kudos, too, to A-listers Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Jon Hamm for recognising this tale of a reluctant but talented getaway driver as worthy of their participation.

Richard Stevenson  |  Feb 08, 2018  |  0 comments

The latest and fifth instalment in the long-running Transformers franchise re-imagines the Arthurian legend with giant robots, opens with a medieval battle sequence and heads rapidly downhill from there. It's 2 hours and 27 minutes long with what feels like 2 hours 25 minutes of relentless action. There might have been a plot, but it gets entirely lost in the unremitting battles, hackneyed characters and puddle-shallow dialogue.

Mark Craven  |  Feb 06, 2018  |  0 comments

It's been 21 years since Trainspotting cemented the reputation of director Danny Boyle and made leading man Ewan McGregor a star. Now we get a sequel, and the lengthy gap between instalments certainly works in its favour – the passage of time giving this eventual reunion of Trainspotting's four major players (Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie) plenty of narrative scope and tension.

John Archer  |  Feb 04, 2018  |  0 comments

From its tortuous attempt to incorporate an 'eight' sound into its original US title (The Fate of the Furious) to its laboured bid to shoe-horn in an old-school race and its truly bonkers finale, this eighth instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise sometimes feels like it's trying too hard. Fortunately, though, some super-slick, energetic and spectacle-driven direction from F. Gary Gray keeps your pulse rate high, while the cast are now so comfortable in their characters that they manage to inject oodles of charm into proceedings.

John Archer  |  Feb 02, 2018  |  0 comments

This 4K release of the 2005 King Kong remake carries two versions of director Peter Jackson's monkey movie: the theatrical release, and an extended cut. At 188 minutes and 200 minutes respectively they remind us of Jackson's difficulties with editing himself – and the shorter version is notably superior. However, it is beautifully shot, and features some strikingly intense set-pieces. The film also builds a genuine emotional connection with the big ape.

John Archer  |  Jan 31, 2018  |  0 comments

Ridley Scott's 2012 return to the Alien universe is perhaps the ultimate Marmite movie. And as it happens, Team HCC count themselves among the group who love this big-budget blockbuster for its uncompromising combination of visual splendour, philosophical musings and Lovecraftian horror.

John Archer  |  Jan 17, 2018  |  0 comments

For his second Guardians of the Galaxy outing, writer/director James Gunn dials down the plot and ratchets up the banter and visual pyrotechnics. While the results are hardly the sci-fi/superhero equivalent of Raging Bull, they do add up to a mountain of stupid fun, with the returning cast (Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel) – plus newcomers Kurt Russell, Pom Klementieff and Elizabeth Debicki – wise-cracking their way through a plotline encompassing family strife, living planets, deadly drones and vindictive space pirates.

Mark Craven  |  Jan 12, 2018  |  0 comments

Released last year to tie-in with the arrival in cinemas of its long-awaited sequel, Ridley Scott's Philip K. Dick adaptation starring Harrison Ford gets a 4K HDR outing. Now 35 years old, Blade Runner has lost none of its charm, even if its attempts at mixing film noir tropes with dystopian sci-fi don't always come off smoothly. Icy cool, extravagantly designed and with a spine-tingling Vangelis soundtrack, it's a film no collection should be without.

Mark Craven  |  Nov 02, 2017  |  0 comments

It's safe to say 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day caused a stir when it landed in cinemas, flaunting a massive budget and groundbreaking CGI. The resulting audience stampede saw it challenge box office records, cement James Cameron's status as Hollywood royalty and have it crowned by some as that rarest of things – a sequel superior to its forebear.

John Archer & Anton van Beek  |  Sep 18, 2017  |  0 comments

When the crew of the colony ship Covenant pick up a signal of apparently human origin in the remote depths of space, they launch an expedition to track it to its source. What they discover is a curiously Earth-like world that plays host to a familiar face and a nightmarish new breed of extraterrestrial horror.

John Archer  |  Aug 11, 2017  |  0 comments

Universal has cashed in on the recent cinematic release of its big-budget Mummy reboot by rolling out its previous Brendan Fraser Mummy trilogy (1999's The Mummy, 2001's The Mummy Returns and 2008's The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor) on 4K Blu-ray. Which reminds us that while the first film was a genuine hoot, the second was rather a mess, while the third was as much fun as snogging a desiccated corpse.

Steve May  |  Aug 08, 2017  |  0 comments

Picking up shortly after the conclusion of the first film, with a mood-setting Buster Keaton Easter egg, this high-octane sequel wastes no time putting the beat down. What unspools is an ambitious expansion of the series, in which we visit another Continental Hotel, this time in Rome, where our eponymous hero is obliged to take on another gig he really doesn't want. The themes are mythical and characters operatic, but the gun-fu is clearly inspired by the John Woo/Hong Kong action playbook (via a nod to Enter the Dragon). Insane bouts of action, juxtaposed with moments of comical civility, give the movie a sublime pace that actually makes perfect sense.

John Archer  |  Aug 03, 2017  |  0 comments

Wolverine's star turns in the X-Men movie franchise haven't exactly set the world alight so far. Mercifully, though, Logan gives the character the send off his fans have been crying out for.

Mark Craven  |  Jun 22, 2017  |  0 comments

We're not privy to the reasoning behind Universal's decision to release two Fast & Furious movies on 4K Blu-ray, and not the other five – collectors will be hoping the rest screech around the corner in due course.

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