- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,429
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I had seen the trailer for Jungle Cruise, and was prepared to dislike it.
While Emily Blunt is a talent, and in this film, great fun to watch, I've never been a fan of Mr. Johnson's work, although the fact that his films make money cannot be denied.
As I watched it, it was obvious that the basic storyline had ended up far from the Disney theme park ride. Theme park rides, like video games are creatures of a different type when they become films, and while some can work out nicely - think those pirate pictures, others are less fortunate.
I was thinking the obvious - The African Queen, especially with the connection to the Germans during the Great War, but also the likes of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (now owned by Disney) as well as Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. It's seems that those behind the story and screenplay have a knowledge and appreciated of cinema's past.
As a 4k UHD disc with HDR, and with a track in Dolby Atmos - which pin-points certain aspects of the track around you - it's a rather gorgeous affair. Shot digitally, and with all of its effects, including some less than stellar animals nicely layered in, it all works nicely.
Production design is meticulous and beautiful.
So in the end, I'm please that I gave it a try.
I should also mention that yesterday was my annual home theater checkup, with the incomparable Kevin Miller re-calibrating my gear and adding the latest firmware updates to the JVC projector, which now handled HDR on a frame by frame basis. It's a major upgrade.
I also had my Sony OLED checked, and learned that Sony, like LG, so do not have automatic switching in their software for Dolby Vision and HDR.
What this means, is that when Dolby Vision programming is detected, while the set goes into hyper-brightness mode, it does not affect the overall picture mode, which leaves the basic setup ready, willing and able to make the likes of The Voice look its best.
This does not help 4k / HDR / DV programming however, and seems a rather stupid oversight.
After the re-cal, I also double-checked Kane, and found no increase in quality.
But for Jungle Cruise, which has been meticulously taken to 4k UHD Blu-ray, the new firmware does it thing, adding to a magnificent presentation, with gorgeous color, rich detail and great blacks.
Bottom line, Jungle Cruise is a nice way to spend a couple of hours, during which you don't need to think. But it makes me miss the likes of Robert Bolt.
Image – 5 (HDR)
Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Makes use of and works well in 4k - 5
Recommended
RAH
While Emily Blunt is a talent, and in this film, great fun to watch, I've never been a fan of Mr. Johnson's work, although the fact that his films make money cannot be denied.
As I watched it, it was obvious that the basic storyline had ended up far from the Disney theme park ride. Theme park rides, like video games are creatures of a different type when they become films, and while some can work out nicely - think those pirate pictures, others are less fortunate.
I was thinking the obvious - The African Queen, especially with the connection to the Germans during the Great War, but also the likes of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (now owned by Disney) as well as Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. It's seems that those behind the story and screenplay have a knowledge and appreciated of cinema's past.
As a 4k UHD disc with HDR, and with a track in Dolby Atmos - which pin-points certain aspects of the track around you - it's a rather gorgeous affair. Shot digitally, and with all of its effects, including some less than stellar animals nicely layered in, it all works nicely.
Production design is meticulous and beautiful.
So in the end, I'm please that I gave it a try.
I should also mention that yesterday was my annual home theater checkup, with the incomparable Kevin Miller re-calibrating my gear and adding the latest firmware updates to the JVC projector, which now handled HDR on a frame by frame basis. It's a major upgrade.
I also had my Sony OLED checked, and learned that Sony, like LG, so do not have automatic switching in their software for Dolby Vision and HDR.
What this means, is that when Dolby Vision programming is detected, while the set goes into hyper-brightness mode, it does not affect the overall picture mode, which leaves the basic setup ready, willing and able to make the likes of The Voice look its best.
This does not help 4k / HDR / DV programming however, and seems a rather stupid oversight.
After the re-cal, I also double-checked Kane, and found no increase in quality.
But for Jungle Cruise, which has been meticulously taken to 4k UHD Blu-ray, the new firmware does it thing, adding to a magnificent presentation, with gorgeous color, rich detail and great blacks.
Bottom line, Jungle Cruise is a nice way to spend a couple of hours, during which you don't need to think. But it makes me miss the likes of Robert Bolt.
Image – 5 (HDR)
Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors - Yes
Makes use of and works well in 4k - 5
Recommended
RAH
