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Geek Vibes Nation
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'Until Dawn' 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review - A Gory, Cyclical Nightmare
One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. Trapped in the valley, they're forced to relive the night again and again – only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realizes they have a limited number of deaths left, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn. For in-depth thoughts on Until Dawn, please see my colleague Cody Allen's review from its original theatrical release here. Video Quality The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Until Dawn offers a minor but valuable uptick in quality over the already impressive accompanying Blu-Ray. The HDR/Dolby Vision expands the range of the color spectrum to impressive heights when it comes to accuracy and depth. This 4K presentation excels when it comes to the balance of the contrast. Dolby Vision allows for a much healthier command of these differences within the frame with greater depth and finer delineation. Black levels stay deep and inky with exceptional detail even in the intense shadows. The highlights in the film are likewise firmly defined with whites pure and balanced and no instances of blooming at play. This is a key benefit when it comes to this format. In terms of color reproduction, you could not ask for more. Elements of the lighting throughout the visitor center radiate off the screen with impressive resonance. Some of the clothing and elements of the production design are accompanied by noteworthy splashes of color to keep things from becoming overly gloomy. Skin tones appear a touch more natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as makeup. Fine detail is in great shape with the texture of costumes and within the background impeccably defined. The visual effects are decent for what they are trying to accomplish. Sony has delivered another knockout transfer on this latest 4K release. Audio Quality This 4K UHD Blu-Ray utilizes a Dolby Atmos track that gives the narrative the sonic complexity it deserves. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting clipped by the music or sound effects. The score does a nice job of setting the mood as it effectively saturates the room. Despite not being an action-packed outing, nearly all of the surround speakers make themselves known throughout from the expository moments to horrific confrontations. The implementation of the height channels is commendably unsettling at times as the environment becomes very immersive and lived-in. The effects in the low end from the subwoofer give moments the perfect amount of texture. Atmospheric sound effects are deftly rendered within the mix so that directionality is never in question. Until Dawn has been provided a track that effortlessly achieves its sonic ambitions. Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and a plethora of additional subtitles are provided. Special Features Audio Commentary: Director David F. Sandberg & Producer Lotta Losten provide an informative commentary track in which they discuss the production of the film, how they achieved certain shots, fun Easter Eggs in the film, challenges that needed to be overcome, working with the performers, and more. Adapting A Nightmare: A nearly three-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the concept, the fun of the video game world, expanding the narrative for a feature film, and more. Practical Terrors: A nearly three-minute look at the drive to keep things as practical as possible to maintain a sense of realism. Death-Defying Cast: A three-minute exploration of the characters and the performers who bring them to life, the qualities they bring to the screen, the bonding on set, and more. Deleted Scenes: A 37-minute collection of unused material is provided here, including an alternate opening, alternate ending, extended sequences, and more. Previews Final Thoughts Until Dawn is a video game adaptation that, by most accounts, seems to be dead set on alienating most of its original fan base. As someone who has never played the game nor even heard whispers of what it is about, it does not feel like a great betrayal to me that this feature apparently strays so far from the source material. What I experienced was a surprisingly gory and visceral horror movie with a creative premise executed with a good amount of skill and a mostly likable ensemble. The conceit does become a bit tedious in spots, but it keeps things fresh with creative obstacles and gloriously over-the-top deaths. In terms of studio-backed horror films, this is a pretty fun surprise. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a decent assortment of special features. If you are not married to the gaming lore, give this a shot. Recommended Until Dawn is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital. Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray. Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Geek Vibes Nation
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'Rounding' Blu-Ray Review - Medical Horror Film Conjures Psychological Torment
After a traumatic incident, a driven young medical resident transfers to a rural hospital for a fresh start, but the demons of his past start to catch up to him when he becomes consumed by the case of a patient with mysterious symptoms. Director Alex Thompson assembles a strong ensemble of veteran character actors in this humanist and unconventional genre vision. For in-depth thoughts on Rounding, please see my colleague Cody Allen's review from its original theatrical release here. Video Quality Rounding arrives on Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that provides an ideal viewing experience. This is a visually dynamic film with haunting shots where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The transfer retains the intended claustrophobic look where subtle elements of the costumes and production design are able to come through. The skin tones and makeup look very detailed and natural throughout. The film is not bursting with bold colors, but the hues in some of the design elements stand out in a welcome way. This film uses lighting deliberately as it establishes the mood of the locales to conjure tension. The highlights are handled beautifully, along with the deep blacks that do not appear to falter with any compression artifacts. This presentation represents this film to great effect. Audio Quality The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that deftly handles the creepy soundscape introduced here. The environmental effects create a really haunting experience that believably realizes the world. This is not a particularly kinetic film, but activity in the low end is handled well thanks to the music and some key developments. The film uses the score in really notable ways that fill the room with grand fidelity. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear without ever being covered up by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is just as precisely deployed as the on-screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. This track accomplished everything that is asked of it. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided. Special Features Audio Commentary: Director Alex Thompson and editor Mike Smith provide an informative commentary track in which they give background details on how they brought the film together, memories from the production, the shooting locations, the movement of the camera, and more. Behind The Scenes of Rounding: A 16-minute featurette that takes a look at the story, the dynamics between the characters, the themes of the narrative, the performances, and more. Interviews: A selection of interviews featured in the above featurette is provided in an extended form. Director Alex Thompson (5:13) Co-Writer Christopher Thompson (4:20) Namir Smallwood (3:42) Sidney Flanigan (2:26) Michael Potts (2:49) Deleted Scenes: A five-minute selection of unused material is provided in a slightly unfinished form. Outtakes: A six-minute collection of unused takes is provided. Theatrical Trailer (1:34) Final Thoughts Rounding examines the psychological toll that the medical field takes on professionals, manifested through a genre lens. Hardcore horror fans may come away underwhelmed by the lack of overt scares, but there is enough body horror and psychological torment to make your skin crawl. The screenplay is a bit underdeveloped in terms of revealing motivations and shoring up dangling narrative threads, keeping the film from reaching its full potential. Even with its flaws, it is worth diving into the mental spiral. Music Box Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and a worthy assortment of special features. Recommended Rounding is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome. Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray. Disclaimer: Music Box Films Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
New York Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Guardians' meager offense: Kwan and José and then hope and pray
CLEVELAND — One afternoon in September 2013, Cleveland's pitchers roamed the outfield grass during batting practice. So, too, did a chicken. Depending on whom you ask, it was either Corey Kluber or Justin Masterson who decided to convert the outfield into fowl territory, the master plan to boost morale after a rough road trip that threatened the team's postseason chances. Advertisement The chicken, though, became part of the team's identity (and part of reliever Cody Allen's responsibilities. It also helped cement 'Chicken Al' as Allen's nickname). It sparked a 20-6 finish and a Wild Card berth, a momentous end to Terry Francona's first year at the helm. Anything can jump-start a turnaround. You just need the turnaround to unfold, and then you can go back and conveniently identify the turning point. It feels as though the 2025 Cleveland Guardians have been sitting back and waiting for a hot stretch to appear. If only it were that simple. Perhaps they need some poultry. Maybe the catalyst will be Will Wilson's sacrifice bunt attempt Sunday, a tapper that trickled halfway up the left side of the infield grass and, thanks to an error, resulted in a go-ahead run and Wilson's reaching second. The Guardians can't be picky about how they score. The sac bunt vaulted Cleveland to a series sweep-avoiding victory. The Guardians are 34-30, and yet, for much of the season, it's been an uninspiring brand of baseball to consume. The starting pitching is trending in the right direction. That's the strength of the team. The back end of the bullpen remains ever-reliable, too. But the offense … where do we begin? Let's start here: José Ramírez is a few months from turning 33 years old. Fortunately for the Guardians, he's showing no signs of slowing down. He boasts a .333/.392/.556 slash line, steals bases daily and has shaken off a rough few weeks defensively with what might be the best stretch of glovework of his career. However, one of the best position players in club history is starring for an offense that's on pace to finish at or below league average, in terms of run creation, for the seventh straight season. That's a lot of heavy lifting by the 5-foot-8 third baseman. It's a prolonged failure to construct a competent lineup around a guy who does everything exceptionally well. And this season's dud is perhaps the most head-scratching iteration. Nothing about this offense screams 'This team was one step away from the World Series eight months ago.' Here's where the Guardians ranked at various positions, by wRC+, entering play Sunday: (wRC+ measures a player or team's total offensive output relative to the rest of the league, with 100 being league average) Center field: 30th out of 30 teams (35 wRC+, miles behind 29th place) Right field: 29th out of 30 teams (42 wRC+, miles behind 28th place) Shortstop: 29th out of 30 teams (45 wRC+) Catcher: 24th out of 30 teams (73 wRC+) Advertisement These aren't new issues, by the way. Here's the club's production over the last 15 years: Center field: 29th out of 30 teams Right field: 26th out of 30 teams Catcher: 26th out of 30 teams (and 30th over the last 10 years) Their offensive identity might as well be 'Kwan and José and then hope and pray.' The Guardians rank second in offensive production at third base (Ramírez), left field (Steven Kwan) and second base, where Daniel Schneemann has been a savior. Cleveland ranks in the top half of the league in output at first base and designated hitter. So, truly, if the Guardians didn't have putrid production at all four of the other spots — if the production was even average, or slightly below — this lineup could be somewhat imposing. But, well, that hasn't happened, and the Guardians have been slow to act on their deficiencies. They finally swapped Jhonkensy Noel for Johnathan Rodriguez on Sunday, though manager Stephen Vogt cautioned Rodriguez still has some progress to make on swing changes he was implementing at Triple A. The Guardians have acknowledged they did Noel no favors by pigeonholing him into a platoon role during a lengthy stretch in which the club faced few left-handed pitchers. Noel's numbers were gruesome; since Sept. 3, 2024, including the postseason, he owns a .126/.169/.210 slash line, with 57 strikeouts in 167 at-bats. 'You feel like you have to go 5-for-4 every time you play,' Vogt said Sunday morning. 'It's one of those things that, you start to put pressure on yourself. We have conversations with our guys all the time about this. We do our best to keep them in a good mental headspace. But there's nothing that can help when you're struggling and you're down on yourself and you put more pressure on yourself to be perfect. It's a really tough role.' Advertisement And yet, they kept trotting him out there in that capacity. Noel and Nolan Jones seemed primed to, at minimum, hit for a bunch of power, but in 10 weeks as a right-field tandem, they totaled four homers. Their combined .257 slugging percentage would rank as the second worst for any qualified hitter in baseball. Among those with at least 100 plate appearances, Noel's wRC+ of 4 (meaning he's 96 percent worse than league average) is 18 percent worse than the league's second-worst hitter. Vogt has said, since taking the job, he loathes the word 'platoon,' but the Guardians sure are reliant on them. They lead the league in platoon advantage, 9 percent more than any other team. Perhaps they're too reliant on finding opposite-handed matchups. Maybe Schneemann or Kyle Manzardo or Jones deserves a chance against lefties, especially given the lack of enticing alternatives on the bench. All of the timeshares don't seem to be doing anyone favors. Schneemann, the 1,003rd pick of the draft in 2018, had reached a dead end at Double A 2 1/2 years ago before he overhauled his swing. Now, he's the one bright example from the organization's middle-infield stockpile. That's both a salute to Schneemann, who has rescued the Guardians on numerous occasions this season, and an indictment on the organization's continued struggle to develop hitters. Maybe the wildest part of all of this: The Guardians might not be that far off, in terms of American League relevance. The top teams in a wide-open AL seem to be the Detroit Tigers, the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. The Guardians have hung with all three in recent weeks. They look like they're simply a couple of bats short. Those bats might have to come from the farm. They need to see what C.J. Kayfus and Chase DeLauter can provide. When Juan Brito is healthy, he should receive some attention, too. But the Guardians never should have positioned themselves to be banking on prospects making a midsummer arrival to bail out their lackluster lineup. They have a self-inflicted minuscule margin for error, not helped by a winter priority list that perplexingly included no means of upgrading the offense. Ramírez is, once again, performing like an MVP candidate. (Unfortunately for him, in a league where Aaron Judge is a pitcher-torching android.) But there's only so much one player can do. His production should be fueling a team that has obvious designs to push past where its season fizzled last fall. The Guardians reached the final four in October and wield one of the league's better farm systems. Right now, they're not enjoying the fruits of either. Vogt, of course, is confident a turnaround is on the horizon. Advertisement 'Our offense, we've struggled,' Vogt said over the weekend. 'We've struggled to score runs, especially early. We've done a great job getting to bullpens. We've struggled to score off starting pitching, and we're well aware of it. … We're still learning. We're still developing. I love where this offense is headed. We're headed in the right direction.' They might just be one live chicken away from making that a reality. (Top photo of Steven Kwan: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)
Geek Vibes Nation
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'The Woman In The Yard' Blu-Ray Review - Psychological Horror Film Tackles The Lingering Nature Of Grief
'When the sun is bright and the wind is still, she comes to you like a sudden chill. Draped in black from head to toe, how she got there, you'll never know.' With that cryptic warning, an otherworldly woman sends a family into a seemingly inescapable nightmare. Already grieving the death of her husband, Ramona faces a new fear when this mysterious figure appears outside her farmhouse. With the woman continually creeping closer, Ramona must protect her children from the chilling grasp of this haunting entity whose unknown intentions are anything but peaceful. From Blumhouse, producers of The Invisible Man and The Black Phone. For in-depth thoughts on The Woman In The Yard, please see my colleague Cody Allen's review from its original theatrical release here. Video Quality The Woman In The Yard arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment with a wonderful AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Despite the darker thematic exploration, the cinematography on display has moments of brilliant luminance to complement some of the shadowy interiors. There are notable opportunities for vibrant colors to pop off the screen with the surrounding environment never failing to amaze. The color palette accurately showcases elements of the clothing and production design. The level of detail in this presentation remains as exquisite as ever, as all of the subtle aspects of the costumes and set design are crystal clear. Skin tones appear consistent across the entire cast with even the most minor facial details on display. The strong black levels are a major benefit as they allow for a pleasing amount of detail in shadows. The bright highlights during the day do not stumble with any blooming in this presentation. There are no exceptional instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable here. This Blu-Ray is top-notch as Universal maintains its high standards Audio Quality The Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track is chillingly effective, and it never lacks when asked to deliver something unnerving. The movie uses environmental sounds to ideal effect, and the track retains precise detail even in the more unwieldy developments. Dialogue comes through clearly with none of the information feeling overshadowed by parallel elements. The soundscape on display here is complex with a nuanced design from beginning to end. Despite being a more talky affair, the film knows when to come alive with thrills that dig deep. All of the effects have a noble sense of direction within the mix with noises in the house prickling up your spine. The soundtrack and score are first-rate without being too overbearing to the competing elements. The track does everything it needs to. Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are provided. Special Features Making The Woman In The Yard: An eight-minute piece in which the cast and creative team discuss the motivations behind bringing this story to the screen, finding the right performers for these characters, the themes that are explored, the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra, and more. Beneath The Veil: A five-minute look at the titular woman terrifying our protagonist and what she represents. Final Thoughts The Woman In The Yard is a psychological horror film that will frustrate many but is likely to hit home for those who have experienced loss or have survived a particularly tough time mentally. The script is overly impressed with itself at times, yet it does traverse some material that packs a surprising amount of depth for the type of horror movie it is marketed as. Any stumbling blocks are made less abrasive thanks to the powerful performance from Danielle Deadwyler and stunning cinematography from Pawel Pogorzelski. The current era of grief horror can be a bit exhausting, but this one is executed very well in a way that sticks with you. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a grand A/V presentation and a small selection of special features. Recommended The Woman In The Yard is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital. Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray. Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two fallen officers honored in annual memorial ceremony
ST. LOUIS – On Saturday, two fallen officers will be honored for their ultimate sacrifice. Independence Police Officer Cody Allen and St. Louis Police Officer David Lee will be remembered during the annual Missouri State Law Enforcement Memorial in Jefferson City. Officer Allen was shot and killed while serving an eviction notice in February of last year. Officer Lee was struck and killed while working a crash on I-70 in September. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. with remarks from Governor Mike Kehoe and Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
