Jacob Thorley

I never watched horror movies when I was younger & over the years I’ve grown to love them, so I’m jumping on the bandwagon of October film recommendations. These are just movies I like, not all will be for everyone, so have fun & don’t take it so personally. A few days late so:

The Odyssey is one of the most frustrating 4K releases I've watched in a long time because parts of it look absolutely incredible. What stood out to me most was just how good Christopher Nolan's photography can look on 4K Blu-ray. The movie was shot entirely on IMAX film, and there are scenes throughout the movie that genuinely look spectacular. Detail is excellent, the image has beautiful depth, and there's a natural film-like quality that immediately separates it from many modern productions. The cinematography is often breathtaking. Landscapes, ships, costumes, and faces all have a tremendous amount of detail. I found myself noticing little things in the image that would have been easy to miss on lesser formats. The movie has a premium look to it from start to finish, and when everything comes together, it can be a stunning showcase for Physical Media. Color grading/Color timing is fine, but nighttime lighting often feels exaggerated or pushed too far. The brighter exterior scenes look impressive; with excellent contrast The image has a richness to it without ever looking artificial. Being shot on film, there's a natural texture present throughout the movie that I really appreciated. Grain remains practically non-existent, and never distracting. There's minor ringing around hard edges, but nothing too distracting. In most scenes, the image looks stable, clean, and highly detailed. Unfortunately, the black levels are where things start to fall apart. The most obvious example comes during the cave sequence with the Cyclops. When the final group escapes and the boulder is placed back over the entrance, there are visible artifacts in the shadows that simply shouldn't be there. I never noticed these issues during my theatrical screenings, but seeing them on a Christopher Nolan movie broke my heart. The strange thing is that it doesn't feel like a typical encoding issue. If anything, it feels like there's a problem with the source that was prepared for home video. The artifacts are still visible on the Blu-ray, but because there's slightly less visible shadow detail than 4K, they tend to blur together more and actually mask the problem. What really got me thinking was that I had access to the IMAX trailer sourced from a ProRes file, and those same black-level problems weren't present there. That's what makes this so puzzling. A cleaner version clearly exists somewhere. I know it does, I've seen it. Being the obsessive person I am, I started experimenting with my Panasonic UB9000 to see if anything could improve the image. The only setting that made a significant difference was lowering Brightness by -3 on the actual player not the TV, the player. On my professionally calibrated LG C9 OLED, much of the elevated black level issue immediately improved, and because black levels get essentially fixed, you no longer see artifacts in the black level detail areas. To me, that's a strong indication that the black levels are sitting too high. The black levels in The Odyssey are not black, they are LCD and projector grey, so this issue becomes obvious on an OLED that can produce pure black. Nothing goes all the way down to 0% black, and I'm fine with that, we see that on all of Christopher Nolan movies, but they never had this issue. The frustrating part is that these problems don't affect the entire movie. There are countless scenes that look fantastic. Then the movie drops into a darker environment, and suddenly the shadow issues pull your attention away from what should be an immersive experience. For me, that's what keeps this release from reaching reference quality. There are moments where The Odyssey looks like one of the best discs of the year. The photography is gorgeous, the level of detail is excellent, and the film texture looks wonderful. But the black-level issues are real, and once you notice them, they're difficult to ignore. If Christopher Nolan honestly became aware of this issue if enough reviewers speak out about it, would he ask the studio to re-release it? Because I think it should be re-released in far higher quality. It's still a very good-looking 4K Blu-ray, but it falls short of the standard set by Oppenheimer. That's what makes this release such a disappointment. The foundation for a reference-quality disc is clearly there. I just don't think the final quality control was. AUDIO QUALITY The audio is the complete opposite story. From start to finish, I thought this movie sounded fantastic. What impressed me most was the balance. Christopher Nolan's films haven't always been known for dialogue clarity, and while I've enjoyed movies like Tenet, there were definitely moments where the dialogue could get buried under the music and effects. That's not the case here. Dialogue is clear, easy to understand, and sits comfortably in the mix. Even during larger action scenes, I never found myself struggling to follow conversations. Everything feels much better balanced than some of Nolan's earlier work. The music is outstanding. It's not just memorable, it becomes a huge part of the experience. There were multiple moments where the score elevated a scene and made it feel bigger emotionally. I found myself paying attention to the music throughout the entire movie because it adds so much to the atmosphere. The room also stays active throughout the film. Sounds move naturally around the listening space, and there are plenty of moments where effects travel around the room in a convincing way. Nothing feels forced. Instead, it helps pull you deeper into the world of the movie. Bass is excellent as well. There's plenty of depth and impact when the movie calls for it, but it never overwhelms everything else like some of his other movies. That's what I appreciated most. The bass has weight, yet dialogue and music never get lost because of it. Honestly, this might be the most balanced Christopher Nolan mix I've heard. It takes the dialogue clarity that impressed me in Oppenheimer and combines it with the scale and energy of some of his earlier films. Everything works together exactly the way it should. Dialogue, music, effects, surrounds, and bass all feel perfectly integrated. OVERALL This ended up being a bit of a mixed experience for me. The audio is absolutely first-rate and easily one of the best mixes I've heard this year. The picture can look amazing too, especially during the IMAX scenes, but those black level issues stop it from reaching the same level as Nolan's best 4K releases. As for the movie itself, I'd put it somewhere around a 7.5 out of 10. There's a lot here that I admire. The cinematography is beautiful, the filmmaking is impressive, and the music is excellent. Robert Pattinson and Anne Hathaway are both very good in supporting roles, while Matt Damon delivers a solid performance as Odysseus. My biggest issue is credibility. This is the first Christopher Nolan movie where I found myself questioning parts of the world he was trying to build. That's unusual because one of Nolan's greatest strengths as a filmmaker is making you believe what you're watching, no matter how ambitious it may be. The more I watched the film, the more it reminded me of Apocalypse Now. Both movies take the audience on a journey from one location to the next, but for me, Apocalypse Now remains the stronger film because I never stopped believing in its world. With The Odyssey, there were moments that pulled me out of the experience. That said, I still enjoyed the movie. The craftsmanship is undeniable, the action works, the score is excellent, and there are scenes I'll happily revisit. I just can't shake the feeling that it could have been something even greater. Recommended! But Hoped For Better. REVIEW SCORES VIDEO: 4 out of 5 AUDIO: 5 out of 5 REVIEWED BY: Carl Mulder FULL REVIEW: patreon.com/hdmoviesource/po… BUYING OPTIONS EBAY: ebay.com/itm/117464831735 WORLDWIDE: hdmoviesource.com/The-Odysse… AMAZON: link.amazon/B0gDEkwJw Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Support Physical Media. Don’t Stream This Movie. Own it. Hold it. Keep it. #PhysicalMedia #TheOdyssey #4KUltraHD #Bluray #MovieReview #ChristopherNolan #HomeTheater

A remake of ‘YOU'VE GOT MAIL’ is in the works at Warner Bros. (Source: Deadline)

Coming soon: Stem player that allows you to remix our songs how you see fit. Great for soloing up individual instruments to learn or practice with. Also karaoke 😎Export button will allow you to take your mixes anywhere. Credit to @Speedy_Edits for working on this.