Pitch Black 4K UHD (2000)

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Talal86

This my worst blind buy in a while

[Talal86]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

it reminded me of Alien Resurrection.. it's not as bad, though

[Fiffy]

It's a bit pulpy, but a guilty pleasure for me. I like the style, and the moment when it goes dark is well done. It suffers from the crappy supporting actors (only Diesel and Mitchell are any good).

Anyway, the 4K version is really well done. Great detail level and grain rendering, and the way they digitally recreated the original bleach coloring during daytime scenes (depending on which sun is up) came out really well. Far superior to the BD. I would have never expected to get such a good version of this movie.

[Talal86]

Yeah Vin Diesel carried the movie

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Fiffy

It's a bit pulpy, but a guilty pleasure for me. I like the style, and the moment when it goes dark is well done. It suffers from the crappy supporting actors (only Diesel and Mitchell are any good).

Bah!

Claudia Black (Shazza) was the reason I went to see the film in the first place.

[DR Herbert West]

Keith David is always great.

[Law212]

I havent seen this one in a while, but I love this movie. I liked Chronicles of Riddick and on Riddick im ...well i need to watch it again as I wasnt impressed with it.

Pitch Black Though I might grab in 4K. I have it on dvd and blu , and i dont think i ever watched the bluray.

Also , the video games were pretty good too.

[Fat Phil]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

Keith David is always great.

Word. I think Cole Hauser is great too.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Bah!

Claudia Black (Shazza) was the reason I went to see the film in the first place.

And? Did you think she did a good job in this? Her best moment (and the only one I can even remember) was unfortunately her somewhat spectacular demise.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I do hope Chronicles of Riddick receives the same royal treatment.

I did pick up the aging Universal blu-ray, so you can thank me for taking a bullet.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Fiffy

And? Did you think she did a good job in this? Her best moment (and the only one I can even remember) was unfortunately her somewhat spectacular demise.

Yes, I think she did a good job. She's done better, but there was nothing substandard here. Same with Keith David.

[Talal86]

Originally Posted by Fat Phil

Word. I think Cole Hauser is great too.

he's good in Yellowstone, in PB he's unintentionally funny

[Fat Phil]

Originally Posted by Talal86

he's good in Yellowstone, in PB he's unintentionally funny

Example?

[vmladenov]

Originally Posted by thebarnman

After-all, this hobby is about recreating in the home what was experienced in the theatre...anything below or above that is is infidelity (in the sense of faithfulness of the video reproduction.)

Hm, I don’t agree it’s about fidelity. I think it’s about having a good experience with a film you enjoy. For example, with HDR we can see information that was on the film but wasn’t represented in the digitization with 8-bit color. Also, cinema presentation varies wildly. Most of my library looks better now than it did when I saw it in 2K digital theaters. I’ve only seen one movie (Dunkirk) projected on film and it was incredible how sharp it was, and I wonder about what it was like when film projection was standard. But then you see the difference between the Disney 4K restorations of Star Wars and the hobbyist 4K77 restoration from theatrical prints — night and day. And finally you have some director-led restorations that change color grading and people like them more than the original releases.

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

I do hope Chronicles of Riddick receives the same royal treatment.

I did pick up the aging Universal blu-ray, so you can thank me for taking a bullet.

Aging and bit starved.

[styrofoamboats]

Is the booklet identical between the 4K and standard Blu-ray release?

[Casual_G4m3r]

Earlier today, I watched John Carpenter's The Thing. Apparently, I was in the mood for more stranded people fighting a monster/alien, and another film with Keith David among the cast.

I remember watching this when it came out, and liking it. I was curious to see how time, and my sensibilities would treat this film. I'm happy to say that it fared pretty well.

As I stated in my review for The Thing, I am a sucker for the trope of an isolated group fighting a monster/alien for survival. There's just something about that premise that captures my imagination, and I enjoy seeing how everything transpires.

Unlike The Thing, our ragtag group isn't comprised of scientists, but a random mix of people. Including a pilot, bounty hunter, a convicted criminal, a muslin imam, an antiques dealer, and some children. If I'm forgetting anyone, it's merely that, and not an intentional omission from this review.

The film plays out pretty much as expected, as our group gets marooned on a planet that is home to terrifying beasts that hunt via sonar (similar to bats) as the normally sunny planet is going through a solar eclipse that will last longer than our band of survivors can stay hidden for. Therefore, they must escape the planet or perish.

This film doesn't cover any new ground, but does have some neat special effects. The night vision given to the main hero Riddick is fun to see, and the alien monsters themselves have a cool design.

The characters are fairly well written, if a bit predictable in their behavior, if you're a fan of these types of movies. Just like The Thing, I liked this film, but I didn't love it.

On to the technical aspects of this disc. This transfer is quite good, to downright stunning in some parts. Interior shots (especially inside the ship) look fantastic.

Film grain is nicely resolved, and the colors looked great as well. The only thing that seemed to really suffer was the black levels. They aren't quite as deep and inky as I have seen on other discs, but I feel this was done to make sure there was ample shadow definition in the darker parts of the screen.

Overall I'll rate the film at 3.5/5 stars.
I'll rate the transfer at 4/5 stars.

[DaylightsEnd]

C’mon Universal…..We’re still waiting for Chronicles and Riddick in 4k!! Hellooooooooo!!!!?

[Telemachus]

Ya'll crazy saying the supporting cast in this wasn't good, everyone in the entire movie is mint. I really think it helped that none of them were really established names besides David, made it seem more real. It's also funny catching the main female pilot's native accent slip out though. Tbh the only other person I even recognized at the time was the woman from Farscape. Still one of my favorites, it's absolutely perfect sci-fi. This and Chronicles were my very first HD DVDs, second movie pales in comparison but I do love the merc squad/prison break scene in that one tons, Toombs is also a great character (all back of the bus n sh*t), was also a demo disc for me. 3rd movie was a much better return to form. Started thinking about this one lately and had to order the Arrow disc finally.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

3rd movie was a much better return to form.

I can't wait to get my hands on Riddick in 4k uhd. Despite some of the sketch cgi, it should still mostly look stellar. I often skip Chronicles, and just play Pitch Black and Riddick back-to-back as a sci fi horror double-feature. Chronicles feels like a whole different side-story, told in a different style almost like a marvel superhero flick, and works better for me as a standalone sci fi action/adventure.