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The New PQ Tier thread for Blu-Ray - Discussion

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#21,821 ·
The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I am blessed! This is the 3rd Blu-ray viewing in one week that is a strong Tier 0 contender.

A Sony release which was mastered in 4K, the results are evident from the opening shot to the rolling of the credits. There are DETAILS galore in every area, including my all-time favorite...FACIAL CLOSE-UPS. SHARPNESS abounds...CONTRAST is strong...COLORS are vivid...FLESH TONES are accurate...BLACK LEVELS are deep...SHADOW DETAILS are mesmerizing...and DEPTH is stellar in many scenes. The only censure I could possibly give would be a couple of soft shots in a few of the CGI scenes.

I believe I gave the first installment a 1.25 ranking; this is clearly an improvement worthy of the top Tier. My vote goes for....

Tier Recommendation: Tier 0 (.75)

Viewed from 6' using the equipment listed below....
 
#21,822 ·
Lone Survivor

Tier Recommendation: Tier 0 (bottom quarter)

After waiting months for this title from Netflix, it finally came this week and I was able to watch it.

Wow. Not only did this film exhibit wonderful textures and beautiful black levels and shadow details, but I am tempted to place it higher in the visual tiers for how good it sounded. What a sub workout and wonderful surround experience.
 
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#21,824 ·
^^^^^^^^^

That was a good reminder for everyone Phantom.

I comment occasionally on the Audio Mix when it is exceptionally good so that those who have a 5.1/7.1 surround system can also look forward to *hearing* the Blu-ray they'll be watching.
 
#21,825 ·
Muppets Most Wanted

Tier Recommendation: Tier 0* (bottom quarter)


Details, clarity, sharpness! From beginning to end, this is a nice presentation that never dipped in quality. The fur and texture in all the Muppets was nice and clear. Colors really popped and flesh tones were natural. Black levels were deep and never murky. This is what all new release Blu-rays should look like.

Side note: the sound track was in DTS-HD HR 7.1, a lossy format not seen very often. Sorry Phantom :D
 
#21,826 ·
I couldn't handle more than 45 minutes of Need for Speed, it was mind numbingly boring. I only watched it due to the good PQ ratings and even that could not keep me hooked. I'll have to watch this over multiple viewings.
 
#21,827 · (Edited)
I couldn't handle more than 45 minutes of Need for Speed, it was mind numbingly boring. I only watched it due to the good PQ ratings and even that could not keep me hooked. I'll have to watch this over multiple viewings.
You're kidding, right? I found it to be somewhat *cheesy* throughout, but definitely NOT boring (especially during any of the race scenes). I also really liked every scene with Michael Keaton; he was an AWESOME DJ (or whatever you would call him as he broadcasted the race that he sponsored).

Regarding the fact that the good PQ couldn't keep you hooked, you're obviously not the Video/Audio junkie that I am! :D
 
#21,829 ·
Bad Words

Tier Recommendation: Tier 1.75


Mainly, the low recommendation (IMO for a new release) is due to the significant color timing issues on this piece -- the majority of the film has been done in the almost-sepia orange/teal arrangement that seems to be more noticeable because it actually doesn't have any teal moments. All of the skin tones were colored and bronzed, except in a few moments where the film shows the "televised" spelling bee. That said, textures and black levels were spot on and led me to not reduce the rating further. In fact, other than the color timing and some of the weird "looks like public TV" effects, I'd say this was a fairly well-done modern release--comparable with anything else I've seen lately. Facial details were exhibited and individual eyelashes on the child actor could be seen in nearly every scene. Even a toy car showed lots of detail in close-ups.

In comparison to Lone Survivor, which I also watched this weekend, Bad Words was a significant drop in quality for it's inability to correctly display skin tones and other colors, while maintaining similar levels of details in faces and clothing. That said, the picture quality is clearly how the Director (Jason Bateman, making his directorial debut) or the Cinematographer (Ken Seng from Quarantine and Project X) intended and so I personally don't see a need to place it further down the tiers.
 
#21,830 ·
There has to be a dictate going around Hollywood that colorists must destroy natural fleshtones in comedies. Even horror films have shown better creative choices of late than the rote application of skewed timings in Hollywood's comedies. If the film schools are teaching that now, I have no idea what market it's aimed at.
 
#21,831 ·
I rarely rent comedies today because of the pervasive *orange* color-timing that characterizes the vast majority of contemporary comedies. They are generally worse than the *teal* color-timing employed in many of today's Sci-Fi or Action movies.
 
#21,832 ·
Something just came up which may cause me to leave on another trip tomorrow morning, but I will be looking forward to "checking in" from time to time to see new reviews. I'd really like to see more reviews on Need For Speed. Don't let that post earlier today (where a member found it boring) hinder you from seeing this. There is PLENTY of action in it and superb EYE CANDY!
 
#21,833 ·
Muppets Most Wanted

Tier Recommendation: Tier 0* (bottom quarter)


Details, clarity, sharpness! From beginning to end, this is a nice presentation that never dipped in quality. The fur and texture in all the Muppets was nice and clear. Colors really popped and flesh tones were natural. Black levels were deep and never murky. This is what all new release Blu-rays should look like.

Side note: the sound track was in DTS-HD HR 7.1, a lossy format not seen very often. Sorry Phantom :D
We have the last Muppet Movie on blu and the PQ is excellent. I'm sure this new one is even better.
 
#21,834 ·
Regarding the fact that the good PQ couldn't keep you hooked, you're obviously not the Video/Audio junkie that I am! :D
Haha, maybe I'm not the AV junkie that I thought I was ;)

Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind because I watched NFS after watching the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
 
#21,835 ·
Haha, maybe I'm not the AV junkie that I thought I was ;)

Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind because I watched NFS after watching the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
I see from your Home Theater build that you are most definitely an AV junkie in some respects! ;)

Did you ever see any of the Fast & Furious franchise? If so, did you like them? Some people simply don't enjoy flashy cars and racing and to them it would be boring.
 
#21,836 ·
I see from your Home Theater build that you are most definitely an AV junkie in some respects! ;)

Did you ever see any of the Fast & Furious franchise? If so, did you like them? Some people simply don't enjoy flashy cars and racing and to them it would be boring.
The first two FF's were entertaining, I haven't watched the remaining sequels.

To complicate things even further... I'm a huge car fan, drive a Toyota 86, been to F1 GP, watched every episode of Top Gear.

And for everyday viewing I have a Pioneer 508.

Love cars: check
Love AV: check
 
#21,837 ·
The first two FF's were entertaining, I haven't watched the remaining sequels.

To complicate things even further... I'm a huge car fan, drive a Toyota 86, been to F1 GP, watched every episode of Top Gear.

And for everyday viewing I have a Pioneer 508.

Love cars: check
Love AV: check
Now I'm really baffled! Your "loves" should have caused you to "like" Need For Speed. This is an enigma and may not ever be solved! :D

Good to hear you're a fan of Pioneer! :):cool:
 
#21,838 ·
My trip was postponed until next week. I hope to squeeze one or two Blus in before I leave. Any suggestions?
 
#21,839 ·
My trip was postponed until next week. I hope to squeeze one or two Blus in before I leave. Any suggestions?
Orson Welles' Touch of Evil? Probably not a BD you could rent at the local store. As for newer releases, The Quiet Ones just came out.

Shame

recommendation: Tier 3.5*

A flat, uninvolving film experience, translated perfectly in this Fox BD. Shame doesn't really push the color palette too hard. There are no obvious problems in the transfer, the cinematography is restrained with heavy black levels and underwhelming contrast. A perfect AVC video encode is not tested except in one scene late in the film, choked with exposure problems.

This looked and felt a lot more like a tiny arthouse film than anything else. Fine detail and overall definition are middling for a newish movie.
 
#21,840 ·
Orson Welles' Touch of Evil? Probably not a BD you could rent at the local store. As for newer releases, The Quiet Ones just came out.
The Quiet Ones sounds interesting, even though the majority of *critics* and most moviegoers are slamming it big time. Have you seen it Phantom? You know I like a good horror show and especially one that doesn't rely on gratuitous violence to satisfy, so perhaps this one will work for me.
 
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