Fully Immersed, Volume 23
Happy belated Father's Day to all of my fellow dads out there. Yes, 'tis the season of dads and grads, and truth be told, there's only so many neckties one man needs in life. So if you find yourself suddenly flush with gift cards or you have a little extra spending money, you could do a lot worse than to add a few immersive audio titles to your growing film library. And as luck would have it, we continue to see a healthy stream of new and catalog titles featuring either Dolby Atmos or DTS:X sound. Here are but a few titles coming soon to a home theater near you:
I plan to cover at least a few of the above titles soon. Until then, here's what I've listened to most recently...
Annihilation
Paramount | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on Blu-ray, 4K UHD
After Ex Machina, I was largely convinced that any new project from Writer/Director Alex Garland deserves my undivided attention. With Annihilation, it's no longer in question: Garland is a hugely talented filmmaker. This time out, Natalie Portman stars as a Biology professor who accompanies a team of women into "The Shimmer," a slowly-expanding phenomenon of unknown origin emanating from a lighthouse on the shore. What goes in never comes out - until her husband, an Army soldier, becomes the first to emerge only to fall gravely ill soon thereafter. To say any more would be a disservice to this unsettling mind-bender of a film but it's definitely worth your time. Paramount brings the film to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD sporting an immersive Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Dialogue is clear and intelligible throughout the film and the surround and overhead channels are routinely used to great effect. The overhead channels in particular are often used in clever, subtle ways. From the buzz of overhead fluorescent lighting to the sound of trees rustling in the breeze to the light patter of rain on the roof of a tent, this is a highly capable Atmos mix. The creepy and jarring synth score during the film's trippy climax seems to emanate from all channels at times and is sure to impress. Highly recommended.
Fury 4K
Sony | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on 4K UHD only
As a director, David Ayer doesn't have the best track record with yours truly. Most of his films - Harsh Times, End of Watch, Street Kings, and Sabotage for example - are gritty, joyless affairs at best and downright mean at their worst. And although I'm not sure if Ayer deserves all of the blame, Suicide Squad was a complete misfire from start to finish - so much so that I vowed never to watch another of his films. Yet here we are again. In my defense, how do you say no to an intense WWII tank actioner featuring an immersive audio track? Easy: you don't. Sony has brought David Ayer's surprisingly-good Fury to 4K Ultra HD and its new Dolby Atmos soundtrack is exceptional. From the subtle echoes and reverberation of voices inside War Daddy's E8 tank to the blistering and precise rendering of mortars, machine gunfire, and tank shells on the battlefield, Fury delivers exactly that. Dialogue is clear, bass is routinely tight and thunderous, and good luck stifling a grin as incoming shells whine and whistle overhead before finding their targets - or ricocheting off of them as the case may be. Like Saving Private Ryan, Fury can be hard to watch on account of its sobering and upsetting subject matter, but home theater lovers will swoon over this reference caliber Dolby Atmos experience. Highly recommended.
The Hurricane Heist
Lionsgate | Buy Now | Dolby Atmos available on Blu-ray, 4K UHD
On the surface, a movie about a bunch of bad guys knocking over a U.S. Treasury facility during a Category 5 hurricane sounds a bit silly. Add in a goofy Ryan Kwanten ("True Blood") as a half-drunk generator repairman and his estranged, storm chasin' meteorologist brother - who drives a Death Race-inspired tank called "The Dominator" - and the silliness factor hasn't decreased any. Top it all off with Director Rob Cohen, the man who gave us xXx and the very first The Fast and the Furious film, and well, you've got yourself a party. Thankfully, The Hurricane Heist never takes itself too seriously and seems fairly aware of just how ridiculous it is. Lionsgate brings this entertaining popcorn flick to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD and gives both offerings a Dolby Atmos soundtrack - and boy is it a wild one. Even before the film's title appears on-screen, the sound field is alive with the sound of thunder, intense winds, and ominous tones. With incredible bass throughout and seemingly constant activity in the surround and overhead channels, the weather conditions of The Hurricane Heist make for quite the immersive sonic experience. It may not be the best track for acoustic subtlety and nuanced details, but that's not terribly surprising, is it? Fun stuff.
Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary 4K Collection
Universal | Buy Now | DTS:X available on 4K UHD only
In the modern history of home theater - post 1997, following the advent of DVD - there is a small handful of go-to reference scenes which has become indispensable when evaluating new home audio gear, optical disc formats, or surround sound formats. These are scenes that push the limits of your system and have the potential to sound downright amazing when the stars align. You know the list: the lobby scene from The Matrix, the beach landing from Saving Private Ryan, the opening battle from Gladiator - I could go on. On that esteemed short list - and arguably at the top of the list depending on who you ask - is the T-Rex scene from Steven Spielberg's fantastically-entertaining Jurassic Park. Not surprisingly, Universal is taking full advantage of the franchise's 25th anniversary - not to mention this weekend's release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - by introducing a fantastic new 4K Ultra HD box set of the four Jurassic films through Jurassic World. It's also no big surprise that each of the four films sports an all-new, gangbusters DTS:X soundtrack to mark the occasion.
For those who may not know, the histories of DTS and Jurassic Park are tightly intertwined. In 1993, Jurassic Park became the first film to feature DTS surround sound in its theatrical exhibition; in fact, it's the film that led more than 1,000 theaters nationwide to adopt the new format. Fast forward to 1997 when the Jurassic Park LaserDisc (remember those?) became the first home video release to feature DTS surround sound. A proper rendition of the DTS soundtrack from the original Jurassic Park wouldn't hit DVD until the fall of 2001 - but it was worth the wait. Now, seventeen years later, Universal has again taken things to the next level with the object-based DTS:X soundtracks on these new 4K Ultra HD editions. Immersive audio fans have been salivating for this release and I'm pleased to say their patience has been rewarded.
OK, enough history, let's get to the real question here: how does that T-Rex sound now? In a word, magnificent - but let's pay attention to the entire scene. Before the T-Rex arrives, rain is falling on the Ford Explorer's glass roof while Tim discovers those heavy (and therefore expensive) night vision goggles. The new DTS:X soundtrack does a great job of canvasing the listening area with the falling rain, only to give way to the resounding and well-placed thud of a bloody goat leg on the glass above. This is followed closely by the airy snap of (no-longer-electrified) steel tension cables giving way and the creaking sound of twisted metal as the T-Rex makes his debut.
Rex's blood-curdling roars sound full-throated, bigger, and better than ever. The bass accompanying each thunderous footstep is also improved, packing a tighter gut punch than I can remember feeling during countless viewings of this scene throughout the years. As the scene progresses, the object-based DTS:X format shines as Dr. Grant and Tim rapidly climb down the tree while the Ford Explorer slowly slides down the same tree mere feet above them. Branches snap and crash directly above the listener while John Williams' brilliant and exciting score attacks from every other speaker. Suffice to say: these new DTS:X soundtracks are superb and the Jurassic films have never sounded better. Highly recommended.
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