4K Ultra HD movie reviews: ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’

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Here’s a look at a new action movie and classic spooky comedy released in ultra high definition format.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Cinematic Universe Edition (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, PG-13, 1.90:1 aspect ratio, 132 minutes, $39.99) — The 25th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings to light one of the smaller superheroes from the famous comic book universe, but he’s a man full of martial arts power.

Specifically, the Kung Fu Master aka Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is the son of a power-hungry Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) who found 10 mystical rings that grant him immortality and god-like powers.

After his mother is killed by a rival gang, Shang-Chi is trained by his father to become an assassin, but his first mission is to avenge his mother’s death, his last mission as his traumatized son moves into San Francisco and hides. from your old life.

Changing his name to Shaun, he becomes a parking attendant who sings karaoke at night with his co-worker and best friend Katy (Awkwafina).

However, when his father pulls him and his talented sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), back into the family, he tells them that their mother is not dead but is being held captive in the magical village of Ta Lo. My father wants them to attack the village, but all is not as it seems in the realm.

As told through flashbacks, we have not only a movie about family loyalty and a dysfunctional father-son relationship, but also a dynamic martial arts movie with explosive fight choreography.

Better still, viewers even get a healthy dose of Chinese mythology brought to life through interactions with mythical creatures like Phoenix-like fenghuang, protective foo dogs, and faceless fur bundles, six-legged hunduns.

Comic book fans won’t be disappointed either. Dr. Refer to the geek moment when Strange’s assistant Wong (Benedict Wong) battles the Incredible Hulk’s arch-nemesis, Abomination, and for MCU fans, Ben Kingsley returns as Trevor Slattery, the actor who played the villainous Mandarin in “Iron Man III” and now A prisoner of Xu Wenwu.

The upscaled 4K presentation often shines, especially when watching a fight next to a skyscraper’s bamboo scaffolding; a scene of sprayed water from a series of dragon reliefs forming a fluid map of a bamboo forest; and an encounter with Dweller in the Dark. (I fought this man in the video game “Guardians of the Galaxy”.)

The best extras: Audiences first feel uncomfortable as director and co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton and co-writer Dave Callaham present their first on-demand commentary piece. We get some honesty and tons of production details and the occasional messy conversation, with the couple being respectful of not always talking about the movie when it’s getting a certain gush.

Details include their disbelief that Mr. Leung agreed to make the film, their discussion of the Great Protector, the importance of practical effects and live production design, their creation of a bus fight inspired by the work of Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton, and the director’s love for the film. The song “Hotel California”.

The extras are rounded off by a gag reel and a couple of short introductions covering the history of Marvel’s Asian superhero and the overall production (approximately 16 minutes total).

The Addams Family: With More Mamuskas! Edition (Paramount Studios Home Entertainment, PG-13, 1.90:1 aspect ratio, 132 minutes, $39.99) — Director Barry Sonnenfeld’s amazing live-action take on Charles Addams’ spooky and spooky cartoon family finally debuts in UHD format to celebrate its 30th anniversary in this special edition.

These darkest horror comedies cover the everyday life of the familiar clan, while Gomez Addams laments the loss of her brother Fester in the Bermuda Triangle.

When Fester mysteriously returns during an annual seance, the Addams rightly question his authenticity. However, as he tries to steal the supposedly dishonest family’s fortune, he begins to appreciate their lives as well, and maybe Gomez may have actually found his missing brother?

To say that the film has an excellent cast, Gomez Addams as Raul Julia, Morticia as mother Angelica Huston, Christine Ricci as Wednesday Daughter, Jimmy Workman as Pugsley, Carel Struycken as butler Lurch, Judith Malina as Granny, Christopher Lloyd, Uncle Fester The incarnation of ‘ and the hand of Christopher Hart as The Thing.

This effort includes character designs, sketches (e.g. pouring boiling oil over the singers), and embracing Addams’ sickly sensibilities, for example to Morticia’s husband, “Don’t torture yourself, Gomez. It’s my job.”

Restored and remade under the supervision of Mr. Sonnenfeld, the film now includes a choreographed musical dance number between Fester and Gomez, as Mamushka explains in the director’s foreword.

The 4K screen-filled version allows viewers to fully appreciate the extraordinarily warped production design of Addams’ mansion filled with torture devices, antiques and cobwebs, Gomez’s gorgeous model train set, and the family’s vault gleaming with gold. luck.

Also, the costumes and make-up have a whole new visual life, as seen in Morticia’s pale face offset by her blood-red lipstick; Rain-soaked head of Fester (go ahead and count the drops); and Gomez’s smoked purple satin jacket or garish striped suits.

I will sometimes endow the extraordinary clarity that also reveals the magic behind The Thing’s special effects.

Fans of the family or anyone with a twisted sense of humor will definitely love the newest and biggest edition of “The Addams Family.”

The best extras: Viewers get a brand-new, 16-minute Filmmaker Focus with the director in a somewhat blurry, Zoom-like presentation.

He remembers his love of Addams’ cartoons as a teenager; his satisfaction as a cinematographer; problems with production (over budget and even fainting on set); actors; Miss Ricci makes him change the ending; low-tech special effects; and the scene he is least proud of.

The disc also includes a seven-minute old teaser trailer for the production, with some interviews with the director, cast, and crew.



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