4K Digital Review of Send Help

 

Sam Raimi is back, with a return to form, with another entry into the horror/comedy genre with Send Help. Linda (Rachel McAdams) is great at her job. So great that the CEO promised her a promotion. But after his passing, his son Bradley (Dylan O'Brien) is not interested in promoting her. Instead, he promotes his friends and they make fun of the little girl who eats lunch at her desk. As a way to prove herself, Bradley invites Linda on a business trip to Thailand. 

The plane runs into a storm and ends up crashing into the ocean. Bradley and Linda are the only ones to survive and end up on a tropical island. Fortunately for them, Linda is a huge fan of the TV show Survivor. She even sent in an audition tape which Bradley finds and shares with his buddies before the plane crash. So, in the reversal of the balance of power, Linda is in charge and we shall see what happens to them.

Here the film weaves back and forth between the two lead characters. You get the different perspectives from each one. It is thrilling, exciting and a comedic thriller from Sam Raimi who started the comedy horror genre. Rachel excels in her role and Dylan is along for the ride. He is good in his role but Rachel truly shines. 

Video:

The streaming 4K video is stunning. The beginning of the film, in the office setting, the area is clean and well-defined. The textures on the materials especially clothing are exceptional. On the island is where the video truly shines. The sunsets, the beaches, the ocean water and the lush jungle all have remarkable clarity and color.  

Audio:

The streaming Dolby Atmos track is wonderful. The dialogue is crisp and clear from the front channels. The score is immersive and surrounds you. But where the audio truly shines is in the environmental sounds. The excellent use of audio to create a sense of chaos of the plane crash is the perfect example here. Also, the ambient environmental sounds of the island keeps you grounded. You feel like you are on the island with these characters. 

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with director Sam Raimi and producer Zainab Azizi.
• Featurettes - a wealth of behind the scenes featurettes
• Deleted Scenes - over an hour of deleted as well as alternate scenes
• Bloopers

Conclusion:

Send Help is a return to form for Sam Raimi. Strong performances by both McAdams and O'Brien along with reference quality video and audio and a wealth of bonus material make this an easy recommendation to add to your movie library. 

MARVEL STUDIOS' "DOCTOR STRANGE" on Digital HD Feb. 14 and Blu-ray Feb. 28

MARVEL STUDIOS’ “DOCTOR STRANGE”

on Digital HD Feb. 14 and Blu-ray™ Feb. 28

Own the critically acclaimed blockbuster with 80+ minutes

of extras highlighting the award-winning cast!

BURBANK, Calif., January 6, 2017 — Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange,” the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has mesmerized both audiences and critics, pulling in more than $658.3 million at the worldwide box office to date and earning a 90% critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest single-character introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it also carries on Marvel Studios’ winning streak as the 14th consecutive MCU film to debut at #1 at the domestic box office.

On Feb. 14, “Doctor Strange” fans can bring home the critically acclaimed blockbuster early on Digital HD/3D and Disney Movies Anywhere, or on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray, Digital SD, DVD and On-Demand on Feb. 28. The Blu-ray and Digital releases come packaged with over 80 minutes of fascinating, never-before-seen bonus materials, including five behind-the-scenes featurettes, five deleted scenes, hilarious outtakes, part two of the comical mockumentary “Team Thor,” audio commentary, and an exclusive look at the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The film boasts an award-winning cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game,” “Black Mass”) as Dr. Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor ("12 Years a Slave," “Triple 9”) as Mordo, Rachel McAdams (“Spotlight,” “Southpaw”) as Dr. Christine Palmer, Benedict Wong (“The Martian,” “Prometheus”) as Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man,” “Steve Jobs”) as Dr. Nicodemus West, Benjamin Bratt (“Traffic,” “Piñero”) as Jonathan Pangborn, and Scott Adkins (“El Gringo,” “The Expendables 2”) as Lucian/Strong Zealot, with Mads Mikkelsen (“The Hunt,” “Casino Royale”) as Kaecilius and Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton (2007 Best Supporting Actress, “Michael Clayton”; “Julia”) as The Ancient One.

Bonus Features (Bonus features may vary by retailer. The DVD does not include any bonus materials.):

DIGITAL HD & BLU-RAY:

• Featurettes
• A Strange Transformation – Open your eye to a new dimension of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and see how the filmmakers brought one of comic books’ greatest characters to life.
• Strange Company – Find out what it’s like for the cast to work on a Marvel film, and how Director Scott Derrickson engineered one of the most ambitious, imaginative films ever.
• The Fabric of Reality – Take a closer look at the movie’s extraordinary sets, meticulously crafted costumes and amazingly detailed production elements.
• Across Time and Space – Explore the countless hours of dance and fight choreography the actors endured in preparation for their physically demanding roles.
• The Score-cerer Supreme – Join Composer Michael Giacchino and a full orchestra during live recording sessions, and experience the movie’s mind-bending music.
• Marvel Studios Phase 3 Exclusive Look – Get an early peek at Marvel’s spectacular upcoming films, including Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
• Team Thor: Part 2 – See more of the hilarious partnership between Thor and his roommate Darryl in this satirical short.
• Deleted Scenes
• Strange Meets Daniel Drumm
• Kaecilius Searches for Answers
• The Kamar-Taj Courtyard
• Making Contact
• Lost in Kathmandu
• Gag Reel
• Audio Commentary by Director Scott Derrickson

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE:

• Through the Keyhole: The Science of the MCU – Discover how Marvel grounds all its films in real science, and explore the connection between science, magic and imagination.

From Marvel Studios comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident renders his hands useless. When traditional medicine fails him, he travels to the remote Kamar-Taj in search of a cure, but instead discovers the mystical arts and becomes a powerful sorcerer battling dark forces bent on destroying our reality.

Scott Derrickson (“Deliver Us from Evil,” “Sinister”) is directing with Kevin Feige, p.g.a., producing. Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Charles Newirth and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Jon Spaihts (“The Darkest Hour,” “Prometheus”) and Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (“Sinister,” “Sinister 2”).

The talented team of filmmakers assembled for “Doctor Strange” includes Ben Davis (Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), cinematographer; Charles Wood (Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), production designer; Alexandra Byrne (Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), costume designer; Wyatt Smith (“Into the Woods,” “Ricki and the Flash”) and Sabrina Plisco (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” “Charlotte’s Web”), editors; Stephane Ceretti (Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Thor: The Dark World”), visual effects supervisor; and Paul Corbould (Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), special effects supervisor.

DISC SPECIFICATIONS (applies to film content only):

PRODUCT SKUs: Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy),

Blu-ray 2D Combo Pack (Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy),

DVD, Digital HD/3D/SD and On-Demand

RUN TIME:  Feature run time is approximately 115 minutes

RATED: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action throughout, and an intense crash sequence

ASPECT RATIO:  Blu-ray 3D = 1080p High Definition Widescreen (2.39:1/1.90:1)

Blu-ray = 1080p High Definition Widescreen (2.39:1)

DVD = 2.39:1

AUDIO: Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio,

Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks

DVD = English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks,

English 2.0 Descriptive Audio

SUBTITLES: English SDH, Spanish and French

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: Facebook.com/MarvelStudios

Website: Marvel.com/DoctorStrange

Twitter: Twitter.com/MarvelStudios

Instagram: Instagram.com/MarvelStudios

ABOUT MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT: 

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit marvel.com. ©MARVEL

ABOUT DISNEY MOVIES ANYWHERE (DMA): 

Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) is an engaging and family-friendly cloud-based digital movie service that makes it easy to buy Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars movies once and watch them anywhere. Viewers can enjoy their digital movies from the comfort of their living room and across multiple mobile platforms by simply adding the free DMA app or channel to their devices, such as iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android mobile phones and tablets, Android TV, Amazon’s Fire tablets, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Roku, and Xbox 360, and connecting to their DMA account with participating providers including iTunes, Amazon Video, VUDU, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV and Fios by Verizon. DMA users can explore Disney’s library of over 450 digital movies, discover hours of new and exclusive short-form content, redeem Digital Movie codes found in eligible Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars product, and earn Disney Movie Rewards points with every digital purchase.    

ABOUT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS:

For over 90 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under the following banners: Disney, including Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; Disneynature; Marvel Studios; Lucasfilm; and Touchstone Pictures. The Disney Music Group encompasses the Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records labels, as well as Disney Music Publishing. The Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Disney on Broadway, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!.

Doctor Strange - One of The Best Marvel Origin Films to Date!

The 14th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes us into the mystical world. One of the best origin Marvel films and surely the most visually spectacular, Doctor Strange skillfully combines several different film genres including superhero, martial arts, horror and fantasy. I will do my best to provide a spoiler free review.

Doctor Strange is played to perfection by Benedict Cumberbatch in perhaps his best performance to date. Strange is a brilliant surgeon, who is extremely arrogant, falls and struggles to regain his self-worth. The basic formula for every legendary figure.

Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) is another surgeon who was once more than a friend to Strange. After his accident, she tells him that he can be so much more, that he simply needs to open his mind. Strange of course refuses and this speaks to one of the larger themes of the movie.

Strange's accident brings him to Nepal where he meets Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who turns out to be the right hand sorcerer for the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who reluctantly teaches Strange the mystic arts.

The Ancient One serves as a mentor and teacher to Strange. Her role becomes more clear as the movie progresses as well as her story arc. Mordo, on the other hand is a man just as flawed as Strange but has taken to the rules of magic and has no tolerance for those that do not uphold the rules as he does. Together they help Strange understand that he is capable of so much more than just saving lives with his skills as a surgeon.

As Strange travels his path of enlightenment, he learns of Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a former master who may very well be one of the best villains in the MCU.  Smart, funny and above all, he feels that what he is doing is right. In many ways Kaecilius feels that he is the good guy in this story. Strange even begins to feel that Kaecilius has a point. This leaves Strange conflicted. What will happen? Well find out when Doctor Strange lands in theaters on November 4th!

But before I sign off, I have to discuss the special effects. The visuals in this film are truly stunning. While I am not a fan of 3D, I cannot stress how much IMAX 3D is the only way to go. The 3D here is immersive and well worth the added expense. The image above is from an epic battle in New York with so many twists, turns and drops that the 3D puts you right in the middle of the action. This is a truly one of several moments that will literally leave you breathless!

In the end Doctor Strange is perfectly paced with a stellar cast, unbelievable visuals and a story about overcoming your own fears about yourself. A comic book movie that could never be fully realized until now.

Doctor Strange Character Poster: Christine Palmer

Take a look at Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange.

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