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TIT

'Love and Monsters: 4K Ultra HD' (Blu-ray+Digital)
(Dylan O'Brien, Michael Rooker, Jessica Henwick, Ariana Greenblatt, Dan Ewing, et al / Blu-ray-Digital / PG-13 / 2020 / Paramount)

Overview: Dylan O’Brien stars in this thrilling adventure delivering epic action and laughs.

After monsters take over the world, Joel (O’Brien, The Maze Runner) and the rest of humanity are forced to live underground. Believing he’s lost everyone he has ever loved, Joel finds his high school sweetheart Aimee (Jessica Henwick, “Game of Thrones”) living just 80 miles away.

Facing unknown dangers that stand in his way, Joel must discover his inner hero as he makes the impossible journey across a monster-infested land to be with the girl of his dreams.

Also starring Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Ariana Greenblatt (Avengers: Infinity War).

Blu-ray Verdict: Paramount Pictures is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the breathtakingly fun, gloriously colorful 'Love and Monsters’ in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this January 5th, 2021.

For my money, this 'Love and Monsters: 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital' combo pack's sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is 'Love and Monsters' presented to us as a two-disc combo pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Aspect ratio: 2.39:1, and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHD's, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisper with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what's more is that it's enjoyably noticeable.

For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color; such as the truly brilliant Gigantic Frog scene! Possibly some of the frogs from Jedi the fallen order (!), when the leader appears and unfolds his tongue, well, it's as if you are right there with our hero!

Indeed, the picture enjoys the fruits of the added resolution in terms of bringing out the aforementioned extremely fine facial and some of the yellow graded material (notably the Yelling Like a Girl scene, with the Sand Gobler's Nest explosion from Rooker and the bits landing on our hero); and which now allows for O'Brien's contorted facial expressions to become much more detailed and alive within this incredible 4K 1080p Blu-ray rendering.

As for the audio, well we have: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

OK, well, as for the actual movie, to my mind at this point in time, 'Love and Monsters' is simply one of the biggest and best surprises of 2020!

On its surface, it appeared to be a very run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic film, but I do like Dylan O'Brien and the reviews from all around the world have been amazingly strong!

Furthermore, it succeeded my expectations and currently cracks my top ten of the year. O'Brien is fantastic as always, but the journey his character goes on was remarkable (albeit kind of spoofing his Maze Runner character, of course).

That's down to the writing, but O'Brien managed to pull it off with ease. The supporting cast was also great, but we didn't really spend much time with anyone else, apart from O'Brien's character, Joel.

Feeling like the odd man out of his group, he decides to venture out to find a long lost love (Jessica Henwick, Iron fist), but the question soon arises: Does Joel not have any skills to survive and furthermore, can/will he against the "monstrous elements"?!

Other actors such as Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt, well, their screen time is limited, but they're pretty much the best characters in the movie (behind O'Brien, of course).

The CGI effects are astonishing, making the world feel realistic and lived-in. I liked the narrative a lot, but I feel like an extra fifteen minutes could have easily been added to a couple of key areas.

The pacing wasn't entirely there for me, but it was a far cry from being bad and I liked that something was always happening.

In truth, there were also a couple of questionably conveniently-plotted things that happened, and real-word logistical issues thrown in for "display" purposes, but that aside, nothing distracts from ones overall enjoyment of a gem of a movie.

Again, the overall writing is simply incredible and the film also came complete with some surprisingly touching moments. A sequel was definitely hinted at with the closing scene, so I hope it comes to fruition.

In closing, 'Love and Monsters' is constantly exciting, the action is great, it has a neat twist, amazing effects, brilliant writing, and was totally compelling throughout.

I cared about the characters, which made me thoroughly invested in Joel's journey and I know you will too. So, simply put, if you haven't seen 'Love and Monsters,' please check it out now by buying this brand new Blu-ray+Digital release from Paramount Pictures. This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.39:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of:

• Deleted Scenes
• Bottom of the Food Chain: The Cast of Love and Monsters
• It's a Monster's World: Creating a Post-Apocalyptical Landscape

'Love and Monsters' is on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD January 5th, 2021 from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Original Trailer

www.paramount.com





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