I’ve decided, like so many, to start a Newsletter.
Part of the reason for this is just how much I consume and take in beyond the films I share on the site. The Movie Isle was founded on the basis of writing thorough and complete reviews of Home Video releases. There are so many additional films, TV/Streaming, books, comics, video games (VIDEO GAMES!!!) that I consume that I just don’t have the time to write up with the same sort of detail that I bring to the main page.
I’ve created The Media Lab for this very purpose. A place where I can give you my thoughts and ramblings on other media I’m consuming. Things that maybe I didn’t have time to fully review but felt there was a reason to still have a discussion about. At the end of this edition, I’m going to give you a taste of that.
I think my greater goal is beyond the extra reviews; it’s a place where I’m going to experiment with content and give you additional items like interviews, think pieces (tiny ones), unboxing videos, and maybe the occasional video game capture (to show you how truly laughable I am at gaming) or, if I’m feeling up to it, talk some …gasp… sports. Hell, I might have a guest contributor or two or three. Everything is going to be a little bit looser here because there isn’t going to be a traditional form to it all.
That is to say, everything’s on the table.
The best part… this is all FREE! All you need to do is subscribe to the mailing list, which, if you got this one, you already do. I’ll figure out a place to put these on the site for historical purposes eventually, but for now this is all email.
So, in the spirit of starting off on the right foot, I’m going to present my thoughts on Arrow Video’s recent 4K UHD release of Troy. I never finished my detailed review because I didn’t have time and was writing other reviews:
4K Review: Arrow Video’s Troy (LIMITED EDITION)
Brad Pitt and all his beauty stars in Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy.
The Film
Troy is not a good movie. It wasn’t in 2004. It isn’t in 2026. The fact that a certain sector is using it to belittle the masterwork that is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey makes it all the funnier. Someone trying to convince themselves that Troy is a good movie is as deluded as anything in 2026. That being said, Troy is a very entertaining film. Director Wolfgang Petersen and the committee of producers took what was once a truly arresting adaptation of The Iliad by David Benioff (who would eventually adapt Game of Thrones) into a blunt, obvious piece of pop entertainment starring beautiful people using oftentimes terrible accents.
All of the broad strokes of the story are here… Paris (Orlando Bloom) falls in love with Helen (Diane Kruger) while on a diplomatic mission (not from Alderaan) with brother Hector (Eric Bana). Agamemnon (Brian Cox) uses it to start a land war (not in Asia) that all leads to Hector and Agamemnon’s champion F1 star Achilles (bronzed Brad Pitt) facing off. Odysseus (Sean Bean in the rare roles where he doesn’t die) comes in with the wooden horse to sack Troy.
Again, the film is a lifeless, listless, uninspired action epic of the era. 300 can be accused of many things, but uninspired is not one of them. Part of what made that film so entertaining was how punk rock loudness everyone approached the material with (remember, THIS IS SPARTA, I think everyone does). They understood the assignment. Troy feels like people are back-slapping one another, already handing out non-existent Oscars. There is no rousing, there is no adventure, there is no epic. Yes, there is a close approximation of those things, but everything just feels off.
The Transfers
The all-new 4K remasters of both the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films are spectacular-looking. No matter what you think of the film in its two flavors, these 4K UHD discs are reference quality, showing off cinematographer Roger Pratt’s golden-hued 35mm photography. There isn’t a scratch or blemish on either cut of the film. The disc gets everything right, from the grain structure to the color reproduction to the contrast level, and perfectly emulates the visual presentation that was exhibited when this reviewer saw the film opening weekend back in May of 2004. Arrow continues to stun with their partnership with Warner Bros., releasing some of the very best-looking versions of their catalog titles, giving them a new 4K UHD Dolby Vision coat of paint.
We will be back in a few days with a new edition of The Media Lab
Welcome to The Movie Isle Media Lab
Dear Reader,
I’ve decided, like so many, to start a Newsletter.
Part of the reason for this is just how much I consume and take in beyond the films I share on the site. The Movie Isle was founded on the basis of writing thorough and complete reviews of Home Video releases. There are so many additional films, TV/Streaming, books, comics, video games (VIDEO GAMES!!!) that I consume that I just don’t have the time to write up with the same sort of detail that I bring to the main page.
I’ve created The Media Lab for this very purpose. A place where I can give you my thoughts and ramblings on other media I’m consuming. Things that maybe I didn’t have time to fully review but felt there was a reason to still have a discussion about. At the end of this edition, I’m going to give you a taste of that.
I think my greater goal is beyond the extra reviews; it’s a place where I’m going to experiment with content and give you additional items like interviews, think pieces (tiny ones), unboxing videos, and maybe the occasional video game capture (to show you how truly laughable I am at gaming) or, if I’m feeling up to it, talk some …gasp… sports. Hell, I might have a guest contributor or two or three. Everything is going to be a little bit looser here because there isn’t going to be a traditional form to it all.
That is to say, everything’s on the table.
The best part… this is all FREE! All you need to do is subscribe to the mailing list, which, if you got this one, you already do. I’ll figure out a place to put these on the site for historical purposes eventually, but for now this is all email.
So, in the spirit of starting off on the right foot, I’m going to present my thoughts on Arrow Video’s recent 4K UHD release of Troy. I never finished my detailed review because I didn’t have time and was writing other reviews:
4K Review: Arrow Video’s Troy (LIMITED EDITION)
Brad Pitt and all his beauty stars in Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy.
The Film
Troy is not a good movie. It wasn’t in 2004. It isn’t in 2026. The fact that a certain sector is using it to belittle the masterwork that is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey makes it all the funnier. Someone trying to convince themselves that Troy is a good movie is as deluded as anything in 2026. That being said, Troy is a very entertaining film. Director Wolfgang Petersen and the committee of producers took what was once a truly arresting adaptation of The Iliad by David Benioff (who would eventually adapt Game of Thrones) into a blunt, obvious piece of pop entertainment starring beautiful people using oftentimes terrible accents.
All of the broad strokes of the story are here… Paris (Orlando Bloom) falls in love with Helen (Diane Kruger) while on a diplomatic mission (not from Alderaan) with brother Hector (Eric Bana). Agamemnon (Brian Cox) uses it to start a land war (not in Asia) that all leads to Hector and Agamemnon’s champion F1 star Achilles (bronzed Brad Pitt) facing off. Odysseus (Sean Bean in the rare roles where he doesn’t die) comes in with the wooden horse to sack Troy.
Again, the film is a lifeless, listless, uninspired action epic of the era. 300 can be accused of many things, but uninspired is not one of them. Part of what made that film so entertaining was how punk rock loudness everyone approached the material with (remember, THIS IS SPARTA, I think everyone does). They understood the assignment. Troy feels like people are back-slapping one another, already handing out non-existent Oscars. There is no rousing, there is no adventure, there is no epic. Yes, there is a close approximation of those things, but everything just feels off.
The Transfers
The all-new 4K remasters of both the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films are spectacular-looking. No matter what you think of the film in its two flavors, these 4K UHD discs are reference quality, showing off cinematographer Roger Pratt’s golden-hued 35mm photography. There isn’t a scratch or blemish on either cut of the film. The disc gets everything right, from the grain structure to the color reproduction to the contrast level, and perfectly emulates the visual presentation that was exhibited when this reviewer saw the film opening weekend back in May of 2004. Arrow continues to stun with their partnership with Warner Bros., releasing some of the very best-looking versions of their catalog titles, giving them a new 4K UHD Dolby Vision coat of paint.
We will be back in a few days with a new edition of The Media Lab
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