2001: A Space Odyssey 4K reviewed & more, plus Kin, The Predator, and The House with the Clock in its Walls announced for BD/4K

All right, today’s post is another quickie for the reasons anticipated – namely I’m about to start working on my review of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Batman: The Complete Animated Series on Blu-ray. With luck, I hope to have it up by the end of the day today or early tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, I posted my in-depth review of Warner Bros.’ 2001: A Space Odyssey on 4K Ultra HD yesterday here at The Bits. The upshot is this is fully remastered and properly color-graded, unlike the recent Nolan theatrical IMAX presentations, and the Blu-ray is fully remastered too. The disc also includes Dolby Vision HDR and it has a new 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix that represents the original 6-track 70 mm theatrical audio too. It’s really a fantastic release, so be sure to check that out. Note that the end of the review features significant technical details on the remastering process (from a brief prepared by the studio) shared with permission. Many of you will find it interesting.

In the meantime, we have a few additional Blu-ray reviews for you today from Tim and our old friend Dr. Adam Jahnke, including Scream Factory’s Creepshow, The Howling (Steelbook), and Halloween II and III (Steelbooks). Enjoy! [Read on here...]

Also, we have a couple of announcements to report today...

First, Lionsgate has officially set Kin for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 11/20, with the Digital release expected on 11/6. Extras on the Blu-ray versions will include audio commentary with co-directors Jonathan and Josh Baker and screenwriter Daniel Casey, the Thicker Than Water: The Making of Kin 8-part documentary, the Enhanced Visual FX Breakdown featurette, the Bag Man: Original Short (with optional audio commentary by co-directors Jonathan and Josh Baker), 10 deleted scenes, and the Learned Behavior: Special Features at Work hour-long round table discussion (between Jonathan and Josh Baker and filmmakers Dan Trachtenberg, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Laurent Bouzereau, and Kevin Smith). Note that both Blu-ray and 4K UHD will include DTS-X object-based audio and the 4K will also feature Dolby Vision HDR.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has just announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of The Predator on 12/18, with the Digital release due on 11/27. Extras will include deleted scenes, 4 featurettes (A Touch of Black, Predator Evolution, The Takedown Team, and Predator Catch-Up), and a gallery. The 4K will also feature Dolby Atmos audio, while the Blu-ray includes 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

Universal has also just officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of The House with a Clock in its Walls on 12/18, with the Digital release expected on 11/27. Both the Blu-ray and 4K disc will be loaded with content, including audio commentary, deleted and alternate scenes, a gag reel, and many documentary featurettes. Audio will be included on the Blu-ray and DVD in Dolby Atmos format.

Speaking of Universal, we’ve learned from our retail sources that Halloween (2018) is due on Blu-ray and 4K on 1/15/19, and that First Man, How to Train Your Dragon, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 will follow on 4K on 1/22/19. We’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits accordingly.

We’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for a bunch of the titles mentioned above and more. Click on the artwork to pre-order them each on Amazon.com…