Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy has stood the test of time, becoming beloved young adult fantasy novels. HBO saw enough promise in the story that they picked up a television adaptation after sister company New Line Cinema failed to ignite a fervent following with their singular film. Season One\ got things off to a good start while Season Two stumbled a little.

After pandemic delays, the third and final season of His Dark Materials arrived earlier this year and is now available on home video from HBO Home Entertainment. The final eight episodes loosely adapt the third book in Pullman’s trilogy The Amber Spyglass and does so in a satisfying enough way that we will miss the series, this world, and the fine ensemble that brought the characters to life.

The focus remains on Lyra (Dafne Keen) and her growing relationship and Will (Amir Wilson). First, they have to find one another what with Lyra still in Mrs. Coulter’s (Ruth Wilson) clutches, and Will is being told to kill Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), which he might do, but only after finding her.

The varying worlds and faiths are on full display as The Authority in Magesterium is tested, threatening its existence.

It’s beautiful to look at, densely packed with plots and religious allusions, and ultimately honors Pullman’s work.

The eight episodes look superb in 1080p with the 2.00:1 ratio. The gorgeous cinematography, coupled with superior CGI creatures, looks terrific on disc. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is its equal so the home viewing experience is an excellent one.

Despite being an HBO series, this box set does not have any Special Features, mores the pity.

Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy has stood the test of time, becoming beloved young adult fantasy novels. HBO saw enough promise in the story that they picked up a television adaptation after sister company New Line Cinema failed to ignite a fervent following with their singular film.

After pandemic delays, the third and final season of His Dark Materials arrived earlier this year and is now available on home video from HBO Home Entertainment. The final eight episodes loosely adapt the third book in Pullman’s trilogy The Amber Spyglass and does so in a satisfying enough way that we will miss the series, this world, and the fine ensemble that brought the characters to life.

The focus remains on Lyra (Dafne Keen) and her growing relationship and Will (Amir Wilson). First, they have to find one another what with Lyra still in Mrs. Coulter’s (Ruth Wilson) clutches, and Will is being told to kill Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), which he might do, but only after finding her.

The varying worlds and faiths are on full display as The Authority in Magesterium is tested, threatening its existence.

It’s beautiful to look at, densely packed with plots and religious allusions, and ultimately honors Pullman’s work.

The eight episodes look superb in 1080p with the 2.00:1 ratio. The gorgeous cinematography, coupled with superior CGI creatures, looks terrific on disc. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is its equal so the home viewing experience is an excellent one.

Despite being an HBO series, this box set does not have any Special Features, mores the pity.

Let me start by saying I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan of RWBY, an American anime series that has been chugging along since its debut in 2013. For the last few years, producer Rooster Teeth has managed to partner with DC Comics for crossovers between the warriors, trained and dedicated to protecting the world of Remnant from Grimms, actual monsters.

I suppose it was inevitable that the comics crossovers would eventually find their way to the animated world where RWBY enjoys its fame. So, released recently is Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One, available as a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray/Digital HD combo pack from Warner Home Entertainment.

The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes are brought to Remnant to help the teen heroes save their world. Somehow, DC’s stalwarts wind up as teen versions of themselves, to better match the warriors. As a result, Superman (Chandler Riggs), Wonder Woman (Natalie Alyn Lind), Batman (Nat Wolff), and The Flash (David Errigo, Jr.) arrive scattered among the kingdoms of Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo, unaware of how they arrived or why. They encounter Ruby (Lindsay Jones), Weiss (Kara Eberle), Blake (Arryn Zech), and Yang (Barbara Dunkelman) and pairings occur, so they adventure is spread around the world. Other Leaguers seen briefly in the film include Cyborg (Tru Valentino), Green Lantern (Jeannie Tirado), and Vixen (Ozioma Akagha).

Of course there’s a cliffhanger since this is part one, but I can easily wait. The familiar tropes are on display with little variation on the expected. Frankly, the screenplay from Meghan Fitzmartin, who previous wrote Justice Society: World War II, does precious little with the Teen JLA members which may explain why the RWBY characters feel predominant. This is definitely only for those who appreciate the RWBY world and characters. With Rooster Teeth overseeing the animation, our more familiar heroes certainly have a different look and feel, leaning in to the Anime influences.

The 2060p transfer is fin, nicely capturing the color palette of Remnant and its inhabitants. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio is merely adequate but acceptable.

There are just two Special Features: Justice Comes to Remnant (7:35) and You Look … Different (9:01). Additionally, fans can enjoy Justice League Unlimited’ s “Kid Stuff” (23:09) and Justice League Action’s “Plastic Man Saves the World” (11:14). 

Aneesh Chaganty, Will Merrick, and Nick Johnson have spent the last few years slowly building an anthology of films that deal with missing people and the growing sophistication of technology in our lives. They arrived on the scene with Searching in 2018, told entirely through computer screens. Then came Run in 2020, and now, after a Covid-19 delay, Missing. Chaganty directed the first two with Merrick and Johnson as editors; but now the editors have become screenwriters and make their directorial debut with the new film.

They have intertwined the characters from the three films so you actually get some closure for Run with dialogue in Missing.

The new film swaps the father seeking his daughter from the first film as this time, teenager June (Storm Reid) uses her laptop and computer skills to track the whereabouts of her mother, Grace (Nia Long), who has disappeared in Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung). Since she can’t leave America, June finds Javier (Joaquim de Almeida), a gig worker, to do the legwork in South America.

The film is the best sort of onion, with every new layer revealing twists and turns, upending what we thought only minutes before. No one is who they appear to be and June, still mourning her dead father, feels increasingly alone, isolated, and just a tad paranoid.  That she relies entirely on her computer for a real connection to the world works as a metaphor for so many teens (although, as a teacher, I jealous at how adept she is with the laptop compared with my own high schoolers).

There’s enough action and danger tossed into the story that we’re not just sitting and watching June and Javier do the real work, similar to a Twitch experience. Here, the tyro directors do a fine job ratcheting up the tension and handle the action just fine. They’re helped with a solid cast led by Reid, who has never been less than impressive in her roles.

The film, out on Blu-ray with a Digital HD Code from Sony Home Entertainment, has a fine 1080p transfer that lets all the digital screens and computer graphics shine. The visuals are improved by the excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack.

The disc comes with a very fine assortment of Special Features, including Storm Reid and the Challenge of Missing (5:34); The Screens that Rule Our Lives (5:10); Hunting for the MISSING Easter Eggs (8:28); Misdirects, Online Crimes and the Social Media Mystery of Missing (6:53): Making a Frame Timelapse (0:48); Deleted Scenes (9:07); Filmmaker’s Commentary with producer Natalie Qasabian, Merrick, and Johnson.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’ s All-Star Superman is described as the finest salute to Silver Age ever to be written, embracing all the silliness and heart found in the Mort Weisinger-edited run of the Superman family of titles. Distilled down into a feature animated film, the story remains the same, just tighter.

The 2011 Warner Home Entertainment release is back, making its 4K Ultra HD debut. I liked it when first released, and the new edition is sharper and crisper, the 2060p transfer is excellent. Is it enough to upgrade? That’s up to you, but it belongs in your home video library in one form or another.

The strength in the adaptation has everything to do with the late Dwayne McDuffie’s screen adaptation, aided and enhanced by a wonderful score by composer Christopher Drake

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is the same as the 2011 release and sounds just fine.

The 4K disc has two new Special Features, both featuring Director Sam Liu, composer Christopher Drake, producer Bruce Timm, and character designer Dusty Abell. The first is An All-Star Adaptation (7:57), which looks at the challenge of turning a dozen comic books into a coherent 77 minute film. The other is An All-Star Salute to the Silver Age (7:16), which leans into the absurdity of some stories, all aimed at the younger end of the readership.

Also included in both the 4K and Blu-ray discs are the original features: Audio Commentary – with Timm and Morrison; The Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison; All-Star Superman #1 Digital Comic; and Superman Now. A digital HD code is also included in the package.