Welcome to a bonus edition of my Blu-ray Bounty column, where I test the latest physical media film releases to see which make great showcases for your setup.
Normally, the Bounty arrives at the end of the month, but in celebration of Blu-ray’s 20th anniversary (on 20th June), I thought I’d check out a few discs released in 2026 that didn’t make it into the Blu-ray Bounty the first time. If you're thinking it just sounds like I wanted to find an excuse to watch some cool movies while at work… well, no comment.
As usual, I’ll be using a setup consisting of one of the best OLED TVs of 2025 the LG G5, along with the Panasonic DP-UB820 that we rate as the best 4K Blu-ray player on the market, plus Samsung HW-Q990C Dolby Atmos soundbar surround system.
As usual, I don’t review the movies themselves here, just the audio and video quality of the disc.
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
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One Battle After Another tells the story of Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), a washed-up revolutionary who lives off grid with his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). He must face his past when his nemesis Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) resurfaces and his daughter goes missing.
Visually, One Battle After Another is a striking movie. Textures are crisp throughout, looking both 3D-like and true to life. There are plenty of high-contrast scenes that showcase rich black tones with punchy highlights, especially during night scenes where strong shadows are cast. Colors are natural, with the green grass of fields and the bright, blue sky all looking natural throughout the movie.
With a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, this disc sounds fantastic. Explosions and gunfire have plenty of impact and power, demonstrating well controlled bass tones. This balances nicely with the movie’s more intricate sound effects, such as the clicking of a gun’s chamber and lightly treading footsteps. There’s a good use of height channels too, as army helicopters fly overhead, creating an immersive atmosphere.
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics)
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Becoming Led Zeppelin is a documentary that explores the origins of the iconic rock band, from the members’ youth to the height of the band, including never-before-seen footage and modern-day interviews with the band.
Where else to start than with audio? There are two soundtrack options: DTS-HD 5.1 MA and DTS-HD 2.0 MA. Played through our soundbar, the 5.1 mix sounded fantastic. When Good Times, Bad Times kicks in, John Bonham’s thumping drums sound superb through the subwoofer: tightly controlled, detailed and meaty. Jimmy Page and John-Paul Jones’ guitars are refined, dynamic and intricate. Finally, Plant’s vocals are clear, punchy and as powerful as you could hope for.
Other highlights include Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You as the band recounts their first US tour in 1968, where Page’s delicate playing sounds crisp and clean and Plant’s haunting vocals are gorgeous and shortly after a live version of Communication Breakdown sounds raw, punchy and perfectly balanced, with every instrument given room to breathe.
Visually, the disc is 4K SDR. While there’s not a great deal to show off here, as most of the documentary is made up of old footage and talking-heads with the band, what is present is clean and shows great detail. Some of the footage has been upscaled nicely and some left intentionally grainy, but it’s still an excellent presentation overall.
This Is Spinal Tap (Sony Pictures)
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This Is Spinal Tap is a mockumentary about the fictional rock band Spinal Tap on their 1982 US tour. The movie stars Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, Michel McKean as David St Hubbins and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls. Rob Reiner directs and stars as the filmmaker Marty Di Bergi.
The movie comes with two DTS-HD MA soundtracks 5.1 and 2.0. The 5.1 mix sounds superb, particularly during the live concert sequences. Guitars are crunchy and detailed, drums and bass are meaty and provide a nice workout for your subwoofer. The mix is extremely well balanced with a wide soundstage, giving each instrument ample room. Vocals are clean during live sections and speech is clear during dialogue scenes. The infamous ‘Stonehenge’ scene in particular sounds fantastic.
Visually, the movie supports Dolby Vision and looks very good. Colors have plenty of punch, from the band’s loud, bright costumes on stage to the more natural environments with bushes and trees, there’s a really nice balance of color. Dark tones are deep and rich and textures look lifelike. While it doesn’t have the level of upscaling I’ve seen in some movies, skin, hair and clothing have been sharpened up. Cinephiles will be happy with the level of film grain retained here and while some scenes have more grain than others, it suits the mockumentary style of the movie.
All The President’s Men (Warner Bros.)
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All The President's Men follows the story of two reporters from The Washington Post, Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford), who investigate the Watergate scandal. The movie is based on the non-fiction book of the same name.
All The President’s Men looks great in 4K. Watching in Dolby Vision, the picture is bright and detailed, with crisp textures throughout. Clothing and hair are refined and colors are bold and vibrant, shown on the brightly colored off chairs and desks in The Washington Post office. The green trees and grass surrounding the courthouse look natural and punchy. Night scenes showing deep blacks with strong contrast, shown as cars drive through the city. There’s plenty of grain retained which cinephiles will be happy with, but there’s some nice upscaling too.
The disc has a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack and throughout the movie, speech is clear with good detail. Subtle effects such as radios and voices on a telephone and the scratching of a reporter’s pencil have a good amount of detail. While there’s nothing to really show off your sound system like you’d get from an action-packed blockbuster, it’s a great overall soundtrack.
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