Welcome to my August 2026 Blu-ray Bounty, where I’ll be testing some of the latest 4K releases of the month. If you’re new to the Blu-ray Bounty, you can check out previous editions of these roundups by clicking the link above.
This series is where I test the picture and audio quality of select new 4K discs from each month. I personally use 4K Blu-ray all the time when I’m testing the best TVs and best soundbars, and have become somewhat of a collector myself.
In last month’s July 2026 Blu-ray Bounty, I looked at four discs: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (which has now entered my testing rotation), To Live and Die in L.A., Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Hairspray (1988).
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I’ll be using our usual setup to test this month’s seven discs, which includes one of 2026’s best OLED TVs the LG G6, the Panasonic DP-UB820, the best 4K Blu-ray player on the market and the Samsung HW-Q990C, an older-but-excellent 11.1.4 soundbar system. As always, I won’t be reviewing any of the movies here: just the picture and audio.
Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM)
(Image credit: Amazon MGM / Future)
Based on the Andy Weir (author of The Martian) novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary follows schoolteacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), who awakens on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there. He soon discovers he must stop a substance from killing the Earth’s Sun.
From the offset, this is a breathtaking disc. As grace awakens and explores the ship, black tones are rich and deep, and there’s plenty of strong contrast between the dark recesses of the various hallways and the lights around the ship. It’s the same with scenes of space, as the disc renders the blackness of space with real accuracy, while still showing every individual star. There are scenes with plenty of strong shadows as well, and within these scenes there is excellent shadow detail, with details maintained in the dark areas on screen.
With Dolby Vision supported, colors are both punchy and accurate. Grace’s yellow coat is vibrant and true-to-life. There are even more spectacular colors later on in the film, such as ‘Adrian’ (a planet Grace studies), which really pops on screen but keeps that nice, realistic look that is present with colors throughout the movie. Any brighter colors really dazzle on screen, aided by Dolby Vision.
This disc’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack is fantastic. The sound is accurate with a fantastic balance, demonstrated in scenes where Grace frantically explores the ship. As he grips onto surfaces and moves through space, the sound of his rubber suit is clear and detailed, mapped to the rear speakers. This balances nicely with the ethereal score during the movie’s more curious moments, such as the first meeting with Rocky. There’s plenty of thumping bass too, with any impacts during the movie’s tense moments generating some solid punch from the subwoofer.
Michael (Universal Pictures)
(Image credit: Universal Pictures / Future)
A biopic of the legendary ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson, Michael covers the singer’s life from his early days in the Jackson 5, culminating in the late 1980s during the Bad World Tour. Jackson’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson takes the role of his uncle.
Obviously, we’ll start with audio. The disc has a Dolby Atmos soundtrack and the most impressive sequences are the live concerts and recording sessions. There’s a terrific balance between instruments and the crowd, which utilizes all the space within a surround system, such as the Samsung soundbar I used. When Jackson first records ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’ , the Atmox mix is superb, with Jackson’s vocals crystal clear at the front, a tightly controlled drum and bass line, as well as detailed strings and guitars, all given room to breathe.
Picture-wise, this is a crisp, polished presentation as you’d expect from a modern, high-budget movie. Colors have plenty of punch and vibrancy, but also look true-to-life, and the clothing looks accurate and detailed for the time. The peacocks on the lawn of the Encino mansion in particular show what Dolby Vision’s color reproduction is capable of. There’s also good contrast throughout during night time sequences and when Jackson is on stage, particularly during his live performance of Billie Jean.
Troy (Arrow Video)
(Image credit: Arrow Video / Future)
Troy follows the story of Paris, Prince of Troy (Orlando Bloom), who falls in love with Helen (Diane Kruger) and convinces her to leave her husband King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson). Menelaus declares war on Troy and sends an army led by Achilles (Brad Pitt) to take the city. The movie is loosely based on Homer’s Iliad, focusing on the Trojan War.
This 4K restoration presented by Arrow Video is brilliant. Textures such as skin look lifelike with a 3D-level of detail, and the detail within objects such as armor and weapons is intricate and clean. Colors are bold and vibrant, such as the lush greens of the trees in the opening fight scene, as well as the blues of the sky above. Landscapes look superb thanks to fantastic cinematography, and again really demonstrate the excellent quality of this restoration.
Gold detail within the armor shines and is a showcase for TVs with good HDR highlights, like the G6 I used. There’s also plenty of strong contrast, with dark tones balancing the light, such as the dark walls of the palaces balancing with the fire torches on the walls. There’s some good film grain still present too, despite how clean textures look now.
There’s no Dolby Atmos soundtrack supported here, but there is a DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack that more than lives up to the task. During battle scenes, the sounds of arrows and spears whipping through the air is clear through the rear channels, creating a sense of height despite the lack of channels, while the front channels handle the clanging swords and more visceral sounds as people are slain. There’s plenty of strong bass too, as horses and chariots take part in battle.
West Side Story (1961) (Capelight Pictures)
(Image credit: Capelight Pictures / Future)
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story follows Tony, a former member of the Jets gang, who falls for Maria, a girl whose brother is a lead figure in the rival Sharks’ gang. Set in 1950s Manhattan, New York, it is one of the most well-known musicals in cinematic history.
Starting with audio, the 4K disc has a DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack, restored from 70mm 6-channel master, and its quality shows. There’s a lovely balance between the backing score and vocals, all of which have been made into a natural-sounding, clean surround mix that makes use of all the space it’s granted.
Vocals are consistently clear and instruments sound detailed throughout. Even more subtle effects, such as the shuffling of feet during dances, sound refined and well-defined within the mix.
Visually, this is an impressive restoration. The colorful clothes and locales around the New York neighbourhoods really pop on screen. During the opening sequences, the reds of the walls and various gang member’s clothing are both vivid and true-to-life, and this carries on throughout the movie, with the vibrant 1950s clothing looking bright and vivid.
Textures have been given a nice uplift, with skin in particular benefitting from the 4K restoration, giving people a 3D-like appearance that makes the movie feel much more contemporary than its 1961 release date. There’s also some demonstrations of strong contrast during the movie’s night sequences, with stage spotlights overhead creating strong shadows, while still maintaining rich black tones.
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (Arrow Video)
(Image credit: Arrow Video / Future)
A sequel to the beloved Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey sees the duo Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) end up in the afterlife, after a pair of evil doppelganger robots is sent back in time to stop them from ever becoming famous musicians and creating a utopia.
This is another excellent (pun intended) 4K restoration from Arrow. From the get-go, colors are bold, vibrant and engaging. The neon clothing of the people in the future explodes on screen, but in the 1980s, people’s clothes really shine too, particularly Ted’s red jacket. Colors still look true-to-life at the same time.
Black tones are rich and deep as well, including the deep black during the tunnels in hell and of Death’s cloak. Textures have been upscaled nicely too, cleaning up skin and objects throughout the movie, while maintaining a good amount of grain.
The disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack that delivers a surprising amount of detail. Various effects throughout really use every channel, such as the crackle of the time-travelling phone booth coming through clear in the rear channels, while speech is clear in the front channels. More subtle effects are also clear, such as the creaking of the Colonel’s leather boots as he tells Bill and Ted to do infinity pushups. Musical scenes also sound great as well, with punchy drums and bass and detailed guitars.
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (Visions Home Video)
(Image credit: Vision Home Media / Future)
Hunt For The Wilderpeople tells the story of Ricky (Julain Dennison), a young orphan who ends up running from his foster home with his foster uncle Hector (Sam Neill) into the New Zealand wilderness. As a manhunt ensues, the two must work together to avoid the law. This was one of Taika Waititi’s first movies.
The showcase visual aspect of this disc is of course the gorgeous New Zealand wilderness. The greens of the fields and trees are beautiful, looking both vibrant and accurate in equal measure. Any bolder colors, such as Ricky’s bright red jacket and yellow hoodie, also pop on screen whilst also looking true-to-life. Textures are crisp and realistic, with the detail in nature, such as leaves and roots, adding some nice depth to the image.
The DTS-HD 5.1 MA soundtrack sounds great here. As Hector and Ricky move through the wilderness, the sound of birds tweeting and the crackle of twigs and leaves underfoot is nicely detailed, with the birdsong demonstrating some accurate mapping as it quietly comes through the rear channels. Speech is clear throughout the movie, balancing well with the other aspects of the soundtrack. There’s even some nice directionality as well, with the sound of a travelling bullet moving around the rear channels behind me.
Mars Attacks! (Warner Bros.)
(Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future)
From Tim Burton, Mars Attacks! follows a group of aliens who land on Earth, and after meeting with US President Dale (Jack Nicholson) under peaceful circumstances, begin to attack cities across the globe. The movie has an ensemble cast including Annette Benning, Glenn Close, Jack Black and Michael J Fox.
Colors are the 4K disc’s real highlight here, with the gaudy aesthetic of Las Vegas, both the casinos and the people’s outfits, really popping on screen. The silk shirts a lot of the characters wear are extremely vivid, but never look oversaturated. Textures have been cleaned up well, giving the overall picture a refresh, particularly in people’s skin. During darker scenes, black tones are deep and there’s strong contrast on show, particularly during any night scenes on the Vegas strip.
The 4K disc’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack is engaging and detailed throughout. Explosions deliver plenty of meaty bass that’s also well controlled through the right subwoofer. The sound of the alien’s ray guns is accurately mapped to the action on screen, demonstrating some brilliant, refined detail. As spacecraft fly overhead, Atmos is in full effect, demonstrating an effective use of height channels.
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