Film

Mikael Blomkvist is facing jail time for slander and manages to be hired for one last job. With the aid of a terribly troubled computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander, Blomkvist attempts to solve the disappearance of a woman from over decades before. While investigating, Salander’s troubles with her current legal guardian escalate to very dangerous levels along with the dangers of discovering a serial killer secret linked to the cold case they are working.

This film is a rare case where a film adaptation lives up to much of the hype surrounding the immensely successful and popular series of books by the late Stieg Larsson. As a stand-alone film, this is a powerful story. As an adaptation, it has taken cherished characters (especially that of Salander) and given them another life in this new medium while sacrificing little in the transfer.

Running at over 2 and a half hours long, one could certainly argue that almost too many efforts where made to be faithful to the source material, in that there are too many details wedged in that may add some context to the character’s motivations, it does not make for a thrilling pace. Considering this along with the capabilities of our two lead actors, there is a very clear tipping of the scale in favour of Noomi Rapace as Salander for both her performance and her character’s story is all the more engrossing, making Blomkvist’s subplots and/or contributions to the main plot feel like they are bogging down the film’s pace.

If the long length does not turn people away, perhaps the horrific brutality within Salander’s story will. I am not criticizing its inclusion, for I admire how it did not shy away from the most crucial points in her character’s arc, but simply warning those that may not wish to subject themselves that has a stronger impact than anything presented by the Gore-porn genre such as Hostel and its ilk, yet has nowhere the same degree of visual explicitness.

Video

Widescreen 2.35:1. The black shades in this film are perfectly crisp, which is often essential for the mien, costuming and settings of this film. As a contrast, exterior shots in nature are vibrantly bright and beautiful. Though things run more frequently on the dark side, there is a wide breadth of fine visual examples in this film. A great job has been done by the production team and those making the blu-ray and DVD.

Audio

5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Stereo are available in both English and Swedish. Not surprising, the Swedish track is mixed very well, and ranks as superior to the English dubbing. Honestly though, the English track is not as distracting as I thought it might be. The performances are good and they did not slouch in the mixing. The sound effects are quite immersible both tracks when they need to be and all in all great care went into balancing score, effects and dialogue.

Subtitles available in English

Special Features

(on Blu Ray only)

Interview with actress Noomi Rapace: This is a very fine interview. Rapace explains her joy of the books pre-auditioning, her challenges portraying such a well known character as well as the traumatizing events she faces.

Interview with Producer Soren Staermose: This interview mostly focuses on Staermose’s obligation to honour the books while searching out all of, what he felt were, the appropriate pieces needed to assemble this film.

UK Theatrical Trailer

Sneak Peak of The Girl Who Played with Fire: Self-explanatory.

The Girl Who Played with Fire trailer

Photo Gallery: Presented as a slide show with music.

The Vanger Family Tree: Literally, a still picture of their family tree. A visual testament to how intricate and detailed Larsson’s mystery plot was. It is like catching a glimpse at a key element Blomvist and Salander needed to solve in order to learn the truth behind he disappearance.

Did you know? A series of written out facts surrounding the composition and success of Larsson’s books, all posthumously.

DVD copy of the film. Presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital English and Swedish.

Final Thoughts

Both the filmmakers and those created this Blu Ray/DVD combo packaged were dedicated. There is ample service to the fans here, that will be equally enjoyed by those getting their first impressions by this film. A story that is not for the faint of heart, but rewarding for those aching for a solid thriller.

Film

Disc 1:

Sexual Healing: The sudden attention paid to “Sexual Addiction” in celebrities, thanks to the Tiger Woods controversy is played with as a joke of a joke. The mock-surprise and confusion of the characters is very amusing as they try to solve the non-mystery of why a man who is rich, healthy and young want to sleep with many beautiful women.

The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs: The boys are disappointed by former banned book Catcher in the Rye’s lack of raunchiness and so they decide to write the grossest story imaginable in an attempt to get banned, and inadvertently write a masterpiece.

Medical Fried Chicken: One of the most over-the-top episodes this season (and that says a lot) as KFC is banned in Colorado while medicinal marijuana stores start to appear. Since marijuana can only be legally distributed to people suffering from a serious illness, a group of men in town purposefully give themselves testicular cancer. Not only does this allow them to buy marijuana but their swollen testicles inflate to the size of chairs and can be used as ‘hippity-hop’ style transportation. Offensive and hilarious, a combo South Park has truly mastered.

You Have 0 Friends: The long overdue jab at Facebook. “Friends” are treated as a commodity until Facebook goes rogue and Stan must do battle in a Tron-like setting. This one has some wonderful inside jokes for those frustrated with the Facebook phenomenon.

200 & 201: A celebration of South Park making the 200 episode mark by having nothing but two episode-long string of self-referential jokes that build to a class-action lawsuit made by all the celebrities they have ever made fun of. These episodes had to be edited and/or pulled because of the reemergence of the Muhammad controversy (said controversy refers to whether they can air an image of the Muslim prophet).

For those more concerned about the South Park references, this two-part special finally answers the long-standing question of who Eric Cartman’s father really is (which was the question of their first season cliffhanger).

Crippled Summer: Part parody of the reality show Intervention, this time with Towelie as the subject, part parody of Warner Bros cartoon charters, here depicted as handicapped children attending summer camp. Not the strongest episode of the season but plenty of absurd laughs are to be had.

Disc 2

Poor and Stupid: Cartman fears he is not poor nor stupid enough to ever become a NASCAR driver. This episode is one long jab at NASCAR fan culture…another subject that was long overdue for a good South Park ribbing. Cartman and Butters southern banter while competing on the track had me laughing out loud.

It’s a Jersey Thing: Like the Season Seven episode “South Park is Gay!” that went after the rise of Gay-themed television shows, here they go after New Jersey themed programs like Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious. Jersey people’s popularity is a plague covering all of the US and South Park takes a militant stand against it. All the while, Kyle discovers that he was conceived in new Jersey making him another of the “Three Js” that Cartman is most prejudiced against:“Jew, Jersey, Ginger.” South Park is in fine satirical form with this episode, demonstrating their disdain through pitch-perfect parodies of their subjects.

Insheeption: This episode was based on a College Humour sketch about Inception than the film itself (a fact the creators apologize for in their audio commentary). The realm of dreams is entered to search out why Stan and Mr. Mackey are compulsive hoarders (making this a backhanded parody of Hoarding reality programs as well). No matter how many of the jokes were borrowed, this is a very amusing episode.

Coon Trilogy: Cartman’s alter ego returns. Lovecraft’s Cthulu appears as the Coon’s side-kick while the secret behind Mysterion’s identity as well as an explanation for Kenny’s constant resurrections are explained. A massive three-part saga that nearly reaches the scale of their previous Imaginationland adventure. The Coon was not the strongest concept in the previous season, but it makes for an acceptable story arc here.

Crème Fraiche: The season finale is a take on cooking shows and that strange shake-weight exercise gizmo. Like many of the recent episode’s Randy Marsh is the leader in all the hijinx (he is almost usurping the four boys as a lead character at this point). This episode might be responsible of creating the slang term “Old Fashioned” for a sexual act I won’t describe here…I’m sure it will be noticeable on the internet in no time.

Video

The original Fullscreen has been modified to appear natural in a 16:9 Widescreen TV presentation. The HD presentation is absolutely flawless. The animation may still root itself in looking cheaper than most (although their animation team is now capable of creating complex 3D characters to go along with the construction paper look of the originals) but each line and colour is as precise as it can possibly be.

Audio

Dolby TrueHD English 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, and English Stereo are the three options available. No matter what you choose, the sound is lush and very well mixed. The grossest of sound effects are blended right into the sophisticated scores of their more epic moments.

Subtitles available in English.

Special Features

Mini-Commentaries (both discs): As with every season previous, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone take four minutes from the beginning of each episode to speak about it. In many ways, I wish they had the time and patience to cover the entire episode as there are many smaller references and jokes within each episode that I’m sure they can dwell on. More often then not they make reference to the fact that they’re speaking and seem to be eating up time more than anything. That said, they still have interesting tidbits to share, mostly about their inspiration and motivation behind each episode’s story. These guys have a natural sense of composition, a tremendous self-awareness, and are shameless with both their praise and criticisms of others.

Disc 1

Deletes: A few scenes cut for time constraints it would seem. None are all that hilarious on their own but all could fit seamlessly back into their respective episodes. As well, each seems to be at different stages of completion for some are merely storyboards with dialogue over-top and others have the finished HD polish on them.

Disc 2:

The Coon: The debut of the superhero alter-egos of South Park’s kids, originally appearing on the Season 13 release. As an added bonus, the mini-commentary is also included in its re-release here.

Final Thoughts

When it seemed like this show was getting a bit too far into being nothing but parodies (or butchering) of pop culture references, Season 14 showed some actual character development, adding some more depth and history to these cartoon people we’ve come to know for well-over a decade now. This is certainly not their greatest season, but it is impossible to ever state that the show has lost its touch. South Park shows no real signs of losing steam as long as it can keep churning out an episode (from idea to post-production) in a weeks time, while never losing its edge or its wonderful attraction to satire.

Film

The story is of a teenager from England named Jenny (played by Carey Mulligan0, who starts a relationship with an older man. Originally on a quest to attend Oxford, her new experiences in amongst richer, more mature people have lead her astray and questioning what sort of life she wishes to lead.

Set in England during the 1960s, the film does a great job of capturing the essence of that era. The changes sensed in Jenny run parallel to the general attitude of young Europeans who are casting off more shackles of domineering educators and other authority figures to explore new avenues of music and artistic experience/expression.

The flow of the film is interesting. The opening credit sequence is so bouncy and light that one expects a family comedy to follow. What does follow is loaded with charming performances by a very strong cast. When tensions arise with Jenny’s parents one expects them to be semi-villainous archetypes but turn out to be just as naive and sensitive as Jenny herself. Alfred Molina, as the father, is in his usual professional form. He is defiant but ever-affable. It is by the third act that we are revealed which character was using their charms to cover something more dastardly, and whom it simply came naturally. It is in said revelations that repeat viewing of this film becomes fully warranted. Subtle lines of dialogue of exchanged glances between characters gain great depth and a whole new light is shed on every minute of the film leading up.

Video

Widescreen 2:35:1. Presented in 1080p HD but picture is disappointingly fuzzy at many points. Dark colours do not seem to be as crisp as they should be, except at parts where music seems to be the focus. I’m not exactly sure how or why this happens, but I’m not ruling out some sort of sonic intoxication of my brain due to the fine musical excerpts chosen.

Audio

English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.. The soundtrack is miles ahead of the video quality. The score weaves between the diegetic and the non-diegetic with the richness of tone following said weaving in perfect harmony. All sounds come through very clear and I only noticed one single moment of obvious, post-production dialogue dubbing.

Subtitles available in English and French.

Special Features

(some in HD, most in Standard Definition. All in Stereo.)

Trailers: For this film and others. Nuff said.

Making of: Under ten minutes, this is standard fair for most Making of featurettes. Some comments and clips. Nothing earth shattering at all.

Deleted Scenes: There are many clips but all are short, often extended versions of what made the final cut. This feature helps demonstrate how much tighter the editing made of what was already a well-crafted screenplay.

Commentary by Director Lone Scherfig and stars Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard: This is commentary track is true to its name in that these three are clearly just watching the film and making passing, reactionary comments. There is minimal acknowledgement of the viewers, just the three enjoying the film. This is all well and good but can be extremely dry and dull at points.
One thing I felt like noting is that listeners might not recognize Mulligen’s voice as it is nearly an octave deeper in real life. At least Scherfig’s strong, Scandinavian accent will help in discerning them.
Walking the Red Carpet: As harmless as the Making of featurette, and almost identical in its length. A fluffy bit of actors doing interviews while camera bulbs flicker endlessly.

Final Thoughts

A very fine, dignified film that will feel refreshing for those that are fatigued from the contemporary dramas about youths. The performances were the linchpin to this film’s success and it is always great to see actors put true care into their roles, and elevate what was already a fine story.

Film  

To say that I loved The Incredibles when I first saw it in the theater would be an understatement. This is one great film and as far as I was concerned, should have won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture, not just best animated feature. The movie s that good. I had heard of the writer/director Brad Bird due to his fine work in the film The Iron Giant and was curious to see if he could top himself with The Incredibles. Top himself, indeed he did!

The film tells the tale of Bob Parr and his family. It seems that some 15 years prior, a group of superheroes, Supers if you will, became sort of passe. After a few mishaps that occurred during their daring rescues, there were just too many lawsuits for property damage and personal injury for the general public and the Supers went into a forced retirement into the witness protection program if you will. They were given new identities and told to never use their super powers again. One of those Supers was Mr. Incredible who is now known exclusively as Bob Parr. Bob now works in the unglamorous world of insurance claims deciding which claims to par or deny (Mostly deny as per company policy. After all, why would an insurance company want to pay a claim, cuts into the profits you know!)

Bob is married to another Super, Elastigirl aka Helen and they have three kids together Violet, Dash and the baby, Jack-Jack. Bob quite understandably misses the limelight and the thrill of being a super and falls easy prey to a sinister villain who, taking full advantage of his insecurities and unhappy lot in life, brings him to a mysterious island for the purpose of killing him. It seems that this villain has been killing off the Supers once by one.

As far as anyone knows, they are simply disappearing. Now it is time for Mr. Incredible to meet a similar fate. When Helen finds out that Bob has been moonlighting as a Super again, she travels to confront him as she thinks he is having an affair. Unbeknownst to her, her two oldest kids stow away on her plane which comes under attack as she approaches the island where they set of to rescue Bob and save the world from the sinister villain.

The film deals with many interesting issues that are geared to the adult audience. Despite this, the film works beautifully for children, which is Brad Bird’s greatest skill. He is able to craft fine films dealing with very adult topics which yet appeal to all age groups. Intelligent films that appeal to a mass audience. What a concept!. The Incredibles is a must own film. if you have not yet experienced it, get this release. You will be glad you did.

Video  

May I dare say that the video presentation of The Incredibles on Blu-ray is perfect? Yes, I said it, perfect!. While the DVD looks spectacular, the Blu-ray is even better, and by a wide margin. The film features bright and bold colors and deep inky blacks. Detail, clarity and depth are all astonishing, mind blowing in fact. The bigger the screen, the better this release looks. Take a gander at the lush colors from the orange red of the uniforms, to the lush green island and the silky blue water of the ocean. This is a spectacular looking film and I think, Pixar’s best.

The detail on the uniforms is superb as well as the hair, the texture of the water and just about every other element of the video presentation, which pushes the limits of Blu-ray to its maximum. The video here is just superb. The Incredibles on DVD was of reference video quality. Now it is just that on Blu-ray as well. If you are looking for a disc to show off your system or see what it is truly capable of producing, this is the release for you. It is a must have for film and home theater fans alike.

Audio  

As good as the video presentation is, the audio matches it in every way possible. The film features incredible fidelity with transparency to die for. The surrounds are used aggressively to create the sense of total immersion. The panning sound effects are superb. Bass is deep and solid without even the hint of bloat and dynamics are off the charts. Need I say more? The film is just repleat with demo sequences. The audio presentation of The Incredibles is what home theater is all about. As good as the audio was on the DVD, the lossless audio track on Blu-ray takes that quality up a few notches and is truly of reference quality.

Special Features 

The Incredibles is available on Blu-ray in a 4-disc combo pack. The combo pack includes the film and some extras on Blu-ray disc 1, Blu-ray disc 2 contains additional extras in both high definition and standard definition, a DVD copy of the film on disc 3 and disc 4 containing a digital copy of the film.

The extras on disc 1 include a new roundtable made for the Blu-ray release where Brad Bird and his chief production people sit down and discuss their recollections of the issues involved in making the film. Disc 1 also contains a couple of audio commentaries as well two short films, Boundin’ as well as the Jack-Jack Attacks from the prior DVD release, both of which presented in HD.

Disc 2 includes the extras ported over from the prior DVD release including the easter eggs found on that release as well as a series of deleted scenes that are presented in HD for the first time via storyboards with introductions by Brad Bird and producer John Walker. Also included is an interactive game “The New Nomanisan Island Redevelopment game, where Nomanisan Island is turned from the headquarters of an evil villain into a vacation island. After a brief introduction, you can access each of the island’s new vacation locales just in case you were planning a trip.

The extras also include interviews with animators entitled Path to Pixar: Story Artist as well as a story from one of the animators entitled “Studio Stories: Gary’s Birthday”. If you have the prior DVD release of the film, you have seen the most interesting of the extras already. Of the new material, the only one I would recommend as a must see is the new retrospective piece. As far as the rest are concerned, you can always get to them later. The real gem here is the film.

Final Thoughts  

Perfect film, perfect video and perfect audio. Perfect in all respects. The Incredibles on Blu-ray has it all and is a MUST OWN.

Film  

I will say for the outset that I did enjoy Tangled. It is a warm, charming and at times, funny film. The problem is that we have seen this same type of story line and presentation before many times from Disney. This film fails to break any new ground and is basically a rehash of familiar Disney faire although quite nicely dressed up in some beautiful looking CGI.

The film is a basic retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale. The film starts out setting the scene for the film. We are introduced to the character of Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy), an old haggard looking woman who happens upon a magic golden flower, which glows when she sings to it and which, in turn, makes her young again, sort of like finding the fountain of youth only in a flower. It is only by singing to the flower on a regular basis that she is able to live several hundred years. However, a problem develops for Gothel when the Queen of the kingdom becomes gravely ill while pregnant.

The King sets his men out to find a magic flower which will heal the Queen and save their child. The King’s men happen upon the flower despite Gothel’s efforts to hide it and dig it up and bring it to the King. The King then cooks the flower in a broth and feeds it to the Queen. The plan works and the Queen recovers and gives birth to a daughter who happens to have bright glowing blonde hair, which it turns out, has the same magical power as the flower.

Gothel decides to brake into the castle and steal the child, who she raises alone and secluded in a 70 foot tower, which is well hidden from the kingdom. Gothel forbids the girl, who she names Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), from ever leaving the tower, and scares her with tales of how dangerous the world is. While she claims that she is doing so to protect Rapunzel, she is actually doing it for very selfish reasons, as Rapunzel’s long flowing blonde hair glows when Gothel sings to it and restores her youth, just like the flower did.

Gothel’s greatest fear arrives when Rapunzel turns 18. Rapunzel is enamored by the glowing lights she sees rising into the night sky each year on her birthday and wants to leave the tower to see just what they are. It so happens that on her birthday, the tower is discovered by a thief, Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi), who is fleeing the castle and the king’s men after stealing the crown that was reserved for the king’s lost daughter.

When Flynn climbs his way into the tower, he is captured by Rapunzel with the aid of her trusty frying pan and her pet chameleon. Rapunzel hides the crown and Flynn agrees to help Rapunzel make her way out of the castle to see the mysterious lights in exchange for the return of the crown. The fact that Rapunzel has left is soon discovered by Gothel, who tracks them down as they begin an adventure to escape Gothel and her thugs, with the aid of Rapunzel’s Chameleon and a horse named Maximus. Will Rapunzel find true love? Will she be reunited with her real parents? Well, what do you think? You will have to watch the film to find out.

While I enjoyed the film, it is predictable and has some really forgettable music from Alan Menken, which sounds oh so familiar. Sure the film has its moments and sure looks and sound great, but I can really only imagine watching this film once. Recommended for families with young children. For the rest of you, I would recommend that you give it a look, but on the basis of a rental only.

Video  

I was expecting a great looking film and was not disappointed in the least by the video quality on this release. The CGI here is fantastic. The film simply looks beautiful, with a bright color palette, deep blacks, exquisite levels of detail, depth and clarity. Parts of this film have a golden glow which looks amazing and really matches the overall tone of the narrative. This is one great looking film and a natural for the high resolution and detail that only Blu-ray can bring into the home. If you loved this film in the theater, you know how good it looks. It may even look better at home than it did in the theater, the image quality here is that impressive.

Audio  

The audio track here is every bit as good as the video. The best word I can use to describe the audio is sumptuous. The fidelity is top notch with a clear full and smooth sound with excellent depth and transparency. The surrounds are used aggressively and very effectively throughout the film providing a sense of total immersion. Dynamics are excellent with deep, tight and powerful basis which sounds fantastic and will put any subwoofer through its paces. While the music is a bit pedantic, it does sound great. The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix. Technically, this is a well designed sound mix which boasts excellent fidelity and in a word, sounds fantastic and should thrill fans of the film just as much as the video will.

Special Features  

I was not as pleased as much by the extras as I was the film. The extras include three deleted scenes introduced by directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, which are essentially story boards with voice overs and very primitive looking. We also get extended versions of two of the songs featured in the film, “When Will My Life Begin” and “Mother Knows Best,” which were scaled down for inclusion in the film.

Also are included are two original story book openings for the film and 9 “Tangled Teasers”, which are a collection of commercials made for the theatrical release of the film. Also included is a 50th Animated Feature Countdown, which is just that, a brief countdown of all 50 Disney animated films, beginning with the first, Snow White,and ending with Tangled.

The most extensive of the extras is the featurette hosted my Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi entitled “Untangled: The Making of a Fairy Tale” which is a real puff piece on the making of the film and frankly, not all that informative. I could really take or leave these extras and really didn’t find anything included all that interesting or informative.

The version of the release that I received is a two disc combo pack, which includes a DVD copy of the film as well. A 3D version of the film is available as well for those so inclined.

Final Thoughts  

While far from Disney’s best, Tangled is a charming film that is worth a look, if just for its stunning video and audio presentations. Recommended for families with young children and as a rental for the rest of us.

Film  

Moonstruck is just as wonderful a film as I recalled it to be. Warm, charming, engaging and very, very funny. The film features Cher is her Oscar winning role as Loretta, a 38 year old widow from Little Italy in New York City, who does not believe in love or good luck. She agrees to marry Johnny (Danny Aiello), a man she does not love, a fact that meets the approval of her mother, played by Olympia Dukakis. The marriage proposal is rather rushed with a temporary engagement ring that is Johnny’s pinky ring as Johnny is on his way back to Sicily to be at the bed of his dying mother. He will not formally marry Loretta until his mother dies. Johnny asks that Loretta call his brother Ronnie (Nicholas Cage) with whom he is estranged. When she does so, Ronnie hangs up on her and Loretta goes over to his bakery where they fall madly in love, or is it lust?

Loretta thinks she must break Johnny’s heart by disclosing that she is in love with his estranged brother. Along the way we are offered a look at Little Italy, the Metropolitan Opera and are introduced to the rest of Loretta’s extended family, including her father, Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia), a plumber who knows his way around a woman’s plumbing if you get my drift and who is having a clandestine affair himself. Moonstruck is a charming film that is wonderfully written and directed and features some fine performances and an Oscar winning one for Cher, who looks marvelous before all that plastic surgery and botox (what was she thinking?). Moonstruck is very highly recommended for film fans of all ages and nationalities.

Video  

The video quality here is really a hit or miss affair. There are some really great looking scenes with well saturated and natural looking colors, excellent levels of fine detail and nice blacks. There are other sequences, often times right after a very good looking scene, that have slightly de-saturated colors and are very soft, almost murky looking with mediocre blacks. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it is a night time or daytime scene, interior or exterior shots, the quality is all over the place.

The only things uniform across the entire film is the presence of fine film grain and black crush, both of which are rather prevalent. The most obvious example of crushed blacks involves the scene at the opera where you are unable to delineated Cher’s deep black hair from the shadows in their booth. The same can be said for Nicholas Cage’s black suit.. Moonstruck is also not exactly a bright and bold looking film and looks more like an old photograph from the old country. As best I can recall, that is how the film looked in the theater and not the result of a poor encode or deteriorating film stock. Perhaps Moonstruck is in need of a complete restoration. I just wished that it looked better and more consistent.

Audio  

While I was far from impressed with the video presentation of Moonstrick on Blu-ray, the audio was a real surprise and a good bit better than I had anticipated. The real star for me here is the music which sounds sensational. The music has a light and airy feel with an excellent sense of depth. The instruments sound as though they are hanging in the air in front of you, with excellent transparency and imaging. Bass is deep and solid.

The sound effects sound great as well and actively engaged the surrounds where appropriate, such as the scene where Johnny’s jet returns from Italy and flies right over your head. For the most part, other than the music and the sound effects, the surrounds are used subtly for room and street ambiance. The dialogue track is fairly well recorded and just a tiny bit on the thin side. It is well placed in the mix and always intelligible. All in all, Moonstruck features a very solid audio presentation.

Special Features  

The extras all in all are rather standard fair, but are presented in HD. The extras include an audio commentary by Cher, diretor Norman Jewison and screenplay author John Patrick Shaney. Also included are three featurettes, a behind the scenes look at the making of the film, an interview with Dick Hyman who discusses the film’s score and a look at the fine Italian food available in Little Italy in New York City and Mulberry Street in particular, from a restaurant, food store, pasty shop, pasta store and a gelato stand. Also included is the theatrical trailer for the film. All of the featurettes are of an appropriate length and worth a look.

Final Thoughts  

Moonstruck is a wonderful charming film that is highly recommended, despite its less than stellar video presentation. if you are unfamiliar with the film, give it a look, you will be glad you did.

I hadn’t seen this film since its initial theatrical release 20 year ago. I was very impressed by the film back then and can recall thinking “Wow!” as I left the theater. Would the film be as impressive as I remembered it to be with 20 years worth of perspective or would it be like the Good Old Days often are, not as good as we recall? Thankfully in this case, even given the expanded length of the film, it is every bit as good as I recall it being.

Film 

I loved this film when I saw it the first time and found it to be just as pleasing on Blu-ray. The film included here is the extended cut and clocks in at nearly 4 hours and is almost an hour longer than the film I saw at the theater. A four hour running time is probably too long a time to sit in a theater to watch a film, so the ability to pause it and come back to finish it later one of the real benefits of home theater. For those of you who saw Avatar, you know the basic plot for Dances With Wolves.

Set in 1863, Dances With Wolves stars Kevin Costner as Lt. John J. Dunbar of the Union Army who, after an act of tremendous bravery (or an attempt at suicide depending on your point of view), is granted a transfer from the front lines to the frontier of the great plains. When asked at his new post why he would want a transfer to the no man’s land of the western frontier, he said so that he can see it before it is gone.

By the times he arrives at the small fort where he was stationed with a load of provisions, it had been deserted due to lack of support. All by himself, he repaired the fort and began to man it himself, hoping to get a look at buffalo and the great rolling plains. After awhile, a lone wolf comes near the fort for food and John Dunbar begins to feed it. It is after observations of him with the wolf that the local Sioux tribe gives him the name, Dances With Wolves.

A lone Sioux, eventually comes upon the fort and encounters Lt. Dunbar. He convinces the tribe to send others to feel Lt. Dunbar out, to see if he is a threat. After a slow start, the tribe welcomes him as one of their own and Lt. Dunbar weds Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell), a white woman who the tribe adopted after the rest of her family was killed by a more violent local tribe. Unlike some of the other tribes in the frontier, The Sioux tribe is very peaceful, living in harmony with the land, wandering the plains looking for food and water and the buffalo, who are very important to their survival. They kill only as many buffalo as they need to feed their tribe. Lt. Dunbar is captivated by how they live in harmony with nature and wants to live with them.

After he weds, he returns to the fort which to his surprise, has now been fully staffed by soldiers who do not share his love for the Sioux. They view him in his indian garb as a traitor and place him in jail. When he refuses to turn on the tribe, he is beaten. When Danes With Wolves does not return, the tribe is concerned and sets out to rescue him to reunite him with the tribe and his new wife. In doing so, Danes With Wolves is forced to make a choice between his past or his new family in a fight for his own survival.

In addition to the lead role, Kevin Costner also directed the film which is based on a book of the same name by Michael Blake. The film won 7 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, film editing, original score, directing and Best Picture. All of the awards were well deserved. Dances With Wolves is a captivating film and a true classic. It was a treat to experience the film in HD for the first time with an all new hi def transfer and a new 7. 1 audio track. Dances With Wolves is every bit as good as I recalled it to be and is very highly recommended.

Video 

Dances With Wolves is filled with some great cinematography and looks superb on Blu-ray. Clearly, given the length of the film, great care went into the encode for this release and I could not detect much in the way of significant artifacts that would in any way spoil one’s enjoyment of the film. The early part of the film involving the Civil War battles looks quite good with bright and vivid greens and the bright red of blood the dominant colors in the color palette. When the film moves out west, those colors are replaced by the beautiful blue sky and the browns of the South Dakota landscape where the film was shot. The rolling hills of the plains look great and the film gives one a great look at how the landscape of the frontier may have looked in the mid 19th Century.

While the film does not have the inkiest of blacks, the blacks are more than acceptable and are consistent throughout the film. Some of the darker interior scenes do have a bit of black crush but are not really all that objectionable. As far as I know, that is just how the film was supposed to look. Details are quite good during close-ups but loss a bit on more distant shots which are a tad on the soft side. Film grain is apparent and it does not look like much in the way of digital noise reduction was applied to “clean” up the look of the film, which still has that film like look about it. All things considered, this is a fine encode of a fine looking film and is one that should more than please fans of the film. Well done Fox.

Audio 

The same care that went into the encoding of the video for this release was also used for the audio which has been remixed into a 7.1 sound design. The overall fidelity of the audio is excellent, which can be described as smooth, full and rich although lacking the degree of transparency as the very best sounding films. The musical score sounds sensational. The dialogue track is always clear and front and center in the sound mix. I found large sections of the film to be a bit front heavy with the surrounds used for low ambient effects. However, when they are used more aggressively, they are used very well, for example the sounds of the wind whipping through the plains, the thundering buffalo herd and the various battle sequences.

Bass response is very good with gun shots having a believable sense of weight. The same can be said of the thundering buffalo herd which rumbles quite convincingly through your room although without the sheer room rattling bass of the very best sound mixes. The film is 20 year old after all. All in all, this is a fine audio encode and one that will also thrill fans of the film.

Special Features 

Dances With Wolves is presented as a 2 disc set. The film is so long that the only extras on the first disc consist of audio commentaries featuring Kevin Costner and producer Jim Williams and a second featuring Director of Photography Dean Semler and Film Editor Neil Travis. The extras on the first film also contain two in movie experiences MIlitary Rank and Social Heirarchy Guide and Real History or Movie Make Believe?, both of which are entirely forgettable in this writer’s opinion.

The second disc contains the rest of the making of featurettes with only one in high definition and that is “A Day in the Life on the Western Frontier” which provides an historical look at what life was really like on the frontier. This one is certainly worth a look.

The rest appear to have been ported over from the prior DVD release. The other featurettes are the “Original Making With Wolves” and “The Creation of an Epic: A Perspective Documentary”, the latter of which is quite long and detailed, detailing every aspect of the making of the film and its reception by the film going public. Also included is a Dances Photo Montage with an introduction by photographer Phil Glass as well as the original trailer for the film. For a film this significant, I was expecting a bit more and some newer featurettes on the making of the film.

Final Thoughts 

Dances With Wolves is another film which has stood the test of time. It features fine audio and video encodes that should more than please fans of the film. Do yourself a favor, if you have seen Avatar, check out Dances With Wolves and see just how much better this type of material can be handled. Very highly recommended.

Film 

I am sure that all of you are well familiar with the film Alice in Wonderland. The film was released to theaters in 1951 and is based on the beloved children’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll which is now well over a hundred years old. Alice in Wonderland was in production at Disney for 20 years as Walt Disney struggled with adapting the book to film, which turned out to be quite difficult. There were numerous renderings of the film performed and it was not until Disney artist Mary Blair’s renderings of the sections of the story in the second half of the 1940′s that Disney found the visual look that would make the film possible.

The film tells the story of Alice who is sitting in the English countryside while listening to her sister reading a history book to her. She dozes off and images that a white rabbit with a large pocket watch runs by. Alice follows him and falls down a rabbit hole, to a magical land below the Earth. While there, she encounters several fascinating characters, including the famous smiling Cheshire Cat, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, The Madhatter and the Queen of Hearts, who seemingly want to cut off everyone’s head. Alice finally awakens from her slumber and returns to reality but presumably, will always remember the adventures she experienced while dreaming.

Of all the early classic Disney films, Alice in Wonderland is probably the hardest to get one’s mind around due to the fact that it is really so surreal. However, it is one that I have always enjoyed since seeing in on TV as a child. Despite it’s age, the film holds up beautifully 60 years after its release and was a joy to experience in high def on the Blu-ray format, especially the unforgettable tea party scene with the Madhatter, voiced brilliantly by Ed Wynn. Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is highly recommended for film fans of all ages.

Video 

Alice in Wonderland is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:33:1 with black bars on the side filling out the 16:9 aspect ratio of the high definition format. These bars can also be replaced with artwork as part of Disney View for those so inclined The picture is simply beautiful, with a bright and bold and beautifully saturated colors and deep and inky blacks. The film is awash in greens, blues, reds and yellows that simply pop off the screen. The layering of one set of images over another to create a particular scene is very evident, given the excellent black levels which creates an excellent sense of depth.

The image is also razor sharp and crystal clear. It would appear that film grain was removed in the re-mastering process which may be an issue for some purists out there. However, while I am one of those who would prefer that film grain be presented to the best extent possible, I have no issue with the work done here, given the beautiful results and the fact the original art work itself from which the film was made was grain free. While it appears that film grain was removed, the rest of the film is untouched. Note for example the misspelling of Lewis Carroll’s name during the opening title sequence. There is no question that Alice in Wonderland has never looked anywhere close in the home to how it looks on Blu-ray, and is another in a string of fabulous restorations from the folks at Disney. Very well done.

Audio 

I was not exactly looking to be bowled over by the audio here given the age of the film and was therefore not disappointed with the audio. I did most of my listening to the 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio track but also did a comparison to the Dolby Digital mix as well. For me, the clear winner was the DTS HD master Audio track which had a richness and smoothness of sound that the Dolby Digital track just could not match.

In comparison the Dolby track sounded thin, shrill and shallow. The lossless DTS HD Master Audio track is the only way to go. While the original film elements were remixed to the 5.1 format, the sound field is rather front heavy with only very occasional aggressive use of the surrounds speakers. I was not expecting a dynamic sound experience and didn’t receive one. However, the dialogue, music and effects were all recorded very well and presented here about as well as they could have been.

I really can’t image the film sounding any better than it does on the lossless track featured on this release given the age of the film. I did not one anomaly with the audio and that is that the Dolby Digital track and not the DTS HD Master Audio track was the default audio track. Therefore, make sure that you select the lossless track at the start of the film. Switching back and forth between the lossless and lossy tracks during the opening title sequences of the film, the superiority of the former is readily apparent.

Special Features 

Alice In Wonderland is presented in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The release therefore contains two discs, one containing the Blu-ray release and all the extras and a DVD release. Surprisingly, the release does not also contain a digital copy of the film.

The Blu-ray copy contains a few new extras that were not contained on the previous DVD release of the film. The first is entitled “Through the Keyhole: A Companion’s Guide to Wonderland” which runs concurrent with the film. The film itself appears in windows moved around the 16 x 9 frame with artwork, text as well as interviews with various film and Disney historians, discussing Lewis Carroll’s life and the book itself, as well as the 20 year effort on the part of Walt Disney to adapt the book into a film. This extra is presented in HD.

Also included is a Painting the Roses Red game which I didn’t find all that interesting. Also included is a short into, in color by the way, of Walt Disney’s introduction of the film when it was shown on TV for the first time in 1959 at Christmas. While I am old, I am not old enough to remember that showing as I was just a baby!

We also get two very short featurettes where the voice of Alice, Kathryn Beaumont, introduces a newly discovered pencil test of the Alice Shrinks sequence as well as the live footage of her talking to the doorknob in the beginning of the film, which the animators used as the basis of their animation.

The remaining extras are those ported over from the prior DVD release of the film and include the following:

• I’m Odd: A Newly Discovered Cheshire Cat song with an intro by Kathryn Beaumont
• Thru the Mirror Mickey Mouse Short (presented now in HD)
• Art gallery
• “Reflections of Alice” featurette where film and Disney historians discuss the making of the film
• “Operation Wonderland” which is a visit to the studio during the making of the filmOne hour Christmas TV special from the early 1950′s where ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his two “sidekicks”, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd are invited to a Christmas party at the studio where Walt Disney shows the quests the magic mirror featured in Sleeping Beauty which shows scenes from classic Disney films including Snow White and Song of the South to the quests and TV audience.
• 1930′s era silent short “An Alice Comedy: Alice’s Wonderland”, based loosely on Lewis Carroll’s work, where a young girl visits Walt Disney and the studio and falls into the world of cartoon animation, much like Alice falls down the rabbit hole in the film
• Original 1951 and 1974 theatrical trailers for the film
• Walt Disney TV introduction from 1954 and 1964
• An excerpt from The Fred Waring TV show
• Deleted materials including the deleted scene “Pig and Pepper”, “From Wonderland to Neverland: The Evolution of a Song” which recalls how a song originally intended for the film ended up in Peter Pan, a deleted storyboard concept: Alice Daydreams in the Park and original song demos “Beware The Jabberwock”, “Everything Has a Useness”, “So They Say”, “Beautiful Soup”, “Dream Caravan”and “If You Believe in Me”.

All in all, I found the history behind the making of the film quite interesting and well worth your time.

Final Thoughts 

In Alice in Wonderland, another Disney classic has made its way to Blu-ray and has never looked or sounded any better in the home and is highly recommended for film fans of all ages.

Film

A loose adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, follows an interesting inventor, played by Dick Van Dyke) who is the recently widowed father of two children who do a bit of misbehaving when they decide to  skip school and lollygag…  Unfortunately they are caught by Truly Scrumptious, which is a name suited for a different novel by Ian Fleming, and they are delivered back to their father.

The father and Truly come from very opposite classes, but as the story progresses we see some interest being formed as she spends time together. Eventually we get to the point where the car comes into play which is where my first criticism comes in… I realize older films like to be epic and have this general pace of a smooth sweeping epic motion but when it comes down to a super car, just get to the bloody car.

The car is a dilapidated race car that the boys take interest in and the father decides to fix it up for his next project and in doing so creates a super car that can trek water. And eventually we’re introduced to the antagonist of the story who is a villain who wants to steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from its creator.

As my aforementioned complaint, which is my primary one, the film is slow and has a lot of padding that could be cut out. From unnecessary songs to the fact that it takes a very long time to get the car to the point where it becomes special, the film is just slow, which doesn’t help the fact that today’s audience really has become accustomed to faster paced material.

Video

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s video is displayed using the MPEG-4 AVC codec in its original aspect ratio of 2.20:1. The film looks pretty astonishing considering its age; the negative used is free of scratches or dust and retains all the detail and clarity that is expected from a well handled release.

The film has been refined nicely and the colors are surprisingly vivid while skin tones remain authentic. There’s also a good amount of contrast which helps keep the black levels at  a nice level while avoiding that grey overcast look that is common with older catalogue releases that aren’t as respected.

There’s a bit of grain that’s noticeable, but that’s not a big deal nor is it reasonable to expect differently considering the context. Although the film has been cleaned nicely, there’s a bit of noticeable noise during lower lit scenes. However the film is a good example of a film that wasn’t just slapped together.

Audio

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s audio comes at us using the English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 codec, and as always, I’m excited to see more 7.1 mixed Blu-ray’s getting released. With Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, it’s impeccable that the audio quality be the best that it can be considering the music is what makes this film a classic. Luckily we’re given a very authentic recreation of what was heard back in the sixties.

The dialogue is clear, noise-free and centered while the rest of the mix manages to stay fairly balanced and spread amongst the rest of the speakers. The sound effects and foley showcase the ambience of the mix while the music displays the dynamic range.

The music in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, Richard whom may be familiar to those who’ve seen Iron Man 2; he wrote the old Stark Expo theme that plays during the archive footage presentation. It’s funny how even today the golden age composers still carry that distinguished sound with them.

Special Features

Although the film is a cherished classic, the special features section isn’t given as much love as the fans may hope for. There’s a retrospective featurette with Dick Van Dyke and a demo of a Sherman Brother’s song. But besides that it’s mostly gimmicky extras like a sing-a-long version and photo galleries. I would’ve liked to have seen a commentary with Dick Van Dyke or even a film historian. For a catalog release we’re lucky to get some decent features, but it’s a little light for my taste.

Final Thoughts

The film is a Disney classic, but in a world of Pixar the dated effects and weak plot will have a hard time capturing the attention of the film’s original demographic, however with a decent amount of special features and currently the best A/V presentation, this is a release aimed directly to the fans but is at least worth a rental.

Film

The film opens in the vast deep space of our universe, where a race of alien creatures are forced to abandon their dying world. Riding solar winds the race of aliens make their way to Earth in hopes to inhabit a new planet, eventually landing in San Francisco. The gelatinous creatures assimilate with whichever they come in contact with, initially plant leaves; one of which is brought home by Elizabeth (Brooke Adams). The next morning her boyfriend becomes emotionally unattached and after seeing a doctor played by Leonard Nimoy the problem appears to be widespread. After some investigation and interesting sequences we determine the alien’s intentions; to replicate and replace human beings. The aliens are only able to replicate humans when they are asleep and once fully formed the original human body turns to dust. The ultimate goal: to replace the human race. Of course this is met to some resistance as the film follows the exploits of a group of humans who try to stop the plot. It proves rather difficult when they realise they can’t determine who is friend and who is foe, leading to its suspenseful conclusion.

What I like most about The Invasion of the Body Snatchers is the change in context from the original. While most of the place remains intact and the characters as well, the focus on the story changes from a communist allegory to a character driven plot. The battle becomes that of the mind; fear and paranoia. To compliment this dark and psychological ambience is an impressive score that really adds to the overall atmosphere of this film that manages to keep you captivated throughout.

While the plot of the story is quite unique I feel that it alone would not have made this a decent film, but instead it’s a combination of several aspects. The cast; all very well suited for their roles, take what could otherwise be deemed as bickering and annoying characters and make them human. The score; ominous and dark this soundtrack gives you a great science fiction vibe and keeps you well involved. But first and foremost I enjoyed the cinematography often consisting of hand held cameras. The inclusion of these scenes made me feel more involved in the film.

What I enjoyed most about this film is the energy it gives. I felt the story is more about us then the characters at hand. The sub context of the film and the thoughts it evokes really take the driving seat and the specific plot seems to be a medium. Sure, some people will see this movie as a glorified Twilight Zone episode; and while it is far from being considered one of my favourites, I feel there is more to it and is worth checking out.

Video

Presented in 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG 4, Invasion of the Body snatchers makes its way to Blu ray with an above average video transfer. Considering the film is over 30 years old I was quite pleased. There were of course a few draws mostly regarding the age of the film; but it is more than made up for with sharp levels of contrast and great details. The best of the scenes are in the daylight, and they tend to suffer in low light situations, which do encompass much of the film. This is countered very nicely though with its bright colors and skin tones. I remain very pleased with the overall quality of the transfer, especially considering the age of the film.

Audio

MGM has included a5.1 DTS HD audio track that leaves very little to be desired. The strong point of the audio track has to be within the vocals which are always clearly delivered and emphasized. The channels are all very well utilized and equally used to make for an extremely even channel separation. The sound effects of the film are brought to life, and the musical score performed by Denny Zeitlin comes of extremely ominous and ever present. The audio track of this film is sure to please fans, and I doubt it will be bettered anytime soon.

Special Features

The features of this film don’t offer anything more than the latest DVD release of the film, and taking into account their disappointing nature I’m surprised they didn’t spruce up in this department for the Blu ray release. There are a small scattering of interviews with the cast and crew, as well as a look into the cinematography and sound effects. Like I mentioned before, there is a lot left to be desired in respects to the special features, so don’t hope for anything more than it’s previous release.

• “Re-Visitors From Outer Space, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod”
• Practical Magic: The Special Effect Pod
• The Man Behind the Scream: The Sound Effects Pod
• The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod
• Trailer

Final Thoughts

The concept of the film is quite unique, and is executed rather well. There are of course some draws to the film but for the most part I remain quite impressed. My main complaint is the pace of the film, which at times can drag on but if you stick around it becomes worth the few drawn out scenes. The video transfer on this film is generally positive considering the age of the film, but I was left wanting more. The audio is a shade better than the video and left me quite satisfied. The low point of this disc is the collection of features, which hardly kept me entertained. Still at the end of the day I would recommend this disc for fans of the film, but otherwise I would stick with a rental.

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