Film

The editing style of the opening has shots and scenes crashing against each other with non-diegetic sound f/x of metal and explosions, attempting to make the proceeding life story all the more intense to witness. What follows that is not so much an explosive tale, but more a cavalcade of weak pop songs that do not have the strength to carry the film alone so they are separated by Bieber being smug as a young celebrity, him being a brat in his pre-fame days, and far too many shirtless shots for my comfort.

There are two stories being told in this film. The first being the biography of Bieber, the other a day by day countdown to his sold out show at Madison Square Garden. I can forgive much of Bieber’s aforementioned smugness and brattiness to him being an adolescent who has been launched into super stardom. I even managed to alter my opinion of him slightly when I saw that he is actually capable behind a drum kit. Beyond that, this is a film solely for one of his squealing fans and I am not a part of that flock.

Video

Widescreen 1.78:1. Despite having to fight against aged home videos and a fleet of stage lights, the picture quality comes off very well. The only traces of fuzziness are backgrounds during the concert scenes or the expected haze of showing a cheaply shot youtube video on an HD screen. Beyond that, Justin’s heavily tailored image is clear.

Audio

English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio as well as 5.1 Dolby Surround in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Oh my, how I am forcibly immersed into the constant screams of his fans. Being a concert film, the sound is always crucial and all of Bieber’s mediocre pop tunes come through with plenty of clarity, as well as the similar mediocrity of guests Usher, Miley Cyrus and the like.

Subtitles available in English,French, Spanish and Portuguese

Special Features

Concert Sance off: Essentially an extended scene. A full look at Beiber’s dance crew getting a chance to demonstrate their dance moves. Entertaining enough, and it is one of the few tings on this disc that doesn’t not incessantly praise Bieber.

Favorite Girl: The complete ballad where Bieber starts off suspending over the crowd in a giant metal heart.

R.I.P Hair Flip: Bieber’s haircut was just about as famous as himself. This documents said haircut being removed, filmed on what might have been a phone camera.

Giving Back: Another extended scene from when two of his handlers hand out tickets to random fans. A very nice gesture and great way to get screaming/crying girls on camera, and from the point of view of the filmmakers, it pays for itself as far as that is concerned since they want to display as much Bieber hysteria as possible.

DVD copy of the film.

Digital Copy of the film.

BD-Live

Final Thoughts

Young people have been pre-sold on this formula for a long time. This film is more polished than his image, and said image is manufactrued to the point that it is hardly decipherable from the previous pop sensation, nor the one that will follow in the next two years or less.

At first glance Paranormal Activity 2 seems like an interesting blu-ray to review… I always tend to try and invest in titles that will flex the muscles of my home theatre and when we’re dealing with a film that is supposed to look like it was shot with a handheld camcorder it may seem like it’s a sure bet this will be getting a skip on the technical aspects, but if a film is valuable enough and caters to the right market it just might surprise us. Lets see how it does.

Film

The first Paranormal Activity was a surprising effective creepshow made on a shoe-string budget in the director’s own home that became a phenomenon after playing to sold-out midnight screenings in college towns throughout the country. The film expanded its theatre count nationwide and eventually went on to make over $100 million at the domestic box office, quadruple the gross of Saw V, released that same year. It was literally The Blair Witch Project all over again. Obviously, a sequel was immediately given the green light.

Unlike the Blair Witch sequel, the makers of the Paranormal Activity sequel wisely decided to keep it simple. The set-up up is very much the same, only now we are watching the events that precede the original movie involving the sister of one of the original movie’s main characters. The pace is deliberately slow at first, allowing to build atmosphere and the movie really keeps you at the edge of your seat. In fact, you may want to be careful not to fall off, since the film has probably one of the best jump scares that I have ever seen. Period.

If you loved the first movie, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s equally as effective and takes the story in an interesting direction. It’s hard to tell where they’ll go from here, but with another sequel in the works, this appears to be the beginning on a new franchise for horror fans, just in time to replace the Halloween holiday favorite that was the Saw series for the last six years.

Video

Paranormal Activity 2’s video is displayed using the AVC MPEG-4 codec. The video is a bit hard to judge on this film. The film is heavily reliant on its perspective on the content. Camcorder P.O.V. is nothing new in the realm of horror, with such films as “Cloverfield”, “Diary of the Dead”, “REC”, and the two Dowdle brother films “Quarantine” and the yet to be released “The Poughkeepsie Tapes”. However this film differs by using multiple stationary cameras such as a nanny cam or security camera along with the camcorder P.O.V. that we’re familiar with when the main characters walk around with said cam.

The problem with using this style of shooting is the quality is hindered by recreating crappy camera distortion. The film has all the expected effects from noisy images to macroblocking and banding. I believe that the negative aspects of the video quality are a part of the simulated experience.

The main camera that gets taken with the characters is the best quality, but it’s obvious that it was shot on a prosumer camera and unfortunately lands in some of the pitfalls that are associated with consumer cameras such as saturation issues and crushed blacks. However the budget for Paranormal Activity 2 was much higher than the first film so the only reason these cameras were used was a creative decision so even though this film isn’t meant to showcase HDTVs the film looks exactly how it’s supposed to.

Audio

Paranormal Activity 2’s audio comes at us using the DTS-HD Master audio in 5.1. The film is front heavy and recreates the experience of only recording audio through the on-camera microphone from each point of view camera. So dialogue and foley all come straight forward from the center speaker. However some of the audio bleeds into the surrounds at times to try and take advantage of the codec but overall things tend to stay in the front.

The low frequencies comes it at times when some artificial rumble is added to sweeten sound effects and sound design, but overall the sound is pretty limited which once again is another example of trying to simulate the experience of watching actual cameras… It works well but it sacrifices the quality that has come to be expected from Blu-rays.

Special Features

Unfortunately there are only two extras on the Blu-ray, “Found Footage” which is basically deleted scenes and a teaser trailer. The lack of anything substantial cuts the overall rating down for the horror community is one of the bigger audiences that still buys movies and care about special features… Think of how many times we’ve seen Evil Dead get rereleased, the only difference is a few extra. Perhaps this is the plan to release an almost barebones version of Paranormal Activity 2 and then in a couple years release a super edition. However that still doesn’t make the lack of extras here any easier to swallow.

Final Thoughts

The fact that Paranormal Activity 2 does a good job recreating the style of camcorder P.O.V. may make it seem like a poor choice when deciding between the DVD and Blu-ray for this film but the lack of special features really drags this film down. Fans deserve to be protected against the double dip that is so notorious in the horror genre however with this near barebones release it’s a fair bet we’ll be seeing some special editions down the road. Hold out or rent it.

Film

Labyrinth is actually a remarkable movie featuring a young Jennifer Connelly as Sarah, a girl with a very large imagination who wishes for The Goblin King, played by David Bowie, to take her baby stepbrother away. The Goblin King obliges of course and the only way Sarah can get her brother back is to reach The Goblin King’s castle located in the center of a giant labyrinth. Along the way she befriends a series of interesting characters that help her on her quest.

David Bowie gives an impressive performance as The Goblin King. For the most part, he wisely plays it straight opposite Henson’s amazing creature creations, including Hoggle, the most lovable troll you could ever meet. Still, he is obviously having a ball when he finally gets to rock out in a few of the movies many musical numbers. I’ve always thought that Labyrinth has one of the most under-appreciated movie soundtracks around.

This was Jim Henson’s last feature length film and it makes an excellent swan song. It has the same style of humor that made The Muppets Show so popular set in a fantasy world so magical it could have only been made by one person. If you haven’t experienced this movie yet and you’re looking for a family-friendly movie that is both appealing to both young and old audiences, then Labyrinth is a good place to start.

Video

The film takes advantage of 1080p/AVC-MPEG 4 codec and displays the video in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The video is clean in comparison to older transfer I’ve seen, however with such crisp video, the signs of age are more noticeable. Whether it’s puppeteering strings or archaic CGI, everything is under scrutiny with Blu-ray.

Audio

Labyrinth‘s sound comes through using Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The audio is great throughout, the dialogue comes through clearly and music is enhanced to really take advantage of the new codec.

It also has French and Portuguese in TrueHD 5.1 and Spanish in regular 5.1. The subtitles also come in a variety of flavours, covering every language that there is an audio track for.

Special Features

• Making of Documentary: Inside The Labyrinth
• Commentary with Brian Froud
• Journey through the Labyrinth: “Kingdom of Characters”
• Journey through the Labyrinth: “The Quest for Goblin City”

Included in the special features are three behind-the-scenes featurettes, the main one being “Inside the Labyrinth”, which is approximately 50 minutes worth of information in documentary form. I was impressed with how in depth it was and felt like if they included the two “Journey through the labyrinth” sections into it, then they could sell it as a feature length documentary.

In terms of pleasing fans, all facets of the production are covered from pre-production (“The quest for Goblin City”) to puppeteering (“Kingdom of Characters”) and on top of the behind-the-scenes goodies, there’s a commentary with Brian Froud (Conceptual designer) that goes into detail about costume and character design and the overall atmosphere of the film.

All and all, they covered all the bases with the special features. I usually like to see a gag reel (depending on the movie), deleted scenes and possibly multiple commentaries to give a high rating, but I thought for a movie that probably has been bled dry of bonus material worthy footage, it’s not a bad collection.

Final Thoughts

Jim Henson creates a wonderful and believable fantasy world. If you loved Ron Howard’s Willow or Ridley Scott’s Legend, this movie is right up your alley. With a great cleaned-up transfer, a great mix to do the musical numbers justice and a good selection of special features, Labyrinth on Blu-ray is worth it for fans and new-comers alike. Hilarious and filled with some good life lessons, Labyrinth is a perfect family movie that could be recommended for kids of all ages. And remember, rocks friend.

Film

The plot on Fired Up is as over the top as they come, but hey that just makes it all the more fun! Or not… Shawn and Nick are two young adults who have nothing on their mind but girls, so when they find out they’re going to a football camp in Texas where there are apparently no women. So the two opt to drop football camp and join cheer camp instead where there are said to be 300+ women. Not to my surprise the plot turns quite sappy and predictable as the two begin to enjoy cheering and even fall in love. I’ll let you guess how this one ends…

I become more and more surprised with some of the dribble they put out these days, honestly. Usually I can find at least something moderately likeable about comedies, a few odd ball laughs maybe, but I quite literally found Fired Up abysmal. It is becoming more and more obvious to me now that studious are putting in as little effort as possible to flood the market with frankly boring movies in order to turn a quick profit. I’m not trying to sound too unmelodious, but it just really disappoints me that this is what some films have come to. I say this being a huge fan of stupid movies, I love a good comedy I have just grown completely tired of the same old formula.

As a side note, I know as an audience we haven’t come to expect much from the casting in a film like this, but I must mention it was quite weak. The cast physically suits their roles as attractive and young, but the delivery just isn’t there in the lines which takes away what little appeal the script did have.

The thing that bothered me about this film most was its one dimension; its predictability and lack of fresh jokes. The script is just too limited by its lackluster premise that you know exactly what’s coming. I’m not going to completely condemn this film however, as I have no doubt it will entertain teenagers and but outside of that small target audience I really can’t recommend checking it out.

Video

Presented in 1080p 2.40:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4 ratio Fired Up comes to Blu-ray with an impressive looking transfer. Detail presentation is very solid with little subtleties like hair and wrinkles clearly seen in every shot.  There wasn’t a single scene throughout the movie that looked compressed or soft which was very nice to see.  Color presentation is also top notch, although flesh tones can seem a bit enhanced in many shots.  However the vibrancy and color depth make up for this.

I was glad Sony gave this transfer the same care as it does for its higher budget movies.  Fans of the movie will be more than pleased to see the quality here.

Audio

Sony has included a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track and it is one that presents the given material very well.  The quality of the track is very high as we are given a presentation that sounds great while maintaining a correct balance between dialogue and music track.

The soundtrack is actually quite varied as we are given tracks ranging from Avril Lavigne to Whitesnake.  It is the frequent songs that really push the track over from being an average front heavy comedy.  Overall if you like the content of the film than this audio track will definitely surprise you.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary – Commentary by Director Will Gluck and actors Nicholas D’Agosto and Eric Olsen.

• Making of Feature – A lacklustre making of feature that focuses on the film’s production including an in depth look at the dance and cheerleading routines.

• Double Duty – A closer look at the how the two actors appeared as both football players and cheerleaders.

• Gag Reel – A short but funny gag reel that will provide laughs for fans of the movie.

• Digital Copy

Final Thoughts

I don’t think it comes as a surprise that this movie was rather disappointing. But I would have hoped that it held some integrity but instead we are left with just another dull and predictable comedy that will soon be forgotten. The audio and video transfers are both solid and will please the viewer. The features were somewhere in the middle, making Fired Up a purchase for fans only; otherwise I wouldn’t even warrant it with a rental.

Film

The Deep is based upon Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name. While the film is not quite as good as that other film based on his other well known and more famous novel of his, Jaws, The Deep is a good film in its own right, with a nice sense of suspense and some really stunning visuals.

The film stars Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte as Gail Burke and David Sanders, a couple from New York who travel to Bermuda for a vacation and some scuba diving. While diving, they come across a shipwreck where they discover what they think may be a valuable coin as well as a mysterious glass vile. Curious about the coin, they visit the library in Hamilton, Bermuda, where they attempt to track down the origin of the coin to see if they had discovered a lost treasure. While at the library, they learn of the existence of a famous treasure hunter in Bermuda, Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), who they are able to track down and show the coin to and who is interested in learning more about where they found it.

After meeting with Treece, they are approached that night at dinner by a man who identifies himself as Cloche (Lou Gossett, Jr.) a dealer in rare glass and asks about the glass vile they found, looking to purchase it from them. It turns out that the rare glass dealer is not what he claimed but a drug dealer looking for a load of Morphine that went down with a U.S. Military vessel years. Not surprisingly, Treece, Gail and David race to recover the treasure side before Cloche moves to recover the drugs.

While I wouldn’t exactly call this a tense action thriller as it a bit slow paced compared to more modern films, I enjoyed the film as it does pull you into the action on an intellectual level if not on an emotional one. Recommended as a rental only for non fans of the film.

Video

On the whole, I was quite pleased with the look of The Deep on Blu-ray and can’t imagine the film looking any better than it does on this release. The film was made back in the 1970′s and has that 1970′s look, with heavy film grain and a general overall softness. If you are looking for a razor sharp looking image, this is not the film for you. However, if you are looking for an excellent encode which perfectly captures the look of the actual film, you will not doubt appreciate the effort that went into this encode. As noted previously, this film has a general softness to the image. However, black levels are deep and tight and the color palette very natural looking with excellent color rendition, capturing the blue/green color of the ocean perfectly. Surprisingly, I found the underwater footage to be a bit clearer, sharper and more detailed that the rest of the film, probably due to the use of different film stock.

This is probably the best looking undersea footage in a film of this vintage that I have seen in quite awhile. Due to the softness of the image, the film lacks the depth and three dimensionality of the very best looking encodes but is not flat by any means. Film grain was also well preserved and I was not able to detect any evidence at all of digital noise reduction. if you are fan of this film, I have no doubt that you will be thrilled with this Blu-ray release.

Audio

Given the age of the film, I was not expecting great audio. However, while the film falls a good bit short of what I would expect in a new action thriller, the audio was a good bit better than I had anticipated. The overall sound was rather smooth and open with just a hint of brightness. Dynamics are good although hardly sensational. Explosions in particular lack the heft of more modern films. I was quite surprised at how active the surrounds where throughout the film, even though the volume of the surrounds varied throughout the film. When employed well, they generated a nice sense of immersion, especially during the underwater sequences inside the shipwreck, where the sense of water and the sounds of twisting and bending metal sounded fairly convincing.

The dialogue track was also well recorded and well placed in the mix, although lacking the sense of immediacy of more modern films. The musical score was also well recorded and sounded very nice, with an overall smoothness and openness which was quite appealing. Overall, the sound here lacked the transparency and imaging of more modern films. However, given the age of the film and the original sound design, the audio here is more than acceptable and will no doubt please fans of the film.

Special Features

The extras here are rather threadbare. Included are several scenes included in the 3 hour edition of the film which were not included in the original theatrical release which is the version of the film included with this release. Frankly, after watching the scenes, it is easy to see why they were not included with the original release of the film. While the additional scenes are included here in high definition, the picture quality is not as impressive as the theatrical release presented here. The other extra is the CBS special hosted by Robert Shaw when the film debuted, providing a behind the scenes look at the film. The other extras are previews of other Blu-ray releases. The release is BD-Live enabled allowing you to access additional extras via the internet.

Final Thoughts

While lacking the clarity and detail of the best looking more modern films, The Deep has without question never looked or sounded better in the home environment that it does on this Blu-ray release. If you are a fan of this film, I can recommend this release without hesitation. For the rest of you, the film is definitely worth the look as a rental.

Film

As noted above, Ghostbusters is a classic film that holds up just as well 25 years after its release as it did on its release to theaters in 1984. Has it really been that long? I am sure most of you that will read this review are well aware of the plot.

The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as three parapsychologists who are called to rid New York City of ghosts and demons that are plaguing the city. Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray), Dr. Raymond Stanz (Aykroyd) and Dr. Spengler (Ramis) lose their research grant at Columbia University and are forced to set out on their own and go into hock starting their own ghost removal company, replete with corny TV commercials which hit the NY airwaves. Their timing is fortuitous as New York is about to be besieged by ghosts and demons of all kinds which keeps them very busy.

They are contacted by Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) who has a strange encounter with a demon that appeared to be inhabiting her refrigerator, warning of the coming of Gozer. When Dr. Venkman meets Ms. Barrett at her apartment, he discovers that her body has been possessed by the Gatekeeper who is awaiting the arrival of the Keymaster (Rick Moranis), so they can bond and release The Destroyer who will destroy human civilization as we know it. Meanwhile, the Ghostbusters’ activities come to the attention of the local EPA chief, a Mr. Peck, who obtains a court order and shuts down the Ghostbusters’ electric grid and their ghost storage containment facility which releases all the ghosts and demons that had captured into the city all at once, with very humorous results.

With the City in panic and the Ghostbusters in jail, they are summoned by the Mayor to end the panic and prevent the entry of The Destroyer into this world, setting forth the climatic end of the film at the top of Ms. Barrett’s apartment building battling the Destroyer who appears bent on destroying the City in the guise of a giant Staypuff Marshmellow Man.

It has been a good while since I have seen the film and I found it to be just as funny, engaging and original as I did when I saw it for the first time back in 1984. The film features a very tight script which never falls off the rails and fine comedic performances by the entire cast, with special kudos to Bill Murray as Dr. Venkman, who really carries the film. This is a wonderful film for the entire family to enjoy. If you haven’t seen the film in a long time, by all means do so now and add this film to your Blu-ray collection. Very highly recommended.

Video

I will state out the outset that Ghostbusters has never looked better at home than it does on this release. The video quality here blows away each and every other home video release of the film by a very large margin. I note that there has been some complaints on the web about what some consider to an overly hot and blown out contrast on this release. Given that it appears from all reports that the film’s cinematographer, Laszio Kovacs, approved the final version of the film on this release, I have very little doubt that the film looks just the way it should and as it did upon its initial release back in 1984. Frankly, I have no recollection at all as to how the film looked back then and think no one does. Unless you were involved in the production of the film, how can you claim that the film’s contrast is too hot based on one or more viewing of the film in a theater 25 years ago? What I can say for certain is that I was quite pleased with the look of the film on this release.

Ghostbusters is a rather grainy film and all of the grain seems to be perfectly preserved on this release. I detected no evidence of the use of digital noise reduction to “clean up” the look of the film for today’s digital environment. This release looks just like film, just as it should. I found the color palette to be quite natural looking and pleasing, especially skin tines, which looked very nice. Blacks were deep and solid as well, giving the film a good sense of depth. However, the film, although it appears to be in excellent physical condition, has the look that many films did in the 1980′s.

The film has a level of softness that was characteristic of many of the films of that era. While they level of softness varies a bit during the film, it remains present throughout. As a result, the film lacks the clarity, three dimensionality, detail and depth of today’s better looking films. That isn’t the fault of the encode, it is just the way the film was shot. As noted previously, visible grain in present throughout the film, with exterior daylight shots having less visible grain that darker interior scenes. However, unlike prior home video editions of the film, the high def encode of the film presents the grain naturally so that it looks like grain rather than as video noise as on prior editions of the film. I was not able to detect much in the way of video noise on this release. As far as I can tell, Ghostbusters looks just as the film was intended to look on this Blu-ray release and is by far, the best this film has ever and may ever look in the home.

Audio

As was the case with the video, the audio on this release is the best yet of all the prior home video releases of the film. However, the original sound design of the film as well as the fidelity of the original sound elements are not up to par with more modern films. I am sure that the Dolby True HD encode here sounds about as good as the film can in light of the limitations of the original recording. I have several issues with the sound of the film.
The first has to do with the overall sound quality, which lacks the heft and dynamics of more modern films, sounding a bit soft and hollow and lacking the transparency and imaging that one has come to expect in films of more recent vintage. Another issue is the recording of and presentation of the dialogue track. Again, the fidelity of the dialogue just does not match what we have come to expect today, sounding more muffled and reserved than one would expect.

The volume of the dialogue track is also a bit low at times in relation to the rest of the sound and as a result, can be difficult to hear, especially during the action sequences. In addition, other than a few sequences, such as the opening library scene, the surrounds are not used as aggressively in the first half of the film as they are in the latter half and as a result, the first part of the film is a bit front heavy. However, in the second half of the film, the surrounds kick in quite nicely with both music and sound effects, creating a nice sense of immersion. Bass response during the film is good but far from reference. Despite these limitations, the audio track here was enjoyable and added to and did not detract all that much from one’s enjoyment of the film.

Special Features

As one would expect for such an important film, The Blu-ray release is chock full of many interesting and engaging extras. The extras include a filmmakers’ commentary with Ivan Rettman, Harold Ramis and Joe Medjuck. Also included is an older featurette 1984-The Making of Ghostbusters, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

Also included is a second featurette featuring interviews with the cast and crew, as well as the featurette SFX Team which includes before and after multi-angle explorations of the special effects in the film. Also included are 10 deleted scenes as well as storyboard comparisons. Most if not all of these extras were included with the last DVD release of the film a handful of years ago. However, there are several new extras included with this release including the best, Slimer Mode, which features a picture-in-picture graphical viewing experience with an examination of the firehouse headquarters, an in-depth exploration of the creatures in Ghostbusters’ mythology, behind the scenes discussions of making the movie with Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and others including new cast, crew and special effects artists. These picture-in-picture interviews and pop-ups run along with the film.

In addition, during the running of this feature, the black bars of the film are replaced with more colorful artistic bars, much like the new side bars which were an option on the recent Blu–Ray release of Pinnochio. Also new is the featurette Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car and an Ecto-1 photo gallery. Also featured for you video game enthusiasts out there is a feature on the making of the new Ghostbusters video game. The release is BD-Live enabled and features cinechat. However, no digital copy of the film is included.

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan, like me of Ghostbusters, this is a must have release. While not without its faults, Ghostbusters has never looked or sounded better at home than it does on this release. Very highly recommended.

Film

Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) is the director of a documentary about a long lost Indian tribe in the Amazon, who along with her crew including cameraman Danny Rich (Ice Cube) and Professor Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz) make their way through the treacherous Amazon jungle. Before locating the tribe the crew runs into a stranded hunter; Paul Sarone (Jon Voight). Sarone claims to know where the tribe is located and promises to help the crew. Suspicious of ulterior motives the crew seems to keep a close eye on Sarone, but is eventually forced to help him hunt down the world’s largest Green Anaconda snake. Several of the crew members are killed in the search for the snake and personalities clash while the group fights to survive.

The plot of Anaconda starts off surprisingly interesting, but fails to have any longevity and the phoniness doesn’t hesitate to consume the film. Initially I was captivated by the scenic Amazon River and the potential horrors of stalking a gigantic snake, an animal which terrifies me even in its most minute sizes. Before long the dialogue becomes stale, characters predictable, and storyline cheesy. Apparently after stalking and killing a record breaking anaconda, we learn that there is in fact an even bigger and more deadly snake! At this point I was hardly impressed with the way the story was going, and it became incredibly predictable from there on, all the way to its disappointing end.

The movie had a few moments which made me laugh, and there were some adventurous aspects which were beautifully shot. But I can’t in good faith recommend this film based upon a pretty back drop and a couple of zany moments. If you’re looking for a creepy and humorous creature film I would recommend checking out a classic like Tremors or the more recent Slither. Both of which combine the laughs with the horror/thrills much more impressively.

The cast of Anaconda was real hit and miss, with a surprisingly decent performance by Ice Cube and some supporting members which include; Owen Wilson and Danny Trejo. But I was extremely disappointed (not to my surprise) with Jennifer Lopez, and more so by Jon Voight who played a cardboard character I’ve seen a hundred times before. Then there is Eric Stoltz, who I can’t exactly say played a bad role, it was just that the character was so cliché and uninteresting.

Video

Presented in 1080p 2.40:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4 Anaconda debuts on Blu-ray with some good although inconsistent results.  Right from the start of the movie you can notice the picture looks a bit soft in many shots.  However this is much more apparent in a few shots that are taken far back. In shots where the camera is much closer to the object or person, detail can be easily seen.  The up close shots of the snake for example showcase an impressive amount of detail in its scales and threatening eyes.

Color presentation is much more consistent showcasing a cool but varied palette.  Flesh tones are realistic in hue and the lush foliage looks great.

The print itself is in great condition with no visible color banding or edge enhancement.  Grain is presented lightly throughout the movie, but never does it block detail or become distracting.

Overall I was pleased with how Anaconda was presented on Blu-ray. The detail may look soft at times, but the color presentation makes up for it.

Audio

Anaconda has been presented with an active and great sounding 5.1 TrueHD track.  From the opening scene the track fully utilizes all channels.  Bass is a

The films soundtrack does a good job of setting up high tension scenes and also doesn’t overpower the dialogue track.  The Dialogue track itself is consistently clear and is balanced perfectly the other tracks.  There are a few instances where the dialogue can sound a bit too quiet although the amount of times this happens isn’t enough to dock it a lot points.

Overall the consistent and active audio track sounds great, and will please fans of the material.

Special Features

• Trailer
• BD-Live

Final Thoughts

I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise that Anaconda was phony and rather uneventful. Aside from a few thrilling moments the weak special effects failed to create any memorable scenes. For fans of the film you will be very disappointed to see the complete lack of special features on the Blu-ray disc, but is ultimately made up for with rather decent audio and video transfers. Only buy this if you are a fan of the film, and if you haven’t yet seen it I wouldn’t bother unless you’re akin to creature films.

Film

Dustin Hoffman stars as Ted Kramer, an over worked advertising executive. Having been awarded a large new account he goes out to celebrate coming home to his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) in the process of packing her things.  Having left him Ted is left to raise their son Billy (Justin Henry), but can’t do it with the affection he came to adore from his mother. Meanwhile Ted is failing at work, unable to keep up his workaholic attitude while raising a young son the relationship becomes extremely strained and the two drift apart. After several months Ted befriends his neighbour and fellow single parent; Margaret (who initially urged Joanna to leave Ted). Eventually Ted and Billy come to terms with their situation and form an unbreakable bond. Just when their relationship is at its peak Joanna comes back to demand custody, and the two enter a blood bath custody battle.

It was nice to see a movie which challenged the ideas of divorce and custody. In our day and age these things happen on a daily basis. While the idea of a single father may have been culturally significant in the 1970′s, the events of the film didn’t hit home quite as hard. But even with all the change in society, we can still appreciate a film like Kramer vs. Kramer nowadays, simply because a mother and father do in fact deserve equal say in the matter of custody. The predisposition of awarding custody to the mother isn’t always the best decision, as we have learnt over time, mother doesn’t always know best. Whichever side of the spectrum you stand on, the film makes you think, and I always enjoy a little social commentary in the subtext. So yes, I did enjoy Kramer vs. Kramer because at the time it was unique and its views on parenthood are still relevant.

Without giving away too much of the plot, or debating with myself on point of view, I’ll simply state that the movie makes you think a little. It gives good perspective and the performances of Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep really hit the messages home. Like a house without a foundation, the movie just wouldn’t have been complete without this great cast. Although I really wonder if Justin Henry really deserved a nomination (to this day he is the youngest person to be nominated for an Academy Award) for his role, he did a commendable job for such a youngster.

At the end of the day Kramer vs. Kramer probably wasn’t the best selection for Best Picture of 1979, it certainly deserves an honourable mention, and is a must watch for courtroom junkies. The story was extremely well adapted from Avery Corman’s novel (In which it won Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) and well directed by Robert Benton (As well winning Best Director honours).

Video

Presented in 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4, Kramer vs. Kramer comes to Blu-ray with some surprisingly gorgeous looking results.  Like with every other older movie I put in I always brace myself for disappointment.  Thankfully like many other titles, I was not at all disappointed, but rather impressed with the quality of this disc.

Grain is consistently seen throughout the entire movie, although it never becomes distracting nor does it hide detail.  Facial pores as well as individual hairs can be seen in close shots, and detail like backdrops and fore objects all look extremely sharp.  Color may seem dull to some, but the palette is definitely realistic in tone; flesh tones in particular look great.

The print itself has been cleaned up very well and does not show a post processing side effects like DNR or compression artifacts.   For an older film I was more than surprised with the overall quality.  For people who have already seen the original DVD I can assure you that the upgrade is outstanding.

Audio

Sony Pictures has included 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track and the quality of the track is top notch, just don’t expect to hear a lot of action through your rear and sub channels.   The orchestrated soundtrack utilized the rear channels effectively although there were a few scenes that suffered from balancing issues.  Dialogue in these scenes was sometimes overpowered by the background noise and the soundtrack.   Thankfully when this doesn’t occur the dialogue is clearly heard through the front channels.

The given track is top quality; unfortunately there aren’t enough instances where the track is fully utilized.  For those who already know what to expect you will not be disappointed.

Special Features

• The Making of Kramer vs Kramer – A 50 minute making of feature that covers many aspects the films pre-production.  The highlight of the feature has got to be the interviews with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep.

Final Thoughts

While Kramer vs. Kramer certainly wasn’t the greatest film of 1979, I have to say the acting really was top notch, and got credit where due in that regard. At the end of the day, the movie is a great watch and I can certainly see it being culturally significant thirty years ago, by now it’s been done a hundred times over. But like I mentioned before, if you enjoy courtroom dramas Kramer vs. Kramer is sure to please and for first time viewers and long time lovers alike the Blu-ray is a welcome addition to your collection. With crisp audio and video transitions into high definition there are sure to be very few disappointed people. The only thing lacking on the disc is the lack of special features, but where quantity lacks, quality kicks in, and the nearly hour long making of featurette is a great watch for fans. So at the end of the day, I recommend fans of the film go out and purchase the disc, while first times viewers give it a rent.

The Film 

The Pink Panther was released in February of 2006.  The reboot took in a modest $158 million in theatrical gross earnings, but was not warmly received by the critics.  The film stars Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Beyonce Knowles and guest cameos by Jason Statham and Clive Owen (the addition of these two were much-welcomed pleasant surprises for me).  Now I understand completely why my friend Shawn despises Beyonce as an actress.  She simply cannot act.  She is painful to watch at times.  She should quite simply just stick to her musical act.  She seems entertaining in that respect. 

Now here is something I found quite interesting.  While researching this film, I learned that the finished product we have here was not the original cut of the film.  A novelization published in 2005 was based on the final version of the script.  However, during the filming of the movie, Sony Pictures purchased MGM and this acquisition led to a five million dollar re-shoot and re-edit of the film in order to achieve a family-friendly PG rating.  Well that sucks huh?  Not only are we now not getting the original cut of the movie, but also it is crafted more towards the family audience instead of the more mature target audience it was originally intended for.  I guess this one really is a matter of opinion, but I personally feel short-changed after learning this.  If you search hard enough on the Internet, you will be able to find the differences between the final script and what was re-shot and re-edited.  With much luck I wish to you on that journey.

The plot of the film is essentially about the mishaps experienced by Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) as he attempts to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach (Jason Statham) and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond, which was worn as a ring by the soccer coach.  I guess I also feel compelled to mention the fact that Inspector Clouseau is only brought onto the case by Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) to serve as a distraction to the media, as Dreyfus is secretly assembling a skillful team of investigators to solve the mystery, in hopes of winning himself a “Medal of Honor.”  Where does Beyonce fit into all of this you are probably asking?  Beyonce’s character, Xania, is the girlfriend of the murdered soccer coach.  Ironically, despite all the dumb humor, antics and mishaps experienced throughout the entire film, Inspector Clouseau is actually quite the bright thinker, as you will eventually find out.  I guess the thing to remember is don’t let the dullest tool in the shed fool you.  So will the dumb-witted Inspector Clouseau solve the case that no one expects him to?  Will the Pink Panther diamond be successfully recovered?  Can you stand 93 minutes of family-friendly dry humor?  These are questions that remain to be answered if you are brave enough to tackle the curious case of The Pink Panther on Blu-ray.  C’Mon…do it for the kids!

Video 

The Pink Panther arrives on the Blu-ray format with a 1080P AVC MPEG-4 video encode.  The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.  The film’s print is pristine and artifact/noise free throughout.  The only problem for me was the lack of fine detail and depth.  Although the colors were vibrant and the blacks were solid, I was never satisfied with the levels of detail.  There were always some scenes here or there that just looked too soft and/or too flat in appearance.  Other than that, I cannot find anything else to complain about.  The skin tones were all natural and warm in appearance.  What you have here is simply The Pink Panther viewable in its finest looking presentation available, albeit not of demo reference quality to HD enthusiasts.

Audio 

Pretty much the same can be said for this Blu-ray’s audio presentation.  While it is not of reference quality, it does produce quite a potent kick at times.  Sony packages a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track in the mix here.  While there is no denying that this mix is very front heavy and dialogue driven, I really don’t think I ever heard a soundtrack, such as this one, so aggressive before.  What I mean by this is that despite the lack of loud action stunts and surround activity, the front, subwoofer and center speakers were packing quite the wallop.  Despite the accents involved, I had no difficulty in hearing the dialogue.  That’s always a good thing in my opinion.  However, there is a severe lack of surround activity taking place behind you, in the rear channels, with the exception of a few action sequences.  The famous score of The Pink Panther franchise really steals the show.  I felt like a kid again hearing “The Pink Panther Theme,” for the first time in glorious High-Definition audio.

Special Features 

While The Pink Panther does seem to compile a wealth of extras, there is always that one bombshell that destroys it for me.  Do I even need to mention it?  Well for those of you that do not know me, I am always disappointed in special features when they are presented in Standard-Definition.  I mean, what’s the point?  I invested in the 1080P Blu-ray format did I not?  Had time not been spent for review purposes, there would be no way you would catch me watching this, not even if it was The Dark Knight.  Let’s take a few moments to review what special features can be found on the Blu-ray release of The Pink Panther.

• Code Pink: Animated Graphics-in-Picture Track – Perhaps this is probably the coolest of the special features.  This is a pop-up trivia track that plays while watching the movie.  It features the likes of everyone’s favorite animated Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau. 
• Audio Commentary – The audio commentary track features a conversation by director Shawn Levy.
• Deleted Scenes – There are eleven deleted and extended scenes that feature optional commentary by Shawn Levy.
• Cracking the Case – This is a 22-minute documentary of the making-of, which features interviews of the cast and crew.
• Animated Trip – Here we have an 8-minute look at the classic main titles of The Pink Panther series.
• Deconstruction of the Panther: Creating the Palace Scene – This is a 10-minute peek at what all went into constructing the final climatic scene.
• Sleuth-Cams – This is a 19-minute video diary from a crewmember documenting the shooting of three different scenes.
• Music Videos – There are two Beyonce music videos contained here.  They are “Check On It” and “A Woman Like Me.”
• Theatrical Trailers – There are trailers for Open Season 2, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep and Daddy Day Care.
• BD-Live

Final Thoughts 

So there you have it folks.  That is the mysterious case of The Pink Panther Blu-ray release declassified just for you.  If you are a sucker for slapstick, dry humor and dumb-witted family comedy, then this movie is perhaps perfect for you.  If you are a fan of the original 1960′s series, looking for the same cutting edge humor, you may feel a bit slighted by the family tone of this release.  As I mentioned previously, I believe the case of The Pink Panther Blu-ray to be a fans only purchase.  All others, I encourage you to give this one a test drive (aka rental) before buying, because once you solve the case of The Pink Panther, you may not feel like seconds.

I hope you enjoyed my review of Sony Picture’s The Pink Panther Blu-ray release.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.  I look forward to receiving any feedback from my readers.

The Pink Panther was released on Blu-ray January 20, 2009.  If you like what you read in the review above, then please show your support for our site by clicking the shopping cart link above to order and save with Amazon’s Everyday Lowest Price Guarantee.  Thanks!

Film 

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc opens with a young Joan making confession in a local church.  The priest appreciates her constant visits and incessant desire to confess, but also questions her general happiness for one so young spending so much time in confession.  Joan says she is happy in life but expresses her religious duty to the priest.  Even at this young age of about 11 or so, Joan claimed to have experienced messages sent by God.  Shortly after leaving the church, we find Joan running through fields of tulips and wildflowers, laughing and frolicking about.  She takes a playful tumble only to find herself lying right next to a mysteriously placed sword, hidden in the high grass.

Taking this as another sign from above, Joan wields the weapon and heads back to her village, only to find it in flames, courtesy of the English.  Here is where the movie runs  parallel to 1995′s Braveheart. William Wallace lost a father at the hands of the English and grows up to become a freedom fighter against them.  Joan of Arc loses a mother at the hands of the English and grows up to become a freedom fighter against them.  Now if that’s the way history played out, well, no one can help that.  However, from a viewer’s perspective in a cinematic sense, I just sat there thinking, “Didn’t we walk this path before?”

I did find it incredibly surprising that Joan (Milla Jovovich), who everyone knows was born a commoner, is accepted so readily by French royalty, especially by Charles VII (John Malkovich) in her claims that her visions are for real.  Not only that, she’s given armor, a sword, a war horse, military command and her own banner upon her request.  In today’s world, it would be like me writing my congressman, telling him I’ve seen visions on how to wipe out Al Qaeda and I need to see the President.  He gets me an invite to the White House where I’m given a military-grade Humvee, my own M-16 and command of a Marine division.  Ta-da!  It’s that easy folks!  Well, apparently it was that easy 600 years ago.

Video 

Remember that part earlier on where I mentioned Joan running through the fields of wild flowers and tulips?  The scenes were so amazingly pristine that I grew increasingly excited that the whole film would be so visually flawless.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  The film, presented in a 1080p AVC 2.40:1 aspect, was quite good for the most part.  However, if I am to average out the good with the grain, we come up above average but not excellent.  While the opening confession scene makes every pore and freckle visible in striking clarity, there are a variety of scenes where it looked like someone forgot to dust off the camera lens.

Audio 

The audio was as striking as the film’s best visuals throughout most of the film’s two-and-a-half hour runtime.  While dialogue was being delivered, the occasional gallop of horse hoof to beaten path could be heard in the rear speakers.  Most of thunderous crashes of battle did not go unnoticed, nor did the contrasting chirping of birds in the calmer scenes.  My only complaints are that I’d expect more bass out of the battles and some of the whispering in the film was lost.  I found myself leaning forward at times to try and make out what was said.

Special Features 

I could not believe it.  I had to be suffering from lack-of-navigation syndrome.  After watching the film, I made a (quick) trip to the Special Features section of the disc’s menu.  To say I was a little surprised was an understatement.  Under this menu option was one, yes, count it off on your pinky, one available, lonely selection.  I figured I had to be doing something wrong.  There just had to be other special features.  After all, the option is plural.  It is called Special Features.  Well, mark that one with red ink.  The sole item to view here is called “Previews.”  Even a trailer for a bad movie would have been a welcomed addition here.

• Previews: Blu-ray is High Definition – This is a 2-minute, 36 second overview of Blu-ray.  The narrator quickly discusses bookmarking, picture in picture, etc.
• BD Live - While this is not included in the Special Features section, it is nonetheless a special feature that is available.  For those unfamiliar with BD Live, you can create a running commentary and video montage and share it with others.  It worked well on The Dark Knight.  For The Messenger, my Blu-ray player locked up when I chose this feature…not good.

Final Thoughts 

I am certainly in no position to say Joan of Arc’s claims of divine messages were or were not true.  If either outcome were somehow validated tomorrow, I would not have trouble believing either.  You have to remember though, everyone was claiming ‘heretic’ back then and several burned at the stake as a result, including our heroine, Joan of Arc.  Some believe she was simply crazy.  Others support the sainthood bestowed upon her.

I do want to point out that there is some high-talent in the film which includes John Malkovich and a brief appearance by Dustin Hoffman.  With that being said, I have a serious problem with the casting director for this film.  Keep in mind the fighting that’s taking place is between the English and the French.  Why then, were so many English actors used in French roles?  Don’t get me wrong.  They were fine actors but talk about confusing!  I was getting lost trying to determine if one guy was a French priest with an English accent, an English sympathizer to the French or an English minister just trying to run a fair trial.  Did I mention the American in the French army?  He must have been on loan from George Washington via time machine.

That’s something that still bugs me about Enemy at the Gates.  I love that movie but if you are a great actor, then utilize your character’s respective accent.  You had a German with a Yankee accent (Ed Harris) and a Russian with a British accent (Jude Law).  Authenticity gets lost in the storytelling because of this.

Back to our story though, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, was quite entertaining through its first 30 or 40 minutes.  After that, it lumbered onward at times but concluded in dramatic fashion.  This may not be the best history lesson regarding Joan of Arc, however, if you are like me and wanted more information than the one page my high school history book provided, then sit back and enjoy a viewing of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.