Did you ever watch a movie and wonder when it was over what it was you just watched? Have you ever been so enthralled in something but at the same time stupefied by it? These are just a couple of the assorted thoughts that ran through my head after my initial viewing of the film Southland Tales, a recent Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures. I believe it would take me several sequential viewings to truly comprehend the complex body of work that is Southland Tales, but even then, I question whether or not that would be enough. I don’t even know how to explain it. I have never been so interested in watching something but so lost at the same time. I was hoping that by hanging in there it would all come together cohesively at the film’s conclusion and suddenly make sense. But, if you know anything about Richard Kelly’s work, then you know this would not be the case. The only thing I can compare it to was how I felt while watching Mulholland Drive back in 2002, a feeling of excitement but an ending drenched in ultimate confusion.

Southland Tales was released theatrically in 2007. It was written and directed by Richard Kelly. The title refers to the Southland, which is a name used by locals to describe the areas of Southern California and Greater Los Angeles. The film is set in the near future but with an alternate history of our own. The film contains one of the biggest all-star casts I can remember since my review of Sin City. Southland Tales features the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sean William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Christopher Lambert, John Larroquette, Bai Ling, Jon Lovitz, Mandy Moore, Amy Poehler, Kevin Smith, Justin Timberlake and many more. Recording artist, Moby, scored original music for the film. Unfortunately, Southland Tales was a box office disaster. With an estimated budget of $15 million, the film failed to even break the $1 million mark worldwide. It should be noted that the film was only released on 63 screens. How can a movie with an all-star cast such as this fail so miserably? Just like the movie itself, I will never completely understand.

So are you ready to learn about the plot of the movie? Here goes my best attempt at constructing a somewhat reasonable explanation of what went on within the film. The film opens with events that have already happened in an alternate version of US history. On July 4, 2005, both El Paso and Abilene, Texas have fallen victim to nuclear attacks. The unimaginable and catastrophic attacks sent America into World War III. The Patriot Act has grown too big for its own good and has extended lawful authority to a new agency known as US-IDent. US-IDent keeps constant tabs on all citizens through the use of extensive Internet censoring and video surveillance. This seems pretty simple and logical so far, right? Here is where I slice this apple wide open. Are you ready for this? The alternate world here in Kelly’s film is also facing a fuel shortage. Does this really surprise you? This is definitely not a good time for this to be happening, considering we are in the middle of a global warfare time period. A German company named Treer designs a new generator capable of producing unlimited energy propelled by ocean currents. This new technology is called Fluid Karma. Alright ladies and gentleman…time to buckle up because my next plot point is going to be a big one. Initially unknown to the German engineers, these generators alter the ocean currents and cause the Earth to slow its rotation, ripping holes in the space and time continuum.

If the whole space and time ripple effect I discussed above is not enough, we also have many side stories and characters we are following as one fateful evening, their lives end up being intertwined in order to save all of mankind from complete destruction. Wow! That was a big one to get out. There are three main character destinies we follow throughout the movie that are essential to what I just mentioned prior. We follow the amnesic condition of action film star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), ex-porn star turned reality TV host and ambitious entrepreneur Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and twin brothers Roland and Ronald Taverner (both played by Sean William Scott). That last character I mentioned is what really has me scratching my head even now. What happens if two different people have the same exact soul and should end up meeting each other in the same physical geography? I can’t even comprehend how I would even go about calculating that theory. Oh yeah…we still have yet to discuss the eccentric disfigured Iraq war veteran played by Justin Timberlake, the many bizarre costumes worn by Bai Ling, the strange but yet very cool performance of Jon Lovitz, the out-of-place Mandy Moore portraying Boxer Santaros’ wife and many more characters. I am finding the need to restrain myself from developing even more of the plot here as I think I already made some of my reader’s heads hurt by now.

Video

In my opinion, the exceptional video transfer is what makes Southland Tales really shine on the Blu-ray format. Sony delivers with a 1080P AVC video encode presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. This is a very clean master print with little to no blemishes or specks visible to the eye. It is quite visually stunning. The colors are very vivid and vibrant throughout to the point where the video really glistens because of this. This does make the contrast a bit hot in places but I have no serious qualms about it. The black levels are very solid throughout the presentation. There is not a single hint of grain within the blacks. This makes the dark shots just as superior as the brighter ones. That is something you cannot always say with today’s transfers. I wouldn’t be doing my job though if I did not point out the faults I found with the video transfer. I felt forced to lower my video score because of various soft shots. The film is not shot in digital video so a soft film-like presentation is to be expected. With that being said, I need to point out that I found various scenes to be softer than the others, which lacked critical sharpness and sometimes appeared wax-like. All in all, my favorite part of this Blu-ray watching experience was the vibrant colors that kept my eyes glued to the screen at all times.

Audio

Sony brings Southland Tales to the Blu-ray format with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track. The dialogue, which is always a pet peeve of mine, is presented very clear and intelligible. That is a good thing because there is a lot of dialogue that viewers need to pay attention to, but even with that being said, it did not help me in ultimately understanding what I had just watched. I was very pleased with mixing of the music and audio score. The musical numbers, like the one hilarious scene with Justin Timberlake that comes to mind, filled my entire viewing room with pure audio nirvana. All of the sound effects like the gunshots and explosions, sounded ultra realistic and authentic. The low-end bass used throughout the movie kept my interests thumping. I guess my only complaint regarding the film’s audio track was I felt the film’s surround track, at many times, to be very front-heavy with little interaction from the rear speakers. Since the movie was not an onslaught of action throughout, I feel the audio track really delivers for what it was trying to achieve, minus the couple of nuisances I mentioned previously.

Special Features

What I like about the Special Features on the Southland Tales Blu-ray disc is the fact that Sony delivers them in High Definition. There are a few new bonus features that are not found on the DVD version of this title. Below is what is included on this Blu-ray release.

Commentary (Blu-ray Exclusive) – This is your basic commentary with writer and director Richard Kelly.

Southland Tales: The Prequel Saga Graphic Novel Gallery (Blu-ray Exclusive) – These are the graphic novels that precede Southland Tales.

USIDent TV: Surveilling The Southland – This is where you get your making of the film sort of documentary. It also includes interviews with the cast and crew.

This is the Way the World Ends – This is an animated short, which further confuses viewers by taking place in an alternate universe of the film.

Trailers – There is a collection of various trailers from Sony Pictures.

BD-Live – The BD-Live functionality allows viewers to connect to Sony’s website to download movie trailers and other promos. There was nothing specific or extra for Southland Tales, at the time of writing this.

Final Thoughts

The Blu-ray’s front cover displays the tag line “This is the Way the World Ends.” Let me be the first to say…I sure hope not. I would rather go out with a bang than be constantly confused like I was in Southland Tales. I believe this film will live on as a cult movie and guilty pleasure for most fans, much like Battlefield Earth manages to. While I enjoyed the viewing of this fine Blu-ray presentation I still own up to the fact that I have no idea what I really watched. I was intrigued throughout, but I cannot pretend to coherently and intelligently discuss all the underlying plot and moral themes the film bestows upon us. The numerous characters and sub plots made it very hard to follow. In the end, I was just left scratching my head deciding if I should watch it again or if it would even matter. I really think this film would take more viewings than I am willing to sit through and some serious philosophical conversations to completely understand all that happens within Southland Tales. If you are already a fan of this film, then this fine Blu-ray presentation makes it a no-brainer for me to recommend. If you have never seen it or are intrigued by the premises I discussed within this review, then I would emphatically encourage a rental before contemplating and jumping on it as a blind buy. Please go into your initial viewing with a highly awake status and an extra shot of caffeine by your side so your brain can absorb and digest as much as possible. Good luck!

I’m a fan of the original George Romero zombie films. Let’s face it. These films have left an incredible mark and pretty much created an entire sub-genre of horror film. We get a lot of our zombie rules from these “Dead” films. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that finally the last of the original films has finally been remade. The original Night Of The Living Dead came first to the remake mills. It was a pretty faithful adaptation of the original material, even if it was somewhat updated. It didn’t hurt that Romero was involved as a producer and that original makeup man Tom Savini directed the affair. That was 1990. In 2004 Zack Snyder presented us with his update of Dawn Of The Dead. Again there was some faithfulness to the plot and the zombies themselves. Snyder amped up the blood and guts and delivered a pretty cool film. Now horror veteran director Steve Miner brings us the final Romero “Dead” remake, at least until they start remaking the remakes. While Miner is best known for his television work on such shows as The Wonder Years and Dawson’s Creek, he is no stranger to the horror genre, having helmed the first two Friday The 13^th sequels. I have to say I expected more out of the man.

This is the worst of the Romero remakes. Miner has abandoned just about everything that identifies Romero’s zombie world. Gone is the traditional sense of confinement and claustrophobia that made each of the original films so tense. The bunker is used, but only in the final minutes of the film. For the most part our characters jump from one location to another, spending a lot of time out in the open. Miner has also abandoned the slow moving, but determined zombies we’ve come to know and love. He’s replaced them with CG enhanced super zombies. These guys can run at Flash speeds and can do acrobatic leaps and crawl on the walls. The obvious CG work takes us out of any atmosphere Miner might have given us. Even the blood and gore is CG enhanced, taking away the gritty stomach churning effect of the original films. A few character names are retained, but you’ll find them as unrecognizable as you did watching the new Battlestar Galactica. Bub is still around, but he’s a vegetarian zombie named Bud. That wasn’t a misprint. You don’t need new glasses. A vegetarian zombie. Give me a break. The movie was filmed in Bulgaria, which even Miner admits in the commentary doesn’t look anything like the United States, except for the woods. The film suffers from really poor ADR work, particularly McCord. Check her out at just 7 minutes into the film and watch her lips. You won’t mind it at all, but you’ll see what I mean. There are a couple of comedic moments. My favorite is when a DJ threatens one of the officers with torture because he won’t tell him what’s going on. Does he plan to use the dreaded waterboard method? No. Does he intend to use sleep deprivation? No. He threatens to play Celine Dion. The lady just can’t get a break. First South Park,and now zombies.

With just the exception of an underused Ving Rhames,the cast is an amateur one indeed. Most of these actors are way too young and unseasoned to be playing these roles. A perfect example is Mena Suvari who plays Sarah, a corporal in the Army Reserves. When she’s giving orders,you just want to laugh in her face. The actress is in as much over her head as the commanding officer she tried somewhat to play. An unintended humorous moment occurs when she and Bud, before he’s a zombie, enter a bloody house. She draws her gun, inciting a gasp from this other supposedly trained officer. Then she remarks that he shouldn’t worry because the gun’s not loaded. Apparently it’s complicated. Nick Cannon plays another soldier named Salazar, who spends the entire time doing a really poor Will Smith imitation. AnnaLynne McCord isn’t much better of an actress, but she is rather stunning looking, so I’ll forgive her casting on the grounds of too pretty to pass up. Rhames is in the film minimally, just enough to collect a check and lend the star power to the credits. The best part is played by Ian McNeice. He plays a rebel DJ who is holed up at his radio station during the break out of zombies. You might remember him as the newsreader on the HBO series Rome.

The story shares almost nothing in common with the original. In this version a small town in Colorado has succumbed to an apparent flu virus. Of course, I’m not giving anything away when I tell you that this ain’t no flu bug. Before long the undead are mobbing the city, munching on those who survived the infection. The guard is called in to quarantine the town under the guise of a training mission. So, throw in stupid soldiers on top of poorly trained and too young. A small group of survivors ridiculously led by Sarah take on the super zombies and manage to have a home style barbeque.

Video

Day Of The Dead is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. This is a very average high definition image. Yes, you get the full 1080p using an AVC/MPEG-4 codec. Still, the picture lacks the detail and vivid reproduction of colors that I’ve really come to expect from an HD release. The bit rate stays around 20mbps, which I consider poor for a high definition release.. It’s not that this is a bad image. I’m sure it offers more clarity than a DVD, but barely more than a good upconverter can provide. Black levels are average at best, which is a problem for a film shot almost entirely in darkness. You just don’t get that shadow detail you should have on this kind of a picture. Miner relied far too much on blue and yellow filters either on camera or through a color correction process. It adds a pall to the image that takes away the gritty reality I think you’re likely looking for in a “Dead” film.

Audio

The TrueHD lossless 5.1 track a strong 24 bit blast of sound. In fact, the film has too rich of a sound for this movie. There some wonderful orchestration and kick butt, drop dead, in your face power sub action. It gives you something very sweet to listen to. It distracted me, as I found the sound to be far more interesting than what I was watching. I caught myself zoning to the soundtrack, never a good sign. Dialog is fine. There is a pretty good use made of ambient sounds here. I could have used a wider spread during the machine guns when they fired, but it was dynamic enough to make this presentation far superior to the video one.

There is an Audio Commentary with a large group of cast and crew. They talk a lot about how it was to shoot in Bulgaria with a largely non-English-speaking crew.

Special Features

On The Set: This 14 minute feature is a bit unusual. It’s not the typical guided feature. It’s more like a fly on the wall atmosphere as you watch several scenes being prepped and filmed.

Alternative Ending: For 6 minutes you get pretty much the exact ending you saw in the film. The absolute only difference is the fate of one of the characters.

Interviews: You can choose between several of the cast members and Miner, as well as makeup f/x guy Dean John, who is no Tom Savini. They last about a couple of minutes long. This section really needed a play all feature. The footage is very choppy with words at the beginning and end of clips often cut off.

Photo Gallery

Final Thoughts

This is not your father’s Day Of The Dead. Honestly, you’re not going to want to claim this one for your generation either. It’s an action film using uninteresting actors and characters in a stimulation overload environment. There’s little time to enjoy it as a zombie film at all. Romero had a touch that has often been imitated but rarely reproduced. Perhaps Miner decided to not even try. If that’s true, it’s fair, but I have to ask the question: Why remake this particular film at all? Go ahead. Ask the question you are dying to ask. Should I pick this film up or not? “Please, you have more important things to do.”

The Contract is one of those films that appears to have everything going for it. When I received my most recent batch of Blu-ray titles to review, this was the one that caught my eye. It wasn’t in the box office very long, so I did not have the opportunity to catch it in that kind of grand setting. I wanted to, but I was likely watching reruns of Mork and Mindy for you guys. From the film’s start, that potential begins to be completely realized. We are introduced to the two very different personalities in this film. Morgan Freeman is a cold as ice assassin with a new job to perform. We watch him interact with his team in a manner that honestly should send shivers up your spine. We are also introduced to a normal everyday father played by John Cusak. He fits the part perfectly, and we watch him trying to relate to his son in a frustrating manner that all fathers must experience at some points in their relationship with their sons. Sorry Dad. These starkly different realities strike a chord of wariness for us as viewers, because we know something that these characters don’t yet. We know these vastly contrasting worlds are destined to collide somewhere along the way. Seldom have I felt so much anticipation for a predictable outcome. When it happens, the film takes off for us, and our expectations begin to be fulfilled.

But something happens halfway through this film. Freeman loses some of his coldness and Cusak begins to find his own. While this little juxtaposition of characteristics might serve some creative, stylish intent, the movie suffers for it. The emotional currency that director Bruce Beresford has accumulated gets spent long before the film pays off. I can’t tell you exactly when it happened, but I can tell you that the movie eventually becomes somewhat of a predictable cat and mouse game. A game we’ve seen played far too many times and with far more interesting twists than we get here. So, I find myself feeling like I’ve just seen two movies instead of one. I loved the first, but the second rather bored me to tears and perhaps a few stolen moments of slumber. To be sure the locations are rather sweet, and in high definition they offer some rather pleasing visual stimulation. Of course, I can get the same thing by watching the Discovery Channel. No, I needed something more. I needed to see these very different worlds continue to collide and cause friction and conflict. Somewhere along the way they began to co-exist in a peaceful and ultimately uninteresting way.

Frank Carden (Freeman) is an ex CIA/Military operative. He now works for the highest bidder. He has assembled a team of special forces operatives, and they kill for money. During one of their elaborate hits, Carden is injured in an auto accident. Once the feds find out that he’s in custody, they want him out. It seems he’s the only one who knows where or how to collect payment on the current contract. The feds want him, but not every fed wants him alive. It seems Frank has secrets to tell. When the prisoner is being transported, the car is taken out along an isolated wilderness mountain pass. The car ends up in a fast moving river, and he and the Marshal escorting him are carried off by the strong current. The two end up coming to where Ray (Cusak) is out trying to bond with his son who has just been suspended for smoking pot at school, where he is also a gym teacher. They fish the two men out of the water. The Marshal is mortally wounded, and with his dying breath charges Ray with getting Carden to justice. What’s an ordinary Joe to do? Ray accepts the challenge, and the three begin to march through the wilderness. They are joined by a couple of campers along the way. Now they must get Carden to the proper authorities while being hunted by Carden’s crack team and the feds.

There’s no question that Morgan Freeman is a tremendous talent. He shows it here, and when the character goes wrong it really isn’t Freeman’s fault. It’s the script that forces the character in an uneasy direction. It’s a shame, really, because there are some very clever and exciting moments in the film. Cusak doesn’t necessarily shine, but he’s made a career out of not having to. His characters are always minimalist people that are pretty much intended to represent the average guy. Even when he’s put into more extraordinary roles he finds his way by making them at least appear normal. Alice Krige joins the cast as the fed who wants Carden dead. It’s a one-note performance all the way and a throwaway character. The team is made up of the usual kinds of character actors and personalities. It’s almost a cliché’. The last 20 minutes of the film are completely unnecessary. For some reason it was decided that the film required a coda to over-cleverly tie up loose ends that could have been taken care of in the field, so to speak. It has the feel of being tacked on, and it all ends far too pat for my tastes.

Video

The Contract is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. You get a perfectly fine 1080p image using anVC-1 codec. The bit rate is a little disappointing staying below 30 mbps for most of the film. Detail is spotty. There are moments, particularly the face cliff, where there is a tremendous amount of detail and texture to surfaces like the rain soaked rocks here. Some of the vistas are a masterpiece of contrast, showing the wonderful mountain panoramic with brilliant touches of mist and fog. Other times the image appears soft and lacking in that same level of sharpness and clarity. The scenes at the cabin suffer from this problem and perhaps with only average black levels here, while a New York nightscape looks wonderful with deep black levels. I guess I would call the whole thing rather inconsistent. Likely much of the changes are artistic decisions.

Audio

The TrueHD lossless 5.1 track delivers about everything you could want here. Rain provides a wonderful opportunity for ambient sounds and an immersive experience. Dialog is fine. A lot of the film does take place in the front, but when the ambients do kick in they are a pleasant surprise.

Special Features

Inside The Contract: This 21 minute feature is your typical behind the scenes feature. It contains plenty of interview bits from cast and crew and a good look at the stunts.

Final Thoughts

It’s a tale of two films combined into one story. Expect to be thoroughly entertained and thrilled for about an hour. Then expect to be put on the back burner, forgotten and abandoned. Maybe it’s some kind of split personality schizophrenia moment for the writers. I understand these moments of identity crisis and laziness can strike at almost any moment. There’s apparently only one cure. No more audience. Now, I’m not a paid professional mental health practitioner. I don’t even play one on television. “I read it in a book once.”

When I first found out that I would be reviewing the Blu-ray movie, Stuck, I did some quick research on the web. After reading about the premise of the movie and how it was somewhat based on actual events, I was able to recall hearing the factual news story years ago. I remember being amazed and intrigued by what really happened. That is why I was really excited and looking forward to seeing what Stuck had to offer me. I went in with no hopes or expectations. I just wanted to be entertained and enthralled.

Stuck is loosely based on a true story that rocked the headlines momentarily in 2001. The factual story unfolds through the following chain of events. Chante Jawan Mallard struck a homeless man, Greggory Biggs, while driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Confused and not knowing what to do Mallard proceeded to drive home, with Biggs “stuck” in her windshield, and parked the car in her garage for the night. She did not call for help, notify the authorities or offer any kind of medical attention to the helpless man. The following morning, she checked on the man still lodged in her windshield and refused to offer any help. The homeless man died a couple days later. Mallard and a couple of her friends disposed of the body and set her car on fire to destroy any evidence. She and her accomplices were arrested. Chante Mallard was later convicted with a 50-year prison sentence.

Stuck premiered at the Cannes Film Market on May 21, 2007. It went on to be shown at a number of other film festivals. If you are scratching your head, as I was, and wondering why you never heard of this at the theater you can wonder no more. Stuck opened in limited release at only 2 theaters in the United States. It only grossed an estimated $10,000. Surprisingly, it did manage to receive very favorable reviews from the critics.

Stuck was produced and written by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond). Stuart Gordon drifts from the factual events to give us more insight into character development and to build tension. I can’t help but find myself torn between two ways of thinking. I can’t put my finger on it whether or not Gordon’s take was intended as a dark comedy of errors or whether he was sincerely trying to make a horror/thriller film. I think I found myself laughing more than I should have.

Stuck opens up with retirement-home caregiver, Brandi Boski (Mena Suvari), wishing to get promoted to a NA Captain job. She is frustrated that in order to get ahead in her job she needs to put in extra time and work extra shifts, particularly on Saturdays. It all sounds way too familiar to me. The whole be careful what you wish for phrase echoes through my head. Anyway, like most shift workers she likes to go out and have a good time after work. One fateful Friday night her and her friend meet up with her boyfriend Rashid (Russell Hornsby) at a club. One thing leads to another but by night’s end Brandi is heavily intoxicated from both alcohol and drugs. A real poster child for the health care industry one could say. Meanwhile, Tom (Stephen Rea), is out of work, down on his luck and today of all days…homeless. It is here where are two main characters’ worlds collide. Brandi, like a fool, attempts to drive herself home even though she in no way, shape or form should she be doing so. On her way home she accidentally hits pedestrian Tom with her car. Tom ends up getting his bones shattered as he flies headfirst through Brandi’s windshield. Frightened and shocked Brandi decides to drive home with Tom sticking halfway into her car’s windshield. This is where it gets both humorous and ridiculous. You mean to tell me that no one ever sees her driving around with a man in her windshield? Much like the factual story in 2001, Brandi ends up driving home with Tom still in her windshield and promises to get him help. She ends up parking her car in the garage and tries to wipe the blood off her seats with a Kleenex. That was a hilarious scene, although I don’t think it was intended to be one. She kind of ignores Tom’s plead for help and proceeds to go into her house where she morally debates whether or not she should place a call for help.

It is at this point of the movie where I felt it was finally going somewhere. I was really starting to get into the moral tension and dilemma that Brandi’s character was facing. In her mind she knows that without proper medical attention Tom is certainly going to die. Obviously, she knows what the right thing to do is. However, her boyfriend, Rashid, steers her in a different direction and urges her to consider the consequences of how this will impact her life and career over a homeless person that no one will ever care about nor even know is missing. That is certainly a conundrum I wish upon no one to ever have to live through and decide. When Tom realizes he is being left to die he attempts many painful experimental escape plans. This is where the movie starts down a path of unrealistic measures and almost begins to take a comedic route instead of the seriousness we were treated to in the first half of the film. I am not going to spoil it for anyone but there is no way a man could live through as long as he does, everything Tom is subjected to. The conclusion of the film also takes on its own leg as justice is delivered in different ways than what actually happened in the news story this movie was based upon. There are some pretty grotesque moments in this film but the comedic elements of those moments, overshadows the seriousness. This is how I found myself torn between the writer’s intention of where he wanted to take this movie and how he wanted to deliver its message. One cannot argue how definitely ironic it is that a nursing home caregiver could ever be so ignorant to the primal needs of an injured person. The writer definitely hit home on that level of moral irony.

Video

Stuck comes to the Blu-ray format utilizing an AVC MPEG-4 video codec with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The video quality is just average at best. This is not a video transfer that you will want to use for your home theater demo sessions. I could not help but feel that I was watching something that looked like it belonged in the early 80’s. It had that low budget kind of feel to it. There were many problems I found with the transfer. In the first half of the film there were some very distracting artifacts on the screen. In more than several occasions I noticed black and white blemishes on the print as well as speckles throughout. The overall image quality was very soft yet the skin tones were very natural looking. Blacks are solid for the most part but I did notice areas of grain. While I think the muted and washed colors are of director’s intent I just find this transfer very unworthy of the Blu-ray format considering the print was lifted off filming that took place circa 2007.

Audio

Image Entertainment delivers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio surround track on the Blu-ray release of Stuck. There really is not much to say here. This is not a big action thriller and there are only very subtle uses of surround effects utilized throughout the film. With that being said, I do feel they did an excellent job in the mix of the dialogue tracks. Every spoken word was intelligent and clear. Like the video, I feel the audio mix was adequate at best. Again, this is not demo worthy material here but the audio holds it own for what it was intended to achieve.

Special Features

The special features of the Stuck Blu-ray disc will really only appeal to the viewers who want to know more about the factual events of the original news story in which this movie is loosely based upon. With the exception of the commentary tracks, all of the special features are only in 480i standard-definition. Let’s take a moment to dissect the small list of special features to be found on the Stuck Blu-ray. The special features are as follows.

Audio Commentary – The audio commentary track features director Stuart Gordon, writer John Strysik and actress Mena Suvari.

Ripped from the Headlines – (SD) This featurette is a 17-minute behind the scenes documentary in addition to actual news footage.

The Gory Details – (SD) This is a 9-minute look at the makeup and special effects utilized in Stuck.

Driving Forces – (SD) This is an 8-minute video interview with director Stuart Gordon and writer John Strysik about the adaptation of the actual news story into the feature film.

Interviews and Exclusive Footage from AFI Dallas International Film Festival – (SD) This is a 17-minute collection of footage that covers the discussion of the real-life event and an interview from a reporter that covered the Mallard trial.

Theatrical Trailer

Final Thoughts

If you made it through my review this far and you still feel interested in giving this title a view then I would highly recommend a trip to your local Blockbuster to give this Blu-ray a rental first. I warn against a blind buy of this movie in fear that it may not warrant repeat viewings like many other Blu-rays scream for. I was very into the subject matter upon going in for my initial viewing but kind of turned off from the comedic elements and unrealistic happenings scripted in the screen play. Had the movie been more realistic and treated in a more serious fashion I think I could have enjoyed this more so than I did. Instead it just felt like a low budget movie from the 80’s with a murky video transfer to back that statement up. You may call it director’s intent or whatever term you like to say the look is intentional, but anyway you slice it, this is not a beautiful looking Blu-ray. In my opinion, Stuck, is only an average Blu-ray release that will appeal to fans of the film only. At least with a rental, you are not “stuck” or obligated to continue watching the film if it is not up to snuff with your viewing tastes. While there are good things that can still be said about the underlying story here, I ask readers to please take caution with this one, and rent before blind buying.

In the Winter of 1969 an elite force of the U.S. Army was sent on a top secret assignment in South East Vietnam. The objective: rescue Sgt. Four Leaf Tayback from a heavily guarded NVA Prison Camp. The mission was considered near suicide. Of the 10 men sent, 4 returned. Of those 4, 3 wrote books about what happened. Of those 3, 2 were published. Of those 2, just one got a movie deal. This is the story of the men who attempted to make that movie:

There have been many films about the Vietnam War. Some have been epic. Some have been emotional. Some have even been very bad, but now comes one that is absolutely funny. Are we ready for this kind of a send up? That might be the overriding question, but I think that we are. Tropic Thunder took the chance that the public was ready to accept such a film and be able to enjoy it. To soften the blow, it was likely a good idea that the film doesn’t address the war in itself. The film takes aim at movies about the war and in an extension of that theme it pokes a lot of fun at Hollywood. It’s just possible that that kind of indirectness is what makes this film a bit easier to take. It’s likely the next evolutionary step towards being able to have a little fun with such a serious and tragic time.

British director Damien Cockburn (Coogan) is a first time feature director. His film is based on the book by a Vietnam vet “Fourleaf” Tayback, the lone survivor of a war offensive. His first problem is that he’s saddled with three stars who act like children. Kirk Lazarus (Downey, Jr.) is an Australian method actor. He’s playing a black soldier, so he underwent pigmentation surgery to get black skin. He also refuses to abandon his character whether he’s on camera or not. So, he walks around spitting out dialog you would expect from a 1970’s black exploitation film. He’s got multiple awards and considers himself far more talented than anyone around him. Jeff Portney (Black) is a heroin addict. He’s usually a comedic actor and is famous for a series of “Fat” movies where he plays multiple characters, ala Eddie Murphy, in fat suits that spend a lot of time just farting. Alpa Chino (Jackson) is a young hip hop artist trying to cross over into films. He carries the usual entourage of ladies and body guards and wears more than his share of bling. Tug Speedman (Stiller) has appeared in a ton of sci-fi tough guy roles. He was overlooked for an Oscar when he played a Forrest Gump clone and has a lot to prove here. Together with an incompetent crew the film gets a month behind schedule and now studio head Les Grossman (Cruise) is on his butt to get the film made. All hope appears lost until Fourleaf comes up with an idea. He convinces Cockburn to drop the cast deep in the jungle with hidden cameras and make it all appear real to them. Unfortunately, it does get real. The cast confronts a heroin cartel that thinks they are DEA, but the ignorant cast thinks it’s all just a movie.

The cast makes this thing work. Watching Robert Downey, Jr. in black face talking like a 70’s film character is an extremely good guilty pleasure. Sure, you feel bad laughing at it, but it really is that good. Because he is almost totally unrecognizable under the makeup, he’s free to totally take on the part, and Downey takes full advantage of that liberty. You’ll find that he steals the movie. Stiller’s pretty much the straight man in the group, but he drives a lot of the better moments. He adds a lot of balance to the other characters, who are pretty much over the top the entire time. The truth is that everything is over the top here. From the first scene in the film you have a head wound spurting out blood like a Vegas water fountain. There are also some tremendous makeup effects here. Downey is nearly unrecognizable, as is Tom Cruise. For Cruise it’s a bald head and a ton of cheek prosthetics. I could do without the dance moves. Matthew Conaughey has a minor but important role as Speedman’s agent. The film was made in Hawaii to gorgeous vistas and wonderful cinematography, so there’s a lot for the eyes to take in here.

Video

Tropic Thunder is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This is a pretty good 1080p image using an AVC/MPEG-4 codec. Some of the best images are the wide vista shots of Hawaii subbing for Vietnam. There is one in particular where the air has just a hint of mist and diffused sunlight. It looks absolutely beautiful here. The film averages between 25-30 mbps. Another good image reproduction are the fireballs. The red orange flames come at you in such brilliance that you might get your eyelashes singed if you lean in too close to the screen. After the initial scenes, it’s the detail that really takes over. Close-ups of the cast faces are a testament to not only a good makeup artist but to this transfer. You can see pores and small specks of stubble and dirt on the faces. Colors in these flesh tones are picture perfect reference. Black levels are pretty solid, and you’ll need them for the kind of shadow detail this film often offers. Greens look the best, and in these jungles they need to.

Audio

The Dolby TrueHD lossless 5.1 track delivers about everything you could want here. There are a lot of bullets and explosions going on here, and they fly around your theater in impressive style. The dialog is clear, but there were moments I could not understand Downey. He kind of mumbles at times, but I think the unintelligible aspect was intentional. The score was rousing in all the right parts, and the explosions deliver some solid sub level rumblings.

There are 2 Audio Commentaries. The first features crew from the film and is not very entertaining. The second is a cast affair with Stiller, Black, and Downey. This thing is almost as funny as the movie. Downey stays in character, so you know that’s gonna be hilarious.

Special Features

All of the features are in HD. The film also features about 13 minutes of added footage. I missed it in the box office, so I can’t tell you exactly what was added.

Before The Thunder: It appears this was once a totally different film, and you’ll get some insight into what those plans were. Cast and crew talk about the evolution of the story. There’s some footage of an early read through where you can tell the cast are having a great time. It’s a short 5 minutes but a lot of fun.

The Hot LZ: Cast and crew talk about the opening battle scene. There’s a huge focus on the choppers during this 6 minute feature.

Blowing Shit Up: Is that a great feature name, or what? Stiller opens with the axiom that things can get blown up and still be very funny. I thought everybody knew that. You get a 6 minute look into how the explosions were rigged. They used a lot of fuel here.

Designing The Thunder: Sets and locations is the focus of this 7 and a half minute feature. From building roads to shipping in mud from Mexico, it’s all here.

The Cast Of Tropic Thunder: This interactive feature allows you to select a character/actor and get clips relating to them.

Rain Of Madness: This is one of the longer features, clocking it at about a half hour. This is some funny stuff. It’s a mock documentary of the making of the film. It reminds me of an old Martin Sheen skit for Saturday Night Live where Sheen’s character is sent to the Apocalypse Now set to shut it down in much the way his film character was sent to shut down the Brando character. It’s a total farce, and the best of the extras by a green mile.

Make-Up Test With Tom Cruise: Okay, this thing is totally bogus. It’s got nothing to do with the makeup. It’s Tom doing 2 minutes of his dance moves.

Deleted Scenes: This section is made up of three sections. You can watch an optional intro with Ben Stiller. There is 1 Deleted Scene, 3 Extended Scenes, and an Alternative Ending, which I liked better than the way the film actually ended.

Full Mags: The title refers to a filming technology of film magazines. You get some of the Stiller/Downey confrontation with a split screen allowing for close-ups on both actors.

MTV Movie Awards: This was a funny skit performed by Stiller, Black, and Downey for the MTV awards that had Iron Man kicking the crap out of Kung Fu Panda.

Final Thoughts

I was a little nervous going in. The subject matter could have been testy. The first good decision was to start the film with fake trailers showing the main characters’ latest films. It gets you laughing before the Vietnam stuff, and it sets up the characters for you. It actually fooled me for a second, and I thought I was going to have to sit through trailers after selecting play film. Everybody does a great job on this film. You’re left feeling entertained. “I just want to give the guys a Hawaiian High Five.”

Pixar has managed to climb out from under its first less than stellar effort in Ratatouille. The studio took a huge gamble with WALL-E. It was one a lesser successful studio would have been either unwilling or unable to do. While the film contains enough cute moments and clever animated characters to entertain the kids, this film was most certainly made with adults in mind. Don’t worry, there aren’t any kinds of things that would not be appropriate for children. I just am not sure that the style of this CG animation project will hold near the same appeal to a younger attention span. There is very little dialog in WALL-E. For the first third of the film there is almost none at all. Still, even considering this bold silent film approach in the beginning, the film is quite entertaining, at least from an adult standpoint. The environments are so captivating that we have enough stimulation to almost forget that we’re not hearing any words. It’s not like we’re hearing nothing at all. Ben Burt provides us with so many interesting sounds, that again we aren’t very concerned with the lack of dialog. Anyone in the science fiction world knows who Ben Burt is. He has provided the sound effects for many genre projects, but most notably for the Star Wars films since the very first one in 1978. There’s a reason why WALL-E sounds a lot like R2D2; they are in essence being “voiced” by the same person. When you combine these wonderful animated environments with the sounds, you get a film that doesn’t appear lacking in anything at all.

The story is a simple enough one, but I’m not sure the younger audience will really catch on to it. The film has been criticized for its “green” message, but I really don’t find it to be preachy at all. In fact most of the concepts are presented in very subtle and creative ways. We’re introduced to a stark and very bleak future on Earth where life no longer exists. All of the people have long since left on starships because the planet was becoming overrun by our trash. Small robots called WALL-E’s were left behind to clean up the mess in preparation for an eventual human return. Centuries appear to have passed, and now only one of the trash compacting robots remains active. He goes about his daily life cleaning the place up. He’s developed a sense of curiosity and a sentience, of sorts. In his daily grind he collects things he finds interesting and brings them back to a bunker that he makes his home. There he stores all manner of trinkets, from light bulbs to eating utensils, including a worn VHS copy of My Fair Lady that appears to awaken WALL-E’s emotions. One day his endless routine is disrupted with the arrival of a large spaceship. From the craft emerges an egg shaped probe. WALL-E is fascinated by the probe, and in his own way falls in love. The probe, named EVE, takes a particular interest in WALL-E’s latest find, a lone plant. When she discovers his plant she goes into shutdown mode, alarming WALL-E. She transmits a locater beacon, and eventually the ship recovers her with the plant safely tucked inside her innards. WALL-E, reluctant to see his focus of infatuation leave, grabs the ship upon take-off and hitches a ride back to the Axiom. Here in this ship, remnants of humanity have been living for generations. They have lost their ambitions and are reduced to obese helpless figures served by the ship’s robot staff. EVE is transferred to the ship where the captain is alerted to her prize possession. It signals the long hoped for return to Earth. The ship’s robotic navigation system has had another directive programmed from a secret file. It implores the system to do whatever it takes to keep the ship from ever returning to Earth. From then it’s a cat and mouse game of hide and seek with WALL-E, EVE, and the important plant.

WALL-E’s design is not overly original. In fact I find him to look a lot like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. But it’s not the design that brings this character to life, any more than the almost idiotically simple design of EVE. What really works here is the animation. There is no question in our minds that there is life and intelligence behind those robotic eyes. The bots’ movements are so carefully thought out that we quickly can ascribe emotions to every robotic gesture. EVE has almost no moving parts, but we fall in love with her as assuredly as WALL-E does. There’s also a lot to be said for the incredibly realistic environment WALL-E lives in. We are then presented with such a direct opposite aboard the Axiom that the contrast blows us away. On the ship everything is brightly colored. Surfaces are shiny and everything explodes in color. Back on Earth we are presented with an almost always dark place cluttered with all things ugly and dead. The obese humans are really more comedic relief than anything else, and it’s here that the younger viewers will begin to get a bit more excited. It’s a very stark story of two different places, and WALL-E and EVE represent these places in an almost Romeo and Juliet motif.

Video

WALL-E is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. When you consider that this is a digital project, and a Pixar one to boot, your expectations are going to be out of this world. I’m happy to report that no matter how high you set the bar, this film’s going to clear it with plenty of room to spare. You get an absolutely pristine 1080p image provided through an AVC/MPEG-4 codec. The bit rate stays in the healthy 30’s mbps range. Everything about this thing works perfectly. On Earth you get a dark world that exhibits wonderful black levels and enormously detailed textures. On board the ship colors suddenly flood your screen, literally leaping out toward you. The images here are considerably brighter as well. Contrast is excellent. There are absolutely no flaws in this image. You are seeing exactly what the render team saw when they were creating the film in the supercomputers. This is definitely a show piece disc.

Audio

The DTS-HD lossless 5.1 track delivers about everything you could want here. Ben Burt’s magical sound effects come through in a presentation that only serves to complement his work Surrounds go from aggressive to extremely subtle, always appearing to provide just the right amount of punch. This is an immersive experience in both sight and sound. The audio delivers at a constant 1.5 mbps. While there’s a good deal of fullness to the bottom end, I did not find that my sub delivered quite what I was hoping for here. After recently reviewing Kung Fu Panda, I was left wanting more in that range. It’s my one and only complaint here.

There is an engaging Audio Commentary with Andrew Stanton who has pretty much guided this project for many years. He’ll give you a lot of information including WALL-E’s origins.

Special Features

This is a 3-disc set. The third disc is a digital copy of the film for your portable devices. The first disc contains the film and 2 shorts:

Presto: This is the short that appeared with WALL-E in the theaters. It’s about a rabbit who gets the upper hand on his magician partner.

BURN-E: This is a short that concentrates on another of the robots aboard the Axiom and takes place around events in the film. This bot is trying to repair an exterior light, but the events of the film make his job very difficult.

On Disc Two you’ll find two categories:

Robots:

WALL-E’s Treasures And Trinkets: This contains a little over 4 minutes of showing the WALL-E character in different environments doing things like playing ball.

Lots Of Bots: This is a short interactive read along story.

Axiom Arcade: This is a collection of simple games to play

Bot Files: You can get the skinny on all of your favorite robots in the film.

Humans:

Deleted Scenes: You get an optional intro to each by Stanton. The big surprise here is a rare gem, indeed. You get a deleted scene that is completely finished. A second is available in crude animation and 2 more are delivered in the more usual storyboard style.

The Imperfect Lens: The crew marvel about the realistic nature of the animation.

Animation Sound Design – Building Worlds From The Sound Up: There is no question that Ben Burt is as much to credit for this film as the animation crew. This 19 minute feature gives you a great close look at Burt’s efforts and how the sounds were created.

Captain’s Log: It appears that the humans were not originally intended to be a part of the story. With this feature you’ll see the green jelly blob aliens that were originally going to inhabit the ship. I think I might have liked them better.

BnL Shorts: There are three animated shorts here. One is a captain’s orientation video. A second contains the proposal to the BnL board for the planned exodus from Earth. The final short looks at all of the ship’s bots.

3D Flyover: A map of the Axiom provides you an interactive ability to check out different parts of the ship.

The Pixar Story: This hour and a half feature was once released on its own and provides a very detailed look at Pixar and how they work. It sure appears like the workers are about as happy as anyone can be. This is by far the best feature on the disc.

Final Thoughts

I applaud the folks at Pixar for taking a chance. Let’s be honest here. This was a huge gamble for the studio. The expectations for their films are often through the roof, and the kids are a big part of that audience. This one is actually pretty dark in nature, at least in the beginning. With CG technology being exploited by more and more studios, there are more and more features to give Pixar competition. This was no time to lose a big gamble, particularly when you think about the time and money that goes into making one of these things. It was a gamble, and gamble they did. I think, if you check this film out, you’ll find it paid off big time. So three cheers for “WALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL-E”.

Before I begin (no pun intended), I need a quick moment to reflect upon a disclaimer I need to make. If it were not for on-screen onslaught of The Dark Knight, I don’t think I would have given Batman Begins the much needed respect and appreciation it deserves. I think I need to be brutally honest here for a moment. Batman Begins is an origin story so if you have not seen it, do not go in with the expectations that it is going to be one of the greatest high-adrenaline action movies you have ever seen because you will be greatly disappointed. Instead, you need to appreciate the movie for what it really is. What is that, you might ask? It is a slick vehicle to introduce to the world who the Batman really is. Batman is not just a man in a masked costume going around fighting loud and ludicrous villains. Batman is a human being just like any of us and suffers from some of the same fears and desperations that plague the lives of all ordinary people. When you strip the Batman character down to bare bones you realize that he is simply a man driven by a fear that severely haunts him and his only way of escaping that binding fear, to fight crime and injustice, is by sharing it with his enemies. How does one do that? You do that by becoming a symbol…by becoming more than just a man. This is the psychological journey we are treated to and undertake in Batman Begins. Don’t think of this as simply another comic book movie, but instead treat it like you would any good psychological thriller. There is always an underlying reason for a man’s actions, which ultimately defines who he is. In hindsight, we finally get to walk on the red carpet by seeing what exactly makes Bruce Wayne tick. We get to witness what drives him into becoming the only hope that Gotham City has. Gotham City needs to be saved from the underworld clutches of the world’s most dangerous villains and criminals. This ladies and gentleman, is the story of Batman Begins.

The film opens with eight-year old Bruce Wayne having accidentally just fallen into a cave while playing with his best friend, Rachel Dawes. Helpless and injured young Bruce Wayne has a frightful yet fateful encounter with bats. He grows more fearful of bats every passing day as his nightmares haunt him and extinguish his sleep. Then came the dark night (again no pun intended) that changed young Bruce’s life forever. While attending an opera with his parents, Bruce becomes frightened at the actors portraying bats. Cognitive of Bruce’s frightened state, his parents agree to take him home. Outside the opera house, Bruce’s parents are robbed and shot down in cold blood by a thug named Joe Chill. Having witnessed this seditious and tragic act of violence, Bruce blames himself for his parents’ untimely demise.

Many years go by as a more mature Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns home to Wayne Manor from Princeton University, with intent to kill Joe Chill who is being arraigned for a possible early release. His childhood friend, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), who is now an attorney herself, accompanies him to the trial. Before Bruce can act on his plan of revenge, an unidentified woman kills Joe Chill for the crime lord Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson). Angered and feeling cheated that he did not get to complete his act of selfish vengeance, Bruce Wayne decides to confront Carmine Falcone. This is where one of my favorite lines of the movie comes to fruition. Carmine Falcone lectures Bruce that he does not understand the nature of crime and that he should be thankful that he killed his parent’s murderer. The most memeorable line comes when Carmine starts pointing out all the lawyers, cops and politicians in the restaurant they are in and how he could fire his gun upon Bruce Wayne without hesitation or anyone questioning the act of him doing so. He tells Bruce that this is power you just cannot buy. I may have mixed some words around but I think you get the point. This is serious stuff here people!

Bruce, at this point, is just disgusted at the injustice and current state of Gotham City ruled by corrupt politicians, police officers and criminal organizations. He decides to travel the world to understand the criminal mind. He learns what its like to live without money and to steal just to feed and clothe himself over a seven-year length of time. Ultimately, he ends up imprisoned and meets Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson). Ducard invites Bruce to train and eventually join the extremist vigilante group, the League of Shadows led by Ra’s al Ghul, dedicated to ridding the world of criminal activity and declining civilizations. During his rigorous martial arts and mental training sessions with Ducard and the members of the League of Shadows, Bruce learns to embrace his fear of bats by utilizing it to fight crime and putting fear into the wrongdoers he intends to stop. The final test comes when Bruce is ordered to execute a criminal and he must decide between what he feels is the right and what is the wrong kind of justice. Upon being ordered to carry out the execution of this prisoner, Bruce finally realizes that the League’s conflicting extremist views do not align with what he feels justice truly should be. As a result, he ends up burning down the temple and defeating Ra’s al Ghul…so he thinks. I told you this film was deep, didn’t I?

Back in Gotham City, things are worse than ever. Gotham City is now pretty much under the corruption and control of Falcone. Bruce Wayne declares war against the corruption that infiltrates Gotham City. Bruce returns back to the loving care and guidance of his family’s trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), who has taking care and presiding over all of Bruce’s affairs while he has been gone. Bruce manages to re-establish his connections to his father’s company, Wayne Enterprises, which is about to go public. It is there that he is introduced to a former board member, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who now heads the research and development department. Secretly, Bruce uses Lucius’ knowledge and gadgets to acquire not only suit armor and weaponry, but also the Tumbler, a prototype armored car, which will replace what legacy Batman fans always refer to as the Batmobile. Back at Wayne Manor, with the help of Alfred, Bruce constructs the Batcave and ultimately his alter ego…the Batman. When asked why bats, Bruce responds because he is afraid of them and wants his opponents to share in that fear. The rest ladies and gentlemen…is what they call history. I hope I have given you enough to whet your appetite for what will eventually become a baptism by fire for the Batman as he ventures out to rid Gotham City of corruption and spread his own kind of justice. Of course you can expect a few major villains to go bump in the night and try to foil the Dark Knight’s crusade to save Gotham City. Who will ultimately prevail? I guess you will need to watch and find out because the path through Batman Begins only leads to bigger and better things…The Dark Knight.

Batman Begins ultimately became a critical and commercial success. The film eventually grossed more than $370 million worldwide. While not really being a big fan of Chris Nolan’s prior films, I was somewhat judgmental when I heard he was helming the reboot of the Batman franchise. I personally felt it was way too soon after the failure of the last Batman movie in 1997. I now hang my head in embarrassment and admit how truly wrong I was. Chris Nolan not only resurrected the Batman franchise but has also paved a trend for many more superhero movies to follow. If you keep up with entertainment and movie news like I do, then you will know what I am talking about. Just about every news article I read about future superhero movies talk about how the producers and writers are taking cues from Christopher Nolan’s darker version of Batman. Let’s face it…there has to be a serious issue or deep underlying reason why a person wants to become a superhero and Christopher Nolan explores and dissects this theory by making the audience not only care for the Batman but also for his alter identity, Bruce Wayne. Now if that is not deeply psychologically rooted, then I don’t know what is. This is not a film for the kiddies. They just won’t understand the psychosis of everything involved. Like I said before, the journey that Christopher Nolan has created only gets better as you going along.

Video

Like the HD DVD release, Warner Bros. brings us a mirrored video transfer with a 1080P VC-1 video encode and a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio. Unfortunately, here is where I start to digress and take the journey down the road of complaints. While the Blu-ray video transfer is leaps and bounds above the DVD release, it is nowhere close to the reference quality video many current Blu-ray discs portray. There are no problems with the resolution but throughout the entire feature, the colors seem somewhat muted and the image never has that three-dimensional pop that many of today’s Blu-rays exhibit. Some of the shots do look good but the majority of the film is very soft and almost feels as if it has a filter overlaid on top of the image because it almost never seems sharp. The flesh tones all seemed a bit pale to me as well. The good news is that grain is at an absolute minimum for a movie that is mostly dark and filmed in the shadows. From all the research I did, the softness of the film is of the director’s intent and this video transfer is identical to the HD DVD release. While this Blu-ray release may not be of reference quality video, this is definitely the finest High-Definition presentation of Batman Begins that is available and is truly a delicacy for die-hard fans. The only disappointment you will find here is when you take a glimpse of the reference quality IMAX prologue footage of The Dark Knight and then compare that to the video transfer of Batman Begins. Talk about the “wow” factor!

Audio

Like the video, it appears that Warner Bros. has also ported over the audio from the HD DVD release. The audio track of choice here is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround mix. I have read and heard many conflicting reviews regarding the audio track of the Batman Begins Blu-ray disc. Some people say it is status quo and some same it is reference quality throughout. I fall somewhere in between those two points of view. While I feel the audio definitely has its moments, I would not be inclined to showcase this as a reference audio track. The dialogue is always clear and intelligible throughout the feature. The famous Hans Zimmer also treats us to another fine musical score. The low-end bass is superb during all the action scenes but I just can’t shake the feeling that the rest of the movie just sounds flat during non-action sequences to me. The Dolby TrueHD surround track sounds exactly like the audio track on the HD DVD release of Batman Begins. While the audio track here is nothing to sneer at, I just feel certain dynamics could have been fleshed out a bit more and improved upon. I am looking forward to hearing the audio quality of how The Dark Knight will sound on Blu-ray. I was blown away by the audio and all its subtle intricacies of The Dark Knight in the theatres and I sure hope I am not disappointed.

Special Features

If there was ever a reason for me to own the Blu-ray release of Batman Begins when I already own it on HD DVD, it was for the six heavenly minutes of The Dark Knight IMAX prologue footage. This is the “Holy Grail” of the Blu-ray release and makes the price of admission and owning the Batman Begins Blu-ray well worth it, even if you own it on two other different formats like myself. The Blu-ray release of Batman Begins was purposely released a week before the theatrical release of The Dark Knight and for many fans it was their first glimpse of the Oscar-worthy performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. This is the first time in a long time in which I am excited about the extras. As a side note, just about every extra from the past HD DVD and DVD releases are included here. The only disappointing thing is that every special feature is in Standard Definition with the exception of the IMAX prologue and theatrical trailer.

The following are the full technical specs as published on the back of the Blu-ray cover art:

In-Movie Experience – (HD) This is the Picture-in-Picture track that delayed the Blu-ray release until the Profile 1.1 was finalized. This is basically a visual commentary with director Christopher Nolan and is joined by the main cast and production crewmembers through a variety of behind-the-scenes footage.

The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue – (HD) This is the entire first 6-minutes of the opening sequence. It is presented in pristine 1080P with a 1.80:1 aspect ratio. This sequence is reference quality and worth every penny.

Tankman Begins – (SD) This is a funny short skit created for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.

Batman – The Journey Begins – (SD) This is a short 14-minute documentary on the casting process.

Shaping Mind and Body – (SD) This is a 13-minute documentary that shows the training that Christian Bale undertook for the role.

Gotham City Rises – (SD) This is a 13-minute look at the production team tasked with building the various Gotham City locations.

Cape and Cowl – (SD) This is an 8-minute look at the creation of the new Batsuit.

Batman – The Tumbler – (SD) Here is a 14-minute documentary about the creation and concepts of the new Batmobile.

Path to Discovery – (SD) This is a 14-minute look at the challenges the production crew faced in cold climate of Iceland.

Saving Gotham City – (SD) This is a 13-minute tribute to the filming of the action scenes and how they tried to use as little CGI as possible.

Genesis of the Bat – (SD) We get a 15-minute explanation from director Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer on how the film was conceived.

Still Gallery (SD) – The still gallery contains a collection of various advertising concepts for the film’s marketing around the world.

Theatrical Trailer – (HD) Don’t let this title fool you. This is only the teaser trailer and not the full theatrical trailer.

Final Thoughts

I guess one of the reasons I initially dismissed Batman Begins upon my first viewing in the theatre, was mainly for a lack of action that I was expecting rather than the psychological story I got. I can only figure that I must have got so numb from the previous Batman franchise that I was not expecting to have to do so much thinking. I was so use to the flashy and flamboyant villains that I did not know what to make of Batman Begins. I don’t want to be misunderstood. In no way did I think that Batman Begins was a bad movie. I just thought it was really different than what I was expecting to see and was amazed at how many fan boys came out of nowhere as a result of the darker Batman story. Then the month of July 2008 came around and my life changed forever. My initial viewing of The Dark Knight made Batman Begins mean so much more to me. I finally saw what I was missing all along in Batman Begins. The audience gets to dive head-first into the psychosis thinking of what is going through Bruce Wayne’s mind as we experience first hand his motivation, training and drive that culminated him into our favorite crime fighter…the Batman. What makes Batman unique is that under the mask and costume, Bruce Wayne is just an ordinary man with no superhuman powers except the ability to free his mind of any fear and devote himself to a higher mission in life…saving the lives of others. Batman is more than a man. He is a symbol. He is a symbol that criminals should fear. He uses this fear to clean up the streets of Gotham City. How brilliant is that?

If you are a Batman fan, then this is a no-brainer. I highly recommend the purchase of Batman Begins on Blu-ray. Not only do you get this brilliant movie, but you also get an advanced look at how The Dark Knight IMAX footage will look like on Blu-ray come December 9, 2008. It is a gorgeous sight to behold. There is no denying we will eventually see a double-dip of this movie sometime in the near future from Warner Bros., but there is no time like the present to enjoy this movie in the finest presentational format available now; the Blu-ray. We will reconvene this discussion in December 2008 with the Blu-ray release of The Dark Knight.

The CG animation craze has no shortage of lovable and cute animals these days. It seems that the animal kingdom has become the greatest fodder for these family animated blockbuster films. Dreamworks might be in the lead with these kinds of efforts. They’ve given us bears, penguins, and lions among others. Now they deliver perhaps one of their better ideas in a lovable Kung Fu Panda. As much as anything else, you really have to give most of the credit for the film’s success to Jack Black and the wonderful voice cast that support him here. Honestly, the script is pretty simple, and like most children’s films it tends to be oversimplified and rather silly throughout. But give a cast like this an even average script and you can pretty much sit back and watch them go. Okay, maybe sit back and hear them go.

Jack Black stars as a Panda named Po who works in his family’s noodle shop. His dreams, however, aren’t of noodles and broth, but of Kung Fu. He fantasizes of hanging out with the famous fabulous five, the living legends of Kung Fu. The five are made up of the actual animal poses in Kung Fu. You have Tigress (Jolie), Crane (Cross), Monkey (Chan), Mantis (Rogen), and Viper (Liu). Together they have been training with the Master Shifu (Hoffman). Under the guidance of Grand Master Oogway (Duk Kim) they are preparing for one of them to take on the mantle of Dragon Warrior. Then they will inherit the sacred Dragon Scroll and be the great protector of Peace Valley. When Po learns that the time has come to select the Dragon Warrior, he just can’t miss being witness to such an awesome event. The palace is high on a great mountain, and Po tries all silly means of getting to the event. Finally, strapped to a fireworks propelled chair, he makes a grand entrance and finds himself selected as the Dragon Warrior. Much to the dismay of all gathered, Master Oogway insists that Po will become the great warrior needed to protect the Valley. Shifu must overcome his own doubts and work fast, because the imprisoned Tai Lung (McShane) has escaped from the world’s most secure prison. “One way in. One way out. One thousand guards and just one prisoner”Tai Lung. Tai Lung wants the dragon scroll for himself, and not even the Fabulous Five are able to stop him. Po must learn the “secret ingredient” that will give him the strength and courage to face up to this most ferocious of enemies.

All of the cast is very good here. The animators did a fantastic job of designing creatures that fit the voices, or the casting crew did an equally fantastic job in picking the right voices for the right characters. Whatever way, it worked, and I suspect it was a little of both; the combination is the film’s greatest strength. The standouts are unquestionably Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. The two breathe life into their characters with such ease that they become real and totally believable to us.

The field of computer animation just keeps getting better and better. Kung Fu Panda certainly continues that upward trend. The environments are quite realistic, and the elements interact in a natural and fluid manner. There are moments were obvious animation shortcuts were taken, and some elements that simply didn’t render very well. The noodle soup pieces were the standout crude elements. Water was also not reproduced as well as I’ve seen recently. The huge leap forward is in the animal textures. Po’s hair and muscle definition is extraordinary to say the least. There’s no question that this is the kind of digital product that Blu-ray and high definition are able to shine best in reproducing.

Video

Kung Fu Panda is in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The transfer is a pristine 1080p image using an AVC/MPEG-4 codec. You’ll find a solid bit rate, often reaching the mid 30’s mbps. Everything about this image is near perfect. Colors leap from the screen at almost every turn. Contrast is rock solid. Just look at the definition on Po, and you’ll find an argument that the contrast could not be any tighter. Black levels are about as solid as I’ve seen to date. The level of detail is the most important thing here. I guarantee you are seeing this film in about as good a quality as the designers who rendered it. There is absolutely no evidence of compression artifact or print failure, which should be expected in this kind of pure digital transfer. If you don’t find this one of the most dazzling image displays you’ve seen, you really need to find someone who knows what the heck they’re doing to calibrate your monitor.

Audio

The TrueHD lossless 5.1 track is nearly as spectacular as the image. I was particularly impressed with the great sub level sound I heard, or should I say felt. My sub’s never been this active on an animated feature before. It’s not just a ton of low end, but it feels so full and vibrant. The surround mix is often quite aggressive but subtle in its grand usage of ambient sounds. There aren’t a lot of “over here” type of effects used, but what is there is totally immersive and nearly invisible, which is the sign of a truly solid audio track. Dialog is perfect, and you’ll hear every word clearly. The score is a combination of work between Hans Zimmer and John Powell and works at all the right moments. It never interferes with what’s on the screen, but works together with the whole to produce an atmosphere that might be lost on the kids but will be appreciated by the true aficionados in the room.

Special Features

A lot of these features are obviously geared toward the very young, and the bulk of them are interactive games and activities. All of these features are presented in HD. They are provided in sub groups which I will describe as follows:

Inside Kung Fu Panda: Here you will find many of the “during playback extras”. There’s an engaging commentary with many participants. You can also engage a popup trivia option that gives you little points of interest during playback of the film. You will also find a Meet The Cast feature that is a 13 minute look at the voice talent. There’s plenty of on set fun, and it’s short enough so the kids won’t get bored. Here you’ll also find a similar feature called Pushing Boundaries where you’ll meet cast and crew and hear about the filmmaking philosophy. The section is completed with a Conservation Help Save The Pandas PSA.

Po’s Power Play: All games and activities here: Dragon Warrior Training Academy, Dumpling Shuffle, and Learn To Draw.

Sounds And Moves Of Kung Fu includes: Sound Design, a 3 minute look at the sound effects artists, Kung Fu Fighting Music Video, and Learn The Panda Dance.

Land Of The Panda: Here you get a Food Network look at making real noodles called Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop. You also get an interactive look at The Chinese Zodiac. And finally a tutorial on How To Use Chopsticks.

Dreamworks Animated Jukebox: This has become standard on these Dreamworks animated releases. You can see music pieces from all of Dreamworks animated films.

Bd Live: If you are 2.0 compliant and have internet access, you can download additional features from the film.

Final Thoughts

For my generation Kung Fu has been frequently identifiable with David Carradine and his 1970’s television show: Kung Fu. I think that Jack Black and company has now reidentified the martial art for the next generation of viewers. This is definitely the kind of film you can gather the family around to watch. There’s something in it for everyone. The parents won’t be bored, and the kids will find ample stimulation and fun. There is already a sequel in the making. In fact there is a short sequel entitled The Secrets Of The Fabulous Five, which is only available as a companion piece to the standard DVD. I really don’t understand why the short wasn’t included on the Blu-ray version. That would be the only reason to go DVD over Blu here, unless, of course, you don’t have a Blu-ray player. Both versions are very good, but in Blu you get “Double the guards. Double the weapons. Double everything.”

Young or old, and anywhere in-between Sleeping Beauty is commonly regarded as a childhood classic, a comfort film if you will. Like many other Disney films we remember the vintage animation, the songs, and the often compelling storylines. When Disney announced it would begin releasing its vaulted classics on Blu-ray fans met the news with an outmost enthusiasm and anticipation. For the first time ever classic films including Sleeping Beauty would be available in hi definition, with high expectations of crisp animation and solidified audio Disney had better dress to impress. So how does the Sleeping Beauty clean up after nearly fifty years of entertaining several generations of Disney fans?

Sleeping Beauty is the sixteenth animated film by Walt Disney, released for the first time in 1959, and when adjusted for inflation is one of the top grossing movies of all time. Like so many other Disney classics, Sleeping Beauty is based upon a fairy tale by Charles Perrault written some 400 years ago. Such a timeless story heard by generations of young ears, what better way for Disney to start its Blu-ray collection. While Sleeping Beauty is based upon the 1697 Perrault classic, it does have some feet of its own, and draws more similarities in distinction to the 1890 Tchaikovsky ballet. With epic scores performed by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra the stage is set for a grand love saga. But enough with the historic pre amble, let’s get into the good stuff.

Sleeping Beauty tells the story of Princess Aurora and the curse besotted upon her. Promised to Prince Phillip at a young age, the backbone to the story is set early. At her christening Aurora is blessed with the gifts of beauty and song by two of three good fairies. Set the stage for Maleficent, a truly evil villainess, overwrought and filled with hate for not being invited to the christening. She curses the princess to die upon touching a spinning wheel’s spindle. The third fairy alters the curse so that she will not die but instead be put into an eternal slumber until awoken by true loves kiss. To avoid the curse, Aurora and the fairies flee to the woods, where she grows into a beautiful young woman. Maleficent tirelessly looks for Aurora who now goes by the name Briar Rose, and as a last ditch effort sends her raven Diablo to track her down. Needless to say eventually Aurora falls victim to the curse and Prince Phillip must overcome much obstacles and tests of faith to find and kiss his true love.

The story is a classic, and it plays out fantastically in hi definition. The dialogue is plain spoken and sincere, the animation is time honored, and the characters, especially Maleficent, are deep and absorbing. Aurora is the text book definition of a stereotypical princess, the basis of many clichés, enchanting and alluring she brings a lot of color to this film that can be rather dark at times. That is what I find most appealing about these classic fairytales, although extremely dark in nature they manage to come off as uplifting and adventurous.

A lot of you won’t enjoy the singing, and that does narrow the target audience, but if you look past it the story is really quite captivating. For those of you who love the classic Disney song and dance, Sleeping Beauty will not fail to impress. The score is magnificent and fetching only accentuating the already powerful and elevated story.

Video

Presented in 2.55:1 1080p aspect Sleeping Beauty looks phenomenal on Blu-ray.  Colors look new and vibrant with some shots looking three dimensional.   There is a shot earlier in the film that shows the three good fairies discussing Aurora’s fate while standing beside a jewelled goblet.  The goblet itself looked extremely three dimensional and vibrant.

The print itself is in perfect condition with no visible artifacting or color banding throughout the entire film. What Disney has managed to do with Sleeping Beauty simply amazes me.  I may have been sceptical when this was first announced but now I can’t wait for Pinocchio next March.

Audio

Sleeping Beauty is equipped with a 7.1 DTS HD track that sounds great especially when considering its age. The track is front heavy at times but quickly comes to life when frequent sound effects come through the rear channels.   Of course the track truly shines when the memorable music and lyrics are played.  Both rear and supports are extremely rich and deep.

Although not as impressive as the improved picture, the audio track still offers and noticeable upgrade over prior releases of the film.

Special Features

The two disc set is jam packed with great features all of which are worth checking out.

• Audio Commentary - A PIP commentary with Leonard Maltin, Andreas Deja and John Lasseter.  I would definitely recommend a viewing as it provides a nice look at Blu-rays 1.1 Profile.

• Short Film - The 30 minutes short of Grand Canyon.  I nice little short film worth checking out for fans of Disney; best yet its presented in high definition.

• Song Selection - A quick chapter selection that takes you straight to the different songs played throughout the movie.

• Trivia Track - A beautiful looking and informative information track that pops up through the movies entirety.

• Photo Album - Beautiful stills from the movie

• Documentary - A 45 minute documentary that is a much watch for anyone that owns the disc.  The Doc is presented in beautiful HD and covers every considerable aspect of the films creation.

• Featurettes - The featurettes are broken up into sets each bringing its own valued information to the mix.  The best has be the one which focuses on the restoration process for the film.  I have gained a new found respect for these people who continue to bring these classics back with amazing picture.

• Interactive Games - Three games that provide good fun for the children.

• Deleted Scenes - We are basically given four deleted musical numbers.  I must say that these four numbers d seem to lack when compared to the ones left in the film.

• TV Episode - An episode of the short lived Disneyland series which gives a look behind the scenes of Disney.  Definitely worth checking out if you are

• Trailer

Final Thoughts

Simplistically put this disc is a must own for fans of the film, and Walt Disney collectors alike. In accord to their past practice, Disney will vault this disc after a limited time so I suggest you pick it up while you can. The video is extremely well cleaned up, the audio although not tested extravagantly gets the job done, and the features are almost never ending. In the end I was extremely pleased with the packaging of this disc, and must give kudos to Disney, here’s to hoping their future releases will be handled with such class.

OK…so yes…the premise of The Love Guru is about as ridiculous as the name of the movie sounds. Couldn’t you tell just by looking at the diverse characters on the Blu-ray Disc cover art? But there is just something about the movie that I find charming and it has become quite a guilty pleasure of mine. I can almost guarantee, out of all the reviews you will read on The Love Guru, mine will probably be the most kind. Many critics and reviewers will claim this movie is devoid of any laughs but I humbly disagree. My wife and I have sat through this movie three times now and we always found a one-liner we did not catch during the previous viewings. Oh…and did I mention the film stars Jessica Alba? If nothing else, she is always easy on the eyes in 1080P.

The movie centers on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ star forward, Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco). The Toronto Maple Leafs are about to face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup. You could say that Darren Roanoke is completely lacking his magical touch on the ice as of late, because he recently lost his wife Prudence (Meagan Good) to the King’s goaltender Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake). Needless to say, this makes the Toronto Maple Leafs feel very uneasy going into the Stanley Cup Finals. Let’s talk a moment about Justin Timberlake’s character Jacque Grande. Even though it is a Mike Myers movie, the real comedic star is Justin Timberlake. Not only did he have to learn how to survive on the ice but he also really pushed himself as an actor to deliver the laughs. The scenes in which Justin are in are some of the most memorable ones.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are desperate to try anything to get their star forward playing up to his normal excelling levels. A desperate measure happens when the team’s owner, Jan Bullard (Jessica Alba), seeks out the famed Guru Maurice Pitka (Mike Myers). At the same time, Guru Pitka is battling some demons of his own. He is unhappy that he is the #2 guru in the world, a title held by Deepak Chopra. He is convinced that if he can get on the Oprah Winfrey television show then he can become the #1 guru in the world. I can understand by now, the plot is probably starting to sound a bit too ridiculous for most tastes. We watch these movies for the comedic and entertaining elements, not for the seriousness, right? After attending the Guru Maurice Pitka’s seminar, Jane Bullard enlists the services of him to help Darren deal with his stress, get his wife back and help break the Toronto Maple Leafs’ losing streak of not winning a Stanley Cup championship since the days of Jane’s father. In addition to the financial gains that Guru Maurice Pitka would earn, he is told by his manager that if he is successful with Darren Roanoke, then he would be invited onto the Oprah Winfrey show. We all know what that would mean. That’s right…Guru Maurice Pitka could then become the #1 guru in the world.

The next half hour or so of the movie deals with three key plot lines simultaneously going on and intertwined together. First, we witness the trials and tribulations of the Guru Pitka trying to re-establish the much-needed confidence back into Darren Roanoke on and off the ice. He devises a plan to not only give Darren back his all-star playing abilities, but to win back his wife Prudence from the clutches of Jacques Grande. I am hoping you can probably put two and two together to comprehend what Jacque’s special attribute really is. Second, we witness a blossoming love relationship (this is really gross) between the Guru Pitka and Jane Bullard. However, there is one complication that is preventing them from getting together. Guru Pitka, since youth, has been forced to wear a chastity belt that he can only remove when he learns that fame is not the only reason for being a guru. Chastity belt? What chastity belt? See, now you all seem interested in the movie now that a sexual-related term has been used? Will Mike Myers and Jessica Alba’s characters get together on the big screen? I guess now I have you, the reader, trapped and you will just have to watch and find out. The third plot line revolves around the actual Stanley Cup Finals and the fact that it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs will be going home losers again without help from their all-star forward.

So as one can see there are many variables going on in the film and many questions that will need to be answered. Will Darren Roanoke get his confidence and wife Prudence back? Will the Toronto Maple Leafs go home losers again in the Stanley Cup? Will the Guru Pitka succeed and become the #1 guru in the world once on the Oprah show? And what will become of Guru Pitka and Jane Bullard? This is hardly a movie to sneeze at and ignore. Wow! I hope I have you all feeling The Love Guru hype I am squeezing out here! In all honesty, you are either going to like this one or hate it very much. In my professional opinion, I can concur with others in that the laughs do seem forced most of the time and can be quite infrequent depending on your comedic tastes. As I stated before, I seem to be in the very small majority who actually like this film and that is why I refer to it as my secret guilty pleasure. The movie’s payoff for me was well worth it, as I tend to love the happy 40-Year-Old Virgin-like endings. Unfortunately, in the financial community, the film only grossed about half of what it cost to make, which equates to a big flop at the box office. It is not the first time I have liked a movie that was hailed as a critical failure and it certainly will not be the last. However, it does make me nervous about whether or not Mike Myers has what it takes to successfully pull off another rumored Austin Powers movie.

Video

Paramount has brought The Love Guru to the Blu-ray format in a stunning 1080P MPEG-4 AVC encode with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Ladies and gentleman, it does not get much better than this! With the exception of a small few, every shot is breathtakingly eye-popping with vibrant colors, incredible detail and three-dimensional qualities t