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  

Like I said in the paragraph above, unlike the previous two sequels, this fourth film keeps the serious tone of the original one.  And interestingly enough, Rambo holds the record for the most kills out of the entire franchise with an astonishing 236.  Stallone has gone on record stating that the violence in the film is justified as to draw attention to what’s really happening in Burma.  I cannot disagree.  One viewing of this had me wanting to give up my freedom and take sides with the Karen rebels out there.  The way those innocent people are brutally slaughtered and mutilated is just sick.  It truly is hell on Earth there.  And this is where the movie completely tugged on my emotions and re-opened a lot of deep wounds.  I really wanted to make a difference in the world after watching this one.  And when you are left feeling like this after watching a movie, you know the director perfectly executed his job.  I give much respect and admiration to Sylvester Stallone for bringing about the awareness of this war torn region to moviegoers everywhere.  Now, if we can just all do something about it!  I can hear the film’s moving score in my head right now as I pen this review.  Brilliant!

Anyone already familiar with the 2008 film probably needs no refresher on the plot here.  It is what it is.  That is… Rambo returns to action, with the help of hired militia, to rescue U.S. missionaries who go missing from a village in Burma.  One of the missionaries in particular, Sarah Miller (Julie Benz), previously struck an emotional accord with John Rambo before leaving.  She made Rambo search his heart and he found out that he really does care about people and events going on around despite his previous beliefs and statements made.  John has put his war torn past aside for 20 years now only to find himself come full circle with who he really is… a killer… this time with a humanitarian interest.  Go Rambo!

The realism/believability part of the story comes into play where this time around, it’s not only Rambo making the difference, but it’s a cumulative team effort.  With the help of the hired militia (mercenaries) and Karen rebels, Rambo joins forces to temporarily overthrow the iron-fisted rule of the Tatmadaw led by Burmese military officer Major Pa Tee Tint.  At first I was kind of taken aback by Rambo not going all out on his own, but let’s face it, the dude is in his 60’s and he can use some help… finally!  Anyway, the mercenaries are hilarious and well developed in the screenplay.  They are a much-welcomed addition to the film and in hindsight; I would not want it done any other way.  It’s not like Rambo doesn’t save the day anyway in the end.  Right?

And as far as the action goes, well it doesn’t get any better than this folks.  Thanks to the brilliant score of Brian Taylor, the action is exemplified to the umpteenth degree.  I want to give kudos to Brian and Stallone for ingeniously arranging this.  From the heart pounding escape scene from the claymore to one of the most brutal Act III resolutions in modern film history, Rambo will not disappoint you in the action, brutality, believability and emotional categories.  You can take that to the bank and cash it.  Why did Stallone wait so long in life to develop this script and the Rocky one, I will never know?  But I do know this, both of those films are some of his best work, and despite the final like ending we have here in Rambo, I’m hoping for at least one more adventure.  Please Mr. Stallone.  Feed my hunger!

But I bet the real reason you are all here reading my review is because you want to know what differences you can expect from this 99-minute cut of the film compared to the original 91-minute one.  Right?  Well that’s easy, it’s 8 minutes of difference.  LOL.  No but seriously, I painstakingly put together this bullet point list below of all the MAJOR differences I found between the two.  I purposely left out some of the minor differences that I was just too lazy to write down.  Enjoy!

• The film is titled JOHN RAMBO, but nowhere on the box art or disc is this name associated.  Weird huh?
• There are a few more brutal real images at the beginning newsfeed.
• There’s more snake catching and more playing around with the snakes as Johnny bags them up.
• There’s more of Julie Benz bugging Rambo to take her group on a boat ride into Burma.  In fact, there’s a whole new scene of her begging him.  The law of 3!
• There’s a longer night scene in a village that’s being raided.
• They completely changed the “what is” speech on the boat that takes place in the rain between Julia’s character and Rambo.  John talks about politics and war and admits he wasted his life on war.  That’s a true statement I guess.
• There are longer conversations to be had between the missionaries and Rambo on the boat ride to Burma.
• There’s a slight change to the pirate shootout scene.
• There’s a longer goodbye scene between John and Sarah when drops them off in Burma.
• There are new flashback scenes when Rambo (I keep wanting to call him Rocky) is burning the pirate ship.
• The raid on the village where the missionaries are starts out quicker.  In my opinion, it feels too abrupt.
• There is a new scene where the missionaries are at the prison camp.  They talk about the treatment and torture of the prisoners.
• After the pastor told Rambo about the missing prisoners, the hammer scene is a bit different.  Instead of Rambo’s voiceover where he says, “war is in his blood and all…” you hear a voiceover from the pastor.  It kind of loses meaning now in my opinion.
• There are some slight variances in the rescue of the missionaries.  I did not mind this, as it is the thumping music that really fuels these scenes after all.
• After the rescue, Rambo now notices that Sarah hurt her foot.  He wraps it up for her.  What a nice guy.
• And last but not least, there is a longer goodbye scene between Rambo and Sarah at the conclusion of the brutal warfare resolution of Act III.

So there you have it.  Obviously, as I stated before, I did not list every little change above.  The above bullet points were the most notable changes I saw so I wanted to make sure they were captured on your computer screen for your reading pleasure.  All in all, if I had my way, I would prefer the theatrical presentation of the film any day.  I was excited to hear about this project when Cliff Stephenson announced it at Comic-Con two years ago (here), but ultimately I felt that these new and modified scenes did not lend themselves well to the flow and pacing of the story.  If I had not seen this, I would have lived life being completely satisfied with only my theatrical Blu-ray.  It’s still a must-see and probably a must-purchase for all the fans out there, but casual viewers may want to think twice about spending 99 minutes of their lives watching something they didn’t much care for in the first place.  However, the movie is still one of my favorite films from the new millennium so that’s the reason for the high score despite my sentiments toward the Extended Cut.  It would have been super if Lionsgate would have packaged this with a theatrical Blu-ray disc as well, but no such luck.  If you want to own the Extended Cut, then you are going to have to double dip.  Sadly, there’s no way around that!  But let’s move on and discuss the Blu-ray vitals of this new presentation, shall we?

Video  

The video presentation is where I always had problems with Rambo on Blu-ray.  I know a lot of critics will praise it, but to my eyes, it has always been a bag of mixed goods.  But enough of my jibber, let’s tackle the vitals first. Rambo: The Extended cut is presented in AVC MPEG-4 video with a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio.  And now back to my jibber…LOL.  When the video is looking good it’s razor sharp and pristine, but when it’s looking drab it can be a little blurry and hazy at times.  The jungle truly comes to life in all its breathtaking glory on this disc, but the night scenes are riddled with distracting grain at times.  Thankfully, this is not always the case, but I do have to point out the fact that it’s there.  When the sun shines, so does this Blu-ray.  Every drop of sweat and blood is gorgeously captured on this razor sharp1080p transfer.  The thing that strikes me odd about this disc though is that sometimes the blacks are not deep enough like we have come to expect from recent Blu-ray transfers.  This of course is a very minimal complaint about an otherwise phenomenal film.  I cannot give the video a score of a 5, but I’m oh so close to a 4.5.  Take it for what it’s worth.

Audio  

If this disc has its bright spot, then it’s the bombastic 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround track.  It’s absolutely divine, but it’s not perfect.  Yep, you were probably waiting for me to be the narcissist and I didn’t disappoint.  There isn’t much that doesn’t get past me, but rest assured, my complaints here are very few and far between.  Like in the video, the jungle comes to life here.  In fact, I never heard a jungle sound so fantastic, not to mention the rainfall.  I’m general a tropical person by trait, but I hate being trapped inside by the rain.  However, let the rain fall down here!  In fact… all around me!  It is quite blissful hearing that rain pour from every which direction.  This surround track is simply killer.  But wait… it gets better!  There are loud explosions, bombastic bass and bullets zinging from every which direction.  And that score… I could go on forever about it, but I won’t.  It’s simply brilliant.  Dialog, for the most part, is spot on.  However, that is my one complaint.  One fear I have where scenes are added in to make an alternate cut of the film is how good are these extra scenes going to sound and look.  There were a few instances where the dialog level wasn’t up to snuff in the extra scenes.  I had a problem hearing one line of dialog in a particular scene.  Had it not been for this minimal distraction, this one would have easily scored a 5.

Special Features  

Are you ready for this?  There’s trailers and one production diary to be found here.  That’s the special features section ladies and gentleman.  Thanks for stopping by.  No seriously, there’s not even a digital copy included like there was for the former release of the theatrical presentation.  How sad.  Well to make up for the lack of special features to discuss here I figured I would throw in a screenshot of the disc’s menu below and an image of what the Blu-ray disc’s icon looks like when popped into my favorite Blu-ray player… the Playstation 3.  Enjoy!

• “Rambo: To Hell & Back” Director’s Production Diary - This one is 1 hour and 23 minutes long and is definitely worth your time checking out.  It’s kind of a like a day-by-day production diary of the movie shoot.  It’s interesting seeing Stallone behind the camera and scoping things out.  There’s much to be learned here.
• Trailers – The Expendables, Terminator 2: Skynet Edition, and a Lionsgate commercial featuring their catalog Blu-rays that contain peeps from the upcoming Expendables.

Final Thoughts  

This final score would have been a bit higher had it not been for the lack of special features here.  Thanks to the special features department, or lack thereof, I had to round up to a 4.  It’s quite simple folks.  Do I think this is worth double dipping on?  Absolutely… if you are a fan of the franchise.  But if you were just a casual fan, then I would say a rental would be fine for now or wait until Wal-Mart has it in its $5 bin one day.  I’m going to go ahead and recommend this one as a purchase here, but buyer beware… I’m being biased here.  This movie is a favorite of mine, and I will go down swinging in opposition to anyone who bashes this film.  It is motivating, heart wrenching, action packed and completely brutal in its realism as it depicts the longest running civil war in the world and the genocide of innocent people.  And oh yeah… it’s Rambo!  “Let the bodies hit the floor!”

Pre-order  Rambo: Extended Cut on Blu-ray today!

Film  

Elektra opened theatrically to mostly negative critical reviews on January 14, 2005.  The movie stars Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic (ER), Kristen Prout and Terence Stamp.  The Rob Bowman directed film barely churned a profit.  Astonishingly, it was released less than 3 months later on the DVD format.  I remember that fondly because I thought that was the quickest I ever recalled a feature film coming out on the home video format.

The film’s story continues right after the events that unfolded in 2003’s Daredevil.  Thank God for continuity.  In Daredevil, the Marvel comics character Elektra Natchios (Garner) was killed by Bullseye.  Thankfully, our Blu-ray film today explains how Elektra was given a second life and able to walk among the living again.  Thank God again for martial arts masters with secret reviving life powers.  Where would we be without them?  Well, I guess I should at least be thankful for the fact that at least Elektra does not do a Michael Myers and wake up all the sudden in the back of an ambulance after being fatally shot in the head point blank.

Before we move on, here’s an interesting point to consider.  Remember me telling you about Elektra’s lightning fast DVD release in 2005?  Well the film was also released again later that year in a 2-Disc Director’s Cut edition.  And guess what?  It contained a whopping 3 minutes of extra footage.  That brought the runtime to a whopping 99 minutes.  And now we sit here discussing the May 4^th 2010 Blu-ray release of Elektra and believe it or not, I was initially pounded with rumors that it would clock in at an alarming length of 139 minutes.  Sad to say, that’s not the case.  This Blu-ray release is the Director’s Cut of the film, just like it was on DVD.   So if there is any truth to this super extended cut rumor, then we might see another Blu-ray release of Elektra in the near future.  Depending upon how much you liked the previous 2 editions of the film, this could either be a good thing or a bad thing.  It worked for Daredevil on Blu-ray, so why not Elektra?  I guess if there is one thing I am disappointed in on this Blu-ray release, then it is the fact that this rumored Extended Cut did not see the light of day on Blu-ray.  Maybe it was just all that.  A rumor?  Only time will tell I guess.

As I mentioned 2 paragraphs ago, Elektra (Garner) was murdered in 2003’s Daredevil, but a blind martial arts master, Stick (Terrence Stamp), brought her back to life.  He trains her in the martial art of Kimagure, whose practitioners can control the flow of life and death and live only to destroy the evil organization known as The Hand.  After several years of intense training, she eventually leaves her clan and finds herself employed as a hired assassin who never fails.  However, I shouldn’t use the word “never.”  The moment she receives a contract for $2 million to kill Mark Miller (Goran) and his daughter Abby (Kristen Prout) things forever change in Elektra’s world.  She doesn’t really fail, but she doesn’t really complete her assignment either.  Elektra must make a difficult choice between good or evil in executing her deadly mission while battling her childhood demons and also, singlehandedly taking on the terrifying warriors of The Hand.  At the end of the day, will she win or lose?  That’s the question, isn’t it?  Now it’s up to you to find out the outcome.  Are you up to the challenge on Blu-ray?  You better do your pushups!

Video  

I have to admit; I was pleasantly surprised by the visual presentation of Elektra on Blu-ray.  Given the fact that so many filmgoers hate this film, I was really concerned with how good it would look on Blu-ray format, but more importantly how much effort the studio would put into cleaning this title up for a quality transfer.  I love to be wrong about things like this.  Elektra looks absolutely stunning on the Blu-ray format.  The only reason you are seeing a score of 4.5 and not a 5 is for the reference quality factor only.  The heavy CGI-laden effects coupled with the mostly dark scenery doesn’t make this the most visual reference disc to show off your collection with in comparison to the newest king of Blu-ray, Avatar.  However, Fox delivers a near home run with this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video encode.  The contrast heavy film is presented in a 2.39:1 framed aspect ratio.  Despite the many dark sequences, the level of detail here is outstanding, especially in the fabric of Elektra’s many outfits (the important parts here).  The colors vibrantly pop right off the screen during the forest battles.  From what I heard about the previous DVD transfers, it looks like we have a winner here folks.  Let’s check in with the audio department and see how Elektra ranks there.

Audio  

Like the visuals, the Blu-ray’s audio presentation is near flawless.  There are little things here or there I can nitpick about, but for the most part, Fox did a bang up job on the bombastic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix.  Yes I used the word “bombastic.”  And for good reason too!  The fight scenes, the chases and the zany martial arts action all utilize deep thumping bass dynamics.  Me like!  While I was tempted a couple of times to actually turn my sound down, I didn’t for one simple reason.  A couple of times I found the dialog to be just a tad low.  It wasn’t that it wasn’t audible or a deal breaker, but it felt oddly low in just a couple of spots.  If not for that, then we may be talking about a possible 5-star rating.  But let’s be honest.  Not many people were expecting much from this Blu-ray release so we should be thrilled that it actually turned out this good.  While much of the movie is passive in dialog, the action sequences come to life thanks to the DTS-HD track that delivers non-stop zany action all around you.  I mean, who doesn’t like a good throwing star zinging by your ear every now and then?

Special Features  

Elektra makes its Blu-ray debut with a heaping helping of extras.  It may not look like much on paper, but believe me; you’ll definitely be taking a few bathroom breaks trying to squeeze all the features into one gigantic viewing marathon.  Unfortunately, it’s a mix bag of goodies.  What I mean by that is the fact that the extras are not all in High-Definition (insert a sad face).  However, the two main ones we care about here are (at least in pseudo Hi-Def).  Let’s cut to the chase and get into the good stuff.  You wanted extras, then you got your extras!  Elektra’s supplemental materials are as follows.

• Commentary by Director Rob Bowman and Film Editor Kevin Stitt – Just your standard every day commentary track.  If you’re interested in this film, then you already know you should check this out.
• Relentless: The Making of Elektra Part 1: Production (HD) – This was a long one.  Almost a whole hour and a half long.  Wow!  I never expected to learn so much about this film.  It was interesting to learn about Jennifer Garner’s hesitation towards this project.  She was very concerned this movie was going to suck and ruin her career.  Rob Bowman assured her he wouldn’t let that happen.  What do you think?  Also, interesting to note, is the discussion over the low budget and number of shooting days they had to work with.  This was another concern of Jennifer’s and rightfully so.  And finally, I was really perplexed to find out that they were not allowed to make this a love story at all.  They had their instructions.  Hmm.  That goes against everything I learned these past 5 months in film class.  You always have that B-love story.  In my opinion, I think Rob did a good job with what he had to work with.
• Relentless: The Making of Elektra Part 2: Post-Production (HD) – Here’s another long one clocking in just over 53 minutes.  If you like editing, special effects and sound mixing, then this is the place for you to be.
• Deleted Scenes (SD) – There’s a total of 3 scenes with optional commentary by Rob Bowman and Kevin Stitt.
• Alternate/Extended Scenes (SD) – There are 7 scenes here with optional commentary by Rob Bowman and Kevin Stitt.
• Elektra: Incarnations (HD) – This is really cool.  This 52-minute documentary takes a look at the history of Elektra in the comics.  It explores Frank Miller’s early work to the present.  This was very interesting because after watching this, I really don’t believe that Jennifer Garner’s passive character was the right choice for this film and Daredevil, to be fair.  After all, she seems like she was a cold-blooded killing machine in the comics.  Unless I am wrong, her character is not conveyed in the film like this?
• The Mythology (HD) – Dr. Katerina Zacharia, of Loyola Marymount University, discusses iterations of the Elektra story in Greek Mythology for a casual 15 minutes of runtime.
• Theatrical and Teaser Trailers (SD) – It is what it is.  Here you have the various Elektra trailers in glorious High-Definition.  Not!  Sadly, they are only presented in Standard Definition.  Boo!

Final Thoughts  

Well there you have it folks.  Elektra is one of those films you either like or you despise.   With me, the film is a guilty pleasure of mine so I stand by resolute in my feelings towards it.  It’s not the most exciting film ever made, but it’s also not the worst.  It’s my Blu-ray review so ultimately I have the right to feel the way I do about it.  I’m going to give it the green light and recommend a purchase for all the fans of the film that want to own it on the Hi-Def format of choice because of the stunning Blu-ray transfer in both the audio and video worlds, as well as the special features package, which is enough to keep you busy for hours on end.  All others should proceed with caution and maybe try a rental first.  So for all my Elektra fans out there, make sure to check out Jennifer Garner as she kicks some ninja clan a$$ in HD and at the same time looks good doing so (that’s always a plus in my opinion).

Bring home Elektra today on Blu-ray!

Film 

Replacing Terry O’Quinn, the original stepfather, is Dylan Walsh, whom some people will know from the television show Nip/Tuck, but I will always remember as Dr. Peter Elliot, the scientist who sang California Dreamin’ to a talking monkey in Congo. He had big shoes to fill, but he does a fairly decent job with it. Unfortunately, he’s the best part of an otherwise boring slasher film apparently aimed for a pre-teen audience.  The “Unrated Director’s Cut” included in this Blu-ray seems identical to the version I watched in the theater.

Admittedly, the movie is a mild improvement over the Prom Night remake. It has a great deal more character development than Prom Night which comes with the territory, since the original story was a character study and an examination of the presumed sanctity of the family. Still, the movie makes too many bad choices. None more obvious than the changing of the heroine played by Jill Schoelen, my favorite 80’s scream queen, to a male character. It was far more suspenseful and scary imagining this psychopath at the head of a table full of woman.  The new movie features  Penn Badgley as the other “man of the house` and he honestly looks like he could handle himself leading up to the movie`s shockingly anti -climatic ending.

There have been far worst remakes like the previously mentioned Prom Night or the atrocious The Fog., but there have been much better too. Look no further than this year`s incredible The Last House on the Left, to see how you can take a popular horror favorite and make it relevant today and even better than it`s predecessor. This movie is an afternoon time waster at best and would probably only appeal to the younger set looking for scares who can`t get into the more commonly rated 18A horror movies

Video

The Stepfather’s video comes at us in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and uses MPEG-4 AVC 1080p codec. The picture quality is quite clean and bright. There’s good detail in the transfer and image is sharp as well.

I found myself thinking the film looked quite polished with little visible grain and warm colors. However this is a horror film… I don’t necessarily want to see picture perfect images throughout. A grungy color palette and some low light shots would fit perfectly, but instead we get something that looks like an episode of CSI: Miami at times.

I can’t complain about the transfer though I think that overall it’s very well done with no artifacts or distractions, however the cinematography choices of the film (which I attribute to the Picture Quality) are very inconsistent to the subject matter of the film.

Audio 

The Stepfather ‘s audio comes at us in DTS-HD 5.1 surround, which is my favourite codec due to the versatility of the sounds it can produce. Whether it’s an action packed thrill ride with explosions and robots or a horror film where every eccentricity of the score is authentically produced in a manner to efficiently raise the hairs on your neck.

The Stepfather’s mix is underwhelming, which seems to be the running theme with this release. The dialogue doesn’t come through the mix that well and it feels like the foley and score are all overbearing, not to mention front heavy with little to no surround. To top it off sometimes the sounds overlap poorly causing some distractingly noticeable seams in the mix.

Although most of my complaints with the technical qualities are a bit nit-picky, I feel that for a film that’s this disappointing, then it better have great A/V specs to make up for a rental. I will go out on a limb and watch a sub-par film if the viewing experience is going to be enjoyable… Transformers comes to mind.

Special Features 

The special features included in the release are basic and considering my overall feelings towards the film, there should’ve been more interesting features to keep my interest. A commentary track that feels like even the director and stars (Nelson McCormick, Dylan Walsh, & Penn Badgley) realize no one will listen to is very boring and forces you to watch the film again… yikes. There’s also two behind-the-scenes featurettes about the making of the film and the stunts involved in the film as well as a “gag” reel that fails to live up to its name.

Besides some trailers and movieIQ the special features are underwhelming, much like the film itself.

Final Thoughts 

The film is pretty lame, the audio/video presentation is decent and the amount of special features doesn’t make up for the aforementioned. If you’re a fan of the original or just a horror buff who’s looking for a new film to watch, instead of renting this film I would suggest just going out and watching the original again. One good thing to come out of this remake is the welcome arrival of the original cult classic on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time ever.

In order to reboot the franchise, new creative people had to be brought in to give the franchise a whole new look and a kick start, which is exactly what J.J. Abrams did with the Star Trek film. As a result, the general public and not just Trekkers are anxiously awaiting another film. The same is true for Terminator. The first two films were excellent and the third a bomb. Now comes Terminator Salvation, with a new look at the series. Will it be as successful in resurrecting the franchise? Only time will tell.

Film

Unlike the first three Terminator film which, while giving you a glimpse of the future are set in the present, Terminator Salvation is set in the future, specifically the year 2018, with Skynet having the remaining humans on the run. No need to imagine what the future will bring, it is all laid out for you.

The film focuses on two main characters, John Connor, as played by Christian Bale, and Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington, a totally new character, a death row inmate in 2003 who donates his body parts for science and is later brought back to life by Skynet. The film also co-stars Anton Yelchin ( who played Ensign Checkov in Star Trek) as Kyle Reese, the character sent back to the present in the original Terminator movie to stop the terminator and in the process, fathering John Connor. In Salvation, the resistance is continuing their fight against the machines.

While an important player, John Connor is not yet the leader of the resistance. His main goal is to find and save the life of his father, who the machines are seeking out to kill. It is here that the Markus Wright character comes into play. He meets up with Kyle Wright in Los Angeles but is unable to keep him from being captured by Skynet. He eventually meets up with John Connor and a segment of the resistance where he is discovered to be part human, part machine and created by Skynet.

John Connor violates the orders of the commanders and trusts Marcus Wright and travels to San Francisco with him to destroy Skynet’s headquarters and rescue the humans kept there, including his father. While I enjoyed the film, I found Christian Bale’s performance to be a little too wooden, a little too Batmanesque, even down to the deep imposing voice. I would have liked to see a more emotional performance than the one he gives in the film, with a little more depth. Sam Worthington on the other hand, was excellent as Marcus Wright and really dominates the film.

The film is filled with a ton of new terminators including terminator motorcycles which are quite interesting. However, there is no real resolution of any of the issues that needed resolving after the first three films. The film is essentially a place keeper and bridge to reboot the franchise for further films. In that regard, I didn’t find the film to be nearly as successful as Star Trek as I can’t say that we need any sequels to this film. Recommended as a rental only.

Video

I am not able to comment on how this release looks in comparison as to how it appeared in the theater as I did not take the film in during its theatrical release. However, I can say that this is a fine looking encode. The film has a very stylized look with a very muted color palette which looks almost bleached out with blooming whites. In this regard, it looks a bit like Saving Private Ryan. The images look desolate, trying to match the desperate conditions the human race is facing fighting for their existence against the machines. However, despite this appearance, clarity, detail, depth and shadow detail are excellent.

While most of the film has this stylized look, there is one section of the film where that changes. This is when Marcus Wright enters the control room at Skynet. There the look of the film is transformed, however briefly, featuring deep and inky blacks, bright and bold colors and a very neutral color palette with exceptional levels of detail and clarity, fully worthy of a 5 star rating. Overall, this appears to be an excellent encode that will surely please fans of the film. I was not able to detect any evidence of digital noise reduction or edge enhancement.

Audio

Bass junkies will love the audio of this release, which is reference across the board, containing scene after scene of demo material. You know you are in for some special bass response when the theme music kicks in at the beginning of the film. Da dum, da dum, da dum, really rocking the room. However, the audio here is not just about the bass. I found the overall fidelity to be reference as well, sounding incredibly rich and smooth with excellent transparency and imaging. Fell free to crank this baby up without fear of listener fatigue.

The balance over all 6 channels is top notch with the surrounds used aggressively throughout the entire film, creating a totally immersive aural experience. The sound of the aircraft moving seemlessly across the sound stage was a joy for the ears. This is one of the better sounding audio tracks I have yet to experience on Blu-ray and was a real treat and fully worthy of a 5 star rating. It is damn near, shall I say it, perfect?

Special Features

Terminator Salvation comes with three discs. Disc one is the Directors Cut of the film. Disc two contains the theatrical release as well as the supplementary materials. Disc three contains a digital copy compatible with MACs and PCs.

The extras include what has been designated as maximum movie mode, which contains a series of 12 very short clips about the making of various aspects of the film, including enlisting the air force’s cooperation with the film, building the various sets used in the film, the concepts behind the various terminators as ell as the CGI recreation of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the original terminator that appears in the film.

The extras also included two longer featurettes on the making of the film, “Reforging the Future whcih details how the filmmakers reinvented the franchise as well as “The Moto Terminator” where the design the the terminator motorcycles is explored. All of the extras are presented in HD.

The release is also BD-Live enabled and includes a compilation of 10 viral videos from the “Resist or Be Terminated” alternate reality game revealing Skynet’s secret plans, the first episode of Terminator Salvation Machinima series and a digital version of the first issue of the Terminator Salvation office movie prequel comic book.

Final Thoughts

While not exactly as successful a reboot of the Terminator movie franchise as was Star Trek for that franchise, Terminator Salvation is definitely worth a look for fans of the original three films. This film is rated as a rental only but the disc itself deserves a purchase.

Film

As you can no doubt already tell, I am not a big fan of this film. I really wanted to like it, as I am a big fan of comic books and all things superhero. However, this film is just too confusing, too goofy and far too long to be an enjoyable experience. The director’s cut clocks in at 186 minutes, which is 25 minutes longer than the theatrical release. Frankly, at a little over 3 hours, this film is far too long . The film is directed by Zach Snyder and is based on the limited series of comic books by Alan Moore and David Gibbons.

The film is set in an alternate time line in the year 1985. It turns out that beginning in the 1930′s in this alternate timeline, the United States was defended by a group of masked superheroes that were more like vigilantes than the Police. This group of masked heroes rose up in response to a group of masked and costumed criminals. While they were successful in fighting crime, the public grew weary of their excesses and turned against them, with the Federal Government eventually passing a law banning the use of masks in public.

Most of the original group of masked heroes went into retirement and were replaced by a new generation which by the year 1985, were all now underground, with the exception of one, Mr. Manhattan, a former nuclear research scientist who was exposed to lethal radiation who rather than dying, reconstituted himself into an all powerful and all knowing giant naked blue man. Mr. Manhattan was eventually tapped by President Nixon to use his superpowers used end and win the Vietnam War. Rather than being forced to resign by the Watergate fiasco, President Nixon went on to serve numerous terms as President, remaining in office until 1985. After winning the war, Mr. Manhattan became involved in a project to develop a renewable source of energy to replace fossil fuels. He was also a hedge against nuclear attack by the Soviet Union as he was the ultimate doomsday weapon. The film opens with the murder of one of the masked heroes, The Comedian.

The rest of the masked heros become fearful for their lives. In the meanwhile, Mr. Manhattan is undergoing a bit of a mental breakdown and flees the planet to take up residence on Mars. With Mr. Manhattan gone, the Soviet Union begins to move against the strategic interests of the United States, prompting President Nixon to begin to prepare to launch a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. While all this is occurring, a mysterious person or group outside the government is planning to launch their own attack to dominate the world. Will our masked heroes be able to crack this plot and prevent an all out nuclear war between the US and the USSR while also saving themselves? Plots don’t get much more convoluted than this. Too much of the film is used trying to introduce the masked characters and their histories to the audience. The use of repeated flashbacks is really distracting and franking, disorienting, making this a very difficult film to follow.

If you are unfamiliar with this comic series as I was, you will probably find this movie just as confusing as I did. The film’s pace is very tedious as well and frankly, nearly put me to sleep. Unless you are a fan, I would recommend that you skip this release entirely. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Video

Watchmen is a very stylized looking film. If you are looking for a film with a natural looking color palette, this is not the film for you. The film has a slightly muted color palette that is skewed to the colors brown, blue and grey. Skin tones in particular have a brownish cast to them. Most of the film takes place either at night or in darkened interior settings. Black levels are superb as is shadow detail. I found the overall level of detail to be excellent as well, with fine facial details as well as the details of the various costumes and masks and backgrounds clearly visible. Despite the overall dark, dreary and drab look of the film, the film’s overall sense of depth and clarity remained excellent, with only occasional image softness. I am sure that given the look of the film, that is was a difficult film to encode. Fortunately, this person responsible for the encoding was more than up to the task.

Audio

As one would expect from a comic book based superheroes action film, Watchmen boasts a fine immersive audio experience with excellent dynamics, punchy bass and excellent sound effects. The surrounds are used aggressively throughout the film and create a beautiful immersive sound field. The overall sound of the film is smooth and open with excellent transparency and imaging, with pinpoint and seamless placement of the numerous sound effects within the sound field.. The panning effects here are excellent. Dynamics are excellent as well as is the sense of perceived sound depth, both from front to back and side to side within the sound field. The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix and always intelligible, even during the loudest action sequences. This is a fine sounding audio encode and is one that will no doubt thrill fans of the film.

Special Features

Watchmen is BD-Live enabled and contains a digital copy that is compatible with Macs and PCs. The extras included with the release consist of what is described as Warner Brothers Maximum Movie Mode hosted by director Zack Snyder with director walk-ons with scene analysis, picture-in-picture video with the cast and crew, side-by-side comparisons of the graphic novel and film, timeline comparisons of our real world and the alternate timeline of the film as well as photo galleries of production stills and storyboards. These features run along side the film in a separate window.

Also included is a second disc with additional extras including The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics which details the history and influence of the Watchmen comics. Also included is the featurette Real Superheroes, Real Vigilantes which explores the fascination and psychology behind real world vigilantes as well as Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World, which details how the technologies featured in the comics were transfered to the big screen. Also included is the My Chemical Romance Desolation Row Music video. All of the extras are presented in high definition.

Final Thoughts

While Watchmen features excellent audio and video, I found the film to be confusing, tedious and disjointed and as such, can’t really recommend it to any one other than fans of the original comic.

There are all kinds of narrative possibilities in such a situation, from the humorous to the poignant to the thought provoking. Hopefully, such a film will be filled with all three. Unfortunately, in the case of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the film is filled with the dark, the sad and the maudlin. A opportunity lost if you ask me.

Film 

I am sure that I will be in the clear minority here but I didn’t like this film. I didn’t like it at all. In the supplemental materials, the director, David Fincher, recalls a conversation he had with the star Brad Pitt after Mr. Pitt had read the script. Brad Pitt commented that the film was a love story, right? To which Mr. Fincher replied, no, more like a death story. I thought, what a perfect description for the film, which is why I found the film so disturbing and I don’t mean that as a complement.

This film is obsessed with the concept of death. Death is all around you all the time, for the full 2 hours and 45 minutes running time. This film is a downer, a real downer. It finds no real joy in life focusing on the darker sides of life, death and loss. Even the love interest between Benjamin and Daisy ( Played beautifully by Cate Blanchett) becomes totally morose). As the extras make clear, this film is one that had been kicking around Hollywood for years. It is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise expressed interest in it but eventually passed. There have been a few scripts written and rewritten until the final script penned by Eric Roth who also penned the script for Forrest Gump.

The film opens in New Orleans during the the approach of Hurricane Katrina. Daisy (Cate Blanchett) who is now in her eighties, is on her death bed accompanied by her daughter, played by Julia Ormond. The daughter begins to pick up a diary written by someone she didn’t know, Benjamin Button, which was at her mother’s bedside. The diary was a first person account of his Benjamin Button’s life as well as a last will and testament.

You are taken back to 1918 and the start of WWI and a clock maker who is making a clock for the New Orleans train station as his son goes off to war. However, before he completes the clock, word comes of his son’s death in the war. When it is time for him to unveil the clock at the station, the crowd is shocked to discover that the clock intentionally runs backwards as the clockmaker hopes that by running time backwards, he can bring his son back home alive. It is this clock which sets the stage for the curious life of Benjamin Button.

In short, or in the case of this film, not so short order, Benjamin’s mother dies in childbirth. His father is horrified by his appearance and takes him and abandons him at a convalescent home for the elderly when he is taken in by a sweet African American woman who runs the home. She takes care of him and becomes his mother. During his young life, many of the elderly patrons of the home die, as does his “mother’s” husband. His mother takes Benjamin to a preacher who is performing healings who dies of heart attack while attempting to heal Benjamin. Get the point?

The film starts out with death and keeps on going, with people dropping like flies. Anyone who comes into contact with Benjamin seems to die. In a sense, he is almost like Jack Bauer in 24 but without the guns, bombs and bad guys. From there, we come to the budding love affair between Benjamin and Daisy as they both approach midl age, albeit from different directions, Benjamin’s work on a tug boat which somehow finds its way from New Orleans to Russia and becomes involved in WWII, with Benjamin eventually returning home to find Daisy a famous ballerina. Needless to say, Daisy’s career comes to a tragic end and she finally starts a love affair with Benjamin.

Why the filmmakers chose to take the film in the direction they did is beyond me. I couldn’t wait until the film ended. In addition to the maudlin subject matter, the film just drags on and on. The pacing of the film was way to slow, perhaps to mimic the movement of very old man whose body is riddled with arthritis? This film could have and should have been much better. I am not of the camp that thinks a sad and depressing film is somehow deep just by the fact that it is depressing. I didn’t find this film to be deep at all, just depressing. Watch this film at your own risk. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. Recommended as a rental only.

Video 

Over the years, the moniker Criterion Collection meant quality, with beautiful restorations. This release is a Criterion Collection release in conjunction with Paramount and continues the Criterion Collection tradition into Blu-ray with stunning results. This is an incredibly good transfer. In fact, this release has some o the best looking high definition images I have ever seen on Blu-ray.

The film does have a highly stylized look, with most of the film having a brownish (Sepia) and yellowish tint, giving the film an aged look, kind of like an old photograph. However, some scenes deviate from that pattern, and have a cooler, more bluish look about them,. If you are looking for a bright looking film with bright and bold colors, this is not the film for you.  What the transfer does have in spades is incredible levels of detail and image depth and clarity, from facial detail, to textures of clothing, walls, floors, etc. I don’t think I have ever seen a film with this level of detail in my home. Shadow detail is exceptional as well which is important given that large segments of the film take place at night or in dimly lit interiors. Black levels are deep and solid. If I would have any quibble withe the video quality here, it would be that some of the shots in dimly lit interiors are a bit on the soft side which is generally the case in those types of environments. Despite the dark scenes, I was not able to discern any video noise in this transfer at all.

The image is crisp, clear and immaculate. The special effects are also incredible. The CGI effects where Brad Pitt’s aged face is superimposed on the bodies of other actors during the early stages of Benjamin’s life is astounding, although I must say that I thought they got the proportionality a bit wrong as Benjamin’s head was often a little too big for the body. I am not sure that a person with a body that small would be able to lift a head that big. In any event, with the exception of the intermittent softness in dimly lit scenes not above, this is an incredible looking encode and one which is completely worthy of being included in the Criterion Collection. I can’t imagine that this film could look any better than it does on this release. I just wish that the film was a better one.

Audio 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a first for Paramount as it comes equipped with a DTS HD Master Audio lossless track which is just as impressive as was the video. This is a reference audio track without question. The audio fidelity here is exceptional, with a smooth, full and rich sound. Transparency and imaging are as good as I have ever heard on a Blu-ray release. Dynamics are excellent as well with deep and tight bass. Check out the WWII naval battle scene for the incredible dynamics featured on this release.

The sense of depth, both from front to back and side to side is incredible. Beautiful use was made of the surrounds as well which were active and aggressive throughout the film, creating a totally immersive sound field, even during soft interior passages, which conveyed a real sense of a real acoustical environment in your room which changes from scene to scene and locale to locale. The dialogue track was also beautifully recorded and well placed in the mix, with the exception of a very brief moment in the Russian bar scene where some of the dialogue was a bit hard to hear over the raucous crowd noise. it is obvious that great care was taken in creating the sound design for this film and just as much care taken in encoding the audio for this release. Very well done.

Special Features 

This is a two disc director’s edition of the film, with the film on one disc with maxed out audio and video encodes and the extras on the second disc with the exception of the director’s commentary, and all in high definition. In fact, the extras are over three hours long.

If you are a fan of this film, you will be thrilled with the extras which, in addition to the aforementioned director’s commentary, includes a four part documentary which details each and every aspect of the making of the film, from the prior efforts at having the film made dating back to the 1980′s and 1990′s, to casting the leads, the writing of the script or should I say scripts, to the abandonment of Baltimore as the location of the film (Baltimore was the setting of the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story on which the film was based) to the selection of New Orleans as the location for the film. You get to follow the filming of the entire film, the designing of the costumes, the scoring of the film with composer Alexandre Desplat and the incredible special effects.

In addition, you are able to walk the red carpet during the premiere of the film in New Orleans as well as final thoughts with the cast and crew of the film. This release does not include a digital copy of the film nor is it BD-Live enabled. Otherwise, this release comes packed with as many interesting extras as one could possibly ask for, with no fluff or filler. Also included with the film is a booklet containing an essay on the film by Kent Jones.

Final Thoughts 

Well, what can I say? The Curious Case of Benjamin Button features some incredible audio and video quality that will really show off your home theater. Despite the technical merits of this release, I found the film to be too long, too slowly paced and far too maudlin. I found it a chore to get through as did my wife by the way. Feeling that it may be time to seek psychological counseling is not the way I want to feel after watching a film. I just can’t imagine watching this film more than once.

I am sure that there are many of you out there who do love this film or will love it upon viewing this release. If you are in that category, by all means, purchase this release as the video and audio presentations are exceptional are the supplementary materials. For those of you out there who have not already seen the film, you may want to rent before you buy.  So, while the film deserves a rating of “rental only”, the amazing A/V work on this disc moves it into the “Buy It” category.

Film 

The film starts off with a transport ship innocently gliding through the depths of deep space.  There are a handful of passengers on board, each in a cryogenic stasis to weather the burdens of extensive travel in a literal no-man’s-land.  The ship suddenly finds itself in the path of stray space debris which compromises the hull.  The vessel begins its unintended rapid descent to the desert world below, cooked by three suns that provide seemingly incessant daylight.

Riddick (Vin Diesel) happens to be a passenger on board that is unique amongst the others…he is a felon.  He makes his escape amidst the wreckage while the rest of the survivors, in their worrisome panic, search feverishly for both Riddick and water.  It doesn’t take the ship’s passengers long to realize that they are not the only inhabitants on the planet.  One by one, they slowly get picked off by the nocturnal winged creatures that reside underground, surfacing only when that rare moment of night envelops the planet.  These vicious feeders arguably rival most of the other sci-fi monsters to have graced the big screen, even H.R. Giger’s Alien (I know I’ll catch some flack for that one, but hey, the Aliens couldn’t fly).  Hunting in massive packs with teeth sharper than a Turbo Ginsu, the local wildlife make quick work of their prey.

As for the story itself, it is unique but lacks a big punch that normally makes you want to buckle up for the whole ride.  I can’t put my finger on it but much of Pitch Black is like drinking soda without the fizz.  There’s still some minute satisfaction, but ultimately you long for more substance.  I really did not find myself identifying with any of the characters, so whether they became bat food or made it to the exit, I didn’t care.  Will Riddick make it off the planet?  Will the rest of the passengers survive?  You’ll just have to give it a watch…oh, and you may want to leave a light on…just to be safe.

Video 

Unfortunately, the video quality did not match up with that of its cohort; The Chronicles of Riddick. The grain was quite visible in the dark scenes and as night fell with the film’s progression, the dancing grain became even more prominent.  The video imperfections did serve as a distraction at times, which is regrettable because there were some scenes that did offer the pristine clarity you will see in The Chronicles of Riddick.  Pitch Black is brought to us in the same 1080p VC-1 encode that Chronicles delivered.  I guess it’s just proof that the encode isn’t the be-all, end-all of the video quality.

Audio 

The audio was impressive and the distant thud of feet landing behind someone in the sand, coupled with the later effects of the nocturnal bat monsters (I honestly do not know what else to call them) swooping about was an enjoyable experience.  The dialogue comes across in a very clear manner without the listener needing to strain or find the rewind button.  Whether it’s a ship breaking up in re-entry or raindrops meeting a puddle below, the DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio does a fine job of taking you to this desolate planet and engaging all the ferocious natives it has to offer.

Special Features 

Ugh!  That’s two discs in a row that Universal has done this.  They provide an impressive array of extras, but they’re pretty much all in standard definition.  Have I mentioned how disappointing that looks on a high definition television?

• My Scenes – (SD) Bookmark your favorite scenes from the film.
• An Introduction by David Twohy - (SD) Direct David Twohy provides some quick but interesting background information on the filming of Pitch Black (2:25).
• The Game is on – (SD) An extended trailer of the new video game, “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay” (1:49).
• Johns’ Chase Log - (SD) Viewers get to hear the audio diary of Johns (Cole Hauser), the bounty hunter pursuing Riddick.  The documented chase takes place during a time before the movie (7:12).
• The Making of Pitch Black - (SD) The title of this featurette says it all (4:44).
• Dark Fury: Advancing the Arc - (SD) This extra gives fans a look at the animated film starring Vin Diesel that takes place in a time immediately following Pitch Black (1:30).
• The Chronicles of Riddick Visual Encyclopedia – (SD) Similar in concept to “Johns’ Chase Log,” this extra provides recorded narrative relevant to the back-story of Pitch Black (2:18).
• A View Into the Dark – (SD) Here we have a featurette that includes interviews with Vin Diesel and David Twohy, as they discuss the evolution of Riddick (4:06).
• Feature Commentary with Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser and Director David Twohy - (HD)
• Feature Commentary with Director David Twohy, Producer Tom Engleman and Visual Effects Supervisor Peter Chiang - (HD)

• Outside of the ‘Extras’ menu is the increasingly common BD-Live feature along with the U-Control option.  With U-Control, fans of the film can access picture-in-picture and the backstage item known as “Pitch Black Raw.”

Final Thoughts 

Pitch Black has the right chemistry for being a great film.  It’s suspenseful, it’s gritty and it has a big name attached to it in Vin Diesel.  However, it just seems that the match was lit too early.  There wasn’t enough dynamite put down in time (figuratively speaking) in this movie to give it a big enough bang.  Maybe it’s because the film was rushed.  It was, after all, shot in a mere 60 days.  That is impressive to say the least, but a hurried schedule can have a negative outcome on the final product.  It’s definitely worth a rental but spending your hard-earned dollars, pesos or euros on this to own, may be a decision best revisited before executing.  Don’t shut it off and leave yourself in the dark.  Give Pitch Black a chance, but don’t expect greatness.

Film 

The Chronicles of Riddick is a sequel to Pitch Black only in the sense that both revolve around the same character, Richard B. Riddick.  The similarities stop there as both films can stand on their own as far as their stories go.  Riddick is one of the last of his race, the Furyans, whose planet was wiped out by the Necromongers, a race vehemently determined in their crusades throughout the universe.  Their goal?  To convert you to their religion.  Should you defy conversion, you face certain death.  However, conversion isn’t merely saying, “Okay, I believe whatever you do,” …if it were only that simple for the victims.  Many of the victims bowing to the brute force of their dark adversary become Necro soldiers, some become Lensors; zombie-like beings bestowed with thermal imaging technology to seek out foes of the Necromongers.  Others become ghastly, near-dead beings capable of telepathy. 

This massive army of evil is lead by the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), who himself possesses supernatural like abilities.  The Lord Marshal can steal souls and even separate his own from his bodily shell.  Initially that race is of no interest to Riddick (Vin Diesel), but the optically gifted escapee soon loses a close friend to the hands of the Necromongers.  Big mistake, Lord Marshal.  You may be able to do a great impression of Mortal Kombat’s Shang Tsung, but ‘this ain’t no Johnny Cage you’re facing.’  Riddick is the man with a plan and oh does he do a masterful job of unfolding it in the film. 

Also joining the cast is Karl Urban as Vaako, Lord Marshal’s right-hand-man, and Judi Dench (of James Bond fame) as Aereon the Elemental.  What a combination between those two.  Dench is a fine actress to the last.  Urban is a great actor too…until he starts talking.  I have now seen Karl Urban in three films that I know of; Pathfinder, Doom and The Chronicles of Riddick.  Tron is a film that cracks my top 20 films of all time.  I recently read that Urban could be taking the lead role in the upcoming 2011 sequel, Tron 2.0.  Please, no.  So far, it feels like every film this guy touches at the box office tanks.  He has the opposite of the King Midas touch.  I had to laugh at one point when Vin Diesel referred to Karl Urban as a great actor in one of the extras.  I can frown and talk raspy.  Do you see me on film?  No.  That’s why I’m sitting behind a desk typing this review…but I digress. 

Back to the meat of the film’s story, Riddick must travel from planet to planet, from penal colony to Necromonger mothership, in order to take down this almighty race and have his ultimate revenge.  There is plenty of fast action and discharged bullet casings to satisfy actions fans but I did feel like the film could have been a bit shorter.  I know, I know…I was watching the 15-minute extended director’s cut.  Still, another 15 minutes slashed from the film reel would have been a welcomed subtraction.  At times you’re waiting for the story to take you somewhere, thinking it will, only to realize when it’s over, this scene and that one really weren’t necessary.

Video 

There are scenes of grain here and there early on but man oh man does this film look beautiful in its 1080P, VC-1 encode delivery.  If you are looking for small nicks in the armor, grease on the face and grains of mineral in the cave walls, look no more.  The Chronicles of Riddick is quite the handsome Blu-ray indeed.  In some cases, the special effects seem a bit lacking, but this is from the initial studio creation and is no fault of the video transfer.  What I mean by ‘a bit lacking’ is some of the visuals aren’t all that convincing.  For instance, a wall of fire quickly envelopes a sun-scorched planet, but the ever moving thermal front is rather disappointing and blatantly low-income digital.

Audio 

What Richard Simmons did with Sweatin’ to the Oldies, The Chronicles of Riddick will do to your speakers.  “And a left and a right…aw right!  What a workout!”  The sound is truly a grand experience on this disc.  There was one scene that utilized my sound system better than any other film thus far and that was the throbbing pulse of a ship’s engines.  The sub-woofer began conducting this sound effect symphony whereas the rest of the speakers soon followed.  If you want to talk about an experience that will immerse you, this scene was it.  If I didn’t know any better, I thought that ship was outside my window.  That is not to say there was nothing else to offer, quite the contrary.  The thrust of a blade penetrating Necro armor, the exchange of gunfire and even the subtle noises one would most often overlook were delivered extremely proficiently.  My only negative was some of the dialogue, particulary a handful of lines early on in the film, were a bit harder to hear.  Don’t let that stop you though.  This disc is rockin’. 

Special Features 

I am beginning to learn that when a disc says its special features are both 1080 and 480, take the 1080 claim with a grain of salt.  Such is the case here.  You can bookmark scenes under the “My Scenes” extra and those are of course 1080.  You can watch the film with commentary and this too is obviously in 1080.  However, any extra that doesn’t involve actually watching the film itself is in 480p.  Boo, hiss.  This is disappointing. 

• My Scenes – Bookmark your favorite scenes from the film.
• Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Writer-Director David Twohy – This 8-minute featurette is the first of several 480p extras on the disc.
• Virtual Guide to The Chronicles of Riddick - Close to 8 minutes, this extra seems to be geared towards the hard-core fans of the film.  It features console-like graphics and displays segmented video with short dialogue.  It is done in a manner to present the material as real life(480p). 
• Toomb’s Chase Log - Toomb was a bounty hunter on the heels of Riddick throughout the film.  In this 10-minute extra, viewers get to experience the Toomb-narrated ship log.  One thing I found odd on this is his mention of going to Korriban, which is a planet in the Star Wars universe (480p). 
• Visual Effects Revealed - A 6-minute gander into the computer generated effects of the film as well as that of the effects on the studio sets (480p). 
• Creation of New Mecca - This 11-minute venture takes a look at the characters and delves into the building of the New Mecca set, the city where our story begins (480p).
• Riddick Rises - This 13-and-a-half minute extra provides interviews with Vin Diesel as we look at the evolution and transition of his character (480p).
• Keep What You Kill - the motto of the Necromongers; the longest extra at 17-and-a-half minutes, each of the main characters is covered in detail by the actor/actress portraying him or her (480p).
• Feature Commentary with Writer-Director David Twohy and actors Karl Urban & Alexa Davalos (1080p)
•  There is also a section outside of the extras known as U-Control.  Within this option, you can enable picture-in-picture, the “Complete Chronicles,” the “Chronicles Compendium” and “Anatomy of a Fight.” 

Final Thoughts   

The Chronicles of Riddick is some decent sci-fi but the story telling gets a bit heavy-handed at times.  As I mentioned earlier, there is some more time that can stand to be axed from the film reel.  For instance, Judi Dench’s character seemed to be more of a token role than something actually pertinent to the film.  She’s a great actress but her character didn’t strike me as vital to the story.  Any way you twist it though, there is still a good amount of action to be had on this disc and the audio and visuals will not disappoint.  Sharpen your knives, strap on your UV goggles and take flight with Vin Diesel in The Chronicles of Riddick. 

The Film 

Before I begin, I have to recap the obvious to anyone unfamiliar with the world of Saw.  Saw V is the fifth installment in the Saw franchise.  The film was released theatrically on October 24, 2008.  David Hackl directed Saw V, unlike the previous three installments that were directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Repo! The Genetic Opera).  Although the film received mostly negative critical reviews, it is still considered an overwhelming box office success making back nearly ten times its budget during its theatrical run.  Here is where it does get a bit weird.  On record, David Hackl claimed that his director’s cut of Saw V (this unrated Blu-ray release) would run approximately 14 minutes longer than the theatrical cut.  He also said that a number of scenes would be re-ordered and arranged differently then what we all saw in the theatres.  However, this has ultimately been proven to be false, as the Saw V: Unrated Director’s Cut I have in my possession only runs a few moments longer than the theatrical presentation.  This is not a deal breaker for me because it is the movie that’s important, not the extras.

During my theatrical viewing of Saw V, I was instantly enthralled back into the Saw horror franchise.  It made up for all the disappointment I felt from Saw IV.  It went back to the old school Saw formula of pitting strangers together to witness what primal instincts they will rely on in order to survive Jigsaw’s traps.  Once again, it also did a remarkable job of tying all the Saw movies together.  Besides the unique death traps, I think the intertwining back-stories are what makes the movies so darn intriguing and captivating.  Every time I think there is possibly no way there can be any more back-stories left to tie into the previous Saw movies, I am proven wrong time and again.  Personally, I am glad to be proven wrong as it makes it even more interesting filling in all the gaps of who is who and how they become that way.  I wish history class could have been this thrilling.

Saw V picks up exactly where Saw IV left off with the exception of an opening scene that takes place in alternate time period.  If you have not seen Saw V yet, then I would suggest doing yourself a favor and have a Saw marathon before viewing this newest chapter.  That way everything is fresh in your mind.  Sound like a plan?   So anyway…FBI Agent Straham (Scott Patterson) spends the entire movie tracking down Jigsaw’s (Tobin Bell) successor.  I am going to steer clear of naming any names here just in case readers have not seen Saw IV.  Intertwined in the manhunt is a new group of five people who wake up in a dungeon-like room and have to piece together exactly what they all have in common.  Sound familiar?  Now this is classic Saw style!  While the group of five are figuring out puzzling questions of how they are all linked together, they are also fighting for their lives through four death-trapped rooms.  Of course, the whole time Jigsaw is really just testing them as one-by-one they fall prey to their own greed and selfishness.  And then comes the money shot…the ending scene that sets up the eventual release of next year’s Saw VI.  I will not go into detail here but it has to be one of the most masochistic and evil shots I have ever seen in a movie.  It left me perplexed, yet eagerly awaiting just where they are going next, in what many are speculating to be Saw‘s final chapter.  All I can say about that ending shot is “OMG” (in my best teenage girl voice).

Please don’t get me wrong.  I don’t believe that they can ever top the jaw-dropping final scene of actor Tobin Bell getting up off the floor in the first Saw, but I admit to having goose bumps of excitement over the scene that wrapped up Saw V, setting up its eventual sequel.  I am under the impression that Saw VI will be the final chapter in the Saw franchise and I now find myself anxiously awaiting how that all unfolds, as opposed to last year, where I never really cared if I saw another Saw movie or not.  That’s quite a 360-degree transition I endured since my sentiments of last year’s viewing.  I have come a long way on this brutal Saw franchise journey.  According to published sources, in just five years the Saw franchise has become the most valuable horror movie franchise ever.  In my opinion, that says a lot for a movie franchise that miraculously happens to somehow slap together a new thought-provoking release every year.  Come 2010, Halloween will not be the same, in my opinion, without a new Saw release.  How do you all feel about that?  Maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but for those of you who know me…drama is my middle name.

Video 

Lionsgate brings Saw V home to the Blu-ray format with a pristine print presented in a 1080P AVC MPEG-4 transfer with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.  I know these two words don’t really seem like they belong in the same sentence, but this is the most beautiful I have ever seen a Saw movie look.  Despite the gritty nature of the Saw films, there is no denying that this source print is clean of any dirt or marks. The black levels are so deep allowing us to see the finest of details in the darkest of shots.  I guess I should mention the thin layer of cinematic grain throughout, much like we are accustomed to, in the Saw series.  However, there are never any moments of distraction caused by the grain.  The flesh tones all look natural, compared to a few of the other Saw Blu-ray entries.  There only a small handful of shots I would have to nitpick about that appeared soft.  Despite the stellar print, it is hard to be able to classify this as demo material considering the gritty and grainy look of the video.  This is not by any means the fault of the transfer, but more so of the artistic style.  With that being said I award a victorious 4.5 score to the video transfer, falling just shy of a perfect 5.

Audio 

Where the video falters because of its artistic style, there is no denying the monstrous DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround mix is that of demo quality reference proportions.   The surround mix is aggressive throughout the feature.  Like the video, this audio track is the crown jewel of the 5 Saw Blu-ray releases thus far.  You like to be immersed in the action, right?  How about in the middle of one of Jigsaw’s deadly traps?  Well get ready to hear all the traps, all the screams from the victims and many more dynamic effects than you ever thought possible happening all around you. To say this surround track encompasses your sound field would be an understatement.  The deep bass will rumble your floors as the traps are released and sprung.  The dialogue is clear, crisp and intelligible throughout. All in all, I guess you can say that this audio track is spot-on perfect!  Saw V brings the eerie atmosphere of Jigsaw’s lair right into your living room.

Special Features 

Saw V falls a bit flat in the special features department, but who really cares?  The film itself, its video and audio rocks the house, so I could really care less about potential lack of bonus materials and the dominance of Standard-Definition extras.  The latter is the part I would usually be most upset about.  Nevertheless, let’s take a quick walk through of what you can expect to find on the Blu-ray release of Saw V.

• Audio Commentary – There are two separate audio tracks contained on this Blu-ray release.  The first commentary track features director David Hackl and first assistant director Steve Webb.  The second commentary track features producer Oren Koules and executive producers Peter Block and Jason Constatine.
• The Pendulum Trap (SD) – This 5-minute featurette shows how the pendulum trap works.
• The Cube Trap (SD) – Here’s another 5-minute featurette that covers the cube trap, which was originally intended for use in Saw IV.
• The Coffin Trap (SD) – Here’s my favorite trap of them all from Saw V.  This 5-minute featurette explores the final scene and trap of the movie.  It looks like they had a difficult time shooting in the small room where this trap was located.
• The Fatal Five (SD) – This 12-minute featurette examines the rooms that the five strangers, Ashley (Laura Gordon), Charles (Carlo Rota), Brit (Julie Benz), Mallick (Greg Bryk) and Luba (Meagan Good), all went through.
• Slicing the Cube: Editing the Cube Trap (SD) – This final 5-minute featurette examines the testing of the cube trap.
• Theatrical Trailer (HD)
• Also From Lionsgate (HD) – This section includes about 10-minutes worth of trailers from other Lionsgate movies.
• MoLog – MoLog is a BD-Live application that allows users to insert text, graphics and audio into the film to create blogs.  I have never used this feature as of yet.
• Digital Copy (SD) – There is also a second DVD disc included in this release.  I find this feature practically worthless, but for those of you who like it you now have the ability to take a digital copy of the film wherever you go with you.

Final Thoughts 

Saw V may not be the best film of the franchise, but it definitely made an impression on me.  It brought my post-Saw IV straying mind back to the world of Saw fandom.  Coupled that with the fact that this Blu-ray release is a stupendous outing with both reference quality audio and video (if you can look past the artistic style and appreciate it for what it is).  Fans of the franchise cannot go wrong with this purchase.  I will, however, recommend going back and brushing up on the previous four films, especially if you are a newbie to the franchise.  I have absolutely no qualms in recommending this as a buy for everyone to add to their Blu-ray collection.  The Saw franchise, although a very profitable one, is often a very overlooked one too.  Why not bring home Saw V and the rest of the films today?  Jigsaw wants to play a game with you.  When it comes to Saw, there’s never a dull moment.  Get it?  Dull moment…

I hope you enjoyed my review of Lionsgate’s Saw V Blu-ray release.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.  I look forward to receiving any feedback from my readers.

Saw V 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!