Then there are film such as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy with extended editions that go on and on with seemingly endless battle sequences which were too long as it was in the theatrical cut and obnoxiously too long in the extended cut. Sitting there, I have to guess that they figured that since we went to the lengths to create this footage in the first place, we might as well let the world see it. Again that college essay mind set at work. You know, since I had to learn this stuff for the exam, I will at least show you that I did. I wish I could guess at what they were thinking when they put the extended cut of Hall Pass together, but I don’t think that anyone can figure that out, not even the filmmakers themselves. Not even the college essay theory can explain this mess.

Film  

Hall Pass, whether the theatrical cut or the Enlarged Edition (I can hear Bevis and Butthead laughing now in the background at that one) is an awful film. Hall Pass is a stupid and crass film, with the enlarged edition even more so.

The film stars Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as two 30ish husbands who can seem to get sex off their minds. Their lovely wives who frankly deserve better ( played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) decide to give their husbands hall passes. The halls pass is a week off from their marriage, where they can seek out sex with other women to get it out of their systems so they can return and focus their attentions on their wives. The wives leave for Cape Cod for a week of relaxation while their men go crazy. However, while on Cape Cod, the wives turn out to have better luck than the husbands in the extra curricular department.

The film is like a bad Saturday Night Live sketch extended from 5 minutes to two hours. It is devoid of anything really funny and instead is a crass and crude as you can get. Hall Pass is a bad film, embarrassingly bad, and one that you are better off skipping in its entirety.

Video  

The best thing that I can say about the video presentation here is that it is better than the film. It is a solid is unspectacular looking film with a nice natural looking color palette with nice levels of detail and decent blacks. Film grain is heavy however so if you don’t like film grain and prefer you films as clean as computer animation, Hall Pass will not be your cup of tea and really shouldn’t be anyway, grain or no grain. The film has good depth and clarity but far from reference quality. The film itself is in pristine quality and I was not able to detect any obvious errors with the encoding of the film.

Audio  

I was not expecting a reference audio presentation when I sat down to watch the film. However, even so, I was disappointed with the audio here. The film is a bit front heavy as one would expect with a comedy. While the surrounds do kick on occasion, most of the action remains centered in the front of the room. The real issues I had with the audio here is with the overall fidelity. I found the sound to be too thin and bright for my tastes, a bit on the shrill side, more like bad lossy audio rather that a DTS HD Master Audio track. The audio is just another reason to pass on this release.

Special Features  

There are two extras included with this release, consisting of an “outrageously funny” additional scene as well as a “hilarious” gag reel. I found neither to be either outrageously funny or hilarious. When you have to say you are outrageously funny or hilarious, this is usually a sure sign that you aren’t. Hall Pass is a combo pack release which contains a DVD copy of the film along with a digital copy, so you can take this mess of a film with you.

Final Thoughts  

Simply put, Hall Pass is a terrible film, one that I found to be crude and crass and at times relentlessly so. The audio is weak and the video just good with meager extras to boot. In short, there is really nothing here to recommend about this release. I suggest that you skip this one entirely.

Film 

In Twilight fashion the story revolves around Becca Crane who just moved to Sporks in order to live with her father (Diedrich Bader) after her mother recently started an affair with Tiger Woods. There is a sudden burst of mysterious murders in Sporks and Becca begins a love relationship with a vampire. Of course a werewolf also vies for her affections. There isn’t really much to the story, just like its basis Twilight. I won’t hold that against this movie as no one watches these kind of movies for the story.

Like I mentioned before Vampires Suck pretty well spoofs just the Twilight franchises, so if you’re not familiar with those films you won’t get much out of this movie. Actually even if you know those movies you still won’t get much out of Vampires Suck. I can honestly say that I am getting tired of these spoof movies; the attempts at laughter are horrible. People walk into parked objects, there’s fist fights in the background involving cripples, and plenty of gag humour. You have to wonder if the people who make these films are children. But I guess there’s some people who still enjoy this kind of stuff and for those of you this one is pretty much par for the course so you can expect the same quality as you’re used to (whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing).

The one thing I was actually surprised with was the acting which wasn’t really all that bad. While they aren’t really given much room to flex their wings I really enjoyed seeing Ken Jeong and Diedrich Bader;  I actually would have enjoyed seeing more of them. But seriously nothing could save this movie from being as horrible as it was, the quality just isn’t there.

Ultimately I was really disappointed with this movie, but I don’t know why I had absolutely no expectations going into it. It’s the same trash that we’re used to from these spoof movies, but yet they seem to be getting worse and worse. Don’t waste your time with this film unless your obsessed with everything Twilight and you really want anything more that’s related to it. Perhaps you will get more of the references than I did, but I doubt that could make it any better.

Video 

Presented in 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4 Vampire Sucks comes to Blu-ray with a disappointing video transfer.  Right from the start of the movie you can tell things aren’t going to look very good.  Detail is extremely weak, with most subtle washed away with some extreme softness.  Color   presentation is also disappointing, with hues looking washed out and bland.

There is the occasional shot that looks great, but overall this is one very disappointing looking presentation.

Audio 

Fox has included a 5.1 DTS HD track one that does a good job presenting the given material.  There a quite a few instances where all channels are being utilized.  And although this was nice, the quality of the sound wasn’t top tier.  There were many instances of sound balancing, where sound effects and soundtrack would mute dialogue. Still there a more instances where the quality of the track outweighs the bad and that is what kept me listening.

Saying the audio is the highlight of the disc isn’t saying much about this package.  Nevertheless for people who actually like this movie, you will enjoy this audio presentation.

Special Features 

Lackluster in both quantity and quality, Fox disappoints in this category as well.

• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Trailers

Final Thoughts 

I don’t know how I keep getting disappointed with these movies; at this point we should all just expect them to be crap. But somehow I always give the movie the benefit of the doubt and go in with eager eyes. But ultimately this movie fell way, way short of its already low expectations. The would be laughs are cheap and so far between that I don’t know who would consider this a comedy. The disc itself isn’t the worst thing ever but there is definitely room for improvement, more specifically in the video department. The special features are really weak as well, so unless you really love this movie don’t even bother renting it.

http://moviemarbles.com/blurays.php?brid=118

Film 

I had not seen The Town at the local Cineplex but I heard some very good things about it from friends. I was therefore looking forward to getting a look at the film when it was released on Blu-ray. While my friends and I often have different tastes in films, they were spot on with thier opinion of The Town, which I enjoyed immensely.

The film takes place in Charlestown, a lower middle class section of Boston. While only a one square mile section of town, it has produced more bank robberies and armored car heists than anywhere else in the US. Part of the reason for such a large number of robberies in that section of the city, is the fact that the robberies often go unsolved as the community is very tight lipped so that those who know the idenities of the bandits refuse to talk or “squeal” to the authorities, whether for fear of retribution or otherwise. Even one one of the robbers is caught, they would rather go to prison than “rat” on their cohorts. It is this community and this mindset that The Town explores.

In addition to directing and starring in the film, Ben Affleck is a co-writer of the screenplay along with Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard. The screenplay is based on the book “Prince of Thieves” by Chuck Hogan.

Affleck stars as Doug MacRay a resident of Charlestown and bank robber. Doug is a bit different than his cohorts, in that he has a conscience and a heart. He is tired of the life of crime and wants to get out and leave Charlestown. He wants to escape the lifestyle rather than end up like his father, old and rotting in prison. The decision is tough on Doug as his only real family members are his fellow thieves.

While not blood relatives, they are the closest thing that he has to a family, as his mother died when he was young and with his father in jail. While he wants to get out, his family won’t let him, and he agrees to one last heist of proceeds from the Cathedral of Boston, namely Fenway Park. Doug and his families’ activities are complicated by the fact that they are being pursued by the FBI in the form of Agent Fawley (Jon Hamm) and his task force who are hot on their tails, trying to build an airtight a case against the family.

The film also has a subplot involving Doug and Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), who Jem (Jeremy Renner) took hostage during the robbery that opens the film. Jem took Claire’s driver’s license and finds that she resides in Charlestown. Jem thinks it best that she be eliminated to tie up all loose ends. However, Doug eschews violence and tells Jem that he will follow Claire and make sure that she is not cooperating with the FBI. In doing so, he falls in love with Claire and tries to build a relationship with her and in the process, hiding his criminal past from her. However, when her life is put onto danger when Doug tries to bail on his “family”, Claire finds out and wants nothing further to do with him, spoiling his dreams of a life outside Charlestown with her. In order to save Claire’s life, Doug agrees to one last job which is one that will put his life in jeopardy.

The Town is a fast paced film which really pulls you into the narrative. It features some tense action and a final gun battle that really rocks. Both the theatrical and extended versions of the film are included here. If you haven’t seen The Town, by all means do so. You will be glad you did. The Town is Highly recommended.

Video 

The video on both versions of the film presented here for the most part look great. Both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film have excellent levels of detail and a richly saturated color palette. The overall color scheme of the film is skewed a bit to cyan, with everything having a bit of a blue tinge and a resulting cool image. It is subtle but noticeable and is clearly the intent of the cinematographer and director and results in a very appealing image. Clarity and detail are top notch with facial detail and fine textures well preserved.

Blacks are deep and inky and at times, perhaps too much so as blacks can be a bit crushed at times. It is hard to say that this is the result of the encode or not. If I had to guess, I would bet that it is the way Ben Affleck intended the film to look and hence, I can’t really drop the score as a result of it. If I could find a fault with the encode, it would be the presence of some very mild and I mean mild artifacting which occurs very infrequently, along with some minor video noise visible in night time shots. Again, this is minimal as well. Given that there are two separate full versions of the film encoded on the Blu-ray disc, this is overall a great looking encode and a fine looking film.

Audio 

I can recall when Warner Brothers was ripped for not providing lossless encoded on their Blu-ray releases. Speed Racer comes to mind, which while having a great video presentation, was marred by a totally lackluster plain jane Dolby digital 5.1 soundtrack. Thankfully, since the release of Speed Racer, Warner Brothers has seen the light and has been including lossless tracks on all of its new Blu-ray releases, with some of them being quite stellar. Such is the case with the DTS HD Master Audio track included on The Town.

Simply put, this audio here is superb, with tremendous dynamics and deep bass to satisfy any bass junkie. Explosions, car crashes and gun shots all have the heft and weight to grab your attention. The surrounds are uses aggressively, to provide a total sense of immersion throughout the film and heightening the sense of suspense. The dialogue track is also well recorded and beautifully presented in the sound mix. Even during the most action intensive sequences in the film, those Boston accents and hard R’s are clear and easy to follow. never getting lost in the mix. This is one fine audio presentation and is one that should please fans of the film.

Special Features 

The Town is presented as a combo pack and, in addition to the Blu-ray copy of the film, includes a second disc that contains a DVD copy of the film along with a digital copy. The extras are a series of short featurettes detailing the making of the film.

• “Pulling off The Perfect Heist” discusses the filming of the bank robbery sequences.
• “The Town” discusses the Charlestown section of Boston where the film is located and its history of criminal activity.
• “The Real People of The Town” reveals that a number of the actors featured in The Town were amateurs essentially taken off the streets of Boston and used in the film.
• “Nuns With Guns: Filming in the North End” details just what you would think it does, namely the filming of the armored car heist sequence featured in the film in the North End section of Boston.
• “The Cathedral of Boston” discuses all that went into the filming of the climactic heist and gun battle scene in Fenway Park.
• “Ben Affleck: Director & Actor” takes a look at Ben Affleck’s dual role as both the lead actor in the film as well as the director.

All of the extras are presented in high definition and feature interviews with the cast and crew. The extras also include a separate director’s commentary for both the theatrical and extended editions of the film. The featurettes are all rather short and worth a look.

Final Thoughts 

The Town is not your typical heist film. It features a fine script, excellent performances and plenty of suspense, action and character development. The fact that is features a fine video and top tier audio presentation is a bonus. This release is highly recommended.

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 

Like everything else in Hollywood nowadays, I suppose it was only a matter of time before the 1980 hit film Fame got remade.  Like its predecessor, the film features a group of students attending the New York City High School for the Performing Arts.  The school was created to provide the diverse training and infusion of skills needed in students aspiring to obtain professional careers in dance, music or drama.  As you can imagine, the competition is quite fierce among these students.  The film follows the trials and tribulations of the students’ lives throughout each four years of the performing arts high school.  After all, not only are the students competing for a chance at achieving fame, but also they are still just your ordinary everyday teenagers who are experiencing the highs and lows that go along with life as a high school student.  You remember what that was like?  Now could you imagine throwing in the stress of trying to make it as an entertainment professional while just barely managing to keep your chin above water in high school and fit in?  I could not.  

The original 1980′s version went on to become an international sensation spawning not only a hit television show, but also a stage production of the same name that is still playing now.  How’s that for legacy?  Not bad at all!  While today’s Fame will likely not achieve that same level of success its predecessor did, that does not stop the talented cast from trying.  The MGM production features performances by Kristy Flores, Asher Book, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Naturi Naughton, Megan Mullally, Anna Marie Perez de Tagle and more.  We even procure seeing TV sitcom star Kelsey Grammer on the big screen as well as Charles S. Dutton, affectionately known as Rock, from his television show of the same name.

Whether you’re an actor, a musician, a dancer, a filmmaker or a participant in any other performing arts area, Fame has a little something to offer you.  Fame does not discriminate against any area within the performing arts category.  If you are artistic on any level, then this is the must-see feel good movie on the Blu-ray format for you.  The performances brought back some vivid memories of nostalgia within my sometimes-cold rigid self.  The film really inspired me to go out in life and get everything I want out of it, but most importantly to believe in myself and shun all the non-believers that seem to engulf me most of the times.  I undoubtedly felt the cast delivered a triumphant and rousing performance in capturing not only the energy required for a film like this, but also the inspiration that was essential to capturing the essence of the message the film conveyed.

For all the reasons listed above and for many more, I enthusiastically give a two thumbs up green light salute to anyone who has even an inkling of interest in visiting the newest Hollywood reincarnation of Fame.  The movie is far from being perfect and it obviously did not make my Top 10 of 2009, but that did not stop me from enjoying this musical gem.  And guess what?  Fame rocks it out even harder and louder on the Blu-ray format with an Extended Dance Edition.  The movie starts off a little slow, but the story quickly develops and emotionally reels you in as you become attached to these kids’ blossoming lives.  Although the film is not my usual proverbial cup of tea, I applaud it for its riveting performances, comedic elements and its inspirational value it bestowed upon me.  And now, best of all, I can enjoy it forever on the Blu-ray format.

Video 

Fame‘s visual presentation on the Blu-ray format is just as riveting and rousing as the song and dance performances within the actual film.  Fame graduates at the head of the class with a solid A in the video department and showcases a near perfect 1080P AVC MPEG-4 encode transfer and a 2.40:1 aspect ratio presentation.  The Blu-ray video presentation faithfully reproduces the rough and gritty streets of New York City, but most importantly it also captures all the beauty and wonder that can be found within the city of dreams.  But as I mentioned before, it’s not perfect.  The blacks are solid and inky, the characters in the shadows are always distinctively delineated, the flesh tones are accurate for the most part, but what prevents me from awarding a perfect 5-point score is the sometimes blurry images caused by the different filmmaking techniques and heavy palettes of grain found in certain scenes.  Other than the aforementioned minor qualms, Fame is a fabulous Blu-ray presentation to behold.

Audio 

Fame‘s technical report card is looking pretty good with another A on record, this time in the prestigious audio category.  Like the video presentation described in detail above, the audio is near reference as well.  If Fame were an action movie, then there is no doubt in my mind that you would be using this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track as the next demo to impress upon your friends.  The dynamics of the mix will put you right in the center of the thunderous bass action, the infectious groove of the songs and the crystal clear sing-along vocals.  From the ambient New York City traffic passing by to the clip-clap of the tap shoes on the wooden floors this track brilliantly captures it all.  The music of Fame resonates clearly through every channel of your surround system.  What more can you ask for?  It won’t please the pickiest of hardcore audiophiles completely, but make no mistake; they will be left with little to complain about.

Special Features 

What’s not impressive about the Fame Blu-ray package is its supplemental materials or therefore lack of.  Despite most of it being presented in hi-def, there’s simply nothing of quality or quantity to keep me entertained for hours on end here like most Blu-ray releases are able to elicit.  Sure there are the two versions of the film to watch, but where is the obligatory audio commentary track or the extensive behind the scenes look at the production of the film?  Oh well, I do enough complaining in life so let’s say we just briefly go over what hidden treasures await you on the Fame Blu-ray release.

• Extended Edition – As I previously stated, the Blu-ray release contains two versions of the film, the theatrical presentation and an extended edition which runs an extra 15 minutes longer and clocks in at 123 minutes in length.
• Deleted Scenes (HD) – There are really no new and exciting dance numbers to be missed here.  These are mostly conversational pieces that were cut.
• “Fame” Music Video (HD) – A crowd-pleasing music video that contains many appealing clips and moments from the film.
• Remember My Name Character Profiles (HD) – Here we have short video bios about the featured actors.  The profiles include Anna Marie Perez De Tagle, Asher Book, Collins Pennie, Kay Panabaker, Kherington Payne, Kristy Flores, Naturi Naughton, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Walter Perez and director Kevin Tancharoen.
• Fame National Talent Search Finalists Featurette (HD) – I think you can easily guess what this one is about.  Personally, being such a non-fan of anything reality TV related, I could have done without this one.
• The Dances of Fame Featurette (SD) – Actress Kerrington Payne gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the casting, boot camp and various dances featured in the movie.
• Digital Copy (SD) - The second disc in the Blu-ray package is none other than a lovely DVD that contains the even lovelier Digital Copy of the film.  I am being facetious here of course.  You all know how I love these standard definition extras.  Enjoy Fame on the go with your favorite portable media player.

Final Thoughts 

So what do you think?  You ready to give Fame a try on the Blu-ray format?  C’mon.  What do you have to lose?  You already know in addition to the near reference video and audio package that you will be bedazzled with plenty of songs to sing and dances to move to.  It may just be what the doctor ordered to get you off that couch this weekend.  Or if you are like me, Fame on Blu-ray may be the perfect medicine to kick your career into high gear and start doing something about achieving your dreams and goals in life.  If Fame teaches us one thing in life, it’s that not everything comes easy for everyone.  You either have what it takes or you don’t.  However, you will never know what you are capable of until you give it your all.  Whatever your poison is, Fame is the cure.  Live forever today with Fame on Blu-ray. 

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

Fame was released on Blu-ray January 12^th, 2010.  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 prices.  Thanks!

While Angels and Demons it the first book in the now three book series featuring the Symbologist Robert Langdon, it was not the first of the then 2 books to be made into a film. The first was The Da Vinci Code which in my mind, is the better of the two books. However, Angels and Demons is the better of the two films, as it is faster paced and pulls you into the action much faster than The Da Vinci Code which is slow and ponderous in comparison.

Clearly the director, Ron Howard, learned a few lessons on how to turn a Dan Brown book into a film, learning what to cut and what to change without changing the overall feel and direction of the book. I, for one, can’t wait for the third book, The Lost Symbol, to be made into a film. Now on to the review of Angels and Demons.

Film

Angels and Demons again stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, the Harvard Symbolgist who is hired by The Vatican to track down the members of their old nemesis, The Illuminati, who have kidnapped four Cardinals at the commencement of the Conclave called to select a new Pope following the Pope’s recent demise. The four Cardinals are scheduled to be executed one by one at the ttop of each hour beginning at 8 p.m. at undisclosed locations throughout Rome. In addition to racing through the vast number of churches in Rome trying to rescue each of the Cardinals before they are murdered, Robert Langdon and the Swiss Guard must also find a canister of anti-matter that has been stolen from the Cern particle accelerator in Switzerland, which if allowed to come into contact with matter at the designated hour of midnight, will result in the destruction of the Vatican and much of Rome along with the death of millions of people.

Angels and Demons is a fast paced thriller which is a much better film then the Da Vinci Code. Tom Hanks hair in this film is even a marked improvement over his hair in the prior film. If you are not familiar with Dan Brown’s books, the film Angles and Demons will be a perfect introduction for you into the world of Robert Langdon. The Blu-ray release includes the theatrical as well as an extended cut of the film. Both are highly recommended.

Video

This is simply a stunning encode of some pretty difficult material. The encode looks exactly like I remember the film to have looked in the theater. I describe the material as difficult given that most of the film takes place either in the dark or some very dimly lit locations. Despite this, the film maintains and excellent level of clarity throughout, never softening up in the darker scenes as you see with many films.

The colors are well saturated although the overall color palette is a bit muted with the exception of the various shades of red featured in the film. The overall color palette is a bit on the warm side having a bit of a gold tinge, especially fleshtones. Blacks are deep and solid and shadow detail is exceptional. Facial detail and background details are excellent as well, rendering an image of excellent clarity despite the overall dark lighting of the film. Even more important is the total lack of any video noise which can often mar the presentation of darker looking films when transfered to high definition video. While Angels and Demons is not the sharpest looking film I have seen on Blu-ray, it appears to be a totally faithful reproduction of the film and is one that should thrill fans of the film. Well done!

Audio

I was just as pleased with the audio on this release as I was with the video. The level of the overall fidelity of the sound is top notch with a smoothness and openness I found to be very appealing. Transparency and imaging were excellent as were dynamics and bass response. One of the most pleasing aspects of the audio is the reproduction of the musical score which really drives the film. The musical score in a word, sounds fantastic on this release.

The film also features a well balanced sound design with excellent and aggressive use of the surrounds, creating a totally immersive sound field, placing you in the Sistine Chapel with the Cardinals during Conclave or the various churches featured during the film. The dialogue track is very well recorded and well placed in the sound mix and is always clear and intelligible. This an excellent sound design which is beautifully captured on this release, which is encoded with DTS HD Master Audio.

Special Features

Angels and Demons is a three disc set, with disc one featuring the theatrical and extended version of the film. Disc 2 features the supplemental materials with disc 3 containing a digital copy of the film compatible with Macs and PCs. as well as the trial software for Hans Zimmer Music Studio Powered by Sequel 2. The extras are packed with many very interesting featurettes.

The bonus features include the featurette “Rome Was Not Built in a Day”, where the cast and crew show how the various sets were constructed for the film, as location shooting within the Vatican was forbidden. In “Writing Angels and Demons”, Dan Brown and the screenwriters discuss how they adapted the book to the screen. In Characters in Search of the True Story”, the cast share their experiences in bringing their characters to the screen.

The most interesting of all the featurettes, at least to me, is “CERN: Pushing the Frontiers of Knowledge” which actually takes you to CERN where the various scientists involved in the cutting edge particle physics research conducted there are interviewed about the nature of their work. I found all this to be very interesting and informative and well worth a look. Also included is the featurette :Handling the Props” were the filmmakers discuss bringing the props used in the film to life. “Angels and Demons: The Full Story” is a complete behind the scenes look at the making of the film. In “This is an Ambigram”, you get to meet ambigram artist John Langdon who was the inspiration behind the Robert Langdon character created by Dan Brown.

The release is BD-LIve enabled and features movieIQ, which allows you to access continuously updated information on the cast and crew as well as explore relevant trivia about the production of the film, all of which is tied to particular scenes in the film. Also included is cinechat, which enables you to send on screen messages to your friends as you view the film together anywhere around the world. Also included is “The Path to Illumination” where you can follow Robert Langdon on his journey through Rome.

Final Thoughts

Angels and Demons is an excellent film that is a marked improvement over the prior film in the series, The Da Vinci Code. If you were a bit disappointed with The Da Vinci Code, please check out Angels and Demons. You will be glad you did. Highly Recommended.

Film

I will admit that I am a sucker for well paced action thrillers like Taken. The film stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA officer who describes himself as a preventer. He has spent a career overseas preventing bad things from happening, usually leaving death and destruction in his wake. However, his career came at a cost, as his wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) left him with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), depriving him of the close relationship every father wishes to have with their child. In order build a relationship with his daughter Kim, Bryan retires from the CIA and moves to Los Angeles where his ex-wife and daughter live with his ex-wife’s new husband, a very wealthy businessman.

After her 17th birthday, Kim comes to him and asks for permission to travel to Paris with her close friend Amanda for several weeks where they intend to stay with Amanda’s cousins at an upscale apartment in Paris, visiting the art galleries and the rest of Paris’ many cultural sites. While Bryan initially refuses to agree as he is concerned for Kim’s safety, he relents and agrees in part to help foster his relationship with Kim. However, Kim fails to tell her father is that rather than staying in Paris and visiting the sites, they intend to travel around Europe following the band U2. He doesn’t learn of this omission until they arrive at LAX for her flight, at which time it is too late to stop her.

Kim is in for a little surprise of her own as Amanda fails to tell Kim that her cousins will be in Spain and not Paris during their visit and that they will be in Paris and other cities in Europe alone. When Kim and Amanda arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris, a spotter for an Albanian mob spots them and convinces them to share a cab ride with them into Paris to their apartment where Kim and Amanda are kidnapped to be sold into the sex slave trade. While Amanda is being taken, Kim is on the phone with her father who learns of the abduction and who travels to Paris to rescue his daughter using all of his “special” skills. It is upon his arrival in Paris that the fur really starts to fly as Bryan begins his relentless and I mean relentless pursuit of his daughter’s kidnappers, leaving numerous dead bodies in his wake. Taken is a non stop action thriller that is both intelligent and thought provoking.

This release includes both the theatrical release as well as an unrated extended release which has some really graphic violence, including a particularly intense torture scene. If you are like me and enjoy an intelligently made action thriller, Taken is a must see. Highly recommended.

Video

Taken makes its debut on Blu-ray with a very good transfer which, while not the best I have seen on Blu-ray, is pretty darn good. The film features a somewhat varying color palette with some scenes, especially those set in LA and some interior shots, having a somewhat golden hue, especially the skin tones. The rest of the film has a more natural look that tends to look a tad on the cool side with more natural looking skin tones. Black levels are deep and solid giving the film a nice three dimensional image.

Where the film falls just a tad short of the very best looking films is in the level of overall clarity and detail. While fine detail such as facial features, skin textures and the like are very good, the film lacks the uber level of detail and clarity of the very best looking films. Don’t get me wrong, I found the level of detail, clarity and depth on this release to be very good but just a tad short of the very best looking films on Blu-ray, hence a rating one level below a perfect score. However, I have no doubt that fans of the film will be more than pleased with the picture on this release.

Audio

While the video on Taken falls just a smidge short of the very best looking Blu-ray releases, the audio track is up there with the very best. The sound design early in the film is nothing spectacular. The sound is smooth and open with very good transparency and imaging. Good use is made of the surrounds to provide a good sense of immersion, especially during the concert scene early in the film when Bryan is part of the security detail for a famous, presumably at the Staples Center. Dialogue is well recorded with excellent fidelity throughout the entire film.

The dialogue is well placed in the sound field, and never gets lost despite all the cacophony. However, once Bryan arrives in Paris and begins to pursue the kidnappers, the audio reproduction goes to another level entirely and is as relentless as the action. It is in these action sequences that the surrounds become alive, bathing the listener in a sea of sound, with effects coming from all around you. The sense of total immersion is fantastic. Dynamics are off the charts as well with deep pounding bass with as realistic gun shot and gun blasts as I have ever heard. The sound effects here are spectacular, from the kidney punches, gun shots and car chase scenes. The film that is reminds me the most of in this regard is The Bourne Ultimatum. The sound is that good. Pop this disc in, crank up the volume and enjoy!

Special Features

While I loved the film, I was less than enthused about the extras. Surprisingly, none of the extras are in HD and instead are presented in widescreen standard definition. The extras include an extended audio commentary with the director, Pierre Morel, cinematographer Michael Abramowicz and car stunt supervisor Michael Jullienne as well as an extended audio commentary with screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen.

Also included is Black Ops Field Manual which appears as a pop up screen during the unrated version of the film, providing intermittent information on black ops programs. I frankly could have done without it as it was cumbersome to read this information while trying to watch the film. I would suggest that you engage this feature when you watch the film for the second time. Also included is a featurette showing the film’s premiere gala in Paris and your standard making of featurette, with interviews with the filmmakers, cast and crew.

We also get a featurette which shows, side by side, the stunts as they appeared in the film as well as in video taken on set during the filming. The most interesting thing about this featurette is the difference in the look of the final film and the lighting and color shown in the comparison video footage. Looking at the two side by side, you can readily see the degree of post production tinkering that was done to give the film its final look. A digital copy is provided only of the unrated extended version of the film which is compatible with Macs and PCs. The release is not BD-Live enabled.

Final Thoughts

Taken is a well paced, taut and relentless action thriller which features very good video and reference level audio reproduction. Highly recommended.

Film 

Frankly, High school Musical 3 was better than I thought and at least as good as the original. The same cast of favorites from the first two films are present, Gabriella, Sharpay Troy, Trevor and Ryan along with some additions to the cast. This film finds them in their senior year dealing with more pressing issues such as going away to college and leaving the comfortable confines of high school, long time friends and embarking on the journey of life. It is often difficult at that age to have to make your own choices and follow your own path rather than the path set out for you by your parents or what you think you they will want you to do rather than what you think is best for you. In dealing with these issues, HSM3 is a little more mature than the first two. Yes, the same bouncy and rather formulaic and homogenous music that permeated the first two films is back here in spades, but the overall tone of the film is a tad deeper than the first making for a more enjoyable film. If you have middle school or teenaged kids as I do, you will no doubt be forced to watch this film. Don’t worry, you may even enjoy it.

Video 

HSM3 is encoded with AVC and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:85:1. At first glance, there is a lot to like about this transfer. The film features and bright and bold color palette with colors that are well saturated and natural looking, especially skin tones, which are quite pleasing to the eye. Black levels are good as well although not as deep and inky as the best looking Blu-Ray encodes I have seen, resulting in an image of good although hardly reference level depth and three dimensionality. However, while this encode does has its high points, it also has one rather large failing and that is with detail. The image simply lacks the level of detail that one would expect from such a new film. In particular, the texture of the actors’ skin seems rather devoid of texture, blemishes and the like, looking a bit smoothed over. The same is true for distant shots which lack the clarity of the better looking Blu-Ray releases, looking a tad hazy in comparison. It would be great had this release included the best of all worlds, bright and bold colors, deep blacks, top notch detail and clarity but it is what it is.

Audio 

HSM3 includes a lossless audio track encoded with DTS HD Master Audio in a 5.1 channel configuration. As was the case with the video, the audio encode has a lot going for it. Effective use is made of the surround speakers which are very active during the film, especially during the many musical numbers, filling the room with a wall of sound. Bass response is good as well, giving the musical numbers a solid foundation. I thought the overall sound quality of the film to be fairly good with good imaging and a nice sense of transparency. However, where the encode and the sound mix in general came up short was in the area of fidelity, especially the dialogue track which was a bit thin and harsh for my tastes. When cranked up to reference levels, the sound led rather quickly to listener fatigue, lacking the richness and smoothness that I have characteristic of most other DTS HD Master audio tracks I have listened to. This is not the track that you will want to crank up, no matter what your kids may think.

Special Features 

As one would expect, HSM3 is chock full of extras. However, for me, the most significant extra is the DVD edition of the film included with the release. This gives you the option of being able to play the Blu-Ray addition at home enjoying the high def picture and sound, while being able to take the DVD on the road with you and playing it on any portable DVD player or laptop. This is a bonus as it will enable you to watch the film on a bigger sized screen than you would be able to with the digital copy that is also included that is compatible with both Macs and PCs. It will also enable you to share the film with friends and play it anywhere where a DVD player is available. I wish that all Blu-ray releases, or at least major titles, where released with a DVD copy, to encourage more consumers to purchase the Blu-ray title and help grow the format. One of the features that I really enjoyed with the late HD DVD format was the combo disc which had a DVD copy on one side that you could play in any DVD player. The approach taken by Disney here seems to be the Blu-ray answer to the combo disc. Hopefully, it will be one of an increasing number of releases to feature this extra feature.

The rest of the extras are rather mundane, including a feature on Senior Awards and new cast profiles. Also included is a feature on cast goodbyes, deleted scenes, bloopers and a sing along. The release is also BD-Live enabled which includes a bonus photo feature. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of extras in general and prefer to watch and enjoy the film and leave the extras until later. None of the extras presented here really grabbed me. Then again, I am not in high school. Your kids may feel differently. However, the inclusion of the bonus DVD ediition of the movie fully justifies the score that I have given the extras in and of itself. Hopefully, we will see more of the same on more future releases.

Final Thoughts 

While I enjoyed the film, my opinion may have been skewed by the fact that watched it with my high school aged children. I would recommend the film for any families that are familiar with the first two films and enjoyed them. The rest of you may want to consider renting the film first before purchasing.

Film 

I guess by now you are already know I am not going to have many kind things to say about the film’s subject matter, but I feel the need to dissect it and discuss it constructively and unbiased.  It is after all, a retelling of one of the greatest American cinematic masterpieces of all-time, and for that reason alone I appreciate the film for what it is.  Thankfully I rejoice in the fact that I am not alone in my opinion.  Another Blu-ray reviewer, his name and website will remain anonymous, feels the exact same way I do about Peter Jackson’s King Kong.  I have not seen this movie since its initial release date back in 2005, but after viewing the film today on the Blu-ray format I can clearly see why this film is well-respected in the high-def community for a number of reasons.  With that being the case, let me just point out the obvious real quick.  This is not the definitive King Kong release.  I am sure we will see it re-released again on the Blu-ray format.  You can take that to the bank and cash it.  I’ll get to my reasons a little later on.

As I mentioned previously, King Kong is a 2005 remake of the 1933 film of the same name.  The film was directed by the Lord of the Rings‘ visionary, Peter Jackson, and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Andy Serkis.  King Kong was released on December 14, 2005 and earned lower box office sales than what was projected.  That did not stop the mighty Kong from becoming a “cash cow.”  By the end of its cinematic run, King Kong had earned $550 million worldwide, becoming the fourth-highest grossing movie in Universal Studios history.  It not only won over the critics but it also won Academy Awards for visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.  King Kong arrives on the Blu-ray format offering fans both the theatrical cut of 188 minutes or an extended cut clocking in at 200 minutes accessible via seamless branching.

I am not sure this even possible, but for anyone unfamiliar with the story of King Kong, the film takes place during the Great Depression in 1933.  Having just lost her job, struggling actress Ann Darro (Naomi Watts) is hired by troubled filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) for the lead role in his new motion picture.  Ann only signs on when she learns her favorite playwright, Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), is the screenwriter.  They all board the vessel SS Venture to embark on a voyage to film the movie that will save Denham’s career.  Ann and Jack end up falling in love aboard the ship as the unimaginable happens.  The ship and crew crash into the rocks of the legendary Skull Island.

For the next near two-hours of runtime, the film takes on quite a Jurassic Park-like punch.  Any Jurassic Park fan will find the price of admission here quite worth it  as we are taken on exhilarating two hour thrill ride in which the ship’s crew battle natives and dinosaurs long thought to be extinct, and eventually capture the beast known as Kong.  If you have been doing the math so far, then you are correct.  It takes two and a half hours until Kong is captured and brought back to the States, billed as “The Eighth Wonder of the World” appearing on Broadway.  This is the point in the film that just sickens me.  There is more than meets the eye about the story of King Kong.  Yes it is about a savage beast, but more importantly it is a love story between Kong and his captive on the island, Ann.  This is the part of the film that I think Peter Jackson excels at.  When they capture Kong on Skull Island and he looks into the eyes of Ann for the last time, that moment truly tugs at your heart and reminds me how sick the sport of hunting makes me.  The rest is cinematic history as we all know Kong escapes in New York City, destroys everything in his path in search of his one true love and then those bastards kill him.  I truly am in love with this Blu-ray release but my heart cannot take another bout of King Kong.  The story of King Kong always ends in the same tragic fashion; with the death of an innocent animal.

Since my viewing of King Kong on the Blu-ray format, I went back and I changed my film score from a 3 to a 4.  I cannot fault Peter Jackson for the tragic ending to this story.  What I can do is credit him, for Jackson brought emotion like none other into the movie.  I genuinely felt the love Kong had for Ann, and it pains me to no end how our human race has no understanding of love as they brutally execute the creature.  That is all I have to say about it.

Video 

I don’t even know where to begin here.  I truly am speechless. I have never seen video look so good on the Blu-ray format.  This has to easily be in the top ten of video transfers I have seen thus far on the young Blu-ray format.  Universal delivers with a breathtaking 1080P VC-1 video transfer presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.  No matter what your personal feelings are regarding the story of King Kong, there is no denying that this is truly reference grade material.  I have no flaws regarding the video quality, to even discuss here.  I cannot take away points for any of the bad special effects shots, as they do not take away anything from the quality of the transfer.  Even the one scene I had problems with in the theatres, regarding the running with the Brontosaurs, looked drastically improved on the Blu-ray presentation.  The blacks were solid without a single hint of grain, flesh tones were accurate and the colors were alive with vibrancy.  The jungle literally comes to life in your living room as the detail and three-dimensional qualities visually jump right off the screen.  I am afraid to say, but it really doesn’t get any better than this, at least I don’t think so.

Audio 

If the impeccable video quality of King Kong does not bring him to life in your living room, then the audio certainly will.  Universal scores a perfect 5-star grade with their DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track.  All I can really mutter is one word…Wow!  The surround track will rock your living room as you live the ensuing adventure that takes place on Skull Island and then later the tragic ending of Kong in New York City.  From dinosaurs rampaging through the jungle to airplanes soaring past from speaker to speaker, the landscape of this surround track is truly impressive.  The musical score is beautifully orchestrated as well.  I must admit that at first I thought the audio track was going to be weak, but once we crashed upon Skull Island, my rear speakers never took a break.  The low-end bass is dominant throughout as is the dialogue track.  I never once had to touch my volume levels and/or strain to hear a single spoken word.  Like I said in my last sentence of the video section, the same applies here.  Two thumbs up high in praise for the engineers over at Universal Studios.

Special Features 

Do you remember my comment about this not being the definitive version of King Kong on the Blu-ray format?  Well here is why…the supplements package.  The supplements package here is truly lacking.  This definitely may not be a deal breaker to me, but may be for those looking to upgrade their HD DVD version.  You know what I would say to them?  I would say HD DVD is a dead format, buy the Blu-ray and move on.  I should make mention that the audio commentary and Picture-in-Picture track is only available when viewing King Kong in the extended version.  My way of thinking is if you are going to watch a movie that is originally 188 minutes long, then what is an extra 12 minutes going to do to you.  Don’t be a sissy, watch the extended edition that only Blu-ray gives us in High-Definition.  Below are the special features you can expect to find on the King Kong Blu-ray release.

• Feature Commentary – The audio commentary track consists of director/writer Peter Jackson and co-writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens.
• U-Control – With Universal’s U-Control feature, you are able to watch Picture-in-Picture behind the scenes footage, cast and crew interviews and more while watching the film.  Another U-Control feature, entitled Art Galleries, allows you to explore the production of this film through conceptual artist renderings.
• BD-Live – Using your Internet-connected player, Universal provides a feature called My Scenes that allows you to pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage and share it with others via the web.

Final Thoughts 

You are probably reading this review and thinking what a hypocrite I am.  If you want to label me that, then by all means do so.  I purposely left my first couple introduction paragraphs intact for a reason.  I wrote the first paragraph and a half prior to watching this film as I already had a biased opinion formed against King Kong for obvious reasons stated above.  It was not until mid-way through my Blu-ray viewing of King Kong that I realized what a brilliant and emotional film this was, and try as I might, I could just not find it in me to trash talk this movie no longer.  Even special effects shots I had problems with in the theatre were rectified here on the Blu-ray presentation.  Unless you truly hate the story of King Kong, like I thought I did, then there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that this film should not be part of your Blu-ray collection.  Run, do not walk, but run to your local retail store or online presence of choice and grab this timeless masterpiece and enjoy it in all it glorious 1080P splendor.  You will not be sorry.  This is truly a reference disc to show off to family and friends for years to come.  With that being said, ironically, I promised this disc to the owner of Into The Blu after I reviewed it because I knew I would want nothing to do with it.  It gives me great pleasure to report that after my Blu-ray viewing today I am one click away from ordering a copy for myself right now on Amazon.com.  What are you waiting for?  Bring King Kong home today!

I hope you enjoyed my sometimes-contradicting review of Universal’s King Kong Blu-ray release.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.  I look forward to receiving feedback from my readers.

King Kong will be 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 for your support!

]]> http://intotheblu.com/2009/01/king-kong/feed/ 5 http://intotheblu.com/2008/07/drillbit-taylor-extended-survival-edition/ http://intotheblu.com/2008/07/drillbit-taylor-extended-survival-edition/#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:11:03 +0000 Gino Sassani http://intotheblu.com/?p=594

I don’t know what it is about Owen Wilson, but whatever film he’s in, he seems to be playing himself. The soft spoken rather glib personality has taken him places over the years, but you have to ask yourself if he’s ever going to actually take any risks. Drillbit Taylor is no more a stretch for the actor than any of these other roles. What that means for us, the viewers, is that we’re sure to get a solid and quite believable performance. We know that we’ll end up warming to Wilson’s character in spite of the various flaws we are apt to discover along the way. If Wilson does anything well, it’s redemption. You get the impression that a lot of Wilson’s lines are his own. Whether this is simply a case of a writer having great feel for his star or Wilson changing things up is anyone’s guess, but I’d put my money down on the latter.

It’s the first day of high school for Wade (Hartley) and Ryan (Gentile). They are your typical geek kids. Ryan’s a short fat kid who wants to be a rapper, and Wade is tall and skinny. Both have low self esteem and virtually no social skills, so they have reason to be worried. Things go terribly wrong from the first day when they step in to stop the school bully from picking on another unfortunate nerd. From that moment on they become the personal punching bag for Terry (Frost). Sick of the torture, they place an ad to hire a bodyguard. Drillbit Taylor is homeless. He panhandles by a freeway exit and lives on the beach. He’s also getting tired of how he’s being treated and wants to make enough money to go to Canada where he thinks he can get land and cash from the government to settle. To get that money, he answers the kids’ ad and takes on the role of their bodyguard and trainer with eyes on just ripping the kids off long enough to get out of Dodge. Along the way he has a crisis of conscience and decides the actually help the kids out. Mayhem ensues.

Drillbit Taylor presents itself as a family/kids’ film. I get that impression from the My Bodyguard ripped off story and the typical kids’ film stereotypes where most adults are idiots and the nerd triumphs in the end. The real problem with this family/kids’ movie setup is that you really might want to think twice before setting your child down in front of the film. If that’s the audience director Steven Brill, was aiming for, he was irresponsible in the amount of violence and bad language in the movie. I’m not a prude, and I certainly do not believe that films should be censored. I do believe that a filmmaker has some accountability when he is targeting children. The real shame is that this film doesn’t need all the F bombs and violence. The idea is brought across much better when none of those distractions are dominating the scene. There is no question that much of that material here is gratuitous.

The best part of this movie is the cast by far. Beyond Owen Wilson, the kid leads are pretty good. I was particularly impressed with Troy Gentile who plays Ryan. The kid’s got a heck of a range. He appears to be having a lot of fun here, and his facial expressions are often priceless. Another strong supporting nod has to go to Danny McBride who plays Drillbit’s homeless friend, Don, who acts as the villain of sorts here. He might be a one dimensional character, but it plays well against Wilson, and the two share a rather nice dynamic that keeps the film interesting even as it goes over the top throughout most of its running time. Nods also should go out to Alex Frost who plays the psychotic bully, Terry. This guy is not your average, run of the mill, everyday high school bully. His pranks border on the sadistic, and he’d likely do well as an interrogator for a country without any scruples over pesky torture regulations. Frost really delivers. Either this kid is sick, or he’s one heck of an actor. Until now I thought the best screen bully had been Zack Ward, recently of Transformers fame, as Scott Farkus, the kid with the nasty smile on A Christmas Story. There’s even a cameo by Adam Baldwin wearing the same jacket he wore in My Bodyguard. At least these guys aren’t trying to hide the fact that they’re repeating that film.

Some of this material also appears in my Upcomingdiscs.com review of the standard DVD.

Video

Drillbit Taylor is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The VC-1 1080p transfer is quite average. There’s an unnecessary overuse of color correction on this film. Obviously it’s intended, but I have to say it makes the film look wacky to me. Everything is incredibly oversaturated. Colors are bright and clean but far from realistic. The film is often excessively dark, even while depicting Drillbit out in a sunny afternoon at the beach. There is also an unexpected lack of detail for an HD transfer. Perhaps it’s part of the huge amount of processing, but I found everything to have a smooth glassy texture that tended to obscure any real detail definition. Face close-ups look heavily processed and take away a bit from Wilson’s ability to wear his emotions out on his sleeve. Black levels were good and fairly constant, but again not what I expected out of an HD presentation. I also watched the standard DVD and was surprised to find little difference beyond the deeper black levels. The bit rate was often below 30 mbps but was fairly constant throughout.

Audio

The Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 track quite uninspiring to say the least. The film spends almost its entire time deeply mired in the mid ranges. Never does the film approach anything dynamic. Surrounds are often wasted with almost nothing to do. Dialog is there were you want it to be, but the good points end suddenly there. Sure, there was an occasional ambient sound to be heard, but mostly the presentation was quite droll and claustrophobic. My sub appeared to be taking a nap most of the time, and it seemed rude to awaken it for such unremarkable fare.

There is an Audio Commentary with Steven Brill and Kristofor Brown. The two are joined at points by the kids, which ramps up the fun value of an otherwise stale commentary. Turns out they’re talking without actually seeing the DVD release. A little strange.

Special Features

All of the features appear in HD.

It sure looks like this disc is loaded with extras, but most of these features are 2-3 minutes each. It sure would have been nice to just put them together. I know there are royalty issues, but this is too much.

• Deleted Scenes: There are 19 scenes in all, tallying about 23 minutes. You have the play all option. Mostly these are extended scenes of something already there in some aspect or another. Turns out there’s a right way and a wrong way to throw a guy off a roof. Who would have thought?

• The Writers Get A Chance To Talk: Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen talk by phone while stills from the picture roll through in a slide show format. They have a few laughs, but never really take advantage of the chance to get into the film in any depth. I was a little surprised to hear during this 14 minute conversation that the film was originally written to be even more violent and profane.

• Lin – O – Rama: This is a lot like deleted scenes, but you can call this section of a little over 4 minutes deleted lines.

• Panhandling: More footage of Wilson out on the street asking for money at the exit ramp.

• Gag Reel: As if the entire film wasn’t a long gag reel, you get 4 minutes of flubs and tomfoolery.

• Kids On The Loose: Very much like a gag reel, this is just under 3 minutes and depicts the kids clowning around on set.

• Directing Kids: Director Steven Brill appears to be joking about how much of a chore it was dealing with the kids, but I get the impression this was not all tongue in cheek.

• Super Billy: Billy O’Neil is in the spotlight here. He plays the wisecracking kid with the video phone taking footage during the film.

• Bully: This 3 minute bit focuses on the film’s bullies.

• Bodyguard: Here we see some of the actors in character who played the applicants for the job.

• Trading Punches: This under two minute piece takes a look as the kids perform the scene where they punch each other to get used to taking hits before the big fight.

• Rap-Off: Troy Gentile is coached in preparation for his rap scene.

• Sprinkler Day: Another 3 minute bit. This one takes us behind the wet set during the sprinkler scene.

• Filis Fight: The climatic rumble is the subject of this 7 minute feature.

• The Life Of Don: McBride stays in character for this fluff footage of Don the homeless guy’s philosophy on life. It’s only 2 minutes.

• The Real Don: As if the last piece wasn’t enough, we get another with McBride as a 6 minute behind the scenes video journal type of thing.

• Trailers

Final Thoughts

Owen Wilson’s personal life has been very much in the news these days. First it was this weird fascination we seem to have for celebrities and who’s dating who. Then it was his suicide attempt that made headlines. Perhaps Drillbit Taylor was Wilson’s way of just getting back up on the horse. I’m sure many were looking at his portrayal trying to find some sign of the troubled actor in the tabloids. It really is hard to be a celebrity, I suppose. Wilson may not have chosen a great role to get back out there, but give him some credit for being willing to show up again. It might be something akin to “Unauthorized Heroism”.