Film  

The Way Back is a film from Peter Weir, that tells the tale of a group or men that escape a Soviet prison camp in Siberia circa 1941 and have to walk over the harsh Siberian landscape to freedom. The film has a quite a cast with Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess and Saoirse Ronan in the lead roles along with Colin Farrell. The film is very authentic looking and captures the pure squalor of life (or is it really near death) in a Soviet Gulag in the frozen environs of Siberia.

The men that escape are from all walks of life and nationality. One is an American ex-pat, the other a Polish man who was sent in on trumped up charges of spying, based on a forced “confession” of his wife. Another is a hardened Russian criminal who really should have been sent to a prison. The rest were mostly innocents, those the Stalin regime felt were “undesirables”.

We follow these men on their perilous journey of 4,500 miles through a Siberian winter and into the deserts of Mongolia and then China to their arrival in India and freedom. Needless to say, most of the men and one women they picked up along the way didn’t make it. The film is based on actual events, namely the lives of three actual men who arrived in India in 1941 after trekking over the Himalayas, after escaping from a Gulag. The group had no reason to trust each other but learned over time to do so as it was required for them all to survive.

The film is beautifully written and filmed and features top notch performances of the entire cast. The film can be intense, moving and at all times, very compelling. The Way Back gives us a glimpse of what it was like for these brave individuals to try to persevere over such daunting terrain on foot and with precious little food or water and shows the triumph of the human spirit. The Way Back is one fine film and clearly a labor of love for the entire cast and crew and is well worth a look. The Way back is highly recommended.

Video  

All in all I was quite impressed with the video presentation on this release. The film features excellent blacks and very nice detail. The film’s color palette is a bit skewed to the color cyan, with the film having a cool blue look about it and is most noticeable in the scenes set in Siberia due to the snow. Overall, the film has a very nice look and has a nice sense of depth and clarity, despite the often dark and gloomy conditions is depicts. Depth, clarity and detail are all very good, even during the dark and night time scenes that maintain their sharpness, detail and depth, and rarely look a tad soft as one sees far too often with these types of scenes.

The film is remarkably free of digital noises that can often plague films as dark as this one often is. As one would expect for a new film, the print used in this release is in pristine condition with no evidence of dirt or scratches visible. All in all, this is a fine encode and is one that should thrill fans of the film.

Audio  

All in all, I found the audio here to be every bit as good as the video. The audio features excellent overall fidelity and sounds full and smooth with near reference levels of transparency and imaging. The dialogue track is beautifully recorded and is always very clear and distinct, even during the scenes that were set in blizzard conditions.

The film is very dialogue driven and while the surrounds are not used very aggressively throughout the entire film, they are used very effectively during the entire film to provide a great sense of room ambiance. However, when the surrounds are used very aggressively, such as during the blizzard sequences, they are employed beautifully, with the sound of the wind and snow whipping around the room sounding very realistic.

Another example of when the surrounds are used very well is during the scenes set in the mine, which provide a realistic sense of what is would be like to be in one of those mines, at least in terms of sound The overall dynamics are near reference quality as well which is most apparent during the blizzard sequences. I found the musical score to sound exceptional as well. All in all, this is a great sounding release as well and is a perfect compliment to the top notch video presentation.

Special Features  

The only extra included here besides a trailer for the film is a 30 minute featurette about the making of the film featuring interviews with director Peter Weir as well as the cast. The featurette is presented in widescreen standard definition and does provide a nice glimpse behind the scenes into how and where the film was shot, although I would have preferred had the piece tells us more about the actual real life story upon which the film is based. I guess that is what the internet is for.

Final Thoughts  

The Way Back is a beautifully made and totally compelling film that is fully worthy of a much wider audience than it has received to date and is highly recommended.

Film 

Every Day is a film that centers around the life of a stressed out family, trying to deal with life, work and end of live issues. The film centers around Ned (Liev Schreiber) who has been married to his wife Jeannie (Helen Hunt) for 20 years. They have two boys, a senior in high school who has come out as gay (Erza Miller) and a younger son in middle school. Ned has a hard time accepting that his oldest son is gay. His life is further complicated by the fact that he is a writer on a rather shocking and over the top cable TV show and has a crazy demanding person for a boss. To follow that, his wife travels to Michigan and returns home with her dying father Ernie (Brian Dennehy) in tow who is best described as a terribly depressed and unloving man who is simply impossible to live with, even when in full health.

All of these factors work together to stress out the entire family. Ned and Jeannie’s youngest son is afraid to sleep without the lights on. Jeannie is stressed out by her father’s sour disposition and the demands that caring for him places on her. Ned is stressed out by his son being gay and wanting to go to a gay prom with college students, all the while worrying, quite correctly as if turns out, that his son will fall in with the wrong people.

Ned’s work life is further entangled by the fact that his is keeping his son’s sexual orientation from his work colleagues and his demanding boss, who happens to be gay himself although quite open about it. All of these stresses also cause Ned to think that he needs some fun in his life and he begins a fling with his sexy co-worker Robin (Carla Gugino), which works to bring Ned to his senses.

Every Day is a well written and acted film (although a bit short clocking in at 93 minutes) about life’s every day struggles and demands and was quite enjoyable. I hope you will like it too. It sure deserves a look. Recommended as a rental only.

Video  

Every Day is a small low budget film so I was not expecting a film with reference video. I was therefore not disappointed with the video which is solid but far from spectacular. The film has a nice and natural looking color palette with good but hardly reference blacks. The encode features well preserved film grain but is inconsistent a bit in terms of detail and clarity. At times, I found the image to be quite detailed, sharp and clear and at times, a bit on the soft side.

While black levels were mostly good, there were some scenes, especially some night time interior scenes, where I found the blacks to be rather grey in appearance. Being a new film, I was not surprised not to see any technical issues with the film itself which appeared to be free of dirt or scratches and in excellent shape. I also did not detect any evidence of the application of significant digital noise reduction or edge enhancement. Other than the varying levels of detail and somewhat inconsistent blacks, I found Every Day to be a pleasing looking film but unfortunately not quite worthy of a 4 star rating.

Audio  

The audio on this release was just about what I expected it to be. The overall fidelity of the sound is good and the dialogue track well recorded and placed right in the middle of the sound field. The sound design is rather basic and rather front heavy, with the surrounds engaged mostly for the reproduction of music and some minimal sound effects. This is far from a dynamic sound mix but on the whole, rather pleasant sounding and appropriate, given the subject matter of the film.

Special Features  

The extras are rather pedestrian, consisting of several deleted scenes as well as interviews with the cast and crew. featured among the interviewees are writer and director Richard Levine ( who also wrote and produced Nip/Tuck and on whose actual family this film is based), Liev Schreiber, Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy and Erza MIller, explaining their fondness for the film. The release is not BD-Live enabled and does not include a digital copy and is something of a bare boned release.

Final Thoughts  

While not exactly a blockbuster and not featuring reference audio or video, I found Every Day to be a worthwhile film about the stresses of every day life and a film certainly worth a look. Recommended as a rental only.

Film

Yes, I have given this show 5 stars out of 5. Yes I know that Broadway musicals are not everyone’s cup of tea. However, this show is so good that it is worth the attention of all music lovers. The show was filmed in March 2010 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York and is a celebration of the works of Stephen Sondheim, one of the great composers of music for the stage, who turned 80 this year. The show is hosted by David Hyde Pierce of Fraser fame and features the New York Philharmonic conducted by Sondheim’s long time collaborator, Paul Gemignani.

As one would expect with a tribute, especially someone of Stephen Sondheim’s stature and importance, the show is filled with performances by some of Broadway’s biggest stars, including Laura Benanti, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Cervers, Victoria Clark, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Joanna Gleason and Nathan Gunn. The show features 24 musical performances that graced such Sondheim works as West Side Story, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Hot Spot, Into The Woods, Merrily We Role Along, Sunday In The Park With George, the film Reds, Saturday Night, Company and A Little Night Music. The New York Philharmonic as well as each and every performer are in top form. The show is one performance after another with little in the way of speeches and the 1 hour and 55 minute show just flies by.

Accolades are not really necessary. The music speaks for itself. If you are fan of Broadway, this is a must have release. If you are not or not that familiar with the works of Stephen Sondheim, but love music, you really owe it to yourself to check out this release. I can give it my highest of recommendations.

Video 

Simply put, the video presentation on this release is super and features some of the best HD video footage of a live performance I have ever seen. The picture is essentially flawless. It is crystal clear with excellent level of detail. Tight and distant shows are all razor sharp. The only visible video noise is present in fleeting shots of Stephen Sondheim in the audience, which is to be expected given that they are shooting video into a darkened space. The video features some of the most natural looking skin tones that I have seen on video with deep and inky blacks. There is not even a hint of black crush. Just take a look at the detail in the men’s tuxes. The video presentation on this release should be at the top of anyone’s list and it’s of reference quality. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

Audio 

As good as the video is, the audio may even be better. If I had only one word to describe the audio, it would be sublime. The New York Philharmonic sounds superb, with silky smooth strings and deep and tight bass. The level of depth in the sound field is astonishing. The vocal tracks are captured with a stunning sense of realism. The surround speakers are engaged throughout the performance, providing an incredible sense of the acoustical environment in Avery Fisher Hall. The sound provided is truly that of a live orchestra in a very real space. If you are as passionate about music and recorded sound as I am, this release is a must have.

Special Features 

There are no extras provided with this release, Zip, none, nada. The performances are so good, it doesn’t really matter.

Final Thoughts 

To say that I was impressed with this release would be an understatement. The performances, the video and the audio are all fantastic. I give this release my very highest of recommendations.

Show 

If I would have to describe Janeane Garofalo’s comedy routine here, I would have to say mildly amusing. The performances certainly has some bright spots, especially her take on the male-female sexual dynamic, but I found parts of the routine to be not all that funny. I was also surprised that the show featured very little cutting political humor, given her well know reputation in that field. The performance was shot in Seattle (duh!) and features her commentary on pop culture and sexual relationships. It is certainly full of what we normally expect from most comedy performances, namely the F word and edginess, but not full of many belly laughs. Her act has been done by many comics over the years, much in the way of George Carlin, but without his true comic genius. if you are a fan, I am sure that you will be more than pleased by the material here. The rest of you may want to skip this one entirely. rated as for fans only.

Video 

While I found the video quality here to be good, it is a bit of a mixed bag. The tight shots look great, featuring deep blacks, spot on skin tones, excellent levels of detail, clarity and a nice bright and bold color palette. That all changes a bit from the camera shots that is pulled back a tad, losing some of the overall detail and clarity that make the tighter shots so appealing. Even the black leaves suffer a bit. In fact, the farther back the camera pulls or is positioned, the worse the PQ.

From the perspective of an audience member about half way back in the crowd, the image becomes a tad on the fuzzy side, losing much of the crispness and clarity of the tighter shots. Fortunately, those shots are in the minority. As far as PQ is concerned, the greatest offender are the shots taken from behind the stage looking out into the audience which are no better than DVD quality and hardly look HD at all. Considering that the PQ ranges from a 3.5 to a 4.5, I thought that a composite score of 4, factoring in the length of the various camera angles to be just about right.

Audio 

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing really wrong with the fidelity of the audio on this release. Not surprisingly, there is little in the way of a sound field here. Just one mike and some other mikes to pick up ambient sounds. Accordingly, the audio is very front heavy, basically almost stereo, with a bit of hall ambiance mixed in from the rears, giving just a hint of the overall room acoustics. The audio was just about one would expect from a comedy performance in a small hall.

Special Features 

The bonus features here are two short filmed comedy bits, the first entitled “Janeane On Pets” and Congressman’s Dream”. The second of these bits is mildly humorous and is the most obvious political comedy featured on the release, making fun of a conservative congressman. The first, at first glance, explores Janeane’s charity in taking pets from two of her fans into her home until you find out just what these “pets” are. To say that I found this bit to be a bit disturbing would be an understatement. I won’t say any more so as to not spoil the “surprise”. That is it for the extras.

Final Thoughts 

I would think that fans of Janeane Garofalo will be pleased with this release. If you aren’t, you may want to skip this one entirely or at least, check it out on the basis of a rental only. Recommended for fans only.

Film 

$5 A Day is a nice entertaining film about a a father and son trying to come to terms with their difficult past together. I seems that the father Nat (Christopher Walken), is a con man whose antics resulted in the imprisonment of his son Flynn (Allessandro Nivola) for fraud. Needless to say, that put a strain on their relationship to the point that Flynn never wanted to communicate with his father again. It seems that Flynn would bounce from job to job, never being able to put down roots.

At the same time Flynn lost his job, his father contacted him to tell him that he was terminally ill and asked that he come to Atlantic City to visit him. As Flynn had nothing better to do and given that his father paid his way, he went. When he arrived, he thought that his father was scamming him as he appeared fine. His father told him he needed Flynn to drive him to New Mexico for some cancer treatment as his illness effected his eyesight and his ability to drive. Nat told Flynn that the trip would be free as he had arranged a route that would result in free gas, free food and free lodging spending no more than $5 a day and off they went.

While on the trip, we are shown Nat’s gift for the con and how engaging a character he really was. On the trip, Nat opens up to Flynn as they discuss their past relationship and Flynn finds himself longing for a closer relationship with his father. Along the way they meet Flynn’s old baby sitter, Dolores ( a very engaging and alluring Sharon Stone), who it seems has picked up the gift of the con from Nat.

In the interviews that accompany the film, the director, Nigel Cole notes that he likes to make films that are funny but that can make you cry as well as laugh. He has such a film in $5 A Day. The film is very well acted and well paced and is funny, clever, poignant and moving. I enjoyed this film and think you will as well. Give it a look, at least on the basis of a rental.

Video 

I must say that I was very disappointed in the video quality at the beginning of the film. The opening part of the film has an image that can best be described as soft, fuzzy and drab, lacking much in the way of detail and mediocre blacks and warrants a score of 3.5 at best. About 10 minutes or so into the film, things change for the better and continue to improve to the point that the film’s video quality is fully deserving of a 4.5 star rating at the end, hence an average score of 4.

I am sure that there will be some that are put off by the fact that the film has heavy grain throughout. However, the grain is well preserved and I was not able to detect any obvious evidence of the application of digital noise reduction. This is not surprising given the level of film grain present. After the issues I had with the early part of the film as noted above, I was more than pleased with the remainder, which had a very natural (with the exception of a very tan Sharon Stone) if a bit muted color palette, good blacks and very nice levels of detail. The clarity and detail at the end of the film were excellent, with fine facial details clearly delineated. Overall, the video on the film is worthy of a solid 4 star rating, even considering the missteps at the beginning.

Audio 

The audio on this release is at times surprisingly punchy. The film is clearly dialogue driven and rather front heavy. Given the nature of the film as well as its small budget, I was not expecting a state of the art sound design and was therefore not disappointed in the sound. The sound that is present has very good fidelity. The dialogue track is well recorded and always intelligible. The surrounds are used occasionally but hardly aggressively. I noted earlier that the sound was surprisingly punchy. I use this phrase as the music and some of the effects have excellent bass and sound fantastic and much better than I would have expected. it is clear to me that whoever mixed this film cares about music and its reproduction. While not an immersive sound design, the audio here is more than acceptable and worthy of a 4 star rating, given its overall fidelity.

Special Features 

Given the low budge nature of the film I was not expecting much in the way of extras and hence was not disappointed by the extras included here. The only significant extra here is a set of interviews with director Nigel Cole and the cast, discussing the film, their roles in it and what is was like working with each other. While most of the cast is featured, it is surprising that an interview with the lead, Christopher Walken, was not included. After all, he is the star and is the one actor who was mentioned so often by the rest of the cast. I found this omission to be quite curious. Not surprisingly, the interviews are presented in standard definition only. Nevertheless, they are worth a look. The only other extras included are still galleries and a trailer for the film. The release does not contain a digital copy and is not BD-Live enabled

Final Thoughts 

$5 A Day is fine film and is one that deserves a look. It may be a bit too obscure a film for a blind buy for most but is definitely worth a look on the basis of a rental.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video

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

Audio

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

Special Features

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

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

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

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

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

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

Theatrical Trailer

Final Thoughts

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