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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol
On assignment in Budapest to intercept a courier working for a person of interest code-named "Cobalt", IMF agent Trevor Hanaway is killed by assassin Sabine Moreau. Hanaway's team leader, Jane Carter, and newly promoted field agent Benji Dunn extract Ethan Hunt and Hunt's source Bogdan from a Moscow prison. Hunt is recruited to lead Carter and Dunn on mission to infiltrate secret Moscow Kremlin archives and locate files identifying Cobalt. An unknown person broadcasts across the IMF frequency, alerting the Russians to Hunt's team. Although Hunt, Dunn and Carter escape, a bomb destroys the Kremlin. Russian agent Sidirov accuses Hunt of masterminding the attack.
Hunt escapes and is extracted from the city by the IMF. The Russians have branded the attack as an act of war by the US. The US president activates "Ghost Protocol", a black operation contingency that disavows the entire IMF. Hunt and his team are to take the blame for the attack. However, the IMF will allow Hunt and his team to escape from government custody so that they may operate to track down Cobalt. However, before Hunt can escape, the IMF's secretary is killed by Russian security forces led by Sidirov, leaving Hunt and IMF analyst William Brandt to find their own way out.
The team identifies Cobalt as Kurt Hendricks, a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist. Believing the weak must die for the strong to survive, he bombed the Kremlin and acquired a Russian nuclear launch-control device, and now needs its codes from the Budapest courier in order to launch a nuclear missile at America.
The exchange between Moreau and Hendricks' right-hand man, Wistrom, is due to take place at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. There Hunt's team-members separately convince Moreau and Winstrom that they have made the exchange with one another. However, Moreau identifies Brandt as an agent. While Hunt chases Winstrom — only to realize Winstrom is actually Hendricks in disguise as he escapes with the codes — Carter detains Moreau. Moreau attempts to kill the inexperienced Dunn, and Carter throws her out a window to her death. Brandt accuses Carter of compromising the mission for revenge against Moreau, but Hunt accuses Brandt of keeping secrets from them, as he has displayed fighting skills atypical of an analyst. While Hunt seeks more information from Bogdan, Brandt admits he was assigned as security detail to Hunt and his wife Julia while on assignment in Croatia six years ago. Julia was killed by a Serbian hit squad, leading to Ethan pursuing and killing them before being caught by the Russians and sent to prison.
Bogdan and his arms-dealer cousin inform Hunt that Hendricks will be traveling to Mumbai. Hendricks facilitated the sale of a defunct Soviet military satellite to Indian telecommunications entrepreneur Brij Nath, and this satellite could be used to transmit missile-firing instructions. While Brandt and Dunn infiltrate the server room to take the satellite offline, Carter, at a party, gets Nath to reveal the satellite override code. But Hendricks has anticipated Hunt's plan and takes Nath's servers offline before sending a signal from a television broadcasting tower to a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific. The submarine fires on San Francisco. Hunt goes after Hendricks and the launch device while Carter attempts to bring the broadcast station back online with the help of Dunn and Brandt. Hunt and Hendricks fight over the launch-control device before Hendricks jumps to his death with it. Winstrom ambushes Brandt but is killed by Dunn, allowing Brandt to restore power to the servers and enabling Hunt to deactivate the missile before it can detonate. He is confronted by Sidirov, who sees that he has stopped the missile, proving that the IMF is innocent in the Kremlin bombing.
The team reconvenes several weeks later, where Hunt issues them new assignments. Brandt refuses to accept the mission, but Hunt reveals that Julia's death was staged. Realizing he could not protect her forever, he arranged to fake her death, using it as a pretext to infiltrate a Russian prison and get close to Bogdan, an IMF source on Hendricks. Relieved of his guilt, Brandt accepts the mission given to him while Hunt watches Julia from afar. Watching her go, he listens to a mission briefing of his own before disappearing into the night.
Hunt escapes and is extracted from the city by the IMF. The Russians have branded the attack as an act of war by the US. The US president activates "Ghost Protocol", a black operation contingency that disavows the entire IMF. Hunt and his team are to take the blame for the attack. However, the IMF will allow Hunt and his team to escape from government custody so that they may operate to track down Cobalt. However, before Hunt can escape, the IMF's secretary is killed by Russian security forces led by Sidirov, leaving Hunt and IMF analyst William Brandt to find their own way out.
The team identifies Cobalt as Kurt Hendricks, a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist. Believing the weak must die for the strong to survive, he bombed the Kremlin and acquired a Russian nuclear launch-control device, and now needs its codes from the Budapest courier in order to launch a nuclear missile at America.
The exchange between Moreau and Hendricks' right-hand man, Wistrom, is due to take place at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. There Hunt's team-members separately convince Moreau and Winstrom that they have made the exchange with one another. However, Moreau identifies Brandt as an agent. While Hunt chases Winstrom — only to realize Winstrom is actually Hendricks in disguise as he escapes with the codes — Carter detains Moreau. Moreau attempts to kill the inexperienced Dunn, and Carter throws her out a window to her death. Brandt accuses Carter of compromising the mission for revenge against Moreau, but Hunt accuses Brandt of keeping secrets from them, as he has displayed fighting skills atypical of an analyst. While Hunt seeks more information from Bogdan, Brandt admits he was assigned as security detail to Hunt and his wife Julia while on assignment in Croatia six years ago. Julia was killed by a Serbian hit squad, leading to Ethan pursuing and killing them before being caught by the Russians and sent to prison.
Bogdan and his arms-dealer cousin inform Hunt that Hendricks will be traveling to Mumbai. Hendricks facilitated the sale of a defunct Soviet military satellite to Indian telecommunications entrepreneur Brij Nath, and this satellite could be used to transmit missile-firing instructions. While Brandt and Dunn infiltrate the server room to take the satellite offline, Carter, at a party, gets Nath to reveal the satellite override code. But Hendricks has anticipated Hunt's plan and takes Nath's servers offline before sending a signal from a television broadcasting tower to a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific. The submarine fires on San Francisco. Hunt goes after Hendricks and the launch device while Carter attempts to bring the broadcast station back online with the help of Dunn and Brandt. Hunt and Hendricks fight over the launch-control device before Hendricks jumps to his death with it. Winstrom ambushes Brandt but is killed by Dunn, allowing Brandt to restore power to the servers and enabling Hunt to deactivate the missile before it can detonate. He is confronted by Sidirov, who sees that he has stopped the missile, proving that the IMF is innocent in the Kremlin bombing.
Monday, December 5, 2011
New Years Eve 12/9/11
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Review Of Hugo
mysterious mechanical man with the ability to write and draw holds a place of honor in Hugo, Martin Scorsese's exquisite adaptation of Brian Selznick's magical, award-winning children's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. And the author's description of the automaton's construction — ''A cascade of perfect movements, with hundreds of brilliantly calibrated actions'' — is an equally good way to describe Scorsese's achievement in making art that uses the most advanced of technology to sing a song of love to the movies, from the very dawn of the medium. For a lay audience, the result is a haunting, piquant melodrama about childhood dreams and yearnings, enhanced with a pleasant survey course in early film history. (It made me cry, without guilt.) For more advanced cinephiles, the result is a cabinet of wonders in which each shot, each experiment in 3-D perspective, and, indeed, each scene in the story's progression can be linked to what we already know about Scorsese, his work, and his
well-known cinematic passions. A niggler
might note that every element is at times
an eensy bit too perfectly meshed and worked over. Today, I don't feel like niggling.
Hugo is played with jolting melodramatic pathos — and the genetic blessing of bottomless, pale blue eyes — by Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas). He is a sad young orphan who keeps the clocks running in a bustling 1930s Parisian train station patrolled by a limping gendarme. (As hammed up by Sacha Baron Cohen, the character constitutes one of the movie's few tonal dissonances.) Hugo is also the patient tinkerer who works after hours in his clock-tower hideaway repairing the automaton, gear by gear. Then a bitter train-station toy-shop keeper (Ben Kingsley at his best) and his intrepid goddaughter (Let Me In's Chloë Grace Moretz, kick-ass) set the boy on a path of discovery. Hugo both ticks and flies by, a marvel meant to be pulled from the cabinet and enjoyed.by lisa schwarzbaum
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Conan The Barbarian 3D Review Blu-ray
For a film released in 3D, director Marcus Nispel's Conan the Barbarian is as flat, lifeless and one-dimensional as big screen fantasy actioners come. In his review of the 2D Blu-ray release, my colleague Jeff Kauffman had this to say: "The problem with this Conan is whether or not you've watched the Ah-nold version, you've seen this film before. It takes about every well-worn cliché and mixes them together in a none too satisfying stew that is bloody, gruesome and uninvolving. All of that said, the film is absolutely sumptuous to watch, and there's little doubt that Nispel, despite having made a career out of critically panned remakes, has an incredible eye. It's hard to outright recommend a movie this uninspired and rote, but if you're interested in eye candy with some decent special effects and a boisterous soundtrack, this might make for a decent evening's rental." My review, though, will focus primarily on the the film's post-conversion, the subsequent 3D experience and the 3D presentation featured on this release.
The assault on Blu-ray 3D is as sporadic and uneventful as the film itself, although it's important to note that the vast majority of the issues that plague its 1080p/MVC-encoded presentation trace back to the film's post-conversion and source, not Lionsgate's video transfer. Some exceedingly minor banding and ringing are the only two knocks against the encode, and neither one is problematic or distracting enough to warrant anything more than a shoulder-shrug and a passing mention. No, the real disappointment comes when you slip on your 3D glasses and realize you're in for yet another uninspired, underwhelming post-conversion misfire. Few shots pop and even fewer scenes exhibit the level of convincing depth and dimensionality that might have been if Conan were shot in native 3D. Swords thrust into the foreground, metal claws extend toward the viewer, horses charge, villagers flee and warriors leap into the fray... so how is it that so little pierces or penetrates the screen? The film's sand-stripped sepia tones, stormy amber skies and shadowcast lairs foil the 3D conversion's best efforts, darkness continually flattens the image, and the tint of the 3D glasses only exacerbates the dullness and dimness that sometimes lords over the experience. It isn't a complete loss -- thanks in large part to an excellent technical transfer that preserves every nick, scar and bloody bit of bone Nispel has to give -- but it is wholly unremarkable. I came away with the distinct feeling that I had just watched a 2D film while wearing 3D glasses. Oh, there are sequences that look much better than others, chief among them a high noon attack on a band of slavers and a short sun-bathed jaunt at sea, but there are also sequences that come apart at the seams; chaotic fights and chases that only made the conversion artists' work that much more difficult. (And, in some cases, near-impossible.)
depth isn't absent, just average. Dimensionality isn't hampered, just slightly unnatural. The downside to many of these conversion efforts is that their quality relies so heavily on the time, budget and work schedule their artists are handed. Conan doesn't look like a 3D rush-job, but it also doesn't look like it was given everything it needed to rise above the competition. Fortunately, other aspects of the presentation fare better. Thomas Kloss' Hyborian hues border on monochromatic at times, but they're as effective and evocative as he and Nispel intended. Black levels are rich and inky, contrast is consistent (albeit a tad dreary), and detail rarely flounders. Fine textures are crisp and refined, edges are sharp and satisfying, and closeups and midrange shots showcase every speck of blood, grime, sand and mud on tap. Significant artifacting, noise, aliasing and crush are nowhere to be found, and what minimal softness or smearing there is should be attributed to the original photography and Nispel's post-production tinkering rather than some mysterious application of DNR added at the behest of Lionsgate. Conan's 3D and 2D presentations are precise and proficient, meaning any criticism should be aimed at the appropriate target: the film's post-conversion, not the studio's encode.
From Jeffery Kauffman's review: "Conan the Barbarian's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix finally provides this film some of the pure fun it's missing in other ways, starting right off the bat with the Lionsgate logo, which has chunky mechanical noises and a few squeaks and creaks populating the surrounds, seemingly more so than usual. That's just the tip of the sonic iceberg, for once the film starts, there's a virtual nonstop array of fantastic effects zinging through the soundfield. The opening battle scene has widely splayed sounds as the battle dies down, and there's some wonderful attention to detail with even the smaller effects, like the slight breeze that rustles through the scene. Action scenes are awash in discrete channelization with lots of bright and precise metal sounds as sword meets sword. Some of the quasi-martial arts hand to hand sequences also feature some extremely well placed punches and thumps. Probably the most impressive sequence is the climactic one which has Tamara tethered to a giant sacrificial disc that ends up plummeting toward a chasm filled with lava (doesn't that always happen?). When the disc falls, it clatters to earth with absolutely awesome LFE, with some added punch first on the left channel and then on the right as it settles into place. That same approach happens as Conan and Zym fall to either side of the disc as their epic battle continues. Fidelity is incredible on this track, with some surprisingly supple dynamic range. Dialogue is clear and extremely well prioritized in the mix, which can get quite busy in the action sequences."
Nispel's Conan the Barbarian falls flat, as does its 3D presentation. Though backed by a technically proficient video transfer, the 3D experience itself doesn't justify its own existence, sitting on the screen rather than leaping off it. Thankfully, the Blu-ray release at least justifies its cost with an excellent encode, a chest-thumping DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track and a decent assortment of special features. Unless you absolutely, positively must own every 3D release on the market, I'd suggest basing your 2D/3D buying decision on price. Currently, the 3D version is a bit more expensive, although not by much. Go with your gut, rent when
Conan the Barbarian 3D Blu-ray, Video Quality
The assault on Blu-ray 3D is as sporadic and uneventful as the film itself, although it's important to note that the vast majority of the issues that plague its 1080p/MVC-encoded presentation trace back to the film's post-conversion and source, not Lionsgate's video transfer. Some exceedingly minor banding and ringing are the only two knocks against the encode, and neither one is problematic or distracting enough to warrant anything more than a shoulder-shrug and a passing mention. No, the real disappointment comes when you slip on your 3D glasses and realize you're in for yet another uninspired, underwhelming post-conversion misfire. Few shots pop and even fewer scenes exhibit the level of convincing depth and dimensionality that might have been if Conan were shot in native 3D. Swords thrust into the foreground, metal claws extend toward the viewer, horses charge, villagers flee and warriors leap into the fray... so how is it that so little pierces or penetrates the screen? The film's sand-stripped sepia tones, stormy amber skies and shadowcast lairs foil the 3D conversion's best efforts, darkness continually flattens the image, and the tint of the 3D glasses only exacerbates the dullness and dimness that sometimes lords over the experience. It isn't a complete loss -- thanks in large part to an excellent technical transfer that preserves every nick, scar and bloody bit of bone Nispel has to give -- but it is wholly unremarkable. I came away with the distinct feeling that I had just watched a 2D film while wearing 3D glasses. Oh, there are sequences that look much better than others, chief among them a high noon attack on a band of slavers and a short sun-bathed jaunt at sea, but there are also sequences that come apart at the seams; chaotic fights and chases that only made the conversion artists' work that much more difficult. (And, in some cases, near-impossible.)
depth isn't absent, just average. Dimensionality isn't hampered, just slightly unnatural. The downside to many of these conversion efforts is that their quality relies so heavily on the time, budget and work schedule their artists are handed. Conan doesn't look like a 3D rush-job, but it also doesn't look like it was given everything it needed to rise above the competition. Fortunately, other aspects of the presentation fare better. Thomas Kloss' Hyborian hues border on monochromatic at times, but they're as effective and evocative as he and Nispel intended. Black levels are rich and inky, contrast is consistent (albeit a tad dreary), and detail rarely flounders. Fine textures are crisp and refined, edges are sharp and satisfying, and closeups and midrange shots showcase every speck of blood, grime, sand and mud on tap. Significant artifacting, noise, aliasing and crush are nowhere to be found, and what minimal softness or smearing there is should be attributed to the original photography and Nispel's post-production tinkering rather than some mysterious application of DNR added at the behest of Lionsgate. Conan's 3D and 2D presentations are precise and proficient, meaning any criticism should be aimed at the appropriate target: the film's post-conversion, not the studio's encode.
Conan the Barbarian 3D Blu-ray, Audio Quality
From Jeffery Kauffman's review: "Conan the Barbarian's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix finally provides this film some of the pure fun it's missing in other ways, starting right off the bat with the Lionsgate logo, which has chunky mechanical noises and a few squeaks and creaks populating the surrounds, seemingly more so than usual. That's just the tip of the sonic iceberg, for once the film starts, there's a virtual nonstop array of fantastic effects zinging through the soundfield. The opening battle scene has widely splayed sounds as the battle dies down, and there's some wonderful attention to detail with even the smaller effects, like the slight breeze that rustles through the scene. Action scenes are awash in discrete channelization with lots of bright and precise metal sounds as sword meets sword. Some of the quasi-martial arts hand to hand sequences also feature some extremely well placed punches and thumps. Probably the most impressive sequence is the climactic one which has Tamara tethered to a giant sacrificial disc that ends up plummeting toward a chasm filled with lava (doesn't that always happen?). When the disc falls, it clatters to earth with absolutely awesome LFE, with some added punch first on the left channel and then on the right as it settles into place. That same approach happens as Conan and Zym fall to either side of the disc as their epic battle continues. Fidelity is incredible on this track, with some surprisingly supple dynamic range. Dialogue is clear and extremely well prioritized in the mix, which can get quite busy in the action sequences."
Conan the Barbarian 3D Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras
- Audio Commentary with Director Marcus Nispel: Prevailing silence and long pauses render Nispel's commentary far less engaging than it might otherwise have been. He certainly has a handle on everything he hoped to accomplish with Conan, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't entirely pleased with how it all came out. He stops short of apologizing, and has wonderful things to say about his cast and crew. He just doesn't seem as passionate about the film as he does when it comes to Robert E. Howard's swordsman and stories.
- Audio Commentary with Actors Jason Momoa and Rose McGowan: Momoa and McGowan, on the other hand, keep things lively from start to finish, and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Their commentary chemistry made me wish they shared more scenes on screen, and their conversation is easily the most entertaining thing on the disc.
- The Conan Legacy (HD, 18 minutes): Nispel and key members of his crew discuss Howard's Conan, his evolution over the decades, and the responsibility the filmmakers felt in bringing the Hyborian barbarian back to the big screen for 21st century audiences.
- Robert E. Howard: The Man Who Would Be Conan (HD, 11 minutes): An all-too-short look at the life and career of Conan's creator. A more extensive documentary would have been ideal, but its better than nothing.
- Battle Royal: Engineering the Action (HD, 10 minutes): Chases, clashes, throwdowns, monster attacks and underground battles, courtesy of Nispel and his team.
- Staging the Fights (HD, 6 minutes): A series of pre-visualizations and rehearsal footage round out the featurettes.
- Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 minutes)
Conan the Barbarian 3D Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
Nispel's Conan the Barbarian falls flat, as does its 3D presentation. Though backed by a technically proficient video transfer, the 3D experience itself doesn't justify its own existence, sitting on the screen rather than leaping off it. Thankfully, the Blu-ray release at least justifies its cost with an excellent encode, a chest-thumping DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track and a decent assortment of special features. Unless you absolutely, positively must own every 3D release on the market, I'd suggest basing your 2D/3D buying decision on price. Currently, the 3D version is a bit more expensive, although not by much. Go with your gut, rent when
Monday, November 21, 2011
Apollo 18 Coming To Blu-ray,DVD Decemeber 27th 2011
After 40 years, but finally the truth has come out about Apollo 18's secret landing on the moon, and the circumstances that followed. And that truth is...well, there was no Apollo 18, but it makes for a nice, intriguing concept, don't it? Apollo 18 takes the premise of a secret, covered-up moon landing and uses it as an excuse to "explain" why we've never gone back to the moon. And despite what you might have heard, it's not because of Transformers.
Shot for a mere $5 million, Apollo 18 has since taken in $25.5 million worldwide.I acually enjoyed the film which i did see in the theatres, so I'll definitely be checking it out when it hits Blu-ray and DVD on December 27th.
The good news is that this one won't be a bare-bones release. Despite being a relatively low-profile release, the Apollo 18 Blu-ray and DVD will include an audio commentary with director Gonzalo López-Gallego and editor Patrick Lussier, deleted and alternate scenes, alternate endings, and other bonus features they haven't confirmed yet. All in all, sounds like it'll be worth a rental if nothing else, assuming you love the premise as much as I do.
Shot for a mere $5 million, Apollo 18 has since taken in $25.5 million worldwide.I acually enjoyed the film which i did see in the theatres, so I'll definitely be checking it out when it hits Blu-ray and DVD on December 27th.
The good news is that this one won't be a bare-bones release. Despite being a relatively low-profile release, the Apollo 18 Blu-ray and DVD will include an audio commentary with director Gonzalo López-Gallego and editor Patrick Lussier, deleted and alternate scenes, alternate endings, and other bonus features they haven't confirmed yet. All in all, sounds like it'll be worth a rental if nothing else, assuming you love the premise as much as I do.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
West Side Story Blu-ray Limited Edition 11/15/11 Release
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Modern day "Romeo and Juliet" musical about a teen from one gang who falls for a Puerto Rican girl whose brother is from a rival gang, and no one wants them to be together, all happening on the streets of New York City.
For more about West Side Story and the West Side Story Blu-ray release, see the West Side Story Blu-ray Review
Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris
Director: Robert Wise
West Side Story Blu-ray, Video Quality
Fans of West Side Story's AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.19:1 have ben abuzz with some pretty venomous comments based on some early reports of flaws with this presentation, and several have decided before even seeing the Blu-ray that it's not worth owning. Are there problems? Yes, certainly, at least one of which should never have happened under any circumstances. Other compression artifacts, while troubling, are fairly commonplace ones that videophiles have seen in manifold high definition presentations since the dawn of the Blu-ray age. So let's get the bad out of the way first, and the good news (if bad news is ever good news) is that the bulk of the problems with West Side Story happen in the first few minutes. The inexcusable error is the absolutely incomprehensible and dunderheaded fade-out and fade-in during Saul Bass's iconic title design which accompanies the Overture. Fans of the film know that there should be no fade out whatsoever, simply a bold color change, followed by the slight pull back which reveals the title West Side Story as part of Bass's abstract skyline. That error was embarrassing enough for Fox to immediately agree to a second pressing, and corrected discs are expected soon (we'll make sure to post any exchange information in our news section as it becomes available). As we progress through the actual opening of the film, the overhead shots of Manhattan are plagued by fairly abhorrent shimmer on lots of the vertical lines of the skyscrapers. Later even more outrageous shimmer, verging on actual moiré at times, repeatedly hits the fence in the basketball court where the Jets and Sharks have their showdown (especially egregious examples can be seen at 7:43 and 11:53). Gated windows exhibit the same artifacting, notably at around 8:22. Very slight shimmer is also noticeable on the ribbed orange wall paneling of the high school dance scene later in the film. There are also some registration issues with opticals throughout the film, where density seems slightly affected.
So that's the bad news. The good news may not sound as dramatic, but it's really rather amazing. I have seen this film repeatedly in 70mm (and 35mm) through the years, and I can honestly say it has never looked this sharp or appealing, despite the occasional flaws of this transfer. Colors are gorgeously saturated, everything that an early sixties Technicolor film should be. Those outrageous reds and purples of Bernardo's shirt have never popped so magnificently, and everything from the weird oranges and purples of the high school dance sequence to that similarly orange hued semi-nightmare scene in Anita's apartment late in the film have never looked this gorgeous. West Side Story has been touted as having undergone hundreds of hours of restoration, and while that may or may not be PR hyperbole, the fact is this presentation is absolutely blemish free, clear and clean and remarkably sharp and well detailed.
In my personal opinion, the pluses far outweigh the minuses of this presentation and once Fox offers replacements fixing the Overture debacle, at least one major complaint will have been dealt with. Is this a perfect presentation? No, and I'm the first to say it certainly could have been better. Fox hasn't quite attained the generally consistent excellence that Warner has with their catalog titles (at least with regard to M-G-M and United Artists), and while Warner efforts like their recent Mutiny on the Bounty and now Fox's West Side Story are not all they might have been, there's still an awful lot here to celebrate.
West Side Story Blu-ray, Audio Quality
Was there another missed opportunity with regard to West Side Story's new lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix? That depends on whom you ask. The film's original six track mag masters were discovered and restored last year, but those were not used for this new mix, evidently due to cost considerations. Instead a repurposing of the four track mag masters was considered more feasible. There's a fascinating article audiophiles may want to read here which details the discovery and history of the six track mix, which was standard in the Todd-AO format. Be that as it may, once again Fox has at least slightly missed the surround boat with this new rendering, and once again the biggest problem comes right off the bat, in terms of the iconic whistles which open the film. While they still are panned more toward the rear in this mix, they're not panned to the extreme side channels (alternating left and right) as they were in the original mix. With both this error and the unforgivable fade out on the Overture it's apparent that Fox either incomprehensibly didn't use a reference print of any kind or simply didn't have anyone working on this film who had any history or knowledge of how it was presented theatrically. The brouhaha raised by these errors will hopefully be a major wake up call to creative staffs who are working on Blu-ray releases of iconic catalog properties, as there are copious quantities of people still around who do have histories with the film, at the very least as audience members, and they remember how these movies looked and sounded.
And so once again, we're over the bad news. The good news is the 7.1 repurposing is for the most part rather artful. While highs seem to be just slightly clipped on this track, for the most part the music sounds absolutely gorgeous, with sterling fidelity and amazing dynamic range. Surround activity, aside from those opening whistles, is very well handled, and such great scenes as the Quintet have singing coming in clearly from the surrounds, helping to separate and define the many participants. Best of all, the last incomprehensible thing that happened on a West Side Story home video release, the bizarre audio synch problem during "Tonight," has been corrected. (What is it with these star- crossed home video releases of West Side Story, anyway?).
Fox Home Entertainment has confirmed that they will release MGM's classic musical West Side Story in a 50th Anniversary Blu-ray edition. The film will be available in both a four-disc limited edition set including the film and special features on two BD discs, ...
by blu-ray.com
Sunday, November 13, 2011
SUPER 8 Blu-ray Review
Bad things happen, but you can still live.
J.J. Abrams has moved on from "flavor of the week," has excelled far beyond "flash in the pan," and has proven to be every bit the "next big thing" and that he's definitely here to stay. And there couldn't be better news for fans of original thinking and great vision in a modern day Hollywood that's almost otherwise devoid of both. His storytelling ability, creativity, and naturally keen sense of filmmaking authenticity have turned him into one of Tinseltown's elite. His "Lost" is the very definition of sensational television. It was arguably the best, most complex, most comprehensive, most enthralling, and best-conceived program ever made. His Mission: Impossible III positively defines the summer Action movie spectacle. His Star Trek did the seemingly impossible, revitalizing and at the same time both re-imagining and staying true to the roots of a longstanding and unequivocally adored franchise. His latest, Super 8, is a movie that brings childhood fantasy to life. It's a movie born of a youthful imagination, a throwback picture that's modern-slick but classic fun. It's the fantastic personified, a picture that embodies everything that's good about the connection between filmed entertainment and the human imagination. Isn't that what moviemaking is really all about?
It's a sad time in the small steel town of Lillian, Ohio. A worker at the local mill has died in a tragic accident, leaving behind her husband, deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), and her young son, Joe (Joel Courtney). Fast-forward four months to the end of the school year. Jackson and Joe are still grieving, but beginning to move on with their lives. Jackson wants to send Joe away to summer baseball camp, but Joe would rather stay at home and help his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) make a Super 8 Zombie movie that he hopes to enter into a regional amateur filmmaking contest. Joe's the group's expert makeup man, but it looks like a critical re-written scene won't get made when Alice (Elle Fanning) learns that Joe's part of the team. Fortunately for Charles, his lead man Martin (Gabriel Basso), background player Preston (Zach Mills), and zombie specialist/pyromaniac Cary (Ryan Lee), Alice chooses to shoot the scene, anyway, despite her misgivings which stem from her family's frayed relationship with Joe's. The scene is tremendous; Alice proves to be a wonderful actress, and Charles can't believe his luck when a speeding train approaches the station just as they're about to shoot the final take (production values!). But tragedy strikes when a pickup truck pulls in front of the train, derailing it and causing a spectacular wreck. The children are safe but badly shaken, even when they learn the identity of the truck driver and hear his ominous warning. Soon enough, the U.S. military is on the scene and things quickly unravel in their sleepy Ohio town. Things go missing, the power flickers, and people disappear. How is it all connected to the crash? Did Charles capture anything critical on film? Can the intrepid child filmmakers crack the case and discover why the town has descended into chaos and what could be behind the madness?
There's just so much to love about Super 8, but if one were forced to boil the entire thing -- story, characters, technical merits -- down to one word, that word would have to be balance. The film plays with an almost mystic harmony. It's so polished but at the same time seen through something of a rough filter, the eyes of children who come to understand human emotions and values well beyond their years. The story is as touching as it is exciting, as well developed and smartly assembled as it is rollickingly fun, as emotionally involved as it is fast-paced and superficially engaging. But it's that latter element -- the picture's genuine sense of heartfelt emotion, born of fantastic characters and a wonderful foundation -- that's its single greatest asset. From the film's incredibly moving opening shots forward, the picture's fundamental structure is built on a tragedy that will give rise to both the realization of and an appreciation for the purpose of forgiveness, the importance of letting go, and the need to move forward, all of which ultimately yield freedom from the past, a freedom that will figuratively -- and literally -- set a soul free. It's all personified throughout the film and its brilliantly simple finale, and that the film is as honestly heartfelt and touching as it is monster movie exciting is a testament to just how smartly conceived and brilliantly assembled a picture this really is.
Super 8, in a way, has a feeling of Abrams' own "Lost" in how the story is slow to reveal and in how its characters, themes, and situations take different shapes and meanings as the story unfolds. But it's probably more like a modern Stand By Me than it is anything else. Ultimately, Super 8 is a film of childhood discovery, a story of togetherness and an unbreakable bond formed in a time of great adventure that's made by and seen through, mostly, a child's perspective. Certainly the film strays from Rob Reiner's coming-of-age masterpiece with its Sci-Fi/Monster movie twist, but at its core Super 8 is a similar movie about the bonds of friendship and, more importantly and as explored through the wonderfully conceived connection between characters Joe and Alice, a story of discovery not necessarily of the external kind, but of the far more rewarding inward variety, of a connection made, a friendship formed, an unspoken love created through the prism of great tragedy. It's so simple but at the same time so brilliantly assembled. Super 8 never relinquishes its spell over its audience no matter where it goes, for it always comes back to that one simple truism that speaks on basic values that hold true no matter the circumstances, no matter the time or place, no matter how fantastic something may be. The characters are superbly realized, and the level of acting and palpable chemistry are nearly second-to-none for a movie built around child actors.
For as emotionally satisfying as it may be, Super 8 also succeeds at the same time as a classic throwback monster movie. It's deliciously corny in places and revels in building this part of its narrative with cookie-cutter characters and clichéd dialogue that hearken back to the simpler Science Fiction films of yore. That's the beauty of this piece of the puzzle, though, the realization of just how good the movie is at capturing the very essence of a worn-out genre and mixing it with honest heart, dazzling special effects, unbeatable characters, and a great story. It's perhaps best described as a classic B-movie given the high dollar modern-slick A-level treatment. Abrams can get away with this style because the monster movie angle is but a device used to bring the story's greater elements to the forefront, but at the same time have some big-budget fun. And fun he has. Super 8's meshing of retro amateur filmmaking, throwback Sci-Fi elements, and modern technical wizardry is a real treat for audiences who can appreciate the alchemic skill required to pull it off. Really, this is a complete package that has everything a movie of this sort should. "Fun," "fantastic," and "heartfelt" only scratch the surface of what this one is about. Here's to what may very well be the best movie of 2011.
Super 8's 1080p Blu-ray transfer is typical of Paramount new releases. It's gorgeous. This is a beautifully filmic transfer that retains a very light and balanced layer of grain that accentuates all the positives and gives it that fresh-from-theaters veneer. Colors are many, vibrant, and balanced. The palette is extremely well balanced, even if the movie favors a very slight warmth, which carries over to what are sometimes slightly rosy or bronze flesh tones. Black levels are exceptional, appearing deep and accurate but never crushing out fine foreground details. Clarity is superb, which in turn aids in the transfer's ability to yield balanced details and textures throughout. Clothing and faces take on natural, almost tactile textures, while general objects around the frame -- brick façades, weathered wear and tear on painted surfaces, clumps of trees and other outdoor vegetation -- are all wonderfully complex and realistic. The image also yields fine natural depth, which is evident even in the film's many dark, nighttime segments. It's a rather basic image, but that doesn't take away from the sheer beauty of it. This is one of those transfers that so wonderfully captures the essence of the theatrical presentation for home viewing, which is part of what Blu-ray is all about and everything a modern release should be.
Super 8's Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack is the stuff of Blu-ray legend. This is one stout, enveloping, energized, satisfying, and dare say perfect listen. The track handles both extremes and everything in between with equal flair, vigor, and authenticity. The track yields phenomenal ambience throughout. The light background clatter and chatter at the funeral home as heard at film's start practically transports the listener to the somber locale. Light background music in a diner plays with a realistic authenticity that might have listeners believing the jukebox is in the house, not on the disc. Outdoor ambience is wonderful, too, whether the din of a small town floating on by in the background or the most delicate trace of a chilly wind blowing through the soundstage. On the other end, the track delivers a wonderfully robust low end that will test the limits of the subwoofer, wake the neighbors, and plaster a smile across the faces of every listener. Whether heavy footsteps on an old rickety wooden platform at the train station or the sounds of destruction and chaos that define the film's climactic action scene, there's no shortage of crisp, accurate, and deep bass. The surround channels are extensively used in support of the film's action, ambience, and satisfyingly spacious and crisp music, both score and popular alike. Indeed, sounds maneuver through the listening area with such ease and natural flow that the listener will be pulled into every scene, whether in Charles' bustling and loud house or in the streets of Lillian that have transformed into a war zone. The track amazingly excels no matter the scene, even when it goes practically silent save for the ever-so-slight buzzing of an electric sign outside of a gas station in chapter six.
But for all the wonderful moments in Paramount's champion lossless soundtrack, there's one that stands above the rest: the train derailment sequence. It's not only the highlight of this track, it's a sonic marvel and a perfectly engineered moment that's frighteningly authentic, devastatingly potent, and chillingly enveloping, all of which make it, arguably, the finest demo-worthy scene ever. The scene yields incredibly tight and heavy bass. It offers a terrifyingly immersive structure that takes full advantage of all seven speakers, sending everything from debris to complete train cars, from whooshing fire to screaming children, all over the listening area. Both the bass and the seamless directional effects come together in perfect harmony to create a sonic marvel, a naturally high-energy, eardrum-devastating, and infinitely enjoyable moment, a powerhouse scene that should be the reference audio clip for some time. But what's perhaps best about this track is that, for as wonderful a moment as this is, it doesn't feel detached from the rest of the presentation. The track is so well-engineered and the movie so well-constructed that the entire thing just works together seamlessly, from this moment all the way down to that flickering sign in an otherwise silent environment. Supported by perfect center-focused dialogue that's never garbled or lost under the heavy effects, Paramount's track is an unequivocal winner and is well on its way to being the year's finest.
Super 8 arrives on Blu-ray packed with extras, including a good audio commentary track, several high quality featurettes, and plenty of deleted scenes.
Super 8 may represent the very essence of cinema. It's thrillingly escapist but grounded in real human drama and emotion. It has characterization to spare, wonderful acting, and perfect chemistry between its child leads. It boasts fantastic visual effects and all those glorious production values! that make a movie complete. It's basically a movie that embodies all of those simple elements that Charles wants to incorporate into his own Super 8 movie, and one can't help but wonder how much of J.J. Abrams' own childhood has found its way into Charles and his filmmaking buddies. Super 8 shows just how simple a formula it really is to make a good movie. It's all about heart, plot, and characters, with its supporting elements just that, supporting the bigger picture that's superficially dominated by the film's scope and special effects but thematically overwhelmed by the core story. Indeed, Super 8 is the embodiment of that one-word definition -- balance -- and is also positively a joy to watch and a modern marvel of real, genuine filmmaking. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Super 8 is every bit as excellent as the movie. Perfect video, perfect audio, and a nice assortment of extras round this into one of the year's finest must-own releases. Super 8 earns my highest recommendation.by martin liebman
J.J. Abrams has moved on from "flavor of the week," has excelled far beyond "flash in the pan," and has proven to be every bit the "next big thing" and that he's definitely here to stay. And there couldn't be better news for fans of original thinking and great vision in a modern day Hollywood that's almost otherwise devoid of both. His storytelling ability, creativity, and naturally keen sense of filmmaking authenticity have turned him into one of Tinseltown's elite. His "Lost" is the very definition of sensational television. It was arguably the best, most complex, most comprehensive, most enthralling, and best-conceived program ever made. His Mission: Impossible III positively defines the summer Action movie spectacle. His Star Trek did the seemingly impossible, revitalizing and at the same time both re-imagining and staying true to the roots of a longstanding and unequivocally adored franchise. His latest, Super 8, is a movie that brings childhood fantasy to life. It's a movie born of a youthful imagination, a throwback picture that's modern-slick but classic fun. It's the fantastic personified, a picture that embodies everything that's good about the connection between filmed entertainment and the human imagination. Isn't that what moviemaking is really all about?
 |
It's a sad time in the small steel town of Lillian, Ohio. A worker at the local mill has died in a tragic accident, leaving behind her husband, deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), and her young son, Joe (Joel Courtney). Fast-forward four months to the end of the school year. Jackson and Joe are still grieving, but beginning to move on with their lives. Jackson wants to send Joe away to summer baseball camp, but Joe would rather stay at home and help his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) make a Super 8 Zombie movie that he hopes to enter into a regional amateur filmmaking contest. Joe's the group's expert makeup man, but it looks like a critical re-written scene won't get made when Alice (Elle Fanning) learns that Joe's part of the team. Fortunately for Charles, his lead man Martin (Gabriel Basso), background player Preston (Zach Mills), and zombie specialist/pyromaniac Cary (Ryan Lee), Alice chooses to shoot the scene, anyway, despite her misgivings which stem from her family's frayed relationship with Joe's. The scene is tremendous; Alice proves to be a wonderful actress, and Charles can't believe his luck when a speeding train approaches the station just as they're about to shoot the final take (production values!). But tragedy strikes when a pickup truck pulls in front of the train, derailing it and causing a spectacular wreck. The children are safe but badly shaken, even when they learn the identity of the truck driver and hear his ominous warning. Soon enough, the U.S. military is on the scene and things quickly unravel in their sleepy Ohio town. Things go missing, the power flickers, and people disappear. How is it all connected to the crash? Did Charles capture anything critical on film? Can the intrepid child filmmakers crack the case and discover why the town has descended into chaos and what could be behind the madness?
There's just so much to love about Super 8, but if one were forced to boil the entire thing -- story, characters, technical merits -- down to one word, that word would have to be balance. The film plays with an almost mystic harmony. It's so polished but at the same time seen through something of a rough filter, the eyes of children who come to understand human emotions and values well beyond their years. The story is as touching as it is exciting, as well developed and smartly assembled as it is rollickingly fun, as emotionally involved as it is fast-paced and superficially engaging. But it's that latter element -- the picture's genuine sense of heartfelt emotion, born of fantastic characters and a wonderful foundation -- that's its single greatest asset. From the film's incredibly moving opening shots forward, the picture's fundamental structure is built on a tragedy that will give rise to both the realization of and an appreciation for the purpose of forgiveness, the importance of letting go, and the need to move forward, all of which ultimately yield freedom from the past, a freedom that will figuratively -- and literally -- set a soul free. It's all personified throughout the film and its brilliantly simple finale, and that the film is as honestly heartfelt and touching as it is monster movie exciting is a testament to just how smartly conceived and brilliantly assembled a picture this really is.
Super 8, in a way, has a feeling of Abrams' own "Lost" in how the story is slow to reveal and in how its characters, themes, and situations take different shapes and meanings as the story unfolds. But it's probably more like a modern Stand By Me than it is anything else. Ultimately, Super 8 is a film of childhood discovery, a story of togetherness and an unbreakable bond formed in a time of great adventure that's made by and seen through, mostly, a child's perspective. Certainly the film strays from Rob Reiner's coming-of-age masterpiece with its Sci-Fi/Monster movie twist, but at its core Super 8 is a similar movie about the bonds of friendship and, more importantly and as explored through the wonderfully conceived connection between characters Joe and Alice, a story of discovery not necessarily of the external kind, but of the far more rewarding inward variety, of a connection made, a friendship formed, an unspoken love created through the prism of great tragedy. It's so simple but at the same time so brilliantly assembled. Super 8 never relinquishes its spell over its audience no matter where it goes, for it always comes back to that one simple truism that speaks on basic values that hold true no matter the circumstances, no matter the time or place, no matter how fantastic something may be. The characters are superbly realized, and the level of acting and palpable chemistry are nearly second-to-none for a movie built around child actors.
For as emotionally satisfying as it may be, Super 8 also succeeds at the same time as a classic throwback monster movie. It's deliciously corny in places and revels in building this part of its narrative with cookie-cutter characters and clichéd dialogue that hearken back to the simpler Science Fiction films of yore. That's the beauty of this piece of the puzzle, though, the realization of just how good the movie is at capturing the very essence of a worn-out genre and mixing it with honest heart, dazzling special effects, unbeatable characters, and a great story. It's perhaps best described as a classic B-movie given the high dollar modern-slick A-level treatment. Abrams can get away with this style because the monster movie angle is but a device used to bring the story's greater elements to the forefront, but at the same time have some big-budget fun. And fun he has. Super 8's meshing of retro amateur filmmaking, throwback Sci-Fi elements, and modern technical wizardry is a real treat for audiences who can appreciate the alchemic skill required to pull it off. Really, this is a complete package that has everything a movie of this sort should. "Fun," "fantastic," and "heartfelt" only scratch the surface of what this one is about. Here's to what may very well be the best movie of 2011.
Super 8 Blu-ray, Video Quality
Super 8's 1080p Blu-ray transfer is typical of Paramount new releases. It's gorgeous. This is a beautifully filmic transfer that retains a very light and balanced layer of grain that accentuates all the positives and gives it that fresh-from-theaters veneer. Colors are many, vibrant, and balanced. The palette is extremely well balanced, even if the movie favors a very slight warmth, which carries over to what are sometimes slightly rosy or bronze flesh tones. Black levels are exceptional, appearing deep and accurate but never crushing out fine foreground details. Clarity is superb, which in turn aids in the transfer's ability to yield balanced details and textures throughout. Clothing and faces take on natural, almost tactile textures, while general objects around the frame -- brick façades, weathered wear and tear on painted surfaces, clumps of trees and other outdoor vegetation -- are all wonderfully complex and realistic. The image also yields fine natural depth, which is evident even in the film's many dark, nighttime segments. It's a rather basic image, but that doesn't take away from the sheer beauty of it. This is one of those transfers that so wonderfully captures the essence of the theatrical presentation for home viewing, which is part of what Blu-ray is all about and everything a modern release should be.
Super 8 Blu-ray, Audio Quality
Super 8's Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack is the stuff of Blu-ray legend. This is one stout, enveloping, energized, satisfying, and dare say perfect listen. The track handles both extremes and everything in between with equal flair, vigor, and authenticity. The track yields phenomenal ambience throughout. The light background clatter and chatter at the funeral home as heard at film's start practically transports the listener to the somber locale. Light background music in a diner plays with a realistic authenticity that might have listeners believing the jukebox is in the house, not on the disc. Outdoor ambience is wonderful, too, whether the din of a small town floating on by in the background or the most delicate trace of a chilly wind blowing through the soundstage. On the other end, the track delivers a wonderfully robust low end that will test the limits of the subwoofer, wake the neighbors, and plaster a smile across the faces of every listener. Whether heavy footsteps on an old rickety wooden platform at the train station or the sounds of destruction and chaos that define the film's climactic action scene, there's no shortage of crisp, accurate, and deep bass. The surround channels are extensively used in support of the film's action, ambience, and satisfyingly spacious and crisp music, both score and popular alike. Indeed, sounds maneuver through the listening area with such ease and natural flow that the listener will be pulled into every scene, whether in Charles' bustling and loud house or in the streets of Lillian that have transformed into a war zone. The track amazingly excels no matter the scene, even when it goes practically silent save for the ever-so-slight buzzing of an electric sign outside of a gas station in chapter six.
But for all the wonderful moments in Paramount's champion lossless soundtrack, there's one that stands above the rest: the train derailment sequence. It's not only the highlight of this track, it's a sonic marvel and a perfectly engineered moment that's frighteningly authentic, devastatingly potent, and chillingly enveloping, all of which make it, arguably, the finest demo-worthy scene ever. The scene yields incredibly tight and heavy bass. It offers a terrifyingly immersive structure that takes full advantage of all seven speakers, sending everything from debris to complete train cars, from whooshing fire to screaming children, all over the listening area. Both the bass and the seamless directional effects come together in perfect harmony to create a sonic marvel, a naturally high-energy, eardrum-devastating, and infinitely enjoyable moment, a powerhouse scene that should be the reference audio clip for some time. But what's perhaps best about this track is that, for as wonderful a moment as this is, it doesn't feel detached from the rest of the presentation. The track is so well-engineered and the movie so well-constructed that the entire thing just works together seamlessly, from this moment all the way down to that flickering sign in an otherwise silent environment. Supported by perfect center-focused dialogue that's never garbled or lost under the heavy effects, Paramount's track is an unequivocal winner and is well on its way to being the year's finest.
Super 8 Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras
Super 8 arrives on Blu-ray packed with extras, including a good audio commentary track, several high quality featurettes, and plenty of deleted scenes.
- Audio Commentary: Director J.J. Abrams, Producer Bryan Burk, and Cinematographer Larry Fong deliver a satisfying and thorough commentary. They discuss the picture's scope, shooting locales, filmmaking equipment and techniques (including shooting in both digital and 35mm), the quality of the cast and mix of veteran and novice actors, Steven Spielberg's involvement in the production, special effects, and plenty more. This is a good, engaging commentary. Fans wild definitely want to give it a listen.
- The Dream Behind Super 8 (1080p, 16:28): This piece begins with J.J. Abrams discussing his childhood love of filmmaking and the parallels between his youth and elements of the film. It also looks at his work with Cinematographer Larry Fong, Bryan Burk, Matt Reeves; the contributions and influences of Steven Spielberg on the filmmakers; the film's plot and development; and it meshing of styles and genres.
- The Search for New Faces (1080p, 17:46): This supplement examines the casting of the child actors and Abrams' decision to cast relative unknowns for the picture. It includes cast and crew interviews and authentic audition clips.
- Meet Joel Courtney (1080p, 14:35): An introduction to the film's lead actor, looking at his early life, auditioning for the part, learning his lines with his mother, working with his fellow actors, his life on the set, shooting various scenes, his hopes for the future, and more.
- Rediscovering Steel Town (1080p, 18:24): A look at the benefits of shooting in Weirton, West Virginia and a brief history of the town.
- The Visitor Lives (1080p, 12:22): This detailed extra introduces viewers to the in-depth process of creating the film's creature, from initial concept to final rendition in the film.
- Scoring Super 8 (1080p, 5:29): An all-too-brief piece focusing on the life and contributions of Composer Michael Giacchino.
- Do You Believe in Magic? (1080p, 4:29): A short, playful feature with Cinematographer/Magician Larry Fong.
- The 8mm Revolution (1080p, 8:15): A look at the importance of childhood 8mm films on the current crop of filmmakers, an enlightening history of the format, and its role in Super 8.
- Deconstructing the Train Crash (1080p): This interactive extra offers viewers a comprehensive examination of the entire process of creating a massive special effects sequence with three main areas of focus: pre-production, production, and post-production. Clicking through the various selections yields interviews, storyboards, and more.
- Deleted Scenes (1080p, 12:47): Inside the 7-Eleven, Joe Writes New Pages, Joe Gives Charles New Pages, Jack Searches the Gas Station, Inside the Car Dealership, Joe Gets in Trouble, Lucy Goes Missing, Dry Brush Technique, Army Navy Store, Joe Watches Home Movies, Saying Goodnight, Cubes Shake the Red Trucks, Jack Finds Joe's Backpack, and Joe and Cary Discover the Coffins.
- D-Box.
- Digital Copy: Sampled on an iPhone 4, this digital copy yields surprisingly rich sound. Music is full and balanced, light ambience is nicely integrated, dialogue is steady, and heavy sound effects -- including the train derailment -- are fair but obviously a bit muddled and absent the precision the Blu-ray offers. The image is crisp, colorful, and nicely detailed. It holds up rather well on the small screen and displays minimal compression issues.
- DVD Copy.
Super 8 Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
Super 8 may represent the very essence of cinema. It's thrillingly escapist but grounded in real human drama and emotion. It has characterization to spare, wonderful acting, and perfect chemistry between its child leads. It boasts fantastic visual effects and all those glorious production values! that make a movie complete. It's basically a movie that embodies all of those simple elements that Charles wants to incorporate into his own Super 8 movie, and one can't help but wonder how much of J.J. Abrams' own childhood has found its way into Charles and his filmmaking buddies. Super 8 shows just how simple a formula it really is to make a good movie. It's all about heart, plot, and characters, with its supporting elements just that, supporting the bigger picture that's superficially dominated by the film's scope and special effects but thematically overwhelmed by the core story. Indeed, Super 8 is the embodiment of that one-word definition -- balance -- and is also positively a joy to watch and a modern marvel of real, genuine filmmaking. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Super 8 is every bit as excellent as the movie. Perfect video, perfect audio, and a nice assortment of extras round this into one of the year's finest must-own releases. Super 8 earns my highest recommendation.by martin liebman
Saturday, November 12, 2011
"Star Wars" Complete Saga Tops Blu-ray Sales Records
Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox have so far sold one million units of the Blu-ray box set, which launched on September 16, including 515,000 units in North America alone. With that many unit sales, according to the film studios, "Star Wars" is now the "bestselling catalog Blu-ray Disc of all time."
In addition, the "Star Wars" Blu-ray set generated $84 million in worldwide revenue in the past week, including $38 million in North America, the companies said.
The "Star Wars" franchise premiered in 1977 on just 32 screens across the U.S. But soon after receiving high praise from critics and a loyal following, the franchise's popularity skyrocketed, and it has become one of the most celebrated in history. Now more than 30 years later, it appears the titles have yet to lose their appeal.
Much of the success of "Star Wars" on Blu-ray has to do with all the content available to buyers. Aside from the six films, the nine-disc set boasts a host of deleted, extended, and alternate scenes, as well as documentaries.
However, not everyone was so happy to hear about all the "enhancements" Lucasfilm was bringing to the films. Prior to the launch of the disc set, it was revealed that George Lucas had made some changes to the films, including a host of modifications to "Return of the Jedi." After learning of that, some fans said that they would nix plans to buy the box set to protest the decision.
Lucasfilm didn't comment on the outcry, but in its sales announcement last night, the company celebrated its fans' loyalty to the franchise.
"Once again, our fan's enthusiasm to celebrate 'Star Wars' continues to amaze us," Kayleen Walters, senior director of marketing at Lucasfilm said in a statement.by don reisinger
In addition, the "Star Wars" Blu-ray set generated $84 million in worldwide revenue in the past week, including $38 million in North America, the companies said.
The "Star Wars" franchise premiered in 1977 on just 32 screens across the U.S. But soon after receiving high praise from critics and a loyal following, the franchise's popularity skyrocketed, and it has become one of the most celebrated in history. Now more than 30 years later, it appears the titles have yet to lose their appeal.
Much of the success of "Star Wars" on Blu-ray has to do with all the content available to buyers. Aside from the six films, the nine-disc set boasts a host of deleted, extended, and alternate scenes, as well as documentaries.
However, not everyone was so happy to hear about all the "enhancements" Lucasfilm was bringing to the films. Prior to the launch of the disc set, it was revealed that George Lucas had made some changes to the films, including a host of modifications to "Return of the Jedi." After learning of that, some fans said that they would nix plans to buy the box set to protest the decision.
Lucasfilm didn't comment on the outcry, but in its sales announcement last night, the company celebrated its fans' loyalty to the franchise.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Meet the Robinson 3D Blu-ray Review
I have a soft spot in my heart of hearts for Disney's 47th animated feature film. Meet the Robinsons drifts into kooky futuristic territory and has some trouble striking a consistent tone, but the plight of orphaned child prodigy Lewis is one of the sweeter, more touching and more relevant storylines to grace a modern Disney animated adventure. And while it isn't stamped "A Pixar Product," it was John Lasseter who sent the first cut of Meet the Robinsons to the scrap heap and Lasseter who had a hand in getting the near-dead project back on track. As former reviewer Lindsay Mayer put it in her review of the 2007 Blu-ray release of the film, "such piecemeal treatment would have palpably degraded the flow of most other films, but not so with Meet the Robinsons. From its literary source material on upwards, the titular characters are so exceedingly insouciant, random, and offbeat, that any wacky additions or omissions thereof fit perfectly within the film's whimsical boundaries." I couldn't agree more. But rather than dissect the film itself, this review will focus on the new 3-disc release, its 3D presentation and all the lossless bells and supplemental whistles that go with it.
Of the most recent batch of Disney 3D releases -- Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt and G-Force -- Meet the Robinsons offers the most bang for your 3D buck. Its vivid, poppy and proficient 1080p/MVC-encoded 3D presentation impresses from beginning to end and only stumbles on a few thankfully brief occasions. First and foremost, depth is convincing and considerable, especially once Lewis jets into the future and acquaints himself with all the flash and sheen of Wilbur's hotspot in the time stream. Simplistic as the CG animation is at times, the curl of a transport tube, the height of a building, the expanse of a cityscape, the fullness of a face, the roundness of a bowler hat, and the pop of a lumbering Tyrannosaurus Rex never cease to draw the viewer into the experience. Some minor ghosting occurs (primarily after Doris puts her sinister plan into action) but doesn't amount to much of an issue. Likewise, a hint of aliasing appears but doesn't prove to be a distraction. In fact, dimensionality is consistent and consistently arresting, and nary a scene goes by that doesn't take advantage of the opportunities inherent in such an engaging 3D presentation. Spindly frog legs stretch into the distance, robot claws seem to extend out of the screen, hover cars dart in and out of the foreground, inventions protrude and retreat nicely, and the entire experience lends itself to both the silliness and seriousness of the film, enhancing almost every scene without so much as a substantial hitch.
Like its 2D counterpart, the 3D presentation is brimming... strike that, practically bursting with a breathtaking array of lush hues, vibrant primaries, and rich blacks. Even the bane of 3D enthusiasts -- the tint of the 3D glasses -- fails to put a damper on Meet the Robinsons' 3D debut. Color, contrast and clarity are all on point, and detail, regardless of how intentionally soft or impeccably sharp it may be from shot to shot, is refined and rewarding. Edges are sharp, objects are well-defined, textures are excellent, and I can't imagine anyone will find much of anything that threatens to take over the presentation. (After taking over the world, of course.) Moreover, significant artifacting, banding, noise and other digital eyesores are either nowhere to be found or kept to a minimum. Meet the Robinsons 3D still doesn't rival the best of the Disney bunch (Cars 2 3D, Toy Story 3 3D, Beauty and the Beast 3D and The Lion King 3D are in a tight four-way race to the Best-of-2011 finish), but it isn't far behind. If nothing else, it handily outclasses Chicken Little 3D, even though the two were released only two years apart. No matter. All in all, Meet the Robinsons 3D is actually (and arguably) worth its high pricepoint. If you only have enough cash to afford one November 8th 3D release, make it Meet the Robinsons.
Note: while the 2D version of Meet the Robinsons is presented at 1.78:1, the 3D version is presented at 1.85:1. The screenshots accompanying this review were taken from the 1.78:1 2D presentation.
Meet the Robinsons swoops onto Blu-ray with two exceptional audio mixes. The 3D disc features a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, while the 2D disc includes the same uncompressed LPCM 5.1 surround track that first appeared on the 2007 Blu-ray release. However, both sonic experiences are virtually identical, meaning there's no upgrade (or downgrade) to be had. As Lindsay Mayer writes in her review: "it does an excellent job featuring the playful Looney Tune-esque score, commenting on the on-screen action as composer Danny Elfman emulates Carl Stalling. The sound mixes are fantastic as well; from the high mechanical bleeps of DOR-15 the disgruntled Helping Hat to the low rumblings of Tiny the Tyrannosaur." Indeed, dynamics are terrific, low-end output is bold and hearty, and the rear speakers are bristling with lively, genre-plucking activity and hyper-accurate directional effects. Dialogue is clean, clear and perfectly intelligible as well, no matter how many bleeps, shizzes, mwoars, shungs and thooms contend for dominance of the soundscape. It only helps that the audio is as immersive as it is, transporting the listener to the present, the future and the past in one stirring experience. Come for the 3D presentation, but don't dare overlook its comparable lossless and uncompressed companions.
Meet the Robinsons is one of the better Disney animated films to emerge in the last ten years and juggles a heartwarming tale, tough subject matter, quirky characters and a whirlwind futurescape with ease. Disney's 3D presentation doesn't disappoint either, and its DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 5.1 surround tracks and supplemental package top things off wonderfully. A few more special features would've been welcome, particularly newly produced exclusives, and the 3-disc set, like most Disney 3D releases, is a tad pricey. But of the four November 8th Disney 3D releases, Meet the Robinsons 3D is, hands down, the best of the bunch. by blu-ray.com
Meet the Robinsons 3D Blu-ray, Video Quality
Of the most recent batch of Disney 3D releases -- Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt and G-Force -- Meet the Robinsons offers the most bang for your 3D buck. Its vivid, poppy and proficient 1080p/MVC-encoded 3D presentation impresses from beginning to end and only stumbles on a few thankfully brief occasions. First and foremost, depth is convincing and considerable, especially once Lewis jets into the future and acquaints himself with all the flash and sheen of Wilbur's hotspot in the time stream. Simplistic as the CG animation is at times, the curl of a transport tube, the height of a building, the expanse of a cityscape, the fullness of a face, the roundness of a bowler hat, and the pop of a lumbering Tyrannosaurus Rex never cease to draw the viewer into the experience. Some minor ghosting occurs (primarily after Doris puts her sinister plan into action) but doesn't amount to much of an issue. Likewise, a hint of aliasing appears but doesn't prove to be a distraction. In fact, dimensionality is consistent and consistently arresting, and nary a scene goes by that doesn't take advantage of the opportunities inherent in such an engaging 3D presentation. Spindly frog legs stretch into the distance, robot claws seem to extend out of the screen, hover cars dart in and out of the foreground, inventions protrude and retreat nicely, and the entire experience lends itself to both the silliness and seriousness of the film, enhancing almost every scene without so much as a substantial hitch.
Like its 2D counterpart, the 3D presentation is brimming... strike that, practically bursting with a breathtaking array of lush hues, vibrant primaries, and rich blacks. Even the bane of 3D enthusiasts -- the tint of the 3D glasses -- fails to put a damper on Meet the Robinsons' 3D debut. Color, contrast and clarity are all on point, and detail, regardless of how intentionally soft or impeccably sharp it may be from shot to shot, is refined and rewarding. Edges are sharp, objects are well-defined, textures are excellent, and I can't imagine anyone will find much of anything that threatens to take over the presentation. (After taking over the world, of course.) Moreover, significant artifacting, banding, noise and other digital eyesores are either nowhere to be found or kept to a minimum. Meet the Robinsons 3D still doesn't rival the best of the Disney bunch (Cars 2 3D, Toy Story 3 3D, Beauty and the Beast 3D and The Lion King 3D are in a tight four-way race to the Best-of-2011 finish), but it isn't far behind. If nothing else, it handily outclasses Chicken Little 3D, even though the two were released only two years apart. No matter. All in all, Meet the Robinsons 3D is actually (and arguably) worth its high pricepoint. If you only have enough cash to afford one November 8th 3D release, make it Meet the Robinsons.
Note: while the 2D version of Meet the Robinsons is presented at 1.78:1, the 3D version is presented at 1.85:1. The screenshots accompanying this review were taken from the 1.78:1 2D presentation.
Meet the Robinsons 3D Blu-ray, Audio Quality
Meet the Robinsons swoops onto Blu-ray with two exceptional audio mixes. The 3D disc features a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, while the 2D disc includes the same uncompressed LPCM 5.1 surround track that first appeared on the 2007 Blu-ray release. However, both sonic experiences are virtually identical, meaning there's no upgrade (or downgrade) to be had. As Lindsay Mayer writes in her review: "it does an excellent job featuring the playful Looney Tune-esque score, commenting on the on-screen action as composer Danny Elfman emulates Carl Stalling. The sound mixes are fantastic as well; from the high mechanical bleeps of DOR-15 the disgruntled Helping Hat to the low rumblings of Tiny the Tyrannosaur." Indeed, dynamics are terrific, low-end output is bold and hearty, and the rear speakers are bristling with lively, genre-plucking activity and hyper-accurate directional effects. Dialogue is clean, clear and perfectly intelligible as well, no matter how many bleeps, shizzes, mwoars, shungs and thooms contend for dominance of the soundscape. It only helps that the audio is as immersive as it is, transporting the listener to the present, the future and the past in one stirring experience. Come for the 3D presentation, but don't dare overlook its comparable lossless and uncompressed companions.
Meet the Robinsons 3D Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras
- Audio Commentary: Director Stephen Anderson delves into Meet the Robinsons' story, characters and themes, touching on everything from voice casting to the script to the many, many changes the film went through before Lasseter deemed it worthy. Anderson is frank and passionate, everything you'd want from a filmmaker, and his commentary follows suit.
- Inventing the Robinsons (HD, 18 minutes): A fairly standard but nevertheless revealing featurette that charts the film's development from past to future to past to present, filling in some of the gaps Anderson left in his commentary.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 12 minutes): Several unfinished deleted and alternate scenes provide a glimpse into some of the comedic and dramatic beats that could've been.
- Inventions that Shaped the World (SD, 6 minutes): This science-centric short is designed for the kiddies.
- Interactive Games: Indulge in an old-school shooter, "Bowler Hat Barrage," or a family-tree memory game, "Family Function 5000," both of which grow old fast.
- Music Videos (SD, 6 minutes): Rob Thomas' "Little Wonders" and the Jonas Brothers' "Kids of the Future."
Meet the Robinsons 3D Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
Meet the Robinsons is one of the better Disney animated films to emerge in the last ten years and juggles a heartwarming tale, tough subject matter, quirky characters and a whirlwind futurescape with ease. Disney's 3D presentation doesn't disappoint either, and its DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM 5.1 surround tracks and supplemental package top things off wonderfully. A few more special features would've been welcome, particularly newly produced exclusives, and the 3-disc set, like most Disney 3D releases, is a tad pricey. But of the four November 8th Disney 3D releases, Meet the Robinsons 3D is, hands down, the best of the bunch. by blu-ray.com
New Release "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
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