In Time (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Science Fiction, Thriller
Fox | PG13 – 109 min. – $39.99 | January 31, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Writer(s): Andrew Niccol (written by)
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Justin Timberlake, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Alex Pettyfer

Theatrical Release Date: October 28, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Deleted/Extended Scenes, BD-Live, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: 36.9 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 3.25/5

Note: This review contains spoilers.

“Live forever or die trying.”

Andrew Niccol’s sci-fi thriller, In Time is a conundrum of a film because the concept is interesting but the execution wasn’t the best and there was some missing ingredient in the screenplay. When the movie was over, it was more frustration than satisfaction. Instead of innovative science fiction it was some strange incarnation of Bonnie & Clyde.

The movie is set in the year 2061, in a world where time is the currency and aging genetically stops at 25 where people are then need to earn time to stay alive. The time is kept via a neon countdown timer on people’s left arm and using scanners, is used to buy coffee or get paid doing a hard day’s labor, often getting screwed as each new day costs go up while pay declines.

There are different segments of society, one where people live hour by hour while another, the wealthy have years on their life. The story centers on one of the poor, Will Salas (JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE) who works at a plant that manufactures devices that stores time (oh the irony). He lives at home, in the ghetto, with his mother (OLIVIA WILDE) who celebrates her 25^th birthday for the third time.

After work, Will sits down with buddy Borel (JOHNNY GALECKI) at a bar when they notice a man in a nice suit flashing his time and buying drinks for a couple beauties. Soon this attracts the attention of a mob gang named the Minutemen (get it?) led by Fortis (ALEX PETTYFER), an old gangster who go around terrorizing the locals and taking whatever time they have left. For reasons unknown to Borel or even Will, Will steps in to help this man, named Henry Hamilton (MATT BOMER), who seems to have some kind of death wish wanting to take on the gang. The pair manages to escape into an abandoned building and wait for the coast to be clear. During this time they talk when Will discovers that Henry has basically forever to live and is in fact 105 years old but is tired of living. In the morning, Henry wakes up and gives all but 5 minutes of his life (116 years to be exact) to Will and leaves for a bridge to live out his remaining life, much to Will’s dismay.

There’s an investigation into Hamilton’s death, led by a police force called Timekeepers and the case led by Raymond Leon (CILLIAN MURPHY) a man who I think took his wardrobe inspiration from Equilibrium. He can’t believe somebody with so much time would merely give it away and believes Hamilton was murdered. A road security camera catches the image of Will and now Leon has a suspect.

Meanwhile, Will now has over a century so he spreads it around first to bud Borel then for his mother. However, due to the rising costs of a bus ride (2 hours), she doesn’t have enough time to ride and meet Will at a bus stop and thus needs to run to the stop which is, coincidentally, two hours away. Waiting there, Will finds she’s not on the bus and realizes she’s in trouble and starts running in her direction where the pair meets in the middle… but it’s too late and her time runs out. Now overcome with grief, Will vows revenge and takes a trip to the wealthy time zone of New Greenwich (it takes years off just to get through each checkpoint).

In New Greenwich he runs old time millionaire Philippe Weiss (VINCENT KARTHEISER) whom Will plays a game of poker in a show of guts which impresses Weiss and his beautiful daughter, Sylvia (AMANDA SEYFRIED). Weiss invites Will to a soiree at his mansion where it’s obvious Sylvia has a fascination with Will seeing something different in him compared to the rest. At the party, the pair takes a swim in the ocean which she had never done because time is valuable and risk taking isn’t exactly prominent. After the swim, they return to the party when Leon, via detective work, tracks Will down and arrests him taking all of his time away save for 2 hours, enough time for booking. But before he’s taken in, he kidnaps Sylvia and makes the great escape with Leon giving chase.

That’s the basic premise with Will and Sylvia, who eventually deliberately joins Will in his life on the run as they not only must stay ahead of the law but get more time as each of theirs runs out (earlier, the minuteman gang manage to steal a good chunk of hers). They go on a Bonnie & Clyde like crime spree robbing time banks, taking some for them and giving the rest to others in the downtrodden area in Will’s neighborhood.

In Time is actually an entertaining sci-fi flick and yet when it was all over I felt cheated and even frustrated by the fact that the concept is fantastic but the execution was, at best, lacking. This comes as a surprise because the film was written and directed by Andrew Niccol who has helmed some great or at the very least impressive films like Lord of War (which I wasn’t wild about but had its moments), The Truman Show and his best, Gattaca. I think I was expecting a bit of the drama of Gattaca in this film yet it comes across more like Gattaca-lite or a CW show.

Mind you, this isn’t a criticism of the cast since the premise is there is nobody who looks older than 25 (albeit actors like Matt Bomer are pushing it) so you’re going to get an almost CW like feel to the movie. First, I must admit that I like Justin Timberlake and have enjoyed a few of his performances thus far, most recently Friends with Benefits. This isn’t a rich character as Will is more or less Robin Hood with a bit of Clyde.

The rest of the cast are pretty unremarkable. Amanda Seyfried has seen her star rise with solid performances in otherwise dull/average flicks like Jennifer’s Body, Red Riding Hood and Chloe, the latter probably her best performance. For In Time, she probably suffers the most as her character had potential but like the script, doesn’t amount to much more than a Bonnie clone, trigger-happy finger and all. I suppose she does OK with what she had but it’s nothing special. Same goes for Cillian Murphy who has certainly been better in other movies (28 Days Later, Breakfast on Pluto and even Red Eye) but again, there was something more to his character but it doesn’t amount to anything in the end.

As I was saying before, In Time had a lot going for it. Lots of big ideas and plenty of potential to easily make this a 4-4.5 star movie but thanks to an unfulfilling screenplay that devolves into a romanticized Bonnie & Clyde intermixed with a Robin Hood plotline, it merely relegates the movie to “pretty good” status, but even then it’s maddening to know it could’ve and should’ve been so much better.

If I had one major positive for the movie, it would be the cinematography. Nine-time Oscar nominated director of photographer Roger Deakins (True Grit, Fargo) makes this film look absolutely stunning. While watching the movie I thought there was something familiar with the look so it wasn’t surprising to see to see his name during the end credits. So if there’s only one reason to see In Time, this would be it.

All in all, In Time isn’t a bad movie by any stretch. The concept, even unfulfilled, is good, the performances are relatively acceptable with Timberlake of all people leading the way and showing that with the right script and director, he can develop himself into a fine actor.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.75/5

The Blu-ray comes housed in a standard case with a glossy and reflective slip cover.

The Minutes (16:35; HD) is a mock documentary showing interviews with the actors playing their characters talking about using time as a currency. Given the length of this feature, it’s relatively pointless. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Deleted/Extended Scenes (12:52; HD) – We get 10 fairly innocuous scenes, a few very short, that really don’t offer a whole lot and, while nice to watch, don’t offer a whole lot in the context of the film. However, there is one scene that clears something up: how the hell they got the armored truck!

Live Extras – This submenu contains Fox’s Live Lookup where you can check out filmographies via IMDb while watching the movie (personally it’s quicker and easier just to use my computer for that). You can also access BD-Live to watch previews for other movies. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Theatrical Trailer (2:23; HD)

This release also contains a DVD/Digital Copy combo disc. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Previews – This Means War, Immortals

Also included is a DVD/Digital Copy combo disc.

VIDEO – 4.25/5

Fox brings In Time to Blu-ray presented in 1080p high-definition (AVC codec) and its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio. The picture looks great thanks in large part to Deakins’ brilliant photography with rich colors whether in the ghetto or in New Greenwich. The detail level is pretty good although at times it does come across a bit soft, but it’s fairly minimal. There are no signs of flaws such as artifacting or pixilation.

AUDIO – 4.5/5

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track in the meantime sounds excellent. The film offers a balanced amount of loud action scenes and the quieter, more dialogue driven moments. In both instances, the audio never wavers providing nice depth during the chase scenes but also clarity during character dialogues. I can’t say this is a resoundingly successful transfer, but it’s far more than satisfactory.

OVERALL – 3.25/5

Overall, In Time is a movie that had so much but squandered a great idea with a half-baked screenplay, thinly written characters and a plot that is more in line with a Bonnie & Clyde/Robin Hood story than anything else. Justin Timberlake isn’t bad as the main lead while Amanda Seyfried looks good but her character isn’t fully developed, The biggest asset the movie does have going for it is Roger Deakins cinematography, otherwise this is more or less an entertaining movie.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 02/04/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

The Big Year (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Comedy
Fox | PG/UR – 100 min. / 104 min. – $29.99 | January 31, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: David Frankel
Writer(s): Mark Obmascik (book); Howard Franklin (screenplay)
Cast: Jack Black, Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Brian Dennehy, Anjelica Huston, Rashida Jones, Rosamund Pike, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams, Kevin Pollak, Joel McHale

Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, DVD/Digital Copy Combo
Number of Discs: 2

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: 33.3 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 2.25/5

Ever want to see a movie centered on bird watching? No? How about a movie with three comedy stars? Now that would seem to be more like it, however the end result is more disappointing than anything. In fact, I don’t think The Big Year is a particularly bad movie, just a really boring one.

The story follows three men from different walks of life, but one common hobby: birding.

Brad Harris (JACK BLACK) has a job he hates, an ex-wife getting married again, not a whole lot in the bank account and a father (BRIAN DENNEHY) who doesn’t understand his fascination with birding. Stu Preissler (STEVE MARTIN) is a wildly successful CEO who dreams of retirement to spend more time with his wife (DIANNE WEIST) and, of course, birding. His business partners (JOEL MCHALE, KEVIN POLLAK) apparently cannot run the place without him so they spend a good chunk of the movie trying to lure him back to close a few deals. Last is Kenny Bostick (OWEN WILSON), a man with a beautiful and accepting wife (ROSAMUND PIKE) and he is also the current winner of ‘The Big Year’, a non-monetary award to the person who can identify (via sight or sound) the most birds in a single year.

All three decide they want to participate in ‘The Big year’ and they all cross paths in various locations around the United States, but each for their own reasons with Bostick obsessed with keeping his record to the point that he puts his relationship in jeopardy (a key sign of serious addiction). The other two seem to be in it for the fun, albeit trying to top Bostick does come into the equation.

Since Stu is rich, he has no problem going cross-country to get sight on some birds. Apparently Bostick is also well to do as a contractor and can afford the remodel his wife is having done (mainly to get his attention… unsuccessfully). But somehow, someway Brad is able to handle a full time job, with an understanding boss (ANTHONY ANDERSON), max out his credit cards and yet is still able to keep up with the other two in his bird count. In any case, as I said before, their paths cross more than once as they all go after the same kind of bird and along the way Brad meets and falls for fellow birder Ellie (RASHIDA JONES).

Honestly, I’m growing tired of just recapping the dang movie, so you get the gist. I first wanted to say that I wanted to love this movie but even with the comedic charms of the three main cast members, along with a plethora of impressive supporting cast mates, The Big Year is so dull and uninteresting. There are a few moments that I managed to chuckle and I appreciate the attempt at giving us a few serious character scenes but in the end it never quite comes together.

Speaking of the cast, I guess for their parts the comedy team of Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson are fine in their roles with possibly Black coming out the best with the most believable character and better performance of the three. Martin seems to have mainly sleepwalked through his role while Owen Wilson does what he does best: playing the loveable and charming douchebag. All three are fine actors but the script fails them and left with nothing to work with, the film’s flaws come to light even more.

The film does feature an notable supporting cast from Rashida Jones (“Parks and Recreation”) in a far too limited part; Anjelica Huston (Prizzi’s Honor) in a thankless and useless role as a sea captain taking the birders on a tour over the Pacific; Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother Where Art Thou?) as a fellow bird watcher; and the aforementioned Rosamund Pike, Kevin Pollak, Joel McHale, Dianne Wiest and Brian Dennehy. Their performances are alright but quite limited due to their brief screen time. Oh, and John Cleese gets a quick paycheck providing the narration.

The Big Year was directed with plenty of passion for birders but for those who aren’t into the hobby – and to be honest, I didn’t even knew it existed to even half the extent displayed in the movie (yes, I know it’s overblown for cinematic and comedy purposes). I will say that at the very least the movie takes the viewer to exotic locales (mainly in Canada where it was shot) and on that front, the movie does excel.

If you’re a birder then you’ll probably get more out of this movie, and its quirks, than I did. For me, I found it to have semi-entertaining scenes and while it wasn’t a chore to get through, I did find that most of it became really monotonous and by the end I couldn’t care less about any of it.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5

The Blu-ray comes in a standard case with a glossy slip cover.

This release comes with the Theatrical and Extended Versions which runs about 3-minutes longer. I’m not sure what the differences are but after watching, I think they add some extra sensual material that might’ve given the film a PG-13 rating.

The Big Migration (18:28; HD) is a basic ‘making-of’ featurette with some behind-the-scenes footage along with interviews by the cast and crew talking about the production. It’s not too bad I guess, but nothing special. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Deleted Scenes (17:31; HD) – 12 scenes apparently didn’t make either cut and for good reason. The movie is already dry as it is and adding these scenes back in would’ve have made a difference. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Gag Reel (5:58; HD) contains your standard flubbed lines and bouts of laughter. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Live Extras is your basic connection to watch trailers for other Fox titles. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

VIDEO – 4.5/5

The Big Year flies and flutters onto Blu-ray with a great looking high-def transfer. The picture quality is excellent with sharp detail, well balanced colors and no signs of artifacting or other flaws. The transfer all around was crisp, clean and looks good on the smaller big screen.

AUDIO – 4.25/5

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track isn’t fantastic but still well done. The dialogue levels are clear throughout and when we do get into the more action scenes, the music picks up and gives the lossless track a bit more depth.

OVERALL – 2.75/5

Overall, The Big Year isn’t a bad film by any stretch but boy oh boy was it boring. I’m not much of a bird person and I think the filmmakers geared this more toward that crowd but for others, you might feel left out. Even so, it’s still disappointing given the cast they manage to gather together especially the three leads. With regards to the Blu-ray, the video and audio transfers are quite good but the features have much to be desired.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 02/03/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

The Double (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Suspense, Crime, Drama
Image Entertainment | PG13 – 98 min. – $29.97 | January 31, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Michael Brandt
Writer(s): Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (written by)
Cast: Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Stephen Moyer, Odette Yustman, Martin Sheen

Theatrical Release Date: October 28, 2011 (limited)

DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurette, Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 1

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: NA
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 3.0/5

Note: This review does contain spoilers.

The Double is a mystery-suspense movie that offers little mystery and surprisingly little suspense as well. If you’ve seen the trailers, you already know one of the twists (there’s another towards the end) but there’s a reason it’s revealed, albeit the trailer still isn’t very good, and that’s because it’s shown about 30-minutes in. Personally, I think this could’ve been done later on keeping up some of the mystery. I know what the filmmakers were after, trying to establish a sort of cat and mouse game with the audience in on the whole thing, but it never quite gets going and instead people are left twiddling their thumbs waiting until the inevitable finale.

The story begins with an FBI surveillance of a United States Senator as he seems to be making a deal with the Russians, when, as the Senator leaves his room, gets ambushed and his neck slit with a wire, the perpetrator gone within seconds. At the crime scene, CIA director Tom Highland (MARTIN SHEEN) enters and takes over the investigation and brings aboard retired agent Paul Shepherdson (RICHARD GERE) back into the fold because he is the foremost expert on the man Highland believes is responsible: a Soviet assassin known only as Cassius whom Shepherdson and the CIA long thought was dead.

Reluctant to get involved, Shepherdson eventually agrees to come back to investigate and gets a partner in Ben Geary (TOPHER GRACE), a young CIA analyst who knows just about everything there is to know about Cassius. Their investigation first takes them to a man who was once trained by Cassius, Brutus (STEPHEN MOYER) who was captured by the CIA and placed in a secret government prison. Brutus doesn’t have much to offer since he’s never actually seen Cassius but for his help, they give him something he’s always asked for: a radio to get access to the outside world… quite literally as it would seem.

Brutus swallows the batteries which sends him to the hospital where he makes a quick and easy escape (one would think the security would be much tighter) but is met in the hospital parking garage by Cassius who is revealed to be… yep, Shepherdson! Nope, it’s not a big surprise and frankly far too early of a reveal.

Basically the rest of the movie is the viewer knowing Shepherdson is Cassius, watching Geary trying to put the pieces together – and meeting his wife (ODETTE YUSTMAN) – as well as getting more background on Cassius and why he’s a wanted man not just by the U.S. but the Soviets as well.

Alright, I have to say despite my criticisms of the reveal of one of the twists; The Double isn’t really a bad movie and is actually a fairly entertaining flick to pass the time away if you have an hour and a half to spare. Both Richard Gere and Topher Grace give good performances while Martin Sheen and Odette Yustman, in limited roles, are fine in the supporting roles. I also have to mention Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”) who is effective in his fairly brief appearance.

One of the better aspects to this film is the photography by veteran Jeffrey L. Kimball who has worked on such productions as Top Gun, True Romance, Wild Things and The Expendables to name a few. For The Double, some of the shots look absolutely spectacular be it either in the day time or at night.

The direction by Michael Brandt is well done and looks slick while the screenplay, also by Brandt along with Derek Haas has some suspense going for it even if interest in the story wears thin by the time the third act rolls around. The Brandt/Haas pairing also worked together on a variety of projects including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Catch That Kid, 3:10 to Yuma and the adaptation of Wanted.

The Double isn’t a bad movie but the concept was unfortunately wasted by a poorly written plotline and/or editing. Sorry but as much as I appreciate the filmmakers bucking the mold in revealing one of the twists early on, the revelation also took any energy away from an otherwise interesting storyline. That being said, Richard Gere and Topher Grace both give fine performances that make the film at least somewhat entertaining and a worthwhile venture.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5

This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover, unique to an Image Entertainment release.

The disc doesn’t offer up a whole lot in terms of features. We get Interviews (7:49; HD) with the cast (Gere, Grace, Moyer, Sheen, etc.) and crew (writers, director), an audio commentary with Writer/Director Michael Brandt & Writer/Producer Derek Haas and the Theatrical Trailer (2:26; HD). The commentary isn’t bad as Brandt and Haas keeps things lively offering up antidotal information on writing and directing the film, working with the cast, and so forth.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

Image Entertainment releases The Double on Blu-ray with a nice looking 1080p high-definition transfer and AVC codec. The movie, presented in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio, is sharp and well detailed throughout. The coloring is also well balanced with no oversaturation or bleeding over. This is a sharp transfer overall that looks good on the small big screen.

AUDIO – 4.25/5

The audio meanwhile isn’t fantastic but more than effective. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track offers up clear dialogue coming mainly through the center channel, ambient and off-camera sounds via the front speakers and other, lower level, aspects from the rear channels as well. The LFE channel gets a little use which gives the track a bit more depth. The few action scenes do benefit from this lossless track while the quieter moments also sound nice.

OVERALL – 3.0/5

Overall, The Double doesn’t quite capitalize on an interesting concept thanks in part to a “twist” that not only is revealed in the trailer but early on in the film itself. Despite that, I still feel the film is at least watchable due to Richard Gere and Topher Grace. The Blu-ray offers up solid video and audio transfers but falters in the features department, although the commentary is pretty good. As it stands, this is probably worth a rental but nothing more.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 02/30/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

Real Steel (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Science Fiction, Drama, Suspense
Touchstone | PG13 – 127 min. – $39.99 | January 24, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Writer(s): Richard Matheson (short story); Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven (story), John Gatins (screenplay)
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand

Theatrical Release Date: October 7, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted/Extended Scenes, Second Screen, Outtakes
Number of Discs: 2

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 7.1), French (DTS-HD HR 7.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Disc Size: 46.1 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A, B, C

THE MOVIE – 3.75/5

Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, it’s not the first time Real Steel was adapted. The original story was used in a season 5 episode of “The Twilight Zone” simply entitled ‘Steel’ starring Lee Marvin. I haven’t seen the episode myself so I can’t compare but from what I did see of this feature film, I must admit that it’s not that bad.

Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, an ex-boxer who spends his days using robots to do the fighting and grab any money he can be it in legit fights or those underground. In the opening, he gets his ass handed to him in a bull vs. bot bout and desperately needs a new robot and finds a former world champ, Noisy Boy, that he can buy for $40k. Unfortunately for Charlie, he has no money. He resides at an old boxing training center run by the daughter of his old trainer, Bailey Tallet (EVANGELINE LILLY). Bailey is a tough young woman who is good at repairing robots and is an old flame of Charlie’s.

His world changes when his ex-girlfriend dies and, under Texas law, are entitled to custody of son Max (DAKOTA GOYO), whom he’s had limited communication with, to say the least. He goes to court to sign over his parental rights to ex-sister-in-law Debra (HOPE DAVIS) and her wealthy husband Marvin (JAMES REBHORN) but because the two would-be parents are conveniently taking a trip to Europe, Charlie makes a deal with Marvin to take the kid of the summer in return for $100k, half up front. Another convenient figure given Charlie needs the upfront payment to buy the robot.

So with this new robot in tow, after a few adjustments since it only spoke Japanese, he takes Max with him to an underground fight and despite his son’s protests to only take smaller payout bouts – the kid is big into robot fighting and is a bit of a tech genius, conveniently enough once again – Charlie instead takes on a bigger fighter for a much larger payday… and gets his ass handed to him once again, destroying a perfectly formidable ‘bot.

The loss, however, does not deter Charlie as he sets out to find spare parts at a recycling center to piece together a new robot and start making cash again. Max tags along and while they collect different parts, Max slips off the side of a cliff to a ledge below where the arm of an old ‘bot saves his fall. Max is insistent on taking this robot, named Atom, but Charlie wants none of it so Max unearths and somehow drags it out several miles back to their truck. How he manages to do this is beyond me, but I just went with it.

Because Atom was a sparing ‘bot – made to take hits but not deliver any – Charlie doesn’t have much use for it but Max, like his father, is stubborn and works to fix Atom up and use some parts from the other ‘bot to put in upgraded features like a voice controlled system where the user can command the robot with built-in moves, this is to go along with a shadow feature in which Atom mimics what the other person does.

Soon enough Charlie becomes a believer and with Max’s tenacity and belief gets Atom a fight in which the robot wins and begins a run that eventually leads to a national fighting tournament in the WRB (World Robot Boxing) garnering widespread support defeating bigger robots along the way. You can basically get where the movie is going from this point as its telegraphed early on that Atom would eventually battle the baddest of all the robots, Zeus, which was built by a genius Japanese man with all the high-tech gizmos at Zeus’ handlers’ hands. Think Rocky Balboa meets Transformers… but without the inane plotline for the latter.

Before anything else, I have to give kudos to the production design. It might not seem like much but I liked the fact that even though the film takes place in 2020, the production design team didn’t go overboard with a futuristic look and instead made it more realistic with a few items that made it just slightly different from today. Often whenever a film takes place in the future (even in the near future), they overload the set with items (and style for that matter) that is more distracting than anything else.

When it comes to the cast, once again Hugh Jackman shines. His character isn’t merely one-dimensional and instead is vastly flawed. He starts out as a complete asshole but as he begins to bond with his son, the layers begin to fall and while it’s not exactly subtle, Jackman seems to play just right. For his part, young Dakota Goyo thankfully doesn’t play the typical annoying brat kid that often gets on my nerves. Last is Evangeline Lilly starting her post “Lost” career. Her part has some meat behind it – since she doesn’t have a whole lot to do – but it’s more to expand on Jackman’s Charlie character than anything else. I supposed she fulfills the female romantic role well enough but it’s nothing special or noteworthy (but damn, she does look fine).

One of the high points for the film is the mixture of practical and visual effects. All of the fight scenes were done via motion capture and probably some other shots used CGI but rather than relying on the actors to act against a reflective ball and whatnot, instead they actually built some of the robots. It’s an impressive accomplishment and a bit of old school filmmaking, but it makes the film feel somehow more realistic.

I don’t think Real Steel is a great movie but it’s an amiable one. It’s a predictable film but still a crowd-pleaser with a nice, if not simple, ending. Directed with some heartwarming ambience by Shawn Levy, who previously helmed the much popular Night at the Museum and hit romantic comedy Day Night, this is a feel good movie that the entire family can enjoy. The action is well done and the practical/visual effects are top notch.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5

This Blu-ray release comes in a standard case and a glossy, embossed slip cover.

Real Steel Second Screen – In the latest craze for Blu-ray is this feature where you have to go to a website and load an app either on your iPad or computer/Mac. When launched, it syncs with your Internet connected Blu-ray player and then while playing, on the computer shows some on-set photos/concept artwork/production notes and while playing in the Blu-ray player, we get commentary by Shawn Levy and some select featurettes and picture-in-picture footage. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

I don’t like this feature (in this form) for many reasons but the biggest one is: what happens if the app site (for those using a computer) goes away? It means this feature goes with it. Why not just put it on the damn disc in the first place?

Countdown to the Fight: The Charlie Kenton Story (13:51; HD) – This is a mock-featurette that profiles Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman’s character) as if he were real. It features interviews with the various actors playing their characters. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Making of Metal Valley (14:14; HD) takes a look at putting together the set for the Metal Valley Recycling Center that plays an integral part to the movie. It’s actually a cool featurette as you get to take a look at the various aspects of shooting the sequence.

Building the Bots (5:38; HD) is a short but interesting featurette checking out the workshop where the real robots were being built. It’s explained the importance of using real robots for certain scenes to give a more real feel.

Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s Champ (6:19; HD) is a nice featurette where Leonard shows off his skills to the cast and crew as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the legendary boxer training Hugh Jackman for the role. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Deleted & Extended Scenes (17:49; HD) – There’s not much here, though there are several involving a removed storyline involving Max’s mother. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Bloopers (2:36; HD) contain your usual line flubs and other on-set antics.

There’s also a retail DVD Copy which also contains an Audio Commentary not available separately on the Blu-ray disc (it’s used within the Second Screen feature).

VIDEO – 4.5/5

Buena Vista releases Real Steel to Blu-ray with a great looking 1080p high-definition transfer. The video, presented in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio, has a fine amount of grain that shows off a film-like quality. The color array is also well done with good dark levels intermeshed with bright colors, and well balanced skin tones, which pop off the screen very nicely.

AUDIO – 4.75/5

The disc comes with a boom-tastic 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track with good range from the quieter, more dialogue driven scenes to the numerous action/fight sequences which really show off the lossless audio. The front and rear channels are well balanced with no one speaker being overloaded while the center channel gets primarily used for dialogue or central action. The LFE track meanwhile also kicks on offering a bit of depth to the track.

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Overall, Real Steel is a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy. The mixture of practical and visual effects is fantastic and the story has a great heart behind it. Hugh Jackman once again delivers a fine performance and the young Dakota Goyo isn’t nearly as obnoxious as other child actors I’ve had to endure in movies over the years. No, this isn’t a great movie but it’s an amiable one with a satisfying finale.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/27/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Limited 3D Edition

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Science Fiction, Action
Paramount | PG13 – 154 min. – $54.99 | January 31, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Michael Bay
Writer(s): Ehren Kruger (written by)
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Malkovich, Francis McDormand

Theatrical Release Date: June 28, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, Multi-Angle Sequences, Gallery, Theatrical Trailers, 3D Blu-ray Copy, 22 Blu-ray Copy, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 4

Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 7.1), English (Discrete Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Discrete Dolby Digital Surround), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Portuguese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.40
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Disc Size: NA
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 3.0/5

There’s no mistaking that Michael Bay is a talented filmmaker. Of course, there’s also no mistaking that he places CGI, trailer shots and gorgeous looking camera angles over any semblance of a story. This was the case for the first two Transformers™ movies with the last one, Revenge of the Fallen, being the most egregious as it was truly a mind-numbingly awful movie. The sequel was so bad that I finally had given up on the franchise and chose not to see the latest, Dark of the Moon, in the theaters. While I can’t say DotM is a good movie, it is at least on par with the first film which was mostly passable entertainment.

The latest installment begins back in the 1960s when the space program under JFK starts up but not for the reasons we’ve been led to believe. The United States detected something on the dark side of the moon and so have the Russians, thus begins the space race which culminates in Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (who appears as himself later) do the moon landing, walking around and all the iconic imagery before the feed goes dark and the real mission starts as they explore a huge craft. This craft had landed there after a fierce battle between the Autobots™ and Decepticons™ on Cybertron™ and there’s something on there that threatens humanity.

Fast forward to the present day and what I honestly thought was a commercial as Carly Spencer (ROSIE HUNTINGTON-WHITELEY) climbs up a flight of steps, rear end stick out as she greets boyfriend Sam Witwicky (SHIA LABEOUF) as he wakes up in bed. The two do a little flirting before getting somewhat caught up with Sam’s life as he’s about to receive a medal from the President. But despite saving the world twice before, Sam is unable to find steady employment and the film takes us through some of his job interviews at a variety of workplaces before coming upon an eccentric businessman named Bruce Brazos (JOHN MALKOVICH).

Yes, Sam’s parents once again show up this time in an RV (they sold their home), out to embarrass their son with dad (KEVIN DUNN) being tough with his son for not having a job and mamma (JULIE WHITE) worried about her son’s relationship status. Basically it’s more of the same and obvious parental movie clichés.

In any case, as with Huntington-Whiteley and Malkovich, the movie does introduce us to a few new characters: Dylan Gould (PATRICK DEMPSEY) is a rich tool who, in a shocking twist, reveals himself to be working with the Decepticons™, oh and he’s Carly’s boss(!); Mearing (FRANCES MCDORMAND) is the Secretary of Defense who has been keeping secrets (surprise, surprise); and Dutch (ALAN TUDYK) is the assistant to Simmons (JOHN TURTURRO) who has become successful in his endeavors talking about the Transformers wars via books and television interviews.

As for the Transformers™, you know the title characters the race is on for Autobots™ led by Optimus Prime (voiced once again by PETER CULLEN) to stop the Decepticons™ and learn about the true reason for the United States’ intentions to get to the moon. So Optimus and Ratchet (voiced by ROBERT FOXWORTH) take a ship to the moon where they discover the body of Sentinel Prime (voiced by LEONARD NIMOY) and take him back to Earth.

Alright, so basically, and not to overcomplicate things since it’s not that complicated, there are hundreds of pillars hidden around the world and the Decepticons™ are after them to open a portal to bring back Cybertron™ but at the expense of planet Earth. Will the Autobots™ triumph for a third time? Will the film end with a dramatic monologue by Optimus Prime? Will we get to hear yet another Lincoln Park ballad?

I have to admit up front that even though I loathed nearly everything about Revenge of the Fallen and felt the original was merely acceptable, I found Transformers: Dark of the Moon to be mildly entertaining. This isn’t to say it’s a particularly good movie mind you, but it has its moments especially towards the third act and the assault in Chicago. It’s a spectacle sequence and thankfully it wasn’t nearly as inane or chaotic in comparison to the action scenes in Revenge of the Fallen.

Michael Bay once again proves that he’s a bit of a mad scientist. He’s not a great filmmaker yet he still manages to create absolutely beautiful looking scenes. Yeah, the man loves his visual effects but at least here it’s interesting to watch and some of the more practical effects were fun (the aerial stunt work was impressive). So Bay might not be a phenomenal filmmaker but he knows what he wants and gets it. The Internet might lambast him yet audiences eat it up.

With regards to the story, it’s nothing special. No surprise there. At the same time, however, the human side of it wasn’t nearly as annoying compared with the previous installment while the fight scenes between the Transformers™ wasn’t nearly as confusing, albeit there were a couple of moments where I wasn’t sure who was the good robot and who was the bad one. That said, the biggest positive: NO ROBOT HEAVEN. That alone bumps the film’s rating up a half star…

Casting wise, I think all Michael Bay and company ask is to make it look believable acting against a blue screen or on partial sets. At this point it’s more of the same for Transformers™ vets Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson. These aren’t juicy or challenging parts (the physicality is, of course) and for LaBeouf specifically, it’s getting to the point where I wonder how much more they stretch the Witwicky character. I suppose as long as LaBeouf is willing to cash in a $20 million paycheck, the writers will continue to contrive ways for Witwicky to keep saving the world.

As for the elephant on the proverbial set, runway model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley proves just how overrated Megan Fox (and useless) was for this franchise. The female lead in these Transformers™ movies is plug-and-play. All they have to accomplish is looking good in slow-mo and have a well defined ass for those… more artistic shots; which was the case early on as we get a unique introduction to Huntington-Whitely (as described earlier in this review). Make no mistake, I don’t think she’s a good actress but she fulfills the role well enough.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon might not be a great action movie but at least it’s a competent one, something I couldn’t say about Revenge of the Fallen. As much as I respect Michael Bay and what he brings to the table, I have to wonder what a filmmaker with a philosophy of substance over style could offer but I doubt that’ll happen any time soon as I don’t think Bay will relinquish the director’s chair for this franchise.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5

This release has 4-discs housed in an HD Keep Case with a lenticular slip cover. The first disc contains the 3D Blu-ray, disc 2 is the 2D Blu-ray, disc 3 are the features (outlined below) and disc 4 has the standard DVD Copy.

Above and Beyond: Exploring Dark of the Moon (1:50:46; HD) – This is a five-part ‘making-of’ documentary covering “Development and Design”, “Filming Across America”, “Shooting in Chicago”, “Aerial Stunts” and “Post-Production and Release”. As with the ‘making-of’ included on Revenge of the Fallen, this covers just about every aspect of the filmmaking process offering up interviews with the cast (LaBeouf, Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, etc.) and crew (Michael Bay, Ehren Kruger and others). The documentary also briefly covers the failures behind Revenge of the Fallen (including replacing Megan Fox), which is a nice bit of honesty.

Uncharted Territory: NASA’s Future Then and Now (26:15; HD) takes a look at the history of NASA from the perspectives from the experts in the field (as well as a few comments by Michael Bay) and where the space program is headed. It’s a nice featurette where you get a Cliff’s Notes on NASA.

Reconstructing Chicago: Multi-Angle Sequences – With this you can check out the Revisualizations (17:05; HD) and Visual Effects (18:36; HD) used for various scenes. They come with an optional commentary by the visual effects supervisor.

The Art of Cybertron is comprised of 5 galleries of artwork of the Transformers.

The Dark of the Moon Archive is a variety of short promotional featurettes including 3D: A Transforming Visual Art (3:06) which is a convention interview with Michael Bay and James Cameron; Moscow World Premiere (2:29) where the filmmakers gush over the movie on the red carpet; Siromen Featurette (2:28) covers the aerial stunts used in Chicago; Cody’s iPad (2:07) and The Sound of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (9:17) shows off the sound design for the movie.

The Matrix of Marketing contains submenus for the Trailers (teaser and regular) and Marketing Galleries with posters, style guide, promo items and concession items.

Also included is an insert with Digital Copy codes that you can use via UltraViolet or with iTunes.

VIDEO – 5.0/5

Transformers: Dark of the Moon comes to Blu-ray with an absolutely stunning looking 1080p high-definition transfer. Now, in case of the Blu-ray disc, it’s probably exactly the same as the earlier release but none-the-less it still looks fantastic. The detail level in the picture is crisp and clear throughout with no signs of artifacts or pixilation. As one would assume, colors are vibrant but never look oversaturated.

AUDIO – 5.0/5

The disc includes a bombastic Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. As with the picture, the audio elements is right in Michael Bay’s wheelhouse as the home viewer gets inundated with an aural experience that you don’t get from many other Blu-ray releases. From the opening scene where each and every channel gets a full blast, it shows what the home theater experience should be. I was impressed with everything from the action sequences (obviously) to the few quiet moments where dialogue levels were nice and clear. The LFE channel also gets a workout shaking the floor and walls with each fire blast.

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Overall, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is hardly the high point of action but I must admit that I actually mostly enjoyed this installment possibly because the previous sequel was so bad that it made this film look like Citizen Kane. In any case, once again the visual effects are incredible and the story was at least acceptable. The Blu-ray itself features amazing video and audio transfers and a fair amount of features, though I’m disappointed there wasn’t a commentary which were on the previous two releases.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/25/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Comedy, Crime
Image | R – 102 min. – $17.97 | January 24, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Arthur Hill
Writer(s): Earl Barret & Arne Sultan & Marvin Worth (story), Earl Barret & Arne Sultan and Eliot Wald & Andrew Kurtzman and Gene Wilder (screenplay)
Cast: Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance, Kevin Spacey, Anthony Zerbe

Theatrical Release Date: May 12, 1989

DISC INFO:
Features: None
Number of Discs: 1

Audio: English (Uncompressed PCM Surround)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: NA
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 3.5/5

Plot: It was murder! The blind guy couldn’t see it. The deaf guy couldn’t hear it. But they’re both wanted for it. Meet Wally (RICHARD PRYOR) and Dave (GENE WILDER)—Wally is blind, Dave is deaf. When a man is murdered outside the newsstand where they work, the police collar these two unlikely buddies as their main suspects. A chase ensues as Wally and Dave hightail it from New York Police Department to snag the real bad guys—the wickedly beautiful Eve (JOAN SEVERANCE) and her cold-blooded cohort, Kirgo (KEVIN SPACEY).

The comedic pairing of Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder are one of the best in history, right up there IMO with Walter Matthau/Jack Lemmon and even Chris Farley and David Spade. Maybe it’s that their styling’s are so distinct but whenever they’re on screen together, no matter how inane the plotline might be or how some of the jokes don’t quite land, their friendship comes across the screen like no other.

In See No Evil, Hear No Evil, the pair works so well with one another that even the jokes that don’t or shouldn’t hit the mark manage to do so thanks to either of their complimenting personalities. Now, I can’t quite say this is a classic comedy but having not seen it in many years (and even then it was probably on Comedy Central), it’s held up remarkably well. So despite any failings with the screenplay (by no less than 5 writings including Gene Wilder and a couple of past “SNL” writers), Richard Pryor and Wilder makes everything work from beginning to end.

As a side, it’s fun to see Kevin Spacey before he made it big and the beautiful Joan Severance who fills the vixen/villainous role so damn well; though her own career is primarily comprised in more of the erotic thriller realm. The two, even in smaller roles by comparison, play up the villain parts without going over-the-top, a trait that wasn’t exactly in short supply in 1980s comedy.

The film was directed by Arthur Hiller whose career began in the 1950s in a variety of television shows (“Gunsmoke”, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, “Route 66”, etc.) before tackling feature films in different genres; his last one on record, sadly enough, is the truly atrocious National Lampoon’s Pucked. For SNE, HNE, his job probably was simple enough: just let Pryor and Wilder do their thing and make sure the camera is rolling. Of course, to his credit, Hiller’s direction style isn’t prominent yet at the same time he manages to keep the comedy pacing going with an even, steady flow.

Overall, while I wasn’t as enamored with See No Evil, Hear No Evil as some, it’s still a flick with many funny scenes and just seeing the fantastic comedic chemistry between Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder makes it all worthwhile.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 0/5

No features have been provided.

VIDEO – 4.0/5

Image once again provides an avenue to which we can get some of these gems into high-def and frankly, I found this transfer to be pretty damn good, surprisingly enough. The film is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and the 1080p HD transfer looks crisp and clean throughout. Colors seem to be well balanced and I didn’t notice any obvious flaws like dust and scratches that often can show in older films.

AUDIO – 3.5/5

The disc comes with an uncompressed PCM Surround track which, while not great, isn’t too bad either. The dialogue levels are nice and clear from beginning to end and even the few fight/chase scenes have a slight oomph behind them.

OVERALL – 2.5/5

Overall, See No Evil, Hear No Evil is Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder at their best. The story isn’t great and in fact is quite dumb but the pair’s comedic timing and chemistry makes the 100-minutes so worthwhile. As far as the Blu-ray is concerned, not surprisingly there are no features but the audio and video transfers are definitely better than the DVD counterpart. At a low SRP, you should be able to nab this for under $10 (maybe even in the $5 range) and at that point it’d be worth picking up.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/23/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

Abduction (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Action, Thriller
Lionsgate | PG13 – 106 min. – $39.99 | January 17, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: John Singleton
Writer(s): Shawn Christensen (written by)
Cast: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Sigourney Weaver

Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Picture-in-Picture, Featurettes, Gag Reel, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 1

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 7.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Disc Size: 42.3 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 2.25/5

When the Twilight franchise began to breakout at the box office, I just sort of ignored it. When the Twilight movies re-launched a craze in Hollywood to release vampire/werewolf movies (Fright Night and The Howling Reborn for example), I shrugged it off. But now with the release of Abduction, the popularity of Twilight has permeated beyond the genre thanks to somebody’s bright idea to make Taylor Lautner into some action hero. Thanks a lot.

Abduction is a teen spy thriller — Bourne meets the CW’s “Nikita” if you will — centered on Nathan (TAYLOR LAUTNER), a young man who when he’s not clowning around with his pals, including Gilly (DENZEL WHITAKER) and Jake (WILLIAM PELTZ), broods with his dark eyes. He also has a crush on his neighbor, Karen (LILY COLLINS), but those feelings are apparently unrequited though they do exchange awkwardly steamy glances when in the hallways of the high school. Hmm, that sounds familiar…

Nathan’s home life is nice, though. He lives in an upper class 2-story house with two loving parents: Kevin (JASON ISAACS) and Mara (MARIA BELLO). Unfortunately not everything is as it appears to be and Nathan’s life turns upside down when, while working on a sociology report with Karen – who just so happened to be assigned to work with Nathan – discover a website for missing youth and find a picture that bears a striking resemblance to Nathan when he was younger. To further his concerns, he uses an age program which makes it almost proof positive. So, the question is, who are those people living in that house? The proof comes when he finds the exact shirt the missing boy was wearing in the picture in a pile of his old childhood clothes.

Confronted with the evidence, Mara reveals that it is true but that there’s more to the story. She wants Kevin to be there for the explanation but before that can happen, there’s a ring at the door by a couple of black tied dudes and all hell breaks loose the aftermath of which leaves Kevin and Mara dead and Nathan on the run with Karen (she was on her way over as the chaos was occurring). The house explodes because the bad guys apparently were able to plant a bomb in the oven while taking on two skilled fighters but the explosions leaves Karen wounded.

Nathan takes her to the hospital where he runs into Dr. Burnett (SIGOURNEY WEAVER) who we met early on as his psychiatrist helping treat him for anger issues and some nightmares he keeps having. Well, like everyone else, Burnett isn’t who she says she is but helps the pair out when the CIA and an agent named Burton (ALFRED MOLINA) get involved. She helps them escape not only pursuit by the CIA but, we learn later, some skilled Russian thugs led by Kozlow (MICHAEL NYQVIST) who want also are desperate to get their hands on Nathan. Why you might ask? Well, SPOILER WARNING, but it’s to get at his real dad whose a freelance spy with critical information that both the Russians and CIA desperately want/need.

Alright, let’s get down to why the movie on the whole stinks: I don’t have anything against Taylor Lautner but between the Twilight Sagas and now this film, the young man might look good, but he cannot act and trying to make him into some young Matt Damon action superstar was an absolute and utter failure. The problem with Lautner is he really only has a few “looks” and in each one, his eyes remain brooding while his mouth will try to emote what he’s supposed to be feeling (curved up: happy; curved down: sad; no curvature; pondering; etc). Obviously the material doesn’t help matters but at the same time, even the action scenes don’t quite work.

The supporting cast I suppose do their best with what they have to work with:

-      Lily Collins, whose filmography includes The Blind Side, Priest, Mirror Mirror as Snow White, and the upcoming Evil Dead remake, is OK as the female lead although she doesn’t really do anything special or make an impact either way.

-      Alfred Molina continues to make… interesting career choices between the dull Prince of Persia, the ill-advised and unfunny Pink Panther 2 and the whimsical yet forgettable Sorcerer’s Apprentice. For Abduction, I never quite found him that intimidating as a morally gray character but he at least makes the character a tad more interesting than he should’ve been.

-      It’s nice to see Jason Isaacs outside of his creepy role in the Harry Potter movies (and without that white wig) as well as Maria Bello who has become one of my favorite actresses. Despite not having a whole lot to work with, and limited time, they both provide the necessary weight to make the characters important enough to carry our “hero” through the film.

-      Michael Nyqvist plays a suitable villain but again, there’s really nothing noteworthy about him. He’s merely a Russian thug who can shoot a gun.

Abduction was directed by John Singleton whose own career has taken a turn for the worse it would seem. After making a splash in his debut with Boyz n the Hood, his follow-ups, Poetic Justice and Higher Learning, certainly had merit. Then he went on to direct a remake of Shaft which wasn’t a bad movie but undoubtedly not a great movie by any stretch followed by 2 Fast 2 Furious (another “eh” kind of movie) and Four Brothers which had potential but never quite hit a home run. With this film, again, there’s really nothing that stands out with his direction. The action scenes are pretty generic, the acting is at best average and the actual look is fine but unremarkable. It looks entirely like a director-for-hire job. Collect the paycheck and move on to the next.

Now I will say the movie isn’t all bad as even with Lautner’s bad acting and line delivery, I found at least parts to be slightly entertaining. No doubt, this still is not a good movie yet if you can overlook some of the drawbacks, it’s passable entertainment for 106 minutes especially if you don’t have anything else to watch. Otherwise, catch this sometime either on HBO or when it’ll eventually air on TBS and advertise to all the Twilight-ers.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5

The Blu-ray comes with a glossy slip cover.

Abduction Application – This is a customizable picture-in-picture feature where you select from three categories, so you can do just one, two or even all three and while the movie plays, you can watch the behind-the-scenes featurette/interviews while the movie plays in a smaller box. Some of what is shown are exclusive while others are available to watch in separate featurettes.

Abduction Chronicles (18:17; HD) – This is Taylor Lautner’s “first-person account of shooting the film.” Basically it’s Lautner sitting in front of a black background talking about the movie with some behind-the-scenes footage intercut.

Initiation of an Action Hero (11:57; HD) covers the action and stunts done by Lautner with the actor, crew members and his co-stars talking all about it. Nothing to write home about, but it’s an OK featurette.

The Fight for the Truth (12:01; HD) takes on the fight work done by the entire cast and once again has interview footage with the cast/crew intertwined with behind-the-scenes footage.

Pulled Punches (3:37; HD) is just the gag reel with on-set antics providing some laughs.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

Lionsgate releases Abduction on Blu-ray in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio. The 1080p HD transfer looks good with a sharp looking picture and a fine color array with skin tones looking well balanced. I didn’t really notice any imperfections such as artifacting or even edge enhancement. The movie might not be very good, but at this video transfer pops off the small screen.

AUDIO – 4.5/5

The disc comes with a loud, all encompassing 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. The dialogue levels comes through the center channel very clearly without being overbearing while, when the action sequences picked up, the other speakers become more activated with a well balanced attack from all sides. But even the quieter moments, the front and rear channels provide a fine level of ambient noises. The LFE channel does get kicked on during the action scenes providing some depth to this lossless track.

OVERALL – 2.75/5

Overall, to say the least, Abduction is not a very good movie, the acting from Lautner is pretty bad (and at best merely average) while the talented supporting cast can’t overcome a lame script and overwrought storyline. The action sequences are all fairly average but at the same time I at least found some of it to be entertaining even when things get bad. I won’t say its worth renting but if you find it on the cheap or airing on television, then it might be worth checking out.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/18/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

Texas Killing Fields (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Suspense
Anchor Bay | R – 105 min. – $29.99 | January 31, 2012

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Ami Canaan Mann
Writer(s): Donald F. Ferrarone (written by)
Cast: Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastan, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Clarke, Annabeth Gish, Sheryl Lee, Stephen Graham

Theatrical Release Date: October 14, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 1

Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 7.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.40
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: 23.1 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 2.0/5

Whenever a cover or poster says “Inspired by true events”, my Spidey-sense begin to tingle because often said events are merely a sliver of what actually happened and such is the case in Texas Killing Fields.

The film, originally going to be directed by Danny Boyle, was instead taken over by Ami Canaan Mann, daughter of legendary filmmaker Michael Mann (who also produced), making this her sophomoric theatrical film after a couple of stints on “Friday Night Lights” and “Robbery Homicide Division” and 2001’s Morning. Does Ms. Mann even have an ounce of talent like her father? Based on TKF, I’d say no, but with some work she certainly has the opportunity.

The story centers around small town Texas detectives Mike Souder (SAM WORTHINGTON) and Brian Heigh (JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN) who, when the movie begins, are called onto the scene of a young female found dead beside a convenience store. Within the first minute we immediately learn Heigh is a meticulous and spiritual man with a sense for when it’s going to rain while Souder is more by the book and seemingly tolerates Heigh’s religious manor (Souder also apparently doesn’t have a built-in barometer to predict when it’ll rain).

On the way back from the crime scene, we encounter a young girl named Ann Sliger. Ann’s home life is in shams: her mother (SHERYL LEE) is a whore and her brother (JAMES HEBERT) is a mamma’s boy. There’s also a quirky fellow named Rhino (STEPHEN GRAHAM) who hangs around the place and takes a special interest in little Ann. Heigh, though, looks after Ann while Souder raises the ire out of Rhino.

Meanwhile, in the town over, Detective Pam Stall (JESSICA CHASTAIN) has a murder case of her own and wants Heigh’s help, but Souder won’t allow it as Heigh gets too wrapped up in these cases and often even gets lost in his determination. Oh, and to add an extra wrinkle: Stall and Souder used to be married, so the relationship is already filled with tension.

Soon enough, however, both men become entrenched in the investigation especially after another woman is attacked in her own him (she manages to stave him off) only for another woman the same night to get kidnapped with the person(s) calling the detectives in their office with a recording of the attack.

Could Rhino be behind it? Or is it another individual, a personal called “Rule” (JASON CLARKE), a tatted up individual who hangs out with an insidious crowd, including pimp Levon (JON EYEZ), and has an affinity for young girls. It’s a cat and mouse game, at a very slow and uninteresting pace, as it is a race against time to stop the killer before it’s too late.

Alright, so Texas Killing Fields had an interesting premise and actually began well enough with effectively dark ambience. However, as the movie pushed on, I had a nagging feeling this wouldn’t end well, not in the sense of the plot but that I’m meeting characters that quite frankly are unlikeable or at best, are cardboard-thin in dimensionality, and yes I am talking about the good guys.

I appreciate movies that aren’t black and white – meaning the good guys have flaws – but when you have one who is downright dull (Worthington) and the other downright depressing (Morgan), it’s really hard to root for either one of them. Then you add in bad guys who are generic and, when it’s revealed who the killer is, obvious, there’s not a whole lot of mystery for the viewer to hang their hat on. So you’re left dark movie with a bunch of dead girls and another live girl living in a crappy house with a neglectful mother. Give me something or someone to care about, please.

With regards to the cast, Sam Worthington is… Sam Worthington. If you’ve seen him in Avatar or even Terminator: Salvation, you’ve seen his emotional range. I like the guy and all, but he’s hardly been impressive in anything I’ve seen him at this point, though I suppose he could find that one script to breakout on. Jeffrey Dean Morgan gets the more dark emotional meat to chew on but sadly, it doesn’t amount to much. Again, his performance isn’t anything special, though he does show more depth. Chloe Grace Moretz in the meantime continues to expand her horizons after the popular Kick-Ass (which I still have not seen) and from the stellar Let Me In. Her role in TKF isn’t particularly strong given the part is fairly small, but she holds her own.

In the end, Texas Killing Fields has some good talent attached but the execution is so poor that no amount of fine acting could overcome the flaws in both the screenwriting and direction, not that Sam Worthington is that outstanding either.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5

Not a whole lot here accept a decent audio commentary by director Ami Canaan Mann and writer Donald F. Ferrarone and the theatrical trailer (2:13; HD).

VIDEO – 4.0/5

Anchor Bay Entertainment releases Texas Killing Fields onto Blu-ray with a good looking 1080p high-def transfer and presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. Now, the movie is dark in tone so even the daylight scenes aren’t especially bright but even so the detail level is decent, color array a tad muted per director’s wishes I’m sure and the black levels, for which there’s much to judge, is excellent showing no signs of artifacting.

AUDIO – 4.25/5

Surprisingly of all releases, this one actually gets a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless track. I’m not sure if a movie like this really benefits from all the channels because it is dialogue heavy intermixed with ambient noises and a haunting score which helps envelopes the other channels.

OVERALL – 2.5/5

Overall, Texas Killing Fields is a bit of a disappointment. Director Ami Canaan Mann has some of the visual talents of her father but the story doesn’t quite fit and most of all, the characters are soulless and/or un-relatable. I couldn’t care less what happened to anybody in this film and thus didn’t care for the crimes themselves. This is not a compelling movie in any way which is unfortunately given the talent attached. The Blu-ray offers up good audio and video transfers while the features have much to be desired.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/17/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.

Traffic (2000)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Drama, Crime
Criterion | R – 147 min. – $39.95 | January 17, 2011

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Writer(s): Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)
Cast: Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Luis Guzman, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Erika Christensen, Miguel Ferrer, Topher Grace

Theatrical Release Date: January 5, 2001

DISC INFO:
Features: 3 Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Photo Gallery, Trailers
Number of Discs: 1

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English
Disc Size: 42.8 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A

THE MOVIE – 4.5/5

Note: This review was originally published on May 5, 2004. I have changed a few things to update it, but my thoughts on it then basically mirror how I feel about it 7 years later.

The war on drugs is an ongoing problem. From ODs to addiction, it is a problem that America has been fighting for too long. Traffic deals with this issue in a way that I have not seen in other films around the same subject. It dwells even further than others are willing to go and does a tremendous job at it. It exposes the reality of the problem bringing it to light. We see every night on the news and see films with people on drugs, but few movies are so realistic.

There are three intersecting storylines involved. The first being in Mexico with Benicio Del Toro plays a Tijuana State police officer hired, along with his partner Monalo, by General Anturo Salazar (Tomas Milian), a Mexican government official who is trying to help in the halting of the drug trade.

The second storyline concerns Michael Douglas as Robert Wakefield, a man that the President of the United States has appointed the new drug czar. But things are not so peachy when he finds out that his own daughter, Caroline (Erika Christensen) is abusing drugs and getting herself deeper into trouble.

And finally the third one headlines Catherine Zeta-Jones as the wife to a big time cocaine dealer. Things get turned upside down for her when her husband is arrested by the DEA and is left alone with her 8 year old son and her unborn child. But to her aid comes Dennis Quaid to give her legal advice and tell her the gist of what is happening.

The acting is incredible. There is not one person in this entire ensemble that does a poor job; rising actors and veterans alike, they all do a great job. There are many recognizable faces including Don Cheadle who probably made a notable mark for me with this role before furthering his career with strong parts in Hotel Rwanda and The Guard; actor Topher Grace plays Caroline’s boyfriend Seth, primarily of “That 70′s Show” fame. Along with Topher is Erika Christensen who gives a performance that is great, though her career thus far hasn’t exactly taken off.

Meanwhile, the veteran cast also pulls their own weight. Michael Douglas shines in the background and does a worthy job; his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones has some relative good scenes although is also mainly held in the background, but has a couple important scenes. The one that to me was noteworthy was Benicio Del Toro. He gives a great performance deserving of that Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actor. As I said: this is probably the best ensemble cast that I have seen in some time.

As far as Stephen Gaghan’s Academy Award winning script goes, it is great. It does a fabulous job intertwining the three stories, like when Benicio Del Toro is driving down the streets in San Diego; it quickly cuts to Catherine Zeta-Jones walking on the sidewalk going the other way.

Steven Soderbergh, of Erin Brockovich fame, does a fantastic job on the direction. I was somewhat puzzled on the opening shots when he used a grainy affect (used in Three Kings) for the perspective on Mexico, then a bluish tint for the second story- line concerning Douglas, and finally a glowy orangish for San Diego. It was at first the oddest visuals I have ever seen but after 20 or so minutes it blended in nicely with the rest of the film. The film is based upon the BBC mini-series Traffik created by Simon Moore. Soderbergh has stamped his own signature on each of his films. They seem to have that type of look, mainly consisting of the bluish tint I talked about, and some unorthodox ways of directing.

Overall, Traffic is a film that will not be forgotten in my mind. For me to give a movie this much praise I have some simple criteria – aside from the usual such as acting, script, direction, etc. – the main one is how much the film makes me think about that certain issue it brought forth to the audience, after the film is over. This one certainly did that. It is an engrossing movie that, if you haven’t already seen it, I would highly recommend.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.25/5

The Blu-ray comes inside Criterion’s clear HD Keep Case. Inside is an insert identical to the one that came with the DVD version. It contains an essay, information on the transfer, cast and crew credits and the chapter list.

There might not be a comprehensive making-of documentary, but these features together almost makes up for it.

Feature Commentaries – The first track is with Director Steven Soderbergh and Writer Stephen Gaghan where the pair goes in-depth about writing the script and filming various scenes. One of the more interesting factoids is how Soderbergh efficiently used the sets to keep the budget down; Track two is with Producers Laura Bickford, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz and Consultants Tim Golden and Craig Chretien. This track is a bit on the dry side but with so many participants, you do get a variety of info from each one (and from what I could tell, they are spliced together; the last track features Composer Cliff Martinez as he explains where he came up with the sounds and gets specific for this or that scene. It’s not very interesting but budding composers might enjoy it.

Demonstrations (TRT 36:42; SD) – There are three sets of demonstrations: Film Processing (5:51), Editing (17:20) and Dialogue Editing (13:31). The first breaks down the opening scene in Mexico, showing each stage of color adjustments, etc. in multiple steps; the second has the editor commenting on how a scene is pieced together line by line; and the last one is basically the same.

Deleted Scenes (26:54; SD) – There are 25 scenes removed or cropped and while none of them are of particular interest, there are a couple highlights. One is more character moments with Catherine Zeta Jones showing her character change while another has Michael Douglas’ and Benicio Del Toro’s characters crossing paths.

Additional Footage (TRT 39:40; SD) features multiple angles from scenes of the EPIC (El Paso Intelligence Center) and the cocktail party where the judge (Douglas) makes his rounds to different senators, celebrities and lobbyists as they state their views on the war on drugs. The EPIC scene is long and dry but it is interesting to switch from three different angles. The cocktail party while long (25 minutes) does have some interesting things in it as real life senators talk about their views without a script.

Last on the disc are Trailers (TRT 6:13; SD) – 2 Theatrical and 5 TV Spots – and Trading Cards where you can check out stats on K-9 drug dogs. It’s cute but mostly useless.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

Traffic has undergone a variety of transfers twice on DVD and now twice on Blu-ray. I quickly compared the recently released Universal BD with Criterion’s and other than the aspect ratio (1.78 vs. 1.85), it seems nearly identical. The transfer is fairly consistent even when going from the darker blues to the brighter, oversaturated scenes, in each instance there was a fair amount of film grain while the detail level was great all around. For the most part, this is a Blu-ray that does pop off the smaller screen.

AUDIO – 4.25/5

The disc offers up two DTS-HD Master Audio tracks, one is 5.1 while the other is 2.0 surround. The default track (5.1) isn’t what I would say that fantastic sounding, but it gets the job done. Most of the action takes place in the center channel with more ambient noises and Martinez’s score getting help in the front and rear speakers. Dialogue levels are steady and clear throughout.

OVERALL – 4.5/5

Overall, Traffic still is as engrossing today as it was the first day I saw it in the theaters 11 years ago. The performances all around are fantastic while Soderbergh’s style, now a standard for him, was unique and beautiful. When it comes to the Criterion Blu-ray release, I’d say it’s on par in the video and audio realm as the Universal release but obviously this is the edition to go with as it contains several featurettes and commentaries. This is a no-brain purchase for any fans of the film.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/07/2011

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2.

Contagion (2011)

REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall

Genre(s): Drama
Warner Bros. | PG13 – 106 min. – $35.99 | January 3, 2011

MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Writer(s): Scott Z. Burns (written by)
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, John Hawke, Elliott Gould

Theatrical Release Date: September 9, 2011

DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, DVD Copy, UltraViolet Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2

Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Disc Size: 21.1 GB
Region(s): A, B, C

THE MOVIE – 3.5/5

Steven Soderbergh’s latest film since 2009’s The Informant (he did do the Spalding Gray documentary And Everything is Going Fine in between), is a low-key ensemble outbreak drama that I’m still unsure what to think of it. The cast all do fine work for what are essentially limited parts (given each one has to share screen time) but the story never quite hits the finish line.

Contagion begins when Beth Emhoff (GWYNETH PALTROW) returns home from a business trip in Hong Kong to Minneapolis with a short layover in Chicago to see an ex-lover. Upon coming home to husband Mitch (MATT DAMON) and her son Clark, she seems to have a bit of the flu bug. Clark also seems to have contracted the bug after he’s sent home from school. Two days later, Beth’s condition seems to be getting worse when she collapses on the kitchen floor. Mitch rushes her to the hospital and despite doctor’s best efforts, Beth dies on the table leaving Mitch in disbelief. But before he can even grieve, he receives a call back home from the babysitter that his step son has also died.

Earlier, when we met Beth during her Chicago layover, its mix cut with different events going on around the world from Hong Kong to Tokyo to other countries, one of which is captured on video of a man collapsing and dying and is uploaded to the Internet. This catches the eye of opportunistic blogger Alan Krumwiede (JUDE LAW) who believes something is going on.

In Atlanta we are introduced to Dr. Ellis Cheever (LAURENCE FISHBURNE), the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (a.k.a. CDC), when he receives a visit from Homeland Security who have heard about the events that happened to the Emhoff family. Cheever sends Dr. Erin Mears (KATE WINSLET) to Minneapolis to investigate. There, she examines Mitch and determines that he is immune to the disease that cost the lives of his wife and stepson. Meanwhile, an autopsy is being done on Beth where they find out more about the disease.

Back at the CDC, Cheever and Dr. Ally Hextall (JENNIFER EHLE) try to grow the virus in a lab to which they can then find the cure, but their efforts are unproductive. They then send the virus and tests out west to Dr. Ian Sussman (ELLIOTT GOULD) who was on the brink of a breakthrough when, after discovering the worldwide outbreak, is ordered to destroy everything so this deadly disease could not spread further.

Because of this discovery, Minneapolis is put under lockdown by the National Guard so Mitch and daughter Jory (ANNA JACOBY-HERON in her debut film) cannot escape the city. During all of this, the outbreak continues to grow and the blogger is slowly getting a following after criticizing the CDC and accusing them of not telling the whole truth.

Alright, there’s actually more to this story, one utterly pointless plot point involving Marion Cotillard’s character, another CDC doctor, who gets kidnapped for ransom so a group of villagers could get the vaccine. On the whole, this subplot doesn’t take much time but that’s just the problem, after she’s taken, Cotillard is gone for the duration of the second and third acts before reappearing, months later, towards the end. Mind you, Cotillard is fine in the role, but take it out and it wouldn’t have been missed.

As I stated earlier, I’m still not sure what to make of Contagion. On the one hand, it is a well acted, finely paced ensemble piece that tackles a topic that is quite realistic. However, given the fact the movie takes us around the world, the subject seems to narrow that I never quite grasped the intensity of the situation. For instance, the movie tells us that millions around the world have perished due to this disease yet it never had much of an impact. Ditto for the chaos that ensues as panic spreads as people clamor for a supposed cure promoted by the Alan (Jude Law’s character), though on that point I did like that side plot as, through shrewd backhand maneuvers, benefited from the panic.

From a filmmaking standpoint, Soderbergh once again does a fantastic job. The color palette seems to be similar to that of Traffic where he goes from cooler tones (blues) to warmer elements (oranges) that give the film a specific look. What I also liked about Soderbergh is that he takes a subject that can be, quite frankly, a complete bore. This is not a movie where there’s a race against time like in Outbreak (a good movie, btw) but instead is a process that takes the viewer over the course of months instead of a day. There are no car chases, no hit men or a conspiracy; it’s a study on human nature with some governmental politics thrown in for realism.

Acting wise, ensemble movies are tough to gauge since even the bigger actors don’t get much screen time but here I was impressed with Matt Damon as he got the bulk of the emotional turmoil; Laurence Fishburne gets a few moments using his position to gain an unfair advantage by tipping off his wife (SANAA LATHAN) before the quarantine; and Kate Winslet who probably has the least amount of time and yet brings a certain amount of emotion.

I will also briefly mention the score by Cliff Martinez. Although I enjoyed the soundtrack (and actually have it on my iPod), it’s not all that different from his work on Solaris using different types of drums to compose the majority of the score. I know some don’t and won’t like it, but it does at least give the film a different flavor compared with other films.

Contagion, which was written by Scott Z. Burns (The Informant, The Bourne Ultimatum), presents interesting and thought-provoking ideas and although I didn’t find the movie all that gripping or involving, based on the cast, their performances and Soderbergh’s style, I’d say it’s worth at least a rental to give it a try.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5

The Blu-ray comes housed in a standard case with a glossy slip cover.

The Reality of Contagion (11:29; HD) – This featurette explore the real science of global viruses and what they mean to the human race. It includes comments by the cast (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, etc.), crew (writer, producers) and experts in the field. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

The Contagion Detectives (4:57; HD) – Meet the greatest minds in the world and how they helped prepare the cast in the fight against deadly viruses. Basically we get to hear from scientists and authors who consulted on the film, providing advice to make the film more authentic. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **

Contagion: How a Virus Changes the World (2:01; HD) – This is an educational animated feature showing how viruses begin and can quickly spread.

UltraViolet Digital Copy – Inside the case is a slip containing the code to watch the movie on your favorite mobile device.

The second disc contains a standard, feature-less DVD Copy.

VIDEO – 3.75/5

The video transfer for Contagion, on a 25GB single-layered disc, looks alright but as with many of Soderbergh’s other films, they don’t necessarily benefit from HD. Here, the movie goes from cold blues to warmer oranges and yellows and while the transfer itself is clean and free of artifacting and other flaws, it doesn’t exactly have the wow factor. That said, it’s fine but falls short of amazing.

AUDIO – 4.0/5

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track similarly doesn’t particularly stand out especially since this is very much a dialogue-driven film. Where it does excel is during Cliff Martinez’s great score (which I have on my iPod) and certain sequences where the LFE frequency picks up and the floor starts to shake slightly. This is a satisfactory lossless audio track and should please most home theater owners.

OVERALL – 3.25/5

Overall, Contagion has some things going for it, but mainly from an acting and technical level rather than the story. The cast is mostly good despite having a limited amount of screen time and Soderbergh’s visual style, while nothing new from what he’s done in the past, still looks stunning and gives the film a certain gravitas yet at the same time I felt like I was more or less a spectator versus becoming involved or entrenched with what was going on.

The Blu-ray, as with most of Warner’s more recent releases, is a bit of a disappointment. The video and audio transfers are both certainly serviceable enough but it lacks any major substance in the features department.

Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/06/2012

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.