The Good Lie is perhaps one of the more overlooked films of 2014 and unfortunately the studio for whatever reason dumped it for a limited release in less than 500 screens in early October.
The Good Lie
(2014)
Genre(s): Drama
Warner Bros. | PG13 – 110 min. – $35.99 | December 23, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Philippe Falardeau Writer(s): Margaret Nagle (written by) Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Corey Stoll, Sarah Baker DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
THE MOVIE – 4.0/5
In 1983, orphans of the civil war in Sudan, known as The Lost Boys, traveled nearly a thousand miles on foot, enduring unspeakable circumstances in search of refuge. Over a decade later, a humanitarian effort would bring thousands of these survivors to America. The Good Lie is the uplifting, true-to-life tale of four friends’ journey from their devastated homeland to the foreign world that is modern America, and the people who help empower them to begin again.
Quick Hit Review: One of the better dramas to come out this year, The Good Lie features several great performances not only by Reese Witherspoon but especially Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal, all of whom have personal experience with the war in Sudan and are not professional actors. Most of all, it’s a story that on a technical front has great pacing and showcases the landscape in South Africa. It’s not quite a tear-jerker but at the same time this is a bittersweet flick that sadly got unnoticed due to the studio’s baffling decision not to give it a wider release (dumping it into theaters in October).
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
This release comes with a matted slip cover. Inside are a standard DVD Copy (with deleted scenes included) and a redemption code for the Digital Copy.
The Good Lie Journey (16:19; HD) is a well rounded making-of featurette with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers.
Deleted Scenes (15:06; HD) – There are several scenes that were trimmed or removed in all likelihood due to pacing issues.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
The Good Lie comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Home Video presented with an open matted 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and shown with a 1080p high-definition transfer. Colors are bright and detail levels are generally good but not substantial. It’s a fine looking movie to be sure but nothing amazing.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The movie comes with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which shows off good dialogue levels coming through the center channel while the soundtrack gets the bulk of the attention with modest amount of action such as the sounds of attack helicopters and explosions in the distance.
OVERALL – 4.0/5
Overall, The Good Lie is perhaps one of the more overlooked films of 2014 and unfortunately the studio for whatever reason dumped it for a limited release in less than 500 screens in early October. The Blu-ray released by Warner doesn’t have much to offer in the bonus features department but the audio and video transfers are generally well done.
The Movieman
Published: 12/18/2014