Sweetwater is actually not a bad little western/thriller featuring a well-rounded story and, especially, a fantastic crew headlined by January Jones, Ed Harris and Jason Isaacs who each give near-phenomenal performances.
Sweetwater (2013)
Genre(s): Western, Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Arc Entertainment | R– 95 min. – $24.99 | December 31, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Logan Miller
Writer(s): Andrew McKenzie (story), Logan Miller and Noah Miller (screenplay)
Cast: Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Eduardo Noriega, Jason Aldean
Theatrical Release Date: October 11, 2013
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Music Video, Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English
Disc Size: 20.8 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE
Plot Outline: In the late 1800s, a beautiful former prostitute (JANUARY JONES) is trying to build an honest life with her husband in the rugged plains of New Mexico. When she catches the eye of a sadistic and powerful religious leader (JASON ISAACS), her life is violently turned upside down after her husband (EDUARDO NORIEGA) is murdered. She embarks on a bloody course of vengeance with the assistance of a renegade, and more than slightly crazy, sheriff (ED HARRIS) who has pretty violent tendencies of his own.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
The Making of Sweetwater (10:32; HD) is a behind-the-scenes featurette with on-set interviews with the cast (including producer/star Ed Harris, January Jones, Jason Isaacs) and crew (Co-Writer/Director Logan Miller and Co-Writer Noah Miller) providing info on the story, characters and such. It’s nothing profound or overly informative but it’s slightly above EPK-levels.
“Cold Grey Light of Dawn” by Hudson Moore (3:19; HD) isn’t a music video but plays over a still picture of Moore and an address to his personal website where presumably you can purchase this song, which, as somebody who isn’t much of a fan of country, isn’t too bad.
Theatrical Trailer (1:37; HD)
Previews – Bounty Killer, The Starving Games, Vehicle 19
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Arc Entertainment releases Sweetwater onto Blu-ray and is presented with a 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture has sharp detail levels and appears to be debris-free also with no signs of artifacts or pixilation. Of course, being a western, the colors a bit more muted aside from Jones’ purple dress which is prominently featured for the finale.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track meanwhile is a bit more disappointing. I’m not sure if the on-set audio wasn’t properly recorded but many things including dialogue and other ambient noises were flat although the music and score comes through, making use of the front and rear channels, is a bit better.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, Sweetwater is actually not a bad little western/thriller featuring a well-rounded story and, especially, a fantastic crew headlined by January Jones, Ed Harris and Jason Isaacs who each give near-phenomenal performances. The Blu-ray released by Arc Entertainment has an excellent video transfer, adequate if not disappointing audio and forgettable set of features.
Published: 01/06/2014