{"id":11335,"date":"2016-02-05T15:41:11","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T23:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=11335"},"modified":"2016-02-05T15:41:42","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T23:41:42","slug":"review-criminalactivities-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/02\/review-criminalactivities-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Criminal Activities BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Criminal Activities<\/em><\/strong> isn\u2019t a half bad crime-drama especially by direct-to-video standards. The performances from Michael Pitt and Dan Stevens were good and even John Travolta in his limited appearance gives the film some weight.<\/p>\n

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Criminal Activities<\/span>
\n(2016)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Crime, Drama, Comedy
\nRLJ Entertainment | NR \u2013 94 min. \u2013 $29.97 | February 16, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 02\/02\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman
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<\/u>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Jackie Earle Haley
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Robert Lowell (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Michael Pitt, Dan Stevens, Christopher Abbott, Rob Brown, Edi Gathegi, Jackie Earle Haley, John Travolta<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/u>DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Interview, Deleted Scenes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>21.7 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>Four friends (MICHAEL PITT, DAN STEVENS, CHRISTOPHER ABBOTT, ROB BROWN) stumble into a deal too good to be refuse: an inside stock tip that can net them millions. But when the investment goes bad, they learn that their funding came from a notoriously ruthless crime boss (JOHN TRAVOLTA)… and it\u2019s payback time. Now they must successfully kidnap a family member (EDI GATHEGI) of a rival kingpin in order to erase the life-threatening debt. In way over their heads, if they can complete the assigned task without screwing up, they just might escape with their lives.<\/p>\n

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Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>Considering the streak direct-to-video flicks have had of late, I honestly didn\u2019t have very high expectations for Criminal Activities<\/em><\/strong> and although it\u2019s hardly great, it still has just enough to offer to the point where I not only was entertained (for the most part) but didn\u2019t once regret watching it. It also helps that John Travolta, albeit in a cameo-appearance capacity, seemed to at least be trying. The main cast is also decent with Michael Pitt making for an all around jackass, Dan Stevens proving to be a star on the rise and the relatively unknown Edi Gathegi possessing some charm as the kidnap victim.<\/p>\n

Helmed by actor Jackie Earle Haley, marking his directorial debut, Criminal Activities<\/em><\/strong> is an entertaining flick that actually might be worth at least a rental, outside of that, I can probably see this airing on cable in no time.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 1.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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This release comes with a title-embossed slip cover<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Interview with John Travolta and Jackie Earle Haley (8:32; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 The two actors, with Haley also serving as director, discuss the project and the characters during a press junket.<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (2:09; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 We get a couple scenes that didn\u2019t make the cut and honestly, none of them would be missed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Criminal Activities <\/em><\/strong>is presented with a 1080p high-definition transfer and a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. For the most part this is a fine looking video with bright colors and natural-looking skin tones. The darker scenes are fairly stark with no discernible instances of artifacts or aliasing.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

The movie comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is a tad heavy at times but otherwise is rather clear with crisp sounding dialogue levels throughout. Any ambient noises make use of the front and rear channels making for a decently in-depth lossless track.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Overall, Criminal Activities<\/em><\/strong> isn\u2019t a half bad crime-drama especially by direct-to-video standards. The performances from Michael Pitt and Dan Stevens were good and even John Travolta in his limited appearance gives the film some weight. The Blu-ray released by RLJ offers good video\/audio transfers but a thin amount of bonus material.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n