{"id":2731,"date":"2011-10-21T09:17:24","date_gmt":"2011-10-21T16:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=2731"},"modified":"2021-04-22T22:54:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T05:54:34","slug":"review-montecarlo-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2011\/10\/review-montecarlo-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Monte Carlo Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong> doesn\u2019t break any new ground and is in fact predictable in almost every aspect of the story. The direction is only average even though they managed to film in two of the most beautiful cities in the world and yet thanks to Selena Gomez and the safe story, there\u2019s a certain amount of charm. Now, this isn\u2019t a film that will resonate for me beyond this review but I think enough of it works to make it at least a lukewarm recommendation.<\/p>\n

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\nMonte Carlo (2011)<\/strong><\/p>\n


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

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Genre(s): <\/strong>Comedy, Romance
\nFox | PG \u2013 109 min. \u2013 $39.99 | October 18, 2011<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:<\/span>
\nDirected by: <\/strong>Thomas Bezucha
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Kelly Bowe (story), Thomas Bezucha & April Blair & Maria Maggenti (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, Katie Cassidy, Cory Monteith, Andie MacDowell<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/strong>July 1, 2011<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:<\/span>
\nFeatures: <\/strong>Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, BD-Live
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>40.6 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/p>\n

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

Plot: <\/strong>Grace (SELENA GOMEZ) is a high-spirited high school grad looking forward to a vacation in Paris with her best friend Emma (KATIE CASSIDY) but plans get changed when her mother and stepfather make her take along stepsister Meg (LEIGHTON MEESTER) as a measure of maturity to keep the girls in check, something which irks both ladies.<\/p>\n

In Paris, they discover their tour isn\u2019t up to par as they zip in and out of locations barely able to take in the sights but things seem to get worse when, while on top of the Eiffel Tower, their tour bus takes off leaving them stranded with their luggage left at a flea-bag motel. As they journey back to the motel, in the pouring rain, they happen to stop off at a high end hotel to dry off where a snob heiress named Cordelia is set to check in and this wealthy socialite just so happens to be the spitting image of Grace. Not only do they look alike but Cordelia decides that rather than checking in and going on her schedule, she takes off for her own ventures. With some reservation, when Grace is mistaken for Cordelia, they take the opportunity to stay in Cordelia\u2019s luxurious room and in the morning, her trip to Monte Carlo to participate in a charity event.<\/p>\n

Once there, Grace (as Cordelia) meets an ambassador\u2019s son named Theo (PIERRE BOULANGER) who initially detests the socialite and her fake exterior, based on the paparazzi rags, but the two of course take a shining to one another as the film progresses. The other two girls have their own suitors, though. Meg meets Australian free spirit Riley (LUKE BRACEY) while Emma is courted by a snobbish rich young man which makes her appreciate the boyfriend (CORY MONTEITH) she left at home in Texas.<\/p>\n

Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong> hardly breaks new territory as we\u2019ve seen the whole teen girl self-exploration storyline before, even combined with said girl taking a trip abroad to find herself. Based on the novel \u201cThe Adventures\u201d by Jules Bass, she combines those elements with the journey through a foreign city aspect of the Aubrey Hepburn classic, Roman Holiday<\/em>. So obviously it\u2019s not very original but even so, it was fairly entertaining.<\/p>\n

Performances-wise, no new ground is being broken either, but there\u2019s something about Selena Gomez that is naturally charming even when her character doesn\u2019t have a whole lot of depth beyond \u201cfinding herself\u201d. I haven\u2019t seen Gomez in a whole lot save for last year\u2019s Ramona and Beezus<\/em> and when channeling surfing, her show \u201cWizards of Waverly Place\u201d, and while it could be public perception, she seems down to earth and it comes across on the small and big screen. For Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong>, despite the contrived plot, you can at least find her believable enough to follow her until the clich\u00e9d finale.<\/p>\n

The same goes for the two bickering gal pals, even Leighton Meester\u2019s Meg character who\u2019s still reeling over the death of her mother. It\u2019s not a great job by Meeter who at least is a half-decent actress, though The Roommate<\/em> was hardly her finest hour, but I\u2019m not entirely sure who could\u2019ve fleshed out that supporting character. Katie Cassidy for her part plays up the more free-spirit of the trio pushing the plot forward in an unbelievable manner (her character is the one who spurs the others into the mistaken identify adventure).<\/p>\n

Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong> was directed by Thomas Bezucha who also served as a co-screenwriter. He previously helmed the indie drama Big Eden<\/em> in 2000 and then the pleasing romantic comedy The Family Stone<\/em>. Here, like many comedies, it\u2019s finely photographed utilizing the usual sights in and around Paris but it\u2019s hardly a travelogue or postcard to the City of Love (or the City of Lights, the only running joke that fell completely flat in the film). In any case, Bezucha does an OK job fluidly taking the plot from Point A or Point C.<\/p>\n

Obviously Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong> is geared towards a much younger audiences, probably in the 12-16 year old females, so the humor or story will not resonate with anyone older or of the opposite sex, like me. That being said, there were moments I actually chuckled and even when the film goes into clich\u00e9-land, it was at least tolerable and enjoyable enough. Although I will hardly remember this movie a month later, it does at least have a certain charm about it that I give it a moderate recommendation.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Deleted Scenes (6:46; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 There are a couple of deleted\/extended scenes that are fine but unnecessary for the final cut.<\/p>\n

Monte Carlo<\/span><\/em><\/strong> Match-Up<\/span><\/strong> is a test you can take answering a variety of questions to find out which girl you\u2019re most like.<\/p>\n

Ding-Dang Delicious: The Boys of Monte Carlo<\/em> (5:45; HD)<\/span><\/strong> as you can imagine focuses on the three boys\/young men in the movie. It\u2019s basically just the cast and crew talking about the characters and how funny\/great\/awesome\/whatever the actors are.<\/p>\n

Monte Carlo<\/span><\/em><\/strong> Couture (6:00; HD)<\/span><\/strong> focuses on the wardrobe designs for the film from the glamorous dresses to the casual wear.<\/p>\n

Jet Setter\u2019s Dreams (6:09; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This featurette is about shooting in Budapest which doubled for Paris and Monte Carlo before moving production to France, and then Monte Carlo, for some on-location shooting.<\/p>\n

Backstage Pass (3:48; HD)<\/span><\/strong> is a featurette probably made for Disney (where Gomez\u2019s show, \u201cWizards of Wavery Place\u201d airs) as it\u2019s just a glimpse at the making of Monte Carlo<\/em> with comments by Selena Gomez.<\/p>\n

Gossip with the Girls (5:52; HD)<\/span><\/strong> has the three ladies chatting about making the film.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (2:26; HD)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Live Extras<\/span><\/strong> is the BD-Live portal where you can check out new Fox titles or enable the studio\u2019s signature Live Look-Up<\/strong> which plays along with the movie and allows you check the bios for the cast. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Digital Copy<\/span><\/strong> of the movie is also available if you\u2019re so inclined. It can either be downloaded via a disc or using your mobile device, downloaded using Wi-Fi with pocket BLU. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Preview<\/strong> \u2013 Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer<\/em><\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong> comes to Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and 1080p high-definition transfer. While the picture hardly pops off the screen, it\u2019s still a well detailed transfer with a fine amount of natural film grain and only a moderate amount of noise. The detail level is good from close-ups on the actor\u2019s faces to background objects which are also crisp. The color array does come across as a bit too warm though I suspect that\u2019s how it was shot than a flaw with the transfer.
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AUDIO \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The disc features a decent if not merely adequate 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue levels of course are fine but it\u2019s the other elements like the music, score and background noise that, while clear enough, don\u2019t feature much depth. I didn\u2019t notice much coming from the rear channels as the front and center speakers get the most use.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, Monte Carlo<\/em><\/strong> doesn\u2019t break any new ground and is in fact predictable in almost every aspect of the story. The direction is only average even though they managed to film in two of the most beautiful cities in the world and yet thanks to Selena Gomez and the safe story, there\u2019s a certain amount of charm. Now, this isn\u2019t a film that will resonate for me beyond this review but I think enough of it works to make it at least a lukewarm recommendation especially if you have younger kids.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Movieman<\/em>
\nPublished: <\/strong>10\/21\/2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monte Carlo doesn\u2019t break any new ground and is in fact predictable in almost every aspect of the story. The direction is only average even though they managed to film in two of the most beautiful cities in the world and yet thanks to Selena Gomez and the safe story, there\u2019s a certain amount of … Continue reading “Monte Carlo Blu-ray Review”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[478,780,1111,496],"class_list":["post-2731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-katie-cassidy","tag-leighton-meester","tag-monte-carlo","tag-selena-gomez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2731"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25878,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions\/25878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}