September 2009

Blu-ray Update

A selection of movies on Blu-ray for September 2009.

The Soloist (DreamWorks/Paramount)

Overall enjoyment: 4.0
Picture quality: 4.5
Sound quality: 5
Extras: 3.5

English wunderkind director Joe Wright ventures into America for his most recent film, an effort quite different from the widely acclaimed Pride and Prejudice or Atonement. And perhaps it was lofty expectations that led to a lukewarm response from critics. The trailers portray the film as an odd-couple movie in which reporter Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) finds mentally challenged Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) playing the violin on the street. Lopez discovers that Ayers was once a Juilliard student, and he decides to rescue him. In truth, it’s a movie about homelessness, schizophrenia, and the terror of a genius gone mad. Lopez at first sees Ayers as merely a good story idea, something that will sell. But as he gets to know the confused genius, he discovers the huge world of the homeless in Los Angeles, and he gets a taste of what it’s like to be brilliant but trapped by the demons in one’s head.

Downey and Foxx are nothing short of brilliant in the way they underplay their roles, and they largely, though not always, avoid the typical frenetic posturing of Hollywood stars given opportunities to emote. Instead, they give us three-dimensional characters that we can understand, believe in, and root for. The supporting roles are well cast, and the employment of 500 people from a skid row Mecca of the homeless in California adds a chilling authenticity. For the musical portions of the film, the Los Angeles Philharmonic plays mostly Beethoven, the composer Ayers often feels is with him. When the smoke clears in the last reel, things are stable and capped, but we know they’re unlikely to stay that way. Wright offers no solutions for schizophrenia or homelessness -- he simply exposes these problems so we take notice.

You might not think a drama would be a technical blockbuster for Blu-ray presentation, but this one is. The picture is always sharp, clear, and interesting. Whether it’s day or night onscreen, things are as clear as a film properly projected at your local theater, with spot-on contrast, real blacks, and vibrant natural colors. Even better is the sound, which is some of the most imaginative I’ve heard in a long time. Particular locales have been expertly captured, and when Downey is pacing his apartment listening to Neil Diamond’s version of "Mr. Bojangles," it sounds like a very good recording played on a good audio system. The Los Angeles Philharmonic sequences have admirable depth and realism, and the audio during crowd scenes pulls you into the picture. The bottom line is that there isn’t one particular sound for this film. Perspectives shift naturally and each scene has been carefully thought out and plotted with nothing taken for granted.

The Blu-ray has good extras, too. Wright’s commentary track is entertaining and informative, and there are good deleted scenes. There’s a five-minute segment on the real Lopez and Ayers that sheds more light on their amazing friendship, and there’s a short production featurette as well. I’d say this movie is a must-see. Forget what you read about its theatrical release -- give it a chance, and you’ll be richer for it.

Other titles this month, all Blu-ray:

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 (Universal)

Overall enjoyment: 3.5
Picture quality: 4.0
Sound quality: 4.5
Extras: 4.0

Hailed as one of the most significant genre trendsetters ever made or decried as space soap opera, Battlestar Galactica proper (there’ll be a prequel and no doubt other spinoffs) has ended and is now making its way to Blu-ray via this three-disc set containing the second half of the final season and a huge (and pricey -- it’s $199.95 at Amazon.com after a hefty discount) 20-disc set that includes the whole series. There’s no word yet on whether previous seasons will be available individually on Blu-ray in the U.S., but it seems inevitable, given that you can find them as Blu-ray imports (at a hefty price of $100 each). I wonder then, who this set is for. Fans will want the whole cumbersome package, and those just wanting to get their feet wet will likely purchase or rent the first season. I watched the first season on HD DVD (available in that format for under $10) and completed my viewing with this set. No doubt heretically, I didn’t feel as if I’d missed much in between.

This finale has great action and acting, and it moves at a good clip (the first season seemed stalled by comparison). I felt that the actual ending was protracted and overlong, but it was mostly an enjoyable experience. The picture varies a lot, which seems to be intentional, but it’s odd for a newly released Blu-ray Disc to carry a disclaimer for its video. But even when it’s at its worst, during the gritty and grainy scenes inside the battlestar, for instance, the picture is sharper than the DVD and has considerably more depth. The DTS-HD Master Audio tracks are also first rate. As the ship begins to break up, the groans of metal are panned all around, putting you right in the action. The final battle inside the Cylon colony fortress is energizing, and the expertly placed audio effects help you forget that Blu-ray lets the CGI Cylons look totally separate from the human actors. There are lots of extras, including Universal’s U-Control and extended episodes (with commentary) of "A Disquiet Follows My Soul," "Islanded in a Stream of Stars," and "Daybreak."

Coraline (Universal)

Overall enjoyment: 4.0
Picture quality: 5.0
Sound quality: 4.5
Extras: 4.0

Coraline isn’t your average animated movie. It’s dark, scary, and thought provoking; things don’t go the way you expect them to, especially in an animated film. Dakota Fanning voices the title character, an only child neglected by her career-oriented parents. Her family has just moved to an old, historic house, and while exploring it Coraline discovers a small door leading to a tunnel. The tunnel leads to an alternate universe where everything is just wonderful. There’s the "other Mom" who seems to give Coraline everything she ever wanted, an opulent and intriguing theater, and a magical garden where colorful flowers majestically grow. Very soon, though, Coraline discovers that this other world is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The fact that the other parents have button eyes like dolls should have been a giveaway, but the point is that we see what we want to see.

The movie is based on a novel by Neil Gaiman and is directed by Henry Selick, who made The Nightmare Before Christmas. Fans of the latter will note a lot of similarities in the unexpected events and grotesque characters. The movie was released in digital 3-D and the Blu-ray set includes a 3-D version, but sadly not the theatrical one (it’s the old blue-and-red lens type, which, frankly, looks horrible). The 2-D Blu-ray, however, is sharp and clean, and it’s perhaps the first non-Pixar disc that can hold its own in that company.

The picture reveals astonishing detail and captures with absolute accuracy the different color schemes chosen by the director -- muted and pastel for the real world, and garishly colorful for Coraline’s fantasy land. The sound is clean and open with good focus and a somewhat sparing and imaginative use of the surround channels. There are copious extras, including some good deleted scenes, an informative commentary, and a picture-in-picture feature (part of Universal’s U-Control) that lets you see how a scene was done while viewing the finished product for comparison. A DVD version and digital copy are also included, as well as BD Live, which allows you to download an interview with Selick.

Dollhouse: Season One (20th Century Fox)

Overall enjoyment: 4.0
Picture quality: 4.0
Sound quality: 3.5
Extras: 4.0

With the mega successful Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel, Joss Whedon built a huge fan base and whetted its appetite for whatever would be next. That turned out to be Dollhouse, which has aired to mixed reaction. The series stars gorgeous Eliza Dushku, familiar to all from Buffy and Angel, who plays Echo, one of the main operatives for the Dollhouse, an underground organization that provides rich folks with boy or girl toys programmed to serve their exact needs. Once they return from an assignment, the agents have their memories wiped so they can start all over on the next job. The agreement is for five years, after which their real memories are supposed to be returned, and they leave the facility a lot richer for their service. We get to see Dushku, who also produces the show, as a somewhat different character each week, and she doesn’t disappoint.

Because of debate between Whedon and the network, the show doesn’t feel settled until the fifth or sixth episode, but then it revs up with riveting action and palpable suspense. Better than any of the early shows are the unaired pilot ("Echo," which the network wanted redone) and the 13th episode, which are edgy, violent, and more characteristically "Whedonesque." They alone raised my enjoyment and extras ratings. Other extras include production featurettes, commentaries for some episodes, and deleted scenes. The sound is full and clear, and the Blu-ray picture is excellent, though because of the way the show is shot, it won’t always jump at you. The three discs are cleverly housed in a case no thicker than a regular single-disc Blu-ray release.

Fast & Furious
(Universal)

Overall enjoyment: 4.0
Picture quality: 4.5
Sound quality: 4.0
Extras: 4.0

The main cast of the original The Fast and the Furious has been reunited for its third sequel, which, after divergent plot lines for the first and second encores, continues the story. The plot is a simple story of revenge, and the real stars are the tricked-out cars and the chase scenes. It’s the perfect adrenaline-rush popcorn movie, and that feeling is carried over to Blu-ray with great success. The picture is state of the art, with bright colors and black blacks all displayed in perfect contrast. The sound favors the cars over the music, a choice that will be fine with most viewers, and the surrounds and LFE channel are used to the max. The sound’s rating is chopped down to a four for me because it’s a little thick and the bass occasionally lacks focus and bite. Overall, the picture and sound are excellent and often outstanding.

The extras are also solid. Universal’s U-Control offers picture-in-picture commentary, but this time the character or director doing the talking is on the large screen with the movie scenes displayed on a fairly large picture inside the main picture. The only problem with this approach is that it requires a second or two of black screen, unlike the normal picture-in-picture where the smaller picture simply pops up. There are many other production featurettes, but the coolest extra is the "Virtual Car Garage," where you can view the specs on all the hot vehicles from the movie and rotate the virtual image of each 360 degrees at your will.

The Great Buck Howard (Magnolia Home Entertainment)

Overall enjoyment: 3.5
Picture quality: 4
Sound quality: 3.5
Extras: 3

After seeing John Malkovich portray so many villains and nasty people, it’s refreshing to see him in a role that makes the most of his charm. Malkovich plays the title role, Buck Howard, an illusionist who once played on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson but was dropped during the reign of Jay Leno and left to play second-rate auditoriums in smaller towns. But his energy is undiminished as he throws out his hands and proclaims to the audience "I love this town," wherever he is. Buck comes across as a cheesy but genuine professional who can’t tolerate shortcomings in other people. Troy (Colin Hanks), a law school dropout, becomes Howard’s road manager (read "flunky"), and the two gradually establish a relationship. It’s a coming-of-age picture for Troy and a refocusing-of-experience film for Buck. Malkovich turns in a pitch-perfect performance, and Hanks is only slightly less effective as the all-American boy trying to find himself. Hanks’s real father, Tom, is onscreen briefly to play Troy’s father, and the rest of the cast is ideal.

The Blu-ray picture is detailed and even; you won’t feel much fluctuation in quality when moving between scenes. The sound fits the movie and favors the dialogue. It’s clean, robust, and exceptionally focused. The extras include a short set of interviews with The Amazing Kreskin, who served as a model for Buck Howard’s onstage persona.

Those looking for a family-friendly comedy that won’t insult everyone’s intelligence need look no further than this charming film, which is quite funny at times, thoroughly endearing, and very well presented on Blu-ray.

Home (20th Century Fox)

Overall enjoyment: 3.5
Picture quality: 4
Sound quality: 4
Extras: 0

There’s little debate that Yann Arthus-Bertrand is at the top of his field when it comes to aerial photography, but there will be heated arguments as to whether that ability has been put to good use in this movie. Bertrand’s overhead photography is stunning, and the Blu-ray transfer preserves almost all of the color and focus of the originals. Arthus-Bertrand can get high enough above anything, whether it’s strip mining, forest fires, or erosion, to make it look beautiful. Needless to say, he has no problems with oceans, ice floes, and lush green forests. But whether you like this movie will depend on your stance concerning global warming. The filmmakers clearly believe that global warming isn’t a future event; it’s already here. Glenn Close narrates, and there’s a lot of narration, which becomes increasingly strident toward the end. Close, reading the script, tosses out dire facts that have no support. If there were experts chiming in, or even if the comments were attributed to experts, they’d have a lot more credence. Non environmentalists will call this fear mongering, and even those who are committed to preserving the environment will raise an eyebrow, realizing this is simply not the way to win over opponents.

The orchestral score on the DTS-HD Master Audio tracks is quite lovely and well-reproduced. This would have been a perfect disc for a music-only track, but there are no extras at all, just a scene-selection menu. This is a title you might want to rent, and you might even turn down the sound so you can enjoy the beautiful visuals. But everyone should see the visuals, which are only a smidge behind Baraka in their impact.

I Love You, Man (Paramount/DreamWorks)

Overall enjoyment: 4.0
Picture quality: 4
Sound quality: 4
Extras: 3.5

I missed this film at the theater and, frankly, approached the Blu-ray with trepidation, accepting it as something I simply had to watch for work. But after about 20 minutes I was hooked; this "bromance" is actually a very enjoyable film! It’s just plain funny most of the time, as it observes facets of the human condition all of us experience but few express, but it also has a sweeter, deeper meaning in its spot-on observation of the elusive human condition known as friendship. Paul Rudd stars as Peter, a successful real estate agent who’s a really nice guy but who’s awkward at being cool. He’s about to be married to Zooey, a very cool woman (Rashida Jones), and while making the wedding plans he suddenly realizes that he has no male friends and no one to be his best man. Peter then goes shopping for a best friend, with hysterically disastrous results. He discovers Sydney (Jason Segal), who wanders into an open house Peter is throwing to sell Lou Ferrigno’s home. The two become best friends, though it’s a sometimes bumpy road, one that leaves Zooey in doubt of the nature of both of Peter’s relationships.

The Blu-ray is handsome and fine in almost every way. This is one of those movies where you won’t approach it looking for high definition (there are no explosions, time warps, or space vistas) but if you consciously look for HD, you’ll find it at every turn. The sound is the same; it supports the video so naturally and with such clarity and precision that you won’t notice it as such. The extras are quite good, and they include some scene extensions that show more of the sexual content. There are also some deleted scenes and a witty, relaxed commentary track with Rudd, Segal, and director John Hamburg.

Kagemusha (Criterion)

Overall enjoyment: 3.5
Picture quality: 4
Sound quality: 4
Extras: 4

I reviewed the Criterion DVD set when it came out four years ago, and I see few changes in the Blu-ray, as Criterion masters seem to always be ahead of their medium. For this movie, as with almost all of their initial Blu-ray releases, Criterion seems to have used the same print and set of extras, all of which were fine to begin with. The picture has improved a bit from having items in the background and foreground brought into sharp focus, and the resulting picture has a better sense of depth and richness. I was once again struck by the vivid colors in this movie, especially the reds and yellows. Kurosawa’s vision of 16th-century Japanese feudal armies has the soldiers carrying brightly colored banners, a detail that George Lucas picked up for his Star Wars movies. With a wind that always seems to be blowing, Kurosawa’s colorful insignias are a constant treat for the eyes.

The DTS-HD Master Audio sound is quite a step up from the Dolby Digital, having more transparency and focus. For a 1980 theatrical effort, it’s quite impressive, even having some good surround effects in the battle scenes. The extras are as good as they were for the DVD, and though the booklet has been shortened from 48 to 40 pages, it’s been just as beautifully reproduced as the one in the DVD set. It’s also worth noting that Criterion now seems to be packaging its Blu-rays in the same basic case they use for DVD releases. Unless there’s an identifying sticker on the shrink wrap (as on the cover displayed here) the only way to identify the Blu-ray edition without opening the box is to look in the upper right corner of the back cover art, where you’ll find "BLU-RAY EDITION" in small black type. You’d expect that Criterion is doing this so the sets can be mixed with an existing collection and match up on the shelf, but it could be confusing if you’re not careful. At least they’ve dumped those God-awful cardboard cases that housed their first Blu-ray releases.

. . . Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com

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