Blu-ray Movie Reviews
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Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season (Blu-ray Review)
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...
Think about it. Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father. And Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy's plan. You two were born to this, boys! It's your destiny. It was always you. As it is in Heaven, so it must be on Earth.
Sam and Dean Winchester have been to hell and back. Literally. But in Supernatural's fifth gripping season, the Brothers Grimm don't have to go very far to battle the worst of the fire-n-brimstone brigade. With Lilith gone and th...Video
Every season of Supernatural released thus far has arrived with a striking, altogether faithful video presentation, and The Complete Fifth Season is no exception. If anything, Warner's latest 1080p/VC-1 encode raises the series' bar even higher, all but eliminating many of the fleeting issues that cropped up from time to time in previous transfers. Serge Ladouceur's stark, shadowy photography is bound to Kripke's intentions, yet primaries retain their power, black levels are deep...Audio
Supernatural's 640kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track isn't timid, but it does tend to retreat rather than stand its ground and fight. Dialogue is clean and intelligible, and lines are rarely lost, even in the midst of the fifth season's most chaotic scenes. Still, prioritization and vocal timbre is far from perfect -- in one of the more problematic scenes on disc one, Ackles' voice is dull and muffled while Padalecki's is crystal clear... during the same conversation -- and ov...Supplements
Ah, the Law of Diminishing Supplemental Returns. It seems most every season of a television series arrives on home video with fewer and fewer special features. The Blu-ray edition of Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season doesn't buck that trend completely, but does assemble some solid material including an interactive experience that houses a wealth of behind-the-scenes videos and production featurettes.
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Final Words
Yes, Warner continues to deprive television audiences of lossless audio tracks, and yes, the Blu-ray edition of Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season would benefit from several more audio commentaries, but even an average Dolby Digital mix and a limited supplemental package can't spoil this one. Kripke's fifth foray is a fantastic one, Warner's video transfer is as close to perfect as "near-perfect" comes, and the whole of this 4-disc set overcomes its missteps to deliver a television ......
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9th Company (Collector's Edition) (9 Rota) (Blu-ray Review)
This Collector's Edition of "9th Company" adds some much-appreciated supplements found on a separate DVD disc.
This isn't basic training, this is war. You don't get bad grades, you get killed.
9th Company is a film of lofty ambitions and admirable goals, though it never quite achieves its desired level of effectiveness as either an anti-war commentary or as memorable War picture that was destined to nestle up alongside the genre's greats. Instead, first-time Director Fyodor Bondarchuk's picture moves along at a nice pace but seems to channel other War pictures rather t...Video
9th Company fights its way onto Blu-ray and wins a steady, good-looking 1080p transfer. Although it can't escape something of a slight digital sheen while playing host to a few minor problems including light aliasing and a few jagged edges -- the transfer sometimes has a hard time rendering the blue and white striped Russian Army undershirts in particular -- 9th Company's Blu-ray release, in general, looks quite good. Detail is often very strong and the highlight of the t...Audio
Though its picture quality is up to par, 9th Company's two soundtrack offerings fall well short. Well Go USA's Blu-ray offers two options: a Dolby Digital 2.0 presentation in the film's original Russian language and a fuller Dolby Digital 5.1 mix accompanying the English language dub. Unfortunately, neither option delivers a satisfying listen; the absence of a multi-channel mix for the Russian language option is sure to disappoint, and the lack of a lossless presentation for eit...Supplements
This two-disc collector's edition of 9th Company contains the identical Blu-ray disc that's packaged with the single-disc release; included is the film's theatrical promo (1080p, 3:18) and trailer (1080p, 1:45). Disc two is a separate DVD disc that houses the remaining additional content. Making the Movie (480p, 38:53) is a comprehensive Russian language (and English subtitled) extra that begins with a look b...Final Words
9th Company desperately wants to be the next great War picture, and one can't help but admire its ambitions and efforts. Unfortunately, the picture neither achieves its lofty goals, but it doesn't sink to the depths of third-class pictures destined to be forgotten to the scrap heap of War movie history, either. Director Fyodor Bondarchuk shows promise, but his film simply cannot escape the tedium of trying to either duplicate or one-up the genre greats. Instead, the picture f......
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Forbidden Planet (Blu-ray Review)
Genesis may be "Planet Forbidden," but "Forbidden Planet" is the genesis of the greatest Sci-Fi films of the past half century.
I wash my hands of all responsibility.
Forbidden Planet travels to the furthest reaches of space to discover what it is that lies within the deepest recesses of every man's soul. A classic Science Fiction film in every regard and a shining beacon of what the genre is all about at its most fundamental level, Forbidden Planet uses outer space, distant worlds, and advanced technologies as both metaphor and magnifying glass to interpret and more closely examin...Video
Warner Brothers does right by Forbidden Planet, gracing the film with a strong, sometimes breathtaking, and always filmic 1080p, 2.41:1-framed transfer. From even the opening title sequence -- the film's signature yellow and rounded credits -- viewers will be impressed with the quality of the image. The text is crisp, sharp, and wonderfully colored, setting a fantastic tone and raising expectations that are at least met and sometimes surpassed throughout the remainder of the f...Audio
Forbidden Planet's Blu-ray release features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Listeners shouldn't expect some modern-day whiz-bang surround-sound extravaganza; Forbidden Planet's track is reserved but steady and satisfying in a classic movie sense. A few sound effects play as somewhat harsher than what listeners might be used to with more modern soundtracks, but Warner's competent DTS track handles Forbidden Planet's aging material very well. Surrounds are hard...Supplements
Forbidden Planet grants viewers plenty of extra features, chief among them the feature-length film The Invisible Boy (B&W, 480p, 1.78:1, Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:29:29), a 1957 picture featuring Robby the Robot and listed as a "sequel" of sorts to Forbidden Planet. Also of note is the inclusion of an episode of the television program "The Thin Man" entitled Robot Client (B&W, 480p, 1.78:1, Dolby Digital 2.0, 25:35). Originally aired on February 28, 1958, t...Final Words
The 1950s saw several extraordinary Science Fiction pictures that have come to define the genre not through loud action and shiny spaceships but rather through the more contemplative elements that use outer space, distant worlds, advanced technologies, and amazing otherworldly beings to take a tough, unforgiving, and honest look into the very essence of mankind. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one example, and
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Hatchet (Blu-ray Review)
Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood.
Haven't you seen enough boobs?
Hatchet is billed as "old school American Horror." If by that fans are led to expect plenty of bare-chested girls, an unforgivingly dark atmosphere, and a typical array of characters killed off one-by-one by a deranged and deformed psychopath living off the land (and the good folks) around the outlying swamps of New Orleans, then yup, Hatchet delivers some old-school genre fun. If it really just sounds like a typical hack-and...Video
Hatchet scares up a nice-looking 1080p transfer for its debut Blu-ray release. The picture's unforgivingly dark through most of its runtime with only a brief respite to introduce its main characters early on in the film. As such, blacks are crucial to the presentation, and they impress far more often than not. They're deep and dark and don't devour too many important details in the frame. Several scenes in the film are so dark the screen may as well be completely black; the da...Audio
Hatchet tears into Blu-ray with a potent and exhilarating Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's a match for the film's fast pace and excessively grisly visuals. The track yields a strong assortment of surround sound information; whether capturing the ambience of Louisiana's swampy backwaters, heavy rain and booming distant thunder, or Horror movie-centric odds and ends that effectively place the listener in the midst of the bloodshed, Hatchet's lossless soundtrack pr...Supplements
Anchor Bay slices out several quality extras for this Blu-ray release of Hatchet. Two commentary tracks headline the package. The first features Writer/Director/Co-Producer Adam Green and Actor Kane Hodder. This is a new commentary recorded for the special edition Blu-ray release and features a very happy-to-be-here Kane Hodder, who wasn't able to attend the recording of the original track. This commentary focuses less on the making of the film and more on the details of...Final Words
Make no mistake, Hatchet doesn't have an original bone in its body. But by the time the movie's over, most of the character's won't even have bodies in which to hold their bones, original or otherwise, so at least Hatchet has that much going for it. Hatchet is very good for what it is, but it's not a movie that's going to redefine a genre or anything like that. In that sense, it's no Halloween, <......
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Gladiator: Sapphire Edition (Extended and Theatrical Cut) (Remastered) (Blu-ray Review)
The same great audio, extras, and movie: now with vastly improved picture quality.
Unleash hell.
It was a time unparalleled in human history. One of the great Empires of modern civilization ruled much of the globe, and despite a landscape littered with primitive technology and a knowledge base far less impressive than that of today, the same ideas, emotions, deceptions, loves, and hates influenced every decision, every waking hour, every breath, every moment of life and, ultimately, death. With such lesser knowledge and lesser understanding came h...Video
Better late than never. After much ado about Paramount's first Blu-ray release of Gladiator -- one littered with unsightly edge enhancement and digital scrubbing that left the image flat (not to mention with arrows and fireballs that magically disappeared mid-flight); absent a natural grain structure; and generally unattractive beside many other Blu-rays, including some of Paramount's other first-class offerings like ...Audio
Though not the most earth-shattering, record-breaking, eardrum-busting mix out there, Gladiator's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is well above average across the board. The opening battle sequence sets the stage nicely. Arrows that fly through the soundstage during the picture's intense opening action sequence are accompanied by a continuous whoosh as they fly through the air towards their targets. Explosions pack a good wallop, and the general mayhem of the battle, ...Supplements
Gladiator arrives on Blu-ray as a two-disc "Sapphire Series" special edition. Disc one sports a pair of commentary tracks, one for each cut of the film. The extended cut track features Director Ridley Scott and Actor Russell Crowe in a solid and straightforward effort that begins with a discussion revolving around the sets and shooting locations and moves on to cover the characters and their motivations, the performances, the rigors of the shoot, shooting the action scenes...Final Words
Gladiator presents a rather simply story -- one man's quest for revenge -- but adds plenty of combat, several intriguing political layers, and a romantic subtext along the way. Revenge is a tale as old as time, a staple of fiction -- and history -- that seems to bring with it an everlasting allure that, in the right hands, and with the right script, and the right backdrop, makes for some of the best movies out there. Gladiator is no exception. A Best Picture winner and......
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