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Synopsis Plot Overview Ex-con Harry Talbot can't believe his luck. In a power game, he took two losers for five thousand dollars, along with a classic convertible Lincoln Continental, and met a hot young thing as well. As it turns out, Harry ends up being the loser, because in the trunk rests the rotting corpse of a man known as Gordo. To make matters worse, the men who put Gordo there want the body back, and the girl is out to kill the gangster kingpin. What was supposed to be the beginning of a new life for Harry has now become a high speed struggle for survival, as he's pursued by crazed drug dealers, vicious Mafia hit men, and maniacal family members. Commentary Although a little trashy at times, this movie isn't so bad. The story is interesting enough to hold your attention, and the acting is decent. Extras Nothing. Technical The Dolby Stereo track is what we would expect from an aging B film. It's a little center heavy, dialog is still very clear, and the music is spacious and fills the room. The 4:3 frame is apparently the original aspect ratio of the film. The video transfer is poor, with excessive and distracting edge enhancement. Blacks and the shadows are washed out, and there is quite a lot of video noise.. As for the MPEG PIC flags:
To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview Vincent is a businessman on the move. Seemingly at the top of his game, he speeds between meetings and conferences, using his cell phone to share the smallest detail of his professional life with his admiring wife, Muriel. What she doesn't know is that Vincent is leading a double life. He was fired from his job and has constructed an elaborate fantasy of employment that has become his full time occupation. His fictional new job provides "investment opportunities" for his old friend and even his parents. But the web of lies threatens to choke him when the investors start asking about their money. Vincent must now decide which of his lives is most important. Commentary This month, we have a movie worthy of our highest entertainment rating. Time Out is not a "thriller" about some loser who's looking to con everyone out of their money and live on easy street. It is the tale of a passionate man terrified of change, so much so that in his own mind their exists a blur between reality and the fantasy life, created so that everything at home with his wife and kids "stays the same". In his mind he's living the lie as much for them as for himself. And if that story doesn't tickle your fancy as much as it did mine, there is still the artful, expressive composition and directing which we see so often from European talent and so rarely in Hollywood. Note that I just happen to speak the native language of this film. If you don't speak French, there is no English dub, so you'll be doing the subtitle thing. Extras Trailer. That's it. Technical The Dolby Digital track is all right but could have been better. It's a little schizophrenic, as some scenes have crystal clear ADR dialog, and others seem to use on-the-set lo-fi tracks. The surrounds feel a little neglected, and most of the time only music manages to break free of the center channel. The video quality is on the whole not bad. There is some edge enhancement which at times distracts, but there is less video noise and compression artifacts than the typical DVD. Blacks at first struck us as nice and deep, but then we decided they were too deep, as though the gamma were off, and the picture can at times be too dark. Colors are subtle and muted, most likely an artistic choice by the makers. As for the MPEG PIC flags, the entire film is encoded as video. Hope you have DCDi or you'll be seeing half the resolution DVD has to offer. It is likely the original HD master would have been PAL, and the conversion to NTSC has left the film with an irregular cadence. To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview When Joe Nast experiences an unexpected loss, he wants to be the man he believes everyone wants him to be - the dutifully bereaved husband-to-be and the perfect would-be son in law to Ben and Jojo. But then another woman unexpectedly enters his life, and he's torn between fulfilling his new roles and following his heart. Commentary Although the press was kind to this one, I thought it was just "ok". The story is interesting and works on several levels, but it was so drawn out and moved at such a slow pace it was hard work to stay interested. Extras There is a commentary track featuring the director and another featuring some of the actors. There is also the proverbial making of feature "Moonlight Mile: A Journey To Screen" Technical The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is fair. Fidelity is decent and the surrounds are used with discretion to support the ambiance of locals and weather. Dialog is mostly clear but many of the quiet passages, of which there are many, can leave you straining for what was said. The 16x9 enhanced video is par with decent detail, good shadows and grays, but is spoiled by too much edge enhancement. As for the MPEG PIC flags, for some reason our computer's DVD ROM did not like this disc and we were unable to dump them. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview When Chance loses all that he cherishes in a freak accident, his grief grows into a deadly obsession that begins to rip apart the lives of his closest friends, Michael and Lauren. Soon Michael and Lauren are trapped in a living nightmare, as Chance continues his descent into madness while desperately plotting to take back what was "stolen" from him. Commentary The core plot is so thin that we knew exactly what was going to happen every step of the way. What fills the time in between is banal exchanges between characters so undeveloped that they seem inanimate. Big "B" for boring. Extras Nada. Technical The Dolby Stereo track is pretty decent, especially when decoded with Pro Logic II, which picks up some nice left/right cues in the surrounds. Dialog is at times a little rough, and when the the volume drops, it becomes hard to understand.. The video, though 16x9 enhanced, is lacking. There is enough edge enhancement to be bothersome, and there is at times quite a bit of video noise. Blacks and shadows are fair. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview On their way to California, the biggest decision Leanne and her mother and father have to make is where to stop and sightsee. But their ill-fated fortune brings them face to face with a ruthless motorcycle gang and its rebellious but charismatic leader, Jake. From there Leann's trip turns into a wild journey down a dangerous road as Jake acts on his attraction and kidnaps her. Commentary Why was this movie ever made? Why did they bother putting it on DVD? It is absolute drivel. The story is dry, but that's not the biggest problem. Nor is the lame acting. It's the disjointed way the film is cut together that just makes you want to instinctively reach for the "Stop" button on your remote. In another "interesting" marketing gaff, the image of Carla Gugino on the cover is NOT from the film and in fact looks quite recent. Extras Nope. Not even a trailer. Technical The Dolby stereo track is of compromised fidelity and feels a lot older than it is. More like amateur night on the weekly sitcom than a feature film. It is center heavy, negligent of the surrounds, and the dialog sounds like it was captured by Radio Shack specials. The video is really quite noisy and has noticeable compression artifacts. There is enough edge enhancement to distract, but the grays are nicely delineated. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview The black sheep son of a wealthy Tulsa family returns to the world he had renounced and is forced into a blackmail scheme with his high school sweetheart's menacing husband. When he helps the only eyewitness to a murder, he gets caught in a web of revenge, deceit and redemption. Commentary The underlying story is good, and I can see a studio exec approving this project. Unfortunately, the execution is rather poor. Pacing is erratic, acting is inconsistent, and the cinematography is disjointed. I need to jump on the soap box and point out that despite her name being on the cover, Cameron Diaz is hardly in the movie. She is in the opening scene only, a scene which has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Meanwhile, nowhere on the DVD case, even the fine print on the back, will you find Deborah Kara Unger's name (that's her in the sunglasses on the cover by the way), and she is the female lead! Talk about strange marketing . . . . Extras Photo Gallery. That's it. Technical The Dolby Stereo track is second rate. Dialog is often less than clear, Foley is at times too exaggerated, and the surrounds, even when Pro Logic II decoded, are a mess. Even the music, which is well chosen, feels short changed in the fidelity department. The video is extremely soft. There is an average amount of video noise and edge enhancing, but the blacks and grays are for the most part nicely rendered. The color palette is consistent, but we just could not get past the lack of detail. The MPEG PIC flags.
To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview A dangerous terrorist group takes a nuclear facility hostage, determined to set off a meltdown the size of Chernobyl, but instead of the Middle East, it is to be throughout Southern California. Only one man, security agent Mike Jeffers, has what it takes to thwart the operation and divert the deadly attack. Commentary This movie is banal, dry, and played out. That's what comes to mind watching this DVD. The story, despite being paper thin, has already been done to death. The only entertainment is the nearly continuous action and stunt sequences which are not that great. In a nutshell: Boring! Extras There are Director and Cast filmographies, a photo gallery, and trailers. Technical The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is fair. Fidelity is decent, what little talking there is is clear, and the explosions are nice and dynamic. The surrounds unfortunately are a little too "hard", seemingly off in their own space, failing to integrate with the front soundstage. The video is not 16x9 enhanced, and as such, is only average. We noted video noise, a lack of fine detail, and edge enhancement, though not as much of this (enhancement) as we usually see. Black and grays feel washed out. On the whole, the color seems more like a TV sitcom than a theater film. The MPEG PIC flags.
To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview Everyone knows there are some things that nice girls and boys just don't do. But when three college couples reveal their sexual secrets, the truth is more than anyone expected. From seduction to betrayal, from blackmail to murder, these six friends are about to discover that in the game of Taboo, the only rule is revenge. Commentary Although featuring some of the better up and coming young talent in Hollywood, this movie has very little to stand on. At first the plot looks like its going to be interesting, but it soon it takes a twist for the banal, and we lose interest. If I had had anything to do the night I watched this, I probably would not have bothered finishing it. Extras Trailer only. Technical The Dolby Stereo track is pretty decent, especially when decoded with Pro Logic II, which picks up some nice left/right cues in the surrounds. Dialog is at times a little rough, but the omnipresent rain storm is done rather nicely. The video, though 16x9 enhanced, is lacking. There is enough edge enhancement to be bothersome, and there is at times quite a bit of video noise. Blacks and shadows are not good. Though the movie is meant to be dark, this transfer is so dark, it's as if the gamma were badly engineered. The MPEG PIC flags.
To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview Oscar Grubman is no ordinary 15-year-old. He's suave, smart, cultured and has one thing on his mind: Older women! But be careful what you wish for Oscar. When a sexy 40-something friend of the family actually takes Oscar up on his infatuation, he suddenly finds himself in way over his head. Commentary This movie is billed as a comedy, and there are some funny moments. On the whole though it takes an inordinate amount of time to get going, and just as it gets interesting, the credits role. It's still worth a watch because of the nice raw quality it has. Shot entirely with DV (Digital Video) cameras in 14 days, it's very interesting as a budget film. Extras There is a commentary track by director Gary Winick. Not at all bland, the film is almost more interesting when watching it with this track. Winick does not do much patting himself on the back, rather he's very candid in relating the how, why, and where of every shot. Technical The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is fair. Good effort is made to establish and uphold sonic environments, but the dialog quality is very inconsistent: At times crystal clear, at others it's very rough. Even though most of the dialog was ADR'ed, it sometimes sounds like it was captured on the open set. The use of music is very good and that portion always sounds right. (ADR means Automatic Dialog Replacement, and refers to having the actor dub in the dialog later in production, for scenes where it was too noisy to record their voices when the scenes were actually shot.) The video, though 16x9 enhanced, is lacking. Not the sort of shortcoming inherent in rough video photography but rather in the MPEG-2 encoding. There is enough edge enhancement to be bothersome and there is at times quite a bit of video noise which is hard to separate from the intentionally added grain. Blacks and shadows are good, but there seems to be over saturation of certain hues. The MPEG PIC flags.
We've got a lot of video and 2-2 progressive errors on this one, but the chapter breaks are clean. The fact that this movie was likely edited in its native DV format is probably the reason for all these breaks in cadence. With Digital Video being used more and more, we need to see NLEs (Non-Linear Editors) editing software be sensitive to preserving 24fps cadence or these sort of irregularities will never go away. To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview Just when things are quieting down in Reiverton, everything goes wrong. Inspector Gadget is put on probation. Claw stages a daring escape from prison and plots a new "Crime of the Century". And the Mayor unveils a new and improved G2 - an all-robot, all-tech, all-female gadget! Could it get any worse for our hero? Commentary This movie borders on being down right boring. Sure the story is extremely basic, but we expect that because the intended audience (children) doesn't need anything complicated. The physical comedy is supposed to be the core, but even that material feels played out. The visual effects are very inconsistent, with most being the photo realistic sort we expect these days, but then some look like they were thrown together at the last minute. Extras There are quite a few extras. Some are pretty banal like the Training Simulator Game and Illustrated Gadget Activity. The rest of the stuff is your usual behind the scenes featurette, outtakes, deleted scenes and story board comparisons. There are two commentary tracks, one with director Alex Zamm and the other with Zamm, French Stewart, and Elaine Hendrix. Technical The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is tight. Dynamic, punchy and clear, it is just the sort of thing we expect these days. The music is on the bland side. In a refreshing change from the ordinary, the bass is deep and robust but not overwhelming. The surrounds create nice ambiance without being distracting. The video, though 16x9 enhanced, is touted by Disney as being a "Family Friendly" 1.66:1 aspect ratio. That's marketing speak for "a version which is exactly mid way between 4:3 and 16:9 so both TV types will see smaller black bars but neither maximizes the resolution potential of the medium". It is also more of an European movie aspect ratio. That notwithstanding, the encoding for the DVD is par. Edge enhancement, though present, is not too distracting, and colors are nice and consistent. Blacks and shadow are nicely delineated, but we noted a little too much video noise for comfort and overall it feels a little soft. The flags...
To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
Synopsis Plot Overview Still reeling from the devastating disappearance of his lover Claire, brilliant code-breaker Tom Jericho is summoned to Britain's top-secret intelligence campus. There he faces his toughest assignment - crack the Nazis' infamous Enigma code. With the help of Claire's roommate Hester, and with a ruthless secret agent in hot pursuit, the two must piece together the puzzle that links Claire's disappearance to U-boats closing in on Allied cargo ships, and a massacre in Poland. Commentary "Enigma" is decidedly a good film with all its elements in balance. We've got the intrigue of the whole WWII code breaking/Bletchley Park stuff, and there is a mystery, a love interest, a bad guy, etc. Dougray Scott is well suited to the role, and Kate Winset supports him wonderfully. The cinematography take a step back to traditional values, including lots of wide shots and full use of the scope frame. Often these days, shots are "compromised" to later accommodate P&S video by centering the subject, but in Enigma, numerous shots have two people talking from opposite ends of the frame. This is the kind of thing Hollywood did way back when CinemaScope was first introduced in the 1950s. Extras There are no extras beyond the trailer. Technical The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is a slightly above par. Dialog is always very clear and intelligible, while the intoxicating musical score is expansive and dynamic. Some of the brief shots of submarine and naval warfare show quite a prodigious low frequency content, perhaps even a little too much. The video, though 16x9 enhanced, is the worst I've seen in a while. Edge enhancement is so pronounced as to be distracting even on a small interlaced display. But the real problem is detail: There is none. It's as if the lens on the telecine (the instrument used to transfer the film to video) was out of focus. There is an average amount of video noise, and the blacks and grays are par. There is something else really wrong with this transfer which I have never seen before: It looks like the lines are out of order. This is not combing or the chroma bug or any other artifact of the playback system. It is most likely a total screw up of the downconversion from the HD master. Whatever it is it may be the reason for the soft, out of focus appearance. The flags:
To have a better understanding of what the flags above mean, please refer to our "A Beautiful Mind" review. - Brian Florian -
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