Jumper (Blu-ray Review)

June 10th, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Jumper (Blu-ray Review)

‘Jumper’ isn’t worth jumping in line to buy.

Only God should have the power to be all places at all times.

Do you know those movies that look good in the trailer, but the trailer shows you most of the
best
parts, and in reality the movie itself stinks, as do said intriguing trailer moments in the context of
the
whole movie? That’s what we have here, unfortunately. Jumper has solidified itself as
one
of my most memorable movie disappointments in quite some time. The trailer had me intrigued,
and the…

Video

Jumper lands on Blu-ray with a highly impressive 1080p, 2.35:1 framed image. The first
thing I noted about the transfer was the excellent attention to detail, colors and lifelike imagery.
Look at one of the movie’s earliest scenes that takes place outside after school on a cold winter’s
day. Everything looks both amazingly film-like and real: the multi-colored jackets; the textures
of clothing; the realistic and “reach-out-and-touch-it” appearance of the school bus; the snow;
…

Audio

Jumper makes the Blu-ray leap with an active but ever-so-slightly underwhelming
DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound mix. Dialogue volume is fine, but dialogue itself sounds slightly muffled at
times. Jumper offers up a solid, crisp, and detailed surround presence that remains
active throughout most of the movie to create a natural ambience rather than just kicking in
during
the film’s few action pieces. From the ringing of bells off in the distance in Rome to some
background comm…

Supplements

Jumper bounds onto Blu-ray with an impressive helping of extra features. A
commentary
track with director Doug Liman, writer/producer Simon Kiberg, and producer Lucas Foster is first.
This trio does a commendable job of defending the various issues with the movie without calling
out
the criticisms one-by-one, and it’s a worthwhile listen not only for the movie’s fans, but also its
detractors. Jumpstart: David’s Story (1080p, 8:07) is an animated graphic novel and
s…

Final Words

I don’t ask much of movies like Jumper. That they be entertaining, concise, coherent,
action-packed, and imaginative doesn’t seem all that tall an order for a big-budget Hollywood
sci-fi/action extravaganza. Unfortunately, Jumper fails at all of these, except, perhaps, for
“concise,” but then again, even at a sub-90 minute runtime, the movie offers far too little of the
other factors to truly be concise. It is a hodgepodge of ideas where several “cool” scenes (“car……

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Broken Trail (Blu-ray Review)

June 10th, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Broken Trail (Blu-ray Review)

One of the best Westerns of the decade saddles up for a solid Blu-ray release.

We’re all travelers in this world, from the sweet grass to the packing house, from birth till
death,
we travel between the eternities.

While they certainly don’t make ‘em like they used to, Broken Trail succeeds at
hearkening back to the classic, slow-paced, good versus evil epic Western, a genre on the
whole that seems revitalized and on the upswing over the past two decades, with the likes of the
Oscar-winning href="http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.p…

Video

Broken Trail rides onto Blu-ray with a wonderful 1080p, 1.78:1 framed high definition
transfer. This is a most impressive image. Some grain is present over the movie, and the print
exhibits some very minor blemishes, notably black and white speckles, but these are only visible
on rare occasions. The picture reveals excellent detail: the worn leather of saddles and holsters;
frayed rope; trail-depleted clothing; lines and finer nuances seen in human faces; and even the
horse’s…

Audio

Presented in a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, Broken Trail is almost as good a listen
as it is a watch. The film’s score permeates the front of the soundstage but doesn’t blend into the
rears with authority, although on occasion it rings true from the back. It’s decidedly front-heavy,
but it sounds great. The stampeding of horses, combined with the old west themed music makes
for a pleasant, “authentic” Western soundtrack. The stampeding of horses creates the right
am…

Supplements

Unfortunately, Sony has failed to corral an extensive set of supplements for this Blu-ray release of
Broken Trail. The only extra feature on this disc is ‘Broken Trail’: The Making of a
Legendary Western (480p, 23:17). This standard piece allows the cast and crew to discuss
their ideas behind the themes of the movie and the Western genre itself. Many of the film’s
technicalities, from working with a herd of horses to the authentic wardrobe choices for
each actor, this …

Final Words

Broken Trail is an excellent film with no striking flaws. Despite listing the length of
the
movie as
a strength insofar as getting to know the characters, there are one or two sequences that drag
on
just a bit too long, but I wouldn’t have cut more than a few minutes here and there. Once part
one
of the story ended (viewers have the option of watching the film straight through, or watching
one
93 minute half and viewing the second 91 minute half separately, a nice touch)……

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Short Circuit (Blu-ray Review)

June 10th, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Short Circuit (Blu-ray Review)

Does the nostalgia of ‘Short Circuit’ make this disc worth picking up?

No offense, but is that really you, or is that like a spacesuit and you’re inside someplace
maybe
just your brain in a little jar or something like that?

One thing that Hollywood seems to do consistently well is to create interesting and entertaining
robotic characters. We’ve seen plenty of excellent robotic characters grace both the silver and
television screen: Robbie the Robot (Forbidden Planet); the Robot from Lost In
Space (“Danger Will Robinson, d…

Video

Short Circuit electrifies Blu-ray with an inconsistent 1080i high definition,
2.40:1
framed transfer. This transfer is bright, crisp, and pleasing, but only in places. The
first shot of the film after the credits are finished rolling is of a lush, green field with roses, and
until the flowers get run over by a tank, the image looks excellent with well-defined colors,
acceptable detail, and a crispness befitting movies of a more recent vintage. There is quite a bit
of film g…

Audio

Short Circuit flashes onto Blu-ray with a surprisingly active DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless
soundtrack that is both engaging and entertaining. The opening music sounds great, even for such
a silly 80s synthesized beat. The powerful explosions heard afterwards during the S.A.I.N.T. combat
demonstration are mighty impressive for a soundtrack of this vintage. Dialogue is clear, precise, and
focused in the center. There is a fine surround presence heard almost continually throughout the
…

Supplements

Short Circuit rolls into its Blu-ray debut as a nuts-and-bolts-packed special edition. First
up is a
commentary track with director John Badham and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock. An
enjoyable listen but an ultimately standard commentary track, this trio provides some interesting
insights into the making of the movie, from filming the opening credits scene to fake flowers used
in lieu of real ones, to the reasoning behind making the Ally Sheedy character an animal lover…

Final Words

Short Circuit is nostalgic fun. Nevertheless, the movie doesn’t hold up as well as I had
hoped it would,
and it’s
not because of a too-heavy a dose of 1980s sentimentality. I didn’t find the movie all that funny
or
entertaining, but I love nostalgia, and this movie offers plenty of that. Fans of the movie, Blu-ray
bargain hunters, collectors, or completists will want to add this disc to their collections. Even
though the transfer is hit-or-miss, there are times where it ……

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Mad Max 2 (Blu-ray Review)

June 6th, 2008 Blu-ray-au

Mad Max 2 (Blu-ray Review)

Mad Max 2. Give me the gasoline, the pump, the whole color gamut

Mad Max 2, or The Road Warrior, as it is known in the US, is a great action film. Even though it was
made a generation ago, it’s set in a near apocalyptic future where oil has run out and civilization
has crumbled, so it might well be a movie released today. When it was released in the 80′s it was a
very exciting film to watch, with all its car stunts and non stop action. The Australian film was also
one of the first films that Mel Gibson did (the latest being …

Video

Warners has given us Mad Max 2 in a clear 2.40 transfer from an element that looks clean and
looks sometimes almost brand new. The movie didn’t look this clean on the original presentation
I saw. With a VC-1 bit-rate in the high 20′s the image seems solid for the most part, except for
shots done on location in available light, specially a night. The worst shot, occurring on a night
excursion by Max to transport gasoline on foot hiding from the desert gang, looks just like how
an und…

Audio

Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior comes on this Blu-ray Disc incarnation with a DolbyDigital 5.1 640
mb/s soundtrack. The 5.1 stereophonic remix favors the music more than the mono mix I heard
on my theatrical viewing (the theater I went to didn’t have any fancy “Dolby Stereo” back then) so
it was a pleasant, albeit different, experience this time. On the theatrical, the dialogue and engine
sound effects were predominant but this wider stereo presentation lends the Brian May music a
better s…

Supplements

The Blu-ray comes with a very interesting Director and Cinematographer’s Audio
Commentary where they have a great time reminiscing on how things were back then and
the particulars of shooting, even taking about film stock speeds, shooting in the desert
with
available light, the stunts, the dog and even Mel. . When they mention the ratio, is the
customary “2.35″, even when Panavision projection hasn’t been that shape since the 70′s and
the
film is truly 2.40. I mention thi…

Final Words

Well what’s there to conclude about the Mad Max 2 Blu-ray? Color pays an important part of setting
the mood, and in that area, the disc, looking neutral, and cooler, and “accurately” flat, doesn’t
reach
the best color representation possible. That’s not to say the colors on the disc look bad or off, in fact
they look pretty good, nice blue skies, normal skin tones, there’s the red blood, etc. But they don’t
look warm, worn, arid and excitingly hot, as the apocalyptic world of a Road Wa……

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