DoBlu’s January 2010 Review Round-Up

Think you missed something in January? Let this easy to use, organized list be your guide to the entirety of DoBlu’s reviews last month. The list is sorted from the newest to the oldest, and separated by catalog titles and new releases. Clips are taken from the movie, video, and audio review sections, in that order.

[amazonify]B002UD56I6[/amazonify] New Releases:

Michael Jackson’s This Is It: “While This is It remains a shell of what it would have been with a full crowd, this personal collection of rehearsals is at least a significant taste of how it may have turned out”

“Not everything shot for This is It was intended for public viewing or even a hi-def presentation”

“The music, from Jackson’s voice, background singers, to individual instruments, is so clear, you have to use the cliché: It’s like being there.”

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Surrogates: “This idea would seem to elicit a connection with obesity or anti-social behavior, yet oddly, every one seems relatively healthy and generally sociable…”

“That still fails to explain why flesh tones appear to be out of one of the first-generation colorized films, with a chalk-like color and appearance.”

“When the helicopter hits ground, you feel it.”

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Saw VI: “Jigsaw, despite dying long before the current crisis, obviously saw the future of the market and planned ahead.”

“Few scenes after the initial group look impressive, and it is not due to the low, grim lighting.”

“Clanging, moving metal is reproduced faithfully, with a rustic, dirty quality that is fully discernable.”

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[amazonify]B002UOMGYM[/amazonify]

Smokin’ Aces 2 – Assassin’s Ball: “Somewhere, there is a studio that might have cared enough to do a proper sequel, instead of dumping it onto home video with a miniscule budget and cheap sets.”

“Multiple color schemes, from the faded gray palette of the bunker to the saturated upstairs bar, are undoubtedly accurate to the source.”

“You will be hard pressed to find more powerful, aggressive gunfire than this Smokin’ Aces 2 DTS-HD effort, but that does not translate to greatness.”

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Whiteout: “Dialogue is either explanatory or unnatural, leading to some lines the Mystery Science Theater guys would love to get a hold of.”

“High fidelity textures are rare, although strong when you can make them out.”

“A crashing plane, gunfire, a cabin depressurizing, crates rolling around, and engines ablaze create a lively, aggressive beginning.”

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Pandorum: “Pandorum is simply dull to look at.”

“High fidelity detail, including pores and clothing textures, are surprisingly retained in the grim corridors.”

“All conversations carry a light reflection off the metal passageways, pinging from the front to the rears cleanly.”

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[amazonify]B002SG7Z8Y[/amazonify]

Gamer: “Certain camera shots, literally following behind Butler as he pushes through explosions, are undoubtedly impressive. Unfortunately, the hectic editing pulls the viewer out literally seconds later…”

“In terms of the encode, the down-convert from 4K has produced no noticeable ill effects.”

“Lionsgate goes for a barbaric DTS-HD 7.1 mix, and yes, barbaric is a perfectly suitable term.”

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Halloween 2 (2009): “Good thing that was all a dream… all 25-minutes of it. If any of that were true, it would be ridiculous.”

“Zombie shot Halloween 2 on 16MM, which unfortunately wreaks havoc on this AVC encode.”

“From the start as Laurie is walking down the street, a musical cue begins traveling around the soundfield, hitting each speaker with an eerie softness that is undoubtedly effective.”

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The Hurt Locker: “Numerous bombs are disarmed in Hurt Locker, yet the film is never repetitive or familiar.”

“The one thing this AVC encode can’t do, despite a high bitrate, is handle the roughest grain structure.”

“The opening scene of Hurt Locker contains a bomb explosion, and it pushes this DTS-HD effort as low as it can possibly go.”

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[amazonify]B001UV4XY2[/amazonify]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: “If someone created a machine that could convert water to steak, would a vegan be able to eat it?”

“Sony delivers an “as-expected” AVC encode, which translates into near-perfection.”

“A demo-worthy sequence, a spaghetti tornado, contains a shot where Flint is running down the street, panicked residents and giant meatballs barely missing him.”

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The Final Destination: “Home video lets you skip the inane dialogue and get to the meat of the movie, and they are creative enough despite the somewhat miserable special effects.”

“In fact, the only major complaint is video noise, first noted inside the coffee shop after the initial disaster.”

“Surrounds are constantly filled with activity, from flying body and car parts to ambiance, such as the car shop.”

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Paranormal Activity: “Paranormal Activity tries to build tension, but in terms of actual scares, this is a joke.”

“Shot using the Sony HDR-FX1, there is little purpose for Paranormal Activity to be on Blu-ray, one of the rare times you’ll ever hear that.”

“One of the considerable “scares” uses a sadistically loud thump to wake up anyone who had fallen asleep with the cast, and without a sub, the effect would be lost.”

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[amazonify]B002HK9I04[/amazonify] Catalog:

South Park – Bigger, Longer & Uncut: “…beyond the Satan/Hussein gay love story, beyond the fart and vomit jokes, and beyond the cheap shots at Canada (we do accept your apology for Brian Adams, for the record), lies a smart, even brilliant satire of American attitudes towards what media we consume.”

“There is a real attempt at making everything appear as if it were created out of construction paper, something lost in the previous DVD version. In hi-def, and in this AVC encode from Paramount, that light level of texture is wholly intact.”

“The best scene is undoubtedly Kenny’s descent into hell, with swirling flames and demons, along with heavy musical accompaniment, combined into a furious mixture of uncompressed audio bliss.”

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New Police Story: “Chan’s inventiveness knows no bounds, taking one of his trademark frantic, absurdly fast-paced brawls into a Lego store, knocking over entire creations, a ball pit, and balloon overhang.”

“Some filtering is evident from the opening scenes, resulting in some notable ringing around high contrast edges.”

“Despite the mediocre video, Lionsgate’s biggest gaffe is not including an original Cantonese language uncompressed mix.”

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I Love You Beth Cooper: “Every scene in Beth Cooper is terribly disconnected from the rest of the film.”

“Initial impressions of this AVC encode for Beth Cooper are as follows: Why is everyone orange? The other colors are vibrant. What is with the black crush?”

“The meaningless stampede sequence delivers ample bass, as do a few soundtrack cues throughout the film.”

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Halloween (2007): To its credit, when Michael snaps, it is chilling, a savage assault with a cumbersome log on another schoolmate.”

“Dimension delivers a flat AVC encode for Halloween, one that needs rich, inky blacks to succeed. Sadly for this hi-def presentation, it fails.”

“Some ambiance is offered, including birds chirping in the rears, thunder filling the soundfield, rain offering an immersive effect, some creaking wood in a rundown home, and rustling leaves as the wind picks up.”

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Street Fighter: “Steven E. de Souza’s 1994 adaptation of video game Street Fighter was never intended to be a good movie.”

“Artificial sharpening has been applied with drastic results.”

“As with the video, the DTS-HD mix sounds wholly hollow and artificial.”

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[amazonify]B00168OIOE[/amazonify]

Monsters Inc.: “Monsters Inc. is not the funniest of the Pixar efforts or even the most well-meaning. It exists for its charm…”

“There are times when 1080p just is not enough, and Monsters Inc. is the example.”

“The work floor is vivid, with surround activity ranging from electricity surging, doors being moved around, and PA speakers filling each channel.”

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Army of Darkness – Screwhead Edition: “Campbell proves here he is not just the king of one-liners, but of physical horror comedy, grand scale inspiring speeches, and eating grapes from beautiful women. Who knew?”

“Universal gave HD DVD owners Army of Darkness with a rather awful transfer, littered with edge enhancement, noise reduction, processing, and contrast boosting. For this “Screwhead Edition” Blu-ray… nothing has changed.”

“The surrounds, on the other hand, are rather awful. Half the time, they sound like they are extension of the fronts.”

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Wizard of Oz – Ultimate Collector’s Edition: “Wizard of Oz carries such a grand scale, it makes it almost impossible to fathom the sheer undertaking it took to create it.”

“Expecting more than this, at least in this video generation, is absurd.”

“Each song contains a high level of fidelity, as if they were recorded with modern equipment.”

Specials:

Interview: Cliff Stephenson Talks Gamer on Blu-ray

The Best (and Worst) of Blu-ray 2009 by the Numbers

DoBlu on the Seen in HD Podcast: Best of Blu-ray 2009