Blu-n-Review

Knocked Up Blu-Ray Disc Review

Posted by Martin:

The Video: B

The Audio: B

The Extras: B

Knocked Up is another in a growing line of comedies by Judd Apatow.  Going back to the great Freaks and Geeks television show and then beginning with The 40-Year-Old Virgin  Apatow, along with Seth Rogan, seem to have created there own little brand of comedy. Knocked Up is in the same vein as the rest of his work, a dorky guy some how manages to snag a beautiful woman.  It was well reviewed when it came out in 2007.

The Video: B

The video is formatted in 1.85:1.  The transfer of the Eric Edwards cinematography work is done well.  This is not the most eye catching movie to see.  Some of the scenes seemed to be lit poorly that occur in Seth Rogan's character's house.  Can't give this video an A, but this is a very clean transfer.

The Audio: B

The main audio is presented in DTS-HD.  This is a dialog driven movie, there are no action scenes.  DTS-HD may have been overkill here, but there are no complaints on the audio.

The Extras: B

There is a ton of stuff here, and for me it is too much stuff and poorly organized.  I prefer extras that don't repeat each other and are well organized. A lot of the extras are edited gag reels from the set.  Here is what you get in terms of extras:

• Feature Commentary with Seth Rogan, Judd Apatow, and Bill Hader
• Deleted Scenes
• Extended/Alternative Scenes
• Line-O-Rama
• Beard-O-Rama
• Finding Ben Stone
• Gag Reel
• Kids on the Loose
• Directing the Director
• Gummy the 6th Roommate
• Roller Coaster Doc
• Kuni Files
• Kuni Gone Wild
• Topless Scenes
• Stripper Confidential
• Video Diaries
• RAw Footage
• Katherine Heigl Audition
• Loundon Wainwright III Scoring Session
• Loudon Wainwright III Live and McCabe's

  An extra of note would be "Finding Ben Stone", this is a fake documentary of trying other actors out for the Seth Rogan part and how much of a jerk each actor was.  The funniest part of this bit is the opening when they have scenes with Michael Cera playing Rogan's part.  That seemed so natural that I didn't realize it was fake until a few minutes into the mockumentary. Very funny scenes with Michael Cera check that out.

This is a better commentary then the sloppy one they put together for Pineapple Express.  They added Apatow and Rogan added Bill Hader to the mix so that he could do impressions through out the commentary.  You do learn at the beginning of the commentary that the two children in the film are Apatow's own kids, he discusses his decision to use them because child actors can seem very fake from time to time.  The two kids are cute in the film.

The parts with Loudon Wainwright I found enjoyable because you don't usually see these sort of discussions about the music on a movie, and watching the performances is a nice touch.

Overall:

I enjoyed this movie more than I expected.  Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan had good chemistry on screen together.  There are some interesting extras here and bits that are very funny, but there is just too much and a lot of it repeats on each other.  But if you have enjoyed other Judd Apatow movies I would recommend checking this disc out.

Other Blu-Ray disc reviews:

Quantum of Solace

Dirty Harry

Slumdog Millionaire

Pineapple Express
 

Slumdog Millionaire Blu-Ray Disc Review

Posted by Martin:

Video: B

Audio: A

Extras: B+

Slumdog Millionaire took the 2008 Oscars by storm.  It was one of the highest rated movies of 2008.

The video: B

Director Danny Boyle used a mix of film and digital technology when shooting the movie.  Consequently there is a lot of noise in shadow areas in certain scenes.  Zodiac is an example where digital can still look good in the shadows.

But the rest of the movie is done very well.  This is a faithful transfer of the film, and it is a very pretty film to see.  The bright colors of the slums in the opening scenes, to the closing dance scene few movies have a look like this.

Audio: A

Formatted in DTS-Master this is a very lively mix.  There is a lot to hear, especially in the beginning of the film when the characters are speaking Hindi, which adds life to the scene.

The Extras: B+

There are two commentary tracks on this disc.  The first one with Director Danny Boyle and with star Dev Patel, the second track is with producer Christian Colson and Writer Simon Beaufoy.  

I appreciated the track with Boyle and Patel the most, that is where you learn about the types of cameras they used to make the movie, and Patel is very relaxed and amusing making for a very informative and enjoyable track.

There are a lot of deleted scenes or extended scenes interesting by themselves, but they certainly were correct to cut these scenes.

Slumdog Dreams:Danny Boyle and the Making of Slumdog Millionaire is an excellent making of documentary.  It is not the most in depth documentary, it only runs 30 minutes, but this isn't a blatant self promotion video mascarding as a documentary.  You learn a lot about working in the slums and working with the kids in their native Hindi language.

Also included is "The Toilet Scene from Script to Screen" a quick look at a defining opening scene.  Watching the other documentary and listening to the Boyle commentary you will learn more about the scene then what is shown here.

Two music videos and a short film round out the extras.  The short film Manijha is shot in in SD and runs about 40 minutes.  It is a tough movie to see about the results of poverty in India. 

Overall:

This film deserved the praise that it received last year.  It is nothing like any other Oscar winner of recent memory.  Add this disc to your Netflix queue.