Marley & Me (Blu-ray)

Based on the best-selling book by John Grogan, this is a story about a young couple (Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston) who decide to get a puppy, Marley, in lieu of having a child at an early point in their marriage. Unfortunately, they adopt "evil" with the face of a dog that fails obedience school and is branded as "the world's worst dog."

Surprisingly, there's more to Marley & Me than the deviant dog. It deals with the trials and tribulations of marriage, raising kids, and managing your career and family obligations. Marley is the constant in their life, and although he's certainly a challenge to deal with, neither of them can imagine life without him. The film is rated PG and marketed toward kids, but there is a plethora of sexual references that may make parents uncomfortable —like me—so I would suggest a preview before sitting down with your younglings.

Encoded with AVC, the 2.35:1 image is a solid effort from Fox. The color palette is rich and bold, especially the primaries, although the flesh tones are a bit skewed toward orange. Black levels are deep and provide adequate shadow details, and the image is crisp and clear with only the occasional soft shot.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is front-loaded, as you would expect from a romantic comedy. The surround channels are mainly there for ambience and score bleed, with only the occasional discrete effect of Marley wreaking havoc off-screen. Dialog is clear and intelligible, and the front soundstage features some decent panning effects.

The three-disc set includes a slew of bonus materials. Disc one includes the feature film as well as 19 deleted scenes, four featurettes, a gag real, and a "Dog Training Trivia Track," all in HD. Disc two offers a bonus DVD copy of the movie, and the third disc contains a digital copy. Like Disney, Fox is providing added value to Blu-ray with these additional copies of the film.

My family has recently adopted a puppy, and luckily for us, he isn't as deviant as Marley, but the experience helped me relate to the story. The Blu-ray delivers a strong presentation. Just be sure to have a box of tissues available—you'll need them. Recommended.

Release Date: March 31, 2009
Studio: Fox

Movie: 7/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics

X