Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Jake (Randy Wayne) and Roger (Robert Bailey Jr.) were best friends up until the ninth grade and the two drifted apart. Jake became the star of the basketball team and landed the hottest girl in school and Roger didn't fit in with his new group of friends. Three years later Jake's world crashes down around him when Roger enters the school with a handgun and takes his own life. Wracked with guilt, Jake begins to question his life choices and wonders if there was anything he could have done to save his childhood friend.

Calling a film "religious" will ultimately alienate a large portion of the population, but as long as the script isn't too preachy, I can usually enjoy them. That's certainly the case here where the message being spoken—care about thy neighbor—is commendable, especially to the targeted teen audience. The script certainly has a Christian slant to it, which isn't too distracting, but the story is very melodramatic and runs about 20 longer than it should.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Exquisite detail
• Lifelike color saturation
• Rock solid black level
• Consistent and stable contrast

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Dialog-intensive soundtrack
• Lifelike atmosphere from the rear speakers
• Crisp dynamics from the hip-hop soundtrack

The near-reference video encode features crisp detail, inky blacks, and great dimensionality. The audio track is more pedestrian by comparison, but still quite solid.

Bonus Materials

• "Making-of" featurette
• Deleted scenes
• Music videos
• Gag reel
• BD-Live enabled

Despite its long runtime the message comes through loud and clear. Despite your fame and popularity, don't forget about other people in your life and treat them with respect and dignity. If all teens, or for that matter adults, went through life with this mindset, the world would certainly be a better place.

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Release Date: August 3, 2010
Studio: Sony

Movie: 7/10
Picture: 9/10
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
Panamax M5400PM 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