Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Ryan (George Clooney) doesn't have the easiest job in the world. He's a corporate grim reaper who constantly travels around the country breaking the news to unsuspecting employees that their services are no longer required by their company. His company is there to aid them in the transition and make it as painless as possible. When a young Cornell graduate (Anna Kendrick) wants to transition the job onto the Internet, it's up to Ryan to show her how the process really works in order to preserve his livelihood and jet setting lifestyle.

As someone who travels a lot for my day job, I certainly can relate to Ryan's life on the road. Unlike him I have a family to go home to and while the frequent flier benefits are nice, I don't plan my trips in order to garner the most perks and benefits and hate every minute I'm away. Regardless, I really enjoyed the film and think co-writer/director Jason Reitman (Juno) keeps the pacing tight and adds a good mixture of comedy and found the characters extremely likable, especially Clooney.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Very film-like presentation
• Sharpness varies from scene-to-scene
• Flesh tones reveal natural features
• Daytime scenes look very good

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Excellent music soundtrack
• Dialog dominated front-heavy presentation

This is a solid audio/video presentation that features natural photography and a great mix of music. The genre doesn't lend itself to a demo-worthy presentation but this doesn't detract from the entertainment value one bit.

Bonus Materials

• Audio commentary with co-writer/director Jason Reitman, director of photography Eric Steelberg, and first assistant director Jason Blumenfeld
• "Shadowplay: Before the Story" (HD)
• Deleted scenes (HD)
• Music video "Help Yourself" by Sad Brad (HD)
• Storyboards
• American Airlines Prank
• Teaser and theatrical trailer

While I'm not sure the film deserved a best picture nomination, I did enjoy it quite a bit. George Clooney is one of my favorite actors and he does his usual bang-up job and his interactions with Anna Kendrick could be both touching and hilarious depending on the situation.

Click here to email any comments or questions!

Release Date: March 9, 2010
Studio: Paramount

Movie: 8/10
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
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