Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Longtime (and now thirtysomething) couple Burt and Verona are going to have a baby. The pregnancy progresses smoothly, but six months in, the pair is put off and put out by the cavalierly delivered news from Burt's parents Jerry and Gloria that the eccentric elder Farlanders are moving out of Colorado - thereby eliminating the expectant couple's main reason for living there. So, where, and among whom of those closest to them, might Burt and Verona best put down roots to raise their impending bundle of joy? The couple embarks on an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family, and to evaluate cities.

Being an expecting parent myself, I loved this great emotional journey. Mendes departs from his typically bleak look on society and instead presents a charming comedy about one couple’s journey to find where they want to bring their little one into the world. This film is chocked full of great characters and plenty of wit and will have you feeling good throughout.

The photography is a bit on the softer side from this one and the contrast and colors dull it out a bit. This leaves the image looking a bit washed out and flat. Fine detail is there in close ups but most of the time this doesn’t look that much better than a solid DVD presentation. I saw this one in theaters and it looked largely the same. This isn’t something to fault the Blu-ray for, just a stylistic choice on behalf of the filmmakers.

The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is also pretty subdued but I loved the film’s song selections, which add a lot of weight to the mix. Surrounds do play a part in the atmosphere of the film but most of the time this is a pretty center heavy soundtrack. Dialogue sounds natural enough but the noise floor can be slightly high from time to time.

This is a BD-Live enabled title allowing you to share scenes with friends and check out the latest content from Universal. You also get some behind the scenes footage, interviews and a feature commentary with the director.

This is a great emotional ride with charming performances and plenty of touching comedy. While not a gem of an A/V presentation, it gets the job done. Easily worth a rental.