Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Richard Gere is Paul, a surgeon who long ago unwittingly traded career for family. Diane Lane is Adrienne, a devoted mother trying to move on after her husband's infidelity and struggling with his desire to return to their marriage. At a remote inn on the Outer Banks, both separately expect to do some serious soul-searching. But an approaching storm forces each to turn to the other for strength, setting the stage for a life-resonating romance.

I haven’t read any of Nicholas Sparks’ books but having just seen The Notebook recently and now watching this film I don’t think I’ll be picking any of them up anytime soon. Don’t get me wrong, the guy writes some great romance, but he puts you through the emotional wringer by the end. Gere and Lane continue to have great onscreen chemistry in this one and I really like the nuances of the relationship but the abrupt third act left me a bit wanting. I’m glad to see a studio actually release a romantic film in time for Valentine’s Day, I just wish it just left you feeling a bit more upbeat in the end.

The HD presentation is strong here with nice fine detail and dimensionality. The North Carolina coastline provides a gorgeous backdrop and I loved the natural color palette of the film. Depth of image is strong throughout and the image almost looks like it was shot with digital cameras given the impressive fine detail on display. A strong showing from Warner on this one.

Surprisingly Warner only includes a Dolby Digital soundtrack for this one. Given their stronger support of Dolby TrueHD since the New Year I was hoping we’d see the last of this hiccups. The film still retains a solid dynamic range and I was impressed with the low end response during the windstorm sequence and the nice spatial quality to the mix. Dialogue always sounded natural in tone and balance and the imaging of the mix was quite good.

Warner includes a digital copy of the film with this one along with BD-Live accessibility. You also get a nice interview feature with the cast and crew. They reflect on the film’s themes and their own experiences in life and love. An interview with Emmylou Harris and a look at author Nicholas Sparks is also included.

I love a great love story and this one does deliver some nice passion but I’m not a fan of Sparks’ tendency to leave you emotionally wrecked at the end of his stories. If that is your thing, this one is for you. Warner has done a great job with the presentation though I am a bit disappointed in the lack of a lossless audio option.