Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Bobby Walker is living the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law that does not play to his executive skill set, and perhaps - the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal.

Anchor Bay delivers a stunning HD transfer that showcases breathtaking detail and dimension. Fine object detail in close ups is some of the best I’ve seen from the format and I loved the rich contrast of the image. Colors have a very natural quality to them with no signs of noise or over saturation. Depth of image is strong throughout. A reference quality Blu-ray transfer from beginning to end. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is also quite good, but given the genre it has little to work with. This is mostly a dialogue driven film with only the film’s subtle score to open up the mix. Ambiance helps define the soundstage but this is a pretty front heavy mix. Still tonal balance is solid and imaging across the mains is excellent.

Extras include a feature commentary with the director plus a behind the scenes look at the production. You also get an alternate ending and some deleted scenes.

Set against the economic crisis of 2010 this film will probably hit a personal note with quite a few viewers. It does a great job of showing just how fast life can take a turn for the worse, especially for those living right at their means. With a stellar cast and story, this is a great piece of drama and an exceptional Blu-ray presentation. Recommended.