Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Imagine a cyclone, a Tex Avery cartoon come to life, a zoot-suited fashionista and the wiggy energy of a vat of jumping beans and that still doesn't capture Jim Carrey's comic genius as Stanley Ipkiss, a repressed clerk who goes from zero to hero when he dons "The Mask". The mysterious mask Stanley finds allows him to do what he normally can't - like woo Tina and beat baddies. Beneath all the loopy fun is the film's heart: Does Stanley really need the mask to be the person he longs to be?

This was one of the earlier hits for comic superstar Jim Carrey and the film really catered to his knack for physical comedy. It is still a lot of fun even now but the film does show its age. This was also the screen premiere of Cameron Diaz and honestly one of her better roles.

I didn’t know what to expect with this one in the picture department but overall it turned out alright. The image has a nice sense of depth and dimension but fine detail is lacking. The image has a slight haze to it that gives it an aged look. Colors look a bit hokey but I expect that was the intent of the director. Fine detail in close ups is good but falls short of the top tier HD releases on the market today. I didn’t notice any obvious ringing or compression artifacts which is always a plus.

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and delivers a nice soundstage and some solid dynamics. The mix makes the most of the humor and action situations and delivers some solid low end coupled with a nice surround soundstage. Dialogue sounds a bit thin at times but nothing overly distracting.

Two feature commentaries are included along with a look back at the film’s popularity in the nineties. You also get some deleted scenes, a screen test with newbie Diaz and the film’s trailer.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one and it is still pretty funny. New Line has done a good job with the A/V presentation though it falls a bit short of the better Blu-ray titles on the market today.