Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, stars Ellen Page as Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby. Marcia Gay Harden plays Bliss' disapproving mother, while Kristen Wiig and Juliette Lewis play roller-derby stars.

Barrymore delivers a solid freshman directorial effort with this coming of age gem. Page plays a small-town Texas girl looking for her own identity that stumbles upon roller derby in Austin. Here she finds herself and new friends but has to find a way to cope with the pressures of her controlling, yet caring mom. Barrymore does a great job balancing the humor and heart of the film, the performances are wonderful, and I loved the themes throughout. Definitely worth checking out!

The HD presentation has a lot going for it. Detail is excellent throughout and I loved the strong contrast and vibrant hues. Fine film grain is present throughout giving it a very natural film-like look and the image retains a nice sense of dimension. The soundtrack has a great mix of tunes and a fairly spatial design. Dialogue sounds natural throughout and imaging is strong overall.

Extras include an alternate opening and some deleted scenes. You also get a Fox special on the making of the film and a digital copy for your portable device.

This one turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting and I hope that Barrymore continues to find herself in the director’s chair. The Blu-ray presentation is strong making this an easy recommendation for all.