Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) is a charming criminal mastermind who is finally caught by his nemesis, FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) and in lieu of being sent back to prison, the two form a unique partnership. Caffrey lends his criminal expertise to the FBI in exchange for limited freedom to help the Feds capture other elusive criminals.

I don't have much time to watch TV and I find watching the shows on Blu-ray is much more convenient to my schedule. The buddy-cop angle is far from new and I was a bit apprehensive when I popped the first disc in my player, but surprisingly I've enjoyed every one of the 14 season one episodes. The tandem of Bomer and DeKay has great chemistry and the supporting cast that includes Tiffany Thiessen and Willie Garson is very strong.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Shot with HD video cameras
• Adequate black level
• Lifelike color palette
• Nighttime scenes lack some depth

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Intelligible dialog
• Front-heavy presentation
• Soundtrack has decent dynamic range

The audio and video are both solid but I take umbrage with Fox on a couple of ancillary issues. First, why stick a bunch of trailers on a multi-disc set that you can't bypass by pressing the "Top Menu" button on the remote? With five episodes on the first disc my patience was long gone the second time I had to sit through the trailers. Second, Fox discs are notoriously slow to load for some reason and on three separate occasions locked-up two Blu-ray players, my reference Oppo BDP-83 and a Toshiba BDX-2700 I'm currently reviewing for Home Theater Magazine. Third, why can't the studio offer a "season play" function similar to Disney's Lost?

Bonus Materials

• Five episode specific commentaries
• Deleted scenes (SD)
• Gag reel (SD)
• Pro and Con featurette (HD)
• Cool Cat in Hat featurette (HD)
• Nothing But the Truth interview (HD)

Despite my gripes about the authoring of the discs, I had a blast sitting through the first season of this show. I love the characters and while the episodes are formulaic they have enough laughs and adventure to keep them interesting. The presentation is better than what you'll see with a compressed cable or satellite feed and if you're interested in a fun show be sure to check it out. Recommended.

Click here to email any comments or questions!

Release Date: July 13, 2010
Studio: Fox

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics