kal
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Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 12402
Location: Ottawa, Canada
TV/Projector: JVC DLA-RS56
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 Link Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 5:22 pm Post subject: The Change-Up [Blu-ray] |
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Another reference disc!
The Change-Up Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy) (2011)
(Click on picture to order, hover over for price)
| Quote: | Individually, Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds are hilarious - but for some reason the filmmakers didn't trust them to do their own thing, so they added a high amount of lowest-common-denominator humor and dumbed it down. The first half is mostly terrible, but the second half finds its footing. Too bad this mediocre movie couldn't match the high audio and video quality of the Blu-ray. Had they been on the same level, 'The Change-Up' would be a must-own R-rated comedy - but as it, it's only a rental.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
'The Change-Up' is presented with a glorious 1080p/VC-1 transfer in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. For a movie lacking in quality, it's video content isn't lacking at all.
This clean transfer features a small amount of grain and a great amount of detail. From specks of baby powder on Bateman's face, rogue hairs on Mann's head, stubble on Reynolds' face, lint on Reynolds' clothes and spots on Alan Arkin's noggin, it's all noticeable in high detail. You'll even notice freckles on many of the actors' faces that you didn't know were there. The great detail also shows off Olivia Wilde's perfect complexion. It's so clear that you'd think DNR was used on shots of her face. But at the same time, the high detail makes the bad CG stick out like a sore thumb. From green screen driving scenes, toddlers wielding butcher knives and bashing their heads into objects, Bateman pouring milk on children and CG breasts and "floating" nipples, it's all noticeable.
Black levels are so deep and rich that you can't tell where the bars at the top and bottom of the widescreen presentation end and begin during night shots. The rainbow palette in Reynolds' apartment shows rich, vibrant and saturated colors and fleshtones are always spot-on.
Shadows are always perfectly delineated, showing just as much detail within as there is outside. In one scene, strands of Wilde's rain-soaked hair are just as visible in the shadows as they are in the light. Artifacting, edge enhancement and aliasing are absent and noise doesn't show up for a single shot.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
Two English and two foreign audio tracks are available: English DTS-HD Master Audio and English DVS 2.0, as well as Spanish and French DTS Surround 5.1.
The lossless sound mix for 'The Change-Up' is fantastic. When our characters are in a conference room full of legal chatter, your hear the quiet whispers all around you. When they're in the stadium of a Braves game and the crowd erupts in cheer, the rear speakers light up and make you feel like you're in the stands with them. The pitter-patter of rain sounds like it's falling in your theater. When Bateman and Reynolds make their wish, the city lights sequentially shut off around them. The sound of breakers being tripped trigger all across the theater randomly. Being a comedy, this isn't the type of movie to constantly use the rear speakers, but when they do it sounds fantastic.
The channels are mostly filled with generic quirky comedy scoring, but towards the end, after a montage to Coldplay's new single "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall," an unusually strong and epic-sounding score appears that applies the familiar melody from that same Coldplay track. The symphonic score sounds amazing.
The music, vocal and effects dynamics are perfectly mixed. Nothing is ever lost. Playing a small role in the audio, bass is occasionally present and never overpowering. The audio is perfect, but due to the nature of the film's content, it hardly features anything demo-worthy. |
Kal
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