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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Extract

    Featured In Issue 145, December 2009

    Picture3.5
    Sound2.5
    WSR Score2
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Buena Vista Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    For language, sexual references, and some drug use.
    (Retail Price):
    $39.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    92
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    (Theatrical Year):
    2009
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    12/22/09
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Mike Judge
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    Joel Reynolds (Bateman) is sitting pretty. With a beautiful wife, a comfortable home, and the almost-finalized acquisition by General Mills of the culinary extracts business he has built with his loyal lieutenant Brian (Simmons), Joel seems to have it all. Except his wife is about as interested in him as she is in her career (supermarket coupon design), his employees want a piece of the pie, and the sweet young thing with designs on him (Kunis) is really a wily con-artist. On the advice of a drug-addled confidante (Affleck), Joel cooks up a scheme to cheat with impunity by hiring a gigolo to seduce his wife—only to discover the young object of his affection is behind a lawsuit by long-time employee Step (Collins, Jr.) that will scotch the General Mills deal and leave Joel penniless. The best-laid plans unravel with hilarious results in this off-the-wall comedy about life in the not-so-fast lane. (Tricia Spears)

    Special features include the featurette Mike Judge's Secret Recipe (HD 10:48), extended scenes (HD 04:29), a deleted scene, sneak peeks, and up-front ads.

    The 1.85:1 1080p AVC picture is pleasing, with a natural color palette and hues that exhibit warmth and, at times, vibrancy. Fleshtones appear accurate throughout. Contrast is generally good, with good shadow delineation and blacks. Resolution is revealing of fine facial features and object textures, resulting in a generally sharp picture. Overall this is a nicely photographed picture that conveys a natural realism. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is monaural focused, with production sound dialogue and ADR. Spatial integration is generally good, with the stereo channels serving to provide atmospheric integration for the scenes. The music score is nicely recorded and very forward-sounding when present. But surround envelopment is limited to the music and atmospheric sound effects, and when present, is generally subdued. This is a conventional soundtrack that just services the storytelling and situations but is not particularly engaging. (Gary Reber)

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