Back from a trip and it is now time to clear up some titles sent in for review. I thought an action suspense triple header was in order.

 

MAX PAYNE

 

THE MOVIE-                1 1/2 stars out of 5

 

Max Payne stars Mark Wahlberg in an adaption based on the popular video game of the same name. Max Payne is a New York City cop whose wife and child were brutally murdered in their home just before he arrived home from work. Their deaths drove him into a depression as he  continued to search for a third person he believed to be involved in the killing. While attempting to locate that mysterious third person, he receives a tip from his former partner who puts him on a track that leads to his wife’s former employer. While the film is filled with plenty of gun battles, it has the thinnest of plots. It is all shooting and no character development. If you like plenty of gun battles, you may want to check out this release. However, I would suggest that you do so on the basis of a rental only.

 

THE VIDEO-                5 stars out of 5

 

While I didn’t particularly like the film, the video quality on this release is excellent. The film is encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of  2:35:1. This a very highly stylized film with large sections of the film having a muted almost washed out color palette, at times almost to the point of being black and white. Others have a green tinge and other a golden hue. However, the entire film boasts deep and rich blacks and incredible detail. This is a razor sharp and clear transfer that will thrill fans of the film.

 

THE AUDIO-            5 stars out of 5

 

The audio on Max Payne is encoded with DTS HD Master Audio and sounds every bit as good as the video looks. This one dynamic audio track which boasts deep and tight bass with some of the most realistic sounding gun blasts I have ever heard. The is evident from one of the opening scenes in a subway bathroom as Max Payne blasts away at someone he believes to be the third killer. Even better, the surround speakers are consistently engaged during the entire film, placing you right in the middle of all the action. This is a spectacularly immersive sound mix. The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix. The overall sound is smooth, open and transparent with excellent imaging. In short, this is a great sounding film.

 

EXTRAS

 

Extras include a digital copy of the film compatible with Macs and PCs. Also included are the theatrical and extended director’s cut of the film, an audio commentary, picture documentary, Bonusview and Michelle Payne Graphic Novel. The disc is also enhanced for D-Box Motion Control System.

 

IN CONCLUSION

 

Max Payne boasts excellent audio and video that was a thrill to experience. I just wish that the film itself matched the level of the audio and video. Rated as a rental only.

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PRIDE & GLORY

 

THE MOVIE-                    2 1/2 stars out of 5

 

Pride and Glory is a rather formulaic police story focusing on a multigenerational New York police family. The film starts with the tragic shooting death of 4 New York City cops. The Chief (Jon Voight) appoints his son Ray (Ed Norton) to lead a task force that ultimately leads to the involvement of several cops including his brother-in-law (Colin Farrell) in a drug ring. While the film does boast some fine acting performances, especially that of Ed Norton as Dectective Ray Tierney, the film is somewhat predictable. Is it a great film? No far from it, but is is good enough to keep and hold your attention through the entire film. While I can’t recommend this film as a buy, it is definitely worth a look as a rental.

 

THE VIDEO-                    4 1/3 stars out of 5

 

The video on this release is encoded with VC-1 and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:85:1. All in all, this is a solid if not spectacular looking encode. The film boasts deep and rich black level and a color palette which looks rather cool, skewed to the color blue, especially during the daytime scenes. The daylight scenes look nice and clear with very good detail and excellent depth and clarity. However, it is during the numerous nighttime and darker interior sequences where this encode fails to deliver, with a picture that is noticeably soft and lacking in detail in comparison to the daytime scenes. However, I did not notice any digital noise in the darker sections of the film. The print from which the encode is made looks pristine. This is certainly a solid transfer but falls a good bit short of the best due to the weakness in the darker interior scenes as noted above.

 

THE AUDIO-                4 1/2 stars out of 5

 

Surprise, surprise, this New Line release contains a lossless audio track, encoded with Dolby True HD. On the plus side, the dynamics are good with deep and tight bass although falling a bit short of the tracks boasting the best dynamics such as Max Payne noted above but solid nonetheless. The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix, giving you a sense of real voices in real spaces. On the down side, the surround speakers, while active through the film, are not as prominent as I expected them to be, failing to generate the totally immersive sound field that is the hallmark of a great sound mix. The overall sound of the film though is smooth and open with good transparency and imaging. Overall, this is a fine sounding audio encode that will no doubt please fans of the film.

 

EXTRAS

 

This release boasts little in the way of any extras with the only extra being a documentary Source of Pride: The Making of Pride and Glory, offered in standard definition only. Also included is a digital copy compatible with Macs and PCs.

 

IN CONCLUSION

 

Pride and Glory, while being a bit predictable, features fine performances and is well worth a look but as a rental only.

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IN THE NAME OF THE KING- A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE

 

THE MOVIE-                2 1/2 stars out of 5

 

Just as was the case with Max Payne, In the Name of the King is based on a popular video game Dungeon Siege. Unlike Max Payne, In the Name of the KIng translates much better to the big screen than did Max Payne. Perhaps it is due to the subject matter being more diverse. Perhaps it is due to better writing and direction? Nevertheless, it is a more engaging film with better plot devices and character development. The film tells the tale of a simple family man, Farmer (Jason Statham), who reluctantly fights for the King’s army after the kidnapping of his wife and murder of his son. While I did enjoy the film, I found it to be a bit too long and looking a bit too much like the Lord of the Rings films, with the Krugs, looking a lot like characters on the Ring Trilogy. The film has quite a cast with Burt Reynolds as the King, John Rhys-Davies as Merick, the king’s magus or magic man (think Merlin) and Ray Liotta as Gallian, the rogue magus in control of the Krugs who is trying to dethrone the king and rule his empire. The movie was filmed against some beautiful vistas that transfer very well to the big screen. The film features plenty of battle scenes, which as was the case in The Return of the King, last way too long. Jason Statham is well, Jason Statham, who plays the same character with the same demeanor in every film he makes. When you cast Jason Statham, you know just what you will be getting. While I enjoyed the film despite its flaws, I can only recommend it as a rental.

 

THE VIDEO-                    4 3/4 stars out of 5

 

Encoded with AVC, In the Name of the King is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:35:1. All in all, this is a great looking encode. The film features a fairly consistent color palette although it does vary at times in the degree of color saturation and hue. Color accuracy is very good. However, what really strikes you as special about this encoded is the black level and detail which is excellent. It doesn’t matter whether the shots are tight or distant, the image projected on your screen is bright and clear with detail galore. The scenes in the mountains look fantastic with rocks and hill clearly visible. The same is true for the texture of the actor’s skin, arms, hands and clothing. This is a great looking encode and one that will make the fans of the film very happy.

 

THE AUDIO-                4 2/5 stars out of 5

 

The audio on In the Name of the King is presented on DTS HD Master Audio. The overall sound is smooth and open with good transparency and imaging. Dialogue is well recorded and well placed in the mix, remaining clearly audible throughout the battle sequences. While the mix is fairly dynamic, I felt that the bass response fell a bit short of the the most recent lossless encodes I have heard. Don’t get me wrong, the bass is very good. It just lacks the visceral impact of the some of the more recent Blu-Ray releases such as Max Payne just to name one. I also thought that better use could have been made of the surrounds to give a more immersive effect throughout the entire film. While the surrounds were engaged throughout this mix, they were simply not loud enough at times to continually bath the room in a cocoon of sound the way the best sound mixes do. When it did, as in the battle scenes, the overall effect was fantastic. It just did not do it often enough sand long enough for my tastes.

 

EXTRAS

 

Surprisingly, the extras are few here consisting in a director’s commentary with Uwe Boll, deleted screens and a Making of Commentary

 

IN CONCLUSION

 

In the Name of the King is an action filled film with excellent video and good audio that is well worth a look. However, it is rated as a rental only.