H D - S E N S E IA view on Hi-def discs by Gary W. Tooze |
Introduction: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 7500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.
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Ghost Town [Blu-ray]
(David Koepp, 2008)
Review by Gary Tooze
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Discs: Region: FREE Feature Runtime: 1:42:17.131 Chapters: 34 Disc Size: 38,358,649,484 bytes Feature Size: 30,793,617,408 bytes Average Bitrate: 40.14 Mbps One dual-layered Blu-ray Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: December 27th, 2008
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Resolution: 1080p Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio:
Supplements: • Commentary by David Koepp and Ricky Gervais
•
Making of (in HD 22:40)
Bitrate Graph:
Product Description: Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen. That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle, with spirited results
The Film: "Ghost Town" is a lightweight rom-com elevated by its performances. It is a reminder that the funniest people are often not comedians, but actors playing straight in funny roles. Consider Cary Grant in "Topper" (1937), the obvious inspiration for David Koepp, who directed and co-wrote "Ghost Town" with John Kamps. Because both Gervais and Kinnear seem so urgent in their desires, and because Tea Leoni has a seemingly effortless humor and grace, this material becomes for a while sort of enchanting.
Excerpt from Roger Ebert's review at the Chicgao Sun-Times located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc. I have a - very personal - theory that specific films, and even certain genres, are less important to see in high-definition. In comedies, the jokes are usually just as funny as in SD. In the image analysis of Ghost Town we created comparison captures and it appears as though the DVD has had some definite boosting and, expectantly, the Blu-ray looks far more 'film-like'. Ghost Town's visuals are not overly impressive in 1080P but this is no fault of the DreamWorks transfer. I thought detail, colors and contrast were as competent as most other modern film Blu-ray discs I've seen - possibly a notch lower. The image has minor flaws with smatterings of background noise but far less than its DVD counterpart. Generally the visuals present a smooth, tight, slightly darker, appearance. Black levels are pretty strong. As a 2008 film it's damage-free but doesn't exhibit demonstrative depth. The dual-layered disc (feature taking over 30.5 Gig) is at the modest end of Blu-ray transfer status. It's consistent quality from the MPEG4 encode looks to have replicated theatrical reasonably well. It has a tendency to look quite crisp and the image is well in advance of the simultaneously released DVD. Other than that the film itself doesn't export much in the way of visual brilliancy.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
(SD-DVD TOP vs. Blu-ray BOTTOM)
Audio & Music:
Extras:
Bottom line:
Gary Tooze December 29th, 2008
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