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Zathura - A Space Adventure [Blu-ray]
(Jon Favreau, 2005)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Columbia Pictures Corporation Video: Sony Home Video
Disc: Region: FREE! (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:41:20.074 Disc Size: 33,883,464,809 bytes Feature Size: 27,244,861,440 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.87 Mbps Chapters: 16 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: June 28th, 2011
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3740 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3740 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Thai 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English (SDH), Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, none
Extras: • Commentary with Jon Favreau and co-producer Peter Billingsley• Race Through Space Virtual Board game (2-player virtual board game to see who can reach Zathura first by answering trivia questions along with such hazards as meteor showers etc.)• Seven Featurettes: (total - 1:32:40 - SD - Race to the Black Planet, The Right Moves: The Making of Zathura, The Cast of Zathura, Miniatures and the World of Zathura, The World of Chris Van Allsburg, Zorgons, Robots and Frozen Lisa and Making the Game) • Previews (standard Sony Blu-ray advert) Second disc DVD included
Bitrate:
Description: Two brothers discover an oblong box in the park, which they dismiss as "just some dumb old game." The boys turn their... attention away from the game's "jungle adventure" board to discover a second game board inside with an outer-space theme and a colored path leading to the purple planet, Zathura. Mayhem ensues each time one of the boys draws a game card or rolls the dice. Facing meteors and giant robots, the brothers begin to appreciate each other and their sibling rivalry dissolves.
The Film:
There are similarities to Jumanji - both based on books by Chris
Van Allsburg - in the sense that it is about a magical board game. Left
in dad's new (old) house for a couple of hours in the care of sulky
teenage Lisa (Kristen Stewart), who can't be arsed to get out of bed,
Danny finds the Zathura box, hidden away in the basement. It is a
Thirties clockwork race game, in which two tin spaceships take turns to
advance along a tramline track. Wherever they stop a Z card pops up and
the player receives a bonus, or forfeit. In fact, what happens is that
the house has been transported into space, at the mercy of the Z cards,
and no one goes home until somebody wins the game. Excerpt from Eye For Film located HERE
Like its sister picture, 1995's Jumanji, Zathura is based on a Chris Van Allsburg picture book about two siblings drawn bodily into the perilous world of a vintage board game. Unlike Jumanji (or last year's The Polar Express, another Van Allsburg adaptation), Zathura isn't concerned with breaking any new ground in the field of visual effects; it trusts Van Allsburg's storytelling instead of trying to amp up the whispering vividness of his artistry. The tale is simple enough: Squabbling brothers Danny (Jonah Bobo) and Walter (Josh Hutcherson) must learn teamwork in order to navigate their house back from the far reaches of the galaxy. Excerpt from Entertainment Weekly located HEREImage : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Reasonably solid image from Sony on their Zathura Blu-ray. Of course, a big portion of the visual appeal is the effects which look impressive in 1080P. There may have been some boosting and it is a shade glossier than I usually like. There are some strong golden yellow and blue hues. Skin tones seem quite warm at times but contrast exhibits healthy black levels. There isn't much depth on the dual-layered transfer. I have not seen the film previously so it is hard to know what the film was like theatrically but it advances handily beyond the included SD-DVD. I was pleased with my viewing but again, the effects may have been a big part of that. To me the transfer looked pretty good.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :Audio is the strong suit here for the transfer with a robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3740 kbps. There is notable separation and some heavy bass that almost drown out dialogue. This has a clean sound and prolific composer John Debney (work from Chicken Little to Sin City and The Passion of the Christ) has a score that sounds just right with crisp overtones and a pleasing supportive arrangement. There are plenty of optional subtitle choices and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.
Extras : Extras mostly mimic the 2006 DVD with the decent commentary with director Favreau and co-producer Peter Billingsley. They work well together with Favreau taking the lead and much of the discussion is production-based with some interesting details on casting and working with the young guys. New is the Race Through Space Virtual Board game. A 2-player virtual board game to see who can reach Zathura first by answering trivia questions along with such hazards as meteor showers etc. Included are the previous seven featurettes from the last DVD running a total of 1:32:40 entitled and dealing with the production topics Race to the Black Planet, The Right Moves: The Making of Zathura, The Cast of Zathura, Miniatures and the World of Zathura, The World of Chris Van Allsburg, Zorgons, Robots and Frozen Lisa and Making the Game. The last DVD appears to be included in the package as a supplementary disc.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze June 22nd, 2011
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About the Reviewer: 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 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 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.
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