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Star Trek (2009) Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:02:01 +0000

STAR TREK (2009, Blu-ray released November 17, 2009 – MSRP $39.99)

This is probably my favourite new title of the year. Yes, I’m a nerd. But while my Trek-loving tendencies may be to blame in part for my enthusiasm, this new film is so all-around entertaining that everyone I know who had a chance to see it enjoyed J.J. Abrams‘ re-imagining of Star Trek immensely. I just watched the new Blu-ray edition of it and to be honest, I can’t wait to watch it again!

I know some Trek-haters. Only a couple, really. A lot of people with Trek-apathy, though. And yet all of them, every single one dragged kicking and screaming into the theatre, walked out singing the praises of Star Trek. Some even curious to watch episodes of the old TV show. And that, to me pinpoints the success of the film. J.J. Abrams took everything that ever made Star Trek great, distilled it to a couple of hours, packaged it in lightning and unleashed it on an audience who didn’t know they were craving it all along.

Most fans had given up on the franchise long ago. It had been ages since I cared about Star Trek, I know that for sure. I recall starting to feel worn out by the franchise around the time of Deep Space 9. Voyager, Enterprise and a handful of less-than-fantastic Next Gen feature films were the final nails in the coffin for me. By the time the early 2000s rolled around, I barely had a Trek-care left. I’d be happy to watch the odd episode of the original series when they came on TV and Wrath of Khan remained a treat, but aside from that I had little interest left. This new Trek film has managed to turn all of that around. It reminds me of the things that made me fall in love with the franchise to begin with. It manages to do that and so much more, bringing a new, fast-paced action feel to our beloved tale of space exploration. Along the way we’re introduced to younger versions of our favourite characters, all perfectly cast and embodying everything we came to love about them in the TV show and films. Now, I’m not saying that this Chris Pine fellow is any replacement for the legendary William Shatner in the role of Captain Kirk. But he does a fantastic job and even manages to make the character his own, while maintaining a little of the James Tiberius we know and love. A cheeky smile. Commanding authority. Even a hint of classic Kirk conversational cadence. Perfect! A quality indicative of the rest of the film. Damn-near note perfect.

There isn’t another Blu-ray disc in my collection that I want to watch with such frequency as I do Star Trek at the moment. I can’t wait to have a chance to put it on again! It looks damn-near perfect, it sounds damn-near perfect and is a great sci-fi adventure on top of that. It’s a wonderful demo disc that’s going to sell set-top players and PS3s all holiday season.

And aside from just being a wonderful technical showpiece for your home theatre, the Star Trek Blu-ray will provide you with countless hours of additional entertainment, as it’s packed to the gills with special features! I literally spent hours wading through the bounty of HD featurettes on the second Blu-ray disc. They cover every aspect of the film, from the concept, the casting, shooting, make-up, music, sound effects…the list goes on. And almost every little doc can be viewed with or without the ability to see additional branching content. If I have a single gripe with the special features, it’s a common one I have with most modern discs – if given the chance, I’d rather watch all “making-of” featurettes as one lengthy documentary, as opposed to little bits and pieces. To be honest though, I’d happily settle for a “Play All” option.

The commentary track with director Abrams, producers Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof, and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci is one of the highlights of the Blu-ray disc set. Listening to it makes you feel like you’re at a production party or an exclusive gathering. It’s equally as enthralling and as frustrating as a commentary track can be! The former, obviously, because it’s so candid and jovial and the latter because there are so many of them with so much to say that they’re constantly cutting each other off! I can’t tell you how many times I felt like we, the listeners were just about to learn another production secret when one of the participants jumps in, cutting off the speaker only to point out something inane onscreen or offer some Trek-based fact. Like I said, frustrating. But a really great listen, nonetheless.

Rounding out the Blu-ray package are some incredible deleted scenes, a gag reel, trailers a digital copy of the film and some HD exclusive Vessel Simulations of the Enterprise and its enormous enemy ship, the Narada!

Super-extra-mega recommended!

Blu-ray Picks for the Week of November 17

Brenden — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:08:45 +0000

It’s Tuesday and once again we’re faced with a potential wallet-emptying video store/Amazon.com shopping experience! I hope you’ve been saving up because today is a doosey!

If you’ve got $20 and any sense, you’ll haul your ass out and pick up a copy of the Star Trek Blu-ray today. It’s stunning. Damn-near perfect! Every self-respecting Blu-ray owner needs this disc (Except Tony Asta, of course. He’s just not into it.) Add in a little Galaxy Quest to round out your sci-fi experience.

Film enthusiasts will definitely want to get their dirty little mitts on Gone With The Wind. Like The Wizard of Oz before it, Warner has pulled out all the stops, delivering a transfer that will blow your mind! You’ve never seen Rhett and Scarlet like this before.

Television and serial-storytelling enthusiasts will want to grab up the Rome box set today as well. The bigger and higher-res the sword-and-sandal epic the more stunning the experience. And Rome won’t disappoint, looking and sounding better than ever!

NEW BLU-RAY RELEASES FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 17
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

Star Trek (2009) Blu-ray Package Art, Original Series: Season 2 Details (Updated with exclusive Best Buy set)

Brenden — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:53:51 +0000

Ha! My Star Trek fandom knows no bounds these days! Check this out:

I was trolling Amazon today – y’know, because I don’t have enough films to watch between the stacks of screeners on my living room table and all the Fantasia Festival films I’m supposed to be covering right now – and stumbled across the Star Trek listing, which seems to feature the ACTUAL package art of the Blu-ray release. I mean, until I get it directly from Paramount I won’t consider this confirmed but dollars to donuts, this is the real deal.

Read our article outlining all the details of the Star Trek Blu-ray disc here: Star Trek (2009) Blu-ray disc details, Hologram interactive package, release date confirmed

UPDATE: TrekMovie.com has posted the Blu-ray art from Amazon as well, agreeing on its awesomeness and legitimacy. They also go on to reveal the Best Buy Exclusive Gift Set featuring “four metal Star Trek badge pins (being made by QMx, the company making the Artisan Enterprise Replica)”

In other Trekker news, TV Shows on DVD has revealed a few more details about the upcoming Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 Blu-ray disc set.

Our retail sources inform us that the 26-episode collection, presented in full frame with both original special effects and mono sound, and also available with the “remastered” special effects (via seamless branching) and pristine 7.1 audio, will have the following never-before-available extras:

All 7 discs are Mobile Blu™ enabled.

Mobile Blu™ allows iPhone users to turn their phones into a Blu-ray remote control AND download exclusive content from Blu-ray discs to their iPhones for on-the-go entertainment!

All 7-discs are BD-Live enabled.
New BD-Live content includes a PDF of an out-of-print book entitled The Trouble with Tribbles: The Story Behind the Star Trek Show!, written by David Gerrold.

An entire disc dedicated to Tribbles!
Initial shipments include exclusive custom Star Trek® Monopoly cards for better game play – ONLY available in this box set”

Universal to release iPod Touch/iPhone apps that control Blu-ray players, PS3

Brenden — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:06:16 +0000

I’ve been waiting for this to materialize in some form or another. I knew it would happen some day. I just didn’t expect to be able to control my PS3 with my iPhone via a Fast and Furious movie related application.

So, it turns out that Universal Studios Home Entertainment has beaten all the iTunes App Store developers to the punch and come up with a way for us to control our Blu-ray players through an application downloaded onto an iPhone or iPod Touch. The bummer of it is that it’s such a specific and limited control that we’re offered through the device that it’s almost not worth the bother, at this point. But I see a lot of potential here. On July 28th the studio will release the film Fast and Furious on Blu-ray with a “Virtual Car Garage” bonus feature that uses BD Live technology. If your player is connected to a network, you’ll be able to manipulate this content on-screen by using a free app you can download onto your iPhone or iPod Touch through the iTunes store.

According to the article at Home Media Magazine, Universal intends to broaden their reach into our set-top boxes and connectivity through mobile devices,

“On subsequent Universal Blu-ray Disc releases coming later in the year, consumers will be able to access bonus content found on their Blu-ray Disc releases and download it onto their iPhone or iPod Touch. They’ll also be able to use the devices as a virtual remote to control their Blu-ray Disc features and access additional information while watching the movie.”

I don’t know about you, but while I find this kind-of cool and all, I’d much rather just have an app on my iPhone that works as a full-on PS3 remote control! Why has no-one developed this yet?! I mean, Sony could have released one themselves and, at $0.99 probably made back all of their losses on the console. Why is Universal the first one to take advantage of this obvious hole in the market?

Read the full article at Home Media Magazine: Universal Bows iPod Touch/iPhone Apps for Blu-ray

Star Trek (2009) Blu-ray disc details, Hologram interactive package, release date confirmed (Updated with Press Release)

Brenden — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:32:32 +0000

I’m not sure I even understand this announcement. There’s a hologram on the Star Trek packaging? The Blu-ray box offers us an “augmented reality”? What? Huh?

So, it turns out that Paramount decided to sort-of officially announce the release date and features of the Blu-ray disc through an article in Variety last night. From the looks of things, we’re going to get the features we all expected (and that we wrote about previously) in a 1 or 2 disc DVD set and a 3 Disc Blu-ray set on November 17. Awesome! But I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty confused about the holographic “augmented reality” thing. Why don’t I just let Variety describe it to you:

“…consumers will be able to hold their disc packaging in front of any standard webcam to unlock an interactive hologram on the computer screen, through which they can tour five cabins on the Enterprise, even shooting enemies from the ship’s deck.

Users will have to log in to a website to access the feature, but they control the hologram by holding the disc packaging.”

See? That’s a big dubya-tee-eff there. Anyway, you can get a preview of what it’s all about over at www.experience-the-enterprise.com. The coolest part of the announcement article is tucked away at the very end. Apparently the BD-Live feature on the new discs connect you directly to NASA, feeding updates to your Blu-ray player directly from space! That’s the way to do it, Paramount! Boldy go where no studio has gone before.

Read the full article here: Variety

UPDATE: Paramount has sent us the press release with all the discs details:

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – This year audiences thrilled at the triumphant voyage of the Starship Enterprise and her young and vibrant crew in movie theaters across the planet—and on November 17, 2009, the world will go where no one has gone before when STAR TREK debuts as a three-disc Blu-ray with digital copy, two-disc DVD with digital copy and a single-disc DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment. Bursting with “spectacular action” (Hollywood Reporter) and “pure filmmaking exhilaration” (Rolling Stone) director J.J. Abrams’ sensational reinvention of the “Star Trek” franchise was hailed by critics and embraced by long-time and new fans alike, earning over $375 million at the worldwide box office. Starring a hot young cast including Chris Pine (Carriers), Zachary Quinto (”Heroes”), Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Karl Urban (The Bourne Supremacy), John Cho (Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle), Anton Yelchin (Terminator Salvation) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), the global smash hit also features seasoned actors such as Eric Bana (Munich), Bruce Greenwood (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), Winona Ryder (Girl, Interrupted) and the original Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.

“I cannot wait for fans of Star Trek to check out the home entertainment release of the film. The behind-the-scenes features on the DVD — and especially the Blu-ray — give a wonderful look at the crazy hard work and incredible fun that went into making this movie,” said J.J. Abrams. “The cast and crew were truly extraordinary to work with — watching these special features, you’ll see why. And for people who didn’t catch Star Trek in the theater, I hope they do now, as Paramount has done an exceptional job with this release; the picture and sound quality are both excellent.”

The STAR TREK DVD and Blu-ray will boast out-of-this-world special features to take viewers even further into the new universe of the rousing space adventure. The two-disc DVD and three-disc Blu-ray include in-depth explorations of the reimagining of the franchise, the phenomenal cast, the spectacularly real action sequences, the powerful score and the captivating aliens, commentary by J.J. Abrams, the writers and producers, a gag reel and a digital copy of the film. Additionally, the discs feature compelling deleted scenes that reveal a side story involving Nero with a first-ever look at Abrams’ version of the infamous warrior Klingons.

The STAR TREK Blu-ray boldly ventures beyond the final frontier with over three hours of sensational bonus footage including branching pods that allow for enhanced exploration, more fascinating features on the starships, planets, props, costumes and sound of STAR TREK, as well as a Starfleet Vessel Simulator and access to the latest NASA news about real-life space exploration via BD-Live.

The two-disc DVD and three-disc Blu-ray will also offer a home entertainment first: groundbreaking augmented reality technology. Using a webcam, a Star Trek visual cue will morph into a 3D holographic tour of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the screen, providing a unique immersive and interactive experience.

DVD:
The STAR TREK two-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Special features are as follows:
Disc 1:

Disc 2:

• To Boldly Go— Taking on the world’s most beloved science fiction franchise was no small mission. Director J.J. Abrams, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof, and executive producer Bryan Burk talk about the many challenges they faced and their strategy for success.
• Casting— The producers knew their greatest task was finding the right cast to reprise these epic roles. The cast, for their part, talk about the experience of trying to capture the essence of these mythic characters. The piece concludes with a moving tribute to Leonard Nimoy.
• Aliens— Designers Neville Page and Joel Harlow talk about the hurdles they faced creating new alien species, recreating the Romulans and Vulcans, and designing the terrifying creatures on Delta Vega for the new Star Trek.
• Score— As a fan of the original series, composer Michael Giacchino embraced the challenge of creating new music for Star Trek while preserving the spirit of Alexander Courage’s celebrated theme.
• DVD-Rom:

Blu-ray
The STAR TREK three-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Special features are as follows:
Disc 1:

Disc 2:

• Casting—See description above.
• A New Vision—See description above.

• Savage Pressure

• Starships—Abrams and production designer Scott Chambliss were careful to pay tribute to the design of the original Enterprise, but they also wanted to make it futuristic and cool for a modern audience. This chapter focuses on the unique stories behind the creation of the film’s starships.

• Aliens—See description above.

• Planets— >From the frozen landscape of Delta Vega to the desert plains of Vulcan, Scott Chambliss and the art department had a number of radically different planets to create. Abrams’ desire to shoot on real locations whenever possible led the production team to a number of strange and surprising locations.

• Props and Costumes— Property master Russell Bobbitt had the unique challenge of designing props that were both true to the original series and pertinent to today’s technology. Likewise, costume designer Michael Kaplan talks about how he designed costumes that paid homage to what came before yet were relevant and timeless.

• Klingon Wardrobe

• Ben Burtt and the Sounds of Star Trek— When famed sound designer Ben Burtt was hired to create sounds for the first Star Wars film, he took his inspiration from the original “Star Trek” series. Burtt jumped at the opportunity to pay tribute to the sounds that sparked his career with the sounds he created for the new Star Trek.
• Score—See description above.
• Gene Roddenberry’s Vision— J.J. Abrams, Leonard Nimoy, previous Star Trek writers and producers, and scientific consultant Carolyn Porco describe and commend the optimistic and enduring vision of Gene Roddenberry.
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary—See details above.
• Starfleet Vessel Simulator—Explore extensive data on the U.S.S. Enterprise and the Romulan ship, the Narada. Submerse yourself in breathtaking 360° views and close-ups and review detailed tech information.
• Gag Reel—See description above.

Disc 3:

The STAR TREK single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. The single-disc DVD includes the commentary, “A New Vision” and the gag reel.

[VIDEO] Star Trek Tribbles at Comic Con, Blu-ray BD-Live Gallery

Brenden — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:13:47 +0000

Oh boy. Well, it looks like a lot of nerd dreams are about to come true. To promote their upcoming Star Trek: The Original Series Season Two Blu-ray Box set , Paramount is giving Tribbles away at their San Diego Comic-con booth and they want you to take them home, feed them some “quadrotriticale” grain, bust out your camera and snap some pics of yourself and your new gaggle of furry pals.

Aside from all the previews we’re getting of the Season Two Tribble content via our Star Trek: Season One Blu-ray discs, Paramount is preparing to create an online BD-Live Star Trek gallery of your Tribble photos for all to see! While potentially an innovative “social-media” style use of the BD-Live technology, this feature is also potentially an innovative way to ensure that you never get a date. Upload your Tribble-porn pics at your own risk!

From the Paramount press release:

“CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment are also planning even more fantastic troubles with Tribbles for the highly–anticipated Blu-ray debut of Star Trek: The Original Series Season Two. Coming soon via the Season Two portal of CBS-BDLive.com, fans will be able to check out an exclusive interview from David on his inspiration for the Tribbles and his behind-the-scenes insights, in addition to a wealth of even more incredible BD Live bonus features that will offer fans access to materials unavailable anywhere else.”

New Star Trek: The Original Series Season One BD-Live Content, Season Two Previews

Brenden — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:07:11 +0000

My Star Trek: The Original Series Season One Blu-ray set is the gift that keeps on giving and giving!

According to a press release just in from Paramount, we’re about to get a whole whack of new Star Trek content this week, including a ton of interviews with the people responsible for the original episodes as well as the high-def remasters! I’m so stoked for this! And for the previews of the next boxed set, which we should see on store shelves sometime this fall.

Check out all the details here, in the press release:

Trekkers Beaming With News Of All-New Season One BD Live Content

Star Trek fans are in for a cosmic treat, with news that brand new exclusive BD Live material will be posted on the Star Trek: The Original Series Season One portal of CBS-BDLive.com beginning this week.

Using their Season One Blu-ray discs, fans will have access to brand new bonus video including roundtable discussions with special effects producers Mike and Denise Okuda, Dave Rossi and Neil Wray, as well as David Gerrold, Tribble inventor and writer of the fan-favorite “Trouble with Tribbles” episode. Trekkies can get the experts’ take on the Season One Blu-ray bonus features and what they are looking forward to in Season Two.

CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment are also planning a Tribble extravaganza for the upcoming Season Two BD release. Be sure to check for new content in the coming weeks.

[VIDEO] Watchmen: Director's Cut Blu-ray BD-Live Maximum Movie Mode Revealed

Brenden — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:17:32 +0000

And Warner Home Video is crowned the winner! The champion! The only studio capable of figuring out how to make BD-Live special features truly awesome!

Wow! I wasn’t a big fan of the Watchmen film but I really can’t wait to check this out. Looks like a lot of fun. Watchmen director Zack Snyder walks you through every scene of the film in the Maximum Movie Mode (available exclusively on North America’s Watchmen: Director’s Cut Blu-ray disc…Sorry, rest of the world), talks in depth about the shots and even goes so far as to pause the film to give visual comparisons with panels from the comic book!

I could watch this type of special feature for hours. And it appears that the Watchmen: Director’s Cut will test my stamina as it’s three-hour runtime will no doubt be stretched to four or five with all the pausing and chatting and comparing.

Via: Slashfilm.com

Megan Fox Audition Tape and More Disappointments on New Transformers BD-Live Blu-ray Material

Brenden — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:53:14 +0000

We previously gave you the run-down of all the extra stuff you can expect to see when you connect your Transformers Blu-ray to the net via BD-Live. But Blu-ray.com has a full review of all the new material and from the looks of it, you shouldn’t get your panties in a knot trying to access it.

What you’re going to see seems like an extension of the copious bonus material already available on the disc. Other great stuff, like Megan Fox‘s audition and a behind-the-scenes look at the voice actors (Peter Cullen is God!), while cool, has already been out in the wild for a while now. Just browse YouTube if you don’t believe me.

Of course, there are a bunch of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen reveals and behind the scenes featurettes too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Read the full review at Blu-ray.com.

Watchmen BD-Live Commentary, Director’s Cut Theatrical Screening Confirmed (UPDATED)

Brenden — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:27:09 +0000

A couple of pieces of Watchmen news coming late today.

The first comes from Collider.com, who confirm via an interview with director, Zack Snyder that his longer cut, the one North America will see released on Blu-ray July 21st, will be screening in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and Minneapolis for the weekend of July 17-19.

Seriously? Four screens? Three days only?! Is this in an effort to promote the Blu-ray and DVD or just to piss off the fans who don’t live in any of these four privileged cities?Perhaps the studio is just being sensitive to all the folks overseas who may never get a chance to see this longer version of the film at all, seeing as how they’re only getting the theatrical cut on home video.

The second bit of news is kind of a rumour. It’s something I overheard at last weeks Warner Home Video press event. One of the reps from the studio was speaking about the special features on the Watchmen Blu-ray and let it slip that Zack Snyder will make available an audio commentary track over BD-Live! I don’t know if this is anything to write home about, seeing as how we’re getting the Maximum Movie Mode with On-Camera Commentary. But extra stuff is extra stuff and I’m all for BD-Live finally delivering the goods!

UPDATE: Blu-ray.com has further details of the Watchmen screenings and BD-LIve features today.

“On July 25, there will be a “Live Community Screening” of the film at the convention, which will be relayed via BD-Live, so owners of the Blu-ray (which comes out on July 21) can watch the film along with Snyder and talk about the film.

Any viewer in North America will be able to watch the movie at the same time as the audience at Comic-Con, see and hear Snyder comment on the movie, and even ask questions. The screening will then be archived and will be available for future viewings.

“Warner Bros. is hoping to use the filmmakers of its movies to produce immersive home movie experiences,” said the studio’s VP high-def market expansion Kris Brown. “We’re lucky to have filmmakers at Warners that believe in that.” “

And regarding the BD-Live features:

“…something new this release offers is a “Director Walk-On” where Snyder will stand before the monitor talking about his favorite moments from the film. According to Joblo, “it feels like Mr. Snyder is right there in your living room.”

As previously announced, other extras include a timeline comparing the alternate history of the Watchmen as opposed to the real world; storyboard comparisons, focus points on a variety of topics and photo galleries.”

Seeing as how all of these features are directly related to the director’s cut of the film, it looks to me like North America is the only continent that will be able to experience them. What a shame.

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