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Cop Out Blu-ray Disc Review

Howard — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:22:34 +0000

COP OUT (2010, Blu-ray released July 20, 2010 – MSRP $35.99)

Kevin Smith, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan—an unlikely working trio you say? Yes, well–It does work…in a weird way, anyway; however, this is not where the surprises end in the Warner Brothers release, Cop Out. The on-screen chemistry between Morgan and Willis is undeniable, too!

You can believe they’ve worked together, as actors, as long as their characters have in the film. On-screen and in interviews it is apparent that something clicked between them. Their characters are quite different, and it’s hard to imagine that they could ever actually work together, but then there are the moments where in true buddy cop fashion, one is there to pull the other’s fat out of the fire.

In an admitted homage to buddy-cop movies, Kevin Smith directs action scenes, but may have missed the mark on the careful balancing act between comedy, drama and action that make up the quintessential elements of the genre. The film is lacking a center to tie it all together. Either way, it could not have been an easy film to edit. Allowed to improvise once the scripted portions of a scene were covered, a cast made up mostly of actors that love an opportunity to change things up, went to town. The very funny Kevin Pollack even managed to slip in a quick DeNiro impression. Smith had a lot of footage to work with and had the actors try different lines on the fly; sometimes instructing via radio, carefully hidden out of frame.

Originally titled A Couple of Dicks, the studio wanted to avoid the problems Smith had with Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and suggested he try something else. To the chagrin of some cast members, he decided on Cop Out; however, he does at least have someone say “a couple of dicks” at one point. It happens during a scene that was part of the pick-ups shot a couple of months after principal photography had wrapped.

Cop Out is a buddy-cop movie tribute, but not strictly so. Whereas Hot Fuzz was goofier, Cop Out goes all out. If it’s classically been a part of the buddy-cop genre, it’s in there—the partners are chewed out by their captain; they engage in reckless behavior; they cause mass amounts of property damage; there is a rival pair of cops that are always ready to rub their noses in their mistakes; and let’s not forget the all-important ex-wife and over-the-top bad guys. There is action in this movie. This was challenging for Smith, and luckily he surrounded himself with a crack team that helped him pull it off. The action is at a comparable level to most cop movies out there.

Cop Out suffers from some technical issues, image-wise—the image quality is a little inconsistent. The problems may arise from issues with the source. None of this makes the film unwatchable. It just results in a transfer that isn’t what we’ve come to expect from Blu-ray releases. At times, the 1080p transfer looks fine, textures are apparent and the picture is clear with good contrast and colour. But at other times, the visual noise becomes distracting. The artifacts are perceived mostly in dark interior car or night shots. Black levels are passable, but again, not great–Some details disappear into the background.

Sound-wise, the disc’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround soundtrack features a lot of old-school tracks like Beastie Boys’ No Sleep til’ Brooklyn, among others, that pump out of the channels with bass-y goodness. The dialogue is always nice and clear, but there is minimal use of the rear channels, limiting the ambient sound field. The emphasis is on the dialogue.

The special features on this 2-disc edition (the second disc of which is a digital copy) of Cop Out are all bundled in Warner’s excellent Maximum Movie Mode feature included on the Blu-ray. The Interviews, focus points and “Wisdom from the Sh*t Bandit” piece are viewable separately; however, they are best viewed through what Smith refers to as Maximum Movie Comedy Mode. The regular running time of the film is 1 hour and 47 minutes. In MMCM, it’s 2 hours and 55 minutes! MMCM includes the previously mentioned features plus storyboards, deleted scenes and raw footage all delivered (and interpreted) by Smith, himself. He even interrupts his own commentary! Seann William Scott visits the multiple pictures-in-picture commentary “set” occasionally, seemingly still in-character. This feature is extensive and interesting to watch–A thorough look at the making of the film. It was clear that everyone had fun on the set and that “Hey, try it like this…” was a big part of the process. It is definitely worth a look.

Cop Out may not be for everyone–It is definitely a Kevin Smith film and he loves to remind you of that fact, especially when watching the Maximum Comedy Mode feature of the disc; however, the film is entertaining. Also, I’m going out on a limb here, but having seen Tracy Morgan in Death at a Funeral recently as well, I can see that he can act. By the accounts of other actors and having seen him in interviews, he may be “on” pretty much around the clock, but there is more to the guy than the zany, I-may-say-anything-next Tracy Morgan/Jordan.

Blu-ray Picks for the Week of July 21 – Watchmen: Director's Cut (Review)

Brenden — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:00:22 +0000

WATCHMEN: DIRECTOR’S CUT (2009, Blu-ray released July 21, 2009 – MSRP $35.99)

It’s two in the morning and I can’t stop watching the Watchmen Blu-ray disc. I got home late from work. Totally bagged. Ready to hit the sack minutes after kicking off my shoes. I had been seriously committed to sleep before finding the Watchmen disc in my mailbox. And now I’m done. I can’t tear myself away. Zack Snyder has me held enthralled, talking at me from the blackened studio of his Maximum Movie Mode, unveiling the secrets of his violent, masked universe.

I was all ready to slam this disc. I admit, I didn’t care for Watchmen in the theatre. The film has, to my mind, too many problems to be considered a success. While a lot of my issues with the theatrical cut still exist in the Director’s Cut featured on the Blu-ray disc (awkward dialogue, wooden performances, horrific music choices) I’m delighted to say that this version works a hell of a lot better! Wow. Consider me shocked. Watchmen actually needed that extra 30 minutes or so to breathe. To be honest, I had to hit the internet after watching to figure out where most of the “new” footage was found. To my surprise, a good percentage of it comes from simple scene extensions, longer takes, fewer cuts. That’s why it plays a bit better. It doesn’t cut abruptly away from a character moment. It lingers a bit longer and allows the weight of its world to sink in. In this three hour cut, the Watchmen actually works.

On top of enjoying the film itself, I was drawn in by Warner‘s new Maximum Movie Mode, where the director literally steps into the picture to walk you through a sequence. This works brilliantly well (watch a preview over at our previously posted article here) but only pops into the movie periodically. This is a crying shame. I could watch the entire film over again like this. When Zack isn’t on screen Maximizing the Movie, the rest of film plays through with pop-up facts, timelines, Picture-in-Picture interviews, comments and behind-the-scenes footage and offers to zap you out of the film to look at other content. I’ve never cared much for that, you know. As much as some of these features might interest me, I don’t ever want to leave the film to see them! There’s some great stuff there too, you know: artwork, designs, photos, focus point videos (which you can thankfully access outside of the “Mode”.) I just don’t want to have to stop the film to experience them. You hear me, Warner?! Give me the same content but never stop the show. That’s what Maximum Movie Mode is for. To display lots of stuff while the film rolls on.

Oh yeah. Almost forgot. The 3-Disc Watchmen: Director’s Cut set has more stuff to appreciate too! There are a handful of featurettes and things on the second disc and they’re great. Really nice stuff. None of it is going to blow your mind but its all a nice compliment to the bounty of information found on disc one. There’s also a digital copy of the film, found on its own, on a third disc. Yeah. I know. Digital Copy. Who cares…

For a full run-down of the discs features, read our detailed article here: Watchmen: Director’s Cut Detailed, includes Facebook Social Media Connectivity

ANOTHER PICK – CORALINE

I can’t speak intelligently about this Blu-ray disc as the studio didn’t send me a screener but I can tell you that I’ll be heading out directly after work to pick this up tonight. I loved Coraline in the theatres. It was my first 3-D experience. Yes, I’m serious. No, I haven’t been living in a cave.

I was dazzled by the tech, the polarized-lens 3-D thing. I thought it looked amazing without having to sacrifice the colours of the film itself, as red-blue anaglyph 3-D does. Sadly, that’s the only kind of 3-D we’ve got available to us at home at this time and the Coraline Blu-ray disc provides a version in that style. I don’t hesitate to tell you that I’ll be avoiding that version, however and enjoying the film for the first time in standard old, flat 2-D. I wonder how it will hold up?

ANOTHER PICK – 300: THE COMPLETE EXPERIENCE

I’m not going to try to sell you on 300. You either like the film or you don’t. If you’re here, reading this review, you probably think the movie’s all right and are no doubt familiar enough with the story, so I’m not going to bore you with it. It is, at its core, a two-hour fight scene. It’s an amazing battle, and incredible eye candy to be sure. But really, this sort of action epic, light on story, heavy on special effects is either your bag or you’re going to look elsewhere for your cinematic delights.

That out of the way, let me say WOW! I love this Blu-ray package. What an amazing job Warner has done with this set. Double-dip be damned, if you care at all about this film and are the sort of person who enjoys bonus features on a disc (I know there are two or three of you out there who couldn’t give a Spartan’s spear about them) then it’s worth ditching the old bare-bones one in favour of this, the 300: The Complete Experience.

Read my full review here: 300: The Complete Experience Blu-ray Disc Review

[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

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Cop Out Blu-ray Disc Review

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