Seeking Justice (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	100:26
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Roger Donaldson
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Nicolas Cage January Jones Guy Pearce Harold Perrineau Jennifer Carpenter IronE Singleton
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	J. Peter Robinson

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Nicolas Cage has been remarkably busy lately, seemingly in every second film that gets released from Hollywood. The results of all this work have been somewhat variable and this particular film was panned by critics and took less than $500,000 at the US Box Office. So, is it really terrible? No, it is actually not a bad little thriller. Sure it is nothing too special but it is perfectly serviceable entertainment and provides thrills, suspense and action in equal measure.

     Will Gerard (Cage) is an English teacher in New Orleans, teaching in a predominantly black neighbourhood. He lives with his wife, Laura (January Jones) who is a classical cellist. One evening on her way home from rehearsal, Laura is attacked and raped. She ends up in hospital after the attack and the beating she sustained. As Will waits in the hospital, he is approached by a man who calls himself Simon (Guy Pearce) who offers Will a deal. The organisation Simon represents will make sure the rapist gets 'taken care of' if Will agrees to do a favour for them in the future. In his emotionally heightened state Will agrees to the deal and before long photos of the dead rapist are given to him along with a necklace his wife was wearing during the attack. Will and Laura try to return to their normal life, however six months later Will gets contacted by Simon who asks him to push a child pornographer off a bridge. Will he do it? Will Simon leave him alone if he doesn't? Who is really behind Simon's activities?

     Australian director, Roger Donaldson, helmed this well put together thriller, which although it requires a fair bit of suspension of disbelief does provide some good entertainment. The basic plot idea is quite interesting and I haven't seen a film with a similar idea behind it. The story is a bit farfetched at times but this is fictional entertainment rather than a documentary. There are certainly lots of twists and turns and you are never sure who Will can or should trust. The acting is quite good with Cage seeming to be more engaged with this role than some of his other recent ones. Interestingly, this film was produced by Tobey Maguire.

     Worth a look for thriller fans.

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout. Some dark scenes were a little murky at times.

     The colour is very good with no issues to report. It seemed like some scenes had been given a silver/steely colour wash.

     There was some minor aliasing and motion blur here and there but it was never too distracting.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which were clear and easy to read. I did notice one spelling mistake.

     The layer change is quite obvious, causing a pause and music drop out.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is very good.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 plus a Descriptive Audio track in Dolby Digital 2.0. This is a good soundtrack without being really outstanding.

     Dialogue was mostly easy to understand although the subtitles proved useful.

     The music did its job, adding to the tension and suspense.

     The surround speakers were used throughout for immersive atmosphere but didn't really provide too much in the way of directional effects.

     The subwoofer was used to support the music and action.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured music and motion.

    The Region 1 release is the same except that it includes a featurette.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall