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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Seeking Justice (Blu-ray) (2011)

Seeking Justice (Blu-ray) (2011)

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Released 24-Oct-2012

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Thriller Main Menu Audio & Animation
Featurette-Behind The Scenes
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2011
Running Time 104:50
RSDL / Flipper No/No 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 $49.95 Music J. Peter Robinson


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
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

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     I recently reviewed the DVD version of this film, and have used the same plot synopsis here...feel free to skip if you read my previous review.

     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 suffering from 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.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is excellent and a significant step up from the DVD.

     The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080p using the AVC codec.

     The picture was very clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail is significantly improved over the DVD.

     The colour is excellent on this disc, another significant step up from the DVD.

     There was some minor shimmer to be seen on clothes and screen doors.

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

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

Audio

     The audio quality is very good for Blu-ray and a big step up from the DVD.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in DTS HD-MA 5.1 plus a Descriptive Audio track in Dolby Digital 2.0.

     Dialogue was clear and easy to understand throughout.

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

     The surround speakers were used throughout for immersive atmosphere but were not up with the best of Blu-ray in surround sound terms.

     The subwoofer was used to support the music and action.

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

Extras

    One minor extra which is one more than the DVD.

Menu

    The menu featured music and motion.

Behind the Scenes (6:49)

    A short EPK style featurette including some interview snippets with cast and director plus behind the scenes footage.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region A version of this Blu-ray is basically the same except that the main soundtrack is in Dolby True HD rather than DTS. Call it a draw.

Summary

    A much better than you might expect action thriller.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The one extra is pretty minor but a Blu-ray exclusive in this region.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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