10 Years (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	97:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jamie Linden
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Channing Tatum Jenna Dewan-Tatum Justin Long Max Minghella Oscar Isaac Chris Pratt
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Chad Fischer

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     A lot can happen in 10 years. That's one of the axioms at the heart of this drama/comedy in which a cast of 20 something actors come together for their 10 year school reunion. Another handy axiom may well be - the more things change, the more they stay the same.

     10 Years falls squarely within the "reunion" genre. Think of films like The Big Chill, Peter's Friends and The Return of the Secaucus Seven. Friendships and enmity as well as loves, present and lost, are put under the microscope. 10 Years is not the best example of its genre but I imagine for those facing the same milestone in their own lives this film will have a certain resonance.

     Channing Tatum's Jake is happily almost-married to his girlfriend yet unable to quite forget his high school sweetheart Mary (Rosario Dawson). The old gang gets together one more time to have a "celebration prior to the celebration". Buddies AJ (Max Minghella) and Marty (Justin Long) are supposedly living their dreams. Marty is happily married to a doctor and AJ is the one who got away from their small town and made it in New York. Of course, the truth doesn't even come close. Meanwhile Reeves (Oscar Isaac) is a singing sensation, the only one of the gang that seems to have public love and adulation. Cully (Chris Pratt) was the boorish bully at school. He has a desire to apologise to those he victimised at school but with more than a few drinks under his belt he becomes an annoying maudlin mess inflicting more pain and suffering on his former victims.

     When the gang get to the reunion they find that even 10 years later everyone slips into their familiar roles. Queen bee Sam is still ensconced at the top of the tree so much so that AJ and Marty, the latter who was determined to "get with her" at the reunion, decide to take some old high school vengeance on her by covering her house in toilet paper. What they find there is touching and sad.

     The film pretty much divides up the characters into those who reveal their continuing failings even in the face of apparent success and those who finally get the chance to open their heart about their past loves. In the key story Jake and Mary are tested. Did they really have something so special at school that everything since then has been a process of "getting over it"?

     As said, this is no masterpiece but it may have a certain resonance for twentysomething audiences. Whilst there are definitely redemptive arcs it must be said that for almost 2/3 of the movie it would be possible to throw a rubber ball into a room with all the characters without hitting anyone particularly likeable. Whilst some may see this as a flaw, a failure to create attractive people, it actually gives the film a greater ring of truth. Ten years later everybody is still behaving like they never left school!

Video

     There are no technical specifications for the film on IMDb. The film is presented on DVD in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio which seems to be consistent with the original aspect ratio as there is no evidence of any cropping of the film. It is 16×9 enhanced.

     The film appears to have been shot on high-definition digital.

     The transfer quality is very good throughout. The image is crisp and clear.

     The flesh tones are accurate.

     The colours are bright and vibrant with no evidence of colour bleeding.

     There are no technical defects with the transfer.

    There are subtitles for the hearing impaired as well as descriptive narration subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
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Audio

     10 Years comes with two audio tracks. Both are Dolby Digital English soundtracks. One is a 5.1 surround track running at 448 Kb/s and the other a Dolby Digital 2.0 track running at 224 Kb/s.

     Both do a pretty good job of carrying the soundtrack for the film.

     The dialogue is clear and easy to understand.

     The surround effects are used only subtly, this is, after all, a chamber piece. Therefore there is only slight use of the surrounds for ambience.

     The sub-woofer doesn't get much of a workout due to the nature of the film. This is not a criticism.

     The score the film was written by experienced composer Chad Fisher who has on his resume composing the theme music for the TV Show Scrubs. It is an entertaining score throughout. Oscar Isaac, playing a musical performer, gets to perform his "hit" song Never Had at a key point in the film.

    There are no technical problems with the sound.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    There are no extras with this DVD. The film is also available on Blu-ray in this Region also without extras.

    The Region 1 DVD of this film has only a short series of deleted scenes which are apparently of little moment. Given the preference for PAL over NTSC I rate these equal.

     A cast of some of the best twentysomethings in the business get together in 10 Years and I suspect that those viewers whose ages mirror the characters will have the greatest investment in these characters as they are going through the same journey. Nevertheless an enjoyable film.

     The sound and vision are of good quality. Though the lack of extras is annoying it seems to be fairly standard for this release.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall