Criminal (2004) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2004 | ||
Running Time | 83:39 (Case: 87) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 2,4,5 | Directed By | Gregory Jacobs |
Studio
Distributor |
Warner Home Video |
Starring |
John C. Reilly Diego Luna Maggie Gyllenhaal Peter Mullan Zitto Kazann Jonathan Tucker Laura Cerón Soledad St. Hilaire Ellen Geer Brandon Keener Nick Anavio Deborah Van Valkenburgh Maeve Quinlan |
Case | ? | ||
RPI | $24.95 | Music | Alex Wurman |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles |
English Hebrew Arabic English for the Hearing Impaired |
Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
This film is an American remake of a successful Argentinean film from 2000, Nine Queens. Before you rush to judgement and decide it is therefore probably crap, give it a chance because this film is worthwhile in its own right. I have not seen the original film, however, my wife has and she tells me the plot is quite similar.
The film follows a day in the life of an amoral conman, Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly), as he recruits a new partner, Rodrigo (Diego Luna) and stumbles across a scam that, if he can pull it off, will land him a large quantity of money. As he is training his new recruit he gets a call from his sister, Valerie (Maggie Gyllenhaal), telling him that one of his associates, Ochoa is making a nuisance of himself in her hotel. She works as a concierge in a large downtown hotel. She tells him to come down to the hotel and sort it out as the guy is asking for him. Upon arrival he finds that Ochoa has a counterfeit collector's currency bill, which is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the right collector. He agrees to try to sell the fake currency and take a large proportion of the profit for himself. To tell you any more would spoil the multiple twists in the plot.
This version was produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh (who is also one of the screenwriters under a pseudonym) and was made on a fairly small budget by Gregory Jacobs, taking the director's chair for the first time. I enjoyed this film, possibly more because I have not seen Nine Queens, finding it entertaining, intellectually stimulating and intriguing. It was good to see John C. Reilly in a lead role as I have enjoyed his work in other films. There is a nice twist at the end which obviously works better if you haven't seen Nine Queens.
If you enjoy caper films, this one is certainly worth a look.
The video quality is very good.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is probably the original aspect ratio, although I have no facts to back this statement up.
The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout although some backgrounds lacked a little detail. There was no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was very good.
The colour was very good with no issues to report.
The only noticeable artefact was some very mild aliasing on a car grille at 32:14.
There are subtitles in English and English for the hearing impaired in addition to an automatic set which translate some lines in Spanish. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read.
The layer change was not noticeable.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is good but nothing spectacular.
This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at a less than optimal 384 Kb/s.
Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.
The score of this film by Alex Wurman is very cool in a soul-funk vein. You could probably throw it in the same general category as the Get Shorty score, however not at the same level of quality.
The surround speakers added some mild atmosphere but really didn't stand out. The movie was mostly dialogue driven so this was not a major surprise.
I did not notice the subwoofer at all, although it probably added some bass to the music.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The menu was still but included music and the ability to select scenes and subtitles.
A good trailer which manages to pique your interest without including spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 release of this film contains two extra trailers for other films in addition to the local contents. A draw.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is good.
A trailer is the only extra.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Bose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub) |