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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.
Columbus Day (Blu-ray) (2008)

Columbus Day (Blu-ray) (2008)

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Released 27-May-2009
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Crime	Gallery-Photo-Navigable gallery of 105 production stills - brillant 1080p. Theatrical Trailer-Cass (2:16) : SD 1.78:1, 16x9 Theatrical Trailer-The Union (2:58) : SD 1.78:1, 16x9 Theatrical Trailer-New Town Killers (1:50) : SD 2.3:1, 16x9 Teaser Trailer-UFC Undisputed : The Game (1:10) :P SD 1.78:1, 16x9 Theatrical Trailer-Sugarhouse (2:08) : SD 2.35:1, 16x9 Theatrical Trailer-Turn the River (1:33) : SD 1.78:1, 4x3 Featurette-Making Of-Cass (28:39) : SD .33:1, 4x3 Featurette-Making Of-New Town Killers (19:32) : SD 1.78:1, 16x9
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	90:26
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Charles Burmeister
Studio Distributor	Triggerstreet Gryphon Entertainment	Starring	Val Kilmer Marg Helgenberger Wilmer Valderrama Bobb'e J. Thompson Ashley Johnson Lobo Sebastian
Case	Amaray Variant	Starring
RPI	$42.95	Music	Michael A. Levine

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD High Resolution Audio 5.1 (1920Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, Action commences pre and during credits.

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

Plot Synopsis

    I have long been an admirer of the work of Val Kilmer since first seeing him in 1984's Top Secret! Recently this actor has seemed prepared to have his career head in a "character" direction, his youthful leading man days apparently accepted as being long gone. Last year's Felon saw a return of the old/new Val Kilmer, and now in Columbus Day, we once again have a Val Kilmer who is a  neatly bearded, older version of the trim young man he once was. It's great to have a return to form of this commanding screen presence.

    In the opening moments of the film we meet John Cologne (Val Kilmer) chasing a younger individual on foot through urban Los Angeles. Gun fire ensues, a mysterious small black case changes hands and Cologne is off again, alone. Black bag securely clasped, he "hides" in the middle of Echo Park, a small green oasis in urban LA. It is a public holiday, Columbus Day, and the park is alive with recreational pursuits, the populace jogging, fishing, flying kites and reading in the sunny morning air. From this sanctuary, via telephone, cell and public, Cologne desperately negotiates his way through dealings with the police and others from disparate areas of his life, both personal and "professional". Via split screen phone conversations - disastrous with the already diminished 2.35:1 image - we meet John's accomplice Manny (Richard Edson), at first inexplicably hand-cuffed to a section of railing, who shares Cologne's dream of the good life in Florida. Questions, such as the origins of the handcuffs and railing, are soon answered via flash-back. Also from his life outside the law John rings Max (That 70s Show's Wilmer Valderrama) and appeals for help. From John's domestic life, apparently a life of personal failure, we meet his ex-wife, Alice (Marg Helgenberger) and his estranged daughter Alana (Ashley Johnson). There is also phone contact with a third woman in his life, the blonde and luscious girlfriend Cheryl (Ivana Milicevic). In the park Cologne meets and befriends a young boy, Antoine (Bobb'e J. Thompson), who regularly spends isolated days in the sanctuary of the park. Other nameless characters touch upon Cologne during his "day in the park", such as the old man fishing, as our "hero" attempts to solve the problems associated with the little black bag, and to bring some resolution to his relationships with his girlfriend, wife, daughter and his new young friend, Antoine.

    This then is the structure of the movie. Sandwiched between well staged and exciting opening and closing action sequences, we follow Cologne's every move during his time in the park. The film acquires an almost picaresque form as Cologne moves through the park, from telephone box to bench, from character to character, either face to face or over the phone. Novice director and writer Charles Burmeister does not allow interest to flag during the dialogue heavy episodes, and he has captured the holiday atmosphere in the park beautifully. Here he is assisted by exemplary camerawork from Julio Macat, whose graceful photography has for twenty years enhanced such movies as Home Alone, Crazy in Alabama and Wedding Crashers. How outraged he would be to see how this transfer butchers his images. As stated earlier, the original 2.35:1 image has had its sides cropped and we can at times only guess what we are supposed to be seeing. At times Val Kilmer actually disappears completely from the park landscape when obviously he is intended to be still on screen. This loss of image reaches its peak annoyance during the frequent split-screen telephone exchanges. On the very positive side, there is a quite extraordinary performance from young Master Thompson, who was recently so impressive in Role Models. The scenes between Kilmer and his young co-star are actually the strongest in the film, but Kilmer works excellently with all members of the cast, with extremely strong support from Richard Edson ( The Astronaut Farmer), Wilmer Valderrama, Marg Helgenberger (TV's CSI) and Ashley Johnson (Fast Food Nation).

    Columbus Day is part action, part thriller, part dark human comedy and maybe the bits don't quite add up to a totally satisfying whole. Nevertheless, the individual morsels are all enjoyable in themselves, and the satisfying - if contrived - ending comes all too soon. Excellent performances all round and great to see Val Kilmer proving that he is still a major star.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Yet again there has been a decision made "somewhere" that we are not to be given the full cinema image on the Australian Blu-ray release of a film. Over the past couple of weeks I have viewed three Blu-ray discs which have not preserved the original "Cinemascope" ratios of films. First there was Easy Virtue, then The Butterfly Effect 3, and now Columbus Day. The IMDB gives an original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 for this film, while the standard DVD version in the United States is presented 2.40:1. Why are we getting these butchered images on local Blu-ray releases? Because the makers of Columbus Day have made full use of the "Cinemascope" image the cropping of the sides is extremely obvious - Val Kilmer just disappears totally from the screen in some of the scenes of him walking through the park. I know that subscription TV has been giving many 2.35:1, or thereabouts, movies a full screen height presentation. I have assumed that subscribers complain if their screens aren't always filled from top to bottom. I thought - hoped? - that DVD purchasers were more informed and discerning.

    The 1080p transfer leaves quite a bit to be desired. The image is not up to the general Blu-ray standard we have come to expect, looking more like a very good standard DVD.
    The image is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The original aspect ratio was 2.35:1 and the cropping of the sides of the image frequently results in an obvious loss of important detail, let alone any destruction of artistic composition.
    There is not the detail we would expect, a number of scenes looking particularly soft. Some shots of Marg Helgenberger soften the image intentionally, but these are not the only instances of loss of sharpness.
    The colour palette is wide, and thankfully avoids the current trend to overemphasise the oranges and browns. The park setting looks attractive without being artificially pretty. Skin tones are generally quite good.
    Shadow detail is fine, and there is no low level noise.
    There was a total absence of artefacts.

There are no subtitles.

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

Audio

    The feature has a single audio stream, DTS 5.1.

    The film has a solid and efficient soundtrack, without being sensational. The dialogue was always clear, with no difficulties in comprehension. There were no technical distractions and no sync problems.
    There is moderate movement across the fronts, with the left and right front channels used mainly for effects and music. There is a nice use of musical stereo in the opening moments of the film. The surrounds create a soundscape that envelops the viewer in the world of the city, the park and its holidaymakers.
    The LFE channel adds dramatic oomph to the well staged and executed action sequences and builds tension with a heavy pulsating bass.
    The musical score by Michael A. Levine  generally adds to the atmosphere of the film, and makes good use of the surrounds. The subwoofer also contributes to the music, mainly in the more dramatic action sequences.

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

Extras

On the surface, the extras appear to be quite comprehensive. Further investigation reveals that nothing relates to Columbus Day itself, other than the photo gallery.

Main Menu

    The main menu makes simple use of an artist's depiction of Val Kilmer in action. There is no animation apart from some strobing red slashes across the screen. Music from the soundtrack is featured in Dolby Digital 2.0.

    The options presented are : Play Movie
                                              Special Features : See details below
                                              Scene Selection: Selecting this brings up a strip of twelve chapters with black and white thumbnails.
Special Features

Image Gallery
Here we are able to arrow navigate through a collection of no less than one hundred and five stills taken during the production of the movie. All have superb 1080p clarity and gorgeous colour - much more vivid than the film itself.

Trailers

Cass (2:16) : Standard definition presented at 1.78:1 in a 16x9 transfer.
The Union (2:58) : Standard definition presented at 1.78:1 in a 16x9 transfer.
New Town Killers (1:50) : Standard definition presented at 2.35:1 in a 16x9 transfer.
UFC Undisputed : The Game (1:10) : Standard definition presented at 1.78:1 in a 16x9 transfer.
Sugarhouse (2:08) : Standard definition presented at 2.35:1 in a 16x9 transfer.
Turn the River (1:33) : Standard definition presented at 1.78:1 in a 4x3 transfer.

Featurettes

The Making of Cass (28:39) :
Quite a good making of featurette on the making of this racial drama about the rise of an orphaned Jamaican baby adopted by an elderly white couple. "Based on a true story" - someone please "kill" that cliché - the baby grows up to become "one of the most feared and respected men in Britain". This is a comprehensive documentary, but I really would rather see the film first before viewing any "making of" material. Presented at 1.33:1 in a 4x3 transfer.

The Making of New Town Killers (19:32) :
This time the "making of" is presented 1.78:1 in a 16x9 transfer, but the same comment applies. This is comprehensive with input from director, cast and crew, but all rather meaningless if you haven't seen the film. I trust that putting these "making of" documentaries on discs to promote other discs does not become a trend. I would rather see a return to the sadly missed filmographies that used to appear on almost every disc in the earlier days of DVD.

R4 vs R1

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

There is no Blu-ray release of this title in Region 1.

Summary

Not quite the action flick I expected, and that came as a welcome surprise. Not always successful in its mix of human drama, thrills and humour, Columbus Day does provide ninety minutes of entertainment that is totally engrossing, and at its best crackles with excitement and humour. Val Kilmer is fine and looks great, with excellent support from a talented bunch of adults, and one exceptional young boy. The image quality looks more like a very good DVD rather than a Blu-ray disc, and there are no relevant extras apart from a photo gallery of one hundred and five images.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	SONY BLU RAY BDP-S350, using HDMI output
Display	Samsung LA55A950D1F : 55 inch LCD HD. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to DVD player. Calibrated with THX Optimizer.
Amplification	Onkyo TX-DS777
Speakers	VAF DC-X fronts; VAF DC-6 center; VAF DC-2 rears; LFE-07subwoofer (80W X 2)

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