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.
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.
Triangle (Blu-ray) (2009)

Triangle (Blu-ray) (2009)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 5-Oct-2010

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Horror/Sci-Fi Main Menu Audio & Animation
Audio Commentary
Featurette-Making Of
Featurette-The Storm
Storyboards
Deleted Scenes
Easter Egg-Deleted scene
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2009
Running Time 98:52
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Christopher Smith
Studio
Distributor
Icon Entertainment Starring Melissa George
Joshua McIvor
Jack Taylor
Michael Dorman
Henry Nixon
Rachael Carpani
Emma Lung
Liam Hemsworth
Bryan Probets
Case Amaray Variant
RPI $49.95 Music Christian Henson


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English for the Hearing Impaired Dolby Digital 5.1
Dutch Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Not 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

     Triangle is an experimental thriller; the kind of experimental thriller that benefits from viewers diving in knowing as little as possible about before they dive in to. The basic premise is that a group of half a dozen relatively young folk go boating, their boat gets wrecked in a storm and they hop aboard a passing cruise liner. A passing cruise liner that seems to have been abandoned since the 1930s. The one plot turn here that won't come as a surprise is how that "seems to be" soon becomes "doesn't quite seem to be". We primarily follow Jess (Melissa George), a single mother longing to get back to her intellectually disabled son, as she gets separated from the rest of the group.

     The film teases on all manner of themes and ideas ranging from traditional slasher fare to mind-bending allusions to time travel. It also features a particularly impressive storm sequence, made all the more impressive when you consider the limited budget of the film.

     Triangle is an Australia/UK co-production. The cast is entirely Australian. The director and a significant proportion of the crew come from over the pond. For what can only be guessed to be a hope to improve US sales, the cast all put on frustratingly patchy American accents which proves a frequent distraction to the windy plot. It is a shame really as the accents make it impossible to completely engage with the plot, and the film would otherwise be utterly engaging. Coupled with its fresh plot it would be a cracker. As it stands, Triangle is an interesting experiment but a missed opportunity.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio in 1080p.

    The video looks good, though far from spectacular. Mild grain is present throughout. The colours are a little too bright to look natural, but acceptable. There is a reasonable level of shadow detail in the image. There is no sign of video or film artefacts in the image.

    The film features English subtitles, which appear to be reasonably well timed based on the portion sampled.

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

Audio

    The film features a single English DTS HD Master Audio5.1 track. The audio quality is quite good.

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, despite all the wonky accents. The audio is well synchronised to the video.

    The film features a fitting, though unremarkable, orchestral score which is well presented in the mix.The film makes excellent use of the surrounds and subwoofer in one or two scenes, and good use at all times. The most notable use is during the film's big storm sequence, in which the audio does more than its fair share to add to the intensity and excitement.

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

Extras

Audio Commentary by Director Christopher Smith

    A workmanlike commentary, but one that has enough to say to make it worth a listen for budding low budget filmmakers (particularly around the use of compositing and CGI).

Making Of Documentary (42:20)

    A comprehensive, though overlong, making of. Worth a look for fans, although worth having the fast forward button handy for some of the bland interviewy bits.

The Storm featurette (5:46)

    A decent effects featurette that focuses primarily, though not exclusively, on the film's big storm scene.

Deleted Scenes (4:52)

    Two deleted scenes that are more changes/extensions to existing scenes than anything new.

Easter Egg (1:45)

    An additional deleted scene can be accessed by pressing up when "set up" is highlighted on the main menu.

Storyboards

    Three collections of storyboards are presented, each a few pages long that can be flicked through with the remote. They are entitled The storm, Jess walking through the mirror, and The car crash.

R4 vs R1

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

    The Region 2 and 4 editions are identical save for regional branding, and by far and away the best versions available globally.The Region 1 edition is comparatively bare bones, featuring only five minutes of interviews in the way of extras.

Summary

    An interesting experimental thriller with excellent special effects, but somewhat of a missed opportunity thanks to an ill advised decision to employ some wonky American accents.

    Video is decent. Audio is quite good. The extras are fair.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Adam Gould (Totally Biolicious!)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDSony Playstation 3, using HDMI output
DisplayOptoma HD20 Projector. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderPioneer VSX2016AVS. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX2016AVS
Speakers150W DTX front speakers, 100W centre and 4 surround/rear speakers, 12 inch PSB Image 6i powered sub

Other Reviews NONE