Pandorum - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS*** - In Pandorum, Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point, The Express) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, Alpha Dog) join Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down, Twilight), Cung Le (Tekken, Fighting), newcomer Antje Traue, and director Christian Alvart (Antibodies) to tell the terrifying story of two crew members stranded on a spacecraft who quickly – and horrifically – realize they are not alone. Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It’s pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the ship. They can’t remember anything: Who are they? What is their mission? With Lt. Payton (Quaid) staying behind to guide him via radio transmitter, Cpl. Bower (Foster) ventures deep into the ship and begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft’s shocking, deadly secrets are revealed…and the astronauts find their own survival is more important than they could ever have imagined.


***VIDEO QUALITY*** - 'Pandorum' is presented in a full 1080p High Definition transfer utilizing the AVC MPEG-4 codec and is presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.Wow,this movie is dark and the transfer does a great job in rendering the different shades of darkness.Blacks are deep and run to the abyss.Shadow delineation was solid.Fine detail is slightly above average with the cool space suits coming across the best.When color eventually bursts out of it's cold blue and black shadow with green glow sticks and some other forms of color, it really pops from the screen.Skintones looked natural throughout.There is light layer of grain that never overwhelms the presentation.Overall the transfer suited the intentions of the filmmaker well and earns a solid 8.5/10


***AUDIO QUALITY*** - Arriving on Blu-ray with huge 24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track 'Pandorum' is a very aggressive aural experience.You will be bombarded constantly by the shaking and rattling of the ship in space.The track utilizes the entire soundscape, with surrounds being used consistently to create a prefect horror in space environment.Bass is strong but never overpowering.Every sound in this track comes across crisp and clean, same goes for the dialogue.This is a perfectly done lossless soundtrack and earns a perfect 10/10.


***SPECIAL FEATURES***

**Disc One** -
* Audio Commentary with Director Christian Alvart and Producer Jeremy Bolt
* The World of Elysium: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (HD,14min)
* What Happened to Nadia's Team (HD,4min)
* Flight Team Training Video - (HD,3min)
* Deleted Scenes - (HD,28min)
* Still Galleries
* Theatrical Trailer (HD,2min)

**Disc Two** - Included is a digital copy disc that includes a full version of the film to be played on your PC, Mac, or iPod devices.

The Marine 2 - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS*** - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) and WWE Studios present The Marine 2 – the second installment of The Marine movie franchise. Inspired by a true story, The Marine 2 was shot entirely on location in Phuket, Thailand and stars WWE Superstar (Ted DiBiase) as Marine recon sniper Joe Linwood. Reminiscent of the 2001 Dos Palmas incident, Linwood’s trip to paradise with his wife is suddenly shattered when guerillas take control of a secluded five-star resort asking for a substantial ransom. The guerilla leaders begin murdering hostages as the clock ticks away, forcing Joe to use his expert skills to save the hostages from certain death.


***VIDEO QUALITY*** - Arriving in a full 1080p high definition transfer utilizing the AVC codec and presented in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, "The Marine 2" is stunner for fine details but is marred by soft focusing and what can only be described as artificial over sharpening.The already mentioned fine detail is well rendered with individual beads of sweat, pockmarks in faces, and the sharp, rocky caves of Thailand.Blacks are crushed limiting shadow detail creating an image that is at once noisy in nighttime scenes and lacks any sense of depth.I was hoping for a vibrant color palette due to the film being shot in Thailand but unfortunately the filmmakers decided to go for the unnatural,desaturated look.Overall the film has better production values than your average straight-to-video movie but is still lacking when compared to modern Hollywood films. 8/10


***AUDIO QUALITY*** - Action fans can rejoice with this DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, as it is a constant barrage of gunfire and explosions.Surround channels are almost constantly engaged with grenades rolling around, rockets whooshing by, and bullets pooping off and falling around the soundfield.This track isn't subtle and is more concerned with bombast than directionality.Bass is tight and really gets to show it's muscle with some wall shaking rumbles.Dialogue was clean and crisp but there were some occasions where it seemed mixed a little lower than rest of the track.A great lossless track that helps to overshadow any shortcomings in the video transfer. 9/10


***SPECIAL FEATURES*** -
* Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes (HD,26min)
* Extended Scenes (HD,9min)
* Deleted Scenes (HD,3min)
* Making the Cut: Deleted Shots Montage (HD,6min)

The Simpsons: The Complete Twentieth Season - Blu-ray Disc Review

***SYNOPSIS*** - In January 1990 television history was made as households across the country were introduced to a one-of-a-kind family whose outrageous antics and wild behavior made them an institution of prime-time television and a pop culture staple over the next two-plus decades. Now our friends at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment celebrates this historic milestone when “The Simpsons” Season 20 Blu-ray collection released on January 12, marking the show’s first time ever in high-definition. Series creator Matt Groening has added his own special touch by drawing all-new menus for both the Blu-ray, creating another keepsake memento for “The Simpsons” fans. Highly collectible packaging will also include a character layout of Springfield’s most favorite characters sure to challenge the ultimate Simpsons fan to name them all.

***EPISODE LISTING*** -

*DISC ONE -
Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
Lost Verizon
Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
Treehouse of Horror XIX
Dangerous Curves
Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
Mypods and Boomsticks
The Burns and the Bees
Lisa the Drama Queen

*DISC TWO -
Take My Life, Please
How The Test Was Won
No Loan Again, Naturally
Gone Maggie Gone
In The Name of the Grandfather
Wedding for Disaster
Eeny Teeny Maya Moe
The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
Father Knows Worst
Waverly Hills
Four Great Women and a Manicure
Coming to Homerica


***REVIEW*** - After a legendary run of 20 years what hasn't been said about "The Simpsons"? The twentieth season that is presented here was in my opinion a welcomed improvement over the past few seasons of the show and it felt at the tail end that the writers had gotten a second wind.There are numerous jabs at pop culture , inside jokes, etc. that we have all come to expect but also there were more focused episodes on this season instead of just having Homer go from one silly gag to the next.I really enjoyed the 20th anniversary of this seminal show and what is at this time ,the best comedy in history." A Very Good Season with no substantial Special Features "


***VIDEO QUALITY*** - Episodes on Disc 1 are presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio and all 12 episodes on Disc 2 are presented in full 1080p HD in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio.It is like night and day going from standard full frame traditional animation to the fully digital widescreen presentation of the second disc of episodes.The 4:3 presentation have a softer look when comparisons are made but colors are still bold and hold their own.The widescreen episodes are absolutely breathtaking in their brightness and strikingly bold colors that show no bleeding.The image is staggeringly smooth and crisp.Everything is flawless, there were no signs of DNR or edge enhancement."The Simpsons" have finally arrived in HD and it was well worth the wait. 10/10


*** AUDIO QUALITY*** - Presented in a well suited DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, "The Simpsons" sounds perfectly crisp and clear .Whether it's Homers' "D'oh's" or all the other characters little quirks and sayings everything is heard without strain.Bass is a solid performer when called upon and adds a nice bit of depth to lower notes during some of the fine musical cues.Surrounds are used to create a decent amount of atmosphere during scenes in classroom's, or sporting events.A great job by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for a well deserved 8/10.


***SPECIAL FEATURES*** - There is only one extra feature included on this Blu-ray release.
* Disc 1 - Featurette - "The 20th Anniversary Special Sneak Peek by Morgan Spurlock" (HD,3min)