|
|
 |
In A World... (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (10th January 2014). |
|
The Film
 The first time I'd encountered Lake Bell was on the short lived sci-fi TV series "Surface" (2005-2006) which lasted only 15 episodes. From what I can recall she was a solid female lead in a rather average sci-fi series. She followed that up with a memorable stint on "Boston Legal" (2004-2008) among a collection of unmemorable features. Last year Bell wrote and directed a film that would become a critical hit at The Sundance Film Festival (winning the award for Best Screenplay at the festival). Bell was inspired to write a film about a female voice over artist and the difficulty of a woman entering that industry. Her inspiration was the lack of female voice over talent in any promotional materials for films. "In A World..." would mark Bell's debut as a filmmaker and she delivered a funny and well crafted picture. "In A World..." tells the story of Carol Solomon (Lake Bell), the daughter of Sam Solomon (Fred Melamed) the current king of voice overs, she's trying to break into the industry moonlighting as a voice coach, when she's given a great opportunity to lend her voice to a demo - that leads to a gig providing the voice over for a new big budget hollywood series of movies based on a best selling book. The problem is that her father doesn't believe in her abilities and is a friend and confidant to Gustav Warner (Ken Marino) the next rising star in the voice over world. Carol navigates through a complicated series of relationships but in the end all she wants is to land the gig of a lifetime and prove to her father that a woman can leave a lasting impression on the industry. The cast is particularly brilliant, they all embody their roles and fit perfectly within this world, which makes sense since she wrote the script with certain comedians in mind and then managed to book them for this film. The ensemble includes Rob Corddry, Demetri Martin, Fred Melamed and Nick Offerman and also many strong performances in small roles too (There are some great cameos littered throughout). The cast all lend their own humorous sensibilities to their roles and thus creating memorable and most importantly likeable characters. At the center of all this is the hugely likeable, goofy, girl-next-door with a sharp wit - Lake Bell. She's written a part that showcases her abilities perfectly. She demonstrates immediate chemistry with anyone she shares the screen with. Most especially Michaela Watkins who plays her sister and Demetri Martin - her secretly in-love with her sound recordist. Their scenes are well executed, humorous and feature some of the best dialogue in the entire film. There are a lot of themes at play here, the father-daughter relationship, the relationship between sisters, balancing work and pleasure, and also the views on gender bias within the voice over industry. There's a lot to juggle here - it's both complex and ambitious but Bell displays a strong sensibility as a director and manages to work well with her ensemble crafting some great scenes. "In A World..." is charming yet empowering, it's a great indie film and worth checking out, it makes a great date movie.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 mastered in high definition 1080p 24/fps using AVC MPEG-4 compression. The film's image looks fairly good for an independent production, the HD picture is clear and clear. Detail looks solid, textures hold up well. There's some noise amid some dimly lit scenes but nothing too distracting. Colors are well replicated and shadow detail holds up well. Overall this transfer isn't going to blow anyone away, however it's completely serviceable.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit, a French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track also mixed at 48kHz/24-bit and a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English audio. The film itself is fairly dialogue heavy, and that dialogue is presented well, mostly front focused but clean and clear nonetheless. Surround activity is used well with ambient sounds adding depth to the track and the film's music. Much like the image, this audio track is serviceable. Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Sony has released this film with a fair amount of supplements that include an audio commentary, a collection of deleted scenes, a gag reel, some promos and a series of bonus trailers. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is the feature-length audio commentary by screenwriter/director/actor Lake Bell. Bell comes across as effervescent and easy to listen to. She comments on the genesis and development of the film, writing for certain actors and on working with her cast. She comments on some challenges as a first time filmmaker among other things. It's a fine track that provides some interesting trivia. A series of 9 deleted scenes (1080p) are next, these can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option, the scenes included are: - "Alternate Opening Sequence" runs for 1 minute 54 seconds, Carol is interviewed by a woman who has one of those annoying "sexy baby" voices, she performs a vocal lesson on her. - "Pippa & Hugh Grant" runs for 1 minute 53 seconds, Pippa interrupts Moe and Dani's argument, she asks Moe to help her with backing up some computer data. - "Stupid Slapper" runs for 20 seconds, and is clip from the film Eva Longoria is re-recording dialogue for. - "Erin & Erinn" runs for 51 seconds, this is b-roll of the reality show that's playing on a TV in a couple of scenes of the film. - "Melinda Chisney" runs for 2 minutes, Carol meets fellow female voive over artists Melinda Chisney (Melissa Disney) at Gustav's party. - "Sisters on the Roof" runs for 1 minute 53 seconds, Dani and Carol share a moment on the roof as Dani opens up to her about how she feels about her life. - "Puppies & Auras" runs for 51 seconds, another unused clip from the reality show. - "Daisy Whore" runs for 1 minute 38 seconds, more scenes from the reality show. - "Secret Boyfriend" runs for 2 minutes 58 seconds, a final omitted clip from the reality show. A gag reel (1080p) is also included which runs for 3 minutes 57 seconds and features the usual line flubs and missed cues. There are 6 "In A World..." promos (1080p), which can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option, these are some promotional clips created for the marketing campaign for the film's theatrical release, they include: - "Carol Interruptus" which runs for 59 seconds. - "This Friday" which runs for 32 seconds. - "Mouth Music" which runs for 54 seconds. - "Go See In A World... With Your Mom!" which runs for 58 seconds. - "No Pressure" which runs for 1 minute 9 seconds. - "People Think My Job Is Easy" which runs for 46 seconds. Rounding out the extras on this disc are a collection of bonus trailers (1080p) for: - "Sony Blu-ray" spot which runs for 2 minutes 26 seconds. - "Austenland" which runs for 2 minutes 4 seconds. - "Cold Comes the Night" which runs for 1 minute 36 seconds. - "The Monuments Men" which runs for 1 minute 45 seconds. - "Inside Llewyn Davis" which runs for 2 minutes 11 seconds. - "I'm So Excited" which runs for 1 minute.
Packaging
Packaged in a standard Blu-ray keep case.
Overall
|
|||||
|