Maybe Silent Bob should have been talking all along.
Video:
Set in Boulder, Colorado, "Catch and Release" has that kind of clean-air-and-granola look to it, where you expect every scene to burst with lumberjack plaid or colorful ankle-length hippie-style skirts. You do get that here, but what Blu-ray does most is exacerbate those weepy faces of Garner's, and make you think how brave this actress was to basically look so pathetic and unattractive in close-ups where you can see every pore, every reddened patch of skin in 1080p High-Def detail. The color saturation is good, the amount of detail is solid, and the black levels seem appropriate in this transfer, and so the source materials were obviously decent. And Garner hasn't looked worse, thanks to High Definition. Yet, it's not a disc I'd pop in to show off the new HD media. For that, "The Searchers," "Happy Feet," or "Transporter 2" are still my favorites. "Catch and Release" is presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
In general, I've been more impressed by the PCM 5.1 than the DTS HD 5.1, and this disc is no exception. The uncompressed English PCM audio delivers a fine, natural sound, with bright treble and substantial bass. There are alternate tracks in English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, but I can't imagine anyone using them unless you have equipment playback limitations. As with recent Blu-ray releases, there's a bunch of subtitle options: English, English SDH, French, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai.
Extras:
VERY nice bonus features here. On one commentary track, Susannah Grant has her own "Evening with Kevin Smith." This candidly funny and illuminating track is among the best I've heard, though it takes the pair a full hour of nonstop chatter and laughter before they finally get around to talking about what's on the screen in front of them. Smith jumps in and takes control from the opening Columbia logo shot, basically interviewing the director as if he were a milder-mannered shock jock--outrageous, but still polite enough to respect some boundaries. Curiously, there are BLEEPS all over this commentary track, which I've never run across before. The "f-word" has popped up in a number of commentaries, so why bleep it here, unless, perhaps, they thought it would add to the humor. Grant tells Smith how she turned down several scripts from Disney before doing "Pocahontas," to which Smith replies, "Who the f--- are you to say no to Disney?" adding, "There's a lot of white guilt in Pocahontas." That's how it goes throughout this commentary track, which is great fun to listen to.
A more standard commentary comes from Grant and cinematographer John Lindley, who cover more familiar ground: technical details, location choices, cinematic problems and solutions, casting, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. It's also a good listen, but, frankly, it's awful ordinary compared to the wild track with Smith.
It's not as good as the Smith-Grant commentary, but the making-of bonus feature included here is also way better than average. For one thing, it's nicely edited, with plenty of cutaway shots to behind-the-scenes clips as a talking head speaks, then back again to the person. We can also see how the director and her female producer, Jenno Topping, created "a real easygoing vibe." There's plenty of information here, with plenty of interesting footage, but mostly it's the editing that makes this documentary a pleasure to watch. Finally, it seems, people are treating these like the short films they are, instead of cookie-cutter obligations to the DVD world.
Two rather inconsequential deleted scenes round out the extras, along with three audition clips of Jaeger, Lewis, and Smith. Grant tells how Smith was in his car heading home when she phoned his agent to tell him he got the part, and the agent phoned Smith, who pulled a U-turn and headed back to Grant to give her a hug and tell her how it was one of the happiest days in his life.
Bottom Line:
Grant's directorial debut is a qualified success, but Smith adds real life to this romantic comedy. He's got an extremely likeable charisma that comes across in "Catch and Release" like no other film. Maybe Silent Bob should have been talking all along.
Set in Boulder, Colorado, "Catch and Release" has that kind of clean-air-and-granola look to it, where you expect every scene to burst with lumberjack plaid or colorful ankle-length hippie-style skirts. You do get that here, but what Blu-ray does most is exacerbate those weepy faces of Garner's, and make you think how brave this actress was to basically look so pathetic and unattractive in close-ups where you can see every pore, every reddened patch of skin in 1080p High-Def detail. The color saturation is good, the amount of detail is solid, and the black levels seem appropriate in this transfer, and so the source materials were obviously decent. And Garner hasn't looked worse, thanks to High Definition. Yet, it's not a disc I'd pop in to show off the new HD media. For that, "The Searchers," "Happy Feet," or "Transporter 2" are still my favorites. "Catch and Release" is presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
In general, I've been more impressed by the PCM 5.1 than the DTS HD 5.1, and this disc is no exception. The uncompressed English PCM audio delivers a fine, natural sound, with bright treble and substantial bass. There are alternate tracks in English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital, but I can't imagine anyone using them unless you have equipment playback limitations. As with recent Blu-ray releases, there's a bunch of subtitle options: English, English SDH, French, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai.
Extras:
VERY nice bonus features here. On one commentary track, Susannah Grant has her own "Evening with Kevin Smith." This candidly funny and illuminating track is among the best I've heard, though it takes the pair a full hour of nonstop chatter and laughter before they finally get around to talking about what's on the screen in front of them. Smith jumps in and takes control from the opening Columbia logo shot, basically interviewing the director as if he were a milder-mannered shock jock--outrageous, but still polite enough to respect some boundaries. Curiously, there are BLEEPS all over this commentary track, which I've never run across before. The "f-word" has popped up in a number of commentaries, so why bleep it here, unless, perhaps, they thought it would add to the humor. Grant tells Smith how she turned down several scripts from Disney before doing "Pocahontas," to which Smith replies, "Who the f--- are you to say no to Disney?" adding, "There's a lot of white guilt in Pocahontas." That's how it goes throughout this commentary track, which is great fun to listen to.
A more standard commentary comes from Grant and cinematographer John Lindley, who cover more familiar ground: technical details, location choices, cinematic problems and solutions, casting, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. It's also a good listen, but, frankly, it's awful ordinary compared to the wild track with Smith.
It's not as good as the Smith-Grant commentary, but the making-of bonus feature included here is also way better than average. For one thing, it's nicely edited, with plenty of cutaway shots to behind-the-scenes clips as a talking head speaks, then back again to the person. We can also see how the director and her female producer, Jenno Topping, created "a real easygoing vibe." There's plenty of information here, with plenty of interesting footage, but mostly it's the editing that makes this documentary a pleasure to watch. Finally, it seems, people are treating these like the short films they are, instead of cookie-cutter obligations to the DVD world.
Two rather inconsequential deleted scenes round out the extras, along with three audition clips of Jaeger, Lewis, and Smith. Grant tells how Smith was in his car heading home when she phoned his agent to tell him he got the part, and the agent phoned Smith, who pulled a U-turn and headed back to Grant to give her a hug and tell her how it was one of the happiest days in his life.
Bottom Line:
Grant's directorial debut is a qualified success, but Smith adds real life to this romantic comedy. He's got an extremely likeable charisma that comes across in "Catch and Release" like no other film. Maybe Silent Bob should have been talking all along.
Average user rating (1-5):
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[release]20896[/release]