6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank.
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Nick Swardson, Aziz Ansari, Michael PeñaComedy | 100% |
Crime | 38% |
Action | 10% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It’s a simple plan: find some patsy to rob the bank, hire out a hit on the old man with the cash, and collect on what’s left of what was once a vast fortune. Of course it doesn’t go as planned when the scheme involves two bumbling bad guys, a stripper and her gangster-wannabe boyfriend, and a pizza delivery boy and his nerdy kinda-sort best friend. 30 Minutes or Less, like its title promises to deliver a hot and fresh-from-the-oven pie on time or its free, is a fast-paced killer Comedy/Action hybrid that does indeed delivers on its promise of big laughs and goofy action, the picture a surprisingly entertaining romp that sees its characters stumble through the ins and outs of small-time, small-mind criminal activities. The film is of the “simple pleasures” variety. It’s not too raunchy, not too complicated, not too long, not too short. It’s like the perfect single-serving pizza, fresh and hot and tasty, satisfying but not too big and surely not bad enough to give its viewers the runs. It’s very well put together, but please, leave the bomb-making, flame-throwing, bank-robbing, club-stripping, gang-banging, and yes, pizza-baking and delivering to the professionals.
Die Hard in 30 Minutes or Less.
30 Minutes or Less is another stunner of a Sony Blu-ray release. The 1080p transfer is more or less flawless. The image features a very well balanced, extraordinarily crisp, wonderfully clear, and gorgeously film-like texture. Light grain accentuates its handsome façade and its retention helps bring out the best in every detail in every corner of the frame. Facial and clothing textures are cinematically natural. Very fine detail is evident everywhere, including the pizza delivery signs and trinkets in Nick's worn out blue car. Various building textures -- from rough scrap yard exteriors to the polished bank interior -- are seamless, and even small background elements like neighborhood grass yield faultless definition. The image is naturally deep, and it's free of any sort of print damage, no surprise considering it's brand-spanking-new. Better still, compression faults and digital manipulation are absent, and only a brief spurt of troublesome color gradations on human skin in a rather dark scene proves in the least bit distracting. Flesh tones are perfectly balanced, as are black levels, the latter never crushing out details or going to a washed out shade of gray. This is another wonderful release from Sony.
Sony's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack for 30 Minutes or Less is just as good as the film's 1080p video presentation. From the get-go, the track wields very high energy music. It's loud but crystal-clear, perfectly spaced, and highly satisfying. From the highest highs to the deepest lows, there's no audible flaw to be heard. Hard Rock music to open the movie? No problem. Heavier Hip-Hop beats? Excellent presence. Explosions, gun shots, car crashes, and all of the fun stuff play with the same audible enthusiasm, clarity, and power as the music. Each are exciting and seamlessly integrated, with the effects spreading out nicely but remaining focused and precise according to the accompanying visual. Ambience is very strong, too; the surrounds are used just enough and when called upon to carry light background chirping insects, mood music in a flower shop, or subtle cries during a bank robbery scene. Dialogue is center-focused, strong, and always clear; it never becomes lost underneath the robust music or hefty sound effects. Like the video, this is another in a very long line of Blu-ray excellence from Sony.
30 Minutes or Less contains a fair assortment of extras. Included is a video commentary track, two featurettes, a collection of deleted scenes,
and outtakes.
30 Minutes or Less is a quality little Action/Comedy hybrid that sees its characters play out a rather complicated and deadly serious game of life and death and robbery and friendship through a comical prism. The movie is well-balanced and enjoyable. It's not always on the top of its game, but it's just different enough to offer cinephiles a nice change-of-pace from the usual big Action movies and repetitively dull sex comedies. Sony's Blu-ray release, no surprise, is shipshape. Video and audio are pretty much faultless, and the included extras are right on the money in terms of length and scope for a movie like this. Recommended.
2012
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