6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
A dramatic thriller that weaves together the stories of an array of people from disparate social backgrounds through their intersecting relationships.
Starring: Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, Ben Foster, Jamel DebbouzeDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
“360” is a story of sexual gamesmanship that takes a familiar multi-character journey around the globe. Director Fernando Meirelles (“The Constant Gardner,” “City of God”) has numerous subplots to juggle and societal urgencies to dissect, leaving “360” a sharply paced picture that’s more about ephemeral highlights than a lasting dramatic sting. A smoothly manufactured, intermittently upsetting look at impulses and desires, the feature boasts an exceptional cast to carry the brief but difficult challenges facing the characters, while Meirelles keeps the film humming along, braiding these strangers into a single display of yearning, albeit a craving that takes the occasional unsavory turn.
The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation carries a mix of styles and moods. The Blu-ray successfully manages the changes in tone, weaving through varying levels of grain and lighting schemes, while picking up the limitations of the HD cinematography. Colors are dialed down but expressive, with nightlife displaying a rich view of neon lights and city bustle, while interiors pinpoint hues of costuming. Exteriors also capture changes in weather, finding blue and gray skies setting the vibe. Skintones are accurate, holding their natural characteristics when not intentionally washed out. Shadow detail is satisfactory, sustaining textures during evening sequences, while set design is allowed depth. Detail is equally welcoming, with the shell-shocked expressions of the characters captured in fill, finding facial particulars crisply defined and fabrics open for inspection.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries a musical mood, hearing a multitude of soundtrack selections maintaining the picture's emotional movements. The songs sound lush, pushing out into the surrounds, which are active but not concerned with directional movement, used primarily to generate a jazzy ambiance, not engage the listener. Dialogue exchanges are fresh and direct, clarifying accents crisply and managing the escalation of passion with ease, never swallowing conversations. Scoring is gentle and unobtrusive, preserving its place of support. Low-end is minimal for this reflective picture, showing sporadic activity with atmospherics. Not out for a major display of sonic heft, the "360" listening experience reveals pleasing balance and shape, just not remarkable dimensionality.
With a jazzy score and keen sense of transitions, "360" only flirts with unrelenting darkness, preferring to lock into a mournful tone of missed opportunities, while a few characters are successfully snapped out of their slumber by their mistakes, strengthening bonds that were once about to break. It's a nomadic narrative in some respects, only seeking violent punctuation in the disappointing finale, with Meirelles more in tune with moderate acts of heartbreak and emotional development. "360" also has the benefit of a superb collection of actors, who use what little portion of the tale they've been allotted to shape searing portraits of damage, guilt, and hope, instilling the picture with a full sense of humanity in a structure that often invites repetitive flashes of artificiality.
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