7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
Adam Buckley finds himself in the middle of a convenience store robbery during his last night as a pledge for a college fraternity. When the initiation ritual goes horribly wrong, and every move proves disastrous, Adam is forced to confront a new challenge all together, and he has to take a stand.
Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Trevor Morgan, Jon Foster (I), Arlen Escarpeta, Jesse SteccatoThriller | 100% |
Crime | 92% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS 2.0
French: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 2.0
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
There’s only one story.
One of this world's great mysteries remains the culture of hazing and initiation into fraternities. It's not a mystery why people go through the process
-- the need for human acceptance and, for some, to become part of an "in" group (and whether that, or any, group is greater than oneself is
certainly up for debate)
certainly plays a large part in of the process -- but it is a mystery why some people will go to such great lengths, put their schooling, futures, even their
lives on the line for something that's often little more than a status symbol, and certainly not an advancement towards the end goal of higher
education (which, believe it or not, isn't football games, girls, and alcohol). Wherever, however, or for whatever reason, the Greek system remains,
and probably forever will be, one of the staples of higher education, its plusses and minuses seemingly irrelevant to the greater culture and symbolism
it
promotes and the incredibly large shadow it casts over the college experience. Director Will Canon's Brotherhood takes a raw, unflinching look
at the Greek system of crude and potentially harmful initiation
through a narrative that sees a night of hazing and pranking turn into an unstoppable chain reaction of out-of-control events that will forever
change the character's lives and no doubt point a harsh and unwelcome spotlight onto the culture of college fraternities in its fictional world. How
much real world relevance the film may have remains to be seen.
Baseball players make rookies carry little girl pink backpacks. Frat pledges must engage in something far more devious and deadly.
Phase 4's Blu-ray release of Brotherhood is often well-crafted and nice-looking, but it does encounter a few problems along the way. The image generally enjoys a fine film-like texture, but there are certainly some scenes that look unnaturally glossy and flat. Grain is light but nearly constant, clarity is good, and detailing is crisp and strong in faces, clothes, worn-down and grimy objects around the frat house, and textured sofas and wood grains and other furniture and accents. Colors are balanced and true; flesh tones appear accurate, and everything from bright red pop bottles in the convenience store to flat paints in the frat house appear natural and pleasing. Black levels are generally fair, only sometimes crushing out details or artificially brightening up to a shade of dark gray. Light banding and moderate-to-heavy blocking are evident across many surfaces, but generally and usually at-a-glance, this is a good-looking image, and the filmic texture does a fine job of accentuating the slightly gritty feel the movie exudes.
Amongst the four included soundtracks (plus one audio commentary) included with this Blu-ray release of Brotherhood, it's the English DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that will get the most play. Phase 4's losses soundtrack is audibly fine, but uninspiring and forgettable nonetheless. The track handles all that comes its way with relative ease. Music enjoys fair energy, though it could stand a little more raw clarity and power, even in a frat house party sequence where the music comes from all directions but never quite seems like it plays with the right balance for the sequence. Atmospherics are subtle yet effective in creating a realistic environment in several outdoor scenes. Gunshots are fairly crisp but lack the power one would expect, particularly when fired inside the rather small confines of a convenience store. The track does deliver solid dialogue from start to finish. This is a passable soundtrack, one that gets by without many problems but that doesn't have much to work with.
Brotherhood contains quite a few supplements, including two audio commentary tracks and a short film.
Brotherhood tells a good story that doesn't hit has hard as the filmmakers likely intended. It starts strongly and ends with more of a whimper -- even if the series of events create more of a bang -- largely because it's difficult to get behind the characters when they refuse to engage in common sense and instead allow their evening to continue to spiral well out of control for the better of the fraternity and for themselves rather than their friends and a greater sense of right and wrong. Thumbs up for a good idea, decent execution, and an exhilarating first act, and thumbs down for the movie's inability to maintain its strengths and for its lack of a resonating message except for "use common sense." Phase 4's Blu-ray release of Brotherhood does feature fair video, decent audio, and a nice assortment of extras. It's definitely worth a rental, and it wouldn't make a horrible addition to the Blu-ray library at a very low price.
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