7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.7 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
An autistic girl with intense fighting skills discovers a list of debtors in her horribly ill mother's diary and decides to go collecting, only to find herself up against an organized crime ring.
Starring: JeeJa Yanin, Ammara Siripong, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong, Taphon PhopwandeeAction | 100% |
Foreign | 98% |
Martial arts | 82% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An autistic heroine is forced to confront her mother’s foes in Thai action guru Prachya Pinkaew’s “Chocolate” (2008). Though not as polished as the director’s impressive “Ong-bak”, the film packs a good dose of kicks and jabs that should make an impression on martial arts fans. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
JeeJa Yanin
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with VC-1, and granted a 1080p transfer Prachya Pinkaew's Chocolate arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
The transfer for the US release of Chocolate looks practically identical to the one Showbox delivered in the UK. As far as I could tell, the only difference between the two is in the encoding (the UK version is encoded with MPEG-4 AVC). As expected, detail and clarity are mostly pleasing. The film's color-scheme also appears to be intact, and I most definitely did not detect any disturbing issues to report here. However, as I noted in my review for the UK release, each time green or yellow become the prevalent colors in Chocolate I was able to spot a bit of digital-noise (the most obvious examples of what I refer to above could be seen when the female protagonist enters the meat-packing plant as well as during the massive fight at the end of the film). This being said, the rest of the transfer provided by is notably healthy – I did not detect any disturbing debris, scratches, or dirt. For the record, Chocolate does not appear to have been DNR-altered either. (Note This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc which you will be able to play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
There are four different audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1.
Similar to the UK Blu-ray release, the US Blu-ray release of Chocolate delivers a pleasing audio treatment. The Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does a terrific job of opening up the numerous action scenes in the film, and I think that you would definitely be impressed with it (a quick comparison between the Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and the Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 track reveals that there is far more depth in the former than there is in the latter). On the other hand, the dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing drop-outs, cracks, or hissing to report here either.
In addition to the two Thai tracks, Magnolia Pictures have also added up two dub tracks – English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1. I did a few random comparisons between the Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and, as far as I am concerned, the basics (dynamics and rear-channel activity) seem identical. As far as the quality of the actual English dub is concerned, I think that it certainly isn't as appealing as the original Thai tracks are. Technically, however, the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is certainly on par with the Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Finally, Magnolia Pictures have also supplied optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Aside from a gallery of trailers for other Magnolia Pictures releases, on this Blu-ray there is also a standard Making Of featurette that focuses primarily on JeeJa Yanin's incredible athletic skills. In addition, Prachya Pinkaew explains how most of the key fighting scenes were shot.
I must admit that Chocolate isn't a film that I would ever want to watch again. Its sizzling action is simply not something that I find particularly appealing. Yet, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't impressed with JeeJa Yanin. The young girl's fighting skills are unbelievable! Recommended.
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