7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Meet the Rizzos, a family that might get along a lot better if only they could tell each other the truth. Dad Vince is the worst offender. But since the prison guard won't even admit that poker night is in fact acting class, how's he ever going to explain about his illegitimate son? His daughter works as a stripper when she's supposed to be in college, while young Vinnie Jr has a secret sexual fetish that involves a 24-hour webcam and the family's 300-pound neighbour. Vince's wife Joyce is the family's rock, but it's been a year since she enjoyed intimacy with her husband, and it's no surprise she thinks poker night spells A-F-F-A-I-R. When former prisoner Tony enters the Rizzos' lives, Joyce begins to suspect that the handsome young Tony isn't who Vince says he is. City Island is a funny, touching and smart family tale about the secrets of the past catching up with the lies of the present, and accepting that nobody's perfect - least of all your loved ones
Starring: Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait, Dominik García, Ezra MillerDrama | 100% |
Comedy | 14% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy (on disc)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Greek in scope.
It's not really a Greek tragedy; it's not that big in scope; and it has no historical, moral, or other
resonance; but City Island is a mostly fun and entertaining picture that takes a snapshot
in the week of the life of a typically atypical dysfunctional movie family from the Bronx. Well, OK,
they're actually from City Island, a little waterfront community just outside the borough
where longtime residents with deep roots are known as "Clam Diggers" while those that have
moved there from somewhere else are referred to as "Muscle Suckers." Don't worry, that doesn't
have any real relevance to the story, other than as a means of introduction for the dynamic that
sees an outsider and a calming influence enter into a loud and obnoxious family on the brink of
tearing itself apart. Directed by Raymond De Felitta (The Thing About My Folks) and
starring Andy Garcia (The Untouchables) as
the family's troubled patriarch Vince Rizzo who harbors several not-so-dark but nevertheless in his mind
end-of-the-world caliber secrets that he fights to keep hidden from his, to be kind, CRAZY family,
City Island proves a worthwhile and sometimes touching picture, even through all of the
headache-inducing screaming and shouting that make the Rizzo's one of cinema's most
cringe-worthy but at the same time surprisingly sweet and even slightly relatable amped-up and
over-exaggerated families.
Dinner with the Rizzos -- but different from the supplement of the same name.
Anchor Bay brings City Island to Blu-ray with a nice looking but not problem-free 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Generally, this image enjoys good-to-exceptional detailing in general objects such as clothes and faces, but it also excels down at the background level, too, revealing the finest details in dented and scraped lockers, for instance. Colors are bright and steady; Vince's blue correctional shirt in particular stands out. However, the image appears rather smooth and flat; grain is kept to a minium and the image takes on a fairly glossy look. Slight ringing, a few scattered and relatively thick halos, and several fuzzy and soft shots are to be seen here and there during the movie. Black levels are usually rock-solid but appear a bit too absorbing in a couple of shots, and the image suffers under some sloppy noise during several extended nighttime or low-light scenes. Meanwhile, flesh tones fluctuate all over the spectrum, from ghastly pale to excessively red. Still, for all the listed problems, they only appear here and there; City Island generally looks very nice at-a-glance. Anchor Bay's transfer is competent but not breathtaking; fans shouldn't be too disappointed with the results.
City Island's PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack delivers an adequate listen that does everything well but never reaches the upper echelons of high definition soundtracks. This is a fairly basic track that's primarily dialogue- and music-driven; the spoken word never suffers through any major problems, and music is nicely spaced across the front, whether the instrumental score's lighter notes or the heavier, thumping elements heard during strip club scenes. Bass is involved usually as a companion to the music; it's better established and more natural when alongside the instrumental score, but as it gets heavier during the strip club scenes, it tends to lose its edge and seems content to just crank out as much noise as possible without concern for accuracy and realism. The track captures a few ambient effects, but the surrounds aren't used extensively throughout the picture. City Island's uncompressed track gets the job done without doing too much wrong and without going above and beyond the call of duty; it's sure to satisfy most listeners, but it's not the sort of track that's going to leave any lasting impression, either positive or negative.
Both Clam Diggers and Muscle Suckers will be pleased with the nice little assortment of extras found on Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of City Island. First up is an audio commentary track with Writer/Producer/Director Raymond De Felitta and Actor/Producer Andy Garcia. The two deliver a quality commentary that covers most of the pertinent issues, including the history of the project, the geography of the real City Island locale, casting, the themes of the story, and more. This isn't a must-listen, but fans with a couple of hours to kill might want to give it a try. Dinner With the Rizzos (480p, 16:09) features Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Dominik García-Lorido, Steven Strait, and Raymond De Felitta sitting around the dinner table and discussing the movie. Also included is the City Island trailer (1080p, 2:29); several deleted scenes (480p, 15:36); and additional 1080p trailers for Solitary Man, After.Life, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, and Sunshine Cleaning. Disc two of this set contains a digital copy of City Island. On-the-go viewers will be pleased if they watch the film on the iPhone 4's "Retina Display." Details and colors are nicely realized, and shadows aren't overly-populated with distracting compression artifacts. The soundtrack is basic, delivering clear dialogue and spreading out a few nice sound effects off to the sides of the two headphone channels.
City Island can be an obnoxious, fingernails-on-chalkboard type of movie when the going gets rough around the dinner table and in the lives of its characters, but Writer/Director Raymond De Felitta's picture nevertheless finds an underlying sweetness behind the mayhem and is certain to leave viewers smiling rather than cringing. An all-around good movie, City Island is nothing special in terms of its technical prowess, but it does feature several fine performances, notably from leads Andy Garcia and Emily Mortimer, who make for an excellent pairing and electrify every scene they share. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of City Island is of an average quality all the way around. The picture and sound are stable while the grouping of extra content should satisfy fans. City Island comes recommended.
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