5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
An heiress who's been shut inside her apartment building for nearly two decades is forced to confront her fears after one of her neighbours is killed and a detective arrives to begin the investigation.
Starring: Selma Blair, Amy Smart, Jason Lee, Kevin Pollak, Giovanni RibisiThriller | 100% |
Drama | 79% |
Crime | 67% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
From the School of Shifty Shyamalan Filmmaking comes Columbus Circle, a double-knotting, triple-crossing indie thriller from writer/director George Gallo and co-writer Kevin Pollak that Universal tossed on the scrap heap back in 2010. And for good reason too. Gallo's messy genre pic may boast a decent cast, but it unravels long before its twenty-third plot twist elicits yet another round of groans. Whereas most movies work to build toward that one unforgettable hard right, the filmmakers cut the wheel every ten minutes, carelessly barreling down whatever dark alley happens to be nearby. Everyone has a secret, every secret has a secret, and every last twist and turn is more ludicrous than the last. But those quote-unquote surprises aren't discovered or stumbled upon, they're splayed out for all to see; shamelessly telegraphed gut punches that arrive with expositionary pomp and bargain bin circumstance. And when the end credits finally arrive to put Gallo and Pollak out of their direct-to-video misery, those who haven't already given up on Columbus Circle mid-movie -- the gluttons for punishment, sadomasochists, and duty-bound reviewers among you -- will share an exasperated laugh at the sheer stupidity of it all.
Walled off from the world...
Columbus Circle impresses on the whole with a crisp but hard-to-pin-down 1080p/VC-1 encode; an oft-times striking, at-times inconsistent presentation that suffers with a few ailments. Noise is uneven, lightly swarming random faces, walls and backdrops without warning. Faint artifacting and macroblocking barge in as well, albeit without as much malice. Other over-processed oddities appear from time to time too, including slight smearing, minor ringing and intermittent crush. While I suspect many of the transfer's shortcomings trace back to the film's already inconsistent photography and post-production tinkering, drawing the line between the source and its Blu-ray presentation is proving to be quite a challenge. Still, none of it amounts to anything remotely resembling an unwatchable presentation and, for the most part, Columbus Circle looks pretty good. Colors are strong and vivid, primaries pop, skintones are perfectly saturated, black levels are generally dark and deep, and contrast only slips and slides here and there. Detail is also excellent on the whole, with an array of nicely resolved textures, revealing closeups and cleanly defined edges, and delineation is decidedly decent, especially given the noirish nooks of Gallo's thriller. Softness intrudes at times, sure -- the vast majority filmic, a few select instances not-so-filmic -- but it isn't a bother. All in all, Columbus Circle could look better, but it could also look much, much worse.
Universal's unassuming DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track keeps its head down and gets the job done. Dialogue is clear, able-bodied and neatly prioritized in the mix, even if a handful of hushed lines drift dangerously close to indistinct. The LFE channel isn't what I'd call aggressive but it's certainly assertive, embracing the film's meatier thunks and thuds, more intense sequences, and Brian Tyler's pounding score (particularly when a drunken Charles catches Abagail and Lillian venturing into the hall). The rear speakers step up as well, creating a fairly immersive soundfield tainted only by a hint of artificiality. Shattered glass scatters across the floor, heated arguments bleed through the walls of Abagail's apartment, crowded city streets are suitably noisy, and the acoustics of luxury lofts, lobbies and elevators are dead on. Directionality isn't as precise as it could be, and pans are a tad wooden on occasion, but they aren't prevailing issues. Columbus Circle's DTS-HD MA track proves to be the highlight of the disc, at least it will for those who stick around long enough to experience it in its entirety.
No one shows up to defend Columbus Circle. No commentary, no featurettes, no trailer, no extras at all. It's better that way, I suppose, but some insight into what went wrong, why it was shelved for so long, or even a misleading, hyper-articulate EPK would have at least satisfied my morbid curiosity on some level.
In case you hadn't noticed, I didn't enjoy my time with Columbus Circle. At all. It crumbles and falls apart, almost from the very beginning, and its story, script, scheme, characters and performances don't hold up to close scrutiny (or any scrutiny, for that matter). Universal's Blu-ray release is better, if only because it helps Gallo's misfire look and sound more like a cohesive thriller. While there isn't a single extra to be found, its serviceable video transfer and strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track more than make up for it. Columbus Circle, though? I don't think anything could make up for it.
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