5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mays Gilliam is a Washington, D.C. neighborhood Alderman who is about to be redlined out of his job. But after the untimely death of the party forerunner, Gilliam is plucked from obscurity and thrust into the limelight as his party's nominee -- for President of the United States.
Starring: Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dylan Baker, Nick Searcy, Lynn WhitfieldComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Chris Rock is a jack of all trades in Head of State, taking up duties as not only star but also director, co-writer, and co-producer. For a man wearing so many hats he makes the most of the movie, crafting a fun and easily digestible little politically bent rags-to-riches tale about a lowly local politician who suddenly finds himself running for the highest office in the land. The film approaches politics from the lighter side, exploring how a candidate might garner grass roots support for his genuine demeanor and unique approach rather than sell himself as another cookie cutter politician afraid to voice the truth of who he is and what he believes.
Paramount is hitting home runs with most every release, and even something as inconsequential as Head of State has, here, received a high quality image. The picture holds tight to its natural grain structure. It's consistent in density and pleasing in its filmic attributes. Details are consistently strong. The picture is steadily sharp throughout, revealing exquisite fine point facial textures, clothing material elements, and location details across a wide spectrum of D.C. exteriors, campaign headquarters, and bus interior odds and ends. There's not a soft shot in the movie or a poorly defined front-and-center element (with the exception of some establishing shots, particularly late in the movie around the 67-minute mark). Colors are a strength as well, particularly when looking at Mitch's flamboyant green and yellow suit he wears when he's chosen to be his brother's running mate late in the film. Of course, the well-rounded color spectrum holds throughout and includes items such as Mays' red jump suit he wears prior to the debate, natural greenery, and any variety of expressive tones seen throughout the film. Flesh tones appear spot-on accurate, black levels are pleasantly deep and true, and whites are adequately crisp. There are no major encode flubs to note and the print appears free of any obvious blemish. This is a very nice release from Paramount.
Head of State campaigns on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The beats to open the film are impressively deep and detailed, a characteristic that holds for the duration, whether similar style music or score. It's also wide and familiar with the surround channels, making use of the back end for immersive and complementary flow. The track works its other audio products quite nicely, including crowd applause at the debate and crowd din at some campaign events. The track is also full of well-defined environmental elements, like fully immersive falling rain and deep, potent thunder in the 14-minute mark. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and center focused for the duration.
This Blu-ray release of Head of State includes a trio of standard issue extras: deleted scenes, a featurette, and a commentary track. No DVD or
digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
Head of State is a good little film that efforts to turn the political landscape upside down and inject a bit of fun and humor, some life, and even a bit of down-to-earth realism. The film should garner enough support to make it a viable candidate for movie night, especially when the desire for laughs with a political bend are on the table. Paramount's Blu-ray is solid all around. It offers quality video and audio presentations to go along with a basic trio of supplements. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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