6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
When a man discovers that he has only six weeks to live, he leaves his job, his fiancee and his overbearing mother and tries to spend his remaining days in seclusion. But when a miracle transforms his life, his quirky neighbors disrupt his plan to live out his days in quiet.
Starring: Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza, George Lopez, Cheryl HinesComedy | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's like a sign from God!
Henry Poole is Here is a film about faith, hope, and promise. The driving force behind the
film is religion and religious belief, but the film doesn't offer an overtly religious message.
Instead, Henry Poole is Here uses religion, or better said one man's lack of faith in both a
higher being and in those that do hold religious values, as a tool to showcase the power of faith
and strength through positive thought and a strong values and belief system. Still, the film
manages to be accessible -- and meaningful -- for most any audience, religious or not. The film
tells a powerful story that is easy to become lost in, one that is uplifting, captivating, and
purposeful, a side of filmmaking that doesn't necessarily earn a deluge of critical accolades, public
affection, hype, or revenue as do more meaningless but nevertheless entertaining movies.
Henry Poole is Here
may not be cinema at its finest, but
it is nevertheless important cinema, because it means something, because it exists for a purpose,
and much like the story it tells, will touch and inspire those willing to allow it to do so.
Henry tries to figure out why everyone reading this review has a red spot on their monitors.
Henry Poole is Here appears on Blu-ray with a very high quality 1080p transfer, presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Colors are remarkably vivid but not overstated, each a natural, pleasing hue, from the blue paint on Poole's house to the earth-colored bricks, dirt, and fences that surround it. This is a nice, stable, quality image with fine detail across the board, and sharp, clear, and clean images in just about every frame. The image remains detailed from front to back, the depth very nice, and the overall presentation never lacking. The movie exudes a fine film-like quality, with a subtle layer of grain present. The movie is very bright, one of the brighter ones available, but there are a few very dark moments, particularly about mid-film as part of the backstory is revealed. There are some amazingly dark spots where blacks are solid and true, no surprise considering the technical success of the rest of the transfer. Flesh tones are natural and pleasing, never wavering towards an unnatural red push. Overall, Henry Poole is Here offers yet another impressive video transfer from Starz.
While not a life-changer, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack found on this Blu-ray release of Henry Poole is Here is easily acceptable. Like the video, the audio is often a joy, certainly not reference material, but excellent for the style of movie. The music over the opening credits montage is crisp and pleasing, with fine fidelity. The soundtrack depends on the front channels for much of its ambience: chirping birds, blowing wind, the subtle tones of wind chimes, and a barking dog, for example, all come primarily through the front speakers. The track does feature some more aggressive moments, like the presentation of Blur's Song 2 which provides a welcome amount of bass and nice rear-channel support. In fact, several musical performances throughout the film sound fantastic, with great penetration into the listening area, accompanied by a hearty amount of bass and fabulous sense of space and breadth. Dialogue, too, is reproduced pitch-perfectly. While no audio religious experience, Henry Poole is Here sounds perfectly fine on Blu-ray.
Viewers are treated to a good selection of supplements with this Blu-ray release of Henry Poole is Here. Two audio commentaries serve as the anchors of the bonus features, the first featuring Director Mark Pellington and Writer Albert Torres. The track is a good one, offering up plenty of information, including the origins of the story, shooting locations, the themes and tone of the picture, how the picture was an outlet for both Torres and Pellington's experiences with personal dark chapters, the pair's memories of working together, and plenty more. This track is not so much entertaining, but rather smart and insightful, an easily recommended listen for fans of the film. The second track once again features Pellington, this time accompanied by Director of Photography Eric Schmidt. This track is far more technical than the previous one, focusing more on the process of shooting the film rather than discussing the story itself. Not as endearing but equally intriguing as the first, this track makes for a good listen for more technically-inclined audiences. The Making of 'Henry Poole is Here' (480p, 15:49) is an above-average making-of piece that delves into both the themes of the story and a few of the technical aspects of the making of the film, including a look at the ensemble cast. This piece includes plenty of cast and crew interview snippets and clips from the film. Also included on this disc are twelve deleted scenes (480p, 31:12) with optional commentary with Pellington and Torres, a music video entitled All Roads Lead Home (1080p, 3:34), and the film's theatrical trailer (480p, 2:21). Finally, this disc is BD-Live (Blu-ray profile 2.0) enabled. At time of writing, the BD-Live page featured exclusive deleted scenes, again with commentary by Pellington and Torres, and trailers for additional Starz Blu-ray releases.
Henry Poole is Here is an odd sort of movie, the tale of a man living his last days not in search of answers, but for peace, quiet and solace at the bottom of a vodka bottle and the inside of a pizza box. Oddly, the movie is about the answers searching out the man, and it just might take the face of God Himself, or at least supportive and loving neighbors, to make him realize that life is worth living fully and joyfully through to the very end. Henry Poole is Here is one of the better movies of 2008, one that most anyone, spiritually inclined or not, will appreciate for its take on the importance of love, hope, understanding, and never giving up. Starz delivers this fine film to Blu-ray with a spectacular high definition video transfer, a good lossless soundtrack, and a nice helping of supplements, all of which only add to an already wonderful movie. Henry Poole is Here earns a very high and enthusiastic recommendation.
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