5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.9 |
Struggling actor Jimmy Alto can't get arrested. But the criminals that terrorize his neighborhood are making a killing. So Jimmy makes a bold career move. With the help of his loyal but spaced-out best friend, Jimmy transforms himself into "Jericho," leader of a mock-vigilante group that videotapes criminals then turns them over to the police. It's the role of a lifetime, but when Jimmy gets caught in a crossfire between the cops and the crooks, it looks like it could be his last.
Starring: Joe Pesci, Christian Slater, Victoria Abril, Jason Beghe, John CothranCrime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
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, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Writer/director Barry Levinson has amassed an unusual filmography during his Hollywood career. Beginning with his directorial outing on the film Diner (earning him an Oscar nomination for the screenplay he wrote), Levinson went on to direct The Natural, Good Morning, Vietnam, Rainman, and Bugsy, earning him a Best Director Oscar (Rainman) and a follow-up nomination (Bugsy). Riding high on a wave of success that carried him for nearly ten years, the director’s next two outings proved far less successful, culminating in his career low with Jimmy Hollywood (earning a miserable three million take during its domestic theatrical run). As the saying goes, everyone has an off-day every now and then, making it easier to forgive the director for missteps such as Toys or Jimmy Hollywood. However, despite Levinson’s early success, I’m sure he was a little worried that one more mistake might drastically shorten his career. Thankfully, he turned things around with the subsequent release of Sleepers, Sphere, and Wag the Dog, but I don’t believe he ever returned to the state of film mastery found in his heyday.
Presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate (Paramount sold the rights to the film), up-and-coming film buffs are finally given the opportunity to decide for themselves if Jimmy Hollywood deserves the harsh assessment it’s received over the years, and ponder the message Levinson attempted to convey in the story.
Val Kilmer could pull of the long blonde hair...Joe Pesci not so much...
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 24Mbps), Jimmy Hollywood lumbers onto Blu-ray with the precision of a drunk elephant. I have no idea if the theatrical presentation appeared this weak back in 1994, but viewing the film 16 years after its initial release, it becomes painfully clear that Jimmy Hollywood needs a restoration. Had the film earned a cult following in the years since its release, I'd imagine Lionsgate may have donated the money and effort to apply some level of clean-up, but considering it should almost be viewed as charity they released this in the first place, we really can't expect much. Fine object detail never registers anywhere close to the level we're accustomed to on a 1080p transfer, though daytime outdoor sequences at least come close. At its worst, texture-obscuring haze completely wipes away all depth within the image, delivering results that barely surpass the quality of an upconverted DVD transfer. The color spectrum doesn't register much better, continuing with the theme of wild inconsistency. Reds appear blown out, hues change from scene to scene, and even at its finest, the color palette seems overly drab. Black levels appear a bit stronger than most other elements in the transfer, but there are still several nighttime shots that suffer from black crush, unable to separate darker shades in the foreground and background. Finally, one of the most distracting elements in the visual presentation is the presence of print damage and heavy film grain, which often became noticeable enough to be distracting.
Taken as a whole, this is one of the weaker presentations I've witnessed on the Blu-ray format, leaving little reason to upgrade from the prior DVD release.
Registering marginally better than the visual presentation, the lossless audio mix acquires its own set of highs and lows worth mentioning. Beginning with the positives, you'll notice adequate clarity within each element in the mix, establishing a solid foundation on the dialog-heavy track. This heightened clarity extends into several robust sequences as well, allowing the piercing crunch of metal-on-metal to emerge from a car chase, and pushing the crack of bullets into prominence during the shootout dream sequence. Unfortunately, at the heart of the mix are several weaknesses that drag the overall audio experience south, offsetting the previously mentioned strengths in the process. The first problem (and most significant), is the front-heavy nature of the mix, which rarely offers anything more than appetizers from the rear channels. Even during sequences when the music or sound effects move from the background to the foreground (becoming the dominant element in the mix), they still reside almost entirely within the forward sound stage, and leave a dismal sense of immersion in their wake. Adding to the primary problems, we have dialog volume levels that appear a bit weak in comparison with the soundtrack and environmental effects, requiring ear-strain to make out certain lines. It's never bad enough to force a volume adjustment on your receiver, but considering the portion of the film dedicated solely to dialog, I couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed.
The only supplement included on the disc is a generic Blu-ray segment from Lionsgate, marketing their other titles on the format.
Jimmy Hollywood has plenty of under-the-surface ambition, but the end result is a sloppy, meandering affair. Most fans of Levinson's work will view this as one of his weakest directorial outings, since his typical sure-handed nature seems entirely absent from most elements of the film. Perhaps he switched on autopilot or simply lost interest partway through, but I'd wager this is a project he'd prefer to forget about (and I'll do the same). From a technical standpoint I found this newly minted Blu-ray edition subpar on many levels, making it easy to relegate this to the "not recommended" category. There are simply too many other Blu-rays that deserve a spot in your collection to recommend an offering with little replay value (though I'll readily admit the price is right).
(Still not reliable for this title)
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