6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Brandon is a 15 year old whose dream is a pair of fresh Air Jordans. Soon after he gets his hands on them, they're stolen by a local hood, causing Brandon and his two friends go on a dangerous mission through Oakland to retrieve them.
Starring: Jahking Guillory, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Christopher Meyer, Kofi Siriboe, Mahershala AliDrama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While mainstream Hollywood's moved in a largely formulaic direction that does still produce some good and truly great movies, the sense of unoriginality and absentee realism has become more and more apparent with the release of every new repetitive doldrum of a movie like Jason Bourne. Nowadays, some movie fans might look to more under-the-radar or independent movies for something better than the all flash, no substance movies that seem so prolific anymore. Director Justin Tipping's Kicks is a breath of fresh air in the suffocating mist (and midst) of today's blockbusters, a film that's intimately real, built on a simple idea, and explores big dreams, wants, needs, interpersonal relationships, and the gritty day-to-day truths of life in poverty and around the challenges of the big, scary world that makes everything all that much more difficult.
Kicks was digitally photographed and presents on Blu-ray with a fairly smooth, but not flat or glossy, 1080p transfer. The image boasts terrific texturing on clothes, where some of the thicker attire shows plenty of finer point material detailing. Many of the urban areas around the movie reveal plenty of textural character that's practically tactile. Clarity is constant and never does the image appear prone to smudginess around the edges. Color saturation is true, with the red sneakers, a colorful Nerf gun, and other elements around the frame all holding up with just the right level of realistic vibrance. Black levels are appropriately deep and flesh tones appear true. Minor aliasing is evident on a few overhead shots but never interferes where it counts. No other problematic source or encode issues are evident, save for a slight sprinkling of occasional noise.
Kicks features a good all-around DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music is well spaced, full-bodied, and clearly detailed. Whether Hip-Hop style tunes or Techno/Electronic sort of score, both front-end width and clarity are excellent. Surrounds aren't engaged to any sort of serious, full-on extent. A few gunshots present with suitable weight and aggression. Light background ambient effects are in play just enough to better define the movie's environments. Dialogue dominates most of the movie, and it plays with commendably balanced front-center placement and always-on prioritization.
Kicks contains two brief supplements and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy is included with purchase.
Kicks is a quality little movie, one that's much more compelling and watchable than much of the deluge of unimaginative drivel leaking out of Hollywood these days. It's better because it's real, and even if the audience cannot relate to it, the feel of authenticity, simplicity of story, complexity of emotion and imagery, great performances, and knowing filmmaking make this a movie that's so much better, and in so many ways, than other films that earn much more attention, praise, and money. Universal's Blu-ray is disappointingly short on extra content but it does boast good video and audio. Highly recommended.
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