6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives.
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ansel Elgort, Jennifer Garner, Judy GreerTeen | 100% |
Coming of age | 93% |
Melodrama | 18% |
Drama | 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
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Social Network depicted the origins of Facebook and, really, the social media boom. Men, Women & Children looks at the consequences of high technology, instant connectivity, anonymity, and the digital lifestyle that today sees people glued to screens, closer to one another and a world of information yet also detached from reality, at least until one's real life finds its way online or one's digital existence seeps into the real world, a meshing that's virtually inevitable given any sort of online interconnectivity or step out into the sunlight. It's that meshing of the two that's the film's overt focus. Its more subtle, but still very much involved, subtext ponders the greater question of man's significance in the cosmos and whether, really, who slept with who, what level one's avatar may be in an online game, or a few lewd pictures are really all that significant beyond one's own little social bubble, which more often than not is a bubble of one. To quote The Terminator, "in 100 years, who's gonna care?" Maybe better put, "in one hundred billion galaxies, does it really matter?"
Step away from the computer and breathe.
Men, Women & Children features a flattering 1080p transfer. The image is crisply defined, not only live footage but also all of the many Internet-style graphical overlays that appear throughout the film. Text, there, is legible and sharp, edge lines appear straight, and definition proves accurate. Likewise, the 1080p presentation reveals nicely defined textures throughout the film, from basics like skin and clothes to odds and ends and backdrops around houses, out on a football field, or inside a school cafeteria. Colors are rich and consistently so, appearing natural and pleasing across the entire palette. Black levels are sufficiently deep and pure while flesh tones present no major pushes from normal. Though the image isn't flashy, it's technically sound and attractive in its own right.
Men, Women & Children's sound requirements aren't great. The DTS-HD Master Audio track, then, handles these basic needs with commendable ease and accuracy. At the film's outset, the audience is enveloped by a virtual smorgasbord of sound, mostly in the form of chattery individuals speaking in a number of languages. The effect flows around the stage and represents the most involved element in the film. Light background din is pleasantly involved but not realistically transparent in environments like a school hallway and a mall. Dialogue delivery is crisp and firm with effortless center delivery. The spoken word accounts for most of the track's needs. Overall, this is a very basic presentation that's delivered with commendable efficiency and accuracy on Blu-ray.
Men, Women & Children contains several extras. A UV/iTunes digital copy code is included in the Blu-ray case.
If one thing remains true about mankind -- beyond death and taxes, of course -- it's that things always change. A shout in the dark has become a painting inside a cave has become a message in a bottle has become a letter in the mail has become a call on a phone has become a text on a device. It's all a means of communications, but also a way of looking for answers, seeking a purpose, trying to discover what matters and why. Men, Women & Children simply takes today's answers to the human condition and looks at the benefits and follies (mostly the follies), the personal ups and downs that might devastate a person or a group but that really don't matter across town, across the country, around the world, and certainly far beyond the confines of Earth's atmosphere, unless, of course, Miley has twerked again or the Royals are having another baby. The film is interestingly established but fairly predictable in delivery, focusing on a collage of one-dimensional characters who do little more than maneuver through some social/digital experience. The film is a bit too blunt and lacking in meaningful ramifications. It's probably destined to be little more than a humorous time capsule-like glimpse back at a time when man was really nuts for a technological fad or as a representation of the moment in time when it all started to come tumbling down into a horrifying world in the style of Idiocracy. But then nobody's going to care, anyway, and probably won't be able to watch the movie because there won't be anyone smart enough to keep the electricity on. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Men, Women & Children features upper-tier video and audio. A few supplements round out a fairly basic package. Recommended if only because the movie gives its audience something to think about while texting friends after a screening.
Director's Cut
1999
1986
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2018
Unrated + Theatrical
1999
30th Anniversary Edition
1985
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1999-2000
Remastered
1985
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1986
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1987
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2009
2007