6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Screen favorite John Cusack stars in the hilarious comedy for everyone who's ever dreamt of instant millions! After finding a bagful of unmarked $100 bills, there were a million reasons for unemployed dockworker Joey Coyle to give the money back, but he couldn't think of one! And when he decides to keep it, oh what a price he pays! The lucky discovery launches a buying spree and a series of uproarious events leading to Joey's outrageous attempt at sneaking out of the country past the media, the mob and the cops! If you're looking for a comedy packed with priceless laughs, pick up Money for Nothing!
Starring: John Cusack, Debi Mazar, Michael Madsen, Benicio del Toro, Michael RapaportComedy | 100% |
Crime | 62% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
It's the answer to our prayers.
One-point-two-million-dollars. That's a nice chunk of change. Maybe not enough for any but the most frugal of unemployed twenty-somethings to
retire on, but enough to live comfortably for most, enough to pay cash for a very nice house and a very good car and still have tons left over for
retirement, education, everyday expenses, monthly bills, and some fun money. Oh, and taxes. Can't forget about Uncle Sam's cut of the bread. But
it's a little harder to spend when it practically falls from the sky, when there's a moral quagmire attached to it, when the law is in pursuit, when
flashing money around a blue-collar town is something that's done after hitting the lottery, not mysteriously coming up with two sacks full of Ben
Franklins. Money for Nothing (no, it's not based on the Dire Straits song and the lead character doesn't install microwave ovens, but he does
kinda-sorta get the chick for free) tells the story of a young man who stumbles upon a heap of cash but learns that being rich -- illegally, anyway --
isn't all it's cut out to be. "There's no such thing as a free lunch," he's told, and the cost of that money could be his freedom, or it could be his very
own soul.
Do you have any idea how many Blu-rays we could buy with this?
Money for Nothing stumbles out of the gate and never really finds its stride. This is a rough, worn-down, soft, sometimes even ugly transfer that has its moments where it passes as a fair Blu-ray image, but the majority of Mill Creek's cropped-down from 2.39:1 1080i transfer is no great shakes. The image proves consistently rough and riddled with spots and scratches. It's rather flat, with lifeless details and colors. Faces are pasty and many details appear far too smooth. Moderate banding and blocking are present throughout. Some edge haloing is visible, and flesh tones appear wildly uneven. Black levels are generally solid, however, never going too dark or too bright. Fans will likely be disappointed with the transfer, even if it is a little clearer and better defined than a standard definition presentation.
Money for Nothing features a bland and flat but fundamentally effective DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The opening music enjoys adequate spacing and clarity, though certainly the presentation is nothing to really celebrate. The track settles into a consistent mid-level feel, never really doing all that much except convey the most basic elements with enough clarity to make everything tick. Ambient sound effects are, of course, limited to the front and prove not at all immersive. Dialogue is steady and clear, rarely garbled, but not exactly pristine. This is a terribly basic track that's no better than a mediocre DVD presentation, even considering the lossless encode. It's good enough to get the job done, but that's not exactly high praise.
This Blu-ray release of Money for Nothing, unfortunately, contains no special features.
Money for Nothing is a solid little movie that's as much fun as it is thought-provoking serious. Audiences are challenged with every development to put themselves in the characters' place, to choose how they would handle various scenarios and why. The movie is well made and features a fantastic cast, perhaps one of the best retrospective ensembles of the 1990s, even if several of them weren't exactly household names when the movie first appeared on the scene. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Money for Nothing, unfortunately, fails to reach expectations. A rather poor video transfer, a mediocre lossy soundtrack, and no supplements make this a disc hard to recommend, but considering the dirt-cheap price and the relative quality of the movie, it wouldn't make a bad addition to the collection.
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