6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
An upstart television producer accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning show program with warring co-hosts.
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Noah Bean, Diane Keaton, Vanessa AspillagaRomance | 100% |
Comedy | 53% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
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)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
You've got this repellant moxie.
Morning Glory is a spunky little crowd pleaser, a fluffy (sorry, Mike!) little slice of easygoing Comedy that's both well-written and energetically
acted. There's not much to the movie, really; it's predictable but not to a fault, the film's pleasure coming from its character interactions and dynamics
rather than any sense of mystery or even realism. There's something to be said about lighthearted, innocent fair; Morning Glory capitalizes on
being a movie only with good intentions and the energy to match, not at all concerned that there's absolutely nothing of substance in any frame.
Director Roger Michell (Changing Lanes) keeps his film focused like a laser on building its
characters; sure they're stereotypes -- the peppy young new hire, her mysterious good-looking boyfriend, the safe-and-secure "just go with it" anchor,
and the grizzled no-fun old codger who rejects change outright and who probably hasn't cracked a smile since the Eisenhower administration -- but still
the movie works, demonstrates a firm command of its material, and has a lot of fun doing its thing. It's not all that special and not too terribly original,
but darn it all if
Morning Glory isn't like that catchy little song that gets stuck in the head, even if there's really no artistic value behind that
toe-tapping beat.
'Carpe Diem' takes on a literal meaning.
Paramount's Blu-ray release of Morning Glory features a reference-quality 1080p transfer. This is a handsome film-like image that retains a subtle but critical grain field, lending to the transfer a fine cinematic texture. Details are strong; everything from the texture of a denim jacket to various greenery in an outdoor sequence in chapter six appears intricately rendered. The image is also sharp and crisp; a few softer-looking shots appear to be inherent to the source and not a fault of the Blu-ray transfer. Colors are vibrant but steady and certainly not overcooked; general shades are handsome, and the big splash of yellow that's situated behind the Daybreak anchor desk is marvelously reproduced in every shot in which it appears. Blacks are inky and accurate while flesh tones hold natural colors throughout. The image is positively free of banding, blocky backgrounds, destructive noise reduction, edge halos, or other visual nasties. This is a pristine image from the top down, as good as any film-sourced transfer on the Blu-ray market.
Morning Glory's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is spunkier than the material might suggest. Music plays with incredible clarity and space across the front; the low end enjoys a fair bit of heft, and things get downright heavy when a famous rapper makes a cameo appearance late in the film. The more airy Daybreak theme music, too, plays with remarkable crispness and energy. The track doesn't offer much in the way of a pronounced rear-channel presence, but both city and country atmospherics are handled with realistic efficiency. A pair of shotgun blasts ring out with superb energy and a lasting echoing effect that spreads out across the entire soundstage. Of course, this is primarily a dialogue-driven film, and Paramount's lossless track handles the spoken word with unmatched effortlessness. This track is certainly not as loud or as packed with sonic goodness as the typical Action film, but it's wonderfully accurate and satisfying for what it is.
Morning Glory overslept and crankily offers only two extras, a deleted scene (Shampoo Bottles: 1080p, 0:46) and an audio commentary track with Director Roger Michell and Writer Aline Brosh McKenna .
Morning Glory may very well be the epitome of the modern happy-go-lucky Comedy. No raunchy sex, no R-rated jokes, nothing at all in bad taste; it's a rare sort of movie these days, one where characters -- flawed in some way but nevertheless likable -- make the movie, where they're painted as extremes but nevertheless find their way into audiences's hearts. There's no mystery, no wondering if everything will turn out alright in the end. Morning Glory is a true crowd pleaser, a movie that's comfortable in its own skin and that never gives in to plot devices that don't fit its quaint little structure. Morning Glory is one of the pleasant surprises of 2010, a movie that didn't break the bank at the box office but that will hopefully find some legs on home video. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Morning Glory delivers a perfect 1080p transfer and a surprisingly peppy lossless soundtrack, but the disc stumbles a bit with the inclusion of a mere two extras. Still, the movie and this disc come happily recommended.
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