6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Walter (Ashton Kutcher) is a rising star in the NCAA wrestling world until his life is ripped apart by the brutal murder of his sister. Returning home to console his mother Gloria (Kathy Bates) he seeks vengeance on the man who is accused of the crime. A chance meeting with a beautiful mature woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) gives him solace to the situation.
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Kathy Bates, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Mann, David James LewisDrama | 100% |
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: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Personal Effects could have been a better movie than presented here. The story is there,
but the direction, the acting, and the pace are not. The story could have been told in less
than ninety minutes, but the pacing of the story dragged to the point that you lose interest
halfway through the flick. While it is great to see Ashton Kutcher not playing an immature air
headed juvenile male, as Andrew, he is uninspiring, sometimes boring, and almost never
that interesting. He overplays the part to the hilt. There are far too many shots of him
brooding and trying to look serious, that you just want to put him out of his misery. Michele
Pfeiffer fares no better, as she often looks uncomfortable and awkward, and her sexual
desperation makes her look cheap instead of lonely.
The failure of this movie to pop off the screen is not isolated to the actor's performances.
The in-ability of director David Hollander to coax some real emotion out of the actors is
hurtful to the production, and to the story itself. In watching this film, we are “forced” to feel
sorry for the characters, when good direction would not have made that necessary. The plot
plods along like a pregnant yak, and ultimately you just want it to be over before the ending
is in sight. This makes you depressed, as the story is already a dreary one and didn't need
any additional help. I didn't believe in the characters, and I didn't believe them either. The
only bright spot in this entire movie was young actor Spencer Hudson. His performance was
very believable, and I felt his frustration and anger. I felt sorry for him when he was bullied,
and I was happy for him in his triumph. His performance was not enough to save an ill
acted, and ill directed movie.
Personal Effects wanders onto the Blu-ray format in an unremarkable 1080p/AVC encode framed at a 1:78:1 aspect ratio. I have to give credit where credit is due, the picture quality of this release is as drab and lifeless as the story telling and acting. Every aspect of the image is toned down to reflect the mood of this story. Images are always clean and clear, and artifact free. I could not find any compression issues either. Blacks are inky deep and stable, and contrast appears spot on. Colors are drab and toned down, with the only vibrant color happening when the chicken suit (yes chicken suit) appears, and during the scenes at the weddings. Otherwise a blue tint, cloudy skies, or the use of dark colors in the clothing maintain an appearance of dark and moody tone.
As dark and uninspiring as the picture quality is, the audio is even less so. Featuring a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio encode, the mix is very sparse and dialog driven. Dialog is well rendered, and sounds very natural as the texture and tonality of each actor's voice is well distinguished. The only other elements to this mix include the sound of a thunderstorm, and the music in the wedding scenes. The surrounds are largely silent through ninety-nine percent of this movie. The LFE is virtually non-existent on this movie, as there are not many opportunities for its use in this film. This sound track is as bare-bones as it gets, so don't look for audio reference moments here.
There is only one extra on this disc, and it is in the form of a Making of Personal Effects documentary that runs 19 minutes, of which 11 minutes are long boring takes from the movie itself. The rest is the obligatory "how great it was to work with everyone" back slapping that usually accompanies these kinds of flicks.
If you are looking for an upbeat fun to watch film, you should pass on this. This movie is truly depressing, has poor pacing, average to poor acting, and a very boring and drab visual palette you have to stare at for 110 minutes. This movie seems to fare better with women, so it might be a good rental if you are looking for something to share an evening with your wife or significant other. If I wanted to watch something this depressing, I would pass on this flick, and check out the evening news reporting about this country job and financial picture.
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