6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
3 high school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.
Starring: Thomas Mann (V), Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame, Kirby Bliss BlantonComedy | 100% |
Teen | 51% |
Dark humor | 40% |
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
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Morally vapid. I never thought the day would come that I would mount my soapbox, clear my throat, and shout those two words into a review, but it seems that day has come. Morally vapid, a label I wouldn't even slap on a Jackass flick. I'm tempted to go as far as to call producer Todd Phillips and director Nima Nourizadeh's Project X a wasteland; an ugly, empty, barren desert prowled by vicious, self-destructive teenagers consuming anything and everything that'll bring them to the brink of death, pat them on the head, and set them free to drink, smoke and throw away another day. Teens unfamiliar with things like respect, responsibility, integrity and social sobriety will no doubt have a blast with Phillips and Nourizadeh's frontal assault on good taste. Adults who find humor in underage drinking and senior high anarchy may even get a sick kick out of the mean-spirited madness. Other filmfans? If you found some redeeming or comedic value in Project X, by all means, please share it with the rest of the class. I'd very much be interested in reading a spirited defense. Everyone else? Feel free to join me on my soapbox. There's plenty of room.
Project X has been cobbled together using a wide array of video sources, from handheld iPhones to Sony Digital-HD F23 cameras. The resulting found-footage presentation (or, perhaps in this case, court-obtained footage) looks great one minute, gets assaulted by strobe lights the next, and gets plunged in noisy, ADD-addled darkness the next. Warner's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer handles it all in stride, even if compression artifacts and other anomalies barge in. Each one is presumably a product of the film's lower quality sources and, for all intents and purposes, the technical presentation is sound. Colors are held hostage by Ken Seng's natural lighting but relatively lifelike all the same, black levels are nice and deep (when noise isn't spiking), and detail is dead on, insofar as it can be. Some shots excel, others wallow in excess with Costa and J.B. Crush and poor delineation are an issue as well but, once again, a source-based issue that shouldn't be held against the encode itself. It may not look it, but Project X boasts a solid transfer that's faithful to its filmmakers' intentions.
Don't wake the neighbors. Project X is loud, brash and... well, loud. The shouts of partygoers, the surge of the crowd, the chaos of drunken debauchery, the noise bleeding through the walls, and the thumping, at-times unintelligible party music make for an overwhelming soundscape and, as far as audiophiles should be concerned, a fitting representation of the theatrical experience. Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track won't score any points for nuance or finesse, but it does capture the all-angles onslaught of Thomas' increasingly volatile birthday bash. Dialogue can hardly be classified as clean and clear; it just sounds exactly as it's meant to. Directional effects can hardly be tracked, much less evaluated; the soundfield is simply enveloping. LFE output can't be measured so much as endured; low-end thooms and booms pack plenty of power. And rear speaker activity isn't remarkable, it's just aggressive, taking anything and everything in the soundscape to task. There's a distinct and commendable method to all the madness, though, and Warner's lossless track and Project X's fans are the beneficiaries.
Only three brief featurettes are included -- "Pasadena Three," a character overview; "Declassified," a behind-the-scenes rundown; and "Xpensive: Tallying Up the Damages," an overview of the damage left in the wake of the party -- for a grand total of fourteen minutes of high definition extras. The only other notable bonus is an extended cut, which only offers more of the same.
Don't worry, I'll spare you the repeat rant. If you decide to brave the Project X waters, you'll be treated to a faithful AV presentation (flaws and all) and a nearly barebones supplemental package built around three mercifully short featurettes. Obviously, I had a strong reaction to Phillips and Nourizadeh's no-holds-barred teen comedy, and that's really the best thing I can say about it. I'm sure someone, somewhere will laugh their head off. I just haven't met them yet.
2007
2004
2013
2011
Unrated Special Edition
2009
Extended Survival Edition
2008
Fully Exposed Edition
2009
2006
American Pie 3 | Unrated + Theatrical
2003
2015
2010
Choice Collection
2001
1984
2012
2012
1998
2001
Unrated + Theatrical
2012
Unrated + Rated
2009
R-Rated Movie-Only Edition
2011