6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A rebellious stoner named Moondog lives life by his own rules.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Stefania LaVie Owen, Martin LawrenceDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
I’ve got to go low to get high.
The Beach Bum is as aimless as its lead character, content to meander, linger, and enjoy the moment rather than accomplish anything of
worth. But also like the title character, there's an underlying insight to the movie, an occasional dabble into something more profound that usually
gives way to the preferential simplicities of rest and relaxation. Maybe the two go hand-in-hand, though, and maybe that's the point. Director
Harmony Korine's (Writer, Kids, Director, Spring Breakers) film follows a life of leisure, a leisure that, even
through smoky highs and alcohol-fueled skewered perspective and priorities, finds the poetry in life and the purpose of living away from the
grindstone world that shackles so many others. It's an interesting dichotomy that the film ultimately does little with, leaving its themes more open to
interpretation (and discovery, in many cases) behind a life-fueled and organically realistic performance from Matthew McConaughey as the wayward
-- but perhaps focused after all -- lead.
The Beach Bum was shot on film and the material translates very well to Blu-ray. The image comes alive with intense oceanside colors. Blue water is one of the obvious highlights, sparkling with impressive depth and contrast. The image understandably runs a little warm throughout, influencing clothes and skin tones, reflecting the hot and carefree world Moondog makes his own. Colorful shirts, natural greens, and bright blue skies are amongst some of the additional color highlights. Textures are well defined. The image showcases crisp, commanding skin details in close-up. Clothing is generally light, reflecting the casual wear that is the norm along the Keys and through Miami, but some more dense clothes like a wedding dress and tuxes stand apart for deeper lines and more robust fabric. Location details are stout and the image maintains an agreeable sharpness throughout. Grain is even and complimentary. There are no significant source or encode flaws of note. This is a very capable and agreeable presentation from Universal.
The Beach Bum features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is straightforward, with music pushing nicely to the front edges, offering sound clarity and instrumental and lyric detail. Microphone reverb filters nicely through the stage at the 5:30 mark, again at the 21-minute mark when Moondog and Lingerie talk about rare Jamaican weed, and once more in chapter seven when Lingerie sings a song about Moondog. The track offers little in the way of intense sound effects that push the system. It's content to move with the beat of its own existence, finding a good balance to light environmental atmosphere, music, and dialogue, the latter of which finds a natural, detailed, and well prioritized home in the front-center channel.
This Blu-ray release of The Beach Bum contains only an assortment of Trailers & TV Spots, the latter of which are not exactly for the film but
rather Moondog's advice hotline. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.
The Beach Bum is a movie that's going to speak to different audiences in different ways. It's easy to appreciate Matthew McConaughey's involved, detailed, and dedicated performance, but anything else is opaque at best and nearly nonexistent at worst. Writer/Director Harmony Korine seems content to allow the movie to meander without much structural integrity or drive. That seems to be the point, serving as a reflection of its character, but whether audiences will find value in a movie that lacks obvious direction is difficult to say. Universal's Blu-ray is absent any substantial bonus content but video and audio qualities are fine. Worth a look.
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