7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
A group of investors bet against the U.S. mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market really is.
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Melissa LeoDrama | 100% |
Biography | 91% |
Dark humor | 55% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS:X
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English: DTS Headphone:X
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 | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
"May you live in interesting times," the old curse says. The last decade or so has been very interesting, and it would seem that the populace is finally waking up, or is at least finding the courage to stand up, to all the real, perceived, or some combination thereof, injustices that have swept the nation and the world in recent years. They're more aware than ever before that neither the political system nor the financial system -- which, most would say, are indelibly tied together at the hip -- care about them, and they're sick of the empty rhetoric that's meant to assuage their fears and keep them blissfully ignorant on the bottom rung in a system that's stacked against them. 2016 has given rise to the "insurgent" Presidential candidates, with a Washington outsider billionaire who has never held office and promises to "Make America Great Again" leading the polls on one side of the isle and the self-avowed "Democratic Socialist" whose campaign is built around decrying the billionaires, class inequality, and the system gaining a lot of attention with the disillusioned on the other. People on both sides are practically foaming at the mouth, wanting some type of revenge against the system, be that the political system or the big money system, and much of that can be traced back to the housing bubble burst of 2008, though clearly the roots dig much more deeply into a darker, even more sordid past that's not really the focus of this film. Director Adam McKay's (Anchorman) The Big Short takes a look at the years leading up to the financial crash and the handful of people who saw it coming. "It reduces people to numbers," Brad Pitt's character says at one point in the film, pretty much summarizing the entire point of a movie that damns the system while making it entertainingly simple to understand and to watch unfold, even if it hurts to do so.
And so it begins.
The Big Short's 1080p transfer excels at every turn. The movie enjoys an attractive cinematic appeal thanks to an even grain structure that preserves a filmic veneer. Details are impressive. Faces are nicely revealing of finer details such as pores and hair, while fine clothing appointments, particularly the many higher end suits in the movie, reveal good definition down to the finer fabric points. Image clarity is high throughout, and the transfer picks up plenty of scrumptious detailing around offices, out on the street, and elsewhere. Colors find a positive neutrality and offer just enough vibrance to accentuate brighter colors, particularly a myriad of them seen during a poolside conversation around the 1:16:00 mark. White balance is excellent, black levels hold true, and flesh tones never betray the characters' natural complexions. A hint of aliasing appears at one or two points, but other unwanted eyesores are nowhere to be found. Overall, this is an excellent presentation from Paramount.
Paramount's Blu-ray release of The Big Short arrives with a DTS:X soundtrack that adds additional "height" speakers to the 7.1 mix (this track will also play in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 for those without the ability to decode the X track and/or the speakers to enjoy it). This review is based on a 7.1.4 setup, which is the "traditional" seven-channel plus subwoofer configuration with the addition of four "object" or "overhead" speakers to the mix. While a movie with a subject matters such as that found in The Big Short wouldn't initially seem to lend itself to a track of this nature, its interesting and sometimes very engaging presentation does make good use of it, on a few occasions. At two points in the movie, computer mouse clicks become frequent and ever more aggressively loud and widely placed throughout the listening area. There's a strong deep and dynamic presence that extends to the area above the listener. Another good moment comes when Baum addresses a crowd via microphone later in the movie. There's a nice organic feel to its wide, enveloping presentation, and the added height channels help to add the feeling of greater spatial immersion into the room. The track's more traditional details also impress. Music is very widely spaced and enjoys terrific definition throughout the range, whether light score, sharp Metal tracks, or bass-heavy Rap beats. The surrounds and subwoofer are regularly engaged. Atmospherics are impressively robust, numerous, and immersive, whether office space clatter, street-level din, or buzzing insects in more quiet outdoor environments. Gunfire erupts with satisfying energy and zip during a shooting range scene later in the film. Dialogue delivery is clear and detailed with only a couple of brief conflicts with surrounding music and din.
The Big Short contains several featurettes and deleted scenes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes
digital copy are
included
with purchase.
The Big Short came up a little short at the Academy Awards, walking away with only one Oscar (for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay) of the five for which it was nominated, which included Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale), Best Director, and Film Editing. But that shouldn't in any way diminish how great a movie this is, how it effortlessly blurs the line between entertainment and information. It's superbly crafted on both sides of the camera and is a movie that helps to demonstrate a key factor in discovering where the economy and the political scene are today, and why. Paramount's Blu-ray release of The Big Short features excellent 1080p video and an effective DTS:X soundtrack. Supplements are well done as well. Very highly recommended.
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