6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Bobby Walker has a great job, a beautiful family and a shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law which does not play to his executive skill set, and perhaps the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal.
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWittDrama | 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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
I'm a highly qualified applicant.
It hurts seeing people's lives fall apart, and it hurts even more to be the person in need. In The Company Men, a large shipping firm lays off
scores of employees in several waves as part of massive cost-cutting measures. The film follows the fallout as several former employees from various
levels within the company console one another and try and find a new job in a down economy. The ebbs and flows of the business world and the ups
and downs of the economy are a part of life, but the film doesn't harp on that. Instead, it's a somewhat dour but honest and real-in-feel Drama about
people holding their lives together when their livelihood is suddenly and, they believe, unjustly taken from them. The Company Men isn't
some fantastical story about the triumph of the human spirit, nor is it a tearjerking Drama; instead, the picture attempts to find a balance that's more
representative of a snapshot of real life rather than a rags-to-riches fairy tale in the same style as the admittedly excellent but
different-in-tone-and-purpose The Pursuit of Happyness. It's not an exemplary film, but it's strongly
acted and well-made, an absorbing Drama that will at least make people stop and appreciate what they have and offer at least a glimmer of hope in a
world where, it seems, all people can really count on is one another.
Will losing their jobs be the death of them?
The Company Men arrives on Blu-ray with a picture-perfect 1080, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Indeed, there's nary a flaw to be found throughout. Detail is absolutely striking throughout the entire film; whether inconsequential but very well-defined elements like the texture of a carpet or the natural lines running through planks of finished and unfinished wood alike, or the more general and more always obvious facial and clothing textures, the transfer never fails to deliver each and every visible attribute with incredible ease. The image is extremely clear -- sparkling, even -- but never appears at all unnatural, save for what may be an ever-so-slight boost in brightness throughout the film. Colors are handsome and realistic, stable and never appearing at all dull or artificially boosted. Blacks are well-defined and never crush out details, while skin textures remain naturally neutral throughout. A sprinkling layer of grain accentuates all the positives and provides a nicely filmic texture, while the absence of banding and other eyesores gives the image an untampered, natural, graceful appearance that's among the best Blu-ray has to offer.
The Company Men's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers almost without hitch the film's limited, dialogue-intensive audio. Indeed, there's very little here outside of a few spurts of music and talking aplenty. Though the spoken word can on rare occasions come across as ever-so-slightly muddled, Anchor Bay's track keeps dialogue grounded in the center channel and delivers it clearly and with the expected amount of muscle and accuracy. Music is satisfactorily crisp throughout the entire range. Minor ambience aids in bringing a few locales to life; the ding of an opening elevator door and general background clatter help to transport listeners into the various office building locales, while the subtle sounds of passing traffic, general restaurant din, and the like are nicely effective in giving the track a complete texture. This one certainly lacks excitement, but that's by design. This DTS mix handles The Company Men's extremely mundane soundtrack very well.
The Company Men features a few extras, headlined by an audio commentary track that's supported by standard-definition deleted scenes, an
alternate ending, and a making-of featurette.
The Company Men isn't the next great stand-up-and-cheer movie, but it's a solid, sometimes moving, highly satisfactory, and generally honest look at people who are forced to change not who they are but how they live while redefining what they consider to be a "successful" life when they lose their jobs in an economy that makes it most difficult to land equal or better employment. Fortunately, the film isn't particularly preachy, either, and it champions several good qualities without becoming a cheerleader for anything but basic human goodness, honesty, and balance. Indeed, "balance" is the name of the game here, and with its strong cast, The Company Men is well worth hiring for a couple of hours. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of The Company Men delivers a perfect 1080p transfer, a good lossless soundtrack, and a fair assortment of extras. Recommended.
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Complete 3 Part Miniseries
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One Square Mile
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