7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Chris Pratt was once a Golden Boy athletic hero in his small Midwestern town. Chris had it all — a beautiful girlfriend, a well-heeled family and a shining future. But after a serious accident, Chris has found himself in a strange new world where the most basic things seem to fall through holes in his memory and nothing quite makes sense. Unable to make it on his own, he lives with his mentor in navigating this surreal life — the wisecracking, fiercely independent blind man, Lewis. For a job, Chris sweeps the floor at the bank waiting for his halted life to come unstuck. Things suddenly shift when he meets Gary Spargo, an old school acquaintance and street philosopher who begins to revive Chris' shattered confidence, even helping him find a stripper — albeit a stripper named Luvlee Lemons. But Gary has bigger plans, and when he recruits Chris into his grand plan to rob the bank where he works, Chris appears to be in way over his damaged head. As the bank heist unravels into chaos, both Chris' uncertain future and even more importantly Lewis' survival are on the line. Now, it's up to this young outcast who can't always think straight to figure out how to outwit and take down his manipulators his own way.
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla GuginoCrime | 100% |
Thriller | 46% |
Heist | 37% |
Psychological thriller | 24% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
I just want to be who I was.
The Lookout is another in a long list of movies that fell flat with audiences, earning precious
few dollars at the box office but scoring huge with critics. Deep, meaningful films like this are often
overlooked by the public at large who pay top dollar to watch the likes of Transformers and
Knocked Up instead. Nothing against those films, but I really wish audiences would start
recognizing films that depend on plot, structure, and thought rather than CGI and relentless crude
jokes for 90 minutes. This movie isn't just about a bank robbery. It's about a young man
struggling to find his place in the world after a tragic mishap forced him out the prominent position
he once held amongst his peers. He must make a choice that could make or break him once again,
only this time using what he has learned since his accident to aid him in his choice. It's watching
him struggle to decide as emotions rage inside of him that makes this film so memorable.
Chris struggles to find his place in the world.
I found no major flaw with this 1080p, 2.40:1 transfer from Miramax. In fact, I'd call it "top-notch." The film seems rather harshly lit, making everything appear whiter than one would normally expect. It's a look that suits the film well. The film has a grainy look to it throughout that also adds a sense of dread and foreboding to the movie. Images are sharp, colors are bold, flesh tones accurate, and detail is high for the entire 99 minute runtime. This is a true and remarkably efficient high definition image that really shows off the power of Blu-ray.
The Lookout features a PCM uncompressed audio track running at 6.9 Mbps that is sufficient if only because there is so little opportunity for a high definition track to strut its stuff throughout this film. Dialogue is a little bass heavy at times. In the few scenes that are not composed primarily of dialogue, directionality and flow are top-notch. Near the end of the film the track gains some momentum and we get some instances of tight rumbling bass and some nice use of surrounds. The movie is almost entirely dialogue, and it reproduces it well enough. Certainly not a track that will serve to impress your friends, but it suits the movie well, does the job asked of it admirably, and is an asset to the overall tone of the film.
Unfortunately, Miramax has chosen not to include a lot of extras for this release. The main attraction is a commentary track with writer/director Scott Frank and director of photography Alar Kivilo. This track delves into the technical aspects of the film. As such, unless you are a student of film, you may find this track rather dull. Behind the Mind of Chris Pratt (480p, 9:26) is a pretty interesting piece that is a conversation primarily with actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He discusses preparing for the role and his insights into the meaning behind the film and Chris' motivations and thought processes. Finally, Sequencing 'The Lookout' (480p, 19:59) is a fairly standard making-of feature that briefly takes us from pre-production to wrapping things up as cast and crew discuss what they took away from the final product.
The Lookout features several memorable characters and an even more memorable story that not only entertains but leaves viewers with a sense of fulfillment and a desire to take a look at their own lives and analyze their own actions, wondering if today could be the day that things change forever. Chris is given a second chance at life and with that second chance come more choices to be made as he struggles to fight for what he knows to be right in his heart but that the world tells him is wrong. Chris' personal journey through learning to live once again results in an enthralling and intellectually stimulating viewing experience that I found very meaningful and moving. It's packaged as pretty standard stuff, but it's the material that is just under the surface that's so compelling. Technically, this is a top-notch Blu-ray disc with superior audio and video quality. Supplements are good but a little more would have been welcome, especially a second, less technical commentary track that delved more into the meaning of the film rather than the making of the film. The Lookout comes highly recommended.
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1996
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