6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Al Percolo is a major league baseball scout sent to scout in Mexico as a punishment. However, he eventually stumbles across Steve Nebraska, a young American who can pitch AND hit better than anyone else can do either. He signs Steve and returns home in glory. It soon becomes obvious, though, that Steve is immature and possibly unstable, and Al turns to psychiatrist Doctor H. Aaron, whom he picks for her name, for help.
Starring: Albert Brooks, Brendan Fraser, Dianne Wiest, Anne Twomey, Lane SmithComedy | 100% |
Sport | 46% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
If only he could pitch.
Well, in fact, he can pitch. Truth be told, he can pitch like Cy and hit like Babe, but the question is whether he has the mental makeup to
become the
greatest who ever lived. The Scout is a solid Baseball movie about a young boy who must overcome his secret past if he's to succeed on the
big stage of the World Series and under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium. But like most of the great Baseball films, The Scout isn't so much
about the game as it is the player,
the way the game shapes the man but also the way the man shapes the game. The Scout shows that talent alone isn't enough to make it.
Any fool can throw or hit to some degree, but coming to terms with the ability; the possibilities; and most important, finding balance in one's life,
overcoming mental and emotional hurdles not for the paycheck or for the glory but for one's own personal well-being; are all keys to finding success in
life.
Otherwise, it's a life unfulfilled, no matter how much physical or mental talent may exist. Sadly, the film lacks a real hard-core depth despite efforts to
the contrary, but as a fairly
involved film that combines drama, humor, and heart, The Scout proves itself a fair film, a big leaguer but perhaps not a future
Hall-of-Famer baseball picture or even an All-Star amongst its peers.
For Love of the Game, The Natural Rookie plays on the Field of Dreams Sandlot far away from The Fans of the Major League.
The Scout's 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer is fairly consistent, but shows a few warts. The transfer retains a natural grain structure, though there are several scenes which appear a little more worked over than most, a bit on the plastic and smooth side. Generally, however, details are rather good. Fairly intricate facial textures, Al's trademarks straw hat, baseball uniforms, even grasses and dirt at the ballpark often appear sharp and filmic. Colors are steady, perhaps not the definition of absolutely authentic, but bright green grass, the Mexican league red uniforms, Yankee blue, and other assorted colors are presented fairly and with a consistent balance and contrast. The image is home to a few scratches and pops, but such are rare occurrences on any sort of heavy level. Banding, blocking, and the like are virtually absent from the proceedings. This one's stable and generally nice looking. It's far from the best catalogue title out there, but considering some of the lackluster-to-awful transfers of Fox catalogue titles coming out of Anchor Bay, this one rates rather highly amongst its peers.
The Scout throws its best heater and comes up with a suitable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is a fair, somewhat involved soundtrack that's neither immaculately clear nor disappointingly muddled and sonically shallow. Music enjoys some surround support but seems audibly imbalanced, favoring one back corner and the opposite front side. It's only slightly noticeable, and only noticeable at times, but it does occasionally sound a bit off-kilter. Otherwise, clarity is fine and the presentation is generally accurate. Ambience is fair; the light applause and chatter at the Mexican league game and the heavier, more constant and intense Yankee stadium atmospherics are nicely inserted and somewhat immersive, the track using the surround channels to fair effect in these moments. Other ambience, such as falling rain in one scene, only seems to scatter across the front. Character dialogue, announcer play-by-play, stadium announcements, and other varieties of spoken word come across clearly and naturally. This track isn't a blazing 112 mile-per-hour fastball, but the end result is of Major League quality.
This Blu-ray release of The Scout contains only the film's trailer (1080p, 2:47).
The Scout certainly doesn't throw a cinematic perfect game (well, OK, in a way it does), but it's a decent performer, a middle-of-the-rotation workhorse that gets the job done but doesn't always seem to be in consistent command of its stuff. The movie oddly combines heavy human drama with comedy, and the result is neither one really working all that well, though the movie does earn a few laughs. The ending is ridiculous, but in total The Scout is worth signing to a big league contract. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of The Scout won't be relegated to the minors, but like the movie it's no All-Star. Decent video and audio are accompanied only by the film's trailer. Worth a rent and perhaps a purchase to round out the baseball movie Blu-ray collection.
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