5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
When his best friend and podcast co-host vanishes in Canada, a young man joins forces with his friend's girlfriend and a former detective to search for him.
Starring: Michael Parks, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment, Johnny DeppHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | 29% |
Comedy | 1% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.Native German speakers may recognize that as the opening line of Franz Kafka’s disturbing story The Metamorphosis. It’s an iconic opening, but one that has given translators fits since the novella first appeared in 1915. Many English translators have agreed on the first section of the sentence, which is typically translated as:
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into—But it’s what comes after that “into” that has been variously translated as “an insect,” “a gigantic beetle,” or the somewhat more generic “vermin,” “monstrous vermin” or even “horrible vermin.” The salient point is, of course, that hapless Gregor Samsa awakens one morning to find himself transmogrified into something he doesn’t recognize. There’s a certain passive quality to the announcement of Gregor’s transformation and indeed Kafka never really explains what or why what happened, happened. Kevin Smith is certainly no Franz Kafka (for better and/or worse), and while his latest film Tusk more or less goes the Metamorphosis route, it’s via a decidedly mundane gambit involving a kind of modern day take on the hoary horror film trope of the mad scientist.
Tusk is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Shot digitally with the Arri Alexa and Red One, Tusk is an unusually handsome looking film considering its somewhat off the wall subject matter. Smith and cinematographer James Laxton don't really start exploiting a kind of elegiac, burnished tone until Wallace gets to Howe's nicely appointed mansion, where things take a suitably Gothic turn, both in terms of the production design as well as some of the lighting choices. But even in the earlier, relatively more mundane sequences, as well as the interstitials that keep popping up throughout the film as tangential plot arcs are explored, the image has excellent depth and a really nicely varied palette. A few interstitial elements are in black and white, where contrast is excellent and gray scale nicely delineated. Fine detail is excellent throughout the film, though some may find the very sharpness a detriment to believing in the reality of the walrus suit. There are some inherent issues with lackluster shadow detail in some of the interior mansion footage—the first time Wallace walks into the house, for example, virtually nothing can be seen other than Long's cherubic face bobbing in a sea of blackness. Contrast and black levels are both strong and consistent, and aside from passing issues with crush, there's not much else to cause concern.
Tusk's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 offers the most depth and immersion courtesy of the moody and rather effective score by Christopher Drake, but there are occasional touches of surround activity with effects like Wallace's mournful "walrus wail" panning through the surrounds. Dialogue is very cleanly presented with excellent fidelity on this problem free track.
- Main Story (1080p; 2:17) includes some fun animation;
- Pre-Production (1080p; 2:57);
- Director Down (1080p; 2:03) details an unwitting accident Smith suffered on set;
- Filming: Take 1 (1080p; 5:28);
- Filming: Take 2 (1080p; 2:49);
- Filming: Take 3 (1080p; 3:30);
- Filming: Take 4 (1080p; 3:02);
- Filming: Take 5 (1080p; 4:19);
- Filming: Take 6 (1080p; 2:18).
- Production Design (1080p; 3:02) focuses on the efforts of John D. Kretschmer.
- From Pod to Screen (1080p; 4:25) looks at the online component that helped spark the story.
- Flying with Mewes (1080p; 3:52) follows Jason on site at an abandoned Olympic Village.
- Meet the Crew (1080p; 4:51) also features Mewes and introduces some of the "below the line" talent on the film.
- Wallace the Walrus (1080p; 6:35) gets up close and personal with a rubber walrus suit.
- Halifax Explosion (1080p; 6:57)
- Duplessis Orphan (1080p; 5:22)
He is the walrus, goo-goo-ga-joob. You didn't actually think I was going to make it through this review without something like that coming along, did you? Smith has repeatedly staked out one of the most uniquely individual corners in the annals of contemporary film, and Tusk is certainly no exception. The film's very peculiarity is probably its chief asset, but it's a weirdness that may tend to play better vicariously in terms of reading about it or even listening to people talk about it (like in a podcast) than it does as a cogent film. Parks is once again spectacularly effective in a completely bizarre role. Unfortunately, he's surrounded by a kind of mess, not necessarily the blood, guts and limbs strewn about the film courtesy of Howe's "walrus assembling." Still, for those wanting something mostly (if not completely) different, and certainly for Smith aficionados, Tusk comes Recommended.
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