5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
A Hollywood-set romantic tale of a guy who is content to live his life without a job yet with the love of his life, a young actress.
Starring: Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge, Richard Jenkins, Blythe Danner, Matthew Davis (I)Romance | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
I don’t particularly enjoy ragging on terrible rom-coms, not even the biggest, most bloated, mawkish and self-satisfied ones. It seems like a waste of everyone’s time. Critics almost categorically dismiss films like Waiting for Forever as soppy, substanceless drivel, but one glance at the user reviews on sites like imdb.com reveal legions of fans who write about this movie and others in gushing all-caps proclamations. (“…an ACTUAL, REAL LIFE, love story…”) They also commonly level the complaint against critics that “only the most jaded viewer could fail to be charmed by this movie.” Of course, film writers come off as arrogant or elitist if they ever mention the flipside—that only the most indiscriminate viewer could be charmed by a film so wet with artificial sentiment. I’m not trying to drum up sympathy here, I’m just pointing out the obvious: reviews of these kinds of movies are often superfluous. If you like all rom-coms, even the dippiest ones, stop reading here; Waiting for Forever most assuredly has the capacity to jerk tears and pluck heartstrings. You won’t like the rest of what I have to say. On the contrary, if you’re unconditionally opposed to sappy melodrama, you probably wouldn’t want to read a review of a film called Waiting for Forever anyway. You already know what to expect. If, however, you’re still with me and you’re genuinely curious about what makes this movie so unconscionably awful, read on.
After blowing my ire on the film itself, I really have nothing bad at all to say about Waiting for Forever's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, which is colorful, clear, and natural, with no abuses of noise reduction, edge enhancement, or other PQ follies. The image exhibits a strong degree of clarity throughout—see the stubble on Richard Jenkins' face, the threading of Blythe Danner's sweaters, or even the fine felt texture of Tom Sturridge's bowler —and although the cinematography is often lifeless, the picture manages to conjure a good illusion of depth. Color is cheesily stylized during the hammy flashback scenes, with glowing highlights and selective saturation/desaturation, but for most of the film the look is fairly natural, showing dense-but- realistic hues and balanced skin tones. Black levels are deep too, and contrast is tight without ever becoming overblown. Noise/grain is kept to a minimum—I couldn't find any info on whether the movie was shot digitally or on film—and there are no outstanding compression-related problems to report.
Waiting for Forever's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track delivers exactly the kind of experience you expect from this kind of film—quiet, dialogue-driven, and with a backdrop of soppy, emo-all-grown-up guitar balladry. The mix isn't exceptional in any way, but it is perfectly adequate, clear and grounded, with no obvious audio slip-ups like muffling, crackling, or tinny highs. The rear channels are put to use bleeding out the soporific score, and you'll also hear some occasional ambience, like pouring rain, outdoorsy sounds—birds and wind—or barroom chatter. Dialogue is consistently clear and intelligible. Overall, this is a high-quality, low-impact mix that does what it needs to do without any additional figurative bells and whistles. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are also included in easy-to-read white lettering.
There's not a single supplement on the disc, not even a theatrical trailer.
There may be a vocal minority of folks who think Waiting for Forever is "an ACTUAL, REAL LIFE, love story," but for most it'll be a depressing display of fake, undeserved sentiment, not to mention frankly offensive for being yet another romance movie to use cancer as an emotionally manipulative plot point. Also, is it not incredibly unsettling that the stalker—and yes, he is a stalker—gets the girl in the end? (Come on, you know that's no spoiler.) Stay away from this dreck.
2007
2018
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Warner Archive Collection
1945
Warner Archive Collection
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Warner Archive Collection
1968
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Unrated Edition
2017
Warner Archive Collection
1949
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1943