Good movie. Good disc.
November 2, 2008
The polarization of opinions concerning director M. Night Shyamalan should not keep you from giving this Blu-ray a chance. I won't argue that this movie is the finest Shyamalan has to offer, but I will tell you that for its fans and those who enjoy a well-crafted thriller Signs is a good Blu-ray disc. Incorporating all the extras from the DVD, Signs on Blu-ray eclipses its legacy counterpart. Those who can make use of its uncompressed PCM audio track will enjoy a step up from the Dolby Digital of the standard definition disc. The video, while not the best example of what Blu-ray can do, is a faithful representation of the source material. This is a good movie, and a good disc; just arguably not a must-buy if you own the dvd.
Signs Review
September 25, 2008
Movie: 5 stars
Video Quality: 3 stars
Audio Quality: 4 stars
Extras: 2 stars
One of my favorites transfers well onto Blu-ray
September 19, 2008
I've loved signs since I first saw it. I thought the story and its characters were astonishing and completely real. Yes, the story was real. Well, maybe not the alien part of it, but the events surrounding the invasion were so real. M. Night certainly told a fascinating story here.
Good news is that the Blu-ray picture quality is a big upgrade from the standard version. Sure, it's not Speed Racer quality, but for what the movie is, the picture meets my expectations (better transfer to Blu-ray than Unbreakable). If you are thinking about getting this Blu-ray but you have been concerned about the picture quality, don't worry, it looks just fine.
When it comes down to it, you have to like the film to make the purchase. I personally found it fascinating. That paired with the good Blu-ray transfer makes it a good buy.
Best audio demo for your Blu-Ray/DVD system
August 8, 2008
M. Night is a love 'em or hate 'em director, personally I love him. At least he attempts to break out of the doldrums of your a-typical alien invasion movie with this masterpiece focused on the faith and inner turmoil of one specific family during this disastrous event. The audio fx alone in this movie is worth the price of admission.
Impressed with Blu-Ray transfer; pretty good movie also
August 7, 2008
When reviewing Blu-Ray movies, I almost feel like two reviews are needed. One review for the Blu-Ray and quality of the audio/video transfer, and another review for the movie itself. Right now, I am focusing more on the Blu-Ray audio/video quality with some mention about the movie. Mainly because when I am shopping for Blu-Rays, I already have a pretty good opinion in mind about the movie itself. I am more interested in the quality of the audio/video transfer before I fork out the increased dollars to purchase a Blu-Ray over a standard def DVD.
So, here it goes. I actually was quite impressed with the audio and video quality of this Blu-Ray. That alone made it a joy to watch. Throw in that Signs is a pretty good suspenseful movie anyways, and the result is a 5 star rating for this Blu-Ray.
This Blu-Ray transfer appeared to be very clean. The picture did not appear to have any distortions nor artifacts that I could detect. As an earlier reviewer accurately described, this movie does not leap off the screen with bright colors. The impressive nature of this Blu-Ray is in it's depiction of it's darker colors and blacks. My guess is that is by design as it matches the mood of the movie. The sharp and clean rendering of these dark colors was downright impressive in my opinion.
The audio was crisp. To me, the audio further enhanced viewing of this film. The crisp sounds coming through in the surround system added to the suspense and aided in some of those startle moments. All in all, I think that the audio added to the movie.
As I mentioned above, my assumption is that most who are looking for Blu-Rays in the near future are likely video and audiophiles who already have an idea about the movies that they are interested in purchasing. As such, I really won't provide much of a movie review. I will simply state that this is a suspenseful movie with good acting. Some "darker" themes are explored that add at least a little depth to this movie. Would I say that this movie is perfect? No, not at all. I would say that this is at least a good movie that is entertaining and suspenseful. The good movie combined with the excellent quality of the Blu-Ray result in my rating this Blu-Ray movie 5 stars. To say it another way, I'd give the movie itself a B. I would then rate the audio/video quality of this Blu-Ray an A. I consider this Blu-Ray an excellent edition to my collection.
