Paul - Blu-ray Review

4.3 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smartass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town—a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. As two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes. Buy Now $19.99

Starring:

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, Joe Lo Truglio, John Carroll Lynch, Jane Lynch, David Koechner, Jesse Plemons with Sigourney Weaver and Seth Rogen

Director:

Greg Mottola

Blu-ray Release Date:

August 9, 2011

Subtitles:

English SDH, French, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.1 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
●    Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars
●    Dialog - 5.0 Stars
●    Surround Effects - 3.5 Stars
●    Dynamic Range - 4.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1

This movie is a bit more subdued than you would expect, but the sound design fits the movies tone and it's few action scenes. First off the bass performance is respectable, and is highlighted in the soundtrack. When the action kicks in, shotgun blasts boom, gunshots bang, and car engines roar. Rear speakers are put to use by offering slight ambient sounds of moving vehicles, crowd chatter, and musical score. The room really opens up when cars crash, a house explodes, and of course when space ships crash.

Video  4.8 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
●    Color Accuracy  - 4.5 Stars
●    Shadow detail - 5.0 Stars
●    Clarity - 4.5 Stars
●    Skin tones - 5.0 Stars
●    Compression - 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

The video performance of this film is superb. American Midwest landscapes fill the screen with green forests, dry deserts, rocky canyons, and of course beautiful sunsets. The clarity is great and had me staring at the textures of terry cloth robes and stitching patterns of mobile home seats. The film has light film grain and a very slight green tint, possible used on purpose since it's a movie about and alien. Close ups on faces expose pores, beard stubble, and wrinkles. I would also like to note that Paul's big blue eyes look a amazing, I was easily lost in them.

Bonus Features 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

●    The Evolution of Paul (HD, 15 minutes) — An inside look at how Paul became a living, breathing alien.
●    Simon’s Silly Faces (HD, 1 minute) — Simon Pegg makes an assortment of wildly funny faces for the camera.
●    Between the Lightning Strikes: The Making of Paul (HD, 40 minutes): An extensive two-part behind-the-scenes production documentary.
●    Who the Hell is Adam Shadowchild? (HD, 2 minutes) — Find out about the legendary sci-fi writer from the characters in Paul.
●    Feature Commentary (Theatrical Version Only) with Greg Mottola, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Hader and Nira Park
●    Photo Galleries, Storyboards and Posters
●    Bloopers

Movie - 3.0 Stars (out of 5)

Review

Paul can be charming at times, but at the end of the day, it's a crass road trip comedy with an alien. I really enjoyed the beginning of this film, it was a lighthearted movie about two nerds going to Comic Con. As soon as they meet Paul, the movie changes to a rude comedy. At times the film can be a excessive. I can't remember if the movie ever goes 2 minuets without at barrage of curse words. In fact this film is rated R, because of cursing, and a little drug use. There is also a recurring theme about how Christianity is foolish and evolution is what smart people believe in. This movie is also excessive in it's reverences to geek culture. I consider myself to be a geek and I grew tired of all the references by the end of the film. This movie does not have much of a plot. It's just like any other friendly alien movie you have seen.

The computer graphics used to create the character Paul are amazing. The amount of detail shown in his eyes, veins, mouth, and skin are Oscar worthy. You almost feel like he is a real alien. Seth Rogan did an great job doing the motion capture and voice acting as well, Paul is an easily likable character and was the heart of the film. Overall Paul is an enjoyable funny film, that pays homage to geek culture and popular American films.