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Contagion (Blu-ray) by David Susilo
Studio and Year: Warner - 2011
MPAA Rating: PG-13 Feature running time: 106 minutes Genre: Sci-Fi/Drama Disc Format: BD-25 Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4) Video Aspect: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p/24 Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, English/French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish Starring: Matt Damon, Gweneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Kate Winslett, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan Directed by: Steven Soderbergh Music by: Cliff Martinez Written by: Scott Z. Burns Region Code: A,B,C Blu-ray Disc release Date: January 3, 2012 Synopsis (courtesy of imdb.com):
Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is a flu or some other type of infection. Her young son dies later the same day. Her husband Mitch however seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection. For doctors and administrators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, several days pass before anyone realizes the extent or gravity of this new infection. They must first identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combating it, a process that will likely take several months. As the contagion spreads to millions of people worldwide, societal order begins to break down as people panic.
My Take:One look at Contagion, it brought me back to the movie Outbreak released more than a decade ago. With the very strong cast, I was hoping that this movie will be better. In a sense, yes. This is truly a scary movie simply because the premise is very plausible. What makes it feels improbable is actually due to the slew of very strong and A-list actors in this movie. I personally think the movie will benefit from using lesser known (or better yet, unknown) cast. Regardless, this movie is really worth watching.
As far as the picture quality goes, it’s pristine, clear without any thematic feel between scenes which makes the picture to be of reference quality but lacking emotion needed to tense up the movie further. When it comes to audio, theDTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix features full-bodied dialogue that is prominent albeit shows some distortion a couple of times during “shouting” scenes. High level detail is readily apparent as subtle sound effects, music and voices are rendered with superior clarity and depth (again, minus the couple of times where the centre channel show hints of distortion). The atmospheric sounds that utilize the entire soundstage in support of the exterior/interior venues depicted in the film is effective and borderline amazing. Equipment used for this review:
Anthem MRX-700 Receiver
DSPeaker 8033 Anti Mode Subwoofer Room EQ Grandviewscreen 96” 21:9 matte-white 1.0-gain screen Monster M200HD HDMI cables PSB Century 300i (front and surround speakers) PSB Image C5 (centre speaker) PSB Subseries 300 (subwoofer) Panasonic PT-AE7000U projector Pioneer BDP-LX55 BD player Ultralink Ambiance MKII speaker wires Viewing room is as per THX and SMPTE recommendation with 45-degree Field of View Audio: 8/10
Video: 9/10 (albeit becoming a detriment to the storytelling)
Storyline: 9/10
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