Blu-Ray Review:
Extract
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Current Rottentomatoes.com score 63% Fresh: 99 Rotten: 58
OFFICE SPACE's Mike Judge directs this comedy that is bursting with talent, from JUNO stars Jason Bateman and J.K. Simmons to SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's Kristin Wiig and FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL's Mila Kunis. Bateman stars as a man who is anxious to sell his business, but his plans are threatened by a strange, unexpected event. EXTRACT's diverse cast also includes David Koechner, Clifton Collins Jr., Gene Simmons, and Ben Affleck. (rottentomates)
Going into Extrack I had high hopes. I really like Jason Bateman and I have liked some of Mike Judges movies in the past. I remember seeing the trailer and thought it looked quite funny. So when the credits rolled on this film, I wondered what the hell had happened. I watched the film with my wife and both of us looked at each other and thought it was one of the worst movies we have seen in quite awhile. I really don't remember laughing once during the whole movie and for a comedy that is really bad. I honestly can't remember anything funny at all, as I am typing this I am trying to think what else I could say. Looking at the Rottentomates score, obviously some critics liked the movie, I however am not one of them. The movie has a lot of funny actors like Jason Batmen and J.K. Simmons, but I think their talents are wasted in this film. I think Judge was trying to create what happened with Office Space. Office Space did not do well in theaters but has found a cult following on DVD. But I really think it's not going to happen with this film. I am going to say don't watch this film, but going by the rottentomatoes score it may be worth a rental to see if you are one of the few who do like this movie, I on the other hand want my hour and 32 minutes back.
4 out of 10
Video
Extract arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p picture. To go along with this dreadful movie we get a transfer that while isn't completely dreadful, is pretty inconsistent. Skin tones in the movie are not bad, but tend to have an orange look to them. Colours are pretty decent with the stark whites in the factory to the greens and grays of suburbia. Black levels are all over the board, with some scenes looking decent to some scene looking downright awful. Detail is also sporadic. With some scenes looking quite sharp to others looking quite soft. For some of the movie I had to ask myself if I was even watching a Blu-ray, because you could have made a point that I had a DVD in there. There was a scene that I remember with Gene Simmons that was particularly dreadful in this regard. I have to ask myself, is this what Mike Judge was going for, is the transfer being faithful to the directors intentions? If so I would also ask myself why? I don't think it helps the story at all. Overall this is a pretty underwhelming transfer and one that is pretty sad.
6 out of 10
Audio
I wish I could report that audio fared better than the video, but sadly this is not the case. The audio is very front heavy with not much in the way of activity happening outside the front three speakers. Dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand and that's because even in scenes with the bottle plant everything else is so quiet that it's easy for the dialogue to punch through. Come to think of it, it has to be the quietest bottle plant in the history of film. The rear surrounds are rarely active and when they do kick in there is very subtle background noise. When the characters are at Dean's bar there is very thin background noise but that's about all. The LFE channel is on vacation with rarely anything coming from it. The only part that takes advantage of a full sound field would have to be the movies uninspiring soundtrack. I wish I could report something better but unfortunately this is the best it's going to get.
6 out of 10
Extras
Here is what available in the extras department.
Mike Judge's Secret Recipe
5 extended scenes and 1 deleted scene
I guess the people at Disney thought as much of this film as I did, because they gave this Blu-ray disc almost nothing in the way of extras. Mike Judge's Secret Recipe is an 11 minute behind the scenes feature. I found it just as boring as the movie. Not even worth your time. The 5 extended scenes and 1 deleted scene can be watched in a blink and don't add to the movie at all. Pathetic is the word that comes to mind.
3 out of 10
Overall
This movie is a complete waste of space and is probably one of the worst movies/discs I have reviewed on Gadgetboyz.net. You get a boring movie, an uninspired video transfer, a sorry audio track and extras that are so lacking any substance that you will wonder why you wasted your time.
4 out of 10