Nims's Island (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review [Text View]

Ralph Potts

08-11-08, 01:29 PM

<img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=116029&d=1216991189"hspace="12"align="left">
The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109943&d=1210373647">

Extras: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109946&d=1210373692">

 Audio/Video total rating:
 ( Max score: 100 )
<h2>92</h2>
 
Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox/Walden Media - 2008
MPAA Rating: PG
Feature running time: 96 Minutes
Genre: Family/Adventure

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: MPEG-4 (AVC)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24
 
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, Spanish/French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Starring: Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin, Gerard Butler
Directed by: Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett
Music by: Patrick Doyle
Written by: Joseph Kwong, Paula Mazur, Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: August 5, 2008

 
<center><h2>"Be the hero of your own story"</h2></center>

<h4>Film Synopsis:</h4> Nim Rusoe (Breslin) lives on a deserted island with her scientist father Jack (Butler) and her best friends: Selkie, a sea lion; Fred, a bearded dragon lizard and Galileo, a plucky pelican. But when Jack goes missing at sea and the island is “invaded,” Nim reaches out via e-mail to the adventurous author of her favorite books (Foster), and together, each discovers what it takes to truly become the hero of your own life story.

<h4>My Take:</h4>I saw the trailer for this film and thought, wow! Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin in the same movie, sounds good to me. They are both wonderful and I think that Jodie is one of the best actresses of her generation. Breslin has been a favorite of mine since I first saw her in “Signs”. Nim’s Island is definitely a film whose target audience is children. I think that it tries to appeal to older viewers as well but this is where it comes up a bit short. Nim and her oceanographer father live alone on an island in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. Nim’s mother died at sea when Nim was little and according to the story it had something to do with a blue whale (?). Her father Jack (Butler) decides that he is going away for two nights in search of rare sea plankton. Nim talks him into allowing her to stay behind essentially under the watchful eye of Selkie the sea lion, because there are sea turtle eggs are due to hatch any day. He goes off and of course a typhoon strikes the area and leaves his boat crippled and him lost. In the mean time Alex Rover the author of Nim’s favorite series of books is having writer’s block and e-mails Jack regarding a photo of the volcano on Nim’s Island. This begins a series of e-mails back and forth between Nim and Alex with neither of them aware of exactly who they are corresponding with. Alexandra Rover (Foster) suffers from agoraphobia and has not left her San Francisco apartment for weeks. She has frequent visits and discussions with the imaginary character from her books whose name incidentally is Alex Rover. Her editor is politely telling her that she needs to meet an already overdue deadline on her next book and she is out of hand sanitizer! Alex finds out that Nim is not only 11 years old but that her father is not there and she is alone and scared. One thing leads to another and Alex ends up leaving her apartment in route to Nim’s Island. <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=116555&d=1218475295"hspace="6"align="right">The plot isn’t altogether plausible but use of imaginative and open minded thinking make it easier to believe. Butler pulls double duty as Nim’s father and the imaginary image of the Alex Rover character and is the weak link in the acting chain. Foster is excellent as the compulsive, agoraphobic and very likeable Alex Rover. This film would be a large undertaking for most 12 year old actors but not or Breslin. She is quite experienced and exudes poise, confidence and a firm grip upon her craft. As a parent I found it absurd that we would be expected to believe that a loving father such as Jack would leave Nim alone on an island and go to sea. The fact that his wife died under similar circumstances and he is all that she has made it all the more hard to swallow. A person who suffers from a disorder such as agoraphobia wouldn’t contemplate going outside to get her mail (this happened in the film) let alone get on not one but two crowded airplanes, a cruise ship, and a helicopter. To do all of this for someone she does not even know is preposterous. A cruse ship stumbles upon the island and brings some of the passengers ashore. Rather than ask for help in finding her father Nim attempts to frighten them away by launching lizards at them on the beach. Did I mention the part where Galileo the Pelican (of his own volition) flies Jack’s tool belt from the island out to his location in the middle of the sea so he can fix his damaged boat? Alright, complaints aside, if you just sit back and enjoy the visuals, the performances by Foster, Breslin and the animals featured in the film I suspect that you might find this one enjoyable.

<h4>Parental Guide:</h4>The rating is for mild adventure action and brief language. I don’t remember any language. Nim injures her leg (not seriously) and Jack is surround by sharks which little ones might find a little frightening.

 AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65 

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

<h4>Audio: 88</h4>
<ul>
<li>Dynamics: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109946&d=1210373692"></li>
<li>Low frequency extension: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Surround Sound presentation: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Clarity/Detail: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Dialogue Reproduction: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699">
</li></ul>

<h4>Video: 94</h4>
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

<ul>
<li>Resolution/Clarity: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109948&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Black level/Shadow detail: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Color reproduction: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Fleshtones: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109947&d=1210373699"></li>
<li>Compression: <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109948&d=1210373699"</li></ul> <img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=116556&d=1218475295"hspace="6"align="right">Nim’s Island comes to Blu-ray Disc from Fox featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 34 mbps and lossless DTS-HD Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 4 mbps. The video presentation was of reference quality and looked superb. Detail is exquisite as it delivers intricate and subtle textures with near flawless execution. It didn’t leave me wanting for better image penetration as it revealed the three dimensional depth and clear perception of nearly everything that passed into the camera’s view. The shots of the landscapes on the island were stunning. The rich and lush colors of the jungle, beach and ocean were reproduced with visually striking hues and uncompromised tonal separation. The wide variety of colors, surface textures, and object detail in Alex’s apartment was resolved with vivid depth of field, vibrancy and razor sharp acuity. Flesh tones were a little warm but looked golden rather than burnt. Black levels were not inky but had enough depth that they looked excellent with mixed content. Contrast was boosted which drove the sun drenched sequences and made them really pop. White detail in those scenes was mildly crushed but retained visibility. This is the type of high definition video that enthusiasts love to use to show off the high resolution of their video displays. It looked absolutely beautiful and certainly indicative of the potential inherent in the Blu-ray Disc format.The audio presentation for Nim’s Island had enough of the right ingredients to make it capable of pleasing discerning home theater enthusiasts. I wouldn’t classify it as an aggressive soundtrack but DTS-HD Master Audio’s higher resolution capability brought out the best in it. Subtle nuance and low level detail under the audio’s surface was audible and well articulated. The audible sounds of palm fronds bending in the blowing wind, and the tiny footfalls of Fred the dragon lizard are two such examples. Surround sounds were skillfully placed between the front and rear sound fields so that they seemed to traverse the room when appropriate. There is a scene where a Blue whale is swimming around Jack’s crippled boat in the Adriatic Sea. As the whale moves, the audio follows it and the sound encapsulates the listening position. There are some elements in the film that show off the dynamic capabilities of this soundtrack. What better to bring the entire system to life than the power of a typhoon or the earth moving force of a volcano? I was impressed with the sub bass reaching rumble during the mountain moving volcano sequence after Nim breaching its summit. The bass reproduced was powerful with deep extension that could be felt well into the room. The typhoon that strands Jack at sea had excellent dynamic presence and clarity which enhanced the feeling of being on the boats’ deck rather than watching from afar. This was a fun and exciting surround sound experience.

<h4>Bonus Features:</h4>

 There is plenty of bonus material included with this Blu-ray feature. It provides cast/crew interviews, background and behind the scenes information/footage and a host of interactive content that fans can use to enhance the film’s experience.

<ul>
<li>Nim’s friends: featurette </li>
<li> Abigail’s journey: featurette</li>
<li>Working on water: featurette </li>
<li>Deleted scenes </li>
<li> Adventure commentary with Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin</li>
<li>Commentary with Directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett </li></ul>Blu-ray Disc Special Features:<ul
<li>Nim’s spyglass BonusView mode: PiP containing behind the scenes footage and cast/crew interviews</li></ul>
<ul><li>(HD) Interactive Set-top games: </li></ul>
<ol>
<li>Write your own Alex Rover game </li>
<li>Coconut soccer game </li>
<li> Seaside shuffle shell game</li>
<li> Nim’s Island trivia track</li></ol><ul>
<li>Island explorer mode: 4 categories that offer pop-up information about the film during the film when enabled </li></ul><img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=116552&d=1218475277"hspace="6"align="right">

<h4>Final Thoughts:</h4>

Nim’s Island is a family film that will appeal more to younger views but does have a little bit for everyone. I really enjoyed the performances by Abigail Breslin and Jodie Foster. This is a visually arresting video presentation that delivers on Blu-ray’s promise of superior high definition quality. Fox has done a wonderful job this high definition Blu-ray package. I would recommend this disc as a rental if not for any reason other than to check its high def picture.

<img src="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=109949&d=1210373731" align=left>
 
 Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews

 Reference Review System:


JVC DLA-RS1x 1080p High Definition Front Projector
Carada Precision Brilliant White 96" Screen
Oppo 970HD universal disc DVD Player (480i HDMI)
Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Sony Playstation 3 Blu-ray disc Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
Marantz DV7001 Universal Disc Player
Denon AVR 5308CI THX Ultra 2 Preamp/Video Processor
Outlaw Audio Model 7700 seven channel amplifier
B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 seven Channel amplifier
Canton "Ergo" Series speakers
Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers
SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)
APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Wireworld, VizionWare, Audioquest, Best Deal Cables - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package