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Pineapple Express (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

11K views 19 replies 18 participants last post by  gwsat 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

85






Studio and Year: Sony Pictures - 2008
MPAA Rating: R/Unrated
Feature running time: 112/117 Minutes
Genre: Comedy

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English/French Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish/Portuguese/Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian
Starring: Seth Rogan, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny McBride
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Music by: Graeme Revell
Written by: Seth Rogan & Evan Goldberg
Region Code: ABC

Blu-ray Disc release Date: January 6, 2009







"Put this in your pipe and smoke it"



Film Synopsis:


A new comedy from the creative genius of Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Talladega Nights) follows a pair of druggie losers as they reach the top of the hit-list when one witnesses a mob murder and drags his buddy into a crazy flight from mobsters bent on silencing both of them permanently. The film stars new sensation Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin) and James Franco (Spider-Man 1-3) and it co-stars Rosie Perez (Do The Right Thing) and Gary Cole (The Brady Bunch Movie). Movie is directed by David Gordon Green.




My Take:


It seems like every time I look up I see another comedy with the names Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow attached to it. While I have found a few of them to be fun I have found some to be seem like rehashes. In this case I found this film to be ridiculous, spontaneous, excessive, and funny. Those may not be all the ingredients for a classic comedy but they work well here. I think that James Franco’s performance as Saul is what elevated things for me. I am a fan and he just nailed the slow thinking, dim witted epitome of a pot smoking burn out. I also find Danny McBride to be a crack up and he was perfectly suited to play Red. As for Rogan I didn’t see that he played this character any different than he plays any other but he and Franco worked well as a team. Rosie Perez seemed out of place but it didn’t have any effect on the outcome and of course Gary Cole is always welcomed in movies like this (excellent comedic timing). The story was rather trivial but I enjoyed how it was executed. The mixture of comedy with a thriller based undertone felt fresh and added a layer of excitement as well as laughs. I got a kick out of it but I am not so sure it is the type of comedy that will have universal appeal. I watched the unrated version which adds another 5 minutes to the theatrical cut. Both are included so viewers will have the option.








Parental Guide:

The R rating is for Pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence.




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)


Audio: 82


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:





Video: 88


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

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:

Pineapple express comes to Blu-ray Disc from Sony featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 20 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 channel audio that has an average bitrate of 1.4 mbps.

Sony has been consistent in the quality of their new releases titles on Blu-ray and this is no exception. In looking at the numbers this isn’t a high bitrate video encoding but those numbers don’t necessarily tell the tale. I found this to be an excellent high definition presentation that featured quantifiable high level detail that manifested itself in the form of crisply defined images with subtle degrees of texture which gave the video appreciable depth. Colors were bright and well saturated, with natural rendering and subtle refinement. Dark scenes had excellent dimensional depth, deep blacks and discernible shadow detail. Contrast and brightness struck a good balance which so that bright and dark sequences appeared dynamic without discernible loss of detail. I saw no indications of video related anomalies associated with the encoding as the video was whistle clean. The Dolby TrueHD sound quality was right on the money and delivered clear, intuitive dialogue, solid dynamics and lucid detail. The presentation leaned more toward the front however surround activity picked up nicely during the “action” based segments in the third act. This is far from a thrilling surround sound mix but I found it to offer a fair level of envelopment with near field spatial cues and cohesive sound stage presence.







Bonus Features:

  • Includes both the theatrical and extended versions of the film

  • 3 deleted scenes

  • 8 extended/alternate scenes

  • Commentary with Director David Gordon Green, Rosie Perez, Seth Rogan, Judd Apatow, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and Ed Begley Jr.

  • (HD) The making of Pineapple express - 21 minute featurette

  • (HD) The action of Pineapple express - 12 minute featurette

  • Phone booth - 2 part behind the scene look at this segment from the film

  • Line-O-Rama

  • Direct-O-Rama - Blooper reel

  • Gag reel - 4 minutes

  • Item 9 experiments

  • Saul‘s apartment - 4 segment feature with random characters from the film meeting in Saul‘s apartment

  • Raw footage of 4 segments from the film

  • (HD) Begley‘s best - Faux feature with Ed Begley Jr. endorsing non-toxic cleaning products

  • (HD) Red and Jessica‘s guide to marriage

  • (HD) Injury report - The cast discusses minor injuries they sustained during the shoot

  • (HD) Stunt master Ken - Ken Jeong goes behind the scenes to look at the film‘s stunts

  • (HD) Rehearsal footage

  • (HD) First table read

  • Comic Con panel - Q&A

  • (HD) Red-band theatrical trailer

  • (HD) BD Previews

  • BD-Live access

  • Digital Copy Bonus Disc - Includes a standard definition version of the film that can be downloaded from a compatible PC to a portable playback device





Final Thoughts:


Pineapple express is a silly but entertaining comedy that seems to follow in the footsteps of similar film releases of late. While that may be true I think that it has a bit of a fresher appeal that I found enjoyable. Its debut on Blu-ray Disc from Sony is a good one that features excellent audio/video quality and above average bonus supplements. While I would be reluctant to recommend it as a blind buy I think it is easily worth a rental.















Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





Reference Review System:



JVC DLA-RS20 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-BD55K 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

B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 seven Channel amplifier

Philips TSU9400 Pro Series Touch Panel Remote Control

Canton "Ergo" Series speakers

Axiom Audio QS8 Quadpolar speakers

SV Sound PB-13 Ultra (Rosenut finish)

APC AV S15BLK Power Conditioner/Surge Protector

Furman SPR-20i Stable Power Regulator

Wireworld, VizionWare, Audioquest, Best Deal Cables - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

Cool Components - CP-CP102 cooling package
 
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17
#4 ·
man this film was so dull and boring i tortured myself to watch it, thinking something will happen. nothing did.
 
#17 ·
Hi Ralph & other members,


I enjoyed this over-the-top-slam-bang-comedy, with a cool combination of the two main actors. The chemistry was just on the target, I found.

The blu-ray disc quality is what Ralph described, very good with a good bunch of extras.

It is extremely silly, but fun to watch, for sure.
 
#20 ·
I largely agreed with Ralph's review. I enthusiastically share his opinion that James Franco and Danny McBride, as stoner losers, were terrific. This is the best stoner movie I have seen since The Big Lebowski. Don't get me wrong, The Big Lebowski is a classic, while Pineapple Express is certainly not. Nevertheless, this is a very funny and entertaining comedy, co-written by and starring the immensely talented Seth Rogen. I think he may be the funniest guy working today. His Dale Denton character may not be as memorable as "The Dude" but he is a funny and likable dude, nonetheless.



The PQ and AQ were just fine, especially the booms, bangs, and fires from some of the explosions. Mostly, though, there was not much going on, either visually or aurally, to allow the video and audio to distinguish themselves.


Highly recommended, 8 out of 10 Stars.
 
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