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ExTerminators (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

4K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Chewbacco 
#1 ·


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

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

78






Studio and Year: UTV Motion Pictures - 2009
Feature running time: 92 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Disc Format: BD-25
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: None
Starring: Heather Graham, Jennifer Coolidge, Amber Heard, Joey Lawrence Adams, Matthew Settle
Directed by: John Inwood
Music by: Chris Hajian
Written by: Suzanne Weinert
Region Code: A,B,C

Blu-ray Disc release Date: November 02, 2010







"A Girls Club with a Killer Attitude"



Film Synopsis:


Alex finds herself in a court ordered rage-therapy group after a bad breakup with her boyfriend. There she meets Stella, the owner of an extermination business who might be killing more than bugs, and Nikki, a dental technician with the face of an angel and the mind of a sociopath. Together these women form their own ‘silent revolution,’ wreaking havoc on the men of Texas with their own brand of girl justice.




My Take:


I wanted to love 'ExTerminators'. It started off witty, charming, sexy and interesting but ultimately ended up being so-so. If the Mogwai in Gremlins killed when they were all cute without transforming into a Gremlin, it would not have been as cool and scary. Here we have a band of cute woman, and when they start killing, they are cute at it...and there is no real feeling of threat. that being the case, I would have wanted more comedy in this "black comedy".


When Alex (Heather Graham), Stella (Jennifer Coolidge), and Nikki (Amber Heard) meet in a court ordered rage-therapy group, they band together after killing one of the members husbands after he hits her in-front of the group. Once the word gets out the girls find making money for off-ing these bad men is fun and profitable. Using Alex's accounting skills to launder the cash through Stella's exterminating business proves to be a bad idea as the IRS man assigned to audit them is a pervert himself. After following the girls he gets wind of what they are doing. Mix that with Alex dating the officer on the cases of the men they has "exterminated" and we have ourselves one clichéd but interesting plot.


"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Or a screenplay that fails. 'ExTerminators' many plot points intersected well but not one of them had a sense of urgency. The IRS agent was not at all spooky or creepy enough, the love affair was pretty tame and the killings were muted. There was no intrigue as we knew everyones agenda, what would happen and pretty much what did happen--since it was all through an interview flashback. What this movie needed was-- for lack of a better term--- this move needed some balls!! I will give it credit for a few belly-busting laughs that came from the perfectly timed execution of Jennifer Coolidge; Her character was hysterical. Amber Heard was great as Nikki, really selling her character (one issue- don't make non-smokers smoke in movies! It looks funny and fake...). The bottom line is 'ExTerminators' was not funny enough, not interesting enough and not suspenseful enough.



Parental Guide:


Rated R for language and a sexual gesture.




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: 80


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:




Video: 76


  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:

'ExTerminators' comes to Blu-ray Disc from Image Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 21.8 mbps and DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound that has an average bitrate of 2.3 mbps.

'ExTerminators', A/V presentation, like the film itself was passable, but nothing to write home about. The video was a bit soft, with the rendering of finer details peeking their heads out at random occasions and mostly on close-ups. Colors were natural but flesh-tones were inconsistent based on the lighting of the scene--going from pale to a bit orange, but always seeming natural enough. Blacks and shadows were passable and thankfully there were not too many dark scenes as noise did creep up when the lights went out. While I cant praise any one aspect of the video presentation, you will not watch it thinking it is terrible. Same goes for the audio. The track never calls for much oomph. No loud explosions or much need for surround activity or major dynamics. It did what was needed; was competent with vocals and the mix was generally pleasing.



Bonus Features:

  • Gag Reel

  • (HD) Previews: The Lightkeepers, (SD) Fade to Black





Final Thoughts:


'Exterminators' could have been better... really it should have been. A great cast and premise went to waste and it is no wonder we are finally seeing it, almost two years after its completion, coming out as a straight to video title. It is better than most STV titles but I would not rush out to purchase it based on its lack of special features and mezza mezza a/v specs. If you are a fan of Jennifer Coolidge or Amber Heard I will recommended a rental as there were both great here.














Lee Weber
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews




Reference Review System:



JVC DLA-RS35 1080p High Definition Front Projector (Calibrated by Jeff Meier)

Custom 1.3 Gain 128" 2.37:1 CinemaScope Screen

Pioneer SC27 Receiver (Calibrated by Jeff Meier)

Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Triangle Zerius Speakers (7.1)

SVS PC13-Ultra Subwoofer
 
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#4 ·
There needs to be 1 more criteria for these great blu ray reviews you guys do. And that is, since there are hot chicks in it, is it at least worth watching for the HOT CHICKS?! And I don't mean for their acting!



I had added this to my Netflix Q a long long time ago. It finally came in the other day and upon reading this review. I'm gonna pass on it I guess. Too busy with much more important stuff to do. Thanks for another good review Lee...



Also what the hell is the deal with Heather Graham. She seems like a pretty good actress, she just seems to get nothing but these types of B-Rated STV type films. She used to be in alot of bigger budget films years ago. Her only most recent 1 being The Hangover I guess. And that wasn't really big role for her.
 
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