Blu-ray Movie Reviews

After being denied admittance onto an amusement-park ride because he's not tall enough, 12-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) places a quarter into a Zoltar machine and wishes he was big. When he awakes the next morning, his wish is granted and he's transformed into the body of a 30 year old (Tom Hanks). New to the adult world, he gets a job, earns his first paycheck, and gets the girl (Elizabeth Perkins) despite—or perhaps because of—his childlike mindset.

Hanks earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance as a fish out of water. I've seen Big numerous times over the past 20 years, and I still marvel at Hanks' ability to make you believe he really is a kid in a man's body—the reaction of his changed body, the excitement of opening his first paycheck, visiting FAO Schwartz, and having a sleep over (in bunk beds, of course).

The 1080p AVC encode is average at best with almost nothing to get excited about. The print is in great shape with very little damage and minimal grain. Unfortunately, some heavy filtering leads to little or no texture in flesh tones and smeared fine detail. Blacks are respectably deep, but colors seem somewhat sterile, and the image is flat compared to other HD presentations.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack offers clean dialog, which dominates the front-heavy track. Stereo imaging is decent with some occasional score bleed to the surround speakers, but given the genre and time period of the production, I wasn't expecting a demo-worthy audio experience.

The supplements feature an audio commentary from DVD producer Pete Vantrella and co-screenwriters Anne Spielberg and Gary Ross. Other goodies include three behind-the-scenes featurettes, a 20-minute TV special, eight deleted scenes, and the theatrical trailer (HD).

Big is a good family film, although I was surprised at some of the stronger language with its PG rating—but then again, it was the '80s, when colorful metaphors were an everyday occurrence. Regardless, the presentation is pedestrian, but in the end, it's the content that matters, and in that regard, it certainly delivers. Recommended.

Release Date:May 5, 2009
Studio: Fox

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 6/10
Sound: 6/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics