Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Sony Movie ••• Picture •••½ Sound •••½ Extras ••

In this story of an IRS agent (Will Ferrell) who hears a voice in his head narrating the events of his life, director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) and screenwriter Zach Helm try to mix together The Truman Show, some Charlie Kaufman philosophy, and a chick-flick romantic comedy, with varying degrees of success.

In this transfer there's lots of detail all the way through, and the excellent contrast conveys both the well-differentiated glaring whites of the IRS office and the wide range of beige tones that make up Ferrell's apartment and wardrobe. Stranger than Fiction is a dialogue-driven film, so most of the sound remains up front, but the 5.1-channel mix comes through whenever there's a chance to do anything more interesting. The opening shot, with a cacophony of watches swirling through all the channels, is a great example.

Extras include an hour's worth of production featurettes that are a bit more in-depth than the standard making-of fare, and a pair of fictitious author interviews that didn't make the final cut but provide a few laughs. [PG-13] English, Dolby Digital 5.1; French, Dolby Surround; anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1); dual layer.

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