3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

To impress the pretty newspaper travel editor Darcy (Amanda Peet), an underachieving mailroom clerk named Gulliver (Jack Black) takes a writing assignment traveling to Bermuda. On his way there he's swept into a giant cyclone and ends up on the island of Lilliput and discovers he's a giant compared to the little inhabitants.

When you take classic literature and modernize its story, sometimes something can be lost in the translation, and that's certainly the case here. While Black is his usual funny self, the screenplay is quite shallow and contains a litany of two-dimensional characters. I have to admit, I laughed out loud on a number of occasions, but I was equally grossed out when Gulliver needed to extinguish a blazing fire and chose a rather unique way to putting it out.

Video Highlights

• MVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Inconsistency to the 3D effects
• Bright and colorful
• Inky blacks
• Plenty of fine detail

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Room-shaking bass
• Intelligible dialog
• Entertaining score

It's apparent from the outset that this wasn't natively shot in 3D and the dimensionality wavers from scene to scene. At times it can look quite good, but in the very next instant it's flat and has no depth. The audio track is much more consistent and features some great bass response and a kick-ass score.

Bonus Materials

• Gag Reel
• Deleted Scenes
• 4 Behind-the-Scenes featurettes
• Gulliver's Foosball Challenge
• War Song Dance
• BD-Live exclusive featurettes
• Digital Copy, DVD, and Blu-ray (2D and 3D)

At the outset I had low expectations of the story and unfortunately, it met them. On the plus side, it can be pretty funny, especially if you like Black, and it's very short at 85 minutes so the brisk pacing helps make it more tolerable. If you're looking for some 3D content for your new display, set your expectations low and you might laugh a couple of times.

Release Date: April 19, 2011
Studio: Fox

Movie: 5/10
Picture: 8/10
3D-ness 5/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS40 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-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