Blu-ray Movie Reviews

This is a story of boy meets girl, begins the wry, probing narrator of "500 Days Of Summer", and with that the film takes off at breakneck speed into a year-and-a-half of one young man's no-holds-barred love affair. Tom, the boy, still believes, even in this cynical modern world, in the the notion of transforming, cosmically destined, lightning-strikes-once kind of love. Summer, the girl, doesn't. Not at all. But that doesn't stop Tom from going after her, again and again, like a modern Don Quixote, with all his might and courage. Suddenly, Tom is in love not just with a lovely, witty, intelligent woman - not that he minds any of that - but with the very idea of Summer, the very idea of a love that still has the power to shock the heart and stop the world.

I really wanted to love this film. I’d heard so many good things about it and its approach to relationships sounded refreshing compared to the recycled stories we see so much on the big screen. While the style of the film was a hit (I LOVED the Hall and Oats themed dance sequence), the story falls a little flat with its back and forth and frankly, I didn’t feel much chemistry between the characters (which is I guess part of the point). Still, it is a nice indie jaunt, just not the hit I was hoping for.

The Blu-ray presentation is quite good with a very rich film-like look. Detail is there, but not quite as razor sharp as some other recent films of late. The color palette changes substantially through the film and at times looks a bit murky. The soundtrack is outstanding and I loved the song selections littered throughout. Ambiance is believable, but this is mainly a dialogue driven mix.

Extras include interviews and some behind the scenes features along with a feature commentary and some music videos. The second disc includes a digital copy.

Fun, charming and overall pretty funny, (500) Days of Summer does deliver an off the beating path look at relationships. But it didn’t win me completely over leaving me a recommendation of rental.