Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Henry Poole is a disillusioned man who attempts to hide from life only to discover he cannot escape the forces of hope. Shattered by circumstances beyond his control, Henry Poole settles in to suburban isolation, but his well-meaning busybody neighbor destroys his exile when she discovers a mysterious stain on Henry's stucco wall that is seen to have miraculous powers. With the help of the beautiful young divorcee next door, and her daughter Millie, Henry finds himself gradually drawn back towards life as he realizes his plan to live out his days in quiet desperation is going to be much harder than he ever imagined.

A very interesting character piece with some unsettling themes on death and coping. Wilson stars as a 30-something who finds out he has a terminal disease. He then moves into his old neighborhood to spend his last days being alone. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen when his neighbor discovers a stain on the side of his house that she claims is an image of Jesus and a miracle. From there events are put in motion that leads Poole through coping and finding happiness that are both uplifting and heartwarming. A very solid drama with great characters.

Anchor Bay has been nothing but impressive when it comes to video presentations and this one is no exception. The image has a great sense of depth and dimension and fine detail, especially in close ups, is almost second to none. The photography is very natural with little to no stylization and really lends to the striking quality of the presentation. Colors are vibrant and have plenty of detail and there really isn’t much to fault at all here.

The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is good but like most of the recent Anchor Bay releases, it seems to be mastered a bit high in volume. The score does a great job of keeping the mood of the film going and I was impressed with the strong soundtrack selections. Natural ambiance is very realistic and the surrounds do a great job with the little nuances. Dialogue never sounds strained and the balance within the mix is strong.

Anchor Bay has included two feature commentaries for this one along with a short making of feature that has some behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. Some deleted scenes are also included along with a music video and the trailer.

This was a really great character piece with great production and performances. The A/V presentation was also quite strong making this an easy recommendation for at least a rental.