Blu-ray Movie Reviews

There has been a dearth of romance or "chic flicks" on Blu-ray. I know that new formats usually cater to big special effects and loud soundtracks but I also think film lovers like breadth of catalog and this is a genre with some solid offerings. P.S. I Love You is definitely not a classic for this genre but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I am not a fan of Hilary Swank and she doesn't win me over at all in this performance but the story and the supporting cast make up for it. Instead of your typical love story here you follow a woman on her journey of recovering from the loss of a loved one. Her deceased husband has decided to send her random notes after his death to try and bring her back into the world and get on with her life.

The HD presentation has a very natural film look to it so fans of that super sharp glossy look should probably search elsewhere. Colors are natural for the most part but slightly subdued in the darker parts of the movie. There is a fine layer of film grain noticeable through most of the film but it never intrudes and lends to that film quality. Detail overall isn't bad but I thought the image could have been a bit sharper overall. Depth is excellent but dimension suffers a bit from the lack of contrast and elevated blacks. While not a bad presentation, this one falls a bit short of the better HD titles out there.

Warner has included a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack and I'm glad to see them offering lossless audio on more titles now. Like most romantic comedies this one relies on the score and musical selections to deliver most of its dynamic range and it does a pretty good job there. The surround soundstage is convincing enough and I was impressed with the balance between the front and rear. Ambience and environmental cues are abundant and provide a more seamless soundstage than the typical film from this genre. Dialogue is also natural in tone and never seems too forward or soft.

Extras are a bit limited on this release but there is an interesting HD feature that teaches you how to play the "Snaps" game mentioned in the film. There are also some deleted scenes, an interview with the author and a music video for the James Blunt song from the soundtrack.

I really hope we see more films from this genre make their way to Blu-ray. Universal was doing a pretty good job with their catalog but I'm hoping some of the other studios start stepping up. It is nice to sit down to an HD movie with the wife once in awhile that isn't a big action film or the newest special effects extravaganza.