My take: The Secret Life of Bees

HD Goofnut · 10-21-2009, 08:41 PM

Title: The Secret Life of Bees (Director's Cut)
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish
Run time: 110 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG-13
Region Coding: Region A Only
Player used for review: Playstation 3

Cast/Crew Info:
Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens
Queen Latifah as August Boatwright
Jennifer Hudson as Rosaleen Daise
Alicia Keys as June Boatwright
Sophie Okonedo as May Boatwright
Paul Bettany as T. Ray Owens
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood

My take: (the breakdown)

Note: I tried twice to load this movie on my LG BH200 and both times it got stuck trying to load the main menu so I used the Playstation 3, which is still at 3.00 firmware.

The Secret Life of Bees is based upon a fictitious book of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The story follows that of Lily Owens and her difficult life with her father T. Ray. Due to her father's lies Lily has always believed that her mother ran away. However, she still knows what happened to her and the point of the story is for Lily to find out more about her mother and more important more about herself. When she decides to runaway from her negligent father she decides to look for a woman named August Boatwright who is a local beekeeper and is popular with her honey sales. When she meets August and her sister she begins to discover a lot more about her past and Lily must decide where she wants her life to go. Filled with some intense drama I strongly recommend this for a rental and maybe even a purchase if you are fan of the movie itself and/or the book as well.

For a movie that was in February of this year I was not exactly drawn in by this Blu-ray transfer. The colors all seem to have a washed out quality. There is also a moderate to heavy amount of grain, especially during the darker scenes. Flesh tones at least seem to be accurate. Several scenes also seem to be softer and out of focus with other previous or subsequent shots, but this could have been intentional like the washed out palette. Overall it's not a bad transfer, but I have certainly seen better.

We receive a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, but in all honesty it's not really needed. The movie is almost entirely dialogue and it is clear and prioritized. Surrounds are used effectively for things like birds, crickets, and the musical score, but the sub takes a vacation for just about the entire run time. Considering the source this audio mix more than adequately gets the job done.

We get a fairly decent supplemental package consisting of two commentaries, deleted scenes, and an above average making of feature.

Movie: 7/10
VQ: 7.5/10
AQ: 8/10
Supplements: 6/10
Final word: A Purchase For Fans

As always thanks for reading folks.

clearday · 10-22-2009, 09:57 AM

I watched this movie a few months ago. And I didn't like it at all. I was looking forward to seeing it as I like the actors in it, all usually very good, but this movie was too simplistic for me. Everything happens just as you expect, no real drama as you can see it all coming a mile away.

The girl (Fanning) goes off on a seach for her mother's life story, initiated by some items she has which her mother kept in a small box. These items lead her on her journey of discovery, accompied by her maid/nanny (Hudson).

I'd give it max a 5 for movie and would recommend something else for watching as it gets sooooo boring, even I who generally give all movies one complete run thru, was tempted to turn it off. (I did watch it all the way thru, 2 hours wasted.)

10-21-2009, 08:41 PM	#1
HD Goofnut The Official HDF Reviewer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mississippi, U.S.A. Your resident Dune, Star Wars, and war film expert Age: 27 Posts: 6,858	My take: The Secret Life of Bees Title: The Secret Life of Bees (Director's Cut) BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1 Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish Run time: 110 minutes Studio: 20th Century Fox Rating: PG-13 Region Coding: Region A Only Player used for review: Playstation 3 Cast/Crew Info: Dakota Fanning as Lily Owens Queen Latifah as August Boatwright Jennifer Hudson as Rosaleen Daise Alicia Keys as June Boatwright Sophie Okonedo as May Boatwright Paul Bettany as T. Ray Owens Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood My take: (the breakdown) Note: I tried twice to load this movie on my LG BH200 and both times it got stuck trying to load the main menu so I used the Playstation 3, which is still at 3.00 firmware. The Secret Life of Bees is based upon a fictitious book of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. The story follows that of Lily Owens and her difficult life with her father T. Ray. Due to her father's lies Lily has always believed that her mother ran away. However, she still knows what happened to her and the point of the story is for Lily to find out more about her mother and more important more about herself. When she decides to runaway from her negligent father she decides to look for a woman named August Boatwright who is a local beekeeper and is popular with her honey sales. When she meets August and her sister she begins to discover a lot more about her past and Lily must decide where she wants her life to go. Filled with some intense drama I strongly recommend this for a rental and maybe even a purchase if you are fan of the movie itself and/or the book as well. For a movie that was in February of this year I was not exactly drawn in by this Blu-ray transfer. The colors all seem to have a washed out quality. There is also a moderate to heavy amount of grain, especially during the darker scenes. Flesh tones at least seem to be accurate. Several scenes also seem to be softer and out of focus with other previous or subsequent shots, but this could have been intentional like the washed out palette. Overall it's not a bad transfer, but I have certainly seen better. We receive a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, but in all honesty it's not really needed. The movie is almost entirely dialogue and it is clear and prioritized. Surrounds are used effectively for things like birds, crickets, and the musical score, but the sub takes a vacation for just about the entire run time. Considering the source this audio mix more than adequately gets the job done. We get a fairly decent supplemental package consisting of two commentaries, deleted scenes, and an above average making of feature. Movie: 7/10 VQ: 7.5/10 AQ: 8/10 Supplements: 6/10 Final word: A Purchase For Fans As always thanks for reading folks. __________________ My Review Setup Sanyo DP46848 46" 1080p LCD Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 System LG BH200 Super Blu Toshiba HD-A20 Sony 40 GB PS3 (With Netflix Streaming!) 156~206~My Movie Collection Latest Review: *The Day the Earth Stood Still*

10-22-2009, 09:57 AM	#2
clearday Samsung DLP & LCD Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: N. Texas Posts: 1,622	I watched this movie a few months ago. And I didn't like it at all. I was looking forward to seeing it as I like the actors in it, all usually very good, but this movie was too simplistic for me. Everything happens just as you expect, no real drama as you can see it all coming a mile away. The girl (Fanning) goes off on a seach for her mother's life story, initiated by some items she has which her mother kept in a small box. These items lead her on her journey of discovery, accompied by her maid/nanny (Hudson). I'd give it max a 5 for movie and would recommend something else for watching as it gets sooooo boring, even I who generally give all movies one complete run thru, was tempted to turn it off. (I did watch it all the way thru, 2 hours wasted.) Last edited by clearday; 10-22-2009 at 10:03 AM.