My take: Away We Go (2009)

HD Goofnut · 10-31-2009, 01:21 AM

Title: Away We Go (2009)
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/VC-1
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Aspect Ratio: 2:39:1
Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish
Run time: 98 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios
Rating: R
Region Coding: Region Free
Player used for review: LG BH200

Cast/Crew Info:
John Krasinski as Burt Farlander
Maya Rudolph as Verona De Tessant
Carmen Ejogo as Grace De Tessant
Catherine O'Hara as Gloria Farlander
Jeff Daniels as Jerry Farlander
Allison Janney as Lily
Jim Gaffigan as Lowell
Maggie Gyllenhaal as LN
Directed by Sam Mendes

My take: (the breakdown)

I decided to rent Away We Go when I saw that Krasinski was one of the main actors in the film since I enjoyed his work in License to Wed and his character on The Office. The story centers on Burt Farlander and his girlfriend Verona De Tessant. There are together for a number of years when Verona discovers that she is pregnant before they were both really trying to have a child. They then decide to visit several different family members, friends, and friends of the family to decide if they want to live where they are or somewhere else. They end up traveling to Phoenix, Tuscon, Montreal, and Miami where they discover that they are not the losers that they once thought they were after they meet some crazy people along the way. It kind of dull in places, but I still think it's worth watching at least once. Be mindful of children as the profanity is rather potent in this title.

For an independently produced film this Blu-ray transfer actually looked better than I thought it would. Colors are actually richly saturated and never appear to be muted. Flesh tones also seem to be accurate for every actor in the film. Grain is kept to a minimum and never really gets out of control. Fine detail is fair to good about 60% of the time and the rest of the time shots tend to be on the soft side. There are also a couple darker scenes that suffer from a few unresolved blacks. In the majority I was rather pleased with this transfer.

We are supplied with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that is probably overkill considering this movie is 99% dialogue. Other than a couple songs that swell into the surrounds throughout the movie there is nothing happening the rear channels. At least the dialogue is clear and concise throughout the entire run time. This is really just another example where a 5.1 lossy mix would have probably sounded about the same.

There's nothing really special about the provided supplemental package. We get an audio commentary with the director and writers, a 17 making of feature, and a really pointless 7 minute feature about how Mendes made the film as 'green' as possible. Both of the above features are in presented in 1080.

Movie: 6.5/10
VQ: 8/10
AQ: 8/10
Supplements: 1.5/10
Final word: Worth A Rental

As always thanks for reading folks.

denisjhon · 11-03-2009, 11:50 PM

hi there...

Burt and Verona are two characters rarely seen in the movies: thirtysomething, educated, healthy, self-employed, gentle, thoughtful, whimsical, not neurotic and really truly in love. Their great concern is finding the best place and way to raise their child, who is a bun still in the oven...Sam Mendes’ 'Away We Go' is a film for nice people to see.

10-31-2009, 01:21 AM	#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: 6,849	My take: Away We Go (2009) Title: Away We Go (2009) BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc Video: 1080p/VC-1 Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Aspect Ratio: 2:39:1 Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish Run time: 98 minutes Studio: Universal Studios Rating: R Region Coding: Region Free Player used for review: LG BH200 Cast/Crew Info: John Krasinski as Burt Farlander Maya Rudolph as Verona De Tessant Carmen Ejogo as Grace De Tessant Catherine O'Hara as Gloria Farlander Jeff Daniels as Jerry Farlander Allison Janney as Lily Jim Gaffigan as Lowell Maggie Gyllenhaal as LN Directed by Sam Mendes My take: (the breakdown) I decided to rent Away We Go when I saw that Krasinski was one of the main actors in the film since I enjoyed his work in License to Wed and his character on The Office. The story centers on Burt Farlander and his girlfriend Verona De Tessant. There are together for a number of years when Verona discovers that she is pregnant before they were both really trying to have a child. They then decide to visit several different family members, friends, and friends of the family to decide if they want to live where they are or somewhere else. They end up traveling to Phoenix, Tuscon, Montreal, and Miami where they discover that they are not the losers that they once thought they were after they meet some crazy people along the way. It kind of dull in places, but I still think it's worth watching at least once. Be mindful of children as the profanity is rather potent in this title. For an independently produced film this Blu-ray transfer actually looked better than I thought it would. Colors are actually richly saturated and never appear to be muted. Flesh tones also seem to be accurate for every actor in the film. Grain is kept to a minimum and never really gets out of control. Fine detail is fair to good about 60% of the time and the rest of the time shots tend to be on the soft side. There are also a couple darker scenes that suffer from a few unresolved blacks. In the majority I was rather pleased with this transfer. We are supplied with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that is probably overkill considering this movie is 99% dialogue. Other than a couple songs that swell into the surrounds throughout the movie there is nothing happening the rear channels. At least the dialogue is clear and concise throughout the entire run time. This is really just another example where a 5.1 lossy mix would have probably sounded about the same. There's nothing really special about the provided supplemental package. We get an audio commentary with the director and writers, a 17 making of feature, and a really pointless 7 minute feature about how Mendes made the film as 'green' as possible. Both of the above features are in presented in 1080. Movie: 6.5/10 VQ: 8/10 AQ: 8/10 Supplements: 1.5/10 Final word: Worth A Rental 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 (Now with Netflix streaming!) 156~206~My Movie Collection Latest Review: *Men in Black* Be sure to check out the Blu-ray Review Request Thread

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11-03-2009, 11:50 PM	#2
denisjhon What is HD? Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	hi there... Burt and Verona are two characters rarely seen in the movies: thirtysomething, educated, healthy, self-employed, gentle, thoughtful, whimsical, not neurotic and really truly in love. Their great concern is finding the best place and way to raise their child, who is a bun still in the oven...Sam Mendes’ 'Away We Go' is a film for nice people to see.