My take: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

HD Goofnut · 12-18-2009, 11:00 PM

Title: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
BD-25 Single Layer Disc
Video: 1080p/VC-1
Audio: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Run time: 100 minutes
Studio: New Line Home Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Region Coding: Region Free
Player used for review: LG BH200

Cast/Crew Info:
Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead
Jennifer Garner as Jenny Perotti
Michael Douglas as Uncle Wayne
Emma Stone as Allison Vandermeersh
Breckin Meyer as Paul
Lacey Chabert as Sandra
Robert Forster as Sergeant Volkom
Anne Archer as Vonda Volkom
Directed by Mark Waters

My take: (the breakdown)

Let me first note that Netflix recommended this title to me and I was kind of in the mood for a good comedy, but this was not what I had in mind. This movie is a chick flick plain and simple. It seems to be that McConaughey will do nothing but romantic comedies these days because that's all he can really do anyway. I mean you guy saw Contact right? Anyway, the story follows Connor Mead (McConaughey) and his 'problem' of having sex and dumping just about every woman he meets. After bumping into his dead uncle's ghost Connor is informed that he will be visited by three spirits. Sounds familiar right? He has to change or will die a lonely and miserable man much like his uncle. The question is can and will Connor do that? Yeah, it's a mutilation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but it still manages to have a few good laughs in it. Please rent this one and refrain from purchasing it. Believe me you'll thank me later.

As with most comedies this Blu-ray transfer looks good, but it doesn't look great. Colors are properly saturated and never muted, but flesh tones seem to run a little hot towards the reddish side. Grain is minimal, but it tends to get a little noisy in the few darker scenes. Fine detail is perfect on closeups, but when a shot contains multiple characters it tends to run soft almost like it was intentional. For me though if it's razor sharp virtually all the way through it's distracting. Still, this is a decent effort made by New Line.

We get a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track that is on par with the video quality. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized and never hard to hear. Surrounds see a little use through the musical track and a few discrete effects, but for the most part they are largely inactive. Your sub sees hardly any work, but this is indeed a romantic comedy. I also felt that the directionality of the sounds was off in some scenes, but this was minor. In the majority the movie's audio mix is just fine.

We don't even get a mediocre supplemental package to go with this average movie. At least there's not really anything worth watching in this supplemental package. We get three making of features totaling 21 minutes, 10 minutes of deleted scenes, and a digital copy on a second disc. The making of features are in 1080 while the deleted scenes are in 480.

Movie: 6/10
VQ: 8/10
AQ: 8/10
Supplements: 2/10
Final word: Worth a Rental at Best

As always thanks for reading folks.

**PFC5** · 12-18-2009, 11:29 PM

This was recommended to me by Netflix as well. They must know we on occasion watch a movie with the wife huh? I just got; The Proposal shipped along Haunting in CT, and The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler (old made for Tv movies I remember as a kid).

Maybe I will movie this one further away from the top as too many chick flicks hurts.

Thanks for the review! It is about what I expect of his movies now too.

HD Goofnut · 12-19-2009, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFC5

This was recommended to me by Netflix as well. They must know we on occasion watch a movie with the wife huh? I just got; The Proposal shipped along Haunting in CT, and The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler (old made for Tv movies I remember as a kid).

Maybe I will movie this one further away from the top as too many chick flicks hurts.

Thanks for the review! It is about what I expect of his movies now too.

You're welcome.

12-18-2009, 11:00 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 Posts: 8,145	My take: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) Title: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) BD-25 Single Layer Disc Video: 1080p/VC-1 Audio: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Subtitles: English and Spanish Run time: 100 minutes Studio: New Line Home Entertainment Rating: PG-13 Region Coding: Region Free Player used for review: LG BH200 Cast/Crew Info: Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead Jennifer Garner as Jenny Perotti Michael Douglas as Uncle Wayne Emma Stone as Allison Vandermeersh Breckin Meyer as Paul Lacey Chabert as Sandra Robert Forster as Sergeant Volkom Anne Archer as Vonda Volkom Directed by Mark Waters My take: (the breakdown) Let me first note that Netflix recommended this title to me and I was kind of in the mood for a good comedy, but this was not what I had in mind. This movie is a chick flick plain and simple. It seems to be that McConaughey will do nothing but romantic comedies these days because that's all he can really do anyway. I mean you guy saw Contact right? Anyway, the story follows Connor Mead (McConaughey) and his 'problem' of having sex and dumping just about every woman he meets. After bumping into his dead uncle's ghost Connor is informed that he will be visited by three spirits. Sounds familiar right? He has to change or will die a lonely and miserable man much like his uncle. The question is can and will Connor do that? Yeah, it's a mutilation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but it still manages to have a few good laughs in it. Please rent this one and refrain from purchasing it. Believe me you'll thank me later. As with most comedies this Blu-ray transfer looks good, but it doesn't look great. Colors are properly saturated and never muted, but flesh tones seem to run a little hot towards the reddish side. Grain is minimal, but it tends to get a little noisy in the few darker scenes. Fine detail is perfect on closeups, but when a shot contains multiple characters it tends to run soft almost like it was intentional. For me though if it's razor sharp virtually all the way through it's distracting. Still, this is a decent effort made by New Line. We get a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track that is on par with the video quality. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized and never hard to hear. Surrounds see a little use through the musical track and a few discrete effects, but for the most part they are largely inactive. Your sub sees hardly any work, but this is indeed a romantic comedy. I also felt that the directionality of the sounds was off in some scenes, but this was minor. In the majority the movie's audio mix is just fine. We don't even get a mediocre supplemental package to go with this average movie. At least there's not really anything worth watching in this supplemental package. We get three making of features totaling 21 minutes, 10 minutes of deleted scenes, and a digital copy on a second disc. The making of features are in 1080 while the deleted scenes are in 480. Movie: 6/10 VQ: 8/10 AQ: 8/10 Supplements: 2/10 Final word: Worth a Rental at Best As always thanks for reading folks. __________________ Living Room Sharp LC-46SB57UN 46" 120Hz 1080p LCD (24fps)-Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Receiver-Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1-Phillips OTA HD Antenna-Nintendo Wii-LG BH200 Super Blu-Toshiba HD-A20 Bedroom Sanyo DP46848 46" 60Hz 1080p LCD-Terk OTA HD Antenna-Magnavox NB500MG9 Office HP G60 Laptop-HP 2159m 21.5" 60Hz 1080p LCD-Logitech X-540 5.1-Sony 40 GB PS3-ASUS SBC-06D1S-U External BD Drive-Toshiba HD-A2 My Movie Collection 417~139 Latest BD Review: *Ip Man*

12-18-2009, 11:29 PM	#2
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 34,082	This was recommended to me by Netflix as well. They must know we on occasion watch a movie with the wife huh? I just got; The Proposal shipped along Haunting in CT, and The Night Stalker/The Night Strangler (old made for Tv movies I remember as a kid). Maybe I will movie this one further away from the top as too many chick flicks hurts. Thanks for the review! It is about what I expect of his movies now too. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier PSN: PFC5