|
|
 |
The Last Song
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (5th September 2010). |
|
The Film
 I was just remarking to one of my friend’s the other day that it makes me feel old when I stop and realize how out of touch with today’s youth I am. Not that I’d expect many 28-year-old men to have even the slightest grasp on what tween girls are into, but I don’t understand the appeal some of today’s young starlets garner. Case in point: Miley Cyrus. Now, obviously she holds some kind of appeal to young girls. I know she’s got a show on Disney where she has two personalities (Hannah Montana, right?), but the extent of my knowledge regarding her is that she’s the daughter of the mullet-rocking singer of “Achey Breaky Heart” who’s got a set of chompers that resemble Billy Bob teeth and she’s been caught flashing her underage vajajay almost as many times as Britney Spears. So, as you can imagine, I’m about as far removed from her target demographic as possible. But I still attempted to go into my viewing of “The Last Song” (2010) with an open mind. My only possible saving grace was that the film was based on a Nicholas Sparks novel (he also pulls duty as screenwriter here) and, even though chick flicks are never something I would voluntarily watch, I’ve heard so much praise for “The Notebook” (2004) that I thought this might be, at the least, tolerable. Oh, how wrong I was… Veronica “Ronnie” Miller (Miley Cyrus) is a rebellious young tween who is forced to spend the summer at her father’s (Greg Kinnear) beach house with her younger brother, Jonah (Bobby Coleman). Ever since her parents divorce, Ronnie has resented her father, Steve, who now lives the quiet life on a small island off Georgia after retiring from teaching at Juilliard. Ronnie is something of a musical prodigy on the piano, but she completely abandoned music to spite her father. She spends the summer being a typically bratty little bitch, mouthing off to her dad and defying him at every opportunity. Through a series of chance encounters she meets Will (Liam Hemsworth), a hunky rich kid with a love of animals and a soft side that starts to melt this little ice queen’s heart. Of course, Ronnie really starts to let down her guard once we learn that – you knew this was coming – Steve has cancer. Now faced with the very real prospect of losing her father, and feeling the need to make up for lost time (read: being a bitch for so long) she decides to spend all the time she can with him, eventually picking up where she left off on the piano and helping him write his final piece of music. I can’t believe that anyone would find some level of enjoyment in watching this tripe, let alone fans of the film’s star, Miley. Let’s face it – she’s a terrible actress. I know this might sound superficial, and possibly cruel, but her teeth are like a pair of oversized dentures, and it greatly affects her speech. There wasn’t anything that felt genuine about her performance. Even scenes of her being an emotional basket case came across as stilted and forced. I recognize we live in an age where actual talent takes a backseat to popularity and looks (though I don’t think she’s got the latter), but I’m guessing none of that matters when you’ve got a 17-year-old cash cow putting underage asses in seats. I can see that this film is an attempt to break free of her glitzy glam persona and prove that she’s got the chops to carry a dramatic film, but the simple fact is that she doesn’t. I can count on one hand all of the musicians who can successfully act as well as they can perform. Cyrus, despite her pedigree and well-established TV show (which sounds like it’s not much of a stretch for a young actress), isn’t capable of breathing life into her role. There’s one scene in particular that had me cringing – there’s a young misfit girl, Blaze (Carly Chaikin), who has an abusive boyfriend and causes trouble for Ronnie. She even gets Ronnie in trouble for shoplifting. There’s no reason to think this girl has any redemptive qualities, yet when Ronnie sees her having a fight with her white trash street performer boyfriend, which results in her being kicked to the streets, Ronnie gives her the money her father gave her to buy a dress. Womanly understanding or not, I can’t imagine a single person on Earth would lend such a hand to a person who has completely screwed them. I don’t know what this scene is supposed to illustrate (that Ronnie is a fool easily parted with her money?), but it was the nail in the coffin for me. I can’t place all of the blame on Miley, however. The fact of the matter is that this film is a pedestrian, run-of-the-mill tearjerker, hitting all the same notes as every other similarly themed film before it. Any viewer with half a mind for film should know that her father is going to die, and cancer is the most obvious culprit since we can literally watch the person wither away before our very eyes. This, of course, works wonders for wringing out every last drop of emotion before the end credits roll. I can only imagine how formulaic the rest of Sparks’ material is, though reviews I’ve skimmed seem to indicate this is the nadir of his output. It all comes across so ham-fisted – Steve plays the mellow, easygoing dad trying to reconnect with his daughter; Ronnie is an insufferable brat. Their extremely strained relationship is so full of vitriol that it makes for a perfect emotional segue into flowing tears once we learn of Steve’s condition. I loathe films that pander to the lowest common denominator. There’s an alarming sense of verisimilitude here, with the film trying to show it has heart and depth, but it’s really as shallow as a kiddie pool. Though he might be overdoing it a bit in the “hey, watch me act!” department, I found Bobby Coleman’s character of Jonah to be the best thing about the film. He’s a young kid who has missed seeing his father for so many years, and now he’s hoping to become the glue which will once again reunite the family – but it’s all for naught. He has the simple mind of a child, and he likes to think that there’s still hope for his parents to get back together, despite the fact that his mother is already remarried and his father is very resigned to the fact that this will never happen. I found his outbursts toward Ronnie to be most convincing. He is, quite simply, pissed off that effort is being made to make the most out of their summer with dad, but Ronnie’s continual desire to play hardball keeps that division between the two camps (father/son & father/daughter) from unifying.
Video
I don’t think the 2.35:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer could possibly be any more middle-of-the-road. My thoughts on the image constantly vacillated between being slightly impressed and being incredibly disappointed. Honestly, I expected a lot more out of a new-to-Blu-ray feature film from The Mouse House. For starters, the image is incredibly soft – far too much so. I’m not sure whether it was cinematographer John Lindley’s decision to shoot the film with a soft focus, providing it with a dream-like quality, or if the transfer was somehow botched before it hit the streets. Either way, the picture is a far cry from the quality I usually expect to see out of Disney. Some colors appeared to be over-saturated, almost bleeding out on the screen. Black levels exhibited a fine level of depth, but whites looked a bit too subdued to my eye. It seemed as though the lighting was muted during daytime scenes; it never looked like an authentic summer day at the beach. There were several scenes of facial close-ups which looked sharp and showcased a great level of fine detail, but the majority of the image is far too muddy to be a show-stopping high-definition image.
Audio
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit wasn’t much to crow about, either. Not that I was expecting to hear some rapid machine gun fire or explosions aplenty – this is simply a well-designed, subtle track with limited dynamics. Rear speakers provide some good immersion during scenes on the boardwalk filled with people, or when Ronnie is sitting on the beach listening to the waves roll in to shore. Dialogue is almost always clear and distinct, although one hushed conversation later in the film at the hospital stood out to me as being very difficult to hear. The track only shows true signs of life when some generic pop song is blaring through every channel, even worse when it’s a song from Maroon 5. Surprisingly, there is only one minor scene where Miley shows off her singing abilities. I expected to hear her belting out tunes for half the film, so I’d put a check in the “positive” column for that. Look, this is a chick flick full of romance and goofing off – I can’t imagine anyone would expect a demo-worthy track to emerge from such conditions. There is also a French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track included. Subtitles are available in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
This is a Disney Blu-ray disc, so you already know that regardless of whether or not the film in question is terrible (which it is), there’s bound to be a healthy slate of supplements included. This package follows suit, coming stacked with an audio commentary, alternate opening, deleted scenes, featurettes, a music video and behind-the-scenes footage. There’s also a second disc included with the feature film presented in standard definition along with a few of the extras found on the Blu-ray. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY Though it may be buried among the supplements, the standout extra here would be the audio commentary with director Julie Anne Robinson and co-producer Jennifer Gibgot. I’m not saying it’s the standout because it’s good, but generally a commentary track is the highlight of any supplemental package. The duo don’t have a hard time coming up with things to say, whether it be on-set anecdotes, shooting challenges or casting auditions, but, quite frankly, the fact that the film itself isn’t very good makes any information they’re providing moot. I can’t see this track appealing to many of Miley’s tween fans, and since they’re the target demographic for the film, this one will likely fall deaf on most ears. "The Church Fire" (1080p) is an alternate opening sequence runs for 2 minutes and 55 seconds, and is available with optional audio commentary by director Julie Anne Robinson. Just as it says, this is merely a different take on the film’s opening sequence. There’s nothing drastically different from the current opening. There are several deleted scenes (1080p) available, with optional audio commentary by director Julie Anne Robinson, for the following: - “Ronnie at the Piano” runs for 1 minute and 2 seconds, Ronnie shows off some of her skills on the ivories. - “Steve & Ronnie at the Beach” runs for 51 seconds, father and daughter sit by the sea and have some conversation. - “Hospital Montage” runs for 1 minute and 24 seconds, this is a compilation of scenes featuring Ronnie trying to make up for lost time with Steve by spending time with him. - “Vegan Cookies” runs for 1 minute and 29 seconds, Steve brings Ronnie something to snack on while she maintains Turtle Watch 2010. - “Juggling on the Pier” runs for 1 minute and 59 seconds, this is essentially just an extension of the scene with Marcus juggling his flaming balls shown early on in the film. “Set Tour with Bobby Coleman” (1080p) featurette runs for 5 minutes and 6 seconds. The pint-sized actor, who plays Jonah in the film, provides viewers with a guided tour of what his life on the film’s set is like. “Making of the Music Video “When I Look At You” featurette with Miley Cyrus” (1080p) runs for 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Miley and the video crew discuss the concept of the video which, according to her, is supposed to be “all dreamy and romantic”. Indeed. “When I Look At You” music video by Miley Cyrus (1080p) runs for 4 minutes and 16 seconds. There are sneak peek bonus trailers (1080p) available for the following: - “Disney Blu-ray” promo runs for 1 minute and 4 seconds. - “Oceans” runs for 1 minute and 23 seconds. - “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” runs for 2 minutes and 12 seconds. - “A Christmas Carol” runs for 2 minutes and 9 seconds. - “Secretariat” runs for 2 minutes and 23 seconds. - “When in Rome” runs for 1 minute and 57 seconds. - “Lost: The Final Season” runs for 1 minute and 14 seconds. DISC TWO: DVD This is a DVD containing the film in anamorphic widescreen standard-definition, along with the audio commentary, music video, the making-of the music video featurette and set tour featurette bonus features. Also includes are some more bonus trailers for: - "Secretariat" runs for 2 minutes 23 seconds. - "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" runs for 2 minute 12 seconds. - "Lost: The Final Season" runs for 1 minute 14 seconds. - "Ugly Betty: The Complete Fourth and Final Season" runs for 30 seconds. - "Oceans" runs for 1 minute 23 seconds. - "The Crimson Wing" runs for 1 minute 1 second. - "Castle: The Complete Second Season" runs for 30 seconds. - "A Christmas Carol" runs for 2 minutes 9 seconds.
Packaging
As per usual, the Blu-ray comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with each disc housed on a hub opposite the other. A slip-cover is included which replicates the cover art, albeit with a little more flair.
Overall
Rife with emotional clichés and lacking any real star power (or a solid performance), this is just another by-the-numbers chick flick which fans of Miley Cyrus will eat up, but anyone with a penis (or half a brain) will be bored before the halfway mark. The video quality didn’t impress me much; I expected something razor sharp with a spectacular color palette. The audio quality works perfectly fine for this type of film, so I can’t fault it much. There is a decent selection of extra features available, but none of them really add much to the overall package. I don’t recommend this unless you’re a major fan of Cyrus’ work and will blindly give in to anything she does.
|
|||||
|