Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Movie: 3/5
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

"Leave Town!"

Doug Liman's Mr. & Mrs. Smith tells the story of two lovers, John Smith (Brad Pitt; Too Young to Die, World War Z) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie; Gone in 60 Seconds, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) who are married and at the same time do not know that they're both hired assassins. After going on a mission, their covers are blown and now all hell breaks loose. Jane's second in command, Jasmine (Kerry Washington; Django Unchained, Lakeview Terrace) wants everything shut down and soon a hit is put out on both John and Jane's heads.

I have a problem with how the movie ends. To give a slight spoiler to a film that's pushing ten years old, there's no resolution. It's left open for a sequel which never happened and a failed television pilot to continue the story. I'm not too much of a fan of Doug Liman as he's claimed that there would be sequels to this and other films (Jumper) which never materialized. I do think that Pitt and Jolie did a good job on this film, but, the failed resolve makes me give this film a 3/5.

Video: 3.5/5

Kinowelt/Studio Canal has presented Mr. & Mrs. Smith in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Having not seeing the U.S. Blu-ray by Fox, I do not know if this is the same HD transfer. There is grain present throughout the film, but it looks somewhat scrubbed away. I can't tell if it's DNR or what. But, considering this is ten years old, I doubt this film will look any better. 3.5/5.

Audio: 3.5/5

Kinowelt/Studio Canal has given the film two different audio presentations for the film; English and a German dubbing in DTS-HD HR 7.1. For being this high in terms of audio, I found myself turning up the audio slightly. I encountered this in both audio tracks. I guess if you have the proper sound equipment to play in 7.1 channels, it might sound better. I give the audio presentations 3.5/5.

Extras: 3/5

German dubbed trailers for The Bank Job, Jumper, Meet Dave, Million Dollar Baby, P2 , Premonition, The Sentinel, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Three different audio commentary tracks in DTS; With Simon Kinberg and Doug Liman; Michael Tronick, Jeff Mann, and Kevin Elam; and with producers Lucas Foster and Akiva Goldsman. Deleted scenes. Domestic Violence: The Making of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And Doug's Filmschool. With all this bonus material, if you're a fan of this film, it might be entertaining; but, I felt somewhat bored with all this.

Overall: 3.5/5

Like my previous review of the German Blu-ray for The Tourist, I got this disc from a Steelbook collector who sold off the Region B locked discs. Studio Canal simply re-uses the original Kinowelt disc because it was made before Studio Canal bought them out. I paid $3 for the disc and I know that the U.S. release goes for under $10. I give this German disc a 3.5/5.

The Tourist (2011)

Movie: 3.5/5
Video: 4/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

"Another Remake."

Another remake, this time of the French film Anthony Zimmer, The Tourist stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the lead roles. While I haven't seen the original film, I did find this one to be an okay film. In this film, Johnny Depp is Frank, a math teacher, from Wisconsin who is travelling after the death of his wife. While on a train from France to Italy, he meets Elise, who is waiting for her fugitive husband. After arriving in Italy; Frank is being chased down by corrputed Italian police, Russian mobsters, and British Secret Service.

I give the film a 3.5/5. It is certainly better than some of the recent films that both actors have put out lately; Dark Shadows! It's not perfect by any means. I did notice that one of the Russian mobsters was the antagonist of another film I recently reviewed, the straight-to-video Driven to Kill with Steven Seagal. Will I search out the original French film? Maybe if there's a Blu-ray out there.

Before we continue on with the review; this is the disc from the Steelbook release which came out in September 2012. Despite the disc art, I am assuming this is the same disc from the original release due to the fact that the British and German studios which Studio Canal converted are their original names; Optimum and Kinowelt, respectively. Also, disc is Region B locked.

Video:
The video presentation on this disc is questionable. I am not sure if this is entirely the same master presented on the American release by Sony. The video is almost flawless during the first hour. I could have sworn that this was possibly shot digitally after looking at it close up. But, when we get to around an hour, six minutes in, the problems start. In the scene where Angelina's character is talking to Paul Bettany's character, a large scratch pops up on the screen. Then when we get to the climax of the film; shots are almost completely out of focus. It was almost jarring to look at. Then, on top of that, there is more print damage that we are dealing with. Not sure if Studio Canal was just given a print of the film or this was the master itself. Despite these problems, I give the video a 4/5.

Audio:
We have three audio tracks present on the film; English, French, and German. Studio Canal has presented all three audio tracks in DTS-HD MA 5.1. After watching the film in English; I went through the film and sampled the French and German tracks. They are both on par with the English track. No real complaints here. 5/5.

Extras:
"Bringing Glamour" which discusses the making of the film with the director and cast. "Canal Chats" which starts with the director talking about a ritual smoke on the way home. Then we have the producer and one of the writers giving some input on the film and shooting in Venice. "Traveling the Canals of Venice", mostly the same as the last feature, this time with the actors, mostly. "Action in Venice" which dissects one of the action scenes in the film. "The Gala" which is the crew talking about constructing the gala scene towards the end of the film. Then finally we have outtakes, an interview with Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck, and a collection of trailers. Why most of these weren't merged into a "Making of" is beyond me. It's informative, but pointless to have them all chopped up into bits like this. I did like it. 5/5.

Overall:
If you live in Europe, this disc will suit you. If you're in the States, then just stick to the Sony release. Unless you're a Steelbook collector. I got this from a seller who swapped the discs out. I think for the price I paid for, which was about $4, I can recommend it. 4/5.