'Journey to the Center of the Earth' - High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Peter has reviewed 'Journey to the Center of the Earth.' Like most critics, he says the film is more a ride than a movie. This Blu-ray offers red/blue anaglyph 3-D, a 2-D version with nice video and audio, and some basic extras. Worth a rental.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1799...earth2008.html

[Im Blu]

Wish Family Video kept their $9 offer instead of refunding

[project-blu]

damn, brutal, yo.

makes me glad i was inclined to pass on this title in the CH bogo, which would have been the only time i woulda paid for this. oh wells, saves me the stress of budgeting to include this title. gracias, Peter, for saving me 30 bucks!

[Super-VHS]

Originally Posted by Peter M. Bracke

[b]New Line presents 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround. As expected, this is a slam-bang presentation that's just as over-the-top with effects and action as the feature film.

Once the film's boring opening gets out of the way, the fun can begin. Any scene involving action, special effects or dinosaurs is flush with discrete effects. The rear channels are almost always engaged, and the result is a wonderfully active soundstage. Sounds whoosh and zoom with transparent panning and excellent clarity. Low bass extends to the deepest levels, so my subwoofer got quite a workout. The mix is first-rate in terms of polish and gloss, with every constructed sound robust. Unfortunately, dialogue and even the score is sometimes lost in all this, to the point that it sounds like a rumbling juggernaut with actors mouthing words. Of course, is anyone watching 'Journey for the Center of the Earth' for the dialogue, anyway? Purely in terms of bombastic action, this is a fun mix.

I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

Ralph Potts states in his review over @ AVS that Warner/New Line elected to go lossy on Journey for the Center of the Earth. Press materials also indicate that this title is Dolby Digital only - not Dolby TrueHD.

[Blueguy]

Gigantic IMAX screens nationwide are flush with 3-D films, with everything from U2 to Batman and Harry Potter now comin' at ya in three dimensions.[quote]
Batman was in 3D?

'Journey to the Center of the Earth' is the first large-scale 3-D release in over two decades.

In what way does this movie handle the 3D differently then Beowulf?

[posters5]

Originally Posted by Super-VHS

I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

Ralph Potts states in his review over @ AVS that Warner/New Line elected to go lossy on Journey for the Center of the Earth. Press materials also indicate that this title is Dolby Digital only - not Dolby TrueHD.

as usual, peter struck out again. i've reviewed this title for my site and can confirm that the audio is DD 5.1--not DD plus, not dolby trueHD, just DD.

[Columbo345]

Hate to say it, but it seems like Peter rushed this one to beat the presses (not sure why, this isn't Iron Man we're talking about here)

The review not only lists the wrong audio version, but the side specs aren't even complete nor is the box art shown. I actually don't care for this movie, but it's a tad sloppy on Peter's part. It's a shame because I do like his reviews.

[that1guypictures]

I got this from Blockbuster today. Weird thing is, they made a different version for rental locations. The Blockbuster version of the Blu-Ray is presented on a BD-25 (!) , with Dolby 5.1 640kbps, and ONLY THE 2-D VERSION!!!! I'm guessing they made this version especially for Blockbuster and Netflix. I've seen studios do this for DVD, but I hadn't seen a Blu-Ray encoded specifically for rental. Keep this in mind in case you are renting.

[posters5]

eventually, ALL dvd and blu-ray pressings will only have the 2-D version. i'm sure that rental outfits already got the 2-D-only versions because they don't want to deal with customers asking, "where are the 3-D glasses?"

[dac_fan]

Why isn't full-color polarized 3-D possible on Blu-ray?

(According to the review)

PS: thank you familyvideo.com for canceling my preorder and saving me money on a crap red/blue 3d movie.

[crazyfatrobot]

Originally Posted by Blueguy

In what way does this movie handle the 3D differently then Beowulf?

It's live action. I think that's what he meant.

[crazyfatrobot]

Originally Posted by dac_fan

Why isn't full-color polarized 3-D possible on Blu-ray?

(According to the review)

PS: thank you familyvideo.com for canceling my preorder and saving me money on a crap red/blue 3d movie.

I'd like to know that too. I can't think of a reason why it shouldn't work.

[defboy]

yeah the 3-d version you tend to get at imax with the clear glasses works for me, the red/blue glasses thing just gives me a headache

[snipsnapsappy]

Fix the review. This title has been one of great contention because of Warner's lackluster support of TrueHD.

Is this in TrueHD or not? I count on HDD to give me the most accurate and comprehensive reviews on the web.

[posters5]

once again, the disc does NOT have a truehd track. the writers are probably asleep right now, but someone should've checked the specs before posting the review. peter's reviews are routinely filled with factual, technical, and grammatical errors.