Love Happens – Blu-ray Disc Review
February 1, 2010 – 10:37 PM - Posted by: Brendan SurplessTags: Aaron Eckhart, BD-Live, Brandon Camp, Dan Fogler, Jennifer Aniston, Joe Anderson, John Carroll Lynch, Judy Greer, Martin Sheen, Universal
has an average rating of 5.4 on IMDb
1080p in VC-1 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
a too short but ALL in Hi-Def
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– 2009
– 109 Minutes
– Universal
– 
Street Date: February 2nd, 2010
Overall Verdict – At Least Worth a Rental
Buy it for $24.99 @ Amazon.com
— Review written by: Brendan Surpless —
The Movie Itself was directed by Brandon Camp. Dr. Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart) is a self-help author who has just arrived in Seattle to teach a sold-out seminar based on his new book. The idea behind his seminar is that he tries to help people who have recently loss someone. On the first day, he unexpectedly meets a woman by the name of Eloise Chandler (Jennifer Aniston) and instantly is intrigued by her. Clearly wanting to know more about Eloise, Burke tries to approach her but is blow off with “deaf” signals. See Eloise recently broke up with her boyfriend and wants nothing to do with any man in existence; however, there is something about Burke that piques her interest. The film essentially follows interactions with the two leads and their worlds as they attempt to find out more about one another. What results is a film that is both entertaining and charming thanks in part to the story told and the film’s cast.
It absolutely never fails for me. Practically every SINGLE of these romantic comedy type films I receive in (and there are a handful of them) I do the exact same thing. I look at the case, glance at the back to see what the film is about, pop it in my Blu-ray player, sit back and watch. Then after about 2 hours or so, I usually end up with a similar verdict. The films themselves aren’t definitions of cinema at their finest, but I find myself liking them for some reason. Perhaps it’s because I put myself in the shoes of either A) A couple watching the film or B) someone who can relate to the subject matter at hand. For myself I tend to typically rely more on item B than A as I can’t say I typically have someone else to watch these films with. Moving on though…
Some may criticize “Love Happens” and its plot for being too by the book, never really diverting from the road built by countless other genre movies before this one. I will agree with that comment with a slight asterisk. Yes the idea that a man trying to cope with the recent loss of his wife, speaking to others about it, then meeting someone special has clearly been done before. But I can’t really (correct me if you so see fit) think of a similar film where the cast has worked on the level it has here. Eckhart plays the widower with a sense of purpose. We can see the daily pain he must go through not in just re-telling the story but having to deal helping other fight their similar losses. Sheen as the father delivers the sense of wanting to move on but keeps on fighting for Ryan to realize and admit the truth. All the actors, for the most part, bring the story home in a manner that most of us will relate to. The only downside here is that Aniston is rather bland in her role. In fact she has really acted well minus her performance in 2002′s “The Good Girl“.
In closing, “Love Happens” is the kind of film that works on the level it does simply because of the feelings that the story brings out. The subject of losing someone and trying to cope with their loss is known to all. “Love Happens” is a charming film as it mixes both serious tones with humor all of which are well displayed thanks to a solid cast. Well Recommended for both those looking for a good date night film or just a film that you’ll just enjoy.
Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the VC-1 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte, dual layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The film’s color palette tends to focus on more of a warmer palette. Even though the film’s main locale of Seattle has a somewhat dreary look to it due to the weather, there are still instances where the colors were solid. The yellows and blues of the flowers in Eloise’s shop occasionally popped off the screen showcasing fine detail. Speaking of detail, fleshtones were accurate as were contrast levels for the most part. Grain is kept to a minimum and the film’s print is in fine condition as there was no damage or noise that I noticed. I couldn’t find many negatives about this transfer as the image has a warm, pleasing flow to it. All in all this earns a “4.5 Star Rating“.
Audio Quality on this release is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. The film’s dialogue is well reproduced with no instance of drop out. There was no need for any volume changes as my receiver sat at a comfortable 55/100. With this being a romantic comedy, the sound design does tend to focus on more of a front heavy mix. However, there are a few instances were we do get a bit of surround activity thanks in part to the score by Christopher Young or from the varying background dialogue. LFE is kept to a bare minimum rarely becoming noticeable. Pans between rears, when active, are invisible. All in all this earns an okay “3.5 Star Rating“.
Bonus Materials are presented in High Definition video with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound @192kbps.
- BD-Live: As per all Universal titles, BD-Live is included and gives fans access to current and upcoming trailers and bonus content.
- Deleted Scenes: Here we get a few deleted scenes that run close to 13 minutes. Most of the scenes don’t add up to much and we can clearly see why they were cut.
- Giving Romance a New Look: This is a very bland 3 minute look at some of the film’s effect shots.
- Audio Commentary with Filmmakers
Blu-ray Disc packaging:
Screenshots:
NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.
