Whip It – Blu-ray Disc Review
February 4, 2010 – 8:51 PM - Posted by: Danielle ByingtonTags: Alia Shawkat, Carlo Alban, Daniel Stern, Digital Copy, Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Eve, FOX, Jimmy Fallon, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Landon Pigg, Marcia Gay Harden, Sarah Habel, Zoe Bell
has an average rating of 7.3 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
partially Hi-Def with a Digital Copy
– 
– 2009
– 111 minutes
– FOX
– 
This uses 32.6GB for the movie out of 36.6GB total.
Overall Verdict – Recommended
Buy it for $13.99 @ Amazon.com
— Review written by: Danielle Byington —
The Movie Itself was Directed by Drew Barrymore, based on the novel by Shauna Cross, who also wrote the screenplay.
The movie centers on Bliss (Ellen Page), a teenager who seems slightly confused as to just where she fits in, living in a very town in Texas, and constantly being entered in pageants by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). It is clear that Bliss is not exactly the debutant ball sort of girl, though, being surrounded by all of these mundane things, there isn’t quite an outlet for the indie rock loving girl to embrace. That is, until a stop in a thrifty clothing store places her at the check-out counter just as some roller derby ladies are dropping off their fliers for tryouts. Impressed by their bold presence, Bliss picks up a flier, and stuffs it in her bag. She may have been a bit too timid to even attend without the moral support of her friend, Pash (Alia Shawkat), who also works with Bliss waiting tables at a small restaurant.
So after sneaking to Austin to see a pre-tryouts event, just to get a feel for what this roller derby girl stuff is all about, a few encounters both encourage Bliss to tryout, but she also sets herself up to make a mistake when she lies about her teenage years of 17, and tells an inviting Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) that she is 22 (since the required tryout age is 21). Returning home to her small town, Bliss breaks-out her Barbie skates from way back when, and begins practicing in her street. Using the front of attending an S.A.T. class, since it seems pretty clear her parents, especially her mother, would not approve of the rowdy and aggressive nature of the sport, Bliss not only proves herself worthy in the tryouts, but blows the typical speed-trials out of the water, being one of the fastest things on skates in Austin.
Bliss earns some recognition from her first event, not only among the crowd as a new face, but from her fellow team members as well, Bloody Holly (Zoe Bell, Rosa Sparks (Eve), Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore), and the Mason Sisters (Kristen Adolfi, & Rachel Piplica). With all of this newly adopted local fame, Bliss has also caught the eye of a particular boy, Oliver (Landon Pigg). Bliss‘ new found talent and basically alter ego, has got her once confused and bored mind on cloud nine, however conflict does arise. Still flowing with no argument to please her mother’s pageant wishes, a big-title beauty pageant is planned on the same date and time as the roller derby league’s finals, which in combination with her now boyfriend Oliver leaving on a tour with his band, certainly puts Bliss in a bit of a hopeless situation.
In closing, as Drew Barrymore‘s directorial debut, this film proves to have covered all grounds of solidity in producing a final product of a very likable flick. Of course the involvement of the roller derby competitions spices the film with fun with all of the creative efforts and details in everything from the stage names like “Smashley Simpson“, but the film also shows maturity in its exhibit of a story revolving around a teenager. The movie does a great job conveying what could be seen as teenage revolt or angst with the conflicting interests of Bliss versus her mother without turning the story into either a disrespectful message regarding family relationships, or evolving into an overly mushy mother-daughter story. Barrymore‘s applied directing style here has churned out a great film, and the movie itself earns a “4 Star Rating“.
Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The general look of this release’s video quality is presented with more a raw and gritty look. The numerous scenes shot within the roller derby warehouse are somewhat of the visual highlight on the release, and are under lighting conditions similar to that of stage lighting, which depending on the angle, shots either highly benefit in display of detail, or appear somewhat lesser-than. Other scene settings, including the interiors of the restaurant and Bliss‘ home, possess a more average display of definition, and with the exception of “O.K.” close-ups, borderline a bit of a soft look. Having been shot on 35MM film, film grain is retained with a moderate presence, providing a suitable look to the content, both the very real nature of the aggressive roller derby sport, and the seemingly dusty small rural Texas town. However, underneath, definition in general is rather mediocre, and just as mentioned above, probably the best looking shots are contained under specific bright lighting in the skating ring; other wise, extreme detail like facial pores, strands of hair, and so forth, are fairly lost.
Throughout the film’s set design and wardrobe, we broadly see an extensive use of brown and beige hues; with the exception of roller derby related subjects. The bright colors of the girls’ uniforms stand out rather vibrantly against the shabby dull shades without bleeding, though a more vivid “pop” may have been achievable against a solid black level, which is not exactly present in this picture, and is more along the lines of gray-blue tones rather than possessing an inky quality. Fleshtones are generally accurate as well, with just a slip towards a more murky brown display in interiors shots. Overall, the video quality for this release does find itself worthy of a “4 Star Rating“.
Audio Quality on this release is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio Surround. The content of this film provides a great source of energy for the audio track through out the runtime. The more significant audible moments do involve the roller derby competitions themselves; comprised of an enthusiastic cheering crowd, the accompanying music from the soundtrack, and the rumble of several pairs of roller skates zooming around, this combination fulfills the channels of the 5.1 setup, offering strong front channel and subwoofer usage, and even a good amount of rear channel presence. Regarding the soundtrack, which includes songs played throughout the film such as “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” by The Ramones, and “Doing It Right” by The Go! Team, as well as the original music in the film composed by The Section Quartet, the selection of music used on this audio track does present itself strongly, giving a solid performance from the inside out within the soundscape, being one of the primary audio sources that brings the channels to life on this release. The film’s content of roller derby fury involving lots of elbow jabs, punches, and wipe-outs within the ring, are played out by appropriate foley conveying these actions, and is presented perfectly and clearly often from the front channels, but occasionally from the rears as more of an environment effect. Dialogue has checked free of any flaws, being presented clearly from the front center channel typically, with a few exceptions due to content, such as announcer ‘Hot Tub’ Johnny Rocket‘s commentary offering left and right front channel presence with microphone reverb. Overall, at times this audio track pushes a half star rating higher, but wrapped up along side more somber dramatic scenes, the audio quality here still earns itself a well deserved “4 Star Rating“.
Bonus materials are presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition, using Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
- “Digital Copy” is included on this release which is compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media portable devices (Mac and PC).
- “Deleted Scenes” (HD, 16:14) consists of 9 scenes, including an alternate opening to the film.
- “Fox Movie Channel Presents Writer’s Draft: Shauna Cross of ‘Whip It‘” (SD, 3:04) is basically an interview with the writer, discussing her development of the story, as well as her hands-on experience with the sport.
- “‘Whip It’ Soundtrack Spot” (SD, 0:32) is basically a promo ad for the soundtrack highlighting a few of the included songs.
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.
