The Rambler [Blu-Ray]
Director: Calvin Reeder
Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natasha Lyonne
Release Date: Available on Blu-Ray & DVD June 25
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 6/10
Disc Rating: 7/10
Plot Summary:
In the film, a stranger known only as “the Rambler” (Mulroney) is just released from prison and anxious to build a new life for himself. Coming home to a faithless girlfriend (Lyonne), he quickly realizes his old life is truly behind him. With the promise of a job and some stability from his brother, the Rambler embarks on a cross-country journey to what hopefully is a new start.
‘The Rambler’ is one of those few rare examples in filmmaking where even a week after viewing it, I’m still not sure whether or not I even enjoyed it. 
Because of this fact it’s a bit difficult to even put into words what elements of it really confused, pleased or bothered me. I will do my best to explain in generalizations so as to avoid any spoilers, as it’s also a bit difficult to even categorize what exactly would be considered a spoiler in this film.
Our story begins with The Rambler (Dermot Mulroney) being released from prison and beginning his trek back into society. As one thing crumbles and becomes complicated, he leaves his current home and begins to make his way to his brother’s farm to help out and stay there. As he begins his quest to the farm he meets a number of colorful characters, from a man who claims to have created a machine that can record dreams to a VHS tape, to a girl who peaks his interest, but he can’t seem to keep track of.
‘The Rambler’ seemed to provide me with a slew of questions; are all of these things actually occurring, are all of these people he’s talking to real, how is someone there and then just gone, is it all just a weird road journey that’s hard to believe, or is this all in his head and he’s just imagining it? 
Unfortunately, you aren’t going to get answers to any questions such as those. What you will get with ‘The Rambler’ is a bunch of random unexplainable occurrences, interesting characters and a bunch of incredibly confusing trippy (and often impressively gory) images that seem like something out of an acid trip. There is really no plot, most of the confusing elements of the film are never explained, but if you like a movie that just throws a bunch of weird vibes and images at you without any rhyme or reason and is just one crazy unexplainable trip, then ‘The Rambler’ might just be the film for you, but this one is certainly an acquired taste and likely won’t be something everyone will enjoy.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Rambler’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio and as is mostly the case with Anchor Bay’s Blu-Ray releases, the video quality is top notch. Smooth, detailed and composed, this is a quality transfer that no one should have any qualms with.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD soundtrack which is 
quite impressive. For a crazy mind trip movie such as this, the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack get’s more than enough opportunity to show off its stuff and it doesn’t disappoint. The dialogue is always legible and clear in the center channel, and the majority of the film features a good amount of trippy imagery throughout that when the audio joins in the fun, it really gives the other channels a workout and contributes a great deal to the overall effect ‘The Rambler’ gives off. Top notch audio track that shouldn’t disappoint.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Unfortunately no special features are included on the Blu-Ray release of ‘The Rambler.’
Film Rating: 6/10
Disc Rating: 7/10
‘The Rambler’ will be available on Blu-Ray & DVD June 25 from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
