Colossal [Blu-Ray]

Director: Nacho Vigalondo

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens

Release Date: August 1, 2017

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 10/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is an out-of-work party girl who, after getting kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend (Dan Stevens), is forced to leave her life in New York and move back to her hometown where she’s reunited with her childhood friend (Jason Sudeikis). When news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, South Korea, Gloria gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to this far-off phenomenon. As events begin to spin out of control, Gloria must determine why her seemingly insignificant existence has such a colossal effect on the fate of the world.

‘Colossal’ tells the story of unemployed party girl Gloria (Hathaway) who after repeatedly pushing her luck has been kicked out by her boyfriend Tim (Stevens). With few options available to her, Gloria heads back to her childhood home and takes up residence at her old (and empty) house in an attempt to try and find some steady work while additionally rethinking some of her choices and plans moving forward. When by apparent happenstance she comes across her childhood friend Oscar (Sudeikis) who offers her a job working in his local bar, she quickly accepts. But after a night of drunken fun Gloria soon comes to realize that she seems to share a mysterious connection with a monster wreaking havoc in South Korea. Just beginning to try and settle down so that she might figure her life out, Gloria’s terrifying discovery that her actions are possibly affecting innocent strangers sets her on an unexpected new path.

Written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo (Open Windows, Timecrimes) who does a fantastic job at the helm of ‘Colossal’ guiding his own script along with obvious passion and capturing the beauty, heart and emotion with ease around every wonderfully strange turn. The film is also benefited tremendously by the talented and perfectly selected cast including Anne Hathaway (Interstellar), Jason Sudeikis (We’re The Millers), Dan Stevens (The Guest), Tim Blake Nelson (Minority Report), Austin Stowell (Bridge of Spies) and more, nearly all delivering notable performances in each of their respective roles, Hathaway and Sudeikis in particular absolutely shining with their brilliant portrayals of the film’s two most crucial characters.

‘Colossal’ is a remarkable and splendidly odd piece of filmmaking that offers viewers a gorgeous, heartfelt and powerful tale with a twisted sense of humor that is quite unlike anything else you’ve experienced recently. Following a young, party loving woman with a drinking problem who after being left with no other choice returns to her hometown only to make a startling discovery that she is somehow related to a monster wreaking havoc in South Korea; it’s an undoubtedly peculiar concept from the start yet for those willing to simply let themselves be taken along on this unique ride via the capable guidance of talented filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo it should prove to be a truly rewarding journey. This magical tale is only complimented a great deal more courtesy of the noteworthy performances from the highly capable cast, with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis in particular at their absolute best and never missing a quirky beat. ‘Colossal’ certainly won’t be a film for everyone, but I would strongly urge folks to give it a shot, especially anyone who enjoys a quirky and incredibly different type of the film from the standard that explores some powerful characters and their relatable struggles in a remarkably unique way. Any fan of Vigalondo’s work or that of Hathaway/Sudeikis definitely won’t want to even consider missing out on this marvelous tale. ‘Colossal’ is without a doubt one of very best film’s so far this year, a true modern masterpiece that is not to be missed.

Overall, ‘Colossal’ is simply phenomenal and without a doubt one of the very best film’s I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing so far this year, if not likely the best. It’s a remarkably moving and well crafted tale from talented filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo and featuring outstanding performances from leads Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis that is brimming with heart and beauty, taking viewers along on a journey of self discovery that is unlike anything you’ve previously experienced. ‘Colossal’ absolutely earns my highest recommendation, especially for those who are fans of Vigalondo’s work or of the talented cast members, along with anyone who can enjoy and appreciate a beautiful, strange and truly moving film that is drastically unlike the majority of Hollywood films you’ll come across. It should easily prove itself worth the cost of a rental at the very least for anyone that’s already somewhat interested in giving it a whirl.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Colossal’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole and delivers a clean, colorful and nearly flawless video presentation throughout. Thanks in part to an impressive bitrate it holds up admirably even during the darkly lit and more heavily populated sequences, never allowing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected, let alone rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a wonderful high definition video presentation from Universal that should have little trouble pleasing the fans and casual viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack provides a perfect complement to the film with its consistently clean, crisp and occasionally quite hard hitting audio presentation. While not overly active when it comes to the surround department, it nonetheless takes advantage of all five available channels when appropriate in order to send crowd chatter, some music, and more throughout the various speakers on occasion, in addition to offering a more aggressive experience amidst the monster attacks (which also allows the bass ample chance to show off its stuff). Overall, this is a solid 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers in every way required of it and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Colossal’ includes only a single extra; a ‘Deleted Scene’ (running approximately 4 minutes in length) from the movie that oddly enough seems to in actuality be a scene that is also included in the film (perhaps a slightly extended cut of the scene as opposed to actually “Deleted”?).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Film Rating: 10/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

‘Colossal’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD from Voltage Pictures, NEON & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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