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Secondhand Lions (UMD)
Region 1 • PG • Dolby Digital • Available Now
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It should come as no surprise that New Line has worked its magic on this gem of a film. Not to mention that if any film in the New Line October lineup deserved a good UMD treatment, it’s this one.
Thoughts on the Movie
Sometimes the simplest stories are the best.
I hadn’t seen Secondhand Lions up until now...and what a great film it was. Oh, there isn’t too much plot here- two crazy uncles (Michael Caine and Robert Duvall) take care of their nephew, who was dropped of by his somewhat psychotic mother in hopes of getting a chunk of the uncle’s great fortune- but what an adventure! The uncle’s fortune plays a role in pretty much introducing anything into the story, including a lion and a hilarious shot at then end (with the lake). Meanwhile Caine tells the story of his adventures with Duvall in Africa to the nephew, which plays out more like a moral tale than an actual recount of events. Or is it?
It’s always hard for me to write up my thoughts on an excellent movie. Should I recount all the best parts of the film? Nah, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s chance to see the movie. Ok, so what then? I loved the actors, the story, the story within the story and all the random characters in the film. I really liked the ending, which made me feel great for the rest of the day. Man, this movie was just plain great.
Video Quality
We get the 1.85 ratio here, and the movie looks nice. It’s a bit soft, but not too soft like Elf. You can still get a lot of detail out of this awesome screen.
Somehow this video transfer just doesn’t knock one out of the park for me to get a perfect score though. When I see a Sony transfer, I think...WOW, that looks amazing! With this movie, I thought the film looked great and had no complaints. It’s likely the softness that prevents the movie to leap out of the screen (again, like Elf).
4/5
Audio Quality
While the movie is mostly dialogue, the audio still has some great stuff up its sleeve. From the opening to the stories in Africa, the audio sounds great, and throws some great directional sounds and surrounds.
4/5
Extras
When the UMD starts up, you get a menu of a treasure chest and two keys. Which key opens the chest? Choosing the wrong one makes a sound, and the right one opens the chest to the menu. Uh...not exactly the most interactive thing I’ve ever seen, but better than nothing I guess.
You get a chapter selection as well as some bonus features and commentary. First up is a
Gag Reel (5:54) that is frankly boring and not very funny at all. Next up is a much better selection of
Deleted Scenes (8:27) which can also be viewed with
Director’s Commentary. The best bonus is a full length
Feature Commentary with director Tim McCanlies which is pretty interesting. Round out all that with an Elf trailer and you got yourself a fine selection of bonus material. Definitely not as much as the DVD, but hell, I never thought we would get commentaries for the next YEAR, so I’m extremely thankful to New Line for really raising the bar for extras on UMDs. Excellent work.
4/5
Overall…
Great movie, great UMD. This is one that I will likely pop in every so often, and one I will recommend to almost everyone. Great to see the UMD is solid, and worth the money. Recommended!
4/5
