Paul Blu-ray Review

On paper, one would think that Paul would be a slam-dunk comedy success.  It’s a mash-up, combining the team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) with Seth Rogen, director Greg Mottola (Superbad) and a helping of the current SNL cast (Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig) to tell the story of Comicon fans meeting a real alien.  There’s some fun material here, but it never really catches fire the way it should.  The movie’s a little long, a little shaggy here and there, in spite of its best intentions.  Fans of Pegg and Frost will certainly want to see this, as will fans of Seth Rogen.  The Blu-ray provides a terrific picture and sound package, and a generous collection of extra features.

pAUL

Studio: Universal/Relativity Media/Working Title

Year: 2011

Length:  1 hr 44 mins (R-Rated), 1 hr 50 mins (Unrated)

Genre:  Comedy/Science Fiction/Comicon/Pegg & Frost

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

BD Resolution and Codec: 1080p, AVC (@ an average 22 mbps)

Audio:  English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (@ an average 3.5 mbps – up to 5 in the bigger scenes), Spanish DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, English DVS 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Film Rating: R & Unrated (Language, Sexual References, Drug Use)

Release Date: August 9, 2011

Starring:  Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, John Carroll Lynch, with Sigourney Weaver and Seth Rogen

Written by:  Simon Pegg & Nick Frost

Directed by:  Greg Mottola

Film Rating:    3/5

Paul really should be a much funnier movie than it is.  Given the combination of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with part of the Apatow comedy group and two of the best performers from SNL, this should be a great trans-Atlantic creation.  And yet, despite some funny moments throughout, the sum of these parts doesn’t add up.  Pegg and Frost provide their latest genre dissection here – this time following two British sci-fi fans from Comicon to the southwest where they encounter Paul, a real alien (voiced and motion captured by Seth Rogen).  The joke in the concept is that Paul is less a mystical E.T. character than a version of the typical character found in Knocked Up or other Judd Apatow productions.  Ostensibly, this  is a road movie, with the two fans travelling by RV from San Diego to various parts of the US – but there really is little interest in the scenery.   There are visual, dialogue and sound references to many science-fiction films that I won’t spoil here – but I must acknowledge that my favorite one, a song played under the obligatory bar scene midway through the film, was actually the idea of director Greg Motolla.  There are also several gags and ideas that just fall flat – particularly a primary character played by the usually effective Kristen Wiig.  By the end of the movie, the viewer has had a few laughs, but nothing to really invite one to watch the film again anytime soon.

I should note that there are two versions of the movie on the disc.  One is the theatrical R-rated version, and the other is an unrated version that runs about 6 minutes longer.  For purposes of this review, I watched the longer version.

Paul will be released on Blu-ray and DVD this week.   The Blu-ray edition includes high definition picture and sound, and a raft of special features, including an audio commentary, a making-of documentary and multiple featurettes.  There’s also an option to stream an another movie from BD-Live which will expire at the end of this year.  The Blu-ray packaging also includes the DVD edition, which holds a standard definition transfer and some of the extras from the Blu-ray.  Instructions are included in the package for downloading a digital copy of the film.

VIDEO QUALITY   4 ½/5

Paul is presented in a 1080p AVC 2.35:1 transfer that provides a terrific picture with satisfying black levels and seamless integration of the CGI alien into hundreds of shots.  The New Mexico vistas come through by day and night in a fairly attractive way, even as the movie tends to pass them by. 

AUDIO QUALITY   4 ½ /5

Paul is presented in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that, typically of Pegg and Frost’s movies, has a rich life in the surround speakers and subwoofer.  While many scenes are dialogue exchanges between the guys and Paul, there are also plenty of opportunities for atmospheric sound and LFE hits to punctuate the situation.  In addition to this mix, standard DTS mixes are included in Spanish and French, along with an English DVS mix to boot.

SPECIAL FEATURES      4/5

The Blu-Ray presentation of Paul comes with a commentary, a documentary, multiple featurettes, a blooper reel, trailers, galleries, and pretty much anything you could want to know about the making of this film.  There’s also a BD-Live option for streaming a free movie from the usual assortment available there.

Commentary with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Hader, Producer Nira Park and Director Greg Mottola – This scene-specific commentary is a group affair, with Pegg and Frost mostly dominating the discussion.  Nira Park pops up here and there, but the real fun is had here from the observations of Pegg and Frost, with embellishment by Mottola.  It was from this commentary that I learned the origin of my favorite gag in the movie.

Bloopers – (10:51, 1080p) – Here is a collection of about 11 minutes of blown takes and crack-up moments from various points throughout the movie.  There’s a great driving bit with Jason Bateman in the middle that’s a classic example of what the guys refer to as his “very dry humor”.

Between the Lightning Strikes: The Making of Paul – (40:04 Total, 1080p)  EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY – This is a two-part documentary that chronicles the making of the film, including an RV road research trip undertaken by Pegg and Frost as part of the development of the movie.  Extensive on-set footage is shown, along with a fair amount of footage of the motion capture/rehearsal process done with Seth Rogen both before and after principal photography.  One major hero of this production is revealed both here and in the commentary – Joe Lo Truglio, who not only played a supporting role but also acted the part of Paul on location since Seth Rogen only participated in studio sessions before and after the bigger shoot.  The documentary can be viewed via either part, or through a “Play All” option.

Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes – (1:02:49, 1080p)  EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY – This is a collection of 8 featurettes of varying lengths (from 20 minutes to less than 5 minutes), covering multiple aspects of the production.  “RV Doorway: The Cast of Paul on Location” is a 20 minute collection of on-set interviews with the cast.  “Runway Santa Fe: Interview with Nancy Steiner” is an interview with the movie’s costume designer.  “Smithereens” is a brief piece about the spectacular demolition of a house.  “5^th Date Level Direction: The Cast on Greg Mottola” is a collection of on-set cast interviews about their work with the director.  “Mexico Zero: The Locations of Paul” covers the various locations used for filming in New Mexico.  “The Many Pauls” shows the multiple on-set iterations of the title character, from the little person standing in for him in shots to Joe Lo Truglio’s contribution to the various dummies and animatronics used for shots.  “Paul: The Musical” is a brief clip of Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio and Kristen Wiig clowning around on location.  “The Traveler Beagle” shows some footage of the crew working onstage with the set of the RV, and some footage of the two working models used on the road.  These featurettes can be viewed individually or via a “Play All” option.

The Evolution of Paul – (15:05, 1080p) – This featurette covers the CGI work done to create the title character, including interviews with the CGI team and some footage of their work in progress, as well as a little bit on the motion capture sessions, since that has been covered pretty well in other places on this Blu-ray.

Simon’s Silly Faces – (1:20, 1080p) – Attention Simon Pegg fans:  This is your chance to see Simon spend nearly 90 seconds making funny faces at the camera, usually between the time the camera assistant hits the marker and the director calls action.

Who the Hell is Adam Shadowchild? – (2:10, 1080p)  This quick featurette assembles multiple quotes about the sci-fi author played by Jeffrey Tambor and some unused footage of him from the movie, along with loving close-ups of the books he is alleged to have written.

Theatrical Trailers – (7:29 Total, 1080p) – Three theatrical trailers for the movie are presented here in high definition.  There’s the US trailer, the UK trailer and the Red Band Internet trailer.  They can be viewed individually or via a “Play All” option.

TV Spots US – (2:25 Total, 1080p)  5 US television commercials for the movie are presented here in high definition.  The spots can be viewed individually, or via a “Play All” option.

TV Spots UK – (1:59, 480p)  4 UK television commercials for the movie are presented here in standard definition.  The spots can be viewed individually, or via a “Play All” option.

Galleries – This section is divided into three parts.  The first part contains photos:  “Nick Frost’s Road Trip Photos”, “Simon Pegg’s Behind-the-Scenes Photos”, “Simon Pegg’s Rehearsal Photos” and “Wilson Webb’s Behind-the-Scenes Photos”.  The second part contains storyboards for multiple sequences in the film.  The third part contains the various posters used to market the movie around the world.

BD-Live – The usual BD-Live functionality is present, and includes an option for streaming a free movie from the usual assortment available at Universal’s BD-Live site.

Pocket BLU – The usual pocket BLU functionality is present.

D-Box – This functionality is available for those viewers who have this ability in their home theater.

Digital Copy – Instructions for downloading a digital copy of the movie from an online website are included in the packaging.  The download offer may expire around January 27, 2012.

The packaging also includes the DVD release, which holds a standard definition picture and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound in English, Spanish and French, along with the English DVS track.   The DVD does not contain the 40 minute documentary, the 60 minute collection of featurettes or the trailers, but it does have the commentary track, the blooper reel, the galleries, and the three shorter pieces (“The Evolution of Paul”, “Simon’s Silly Faces” and “Who the Hell is Adam Shadowchild?”).

The movie and the special features are subtitled in English, French and Spanish.  The usual chapter and pop-up menus are present.

IN THE END...

Paul is a funny movie, but not the comic explosion one might have expected from a combination of the talents behind Hot Fuzz with members of the Apatow group and SNL.   As it is, I expect fans of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost will want to see this, as will fans of Seth Rogen.  It’s certainly worth a rental, particularly for the fine high definition transfer and the generous collection of special features.

Kevin Koster

August 7, 2011.

Equipment now in use in this Home Theater:

Panasonic 65” VT30 Plasma 3D HDTV – set at “THX” picture mode

Denon AVR-3311Cl Receiver

Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray Player

PS3 Player (used for calculation of bitrates for picture and sound)

5 Mirage Speakers (Front Left/Center/Right, Surround Back Left/Right)

2 Sony Speakers (Surround Left/Right – middle of room)

Martin Logan Dynamo 700 Subwoofer 

Thanks for that link, Jason.  That sums it up nicely.

Most of the time I see an "Unrated" cut, it usually just means that the director has been able to go back in and do a bit of tinkering.  The cut is unrated because it was not submitted to the ratings board.  It may contain additional profanity or a little harsher or stronger material.   Sometimes it may contain a significant amount of material taken out of the theatrical release.  But most of the time, it's really just tinkering.  Nicholas Meyer said it best about his longer cut of Star Trek II when he noted that there are times that the director's longer cut really isn't any better than the theatrical cut - usually because things were cut for a good reason and just putting them back in doesn't automatically make the movie better.

This is why deleted scenes on DVDs can both be revealing and pointless at times.  You may see a great scene that should have been in the movie - but most of the time you see WHY the scene wasn't included in the movie.