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Columbus Circle is a lackluster attempt at a Hitchcockian thriller, which not only fails to provide thrills but also fails to provide anything interesting for the audience to see. Even at the lower expectation level of a direct-to-video release, this movie simply doesn’t work. And given that there are no special features to provide any added value, it’s impossible to recommend the title.
COLUMBUS CIRCLEStudio: Universal/Mallick Media/Oxymoron Entertainment/Blue Star Entertainment
Release Year: 2012
Length: 1 hr 26 mins
Genre: Thriller, So to Speak…
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
BD Resolution and Codec: 1080p, VC-1 (@ an average 30 mbps)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (@ an average 3.1 mbps)
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Film Rating: PG-13 (Violence, Some Language, Thematic Material)
Release Date: March 6, 2012
Starring: Selma Blair, Amy Smart, Kevin Pollack, Jason Antoon, Robert Guillame, with Giovanni Ribisi with Beau Bridges and Jason Lee
Written by: George Gallo and Kevin Pollack
Directed by: George Gallo
Review Rating: ½/5
Columbus Circle is a movie that boggles the mind. It was clearly intended to be an intense thriller, its cast has some pedigree to it (Beau Bridges, Kevin Pollack, even Amy Smart), and its director was the writer of the classic Midnight Run. So what went wrong here? In a word: everything. The movie just isn’t that interesting and the viewer can figure out the twists and turns long before the characters do. Predictably, there’s a big twist midway (one that is along similar lines to A Perfect Getaway) and then another big one to come – and each one is either easy to see coming or not that much of an event. The basic plot here follows a reclusive young woman (Selma Blair) whose life is interrupted when her next door neighbor in the residential building is murdered. Police investigate, new neighbors move in and invade her space, and everybody acts generally creepy. This doesn’t sound particularly appetizing but it still could work, assuming that there was a tight script or some inspired direction. Unfortunately, neither element is present, and the frequent holes in the storytelling are big enough for a bus to drive through. Given these shortcomings, it wouldn’t be responsible to recommend this title for purchase or rental.
Columbus Circle was released on Blu-ray yesterday. The Blu-ray edition contains high definition picture and audio of the movie and no extras. The usual Blu-ray functionality is not found here, and there is not even a main menu.
VIDEO QUALITY 4/5
Columbus Circle is presented in a 2.40:1 1080p VC-1 encode that presents the movie in the best possible light. The Los Angeles locations standing in for New York look quite good, and the black levels look solid. There’s a lot of dark scenes in the movie – which is appropriate for the genre. On a technical level, the picture quality is very good.
AUDIO QUALITY 3/5
Columbus Circle gets a standard thriller-flavored English DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix, which has quiet dialogue one moment and then a big cattle prod from the surround speakers to goose the viewer. It’s not a bad mix, and the HD sound on the Blu-ray translates it well. The only track available on the disc is this one – no other languages are presented.
SPECIAL FEATURES 0/5
Columbus Circle comes with not a single special feature..
The movie is subtitled in English, French and Spanish. The usual pop-up menu is present, along with a complete chapter menu. But there is no Main Menu. When you put the Blu-ray in the player, you’ll see a couple of BD-Live trailers and then the movie starts. Thankfully, there’s still the pop-up menu.
IN THE END...
Columbus Circle is a thriller that simply does not thrill. Despite what could have been a good ensemble, the movie simply doesn’t connect on any level.
Kevin Koster
March 7, 2012.
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
