Capsule/Summary **½
Project X is a pointless if occasionally amusing entry in the pantheon of teen party movies that dresses up the cliches of the genre with a novel Blair Witch Project/Cloverfield/Paranormal Activity faux documentary & “found footage” style. The meagre pleasures it has to offer come primarily from an overachieving cast of relative unknowns, occasionally clever video cinematography, and a willingness to go to extremes for the sake of a gag. It is presented on Blu-ray with a video presentation that is true to the “shot on a budget” documentary aesthetic of the movie and a sound mix that is so three dimensional and well recorded that it almost undermines that aesthetic (not a complaint). Extras consist of three too-brief to be very informative featurettes and an extended cut of the film that adds little beyond an extra five minutes to get to the end credits.
Project X
Directed By: Nima Nourizadeh
Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Brady Hender, Nick Nervies, Alexis Knapp, Miles Teller, Peter MacKenzie, Caitlan Dulany
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2012
Rated: R
Film Length: 88 minutes (Theatrical Cut) 93 minutes (Extended Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Release Date: June 19, 2012
The Film **½
Project X applies the faux documentary “found footage” aesthetic to the teen house party genre. The story centers around a group of three high school senior friends in North Pasadena, CA: beanpole milquetoast Thomas (Mann), loudmouth trouble magnet Costa (Cooper), and heavyset oddball JB (Brown). When Thomas’ parents leave for a vacation that coincides with his eighteenth birthday, the three friends conspire, primarily at Costa’s urging, to throw a massive party at Thomas’ house that will socially put them on the map. As anyone who has seen a single advertisement for the film (or any of several similarly plotted teen films) could guess, events quickly spiral out of control as the party becomes more epic and destructive than any of them could have guessed.
I’ll start with the good since that will not take long. The three male leads, despite being plucked from relative obscurity, all offer up very good performances that frequently transcend the actual dialog they are given to speak. Their characters are teen movie cliches (In the pitch meeting, I am sure they were called archetypes). Their dialog frequently amounts to little more than bursts of profanity punctuated by a climactic “yo”. They are repeatedly put in the position of doing idiotic things simply to advance the plot. Despite these severe limitations, the young actors do occasionally find ways to sell their characters. It is no mean feat to make the idiotic seem natural.
The film is also directed in a technically competent and occasionally clever way by first time feature Director Nima Nourizadeh. Nourizadeh has fun playing with the enforced limitations of the film’s style, and uses them to create an immersive experience that pulls the viewer into the spiraling out of control world of the house party. He has a good eye for composition that transcends the “shot on video” aesthetic, and he chooses his spots to deviate from the restrictive cinematographic conceit well, using tricks like overcranked slow motion to convey the increasingly surreal degeneration of events. Editorially the film is well paced, and the (too few) outrageous gags that actually land their punches are staged and set up nicely.
Unfortunately, the technically sound direction and occasionally transcendent cast are not nearly enough to balance out the general worthlessness of the rest of the production. The film is full of style, but not an ounce of wit. The characters as scripted are diluted versions of characters from several better teen movies. They are so lightly sketched in that the only chance viewers have of caring remotely about any of them is if they can fill in the details from other movies they have seen that took the time to develop characters and relationships.
The movie’s overall pointlessness is underlined in triplicate by a final act that abandons logic and recognizable human behavior in an effort to put a neat bow on the proceedings. After being treated to a solid seventy-five minutes of vulgar, dangerous, irresponsible, and destructive behavior, viewers are rewarded with ten minutes of dramatically unearned denouement.
To the break of dumb, yo!
The Video ***
This 1080p AVC-encoding approximates the film’s original aspect ratio by filling the entire 16:9 frame. Image quality is difficult to assess since the film’s aesthetic conceit is that it was assembled from various digital video sources ranging from hand-held video camcorders to cell phones to TV news footage. It will never be reference material with which to show off one’s home theater gear, but it does convey the filmmaker’s intentions accurately (although arguably not much more accurately than the less expensive DVD version of the film).
The Audio ****
The film's sound mix is provided courtesy of a DTS-HD MA lossless 5.1 multi-channel encoding. While the cinematography of the film embraced a shot on video low budget aesthetic, the audio mix does not try to maintain such an illusion. Dialog is very well recorded, and the surround field is used strategically for immersive spatial effects. LFE contributes to these effects and provides considerable low-end presence keeping the party bumping through various montages set to rap and dance music. The Theatrical Version of the film includes alternate language Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in French, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Extras **
All extras are presented in 1080p AVC-encoded video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise noted below.
When the disc is first played, the viewer is greeted with the following promos presented in AVC encoded 1080p video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise indicated below:
Warner Blu-ray 3D promo (1:50 - Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio)
The Dark Knight Rises Theatrical Trailer (1:37)
Wrath of the Titans Blu-ray Trailer (1:59 - Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio)
Lollipop Chainsaw Video Game Trailer (1:19)
Superman Vs. The Elite DTV Trailer (1:16)
Proper on-disc extras include the following. All are presented in 1080p AVC-encoded video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise noted below:
#XTENDEDCUT: To the Break of Dawn, Yo! is an extended cut of the film that adds five minutes (but not much else) to the proceedings.
Project X Declassified (5:27) is a very brief behind the scenes featurette that has little time to do anything more than explain the film's concept and characters. A smattering of interesting behind the scenes footage is included, but it is far from a comprehensive overview of the production. On camera comments are provided by Executive Producer Scott Budnick, Producer Todd Phillips, Jonathan Daniel Brown (“JB”), Director Nima Nourizadeh, Stunt Performer Tree O’Toole, Stunt Coordinator Allan Graf, Kirby Bliss Blanton (“Kirby”), Oliver Cooper (“Costa”), Alexis Knapp (“Alexis”), Thomas Mann (“Thomas”), Executive Producer Joel Silver.
Project X: Pasadena Three (5:39) is a mix of talking head interviews, behind the scenes clips, and audition footage that focuses on the film’s three lead actors. Topics covered include the reasoning behind the casting of unknown actors, the audition process, and developing chemistry between the actors. On camera comments are provided by Phillips, Silver, Mann, Nourizadeh, Cooper, and Brown.
Project Xpensive: Tallying up the Damage (3:01) is, as its title would suggest, a video survey of all of the damage caused through the course of the film with a dollar amount assigned to each incident via an on-screen title.
SD DVD A copy of the film on SD DVD is also included in this multi-disc set. The DVD includes DD 5.1 audio tracks and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, and reproduces the Pasadena Three special feature from the Blu-ray. When first played, the SD DVD includes a series of promos, some of which are not present on the Blu-ray version. They are presented in 4:3 letterboxed video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise indicated below:
Ultraviolet Digital Copy The disc also comes packaged with an access code for an Ultraviolet Digital Copy of the film. This allows users with a Flixster account to access a streaming version of the film on computers and certain tablets and mobile devices. It also allows viewers with Flixster Collections software to download a copy to their computer's hard drive.
Packaging
The Blu-ray and SD-DVD discs are enclosed in a standard-sized Blu-ray case with hubs on both inside covers to secure them in place. The only insert is a two sided sheet with information on how to redeem an Ultraviolet digital copy on one side and a promo for the Warner Insider Rewards program on the other. The hard case is enclosed in a slipcover that reproduces the same cover art with the addition of some promotional graphics concerning the inclusion of the SD DVD and Ultraviolet Digital Copy.
Project X is a pointless if occasionally amusing entry in the pantheon of teen party movies that dresses up the cliches of the genre with a novel Blair Witch Project/Cloverfield/Paranormal Activity faux documentary & “found footage” style. The meagre pleasures it has to offer come primarily from an overachieving cast of relative unknowns, occasionally clever video cinematography, and a willingness to go to extremes for the sake of a gag. It is presented on Blu-ray with a video presentation that is true to the “shot on a budget” documentary aesthetic of the movie and a sound mix that is so three dimensional and well recorded that it almost undermines that aesthetic (not a complaint). Extras consist of three too-brief to be very informative featurettes and an extended cut of the film that adds little beyond an extra five minutes to get to the end credits.
Project X
Directed By: Nima Nourizadeh
Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Brady Hender, Nick Nervies, Alexis Knapp, Miles Teller, Peter MacKenzie, Caitlan Dulany
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2012
Rated: R
Film Length: 88 minutes (Theatrical Cut) 93 minutes (Extended Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Release Date: June 19, 2012
The Film **½
Project X applies the faux documentary “found footage” aesthetic to the teen house party genre. The story centers around a group of three high school senior friends in North Pasadena, CA: beanpole milquetoast Thomas (Mann), loudmouth trouble magnet Costa (Cooper), and heavyset oddball JB (Brown). When Thomas’ parents leave for a vacation that coincides with his eighteenth birthday, the three friends conspire, primarily at Costa’s urging, to throw a massive party at Thomas’ house that will socially put them on the map. As anyone who has seen a single advertisement for the film (or any of several similarly plotted teen films) could guess, events quickly spiral out of control as the party becomes more epic and destructive than any of them could have guessed.
I’ll start with the good since that will not take long. The three male leads, despite being plucked from relative obscurity, all offer up very good performances that frequently transcend the actual dialog they are given to speak. Their characters are teen movie cliches (In the pitch meeting, I am sure they were called archetypes). Their dialog frequently amounts to little more than bursts of profanity punctuated by a climactic “yo”. They are repeatedly put in the position of doing idiotic things simply to advance the plot. Despite these severe limitations, the young actors do occasionally find ways to sell their characters. It is no mean feat to make the idiotic seem natural.
The film is also directed in a technically competent and occasionally clever way by first time feature Director Nima Nourizadeh. Nourizadeh has fun playing with the enforced limitations of the film’s style, and uses them to create an immersive experience that pulls the viewer into the spiraling out of control world of the house party. He has a good eye for composition that transcends the “shot on video” aesthetic, and he chooses his spots to deviate from the restrictive cinematographic conceit well, using tricks like overcranked slow motion to convey the increasingly surreal degeneration of events. Editorially the film is well paced, and the (too few) outrageous gags that actually land their punches are staged and set up nicely.
Unfortunately, the technically sound direction and occasionally transcendent cast are not nearly enough to balance out the general worthlessness of the rest of the production. The film is full of style, but not an ounce of wit. The characters as scripted are diluted versions of characters from several better teen movies. They are so lightly sketched in that the only chance viewers have of caring remotely about any of them is if they can fill in the details from other movies they have seen that took the time to develop characters and relationships.
The movie’s overall pointlessness is underlined in triplicate by a final act that abandons logic and recognizable human behavior in an effort to put a neat bow on the proceedings. After being treated to a solid seventy-five minutes of vulgar, dangerous, irresponsible, and destructive behavior, viewers are rewarded with ten minutes of dramatically unearned denouement.
To the break of dumb, yo!
The Video ***
This 1080p AVC-encoding approximates the film’s original aspect ratio by filling the entire 16:9 frame. Image quality is difficult to assess since the film’s aesthetic conceit is that it was assembled from various digital video sources ranging from hand-held video camcorders to cell phones to TV news footage. It will never be reference material with which to show off one’s home theater gear, but it does convey the filmmaker’s intentions accurately (although arguably not much more accurately than the less expensive DVD version of the film).
The Audio ****
The film's sound mix is provided courtesy of a DTS-HD MA lossless 5.1 multi-channel encoding. While the cinematography of the film embraced a shot on video low budget aesthetic, the audio mix does not try to maintain such an illusion. Dialog is very well recorded, and the surround field is used strategically for immersive spatial effects. LFE contributes to these effects and provides considerable low-end presence keeping the party bumping through various montages set to rap and dance music. The Theatrical Version of the film includes alternate language Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in French, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Extras **
All extras are presented in 1080p AVC-encoded video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise noted below.
When the disc is first played, the viewer is greeted with the following promos presented in AVC encoded 1080p video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise indicated below:
Warner Blu-ray 3D promo (1:50 - Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio)
The Dark Knight Rises Theatrical Trailer (1:37)
Wrath of the Titans Blu-ray Trailer (1:59 - Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio)
Lollipop Chainsaw Video Game Trailer (1:19)
Superman Vs. The Elite DTV Trailer (1:16)
Proper on-disc extras include the following. All are presented in 1080p AVC-encoded video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise noted below:
#XTENDEDCUT: To the Break of Dawn, Yo! is an extended cut of the film that adds five minutes (but not much else) to the proceedings.
Project X Declassified (5:27) is a very brief behind the scenes featurette that has little time to do anything more than explain the film's concept and characters. A smattering of interesting behind the scenes footage is included, but it is far from a comprehensive overview of the production. On camera comments are provided by Executive Producer Scott Budnick, Producer Todd Phillips, Jonathan Daniel Brown (“JB”), Director Nima Nourizadeh, Stunt Performer Tree O’Toole, Stunt Coordinator Allan Graf, Kirby Bliss Blanton (“Kirby”), Oliver Cooper (“Costa”), Alexis Knapp (“Alexis”), Thomas Mann (“Thomas”), Executive Producer Joel Silver.
Project X: Pasadena Three (5:39) is a mix of talking head interviews, behind the scenes clips, and audition footage that focuses on the film’s three lead actors. Topics covered include the reasoning behind the casting of unknown actors, the audition process, and developing chemistry between the actors. On camera comments are provided by Phillips, Silver, Mann, Nourizadeh, Cooper, and Brown.
Project Xpensive: Tallying up the Damage (3:01) is, as its title would suggest, a video survey of all of the damage caused through the course of the film with a dollar amount assigned to each incident via an on-screen title.
SD DVD A copy of the film on SD DVD is also included in this multi-disc set. The DVD includes DD 5.1 audio tracks and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, and reproduces the Pasadena Three special feature from the Blu-ray. When first played, the SD DVD includes a series of promos, some of which are not present on the Blu-ray version. They are presented in 4:3 letterboxed video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise indicated below:
Anti-smoking PSA (:34 - 4:3 full frame) [Apparently the film’s hour and a half of glamorizing alcohol, drugs, and reckless sexual behavior will be countered by this half a minute telling teenagers that “smoking is bad, m’kay?”]
Warner Blu-ray Promo (1:53)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Blu-ray/DVD Trailer (2:27)
We Can Be Heroes anti-African hunger PSA (2:13)
Wrath of the Titans Blu-ray/DVD Trailer (1:59)
WB Insider Rewards Promo (1:18)
Ultraviolet Digital Copy The disc also comes packaged with an access code for an Ultraviolet Digital Copy of the film. This allows users with a Flixster account to access a streaming version of the film on computers and certain tablets and mobile devices. It also allows viewers with Flixster Collections software to download a copy to their computer's hard drive.
Packaging
The Blu-ray and SD-DVD discs are enclosed in a standard-sized Blu-ray case with hubs on both inside covers to secure them in place. The only insert is a two sided sheet with information on how to redeem an Ultraviolet digital copy on one side and a promo for the Warner Insider Rewards program on the other. The hard case is enclosed in a slipcover that reproduces the same cover art with the addition of some promotional graphics concerning the inclusion of the SD DVD and Ultraviolet Digital Copy.
