The
Kings Of Summer
(2013/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: A Film: B+
Three
teenage boys are tired of their everyday life and their nagging
parents, Joe, Patrick and Biaggio (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso,
Moises Arias) and together, they decide to build a secret summer
fort/house in the woods and runaway from home in Jordan Vogt-Roberts'
The
Kings of Summer
(2010). They live
off the land,
party, play and stay up however long they want. There, they can do
anything they want, there they make the rules, there they are the
kings. There the boys learn what true friendship is and they discover
who they really are.
The
young trio want to be seen as men, want to live away from their
overbearing parents, but will it be that easy? Joe is tired of his
bastard father who makes life miserable for everyone because he is
miserable since Joe's mother died. Patrick is sick of his dotting
parents who live in their own bubble and force their rules on him.
Biaggo is a weird kid who just seems to have the talent to pop up
anywhere and know exactly what you are thinking. Together, these
three friends go off on a summer adventure in the woods, having fun,
hiking, living off the land and anyway they want... everything was
perfect until they start running out of supplies Joe and Patrick
start fighting over the same girl. There they learn and test what
their friendship is and who they truly are.
For
a Blu-ray film, you could still tell the film looked a little noisy
(shot in 5K on a RED EPIC HD camera) you should be able to see
texture differences. This is a coming of age film of that show how
three adolescent boys become men. All kids dream once what their
life could be like if parents didn't control them, but life is more
than just living on one's own or having fun. It is only when trouble
happens in life are strength of characters are tested, and the boys
discover they are more like their parents than they care to admit,
but likewise, the parents might start to realize their own faults
(and why their children ran away) only after their children are gone.
Despite
my minor complains, the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image
transfer is very consistent and maybe some of the look is stylized,
but it is hard to tell. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is well recorded, mixed and
presented for what you would expect from a dialogue-based film. The
combination is better than expected too. Extras
include cast and crew commentary, deleted and extended scenes, Long
Shot featurette, best one liners, and trailers.
-
Ricky Chiang
