Heaven Is For Real (2014/Sony Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

Picture: B+/B- Sound: B+/B- Extras: B- Film: B+

Greg Kinnear stars in Heaven Is For Real - which is an interesting family film centering around a young boy named Colton who has a near death experience and shortly visits Heaven only to come back and challenge the beliefs of his Father Todd Burpo - who also happens to be a Minister and Volunteer Fire Fighter (to whom is played by Kinnear). Based on the New York Times Bestselling book and based a true story, the film succeeds as thought provoking while at the same time remaining family friendly. Kelly Reilly of Sherlock Holmes fame expertly portrays Kinnear's wife in the film and her performance is definitely a highlight. The film also stars Thomas Hayden Church who is also great!

The film challenges the religious thought processes of the characters that the film inhabits. From churchgoers to fire fighters, the experience the young boy has touches the lives of the small town. If you are religious, then this film is a must see for you and even if you aren't, it's a heartwarming journey that really makes you think.

Is Heaven a mystery or is there truth to what Colton believed he saw in Heaven? What works in the film is the matter–of-factness of what Colton says that he saw and the great detail in how he describes them. I would be interested to read the book to cite the similarities in the film.

Presented in glorious 1080p and preserves the original 2.40:1 aspect ratio of the original HDCAM SR source. Sony has yet again given us a disc worthy of showing off any home high definition system with richly saturated colors and high contrast within the shots. Even the moments that show bright lights and blown out shots do not detract away from the sharpness of the image. The sound is presented in lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 in English and French. Also on the disc is an English Audio Descriptive Track, Spanish and Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital and Subtitles in English, English SDH, Chinese, French, Indonesian/ Bahasa, Korean, Spanish, and Thai. Total running time of the film is 99 minutes.

The DVD presentation pushes the limits of the format but doesn't compare to Blu-ray in terms of picture and audio. The tiny details are lost that are really brought out in high definition.

Extras on the disc include, exclusive to the Blu-ray release Creating Heaven, and The Making of Heaven Is For Real. Special Features shared on the DVD and Blu-ray versions are Colton Goes To Heaven and Deleted Scenes.

- James Lockhart

www.vimeo.com/jamielockhart