Little Man – Loaded With Extra Crap Edition (Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C+
Having
just looked at the regular DVD-Video of Keenan Ivory Wayans' Little Man (2006) and for a second
time, would the same-date Blu-ray release actually improve the film. For more details about the film, the link to
that review is:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4485/Little+Man+–+Loaded+With+Extra+Crap+Edition
Well, it
is the same film of course, but even the slightest improved fidelity can yield
more laughs. The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital
High Definition transfer is enough of an improvement over the standard DVD that
you are better off watching this Blu-ray instead, simply because the visual
humor is clearer and as an audience member, you do not have to work as hard to
see what is going on. To recap, the film
uses extensive digital effects to make Marlon look toddler-sized along with a
stand-in. As shot by cinematographer
Steven Bernstein, A.S.C., the film looks as good as it can under the
circumstances and they are so aware of the limits that they really are actually
having fun with them to make this film funnier.
Take a look for yourself just at that aspect and tell me otherwise.
The PCM
16bit/48kHz 2.0 Stereo here definitely is better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
on this disc or the previously reviewed DVD-Video. That Dolby is weak, but it turns out it is
more than just because this is basically a dialogue-based comedy, but because
the Dolby was suppressing the sound a little more than I thought. It reminded me of the old 12” LaserDisc days
when all the sound was PCM and you knew you could enjoy any comedy with
uncompressed sound. Teddy Castellucci’s
score is better here and will give it a tad more credit that I did before in
making this work when it does.
Extras again
include a featurette about Marlon’s double, gag featurette about acting, audio
commentary by the Wayans, visual effects featurette, making-of featurette,
deleted and extended scenes. All offer a
few more laughs if you have not had enough of the joke already. Well, no one can accuse The Wayans of
quitting early on anything. If you dare,
take a look at it and see what happens, especially in Blu-ray.
- Nicholas Sheffo
