What Lies Beneath (UK)

I`ve seen scarier episodes of Pingu...

An average suspense thriller. The few plot twists were quite predictable but on the other hand they were developed gradually, not sprung upon you - actually I quite like that in a thriller as it gives you a chance (if you are concentrating) to share the character`s thoughts and emotions as the plot develops.

Unfortunately the actual "scary" elements were handled badly. For some of them there was not really any suspense at all (like the front door opened itself - who cares about that?). Others they shoved it down your throat with camera tricks and over-the-top sound effects - I find that as unappealing as canned laughter in a "comedy".
Finally it was a bit sick and unnecessary for them to show you a disintegrating version of Amber Valletta, surely one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Video: The DVD transfer is appalling for a recent film from a big studio. So what is wrong with it (other reviewers here, are you blind? or maybe you just don`t have such high definition equipment as I have, heh heh heh!)
(1) The colour palette `pulses` every 1 second or so - this is particularly obvious in scenes with shifting subtle colours like any scene where there is mist swirling (if you don`t know what a `pulsing` colour palette is and you want to see a really bad example, look out for the original Castle/Sanctuary R2 release of `Dune`) - this is shoddy and unacceptable
(2) Most edges of objects, human hairs, etc, have `halos` round them - usually due to using too low a bit rate for the encoding, sometimes due to too much edge enhancement (or sharpening) in the transfer process
(3) The colours are off - the greens and blues in this transfer are too strong so that the garden looks wrong and any interior woodwork looks wrong
(4) The black is not true black
(5) There are scratches or artifacts at several points

The audio is good and clear, with good use of surrounds, and the extras include a director`s commentary (which is just about the only extra worth having, in my book)

Overall I cannot recommend this DVD. Buy any of the restored Hitchcock masterpieces instead. If you want to see Michelle Pfeiffer, buy Fabulous Baker Boys or Batman 2. If you want to see Harrison Ford, buy the Fugitive or Presumed Innocent.

Great entertaining flick that keeps you on the edge of your seat and in suspense. When you watch a movie that is directed robert zemecksis, you expect to be entertained and you do when you watch this movie. Its a brilliant see once film that is worth renting.
Movie features superb acting by michelle and harrison. Zemecksis directs well even though this genre is new territory for him.
The picture is stunning and is virtually flawless. One of the cleanest, crispest transfers i have seen. Despite what you may think, some brand new films do get a crap transfer onto dvd. This is certainly not the case here. The sound is very good but nothing special to note about. The extras include a commentary and a featurette which are both worth watching. Trailers and bios as standard.
Overall I had a great time watching this on rental on a saturday afternoon.

A rather disappointing film considering the amount of talent involved from the cast and crew. I am a big fan of the two main stars as well as the director, but this is distinctly average, at best.

Technically this disc is good - video and audio are both good, although I was a bit disappointed by the uninspiring menus. On the extras front we get more averageness. The production notes (about 16 pages of text), cast & filmmakers bios & filmographies (about 7 pages of text each) and a trailer are the usual affair. We also get a commentary and a 14 minute featurette "Constructing The Perfect Thriller" - which is just a bit of a lie… it should be called the " Let's all praise Robert Zemeckis" featurette. The featurette itself is quite interesting, but only deals with What Lies Beneath for about 3 or 4 minutes, looking at the rest of his films the remainder.

Admittedly, I got this disc for free as part of a Fox promotion, but I still feel a little short changed! This film should have been so much more, backed up by some pretty average extras, this is one for really big fans of the film only… wherever you are hiding.

MOVIE
Another of my free DVDs (I have so many of them!) through the FOX DVD promotion they ran. I have to say, unlike some of the other reviewers, I quite like this film. OK, so it is all a bit set up, and it isn`t truly great, but this is a film Robert Zemekis almost just threw together during the two shooting periods of Castaway. He shot this while waiting for Tom Hanks to lose weight! This is clearly a film that has been scripted very tightly to give the audience a few good scares and a nice twist, which many will see coming a mile off, and many also won`t. It is however well directed, with some nice, albeit CGI helped camera moves. The acting is of a high quality and if you think the movie doesn` have any scary moments at all, you must have simply had one too many near death experiences. There are several good shocks, although it has been made to do this, and that is the main problem. The movie is too manufactured and glossy, and you can tell that something is going to happen, it is just a question of what. So just above average, but even an average Zemekis film is above most films coming out of Hollywood.

VIDEO
Unlike inti and their `far superior` duluxe home cinema, I have to agree with the other reviewers. The picture is fine, but by no means amazing. It`s clear, performs it`s duties, is a little grainy at times but on the whole, is good and most won`t notice any errors that are there.

AUDIO
Again, good, it`s a modern film, you do the maths. The dialogue is nice and audible, the soundeffects are nice, and particular note must go to the Hitchcockian score, which sounds very nice.

EXTRAS
Not a lot really. A few pages of informatory text from the EPK, a small featurette and a good commentary from the always intersting Zemekis. Remember, I got it free, so I`m being nice on it.