Rambo (Full Screen Edition)

I must admit, that as of recent I have enjoyed current mainstream movies regardless if they are released to the theater or directly to video so I can abase them. In other words, I truly find pleasure in ripping movies apart. It has been my perception, my perception, that about 70% of movies made in the past 5 to 6 years are horrid.One might ask why I feel this way, well it is rather simple. Most movies are a plug in for a new phone, car or maybe to promote a soundtrack. These movies also rely more on special effects and visual stimulation, where acting, directing and story take the backseat. Therefore, movies (for the most part) in modern times are nothing more than a 90 to 100 minute commercial.Then of course there are the movies that are so over the top they are just down right silly. This is the perception I had when I saw the trailer for "Rambo" (it was titled "John Rambo" when I first viewed it on the internet). I thought, "What the hell is Stallone thinking"? I didn't see the most recent "Rocky", but I heard it wasn't any good. I didn't really care too much about the quality of a new "Rocky" movie, but I felt like there was nothing else to do and all doors were closed when "Rocky 5" was made. Why was Stallone going back to Rocky? Was there a point to it? Now he is going to make another Rambo movie, why? Both these characters whose names start with "R" make a return after not being seen for almost 20 years?I digress to the trailer for Rambo I saw on the internet. I was laughing so hard I couldn't take it. The way this movie was presented was comical. I had said to my brother and some friends, "I can't wait to see this movie, I need a good laugh". Then the day came, it was a work night (the same as a school night, but you go to work early the next day instead of school) and I went to a 9:40pm showing with my brother and two of our friends. I was so pumped and all four of us were ready to laugh very hard. As a side note, this is the first time I had been in a movie theater to watch a new release in a very long time.We watched and we absorbed this movie and when the end credits rolled and the lights came back on in the theater we were speechless. I thought this was the first wonderful and moving film I had seen in a long time. (So did everyone else in my view party.) I couldn't believe it. I have seen all the other Rambo films and yes they were entertaining, but I wouldn't say they were deep or compelling pieces of cinema. This new Rambo movie had something to say.It followed a different format, it seemed more dramatic and the violence (there was plenty of it) was brutal and candid. When I say candid, I mean that many of things that happened in this movie, happens in the real world.The plot of this film is rather simple, Rambo now lives in Southeastern Asia near Burma and some American humanitarians need a guide and ride by boat to provide health care, food and education to the poor people in the area. They find John Rambo and after some persuasions from a female team member (Julie Benz) Rambo signs on.Consequently, there is a large militant and fundamental group that has nothing better to do than torture and massacre the less fortunate people in their country. It doesn't take a wizard to figure out what happens next, Rambo, guns, violence, death, and blah, blah, blah. However, the violence doesn't seem to be moot or without justification if that makes sense. The best comparison I can make is to "Saving Private Ryan", the violence in that film was graphic and at times over the top, but made a point to portray the reality that was World War 2. "Rambo" has the exact type of feel to it with respect to violence being graphic, over the top and making a point. Mind you I am not saying that "Rambo is a better film or as good as "Saving Private Ryan", but it was used more as a frame of reference. Oddly enough, "Saving Private Ryan" came out in 1998 and "Rambo" came out ten years later (2008), perhaps in 2018 there will be another violent film with a message.Stallone did a good job too in this film he gave a rather minimal performance, not much dialogue but did display a level of dichotomy towards his emotions to events in the plot. I felt the story was also simplistic, but it worked, the movie didn't need a multi-leveled storyline. I also felt the direction of the film was very good too; by the way Sly wrote and directed this movie."Rambo" was a motion picture that stirred myriad thoughts in my head when it was over. It made me think how revolting and disgusting it is that there are still countries in the world that can't get health care or are being "controlled" and/or restricted to certain living conditions by a dictatorship or totalitarian government that results to violence or casualties of human lives. It also made me think how insane it is that U.S. presidential candidates are able to raise thousands, if not millions, of dollars for their campaigns, but when they get into office, it then becomes difficult to "raise" money for the things they promised before they were the incumbent. Then I thought about how everyone wants to go "green" and save the environment, yet it costs more money and there is less tax breaks to "go green". Not to mention Earth Day is only one day a year, rather than year long recognition. What about relying on fossil fuel when there are other forms of fuel for our cars/machines? Or that many people are more up to date with Reality Television than what is going on in the world.In conclusion, I am not sure this was Sylvester Stallone's intention to stir the pot of modern social sciences or in my case promote schizophrenia when making this movie. However, I felt this film didn't pull any punches and says a lot about the world we live in, on many levels. I recommend this film to anyone who wants an eye opening experience. This is a lot coming from a person who thought this movie was going to be the number one unintentional comedy of 2008 and now believes it was one of the best movies made in a very long time.

This is a review of Rambo 4 Blu-Ray Copy.Digital Copy:As for the digital copy I can confirm it is ultraviolet HD digital download. You can not get the iTunes version with the code I have tried . Some people have had luck by contacting the studio and requesting an iTunes code. But as of 11-01-2014 I have tried it with several movies and tv shows to no avail and it appears that ultraviolet HD digital downloads is the current model the studios are using to gain more control over there digital distribution. My home is a apple home with Apple TV and Mac mini on my tvs and the ultraviolet only works some of time on Apple devices in my own personal experience. It is sad that the studios have lost sight of giving the customer what they want.The Blu Rays play in HD 1080P and look greatVideo Quality:Rambo hits Blu-ray with an impressive 1080p high definition transfer, framed in the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The picture looks a bit intentionally saturated which results in an image that appears a bit brighter than normal with black levels that are a bit bright and gray at times. The print is pristine, as is to be expected, free of any blemish. The darker scenes, of which there are many in the first two acts of the film, look good, considering the lighting conditions (say, the dim artificial light and moonlight providing the only lighting on Rambo's boat in chapter four). The colors of the jungle are incredibly lush and vibrant. Detail is excellent, be it on the wood and sticks and hay that make up some of the villager's dwellings, or the material of the clothing worn by the missionaries (look at the stitching in the white hat worn by Sarah), or even the lines on the worn face of John Rambo himself. The gruesome "day after" scenes at the slaughtered village show painstaking and gut-wrenching detail, not only of the violence but also in the mud, murky water, dirt, and debris; we can almost feel the filth and gore depicted in the scene. The image is virtually grain-free; grain is only visible during the darker sequences. Rambo looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, it's not the finest presentation I've seen on the format, but the transfer befits the mood of the film perfectly nevertheless.Audio Quality:Rambo explodes onto Blu-ray with a reference-quality DTS-HD MA 7.1 channel lossless sound presentation that may very well be the finest I've heard to date. That score that I love so much sounds fantastic here, easily the best I've heard it (and far surpassing the MP3 version I have playing in the background as I write). This entire soundtrack provides room-filling sound that is focused in the front but finds its way into the rears to truly engulf the viewer in the experience of hearing it again, sounding so good it's like hearing it for the first time. Even the most subtle of nuances throughout this track sound great. Take, for example, the snake charming scene at the beginning of the movie in Thailand. The man announcing what's happening on the microphone is played and placed appropriately in the right channels, and it truly does sound like a man on a cheap microphone being played through a cheap speaker. A rainstorm in chapter three envelopes the viewer, perhaps the most natural rainstorm I've ever heard on a Blu-ray disc. Ambience is always heard in the rears, be it flowing water or the chirping of insects, all making this a highly realistic soundtrack. Dialogue reproduction is excellent. Stallone's grisly, reserved voice comes to life on this disc, his performance enhanced by not only his demeanor and the way he carries himself and his character, but also through the raw emotion heard every time he speaks, an emotion effortlessly conveyed by this high-quality soundtrack.Of course, this track truly shines the most during the action sequences. A mortar attack on the village in chapter six is frightening, the chaos of the moment represented to great and chilling effect by the pounding soundtrack. Every gunshot packs a punch, be it from pistol shots or the repeated thumps of AK-47s or the awesome power of the .50 caliber weapons used throughout the film. One character carries a Barrett 82A1/M107 semi automatic .50 caliber rifle, and is ordered to fire a single round by Rambo at one point in the third act of the film that marks the beginning of the film's climax. The shot hits home, reverberating through my chest and entire body and shaking my media room. It's not just the initial crack of the gun, but it's so powerful that we can still feel the reverberations seconds after the bullet is away. On an even larger scale is the subsequent explosion of an old World War II bomb left behind for some 65 odd years. Once the climactic gun battle begins, the track is simply too powerful and devastating for words. Needless to say, it's an adrenaline rush just listening to it, let alone watching it. Every channel is a barrage of gunfire, representing the zenith of gunfights on home video. Lionsgate has certainly not failed in their endeavor to recreate this experience for home, and if your viewers can stomach the violence, this is your new reference disc for lossless audio presentation.