Paul 2010 (Blu-ray)

Studio and Year: Universal – 2011
MPAA Rating: R/Unrated
Feature running time: 104/110 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p/24
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, Spanish/French DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader, John Carroll Lynch, Blythe Danner, Joe Lo Truglio Sigourney Weaver, Seth Rogan (voice)
Directed by: Greg Motola
Music by: David Arnold
Written by: Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
Region Code: A,B,C
Blu-ray Disc release Date: August 9, 2011

Storyline (courtesy of imdb.com)
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite for the comedy adventure Paul as two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever.

My Take
Paul
is a light hearted buddy-comedy about two pals from the UK who visit the US to attend Comic-Con followed by a road trip to the areas surrounding Area 51. While driving a rented RV for the trip they are run off the road by a speeding vehicle with an extraterrestrial occupant named “Paul” who crash landed in New Mexico 60 years ago.

It is truly a breath of fresh air by comparison  to any buddy-comedy of the past year or so.  There are a lot of pop-culture cross reference such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounter of the Third Kind intermingled with the smart comedy typical of Pegg and Frost. Although the movie can’t be classified as your typical demo-material for your home theatre, the near perfect picture quality and natural-sounding soundtrack without the typical whiz-boom-bang is a demo material within itself.  Consider it as a near two-hour-demo that can be enjoyed by everybody.  To me it’s a rewarding comedy that has warmth and heart that makes for an entertaining way to spend two hours with your friends and family.

Audio: 9/10
Video: 9/10
Storyline: 8/10

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