Cliffhanger Blu Ray Review

-
Cliffhanger Blu Ray Review


it was 1993, Sly was in top shape, and was rolling out hit after hit. This was perhaps his greatest movie before he slid into obscurity (well that is until Rambo, Rocky V and Expendables revived his career).

Before Tom Cruise showed off his moves pretending to rock climb in Mission Impossible II, Stallone showed the world his abilities, strength and the awesome sights of the Italian Alps in a movie which was successful for action fans, climbers and even Stallone skeptics. The plot isn't that complicated, a bunch of criminals led brilliantly by the wonderfully talented John Lithgow who outshines himself as a master villain, steals the money from a plane but the plane crashes and they need the Rocky Mountains Rescue climbers Rooker and Stallone to find it.

The plot is a new twist on the good guys versus bad, with some mind games, mixed in with good action and the backdrop of the Alps (standing in for the Rockies) certainly helped. Stallone played the roles that suit him best, little acting chops needed, but plenty of action and let the other actors use their thespian skills to cover up for his more wooden acting, then let the director Renny Harlin (fresh from Die Hard 2) show off all the action sequences.

Action: 4/5
Chick Factor: Janine Turner is the love interest, and does her bit to spice up the movie without looking ditzy 3/5

The film shows its age, the picture quality is a little faded, and many shots are less sharp or pristine. PQ 3/5
AQ: no such trouble for the sound though, the DTS-MA 5.1 track is awesome, and has good bass and LFE during explosions, of which there are plenty, and the deep bass resounds from all 5 speakers. Dialogue is reasonably clear, but the soundscape and the use of surrounds is on par with a movie from the 21st century and makes this quite the sonic treat.

Some trivia:

Most of the stunts were real and Stallone did many of the climbing scenes himself. it had the most expensive stunt as well (USD 1 mil) for the wire climb between two planes (no safety ropes so the insurance was sky high) and Stallone is actually afraid of heights.

Should you buy / rent / avoid it?
I reckon the sound effects alone make this a demo worthy buy, and the decent plot, with the excellent performances by lead actors (dare I say it, Stallone was good in this despite a dearth of facial expressions).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KEF LS 50 Meta review and comparison with the LS50

-
Image
The original KEF LS50 was one of those landmark speakers, a pocket rocket which performed at a much higher level than what it’s price tag might indicate. The original LS50 has been widely reviewed, and is well regarded by audiophiles everywhere.  However it does have some bite in the treble and lacks some deep bass, and works better for music which does not go too deep or with a sub to reinforce the bass. But what it does have is fabulous imaging, which allows you to how off great soundstaging, depth, and definition. If you are into details, you’ll love them. The coaxial design is also wonderful for those who sit a bit off axis. The construction is a marvel in itself and with a modern design, a beautiful gloss finish and a quality build. No wonder it’s loved by music lovers the world over. Now recently KEF has introduced the new KEF Meta. This is an updated version of the original and whilst it can look deceivingly the same, there are significant differences. First a link to the offici
Read more

Dynaudio Heritage Special Speaker Review

-
Image
Dynaudio is a company that has been in the speaker business for more than forty years and prides itself on making most of its components in house, especially the drivers and most of the cabinetry. Through the years they have developed many beloved components for their top end products and have also distilled them down to the masses whenever they launch a special edition. So they have adopted a similar format and take some of their finest drivers, an Esotar 3 tweeter and a woofer derived from the Evidence range and placed them into a more traditional walnut veneer speaker for us to sample.  Thus the Heritage Special (HS) was born. The catch ? Well there are two.. firstly it’s by no means cheap, even though it uses choice components. Second there are only 2500 pairs so if you’re waiting to get one, don’t ! And that’s the sum of my review if you may. If you’re a Dynaudio afficiando, just plonk down the deposit that had planned for the annual summer holiday and get this instead. Now reader
Read more

Setting Up A Mesh Network In Your Home - tips and links

-
Image
If you buy an older place, you need to check if the fibre cable is still working, and you also need to brush up on certain terms: FTP   (first termination point) ONT  (Optical Network Terminal -  also called the modem) connects to the First Termination Point (TP) https://support.myrepublic.com.sg/hc/en-us/articles/115003469974-Basic-ONT-Modem-Information-and-Troubleshooting OpenNet is the local company assigned to install the FTP, now they are called Netlink Trust. Intially they have gotten a bad rep simply because they were overwhelmed. Everyone was going into fibre a few years bad.  You need to call them to do the FTP setup. But first, find out if your home has already been reached by optical fibre. Then check if the line still works. Eg, if your builder has cut the line, then you might be in trouble. Now those chaps will charge you $160 for apartments or $288 for landed properties. You need to give them 2 weeks notice and select from a menu of dates. Then they will su
Read more