BLU-RAY REVIEW

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Featured In Issue 159, September 2011

Picture5
Sound3.5
WSR Score4
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
2272013
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
Some mild rude humor and mischief
(Retail Price):
$39.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
99
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
2011
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
06/21/11
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
David Bowers
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Greg Heffley, the kid who made "wimpy" cool, is back in Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Having rid himself of the Cheese Touch, Greg enters the next grade with his confidence and friendships intact, and an eye on the new girl in town, Holly Hills. But at home, Greg is still at war with his older brother, Rodrick (Bostick), so their parents have handed down the toughest "punishment" imaginable—forcing the boys to spend quality time with each other. Based upon the book by Jeff Kinney. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director David Bowers and Author Jeff Kinney, the featurette My Favorite Vacation in seven segments (HD 08:58), 10 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Bowers (HD 09:22), an alternate ending "Stealthinator" (HD 01:26), a gag reel (HD 04:23), the theatrical trailer, BD-Live functionality, and a digital copy of the film.

The 1080p AVC picture was photographed in Super 35 at 2.39:1, where the first film was in 1.85:1. Otherwise, the two films appear similar in style on Blu-ray, with a generally crisp and colorful rendering. The color palette is nicely saturated, which effectively heightens the liveliness of the storytelling. Hues are vivid and richly rendered with colors that pop. This live-action rendering dramatically contrasts with the stark black-and-white line drawings in the "journal." While surroundings, clothing, and textures are intensely colorful, fleshtones remain impressively naturally hued. Blacks are deep and solid, with excellent contrast that enhances the revealing shadow delineation. Resolution is generally consistent in sharpness and clarity, with excellent detail renderings. The imagery is pristine throughout, with a hint of film grain, for a cinematic visual look. This is a vividly colorful picture that is certain to please. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack, while frontal focused, is not as wimpy as the original release. The surround channels are a bit more active, which enhances the sense of ambiance in the more active scenes. Dialogue sounds perfectly natural, though, a bit forward in level. The music score is the element, which provides aggressive surround envelopment, but not always. The .1 LFE channel provides occasional strong bass, but such is limited as well. While numerous opportunities were missed for engaging soundscapes, the overall sound is serviceable to deliver the almost constant dialogue and story narration. (Gary Reber)