BLU-RAY REVIEW

CJ7

Featured In Issue 134, September 2008

Picture4.5
SoundNR
WSR Score2.5
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):
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
26877
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
For language, thematic material, some rude humor and brief smoking
(Retail Price):
$38.96
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
88
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
2007
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
08/12/08
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Stephen Chow
(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 TrueHD 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):

Ti (Chow) is a poor construction worker determined to give his beloved son, Dicky (Jiao), every opportunity that he lacked in childhood. Even though Ti can scarcely afford the tuition, he happily makes the sacrifice of sending Dicky to an exclusive private school, hoping the good education will insure a better life for his son. Dicky loves his father, but feels an outcast at school with his second-hand uniforms and sneakers rummaged from the local dump. When Ti is "shopping" for a toy for his son at the local dump, he mistakes an alien called CJ7 for a popular toy. Only after he brings the curious toy home does Ti realize that this toy is not what he believed it to be. Now armed with his fabulous new toy, Dicky sets out to achieve the popularity at school he dreams of. (Stacey Pendry)

Special features include a commentary rack by cast and crew; the following featurettes: The Story Of CJ7 (13 minutes), Anatomy Of A Scene (seven minutes), How To Bully A Bully (four minutes), How To Make A Lollipop (two minutes), and CJ7 Profiles (seven minutes); a TV special (22 minutes); the orignal theatrical trailer; a game CJ7: Mission Control; and previews.

The anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1 DVD exhibits nice resolution, with fine details delivered well. Black levels are deep and shadow delineation is acceptable. Fleshtones are rendered nicely and bright, bold colors are frequently used. The contrast is somewhat low, but colors are saturated well. Shimmering artifacts and mosquito noise can be recognized at times, but the image is generally clean. Mild edge enhancement can be seen. The H.264 AVC-encoded Blu-ray Disc shows very good resolution, with deep, consistent blacks and well-defined shadows. There is an enjoyable sense of depth to the picture. (Danny Richelieu)

The DVD's Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is available in both Mandarin and English, and while dialogue is always intelligible in both, it often sounds flat and overly forward. Fidelity is pristine in everything but the dialogue, however. The surrounds can be incorporated well at times, and the front stage is amply wide. The LFE channel is used well with music, but deep bass is not a big part of this mix. Dynamic range is impressive. The Blu-ray Disc's lossless TrueHD encodings (both Mandarin and English) feature improved fidelity with tighter bass and crisper dialogue. Still, voices sound overly forward and flat for the majority of the presentation. (Danny Richelieu)