This Christmas Blu-ray Review

The Blu-ray presentation of "This Christmas" upholds Sony's reputation for high-caliber high definition video quality, marrying a reference-grade encoding with a palette that brings each scene to life in vivid detail. The colors are both succulent and balanced, showcasing deep and dynamic blacks alongside penetrating primaries that appear neither overpowering nor subdued, but rather warm and inviting. This is complemented by lustrous skin tones, which exhibit a subtle yet beautiful delineation and tonal structure, enhancing the realism of the characters. Despite a minor observation of low-level noise during a darkened nightclub scene, the overall visual fidelity remains uncompromised, presenting textures and details with near lifelike three-dimensionality and clarity.

Continuing in this vein, the film manages to maintain an exceptionally high-quality picture typical of Sony’s BD releases, showcasing an excellent transfer that arguably presents the film in its best light since its theatrical debut. A light layer of grain persists, true to the cinematic source, preserving the fine textures of skin and fabrics without losing the integrity of the original production design. The holiday settings provide a perfect backdrop for a rich color palette, making use of reds that are intensely rendered without compression artifacts and other tones like purples and greens that jump off the screen. The handling of blacks is notably proficient, avoiding crush and maintaining detail in shadows, while whites retain a slight warmth consistent with the film’s overall color grading.

Detail preservation is paramount in this release, affording the picture an elegant texture across varied lighting conditions. Richly designed scenes benefit from the disc's excellent contrast levels, ensuring that no detail is obscured even in dimly lit environments. The overall warm tonality resulting from digital color grading enhances the film's aesthetic, without causing issues such as blooming or clipping in brighter areas. This Blu-ray presentation not only sets a high standard for home releases but does so while staying true to the filmmaker’s vision, providing an immersive viewing experience that celebrates both the technical and artistic merits of "This Christmas."

Sony's "This Christmas" Blu-ray release is graced with a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that captures the warmth and intimacy of the holiday spirit, complemented by a spectrum of audio tracks that cater to a diverse audience, including English and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes, alongside Spanish, French, and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 options. This film, while steeped in the tropes of familial comedy and drama, benefits from an audio presentation that emphasizes clarity and fidelity, particularly in delivering its dialogue-driven narrative. Conversations, crucial to the film's storytelling, are crisply rendered through the center channel, ensuring that even the softest mutterings are comprehensible. The audio mix stands out for its competence and cleanliness, indicative of Sony's commitment to high-quality home entertainment experiences.

The film's soundscape utilizes its musical elements effectively, with a soundtrack comprised mostly of modern renditions of classic holiday songs. These are presented with richness and depth, primarily through the front channels. However, it's worth noting that the surround channels are sparingly used, reserving the back speakers for ambient sounds that add to the film’s atmosphere on occasional moments. This conservative approach to the surround mix may not push the boundaries of home audio experiences, but it suits the film's straightforward narrative and setting. The low-frequency effects channel (LFE) is likewise utilized with restraint, coming into play during moments that demand a more dynamic range, such as scenes set in vivacious locations like El Rey Theatre.

Overall, while "This Christmas" may not venture into innovative territories of sound design, its audio presentation is polished and adeptly supports the film’s theme and emotional beats. The lossless Dolby TrueHD track ensures every line of dialogue and musical note is delivered with precision, making it a commendable aspect of the Blu-ray release. Despite its technical proficiency, the soundtrack sticks closely to conventional uses, mirroring the film's traditional yet heartwarming take on holiday gatherings and familial bonds, embodying a sound profile that is both effective and snugly appropriate for its content.

The "This Christmas" Blu-ray extras serve as a basic supplement to the main feature, embodying Sony Pictures' approach to bonus content for minor releases. The highlight is the audio commentary featuring Regina King, Sharon Leal, and Lauren London, which, while delivering an intimate if not particularly insightful experience, may appeal to fans for its casual, conversational tone. The remaining extras include a making-of featurette providing cast and crew reflections on the film's production, a standard-definition music video by Chris Brown, and two deleted scenes, all presented in standard definition with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound, underscoring the lack of technical ambition in these supplements. Additionally, Sony's previews and BD-Live features seem more aimed at promoting other titles rather than enriching the "This Christmas" viewing experience. Overall, these extras offer a glimpse behind the scenes and additional entertainment but do little to stand out or deeply enhance the main feature.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio commentary: With Regina King, Sharon Leal, and Lauren London.
• Deleted scenes: Two scenes not included in the final cut.
• Making of This Christmas: An 11-minute featurette with cast and crew interviews.
• This Christmas music video: Performed by Chris Brown.

"This Christmas," directed by Preston A. Whitmore II, delivers a refreshing departure from the slapstick comedy that often characterizes holiday films, presenting a story woven around the lives of the Whitfield family. Set against a luxuriously depicted Los Angeles backdrop, the film gathers the Whitfield siblings and their matriarch Shirley Ann Ma'Dere Whitfield (Loretta Devine), alongside her partner Joe Black (Delroy Lindo) and a spectrum of family members, for a Christmas reunion filled with secrets, trials, and revelations. While the narrative centers on the significance of family bonds, it interestingly diverges by focusing on an ensemble cast of black characters, offering a unique perspective within the holiday genre. However, despite its promising setup and commendable performances, the film occasionally succumbs to clichéd themes and spreads itself thin across too many subplots.

Character dynamics within "This Christmas" are intricate, with each sibling bringing their own set of challenges back home. From Quentin Jr.'s (Idris Elba) pursuit of a music career echoing their father's path, to the familial debate over the future of the Whitfield dry-cleaning business, the narrative attempts to cover a broad spectrum of issues. This inclusion of various storylines is an attempt to mirror the complexity of real-life family drama but results in a somewhat fragmented viewing experience. The film's strength lies in its portrayal of familial interactions and conflicts, bolstered by strong performances from its cast. However, the abundance of characters and their respective dilemmas often leaves little room for deeper exploration or resolution.

Navigating between moments of heartfelt reunion and personal conflict, "This Christmas" aims to strike a balance between feel-good holiday warmth and the portrayal of familial imperfections. Though it avoids the pitfall of excessive sentimentality common in the genre, the film struggles to maintain a cohesive narrative thread amidst its myriad of storylines. Despite its attempt to offer a slice-of-life glimpse into the Whitfield family's holiday gathering, it sometimes veers into the territory of being overly sanitized, diluting the potential impact of its more poignant moments. In conclusion, "This Christmas" shines in its depiction of complex family dynamics and provides a rare focal point on an African-American family celebrating the holidays, but its execution is hindered by an overcrowded plot and an overarching aim to encapsulate too much within its runtime.

In evaluating the Blu-ray presentation of "This Christmas," the technical setup employed for this review was meticulous, involving a variety of high-definition equipment, including the JVC DLA-RS1x 1080p High Definition Front Projector and a selection of esteemed audiovisual components like the Marantz DV7001 Universal Disc Player and Denon AVR 5308CI THX Ultra 2 Preamp/Video Processor. This comprehensive equipment array, paired with top-tier cabling from Wireworld, Audioquest, and Best Deal Cables, ensured an optimal viewing environment to scrutinize the Blu-ray’s technical merits. Audio performance was evaluated using a configuration that included Canton Ergo Series speakers and the formidable SV Sound PB-13 Ultra subwoofer, promising a thorough assessment of the disc’s sound capabilities.

The Blu-ray disc of "This Christmas" exhibits a commendable video quality that aligns with Sony’s reputation for delivering visually appealing Blu-ray content. The image clarity and color reproduction on this release are notable, allowing for an engaging viewing experience that somewhat mitigates the film’s narrative shortcomings. However, the audio presentation, while satisfactory, does not push the boundaries of what is possible with current home theater technology. It provides adequate support for the film's dialogue and soundtrack but lacks the immersive depth one might expect from a more dynamic audio mix. The package is completed with a modest assortment of special features, likely sufficient for those with a passing interest in the film or its production, but leaving enthusiasts possibly wanting more.

In conclusion, "This Christmas" on Blu-ray serves as a passable option for holiday movie viewing, primarily recommended for rental rather than purchase. The film itself offers little in terms of groundbreaking storytelling or memorable holiday moments, falling into the category of light entertainment suited for casual viewing. The technical presentation of the Blu-ray is strong, particularly in terms of video quality, yet the overall package feels somewhat lacking due to the film's inability to fully utilize the potential richness of both narrative and audiovisual execution. For fans of holiday cinema or those seeking to complete their seasonal collection, it provides an evening's distraction but may fall short of becoming a cherished staple in one’s holiday movie repertoire.