- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: R
- Discs: 1
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: April 5, 2011
- List Price: $29.99
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Casino Jack on Blu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Politicos have been accused of a lot of things, but honesty and trustworthiness haven’t been among them at any point in my lifetime. Like the Enron scandal with D.C.’s close buddies over on Wall St., the Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) scandal was big news that shined an unfriendly light on Washington politics and shook up the then Republican controlled congress under the Bush administration. The scandal brought down congressman Tom DeLay (Spencer Garrett).
It’s based on true events and somewhat on the Casino Jack & the United States of Money documentary about Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his corrupting influence on D.C. politics. A story that involves Native American tribes, casino gambling, Greek mobsters, a murder, and illegally funneled political funds, Casino Jack is meant to be a witty and biting political satire anchored in real events. It is, unfortunately, overzealous, light on emotional weight, and pretty much all surface without any true depth to its portrayal of Abramoff. The complicated forces driving the political machine in Washington are also somewhat lost in the fray. It’s probably best to watch the actually documentary rather than this film.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Casino Jack has a very saturated, video-like quality to its HD captured image. The 1080p transfer from Fox comes across well on this Blu-ray with strong color reproduction and good flesh tones while only some occasional instances of softness manage to creep in. As usual for the Red One camera that was used for this movie, what little video noise there is looks more film-like than noisy.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Casino Jack has a pleasing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack that sounds spacious and dynamic with clean dialogue and lots of ambience. There are some occasional discrete sounds panned through the surround channels, but not much low frequencies to speak of.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
Casino Jack arrives with not much in the way of extras. It’s actually a downright measly offering from Fox for this release.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Casino Jack – A Director’s Photo Diary (1080p)
- Gag Reel (2.35:1; 480i/60; 0:08.25)
- Deleted Scenes (2.35:1; 480i/60; 0:09.04)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
Well meaning and occasional humorous, Casino Jack falls just short of being a truly great look at the underbelly of D.C. Politics.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product align=”right”]B004N53CT4[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Casino Jack on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
