Why So Blu?

Kid Cannabis (Blu-ray Review)

Kid Cannabis is the true story of an Idaho teen dropout who builds a multimillion-dollar marijuana ring by trafficking drugs through the woods across the Canadian border. But his pursuit of the high life – complete with girls, guns, and vicious rival drug lords – may leave this ex-pizza boy in way over his head. Director John Stockwell has been a very busy boy. He’s got this film and In The Blood both being released in 2014. 

 

Film 

Nate Norman (Jonathan Daniel Brown) is your average smart-stoner dropout who passes the time smoking weed and delivering pizzas. On one of those uneventful pizza delivery runs he gets the epiphany, after meeting a well off dealer, that he’s in the wrong business. Did I mention Nate is also super smart? Along with his best friend Topher (Kenny Wormald) the boys set off on an enterprising adventure of drug trafficking from Canada back into Idaho.

Yes, I said Canada back into Idaho. The boys live up in Northern Idaho and while visiting a dispensary they were told that Canada grows some great product. Nate and Topher hook up with the man with the plan. John (John C. McGinley) deals the best herb anywhere and only deals in bulk and only accepts cash. This poses a problem, because where are Nate and Topher going to get the mid-six figure lump sum that John requires to do business?

Enter the very sinister and dangerous Ron Perlman playing Ron Perlman. Okay, he plays a scary mobster character named Barry Lerner. Lerner has the money and motivation to get into business with Nate due to Nate being really smart and not giving a flake-like vibe. Then again, if Nate screws Barry then Barry will most likely chop him up into dog food. Sounds like a plan to me!

Once the operation gets underway the boys recruit some of their slacker friends and they begin doing trial reconnaissance runs. I thought it was funny that they literally ran the stuff off of the side of the road and through the forest. Literally. Several things the boys didn’t count on were that another chap by the name of Brendan Butler (Aaron Yoo), who is the local rich drug user and dealer of that little Idaho enclave. Brendan is not used to having competition since he’s always been the alpha dealer of the town. The boy feels threatened when Nate’s operation moves in and seeks to usurp him from the throne.

Kid Cannabis is a peculiar project by John Stockwell that’s based on the true story of the young man who became a multi millionaire by running marijuana from Canada into Northern Idaho before being busted by law enforcement. Kid Cannabis is a cautionary tale of what happens when you decide to go into this sort of business venture. The results are not pretty and people do die and lives are shattered.

I enjoyed the film overall due to it being injected with equal parts comedy and equal parts drama. Jonathan Daniel Brown as the unlikely Junior Scarface is cool and we actually root for him, because he’s the underdog and likable as hell. The rest of the ensemble cast also does well in their parts. Many props go out to Ron Perlman and John C. McGinley. If you’re interested in more films by john Stockwell (he’s got two out this year so far) then read Aaron’s review of In The Blood HERE.

 

 

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Clarity/Detail: As is customary with Well Go USA, they don’t skimp out on transfers. Kid Cannabis goes from being a very rural type of picture when our protagonists are planning and scheming to a very colorful one during scenes of transporting their cargo. It’s like you’re in Idaho! No complaints here.

Depth: The Blu-ray has a very good picture filled with depth that didn’t look like it was tweaked during post-production, which is appreciated.

Black Levels: Black levels are fine, with only a scene or two of crush – overall, a fine presentation in that regard.

Color Reproduction: I don’t smoke but man, the colors, the colors! The color palette is rich and vibrant and made me want to take a trip to Idaho and Canada all at once.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones appear as natural as can be. You’re either pasty or have color from transporting product in the heat.

Noise/Artifacts: Noise and debris levels were kept in check for the most part.

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: There a few scenes of action and peril contained within the film but for the most part it acts as a drama-comedy. It’s also driven by music and the Blu-ray handles those things without any problems.

Low Frequency Extension: The LFE channels bumps and bumps when the trance and hip-hop hits, along with gunshots.

Surround Sound Presentation: The surround sound levels were adequate and there are more than a few scenes of people crawling in the woods trying not to get caught. The ambience in those scenes was great, because you could hear rustling in the rear channels and what not.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels were great and I did not notice any clipping or delay.

 

Extras  

Yeah, I cannot support a supplement package that only has a trailer. There really should have been more extras included.

• Trailer (HD, 1:36) – The Kid Cannabis theatrical trailer is presented in high definition.

 

Summary 

Kid Cannabis is an enjoyable enough romp of mischief and danger but several honest performances keep the film from sinking. The Blu-ray looks and sounds terrific but unfortunately gets dragged down due to the lack of supplements. Kid Cannabis is recommended, so give it a shot and tell me what you think.

 

Order Kid Cannabis on Blu-ray!