Why So Blu?

The Postcard Killings (Blu-ray Review)

In The Postcard Killings, based on the James Patterson and Liza Marklund #1 New York Times bestselling novel, NY Detective Jacob Kanon’s (Jeffery Dean Morgan) world is destroyed when his daughter and son-in-law are brutally murdered in London. Unable to sit idly by and do nothing, Jacob travels to London get the answers he needs. As he learns of similar heinous murders happening across Europe – each preceded by a postcard sent to a local journalist – Jacob is in a race against time to stop the killings and find justice for his little girl.

Film

The Postcard Killings is the latest James Patterson novel to get adapted to the big screen. This time we have Jefferey Dean Morgan and Cush Gumbo leading the way. When Detective Jacob Kanon’s (Jefferey Dean Morgan) daughter and son-in-law are brutally murdered, he travels over to London to claim the bodies and investigate what happened. What separates these murders from the average is the way the couple was killed and displayed. Their bodies where staged just like the figures in various famous paintings from famous artists from times past.

As more and more couples are being found dead and staged throughout various countries in Europe, Kanon enlists the help of a Scandinavian journalist Dessie Lombard (Cush Jumbo). Kanon and Lombard begin the arduous journey of trying to track down the killer. They will have to navigate the red tape from law enforcement in the UK and Scandinavia.

The Postcard Killings crept in under my radar, but not because I was not attracted to the cast. The cast is awesome, I’m just not a James Patterson fan. I feel he’s diluted himself with his own brand. With that being said, I think The Postcard Killings is an awesome movie. I’m usually pretty good at guessing who the killer is early on, but the way the reveal was staged in this film was pure genius.

Also, being that the film has several brutal killings, they are never shown, only the aftermath and staging. Some of the way the killings were staged reminded me of the tv show Hannibal, with less splatter and a wee-bit more class. You don’t see victims getting turned into ribbons or gross crime scenes. Because all the killings share a central theme, there’s a classiness to the way they are done in and displayed. Anymore and I would venture into spoiler territory, so that’s all you get right now. Wink.

The Postcard Killings is a taught little thriller that had me invested from the very beginning. The cast is great, the locations rock, and it was more than competently directed by Danis Tanovic (Death in Sarajevo). I give The Postcard Killings a hearty recommendation!

 

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Clarity/Detail: The Postcard Killings looks nice and natural, without any hints of post-production tinkering. Sharpness levels are strong, as are contrast levels Edge enhancement was also not a problem.

Depth: The film is a bit of a European-trotting type of film and it looked great in every country the primary cast members found themselves in. I felt like I was there for a trip with them.

Black Levels: There are a couple of nighttime and low-lit interiors/exteriors – all looked great without any intrusive crush present.

Color Reproduction:  The early part of the film and even the middle part had scenes that were very colorful. It’s only towards the finale that the color palette gets desaturated a bit. This is an obvious stylistic choice that works out great.

Flesh Tones: The cast looked terrific throughout, flush with color, unless they were part of the macabre “art pieces.”

Noise/Artifacts: I didn’t detect any instances of noise or debris, but if you want to get technical, and it is most likely environmental factors, the last act of the film takes place out in the snow and ice. If you don’t have a keen eye some might mistake the moisture in the snowy air as “noise” and “debris.” This is not so.

 

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics: The Postcard Killings is presented in full DTS-HD MA 5.1. The sound field takes advantage of all the locations and never feels like a jumbled mess. There’s proper channel separation, in what could sometimes be, a dialogue driven film. Granted, it’s still a thriller and has the appropriate action beats of one.

Low-Frequency Extension: The low-end LFE channel gives The Postcard Killings some nice added bass. The bass was tight and never rattled when it was supposed to rumble.

Surround Sound Presentation: The film is very dynamic and has a few thrilling scenes involving some expansive action. The surround sound speakers handle the action quite nicely.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are spot-on, especially in a movie where you have various English and Scandinavian accents.

 

Extras 

Unfortunately, we only have one supplemental extra and that is of a short making-of featurette with the cast and crew. At least it was entertaining.

• The Making of The Postcard Killings

 

Summary

The Postcard Killings was a lot of fun, with some nice misdirection that actually worked. The Blu-ray has great audio and video specs but lacks in-depth extras. The Postcard Killings is a perfectly acceptable time waster of a thriller — I enjoyed it!

 

Disclaimer: The images used above within the review are not actual Blu-ray screenshots. They are for illustrative purposes only.

 

 

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