Michael Jackson Died

A movie recounting a newly diagnosed cancer, with a new timeframe for Ben's lifespan. What transpires is what some find irresponsible, or selfish. However to Ben it gives his life the meaning whose discovery, up until now, he has been postponing.

I watched it once, and the let my teen watch it with me the second time. It has a 'Into the Wild" movie flavor to it.

I am not Canadian, nor is my store in Canada, but I still thought this was a great Canadian travel film. This was one of the more realistic cancer films I have seen in a bit, and (I feel) not worthy of the hate club that campaigns against it.

Simply put, it is a film about a man who travels across his country after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Like other good travel films, we see a sampling of the beautiful country that Canada has to offer, we encounter every-day personalities of people along the way and we learn a few lessons about ourselves and what life might be about. The difference here is that we get a insightful narration by Campbell Scott (most recognized of late with his role in Phoebe in Wonderland), which in itself provided some nice laugh-out-loud moments.

I laughed at unexpected moments, saw some incredible Canadian scenery, and did not feel anything was contrived or cardboard (as most complainants have stipulated). The special features give this four-star film a five. The low-def "Making-of" contained just the right amount of logistical material on production, the commentary and interviews provide plenty of information for the followers and the remaining HD gallery, after party and trailer add just the right amount of extras to show the fun side of this film.

The Blu quality is slightly better than the DVD, but there is still plenty of grain and and (very minute) random artifact. The grandiose panoramas could have been a bit clearer, the DTS was never fully utilized, even with the plethora of songs, but the presentation was still adequate. Not a reference Blu, but the film and special features make this a higher rating.