Drama 4-in-1 Collection BD

THE COLLECTION

Basic (2003)
A DEA officer (JOHN TRAVOLTA) is recruited to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a famed U.S. Army drill instructor (SAMUEL L. JACKSON) and a group of cadets on a routine military exercise in the jungles of Panama. But the journey to uncover the truth leads to some dangerous and unexpected places when two rescued survivors tell dramatically different versions of what transpired.

Lonely Hearts (2006)
Based on a true story, Raymond Fernandez (JARED LETO) and Martha Beck (SALMA HAYEK) and two psychopaths with a passion for hot-blooded sex and cold-blooded murder, Placing ads in singles magazines, they prey on a series of rich, lonely women, whom they later swindle and kill. Leaving a trail of bodies that stretches from New York to Michigan, Raymond and Martha believe they’re literally getting away with murder until homicide detectives Elmer C. Robinson (JOHN TRAVOLTA) and Charles Hildebrandt (JAMES GANDOLFINI) pick up their trail.

Perfect (1985)
When an investigative reporter (JOHN TRAVOLTA) travels to Los Angeles to write an acrid piece about the fitness craze that took hold of the metropolis during the `80s, he meets an attractive fitness instructor (JAMIE LEE CURTIS), and the two fall in love. Suddenly, the reporter wonders if he still writes the article and be in love at the same time.

A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
Jaded teenage loner Purslane (SCARLETT JOHANSSON) returns to New Orleans for the first time in years, ready to reclaim her childhood home. Expecting to find her late mother’s house abandoned, Pursy is shocked to discover that it is inhabited by two of her mother’s friends, Bobby Long (JOHN TRAVOLTA), a former literature professor, and his young protégé, Lawson Pines (GABRIEL MACHT). As time passes, their tenuous, makeshift arrangement unearths a series of buried personal secrets that challenges their bonds, and reveals just how inextricably their lives are intertwined.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 0/5

No features were included.

VIDEO – 4.0/5, AUDIO – 3.75/5

All four movies are presented in their original respective aspect ratios — 1.85 for Perfect and A Love Song for Bobby Long and 2.35 for Basic and Lonely Hearts — and based on what I saw, detail was generally sharp and colors appeared to be well balanced. That said, there was some encoding issues with A Love Song for Bobby Long where the picture and sound went haywire for a second with some pixilation so not quite perfect.

Each film comes with PCM audio tracks, all of which were perfectly serviceable if not also standard. Dialogue came through with good clarity and there was a okay spreading out for ambient noises.

OVERALL – 3.0/5

This Drama 4-in-1 Collection is another fine compilation from Mill Creek especially considering the low SRP and getting some at least okay John Travolta movies, though I believe these all were already released on Blu-ray in the past. There are no bonus features but the video and audio transfers were decent enough.