MASTERMINDS Blu-ray Review

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In early 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Company was taken for $18 million by their employee Phillip Johnson.  The robbery made national news and especially rang with small time criminal Steve Chambers.  He knows that a friend of his named Kelly Campbell used to work there and would know someone to manipulate into helping them rob the company. Queue in David Scott Ghantt.  He is an armored car driver, in love with Kelly, and better yet…he’s a complete idiot.  Because of how much he is into Kelly, he agrees to help them rob the main safe and run away with her to Mexico.  The take should be more than the $18 million…sounds simple right?
 
MASTERMINDS is directed by Jared Hess.  He is best known for NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and NACHO LIBRE.  Both of these films are very weird and you can see some his weirdness in this film.  One of the other pieces that Hess has the ability to do is make the film seem like it could take place in any decade but just have people that aren’t caught up with the times. 

I can’t stress enough that this is a true story.  Of course, there are a lot of facts that are trumped-up but it needs this to make this story into a comedy.  Of course, the comedy in the movie is all in what you like.  I thought it was funny in a subtle way but, to be fair, I have seen stronger comedies before.  I personally like Zach Galifianakis but I love Kristin Wiig and Kate McKinnon.  With that, this is a strong cast of comedians and they play off of each other well.  When you watch the credits, they left in some of the outtakes and I don’t know how they stay in character sometimes.  
 
Cast
Zach Galifianakis – David Scott Ghantt
Owen Wilson – Steve Chambers
Kristen Wiig – Kelly Campbell
Kate McKinnon – Jandice
Leslie Jones – FBI Special Agent Scanlon
Jason Sudeikis – Michael Aaron “Mike” McKinney
Mary Elizabeth Ellis – Michelle Chambers
 
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VIDEO QUALITY:

The video is a 1080p AVC transfer that looks excellent.  The coloring is bright and it really brings out the colors in the images, especially the bright Zubras and colored vests.  The outdoor scenes are also brilliant in both North Carolina and Mexico.  The details are crisp as well as the contrasting.  Even in the darker scenes, there aren’t any complaints about the lines being muddled at all.  The skin tones are warm and natural.
 

AUDIO QUALITY:

The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that has a lot of strong points.  The effects are replicated well and things like gunshots have the appropriate hits when they are needed.  Honestly. there isn’t a whole lot of use in the all of the speakers aside from the center channel.  You get a little when a scene is inside the moving armored car or when there was a chase through a crowded street in Mexico.  All in all, there are no real flaws in the mix and this has been surprisingly strong for a movie like this.
 
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SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING

-The Imperfect Crime: This featurette goes through the real story about Ghantt and his mishaps with the robbery.  He was a consultant on the film and they also speak to some of the cast and crew plus people who have researched the story.
 
-Theatrical Trailer
 
Disc Details
2-disc set w/ 1 Blu-ray and 1 DVD
 
Running Time
94 mins
 
Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13
 
Region Coding
Region A
 
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
 
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
 
Subtitles
English
English SDH
Spanish
 
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THE BOTTOM LINE:

MASTERMINDS is a fun comedy that makes sure to not take itself too seriously and to be perfectly honest, that is a key element to have in a comedy.  Is it in my top 10 of funny movies?  No, but it is something fun to watch if that’s what you’re looking for on movie night.  The release has a strong video and audio mix.  Also, the extra about the real story was fun to watch.  If you’re on the fence about this one, I would recommend checking it out whether you rent or buy it.

Order your copy of MASTERMINDS on Blu-ray from Amazon

About the author

MEDIA JOURNALIST | Michael is a fanatic about all both cinema old and new. He collects anything from 1:6 Scale, 1:12 Scale, and vinyl Collectibles plus Slipcovers and Steelbooks. He loves pop culture, writing, reviewing films & collectibles, and journalism. An avid Batman, The Joker and anything comics junkie, he will also chat it up about pretty much anything. Go ahead and ask...