4/5 Excellent controversial film - superb blu ray
  by barry (Boston, MA United States)
INCENDIARY is not being treated well by critics and I don't really understand why. They seem to keep talking aboutr what the film could be rather than what it is. And what it is is a film that is intense, difficult to watch and emotionally raw. But it is an excellent film. The story takes place in London and we are introduced to Michelle Williams. She is a wife and mother. She has an adorable son who she adores and a husband with whom she tries to deal but who seems to be emotionally empty. The one interesting thing here that is bizarre is that Michelle's character has no actual name. Even in the credits she is listed as YOUNG MOTHER. What purpose this serves I don't really know but I must admit I didn't really notice it when viewing the film.

Our story develops. This young woman goes out to the bar occasionally at night and has the neighbor watch her child. It is here she meets and sleeps with Ewan McGregor. They start a sexual relationship and one weekend her husband takes the son to a soccer game. This same day Michelle has sex with Ewan and the game is on during it. There is a terrorist attack on the stadium and bombs explode. The mother sees this on tv while being in the vulnerable sexual position. She knows that her husband and son are at the game. It is at this point that her world falls apart. She goes to the stadium to try and find them and encounters hell on earth.

Critics seem to feel more should have been explained about the terrorism aspect but the fact that the country is a constant victim of these suicide bombers is a reality. This film is about the emotional impact all this has on the young wife/mother played by Michelle Williams. There is a lot of voiceover where she tells part of the story and the rest is pure emotion. Michelle Williams owns this films and displays 100% the acting chops that she possesses. She becomes this woman so completely that every plot line and everything that happens to her is heartwrenchingly believable. She falls apart, builds herself up for yet more downfalls. Ewan Mcgregor and Matthew MacFayden provide excellent support here but this is truly Ms. Williams fim.

The journey she takes you on is spellbinding and any loose plot lines that may exist become nonexistent as you experience them with her. Imagaine the pain and emotion involved with facing your worst fears and that is the ride Michelle Williams takes you on. I fould the blu ray presentation to be glorious. The 1080p video is electric and crisp with vibrant color and excellent flesh tones. Blacks and whites blend for awesome contrast. The audio is excellent. It is a dialogue driven film but there are some strong audio moments like the stadium explosion and these scenes are bewidering to view.

I highly recommend this film and blu ray. It is disturbing subject matter but tells an important tale on the effects terrorism can have on an average person. And you will also get a tour de force performance by Michelle Williams. She is proving to be one of our best actresses and this performance and film are not to be missed.

3/5 An emotional film, a subpar Blu
  by Steve Kuehl (Ben Lomond, CA)
I hate to admit I was tricked into ordering as many as I did because of the description, trailer and preliminary "thriller" reviews. I'll make this a two part review to be as fair as possible, one part on the mis-marketing and the other on the Blu-Ray product (small spoilers).

The story covers loads of grief, emotions and loss as a woman (Michelle Williams) loses her son and husband in a major terrorist explosion in London. Coincidentally, she is having a tryst (with Ewan McGregor) whilst her family is killed. With extensive flashbacks of her son, coupled together with three other distinct story lines, we get spattered with some bad writing and abbreviated conclusions.

Marketing: The trailer shows the only 80 seconds of activity in the whole film (outside of the sex scene). Case description: "...and discovers the authorities will do anything to cover up the terrifying truth behind it." Once you watch the film you realize how incorrect that statement is. Between being pushed as a thriller and my customers thinking it would be a conspiracy/semi-action film, I think one's expectations should be a little different as to alleviate any disappointment. There is lots of melancholy, sadness, beach footage, regret and a 1000 memorial blimps - not much else.

The Blu looked crisp, but very little color gets used. The clarity did show a variety of errors, including blatant crew reflections in vehicles (not brief either) and the CGI failings during the one stadium sequence. The DTS gets used best during the explosion sequence but not much else except some classical music mix. No extras to speak of, except a brief photo gallery of cast and crew.

There are both adequate and poor/minimal performances, a somewhat graphic sex scene that gets spoiled, and numerous shortcomings in the story that detract from what sounded like an excellent book. I would recommend it as a rental, maybe an owner for those Michelle fans, but overall this did little as a Blu product.