OVERVIEW: Based on The New York Times #1 bestselling novel, world-renowned author Stephenie Meyer presents The Host, the epic love story starring Academy Award® nominee Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, The Lovely Bones), Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Inglourious Basterds), Max Irons (Red Riding Hood) and Oscar® winner William Hurt (Kiss of the Spiderwoman, A History of Violence). The Host will be available to own on Digital on June 25, 2013 as well as on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with DVD and Digital including UltraViolet™ on July 9, 2013 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

SYNOPSIS: When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over humans’ bodies and erasing their minds, Melanie Stryder (Ronan) risks everything to protect the people she cares about most, proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world. Directed and adapted by Oscar® winner Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show, In Time) and co-starring Frances Fisher (Titanic, Unforgiven), Chandler Canterbury (Knowing, Repo Man) and Jake Abel (I Am Number Four, The Lovely Bones), this modern romance is… “Wildly entertaining! Full of love, thrills and romance!” (Manny Dela Rosa, NBC-TV).

FILM REVIEW: I guess there are reasons why I found this latest Stephanie Meyers release to be a sort of mixture between Gattaca and The Matrix. Firstly, let’s start with acclaimed Writer/Director, Andrew Niccol. This New Zealand native’s resume reads of human perfection flicks such as “The Truman Show,” “Gattaca” and “S1m0ne,” just to name a few. This certainly explains the profound underlying theme of “The Host.” Secondly Meyers, whom you may have come to know as the mastermind behind the “Twilight” saga – Breaking Dawn part 2, has gone on record stating that Niccol’s 1997 “Gattaca” was her favorite sci-fi movie because she loved that “it's not about gadgets and lasers and fighting robots," but "It's about humanity, not how cool a space ship can be designed in CGI." As she explained in the film's production notes. With all that said, one can expect to be swept away in a futuristic world not unlike that of aliens vs. mankind and mankind’s relentless pursuit of perfection in a sorta’ “Twilight-saga” love triangle sorta’ way. Consequently, everything about this film feels too familiar to the point that it is at risk of boring audiences to tears (which it doesn’t necessarily do).

On the other hand, casting was sorta’ interesting with Saoirse Ronan (Hanna – 2011) [pronounced Seer-sha] playing the lead role as one of remaining human-beings leading the rebellion against alien occupiers. I can’t say I found her to be a perfect fit, but her talent really shows through, having to play somewhat of a cross-bred/hybrid being with two coexisting mindsets. Her talent allowed her to play the role quite well, but she probably wouldn’t have been my first choice for the part, considering the part seems to be more of a Milla Jovovitch, type. Nevertheless, Ronan gave a good performance, with the support of veteran actors such as William Hurt (Robin Hood - 2010), Frances Fisher (Titanic - 1997) and lesser known’s, such as Jake Abel and Max Irons.
Some less exciting points about the movie would be the predictability of the plot, the soap opera style dialog and certainly worth mention was the overly dramatic and boring score presented as a soundtrack. OMG! What a black-eye for the film. It had a Titanic violin type of composure and was absolutely dreadful, on the ears. It certainly did not suit the sequences of the flick what-so-ever. Moreover, the plot of the movie portrayed alien life-forms pursuing humans, in ways that were really questionable. One would certainly question how people can be tracked and captured in the desert terrain, by our modern-day technology (i.e. Saddam Hussein), but in this flick highly advanced aliens with superior technology could not detect people hiding amongst them or in a wide open desert terrain? Simple annoyances of the sort were prevalent throughout the film.

Overall, the idea and concept of the movie is pretty cool and with a bit of tweaking of the dialog, an improved soundtrack and better casting, the concept could have been a summer blockbuster movie.

 Nevertheless, I certainly enjoyed elements of this flick and would have to give it three stars out of five, for concept and creativity.

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish DTS Surround 5.1

Subtitles - English Spanish French

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ disc unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring perfect hi-def picture and hi-def sound. 

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away. 

Digital Copy provides consumers with a choice of formats from a variety of partners, including options to watch on iPhone®,
iPad®, Android, computers and more.

UltraViolet™ is the revolutionary way for consumers to collect their movies and TV shows in the cloud. UltraViolet™ lets
consumers instantly stream and download to tablets, smartphones, computers and TVs. Now available in both the United States
and Canada.

DELETED SCENES

BRINGING THE HOST TO LIFE: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, featuring interviews with Stephenie Meyer, Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel.

SEEKER PSA: Feature Commentary with Author/Producer Stephenie Meyer, Screenwriter/Director Andrew Niccol, and Producer Nick Wechsler.