Pitch Perfect 2 [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray] [2015]

I bought this movie after seeing the previews on TV and although it's a good movie with lots of music and singing, the storyline isn't as good as the original in several ways.

Great movie! My daughter and I have watched it several times already!

This is a fun movie, lots of singing if that is what you are into!

I bought this for my grandson and he seems to like it

"Pitch Perfect 2" (2015 release; 115 min.) opens with our beloved a cappella band the Bellas giving a performance at the Kennedy Center in the presence of President Obama, when Fat Amy encounters a 'costume malfunction' of epic proportions. As a result of this 'muffgate' incident, the Bellas are suspended but they manage to negotiate a loophole: win the a cappella world championships in Denmark, and they regain full standing. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie. Will the ladies be able to pull it off? To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: first, this sequel is the full length feature directing debut of actress-producer Elizabeth Banks (she also reprises her role as Gail, the TV commentator), and Banks does a very capable job as director. The movie is paced perfectly, and even better, remains faithful to the spirit of the first Pitch Perfect. Let's face it, if you loved the first movie, all you want to see is the return of the original gang (mostly Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, I suppose), and find excuses for them to sing and interact. This time around, the big rival for the girls is a German band called Das Sound Machine, and I have to admit, DSM sounds and performs impressively. We are also introduced to a new member of the Bellas, Emily (played by Hailee Steinfeld, the young girl in True Grit is now a young woman). Beware: there are plenty of fairly (c)rude jokes and lines in the movie (such as: Emily's last name is Junk-Hardon, no, really) so that even thought this movie is rated PG-13, frankly I wouldn't recommend taking young kids to this. Some of the better lines come from the TC commentators (played by Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins), but my favorite comes from Anna Kendrick's Beca character, when she hisses back to her DSM rivals "aca-wedersehen, b*tches!", ha! The music is aplenty in this, even more so than in the first Pitch Perfect, and that's just fine by me (they even find a way of brining "Cups" back again). Bottom line: despite the high expectations, Banks & Co. have managed to deliver exactly what the people wanted from this sequel, not a small feat. Not surprisingly, there is already talk of a Pitch perfect 3, with Rebel Wilson already signed on. For my money, if they can't find a way of keeping Anna Kendrick around, my interest in another sequel will nosedive. I saw the first Pitch Perfect knowing next to nothing about the movie, taking a flyer when it showed on its opening weekend. That screening was not all that well attended but I vividly remember how immensely I enjoyed that movie. Flash forward 3 years: I was really looking forward to seeing PP2. The early evening screening where I saw this at today (Sunday) was PACKED, and then some. The crowd absolutely ate it up, laughing at all the right times, and giving an applause when the house lights turned on. Many of them left as the movie's end titles started to run. A shame for them as they missed a very funny bonus extra which I won't spoil here. Just stick around when the end titles start running! Meanwhile, "Pitch Perfect 2" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I loved "Pitch Perfect" from the get-go for several reasons. All of the elements that made the first one great - the musical performances, the jokes, the competitions, and most importantly the bonds and friendships - are brought back and expanded on, including great new additions to the cast. Without overdoing it, this film has more flash, better musical numbers, funnier jokes, and a lot more heart. Just like the 4K of its predecessor, the film was digitally photographed and reportedly finished at 2K. I'm going to say this again: seriously Hollywood, why make the new standard 4K when you're filming and finishing films in anything less than 4K?!?!?! But when it comes to the audio, again just like with its predecessor, the standard Blu-ray sounds cool with its DTS-HD 5.1 track, but the DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack on the 4K disc is simply better. There are moments when you feel you're not watching the musical performances, rather you feel you're a part of it. It's immersive. That might seem weird while watching a film where the vocals are naturally front and center, but when the music starts, the movie doesn't forget you're in a 3D space so the vocals move with the camera. A great follow-up to the original, you'll have the same, if not more, fun with this one too.

This movie has such an amazingly low price for so many laughs. It's just as good as the first and while the songs aren't necessarily as well mashed up as the were in the first Pitch Perfect, there's still a lot of sing-along worthy moments and a truly great story told. The first movie focused on Beca coming into the A Capella world and this one focuses on the rough patch at the end of a journey just before the proverbial torch is passed. Elizabeth Banks is not only back in her role as media personality Gail, but also as the director. The difference in directors for the two movies isn't jarring at all and Banks fits into roll exceedingly well. The movie is wonderful, but so are the many special features that come with the Blu-ray disk. Some of the features include a commentary on the film in which you can hear Banks talk about the movie in depth and what it took to accomplish all that was done in this film. There's also a blooper reel and some other fun stuff from behind the scenes. If the movie isn't enough reason for you to want to buy it on Blu-ray and/or DVD then the special features should be.

Like the first movie, this one kind of lovingly pokes fun at a cappella singing, but is more about the quirks of the singers themselves. When they take themselves too seriously on the screen, that makes for some of the funniest moments. As with other competition-based movie sequels, this one involves stepping up to the next level to vie against a bigger talent pool (the whole world, apparently). This makes for some entertaining interactions with the German team, Das Sound Machine, and of course must entail using someone's previously-discouraged talent to help the team later on. But it's still a fun movie to watch, and many of them are really very talented singers (Anna Kendrick, you little scrapper, you).