Gerard’s Top Blu-rays of 2015!
December 24th, 2015 by Gerard Iribe
Wow, so it’s already that time of year again when some of the Why So Blu? writing crew get together and compile their Top Blu-ray lists of the year. Generally, it’s a “Top-10” list but as you can see I have omitted the “10” part, because there were tons of new releases, that while not necessarily being good films, their Blu-ray counterpart was exceptional. That, and I may go over ten, so being non-specific helps. If you want to know what my Top films of 2015 are in general then you’ll have to wait a couple of weeks for that list to drop. This is strictly a top Blu-ray list – whether the film sucked or not – how was the Blu-ray? Keep reading and find out!
Continue reading ‘Gerard’s Top Blu-rays of 2015!’
Like last year, I really didn’t acquire as many Blu-ray titles in 2015 as I typically do in a 12-month calendar. Also like last year, there are Blu-ray titles that I reviewed personally and held onto, but the others made their way into my collection when they were either priced exceptionally well (most recently this Ultimate James Bond Collection 
Do my words here really even matter? In all honesty, it makes no difference if I write this Avengers: Age of Ultron review lazily or as proper and refined as I possibly can. You want to know why? It’s because regardless of what I conjure up here, you’re still all going to put your money down at the ticket window this weekend and see it. Like comparing the size of the Hulk to a mere mortal man, Avengers: Age of Ultron will be a colossal cash cow and not you, me or anyone else can argue that point. That check has already been taken to the bank, cashed and deposited as it’s on track for the biggest opening ever and it very well just might claim that honor. That’s why I’m keeping this review very simple. However, all that said and done is great, like Cyndi Lauper or Sheryl Crow in life, all I wanna do is have some fun with the Avengers again. Did I have some? Read on and find out… 
Well another year has come and gone, leaving in its dust quite a year in Hollywood. We had the tragic and shocking deaths of Philip Seymour Hoffman and the beloved Robin Williams. Sony released, pulled and re-released the controversial film, The Interview, due to cyber threats and their systems getting hacked by North Korea. This move by Sony threw us all into a fury, making us as Americans wonder why we are negotiating with such a terrible person (Kim Jong Un). I am sure glad that Sony came to their senses because The Interview was HILARIOUS!! 
I had one final film to see before I felt I could compile an accurate list for the recently departed 2014. Boyhood was a popular title amongst my fellow writers here, though that wasn’t showing in my area, thus escaping my viewing grasp. Gone Girl came highly recommended though the trailer never attracted my interest enough to shell out money for the movie. The film in question, however, was The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. After thoroughly enjoying last year’s Desolation of Smaug, I must admit that Five Armies ended up being a bit of a disappointment. It was not a bad film, but it certainly did not soar either. So, to my list it did not make. With Tolkien’s tales at a cinematic close and Gone Girl gone from the cinema, I present you with my top ten films of the year as well as a couple notables.
All right, its my turn. Up front, there’s a few movies I didn’t get to. I haven’t been able to get out and see Whiplash yet. Selma and Inherent Vice don’t open here in my fair city until the year reads 2015. In 2014, my little bundle of wonderful daughter was born, so like 2012 when my son came into this world, I didn’t get to the theater with as much frequency. Not a big deal though, having them is worth much more to me than having to wait for something to hit Blu-ray. Once again, 2014 was a hard year to break down into a limited set of favorites, but I feel I’ve got it down to a somewhat concise list. In the year ’14 having 14 titles seemed aptly appropriate.
It’s that time of the year again. My how time flies by, huh? I generally hate this time of the year not because of the holidays, but because it means nothing but cold and deadness outside and in a reviewer’s world, the dreaded TOP 10 lists as well. Ugh! I’m not going to lie. I have struggled with these in the past few years, but something quite remarkable happened this year, at least for me. There was an influx of good movies released theatrically this year, at least in my eyes there was. You can definitely feel free to disagree with me. In my opinion, that’s what these TOP 10 lists are for, to create controversy. You want those “oh my God” moments where your readers will exclaim to themselves or sometimes out loud, “he or she picked what?” As a reviewer you want to stir that pot of controversy and create that inevitable dish of debate that follows in the comments section, at least I do. 
It’s that time of year again where I list my favorite Blu-ray releases of the year. When I sit down and jot down ones off the top of my head, then look to my collection for reminders and then realize I have WAYYYYY too many on my list. I then sit and debate and painfully scratch ones I’d like to mention and talk about off my list. Like the other guys before me, if I don’t own it and also haven’t popped it in to watch it, its not making the list. Our goal is to narrow it to a Top 10 list, which is very hard considering the amount of releases in the calendar year, but its doable. But, this year, having reviewed (at the time of writing this piece) 183 Blu-rays and counting this year, I’m going save myself the mental trouble (or take the easy way out) and just get this to a nice 20. And really, there are a lot of titles worthy of making the lists. I rather enjoy seeing ones I may not have held as high up on mine or just missing the cut, show up on other writer’s Top 10s. 
Unlike recent years, I really didn’t acquire as many Blu-ray titles in 2014 as I typically do in a 12-month calendar. Sure there are Blu-ray titles that I reviewed and held onto, but the others made their way into my collection when they were either priced exceptionally well (mostly horror sets I never grabbed before) or “Day 1” titles that I just couldn’t live without (X-Men: Days of Future Past and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For instantly come to mind). However, for this TOP 10 list, I’m gonna make things super simple with the following three criteria. The below mentioned Blu-ray titles, whether they be films or television series, were all released in the calendar year of 2014 and are all in my personal collection, but for one reason or another whether it be replay value, presentation, packaging or whatnot, they are my favorite Blu-rays of 2014. Let’s get started! 
One year ago today, I wrote an article focusing on 14 movies I’d like to see on Blu-ray for the year 2014. That article wound up becoming the pilot for what would sort of be a regular week-to-week series from me, whining about a movie that’s only on DVD or VHS and not here to Blu-ray yet. It also made new release announcements an extra bit of fun for me if one of my random requests wound up coming to fruition. From the original list, 6 titles (around 43%) wound up finding a Blu-ray release this year. In addition, from my weekly articles, 3 of those wound up coming to fruition to make the Wishlist have about a 20% success rate. While I’ve had a lot of fun with these pieces, due to life, work, busy-ness and whatnot, the Wishlist is going to be moving from the weekly format to a monthly one. Its not that I’m out of ideas, its just that I am not having the sort of time I used to in writing these pieces. But hey, today is a celebration of these pieces, so, let’s take a look at some of our success stories from the past year and then let’s do 15 more for 2015! 
In honor of See No Evil 2 releasing this week from Lionsgate and WWE Films, and with Jacob Goodnight donning a mask for the new outing, it seemed fun to look back as some of my favorite or creepier slasher masks of all time. Here’s a list of 10, but I could have gone further as there are many masks and such that could have made the list as well and maybe you could shed light on them below. How does one qualify? Well, you have to don a mask that covers your face for your killing. No, Hannibal Lector’s restraint does not count, sorry. He’s not willing loving that masking popping it on so he can kill. And people like Freddy and Chucky are cool, but they are moreso monsters and we’re looking at their actual faces. Anywho, here’s my pick of Ten Creepiest Slasher Masks in alphabetical order by film. 
