Why So Blu?

Gregg’s Top 10 Blu-rays of 2016

It’s been a while since I amassed a favorite Blu-rays of the the year list. There was one final title I wanted to check out before concocting my ten favorites. I enjoyed Suicide Squad in the theater earlier this year, but just in case I enjoyed it even more after a second viewing, I had to see if it was going to make my list. It did not. While entertaining, it just doesn’t possess greatness, but I digress.  Alright, enough rambling.  It was all for the sake of filling space here in the opening paragraph anyway.  I’ve kept Hollywood holding its breath long enough. Onto the list!

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10.  The Good Dinosaur

While it was not Pixar’s most profitable film, it was one of the most touching.  I missed The Good Dinosaur in theaters when it came out in November of 2015.  I couldn’t pass it up on Blu-ray this year though and this movie did not disappoint.  Going on the notion that a catastrophic meteor never reaches Earth, a story unfolds with a dinosaur under duress coming into his first contact with primitive mankind.  It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s heart-warming, a movie the whole family can enjoy.

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9. Creed

The latest entry into the Rocky franchise did not disappoint.  It made my cinema top 10 list last year and the Stallone/Jordan tandem worked wonders with some great chemistry on screen.  It all transferred well to home viewing on Blu-ray with some impressive extras as well.

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8.  Straight Outta Compton

Like Creed, this too made my top 10 cinema films in 2015.  This multi-bio pic covered the roots and success of the 90’s landmark rap group, NWA.  The acting, largely performed by a group of unknowns, succeeded brilliantly and proved to be an example of very effective story-telling.  I have to give a special nod to Ice Cube’s son who played his dad in the film.  Like his peers, he did a great job, not to mention the resemblance to dear old dad.

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7.  Deadpool

In the wrong hands, this film could’ve been absolutely ruined.  Thank the movie gods, for it was not.  I honestly do not think they could have done the comic book any more justice.  This movie is true Deadpool, top to bottom.  Any early production decisions to censor Wade Wilson were moronic at best, which is why those decisions were dissolved, thus evident in the final product.  Now the big challenge is making Deadpool 2 just as good.

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6.  Bridge of Spies

I’m a sucker for historical films, which is a category Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies fall under.  Covering the very discreet Cold War activities and prisoner exchanges between the USA and Soviet Union, Bridge of Spies stars Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance as an American attorney and Russian spy respectively. The movie does a great job of building tension and Rylance was very deserving of the Oscar he won for his role here.

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5.  The Jungle Book

From the trailer, I had a good feeling about this film.  That emotion was elevated to epic proportions by the time the credits rolled.  Disney’s live action take on The Jungle Book was exceptional and looks wonderful in high def.  The strong cast of actors put forth their best work as many were supporting voices for their animal counterparts.  Let’s not forget about the film’s star, Neel Sethi, who was exceptional in the role of Mowgli.  Look for this one to do well on my list of top 10 cinema films of 2016.

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4.  Eddie the Eagle

A number of years ago, I remember watching this British ski-jumper in the Winter Olympics.  He was very unorthodox in his approach to the sport as well as his appearance.  The athlete was Michael Edwards, who, complete with Coke bottle-thick spectacles, consistently finished at the bottom rung of his peers in ski jumping.  That’s not important.  What is important is the diligence and desire this guy had to even get to that point.  Taron Egerton (Kingsman) performed flawlessly in the role of Michael ‘Eddie’ Edwards while Hugh Jackman provided a strong supporting effort.

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3.  The Marx Brothers: Silver Screen Collection

Finally!  You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for even just a couple Marx Brothers films to make it to Blu-ray.  Here we have five in one set!  Visually, even though these are restored films, they should not cause one to think the resolution will be amazing.  After all, these movies were filmed between 1929 and 1933.  Still, just to have a version better than DVD of some of my favorite comedies in existence is a luxury.  The four brothers are all here; Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo, in five films which include The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup.  Hurray for Captain Spaulding, the African explorer!

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2.  2016 Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Champions

In 1964, Cleveland, Ohio had a champion in the Cleveland Browns.  That’s a long time ago, even before the Super Bowl existed.  Then a drought happened.  The Browns narrowly missed a trip to the Super Bowl in the late 80’s, falling to the Broncos.  As the years piled up, the world watched the Indians drop two World Series, the Cavs get swept by the Spurs and the Browns tailspin into embarrassment.  Then, like Santa, Lebron came back to town.  After falling to the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 Finals, they came back with a vengeance this year, and did so in typical Lebron-don’t-quit style.  Down 3 games to 1, the Cavs came storming back to win three in a row, the first NBA team to ever do that in the Finals, firmly grasping the franchise’s first championship in team history and ending Cleveland’s 52-year curse.  Thank you, God.  It’s all captured here on Blu-ray, even the parade downtown, complete with 1.3 million fans.  My only complaint is that this thing is packaged in a DVD case.  Yeah, I’m still scratching my head over that one.

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1.  Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (3D Ultimate Edition)

Yes, admittedly, I raised an eyebrow to the news that Ben Affleck was to be the next Batman.  I grumbled leaving the theater after watching an underwhelming Man of Steel.  How could those two things possibly come together for an epic face-off of the world’s two most famous super heroes?  I don’t know how they did it, but they did it.  First off, Affleck was a good Batman.  Secondly, where Man of Steel felt overly dry, BvS was threatening and engaging.  This Blu-ray set contains the 3D Blu-ray, the regular Blu-ray and a digital copy.  In addition, the theatrical and extended cuts of the film are all part of that.  The 3D is an enjoyable feature done well here, the extras are numerous (and in high def!) and the film itself is just wicked good.