Why So Blu?

Gregg’s Top 10 Blu-rays of 2018

This year every time a new month came in, my money went out. I found an impressive array of discs released in 2018 and there was definitely some jockeying for position that took place with this list since mid-summer. For instance, DC Comics’ Justice League had been a mainstay on here until recently when one release after another pushed it off the list. Still, that film does have my favorite steelbook to date, but we’re not counting points for artwork here. We’re looking at quality of the production and the library of content. Extras aren’t the be all end all, but they can make or break a title entering this list so let’s see who made the cut.

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#10  Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

I was never a fan of the original film, so I purposely passed on this one in the theater, then I rented it, loved it and bought it.  Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart team up once again while Jack Black and Karen Gillam offer up great comedic efforts in their supporting roles.  A strong array of extras helps keep this title on this year’s list which include a gag reel, a making of and a history of Jumanji.  There are more where those came from too.  It’s a fun romp, and a sequel that in my opinion, blows away the first Jumanji film.

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#9  Blue Planet II

Science!  Yes, I love me some science.  Make it about what’s under the waves and you’ve got my attention like no other.  The BBC followed up their 2001 documentary 16 years later with the aptly titled Blue Planet II.  This year the film made its way to the brilliance of 1080p resolution on disc format. From the aspects of entertainment and education, this sequel isn’t any stronger or weaker than its predecessor, which is still a good thing.  It is on Blu-ray, which is where such a masterpiece like this belongs.  Narrator extraordinaire David Attenborough again takes us through this aquatic journey where submersibles and cameras reach new depths and discover new behaviors and new life.  The extras are slim to none here, but it is a documentary.  It’s not like you’re going to find a gag reel of a diver tickling a hammerhead.

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#8  Star Trek – Discovery: Season 1  

Sorry, CBS.  I’m not paying for your streaming service.  I can’t separate the fact that you’re a regular network station from now having a subscription service.  You did, however, capture my interest when I saw the trailer for Star Trek – Discovery last year, then I passed on everything and waited for the announcement of a Blu-ray release.  I waited, then I waited and I waited some more.  Hey, better late than never.  After finally making its high def disc debut in late ’18, I took a gamble and made a blind buy of this series.  Wow! I was not only satisfied, I was thoroughly impressed with this show from top to bottom.  Before anyone posts any spoilers, I have not seen this to the end, but I’m binging and doing cartwheels at the same time.  Sonequa Martin Green rocks in the lead role, the visuals are stunning and the dual Federation/Klingon storylines are attention magnets to say the least.  With 2+ hours of extras on top of all that main material, this became a late entry to the list, even leap-frogging a few others along the way.

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#7  The Big Bang Theory: Season 11

While the first four or five episodes started off a little ‘meh’, the humor quickly made its return in this second-to-last season of CBS’s long-running hit comedy.  I share a little bit with each of those nerdy characters spawned from various realms of geekdom and their personalities continued to shine here.  The amount of extras aren’t exactly overflowing, but I’ll take a gag reel any day of the week which is commonplace on a TBBT Blu-ray release.  Plus, you’ll find a very appreciative nod to the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who made numerous appearances on the show over the years.  Here’s hoping the final season of my favorite show goes out with a…bang.

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#6  Stranger Things: Season 2

One of the most beloved Netflix original productions got an equally praised sophomore season.  The characters continued to grow, the Upside-Down became as imposing as ever for Hawkins inhabitants and we got some new faces that offered a great deal to the story. Plus, the Target-exclusive packaging looks just like a video store rental from the 80’s.  Hey, win-win, right?  While I don’t have a 4k Blu-ray player, this set includes the 4k discs as well as the regular Blu-ray discs.  Like Blu-ray Brian says, “Future proof it!” Earlier this year I heard the show is slated for five seasons.  God, I hope that isn’t the case.  There’s only so much fighting the other worldly critters of the Upside-Down these kids can do.  Right now, the writing and the acting continue to be a very happy marriage, both of which are so excellently showcased here in season 2.

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#5   Pacific Rim: Uprising

I gotta say, I was a little skeptical when I heard a sequel was coming out.  I loved the first film, which did a lot with a little budget-wise, but a sequel had me wondering just how bad the franchise could turn.  Great news!  It was still a gigantic smash fest of leviathans versus battle mechs.  Sure the writing was cringe-worthy at times (“Don’t mess with my toppings, man”), but the action and visuals were all there, transitioning fluidly to Blu-ray.  Colors pop, frame rates are smooth and the disc makes great use of surround sound.  Explosions and connecting punches resonate through those rear channels while the visuals unfold in front of you.  There are plenty of featurettes to access on this disc too.  Just like #6 on this list, I made sure to buy the 4k version as it includes the regular Blu-rays as well.

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#4  Thor: Ragnarok

This was not only the best Thor film of the trilogy, it was one of the greatest Marvel films to date.  Making the leap from cinema to Blu-ray was no effort for this title.  Do yourself a favor and watch this in surround sound.  As is the case with the Pacific Rim sequel, this movie makes it a point to use every aspect of multiple speakers.  This isn’t just a posturing of decibels either.  No, my friends, this is audio bliss.  Combine that with spectacular visuals and a friggin’ awesome movie and you’ve got yourself a must-buy.  The quality of additional footage (i.e. deleted scenes, cast interviews, commentary, etc.) is the icing on the cake.

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#3  Star Wars: The Last Jedi

My third favorite Star Wars film of all time easily makes this list of high def home releases.  It was not only an exceptionally original SW effort, but the post film goodies were a wonderful collection of fan-loving material.  The 4k steelbook comes with the 4k disc (obviously), a traditional 1080p Blu-ray of the film and a separate disc for the extras.  When popping in the extras disc, I was initially disappointed to find a number of frills that can be counted on one hand.  Then I realized that handful of add-ons amounted to over two hours worth of viewing, and that doesn’t include the commentary on the main film disc.  As for the movie itself, it looks and sounds as amazing here as it did in the theater…well, save for the thousands of dollars the cinema invested in their sound system that I don’t have at home, but hey, it’s home viewing and I’m not a millionaire.  My number one film of 2017 makes its transition to Blu-ray flawlessly.

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#2  Avengers: Infinity War

Welcome to arguably the greatest Marvel movie ever.  Until April arrives with End Game, we still have the freshness of Infinity War to ogle over, and ogle I have.  This film was so absolutely epic that even if the only extra were a director commentary (or in this case directors’ commentary), it would still place high on this list.  Outside of said commentary, the featurettes run-time sum up to about 45 minutes, give or take.  The sound rocks, the visuals are eye-popping and the extras were enough to whet my appetite.  It’s that main feature that brings the juice here essentially becoming the Braveheart of comic book films.  Ironic that it’s so high on my list but will probably have the smallest paragraph, but some artwork is better examined and internally contemplated than discussed aloud.

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#1  Batman: The Complete Animated Series  (Deluxe Limited Edition)

For years I have settled for the dvd’s of this, my favorite cartoon.  Batman: The Animated Series was such a masterpiece and has established such longevity for a number of reasons.  One, it catered to a wide age range in its audience.  Two, the stories were great from episode to episode focusing just as much time on the detective aspects as it did the action.  Three, the art deco style and dark color schemes given to the Gotham landscape set the perfect tone for the show.  Let’s not forget about the composition for the series either.

When I heard at the beginning of 2018 that this would be coming to Blu-ray by year’s end, I was a knee bend away from doing a backflip off the chimney in complete elation.  When it finally arrived this past October, my jaw hit the floor with what the collection contained.  No, the mini Funko pops, while an appreciated inclusion, were not a reason for landing this here.  Rather, it is the crisp look to this series on 1080p and the seemingly infinite amount of extras that I may never get through.  Don’t fret over the $100 price tag.  You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck with this set.

You’ll find 109 episodes of Dark Knight crime-fighting fun, commentaries galore and two feature films in The Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero.  Other non-episodic extras include reviews of the individual Batman villains, the creation of Harley Quinn, the evolution of Dick Grayson and the original promo reel to pitch the show to Warner Bros. execs.  If that doesn’t sound like a lot, click here to get Brandon Peters’ comprehensive listing of everything on you’ll find on this 69,048 edition-sized print run.  What’s the significance of that unusual number?  Heck if I know, but I do know that the original intent was to produce 30,000 copies which were soon gobbled up by consumers.  If you thought there was no demand for a quarter century-old animated show, that should alter your thinking.

If there is one downside to this release, it’s the odd choice on the menu screen to have no music with this annoyingly repetitive bat sounds.  It doesn’t really set an atmosphere as it more so makes me want to leap off that screen as quickly as possible.  Nonetheless, it’s not a deal-breaker.  Everything has at least one drawback at that is one of the more obvious on this incredibly comprehensive set.  The other would be the aspect ratio in which you’ll be watching this as the show does not fill your TV’s screen.  For me, it’s not a bother. Honestly, it’s kind of nostalgic, reminiscent of the old square cathode tube TV I originally watched the show on.

Those things aside, the production team of Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett and Eric Radomski created the perfect storm when they hatched this series.  Whoever worked on its restoration should also be commended as should the team that assembled all of the featurettes and commentaries.  This collection is a library in and of itself and is a must have for any fan of Batman: The Animated Series.