Why So Blu?

Gregg’s Tremendously Top 10 Blu-rays of 2013

There were plenty of great releases that arrived on store shelves this year, but let’s be honest. Will any year really compare to what came out in 2012? I mean, last year for Blu-rays was like what 1939 was for cinemas. It was only twelve months ago when the year’s releases included E.T., Jaws, Singin’ in the Rain and Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures. I may be starting this article off on the wrong foot, but last year was just too awesome to not tip the hat to again. While 2013 may not be loaded up with the classics that last year had, there are still more than enough great releases to load up your shopping cart with. Let’s get to it!

For first-time readers of our Top 10 Blu-ray lists, we take into account not just how much we enjoyed a film, but the degree of extras on that disc, along with the film’s visual and audio deliveries.  So while one of us may have liked movie-A more than movie-B at the theater, movie-B had a ton of extras and crazy surround sound on Blu-ray, whereas movie-A lacked in these areas, putting B higher on the disc list.  Got it?  Okay, enough of the chatter.  Here’s my list!

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10. Django Unchained (Steelbook Edition) – The ‘D’ is silent, hillbilly.  This is easily my favorite Tarantino film.  Yes it ran a tad long and probably could’ve been wrapped up a little bit earlier, but it’s still a great movie with a great tag-team of Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx.  Did I mention Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson excelled at playing the creepy villains?  The film was full of great acting, great dialogue and a brilliant story to boot.  The extra disc featuring the Django Unchained discussion panel at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con was a welcomed add-on to the film. Digital copy included!

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9.  Dexter: Season 7 – Before heading into the downward spiral and supremely disappointing crash and burn that is known as season 8, the second-to-last season of Dexter made a big splash with special guest Ray Stevenson.  After a mediocre season 6, the show rebounded here, reminiscent of its younger years.  There’s just one problem every season of Dexter has on Blu-ray; the extras are very anemic.  That always shocked me…but not as much as how bad season 8 was.

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8.  World War Z – Carl Louis zombies, anyone?  I don’t recall seeing a film where the undead could keep up with Olympic sprinters, but I found it here and was glued to the screen for every bit of it.  Despite the film’s production woes, it turned out a great movie and in turn looked great on Blu-ray as well.  The only downside is the extras.  We get a whopping three.  Granted, they are good, but give me seven more like that and this bad boy gets a higher ranking.  The digital copy was a big plus.

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7.  Being Human: Season 2 – There’s a reason why this show is the best one on the SyFy Channel and keeps getting renewed.  The vampire/ghost/werewolf roommates continue to be guided by some gripping storylines as the intensity was ramped up from its inaugural season.  Starring Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath and Sam Huntington, the sophomore installment of the show continues to draw audiences in.  The episodes look great in high-def here and we get a few decent production extras.

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6.  Silver Linings Playbook – I didn’t know what to expect when I originally saw this film, but I loved every minute of it.  It made a nice transition to the high definition format with a decent grouping of extras.  Personally, I feel Bradley Cooper should have won for Best Actor here at the Oscars.  Yes, Daniel Day Lewis is a tremendous talent (and my favorite actor), but the role of Lincoln did not come across nearly as demanding as that of Cooper’s troubled and denial-filled character.  At least Jennifer Lawrence snagged a trophy though.  Anyway, great movie, looks great on Blu-ray.

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5.  Life of Pi (3D) – When I saw this movie at the theater, my first thought was, “WOW.”  My second thought was, “This will look great on Blu-ray!”  Sure enough, it did not disappoint.  The 3D is a nice touch, but quite honestly, I thought it could have been a little better on the disc.  I’m sure that sounds negative and some may ask why I have it this high on the list.  Believe me, this disc has strong attributes in every technical area.  Was the 3D good?  Yes.  Could it have been improved?  Yes.  With that in mind, we also have a fantastic story here heavily laced with symbolism that was exceptionally told.

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4.  The Intouchables – This French film made my #2 overall on the cinema list last year.  The Blu-ray, though sparse on special features, breaks the top 5 on this year’s Blu-ray list.  The quality of the film’s story and acting was outstanding and deserves its place here.  With a little bit of grain and its crisp audio, The Intouchables is a great addition to this year’s library of titles.  Simply stated, I can never get enough of this film.

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3.  Star Trek: Into Darkness – Man this movie was bad ass.  Wow was I surprised at how few extras were on here.  As I’m told, depending on where you bought the disc was relevant to what extras/features were on your copy.  If you’re wondering, mine came from Amazon.  Featurettes aside, this was easily one of the best movies at the cinema this year.  J.J. Abrams one-upped his previous installment in the franchise with a great story and stellar acting (pun intended).  The addition of Benedict Cumberbatch to the roster was a no-brainer.

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2.  The Big Bang Theory: Season 6 – How much longer can this show go on?  Quite a while because it certainly hasn’t deteriorated in quality over the course of six years.  Season 6 was no exception as everyone’s favorite group of nerds and their girlfriends continued to thrive on great writing and brilliant comedic timing.  The behind-the-scenes extras were well done and the gag reel continued to provide laughs long after watching the season’s final episode.

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1.  Pacific Rim – I’ve been waiting for years for a movie like this to come out.  When it comes to giant monsters smashing buildings and stepping on people, 1998’s Godzilla was a serious let-down.  This year’s Pacific Rim was not.  Guillermo del Toro did everything right.  The giant monster-bashing jaegers and their other-worldly counterparts combined for an awesome smash fest that looked breathtaking on Blu-ray, backed up by an incredible audio track that will make any surround sound system shake in its boots.  We haven’t even gotten to the extras yet.  They were phenomenal!  This is what Blu-ray extras should be!  They were abundant!  They were in high-def!  They were of substance!  You won’t find a non-narrated 30-second featurette here in 480 resolution.  No, my friends.  You get Guillermo himself in 1080p talking about why his kaiju resemble real world animals.  You get a look at the full blown set of Mako’s dream sequence.  Hydraulics, explosives and actors, OH MY!  And that’s just scratching the surface!  I need to go back and watch them all again, because yes, they are overflowing with that much awesomeness.