Even a relatively comprehensive gift guide won’t quite cut the mustard if it ignores the best of the best. The following titles represent some of the finest new films released on Blu-ray this past year.
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![Avatar (Three-Disc Extended Collector's Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/avatar3discextendededit.jpg "Avatar (Three-Disc Extended Collector's Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2009)"){kind=avatar}
Nothing beats the heavyweight champ. The biggest film of the year or possibly even of all time. James Cameron’s Avatar makes its triumphant return to Blu-ray in a 3-disc set that should find its way under every Blu-ray fan’s Christmas tree this year.
Not only is this Extended Collector’s Edition packed to the gills with the deleted scenes and extras you’ve been waiting the year to see but it also features three cuts of the award winning film, all demo-disc worthy. With the technical quality of the video and audio presentation off the charts (and surprisingly equal to the stand alone disc available earlier this year) this Blu-ray set has claimed the crown of high-def title to beat! Bring on the challengers!!
READ MORE: Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 16 – AVATAR EXTENDED COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Christopher Nolan‘s Inception might have been my favourite Hollywood film of 2010. I’m fully aware of all the character deficiencies and possible plot holes in the script but I don’t care. The film managed an incredible feat, as far as I’m concerned and spent the first three-quarters of the narrative setting it up – a storytelling gag wherein a group of characters live and interact at different speeds within different dream states. It’s a fantastic narrative gymnastic feat that has never been attempted before and I think it succeeds in a marvelous way. Also, I can’t stop listening to Hans Zimmer‘s incredible score for the film. Seriously. Every time I put my iPod on it’s Inception. I think it might be bordering on unhealthy.
READ MORE: Inception Blu-ray officially announced and detailed
![Sherlock Holmes [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51z1CphqWEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Sherlock Holmes [Blu-ray] (2009)")
I skipped this one in the theatres. I love, love, love Sherlock Holmes stories and had no desire to see Guy Richie butcher the character with his ‘enslickened‘ boy-with-guns style, so I just avoided the film all together. I honestly couldn’t have been more wrong about it. It’s so good, from top to bottom! I hate to say it but it works on almost every level – it’s well designed, well performed and, as much as it pains me to admit, it was quite well directed. And the Blu-ray disc is spectacular to boot, replete with a killer transfer and some incredible special features.
READ MORE: Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray Disc Review
![An Education [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51Fsgwzm0xL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "An Education [Blu-ray] (2009)")
The coming-of-age story of An Education, young girl being wooed by older man, is fairly well worn but the wonderful performances here in this film really make it shine. Carey Mulligan emerges as the breakout star, practically painting herself as this generation’s Audrey Hepburn. Great film. Great Blu-ray disc.
Okay, honestly, this Karate Kid remake is quite great. That’s right. It’s not just good. It’s great. Nevermind that it’s more Kung Fu now than Karate, with the location of the film transplanted from the California, USA of the original 1984 classic film to China 2010. And nevermind that aged Japanese sensei Mr. Miyagi has been replaced by Jackie Chan‘s far more genuinely skilled, and far more Chinese Mr. Han. This is a faithful representation of the tone and themes of the original with a whole new modern spirit and vastly improved photography and musical score. The Blu-ray disc is damn-near flawless, sporting one of the best transfers we’ve seen all year. The Karate Kid is a winner on Blu-ray!
![A Prophet [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51vDe0g8OXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "A Prophet [Blu-ray] (2009)")
Combine the HBO prison drama OZ with a touch of the Godfather and you’ve got a glimpse of where Jacques Audiard‘s A Prophet will lead you. It feels epic at its monster 149-minute run-time but honestly doesn’t waste a minute of screen time. This is two-and-a-half very tense hours that will fly right by. One of the best films of 2009 and highly recommended on Blu-ray!
![The White Ribbon [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51S9nqNiW_L._SL500_AA300_.jpg "The White Ribbon [Blu-ray] (2009)")
If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. And if you can’t handle being disturbed and unsettled by a film, you’d best avoid Michael Haneke‘s latest unflinching gaze into the darkest heart of mankind, The White Ribbon. Great, ghostly black and white visuals add the sinister tale a layer of subtle depth. Highly recommended for those who can handle it.
READ MORE: The White Ribbon Blu-ray Disc Review
![The Secret in Their Eyes [Blu-ray] (2010)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51rr5eQrpvL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "The Secret in Their Eyes [Blu-ray] (2010)")
The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) is, without question one of the finest films of the last year and long overdue for a domestic Blu-ray release. In direct competition with Michael Haneke‘s The White Ribbon for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this past year, Secret edged out the popular pick to take the prize. And it deserves it.
Highly recommended!
Roman Polanski‘s The Ghost Writer is one of the best films I’ve seen all year and one of the director’s absolute best in decades. It’s got a great script by Robert Harris (adapting his novel of the same name) with some incredible performances by some of my favourite actors (I’ll watch pretty much anything starring Ewan McGregor.) Highly Recommended.
READ MORE: Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of August 3 – THE GHOST WRITER
![Cemetery Junction [Blu-ray] (2010)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51qwdfd3_L._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Cemetery Junction [Blu-ray] (2010)")
I fully understand that this won’t be a very popular sentiment, but Cemetery Junction is one hell of a great little film. One of the most enjoyable I’ve watched all year, in fact! It’s a light, comedy-infused drama from the brilliant minds of The Office creative team of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (who both wrote and directed the film!), both of whom turn up on screen in smaller yet brilliant roles. Aside from being a fantastic film about growing up in 1970s England, the Blu-ray is so packed full of amazing bonus features, you’ll feel like you’re getting two entire, extremely entertaining packages for one price!
![Red Cliff International Version - Part I & Part II [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/519_rinkGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Red Cliff International Version - Part I & Part II [Blu-ray] (2009)")
Red Cliff is, without question, a return to form for director John Woo. This is the film we’ve been desperate to see from him for years now. There are two versions on the market – the extended version, consisting of both Parts 1 and 2 of the film and the truncated, edited down version that cuts them both into one, much shorter film. Take my advice and get yourself or your loved one the Extended Edition. You’ll thank me later!
READ MORE: Red Cliff: Extended Edition Blu-ray Disc Review
![Micmacs [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/516oviU28uL._SL500_AA300_1.jpg "Micmacs [Blu-ray] (2009)")
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet can do no wrong in my eyes. The French auteur’s latest opus of quirk and style, Micmacs, might not be able to compete with his best work ever (Amelie!) but that doesn’t keep it from being one of the best films out on Blu this year.
READ MORE: Micmacs Blu-ray Disc Review
![Shutter Island [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51SW5fTtmjL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Shutter Island [Blu-ray] (2009)")
I really, really wish that I loved Shutter Island a lot more than I did. I mean, it’s a great looking film with some amazing performances and a killer vibe but ultimately it just plays its hand way too early and too fiercely to be as effective as I would like it to be. Nevertheless, even the worst Martin Scorsese film is a work of genius and worthy of checking out. And this is far from the worst Scorsese film.
The Blu-ray from Paramount looks and sounds like a million bucks. Sadly, it’s damn light on special features. But if this is a flik you love and you’re not bothered by the lack of extras you could find a brand new demo disc with this one!
READ MORE: Paramount brings Scorsese’s Shutter Island to Blu-ray in June
![The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus [Blu-ray] (2008)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/61d0RTrfJcL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus [Blu-ray] (2008)")
If you’ve read this blog in the past, you know that I’m an unabashed Terry Gilliam fan. And while there are a whole host of his films that just plain don’t work for me, I can’t count the The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus among them. It’s not his best flik, by far, but it manages to incorporate so many themes and images from his past work that I couldn’t help but feel warmly toward it. It’s good stuff.
READ MORE: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Blu-ray Disc Review
![Predators ( + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (2010)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51r7hIj3AhL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Predators ( + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (2010)")
Predators wasn’t my favourite film of 2010 but it’s certainly one of the most fun, action packed Blu-ray discs to come out this year. The film can’t really measure up to the original but it’s paced with enough original ideas and call-backs to the 80s to make it feel worthy of its title. The film looks and sounds like a million bucks on Blu and is definitely worth a look.
READ MORE: Predators Blu-ray release date and details announced
![Zombieland [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51Jxr94RyL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Zombieland [Blu-ray] (2009)")
If you don’t like a zombie movie, we can’t be friends. Slap an “…of the Dead” suffix on just about any film title and I’m there! Whether it’s high-grade Hollywood fare or low-rent, B-movie imports made on a shoestring and shipped over from Italy, I’ll watch just about anything with a staggering, lurching undead brain-eater in it. Joining the ranks of the best zombie action captured on celluloid is Sony‘s Zombieland, a truly excellent adventure/teen-romance/zombie film captured on a truly excellent, feature packed Blu-ray!
READ MORE: Zombieland Blu-ray Disc Review
![The Damned United [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51MS4EhltgL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "The Damned United [Blu-ray] (2009)")
I can’t believe how much I really loved this movie. Like I said in my review, I loathe sports and I possess an even greater loathing for films about sports. The fact that I could enjoy it at all makes The Damned United a pretty special movie, in my books. But ultimately, it’s less about the game than it is about the rise and fall of football club manager, Brian Clough, played brilliantly here by Michael Sheen. Watch the film for his performance, if nothing else.
READ MORE: The Damned United Blu-ray Disc Review
![Moon [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51TrtY4gjpL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Moon [Blu-ray] (2009)")
Moon is one of the best films of the year. And it’s also a really fine Blu-ray disc. Don’t just pick it up for the quirky sci-fi story or the brilliant performance by Sam Rockwell. Pick it up because its a great all-round debut from a fine filmmaker (I’m looking at you, Duncan Jones!) given a spectacular Blu-ray disc treatment courtesy of Sony.
![The Informant! [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51ebkz4rP1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg "The Informant! [Blu-ray] (2009)")
I’m not one of those crazy Steven Soderbergh fans. I’m not one of those art-jerks who’ll drool over everything the man touches (I thought Full Frontal was absolute garbage) but everything he’s touched lately seems to me to be quite brilliant. That goes for Che and that certainly goes for his newest release, The Informant! (and yes, that exclamation mark is a part of the title.) It’s a cracking, fun little story, told with a ton of style, beautiful photography and the best Marvin Hamlisch score I’ve ever heard. And Matt Damon is not half bad in it either…
READ MORE: The Informant! Blu-ray Disc Review
![Broken Embraces [Blu-ray] (2009)](/wp_content/uploads/2010/12/51ZNwPDAqDL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Broken Embraces [Blu-ray] (2009)")
I loved Broken Embraces. Not only does this look and sound fantastic on Blu but it’s a wonderful all-around film as well. As per his usual, Almodóvar delivers a rich, finely textured tale of damaged people and, once again, provides the lovely Penélope Cruz an opportunity to break our hearts. Wonderful all around!
READ MORE: Broken Embraces Blu-ray Disc Review
MORE GIFT IDEAS:
* GIFT & BOXED SETS
* TV ON BLU
* ANIMATION
* CLASSICS
[...] * GIFT & BOXED SETS * ANIMATION * CLASSICS * THE BEST OF THE YEAR [...]
[...] * TV ON BLU * ANIMATION * CLASSICS * THE BEST OF THE YEAR [...]