Blu-Ray reviews

I wanted to write this up to give you an idea of some of the Blu-Ray movies that I have checked out and some of them that have stood out to me. Remember, your list may be different, but this may help you in finding titles that you want to show off your HDTV or your Home Theater. When choosing good Blu-Ray movies, choose ones that you are willing to watch again and again. Here are some of my top Blu-Ray movies that I have:

-Avatar – Easily a very stunning movie to watch and the world that is created is gorgeous. You want to show off very nice visuals on your HDTV, this is a must have on Blu-Ray. Yes, there are no extra features, and it isn’t available in 3D yet, it is still worth owning.

-Dark Knight – One of the very first movies that really got me into Blu-Ray, this is still a great demo disc. The sequences that were shot using IMAX cameras (which fill up the whole screen) are very amazing to look at, and the sound is very good. It also has some cool special features, while it would have been great to see some more on this release, the movie is what really counts.

-Transformers – It is a very good looking Blu-Ray, and it sounds very good as well. Of course the sequel is a great demo as well, but I would rather recommend the first one over the second, for various reasons (I’m sure a lot of us know those reasons), but the first one is worth having.

-Star Trek – One movie that was a surprise hit last summer, is a very good Blu-Ray demo. I am not a Star Trek fan, but this one blew me away, and was a lot of fun to watch.

-Up – One of my top movies of last year, and Pixar does not let you down the quality of their presentations. This looks and sounds great on Blu-Ray, totally worth having.

-Terminator Salvation – I put this one up because it is an incredible sounding Blu-Ray. You want to show what your sound system is capable of, then put this one in and you can blow them away. It’s a pretty decent movie as well.

-Harry Potter movies – While I haven’t watched the first three on Blu-Ray yet, I have seen the latter three on Blu-Ray, and they look and sound great. They are great movies to watch, especially as the series progresses.

-Alice in Wonderland – The new Tim Burton movie is for sure a great Blu-Ray demo, looks and sounds great. It is also a very entertaining movie.

Older movies remastered:

-The Dark Crystal – I am a big Dark Crystal fan, I am very excited for the new movie to arrive in theaters (hopefully next year). I picked this one up and the video presentation was great, looked very stunning for a movie released almost 30 years ago, and it sounded pretty good too.

-Labyrinth – A childhood favorite of mine, again this looks very good and sounds very good on Blu-Ray, while it won’t knock down doors or blow people away, it is still a very good presentation, and a fun movie to watch as well.

-2001: A Space Odyssey – Probably one of the most bizarre movies that I have ever seen, but yet it looks and sounds very good on Blu-Ray, this was made back in 1968 (no, it wasn’t made in 2001) and it really doesn’t look that old here, very good looking.

-Karate Kid – One old movie that never really got the best treatment on any of it’s previous DVD releases. The first release was just available in full-frame, and it didn’t look that great, and it almost was like they took a VHS tape and ported it over to DVD, although a minor improvement. The second DVD was available in widescreen, with some extra features, a big improvement. But the Blu-Ray has better video quality, and the sound is now in 5.1, and it actually has some pretty good power in the sound.

-Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Made back in 1937, the classic Disney movie actually looks very good for it’s age. The colors do stand out, and yes the age does show in how it’s done, but come on, the very first full length animated movie looking this good, that’s extremely impressive. Pinocchio is another good one to get before it goes back into the Disney Vault.

Concerts on Blu-Ray:

-U2 360 – I picked this one up because the 360 concert fell through this year (huge disappointment) and this one came out, so I decided well I can’t see them live, I will instead watch a recorded live concert of them on Blu-Ray. This sounded very good, and it was a great performance by U2.

-The Killers – While I really haven’t watched the concert all the way through at home on Blu-Ray (I did watch it in theaters when they had it) the song I have listened to has quite a punch on the bass and it sounds awesome, and the video is very good as well.

Anime on Blu-Ray:

-Evangelion 1.11 You Are Not Alone – This was my first experience of the Evangelion universe. It was a great way to start, and definitely the best place to start for these new movies. The picture and sound on this Blu-Ray are great, pretty close to demo worthy.

-Ponyo – I love Miyazaki’s movies, they are very beautiful to watch. They are weird, but great to watch. This is no exception. The video on the Blu-Ray release is very beautiful. I can’t wait for the other Miyazaki movies to make it here on Blu-Ray, especially Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

-Evangelion 2.22 You Can Not Advance – It was recently announced that Funimation (who also has Evangelion 1.11) had acquired the rights to selling this movie in the US, so we should be able to find it in the States soon. I decided to import the Blu-Ray version from Hong Kong because it was region A and it had English subtitles, and I heard very good things out of it. I was definitely blown away, the sound quality is very close to demo quality, and the video is also good. Can’t wait for the Funimation release. And I also can’t wait to see the next entries in the series.

Other ones worth checking out:

-9 – Came out last year, but was dismissed fairly quickly. While it isn’t a classic, it is still worth a look, the visuals are cool and the style is pretty nice. The Blu-Ray presentation is also very good.

-Quantum of Solace – The latest entry in the Bond series has some very nifty action sequences. Especially the beginning sequence, and it sounds very good.

-The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – A very bizarre movie to watch, but yet I found it to be very enjoyable, not easily understood within one watch. This was Heath Ledger’s last role, even though it was only partially completed and they needed three other actors to help make the rest of the movie work. While the public didn’t fully accept the movie, I do believe that the movie is worth a rental.

-State of Play – I actually enjoyed this movie, pretty suspenseful and you have to think through to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. The video and audio on the Blu-Ray are also great.

-Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl – The audio and video on this Blu-Ray are great. Of course, it’s also a great movie to watch.

-Fantastic Mr. Fox – Very different movie than what you would normally be use to, however I found the movie to be very enjoyable. The presentation is also great here.

-Taken – Another great movie that I believe is worth watching, plus the quality of the Blu-Ray is great.


There are a ton of great Blu-Ray movies out there. If you want to find out if a certain movie you want to have is in good shape on Blu-Ray, there are a few sites that you could check out where they review Blu-Ray movies, one is DVD Talk, High-Def Digest, and Blu-ray.com
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