I didn’t give any Shelf Space Awards in April because I felt the releases overall just weren’t extraordinary. I enjoyed reviewing Grudge Match but even I am not going to award it the Best New Release Blu-ray of the month. We’re back for May, but I’ve also given some thought to tweaking the categories so that we don’t run into another April situation. Here are the new and improved Shelf Space Blu-ray awards for May.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
The Shelf Space Awards: May 2014
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Best New Blu-ray
Her was the best new movie to come to home video in May, and it’s a great looking film as well. The clarity is near perfect with a sharp vision of this near future hybrid of L.A. and Shanghai. Spike Jonze and company put together an interesting array of bonus features too. None of them are straightforward, but you get to see glimpses of the different departments at work in an impressionistic behind the scenes feature, and you also get to see famous people reflect on their relationships immediately after screening Her!
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Worst New Blu-ray
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Best Catalogue Blu-ray
A lot of Godzilla movies came out on Blu-ray last month. I reviewed the ones Sony released and got three more from a new distributor called Section 23. Their releases of Godzilla Vs. Hedorah and Godzilla Vs. Gigan are also solid, but their Blu-ray of Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster is above and beyond. I could not believe how clear it looked. You would think it was a brand new movie, except the ‘60s costumes and sets (particularly that decade’s idea of a laboratory) give it away. They must have had a really clean print to work with, but it’s the best of the Godzilla Blu-rays I’ve ever seen.
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Worst Catalogue Blu-ray
I loved interviewing Matthew Modine for Memphis Belle but revisiting the movie, I realized why I hadn’t remembered it the first time. Its attempt to come across as an old fashioned WWII movie makes it seem naive and oblivious. It could have worked as a throwback to pre-cyncial war movies, but the aerial footage is edited so poorly you don’t even get a sense of the basic narrative. The Blu-ray looks decent but not great. It’s very grainy, which is good for a movie shot on film but as a Blu-ray the image is inconsistent from scene to scene.
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Best TV on Blu-ray
CBS Home Entertainment upgraded three classic series to Blu-ray this month: “I Love Lucy,” “The Honeymooners” and “The Andy Griffith Show.” Of the three I’d go with “Honeymooners” for the Shelf Space Award. Though they are all fine transfers loaded with extras, “Honeymooners” seemed the sharpest to me. Remember, these were all series designed to be viewed on 12” black and white TV screens, so the fact that they all hold up well on today’s HDTVs is stunning.
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Best Foreign Blu-ray
I probably don’t review enough foreign Blu-rays to name one the worst, but I want to give a shout out to the best now. Stephen Chow’s latest movie was another multi-genre treat and it looks great on Blu-ray. Full of bright colors and and lush scenery, even his CGI looks good. The creatures are over the top and surreal and they pop out in HD. A few shots struggle with digital noise but overall this is a top notch Blu-ray with plenty of inventive visuals on display. I guess Godzilla Vs. the Sea Monster is a foreign film too but just let me have both.
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Best Blu-ray Cover Art
A series of Wal-Mart exclusive re-releases from Fox Home Entertainment bears new minimalist cover art that’s really cool. The Usual Suspects has an abstract rendering of the police lineup. Rocky has a silhouette inside a boxing glove. The Terminator is just an endoskeleton arm. Hoosiers is a simple basketball net. Robocop is a very cool abstraction of the classic Robo-design.
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Worst Blu-ray Cover Art
Nothing like a box office failure to change the poster art. Not that the theatrical art of Zooey Deutch and Lucy Fry walking towards camera was anything special, but at least it suggested a teen girl power movie. Now they’ve opted for a photoshop composite of the four leads, looking generic enough for people to maybe forget that this is the same movie and give it a chance.
