With the end of the year, a lot of major movies came out on Blu-ray in December to get in before the Christmas buying season. We reviewed a number of movies in full, but every month we give out the Shelf Space Awards to the Blu-rays most worthy of earning some space on your shelf. This month’s Shelf Space Awards go to a lot of Blu-rays I didn’t end up covering in full. Aside from Furious 6 and The Wolverine, most of the Blu-rays I picked for full reviews ended up being mediocre, but one of them still won an award here. I’m glad I discovered many others over the Christmas break to come up with a list of Shelf Space Awards behind which I can stand.
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: December 2013
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Best New Blu-ray
In a big month that included Fast & Furious 6, The Wolverine, Despicable Me 2 and other A-list new releases, it was hard to decide what was actually the best. They all look great and you may like one movie more than the other. In the end, I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut Don Jon stands out from the pack. For one, it’s a quirky romantic-comedy with a unique voice. Two, Gordon-Levitt proved himself quite a good director, and the film looks slick and polished, as well as incorporating clips of pornography and making them look elegant. I also want to recommend the Blu-ray of The Seasoning House which I reviewed at Screamfest and has a nice looking, gritty Blu-ray now too.
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Worst New Blu-ray
Nothing came out this month with a really shoddy transfer, but one movie took its pretentiousness to the next level. I did not like Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, but to each their own. At least let it rest with the theatrical feature, though. The bonus features include an “Untitled Ross Brothers Documentary” in the same style as the non-narrative feature itself: just a set of disorganized B-roll, on cheap looking video cameras at that. Who the fuck are the Ross brothers anyway? Don’t worry, there is a five minute talking heads piece if you really need one. Some of the deleted scenes are literally just trims they didn’t have time to process. They say so. And the piece de resistance is director David Lowery’s first feature St. Nick, in the same style of Saints but with children and even less professional camera equipment. To be fair, I didn’t watch all of St. Nick. I got its number by scanning through, but after Saints and the bonus features I think I know where Lowery stands.
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Best Catalogue Blu-ray
Mary Poppins. When you’ve got the 50th anniversary of a studio classic, you can be sure they’re going to go all out for the best Blu-ray presentation possible. The animated sequence alone makes the Mary Poppins Blu-ray a must, although every studio sequence looks exquisitely lit and perfect. Any visual effects process shots show the seams. Even opening titles are too processed to restore to full HD, but when you see the grain holding those processed shots together, it reminds you of the authentic film process. Runner up Matilda gives a solid run for a gem of a late ‘90s family movie too.
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Worst Catalogue Blu-ray
Sorry, Saturn 3. I know you only had limited materials to work with, but all the seams in the shoddy 1980 visual effects only shine brighter on Blu-ray. The regular footage doesn’t look that great either, very fuzzy and full of digital noise. Scream Factory did the best they could, it just wasn’t a movie destined for a really good Blu-ray.
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Best Special Feature
There is a motion comic on Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters about the Cyclops’ adventure before he got to camp Half-Blood. It’s nothing major but it’s fun and I quite liked the film as a fun mythological adventure on its own.
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Worst Special Feature
This is more of a lack of a special feature that’s the problem. I watched One Direction: This is Us, the extended fan cut at that, and damned if I didn’t find that music catchy. So how could they not include a soundtrack with this Blu-ray? It’s got the digital copy, sure, but you don’t want me playing the 1D video while I’m driving. The movie is fun and shows the guys seem to have a good perspective on this whole ride, though I worry some of their fans aren’t quite in on the joke. One little girl said she knows One Direction loves her even though they’ve never met. Morgan Spurlock, you put that soundbite in as a warning to her parents, didn’t you? It’s a testament to the movie that I was into it enough to consider the music, but you should have given me the soundtrack. I can’t very well go to a store and bring a 1D CD up to the counter. Even if I download it, there’s a paper trail there.
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Best Cover Art
Jayne Mansfield’s Car can’t go wrong with a CraveOnline quote from yours truly stuck right on the cover. Lest anyone think there is favoritism here, I actually have still not received a copy of the Blu-ray, not even to review, let alone for my portfolio. I’m just funnin’ here. It is a really good movie though.
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Worst Cover Art
Also Don Jon. I know there’s no easy way to sell this movie, but you must be able to do better than three headshots of the leading actors. This isn’t even Photoshop “floating heads” territory. It is literally square stills of the actors as they look in the movie. I’m not saying you should put a still of JGL whacking off on the cover, but I think even the still of Gordon-Levitt and Scar-Jo meeting in the club was more evocative than this.
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Best Home Theater Demo Disc
Despite its narrative flaws, Elysium is surely going to be the movie that’s playing in Best Buy TV aisles. The clear picture shows off the crisp, detailed vision that can be achieved in an effectively world-built future landscape. There’s enough action for sound demos too, although maybe you’ll notice watching scenes out of context that they’re really empty.
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Best Boxed Set
I didn’t actually get the X-Men and Wolverine Adamantium Collection, although I did review The Wolverine on Blu-ray, but I can see a picture of that claw and it’s pretty cool. Including all the content from previous X-Men Blu-ray releases, it’s hard to go wrong, and I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt that the new bonus disc has something worth watching too.
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Wait for the Special Edition
I know Man of Tai Chi was just a niche release for martial arts fans, but we can hope one day it gets an in-depth special edition. Even with a commentary track from Keanu Reeves and Tiger Chen, those are two quiet dudes. However, I will accept a new commentary track that is entirely Keanu saying, “Whoa! Look at that kick” for 90 minutes.
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Most Exciting Announcement
Learning in early December that The Best Man Holiday is already slated for a February 2014 Blu-ray release let me know that Christmas was already over. I’ve got to say that as a fan of Joseph Kahn’s Detention, the news that his first film Torque is getting a Blu-ray in April is pretty exciting. I’d say that’s due for a revisit, since Kahn remembers my positive review of it better than I do at this point. Man, Harry and the Hendersons and An American Tail coming out in March are exciting too.
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January's Most Anticipated
Riddick with its extended director’s cut. David Twohy told us this would include the epilogue of Riddick’s return to confront Karl Urban. And I got it early so I can tell you it is even more than I imagined. More so than the extended epilogue, Riddick’s flashback to how he got stranded on the planet is a really substantial sequence of King Riddick among his Necromonger lieges. It makes the sequel feel much more connected to the larger Riddick universe and almost like getting a brand new Riddick short film. I must say, those opening Riddick Crusoe scenes of surviving against the planet’s elements and monsters look phenomenal on Blu-ray too. Out January 14.
