February is a shorter month but I still have just as many Blu-rays to review. This month I gave full reviews to The Counselor, Ender’s Game and the Rocky Heavyweight collection… really full in the case of Rocky. For the rest, there are Shelf Space Awards for Blu-rays truly worth of space on your shelf.
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: February 2014
-
Best New Blu-ray
Mr. Nobody is the best new movie released in February, even though I already own a Blu-ray I bought from the UK after its European release four year ago. If the American release uses the same transfer, I can vouch for it being a stunning, crisp vision of a profound philosophical emotional journey. As a runner up, for something that’s actually new this month,I’ve got to single out About Time for its above and beyond stunning transfer. The countryside where Tim (Domhall Gleeson)’s family spends much of the movie is absolutely gorgeous in HD, and the scenes within London’s city streets have a Euro-urban beauty all their own.
-
Worst New Blu-ray
They made a movie where Dolph Lundgren fights zombies and robots, and yet it was not the best movie ever. Is that too much to ask? I’m being a little facetious but with a baseline of sincerity there. This movie should be fun and it takes itself so seriously. Who did they think they were kidding that a straight to video Dolph/zombie/robot movie would be hardcore? The Blu-ray looks good enough I guess, crisp HD detail, but since it’s drained of color it also looks like the typical cheapie.
-
Best Catalogue Blu-ray
The ‘90s at Universal Studios are back thanks to Shout! Factory and their Scream Factory arm. Both of these films looks great on Blu-ray, pre-CGI productions with hand crafted detail and old school visual effects. The Shadow looks a little bit clearer, probably because there are so many layers to Darkman’s optical effects degrading the negative a tad. Darkman has way better bonus features though, including new interviews with Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, though not Sam Raimi. McDormand is frank about her disagreements with Raimi and regrets over performance decisions, and several supporting actors describe scenes that didn’t make the cut. I just wish Shout!/Scream had found the missing footage in the Universal archives. Maybe not a whole director’s cut, but at least deleted scenes. So there, now you have to share your award, Darkman.
-
Worst Catalogue Blu-ray
I enjoyed reviewing all the Rocky movies and looking at the remastered Blu-ray for the original, but the latest double dip collection was a reminder that we still need good Blu-rays of the sequels, and bonus features for II-V.
-
Best Special Feature
Several of the Darkman bonus features were so good, they split my vote so I’m giving it to a single deleted scene for Escape Plan. There’s a scene that explains Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bizarre final zinger, “Have a lovely day, asshole.” People liked that line but I found it an incredible stretch trying too hard to be another “Hasta la vista, baby.” Turns out, it was actually a payoff to a deleted scene. While we’re on Escape Plan, I also enjoyed a great featurette on Schwarzenegger and Stallone finally working together where Arnold talks about scheduling Expendables around his governor schedule and elaborates on their ‘80s competitive streak, down to specifics of bodybuilding physique comparisons. The movie looks great on Blu-ray too. That prison is quite a sight, and in HD detail you can even see streaks on the glass cells.
-
Worst Special Feature
I didn’t see anything too offensive this month, but the way The Counselor constructed its bonus features was annoying. You can’t watch the short featurettes independent of the film, but the only way to hear Ridley Scott’s commentary is in an enhanced mode which adds an hour to the extended cut running time and incorporates the bonus features. A simple commentary-only option would have spared you this dishonor, Ridley.
-
Best Cover Art
Scream Factory does really cool re-imaginings of the films in their collection, and the Night of the Demons cover is one of their best. It features the signature makeup transformations from the film in a moment of glory, but first and foremost Linnea Quigley and the infamous lipstick. I really like the artistic rendering of Darkman too, which is a more personal film to me, but I can’t deny the prominence of the lipstick. It’s really right in your face there.
-
Worst Cover Art
Great movie, great Blu-ray, but the cover art for the 2D package is just a Photoshop floating heads job. The 3D edition features a more ominous image of a Battle School student, presumably Ender, in zero gravity gear but still has photos of every star lining the bottom. Perhaps if it had been a bigger hit they wouldn’t have had to hedge their bets with star power. Really, it’s not the only floating head cover art of the month. The Counselor, Thor: The Dark World, The Best Man Holiday and even Dallas Buyers Club are Photoshop composites, but hey, someone’s got to get this award each month.
-
Best Home Theater Demo Disc
Come on, you know this is going to be showing for years in 3D, HD and surround sound demos in Best Buy. I only have 2D and no surround, and I could tell the layers of depth are apparent and the sounds are still distinct. I noticed a surprising amount of grain for a movie that was largely created digitally. Sure, even digital video has pixels, but perhaps this was a look Alfonso Cuaron wanted to achieve. The long takes floating around space and the radio sounds buzzing still make me antsy at home.
-
Best Boxed Set
I guess the latest set of all the Harry Potter movies came out this month. I didn’t get it, but I have several versions of each film from the last 10 years, so really, I’m fine.
-
Wait for the Special Edition
Come on, like they’re going to let the acclaimed, Oscar-nominated Nebraska go out with just a single “making of” bonus feature? I mean, maybe Alexander Payne doesn’t like to pull back the veil, but I suspect we’ll get a double dip with a preferable special edition, particularly if Nebraska sweeps the Oscars. Paramount’s Pain & Gain got a special edition within months. For now, the black and white does look great on Blu-ray and maybe this February release will help Academy voters. Same goes for Dallas Buyers Club, though it throws on some deleted scenes with the single behind the scenes feature. Also a great looking Blu-ray on its own merits, with a crisp, sharp look despite its raw verite cinematography style.
-
Most Exciting Announcement
This is even going to theaters first, but as many expected, Paramount confirmed that there is an alternate version of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. It might not be quite an entirely separate movie, a la Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, but it has exactly 763 new jokes, runs 20 minutes longer and is rated R. Digital downloads start March 11 and the physical Blu-ray and DVD are out April 1.
-
March's Most Anticipated
It’s probably Hunger Games: Catching Fire, for which I will have a full review. If you’re more of a classic film connoisseur, I hope your most anticipated is The Slumber Party Massacre, a sly female take on the genre with a subversive streak. I got an early copy of the March 18 release and it’s a pretty great remaster. The opening titles reveal some authentic scratches and dirt, which only sets the mood for a grindhouse movie. The bulk of the footage is clear and restored.
