The Top 12 Blu-rays (and VOD) of May 2015

May didn’t have many big ticket titles that I knew had to be on this list. The biggest new release was Fifty Shades of Grey which, come on. Yet the May list still grew beyond 10 as I checked out the interesting niche releases and was rather impressed by them.

We’re also right on the cusp of June and I don’t want to have to wait until the end of June to tell you about Focus which is available June 2. The Will Smith con artist thriller has a crackling script, and a crackling Blu-ray that ranges from noirish lighting to bright pastel colors. It’s fitting the film can balance multiple looks, as its characters play multiple personas.

The Wire: The Complete Series is also out June 2, and despite the widescreen reformatting controversy, it looks solid when blown up to 54”.

That’s what you have to look forward to next month. Here are the 12 Blu-ray and VOD titles I’m mentioning for May.

The Top 12 Blu-rays (and VOD) of May 2015:

Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.

The Top 12 Blu-rays (and VOD) of May 2015

12. Big Game

UPDATE: Unfortunately, DirecTV did not correct the entire problem on May 29. While their linear PPV broadcasts that start every 30 minutes have added the subtitles, a user who ordered the film via VOD on DirecTV reports that the Finnish still runs with no subtitles. Why there are two different versions on bi-hourly/VOD, we don’t know.

DirecTV Warning: I was hoping to review the DirecTV exclusive Big Game as this month’s VOD title. However, DirecTV was missing English subtitles for large sections of the movie in Finnish. Other customers noticed the same problem. DirecTV did issue refunds, but did not correct the issue. We understand customer service operators can’t fix a movie without subtitles, but the DirecTV PR team did not respond to my e-mails either. Fortunately, I alerted the film’s distributor, Relativity and they jumped in right away. The proper version of Big Game became available on DirecTV May 29. Perhaps in June I can review the VUDU release of Big Game (6/26), but for May, this is the story. What’s disturbing is your average customer can’t contact the studio, so DirecTV would have continued broadcasting the wrong version of the movie. Also worth noting the provider should indicate that a large portion of the film is in Finnish, even if it does star Samuel L. Jackson.
11. Mad Max

The new Shout! Factory Blu-ray transfer does look a little bit cleaner than the previous 20th Century Fox one. Luckily I still have that to compare it to. The picture is smoother without sacrificing any of the bright color or gritty detail, but the yellow splotches on a couple shots are still there for historical accuracy. The new interviews with Mel Gibson, cast and crew don’t really include any new information. I suppose it’s just a coup to have Gibson himself confirming the stories, but they did keep previous DVD extras and audio commentary.
10. Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series

There hasn’t been any new BSG in a while, so why not revisit the original series? Remastered in high definition, you can either choose the new widescreen (cropped to fit 16 x 9 TVs) or get the more expensive “Definitive Collection” that also includes the full frame versions. As a purist I’d have to recommend the later, but when it comes to objective quality, it’s not even a debate. The full frame versions look perfectly clear, and the widescreen versions have lots of artifacts specking all over the screen. If the artifacted versions were the best they could do, I would still say they are striking, and the cropping is relatively unobtrusive, but the full frame editions flat out look better. Then there’s that whole “as originally filmed” thing
9. Halt and Catch Fire: Season 1

With Season 2 beginning on AMC, you might need to catch up on the first season with this Blu-ray. If you do, you might be as impressed as I was that it is shockingly clear. TV on Blu-ray rarely looks better than the HDTV broadcast. Cable and satellite providers may have issues with pixelation and soft focus, but the Blu-ray usually reveals other flaws of rushed television production like digital noise or low lighting. Not so for Halt and Catch Fire. It looks as clear as a movie on Blu-ray, and that’s in various lighting conditions like daylight, nighttime and florescent office settings.
8. Food of the Gods/Frogs

I saw Food of the Gods on VHS in the ‘80s and only because they made a sequel right at the time I was brave enough to start exploring horror movies. Now restored to HD, it is a revelation. The forced perspective work to create the illusion of giant animals terrorizing people look great, as does the miniature work with regular sized rats towering over them and the detail in oversized props. There are a few incidents of dirt/scratches or some flickering image, but Scream Factory really knocked this forgotten gem out of the park. It comes on a double feature Blu-ray with Frogs, a movie I did not see on VHS and which does not hold up quite as well. However, as the exploitation version of The Birds with frogs, it makes the most out of its few shots of a handful of frogs and closeups that make frogs look menacing.
7. Let Us Prey

I saw Let Us Prey at Fantastic Fest and thought it was a cool horror movie with a badass turn by Pollyanna McIntosh. If you weren’t able to make it to one of the horror fests, the Blu-ray will match that experience at home. Visually at least, because there’s no substitute for the atmosphere and line friends of a film festival. The clear picture is itself a triumph since most of the movie takes place in a police station at night. Added touches like hellish red light in nightmare sequences and gory detail in fingernail horror make Let Us Prey the kind of Blu-ray that’ll make you squirm, in a good way.
6. Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Usually with an unrated extended version of a movie, it’s hard to even be sure what they added to the theatrical cut. There’s at least one scene that’s clearly exclusive to the Hot Tub Time Machine 2 extended cut. It’s a certain cameo you were probably expecting to see all along. It’s so oddly edited into the film that it almost seems like they filmed it after the final cut, although after the point where it bombed in theaters, why would they bother? So maybe it was planned all along just in case. It’s nice to see, and being a new release studio film, the future of Hot Tub Time Machine 2 sparkles with all the crazy future clothes and technology.
5. Amira & Sam

I missed this indie movie in its festival and VOD/theatrical run, so I was pleased to see it on Blu-ray. It is a sweet story that handles issues of troops returning home, financial fraud and immigration problems organically. And it’s a love story. What’s interesting about the Blu-ray is how the format accentuates the lighting schemes of the film. It seems like every scene is lit with a single color, so with high definition you can really tell how tinted each shot it, while holding clear with high definition detail. The color certainly reflects the tone of scenes, so it’s worth discovering the film in this format, as I did. Bonus features also include not only Martin Starr’s deleted stand up comedy jokes, but crew members and director Sean Mullin doing standup too! So that’s something you don’t see on Peter Jackson’s appendices.
4. Lost River

Ryan Gosling’s surreal, abstract portrayal of the housing crisis (surprised they didn’t use that as the logline) looks fantastic on Blu-ray. The cinematography makes mundane things like financial meetings look like a nightmare, and the moments of beauty look as comforting as the moments of horror look striking. Even horrifying images have a beauty to them, as burning embers and bloody gashes make colorful shapes in the frame. There are no bonus features, because art speaks for itself, man. Actually, I would have liked to delve deeper into this one or at least seen some of the deleted scenes, but the film does speak for itself and it looks great.
3. Wet Hot American Summer

The production of a new Netflix series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, is the perfect impetus to getting the original film on Blu-ray. The cult comedy favorite looks as glorious as creators David Wain and Michael Showalter could have ever intended. The outdoors summer camp location looks bright, sunny, lush and colorful with ‘80s fashion adding that extra oomph. Bonus features from the previous DVD are still here, but new stuff like script live-reads and anniversary celebrations let fans in on the celebrations if they weren’t able to attend in person.
2. Selma

The landmark film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Selma march looks gorgeous on Blu-ray. The crisp, clear picture brings out all the historical detail, but another interesting distinction becomes heightened in HD. The scenes in Washington and the scenes in Alabama have subtle differences. Washington is cooler and more natural. Alabama has a bit of a sepia hue, which creates a more historical feeling. Of course, sepia photographs date way further back than the 1960s, but we’re talking about aesthetic feelings with regard to cinematography. The Selma Blu-ray is packed with extras too, including some authentic historical news reels. Anyone who felt LBJ didn’t get enough credit in the current film will be happy to see the newsreel that opens by giving him credit for championing voting rights.
1. Clint Eastwood 7 Film Collection

Warner Brothers has cornered the market on Clint Eastwood films as he’s now made over 40 with that studio. Universal has several of his early titles which a fan would consider vital to the definitive collection. This Blu-ray set includes seven, including the first U.S. Blu-ray releases of The Beguiled, Play Misty for Me, The Eiger Sanction and Coogan’s Bluff. I’m a fan of Two Mules for Sister Sarah myself. Since most of the films fall in the early ‘70s, they all share a consistent look that’s very attractive in high definition. It’s film, with a healthy amount of grain, and picture that seems to sweat, or maybe that’s just Eastwood’s brow. Location films like The Eiger Sanction of course have beautiful mountains to show off in Blu-ray color and detail. I’m surprised they didn’t throw in Changeling for its prestige, though it wouldn’t fit the western/urban themes of the other seven films, nor would it match the ‘70s look.