I got back from the Sundance Film Festival only to find a stack of Blu-rays for the films from Sundance 2013 waiting for me. That’s about the timespan of these things: premiere in January, get distribution throughout the year, on home video by the following January. Seriously, the Sundance Blu-rays include The Spectacular Now, Charlie Countryman, 20 Feet From Stardom, Fruitvale Station, In a World and We Are What We Are. There’s even the TIFF premiere Enough Said out on Blu-ray for good measure. It may be possible to reconstruct Sundance on Blu-ray, but not every single January Blu-ray deserves permanent space on your shelf. That’s what The Shelf Space Awards are for.
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: January 2014
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Best New Blu-ray
I’m never quite sure if I should pick the best movie that’s on Blu-ray this month or the best looking Blu-ray of the month. Fortunately, January gives us a happy medium. The Spectacular Now is an extraordinary film, although Short Term 12 was also released this month. Now that 35mm film is a rarity, Spec Now’s anamorphic film look does stand out in the high-def world. It’s not quite as glossy as some of the other new releases, but it presents the detail in a stark, dramatic way.
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Worst New Blu-ray
Shockingly, it’s Blue Jasmine. Woody Allen’s latest dramedy is an exquisite looking portrait of New York wealth and San Francisco downfall, but the Blu-ray transfer is all too orange. It’s like they left the film in a tanning booth, or let Michael Bay’s cinematographer get his hands on it. I fiddled with my TV settings and it’s noticeable any way you set it. I can’t recommend the movie enough, but the digital copy, for example, is a preferable version. It actually still has an orange tint, but it’s a little more under control. Fruitvale Station looks lousy too but that was shot 16mm so it hardly seems fair. Given the limitations it actually holds up okay in HD.
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Best Catalogue Blu-ray
It’s hard to get review copies of The Criterion Collection, so I have not witnessed Thief firsthand, but by all accounts the new transfer is stunning. This review from Blu-ray.com articulates the details we’ll notice should we spring for the Criterion’s new 4K restoration. I haven’t seen anything on my own stack this month that made me rave that much.
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Worst Catalogue Blu-ray
Well, it would have to be the one that didn’t work. I put in Shout! Factory’s The Beast of Hollow Mountain/The Neanderthal Man and it nearly got stuck in my player. It wouldn’t play the disc at all, and after struggling to get it to eject, it’s not worth it. It may just be a coincidentally defective disc incompatible with a Toshiba player, but that personal incident made this an easy choice. There weren’t really any bad catalog releases that I actually did get to watch. They all looked fairly good.
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Best Special Feature
As I expected it would, the 20 Feet From Stardom Blu-ray features deleted scenes comprised of more great stories from the backup singers featured in the film, but more importantly more performances too. These range from harmonizing a single verse to a full on solo performance. There are also some interesting tidbits that didn’t make it into the film, like the lucrative jingle business and one singer smack talking Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears for her terrible experience on the road with them! For a runner up, I’m going to have to go with the outtakes on Enough Said for sentimental reasons. We get to see a little more James Gandolfini, and it’s not in character, just being a lovable guy on the set.
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Worst Special Feature
Imagine the stuff that was not good enough to make it into Machete Kills and you still won’t believe what’s in the deleted scenes. Particularly awful is a baby Machete joke, although I’d have to include the 20-minute self-congratulatory “Making of Machete Kills” feature too. Yes, we get it, you shoot fast and cheap and everybody has a good time, and it shows in the bonus feature but not in the actual movie. As a runner up, I have to mention the “Redfoo Bikini Party” bonus feature on Last Vegas. It’s only a minute and a half, but it’s embarrassing devoting an entire bonus feature to the stupid joke of acclaimed elderly actors poolside with Playboy bikini models and half of LMFAO.
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Best Cover Art
I could make the same joke as last month and pick We Are What We Are because it has Bibbs’ quote on the cover. Bibbs doesn’t need my help though, he’s doing great, so I should probably award the Blu-ray that really went all out for the cover art. Scream Factory has an all around magnificent art team, and this month’s release of Cat People shows off their work well. It’s not a scene from the movie per se, but it is evocative of the sexual and violent tone of Paul Schrader’s 1982 remake.
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Worst Cover Art
I don’t like the new art for Captain Phillips. It’s just a side-by-side photo of Tom Hanks face and Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi. What, the worldwide knowledge of Captain Phillips’s story, rave reviews and word of mouth aren’t enough? Just to play it safe you’ve got to make sure we see Hanks and the new guy? Eh, not that I was in love with the theatrical poster, the Somali pirates boarding the ship, but at least it was something evocative that way.
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Best Home Theater Demo Disc
It’s always a little unfair when a computer-animated movie comes out. A live-action movie really doesn’t stand a chance unless it’s Speed Racer or Life of Pi, and even those are enhanced. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 boasts flawless images with vibrant colors and packed with texture detail. The sequel’s new food worlds and creatures provide a colorful palette of images to show off your HDTV’s highest capabilities, and I’m only speaking for 2D. The 3D version is available for those with 3D sets too.
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Best Boxed Set
As much as I’ve marveled at the “Star Trek: The Original Series” and “Next Generation” Blu-ray remasters, I had never explored the most recent TV series “Enterprise” until they sent me the third season. While it’s not as dramatic an improvement as the ‘60s and ‘80s series are, “Enterprise” holds up well on Blu-ray. The Enterprise of the prequel series is a much darker, shadowy place but the picture holds up and creates a mood. The outer space visual effects and alien makeup remain vivid in heightened detail.
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Wait for the Special Edition
As much as I hate to see any more of Machete Kills, this is the new release that’s most glaringly short. Rodriguez always does big special editions. He’s got his 10 Minute Film Schools and other home movies and stuff. Maybe he’s finally run out and this is all we’ll ever get for Machete Kills. I’m actually fine with that, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t anticipate a larger Machete Kills special edition down the road. Perhaps, sigh, when the trilogy is complete.
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Most Exciting Announcement
It would probably have to be Gravity, right? The blockbuster Oscar nominee is a movie that everyone agrees we’d voluntarily watch in cinemas every year, but tell me you’re not still curious about watching it at home. Especially if you have a 3D TV, see if you can catch Sandra Bullock in your living room. Some enticing bonus features include “Silent Space Version” which I hope is an alternate sound cut of the entire film, and a documentary on cleaning up space narrated by Ed Harris!
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February's Most Anticipated
February sees acclaimed new releases like the above Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club and Nebraska, as well as a CraveOnline favorite Ender’s Game, but judging by the following online, it would seem the most anticipated February Blu-ray is Scream Factory’s Night of the Demons reissue. I saw the Blu-ray already in preparation for an interview I did with director Kevin S. Tenney, which we’ll bring you next week. Fans will be very happy at the gory detail and clarity presented, although it could give away the trick of the lipstick scene if you’re looking that closely.
