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Posted By: nickbuol Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/13/08 08:44 PM
Alrighty all your Blu-Ray owners out there. I am making a "wish list" of Blu-Ray movies that I need to look into putting on my wish list for Christmas.

It all started when I kept hearing about some movie called Baraka that so many people talk about on other forums.
What is so enticing about that movie? I really had never heard of it before about 3 weeks ago.

A few movies on my wish list are:
* Iron Man
* Dark Knight
* I, Robot
* I Am Legend (Not totally sold on this one)
* Gone in 60 Seconds (Yeah, it's corny, but for some reason I like it).

What else should I be looking at that are really great Blu-Ray movies?
Posted By: thefwam Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/13/08 09:05 PM
One idea is that you could go to highdefdigest.com and click on the blu-ray reviews, then sort by rating based on the movie, video, audio, overall, etc. I enjoy their reviews for the most part, the most informative part being the actual review of the disc and how it performs.

i would add to that:
Wall-e
Transformers (great demo disc, and like you with 60 Seconds, while not the best movie i just enjoy it)
Harry Potter 1-5 are all very impressive
Ratatouille
Batman Begins ( may as well have both )

It all depends on your tastes of course, but all those are great DISCS.
Posted By: nickbuol Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/13/08 09:13 PM
Thanks Steve. I've been out at hidefdigest.com off and on all day...

I have Transformers, the first 5 Harry Potter movies, and Batman Begins all on HD-DVD, so I should be set there.

I had forgotten about Ratatouille. That was a cute movie. Wall-e I saw at a drive-in (yup, we still have them in Iowa) last summer with the kids. They weren't sold on it as there wasn't a lot of dialog, but maybe I should revisit that idea too.

Keep the ideas and suggestions coming, and if anyone knows the "secret" around the popularity of Baraka, let me know...
Posted By: EFalardeau Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/13/08 09:28 PM
The Nightmare Before XMas is pretty well done, especially the audio.
Posted By: HomeDad Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/13/08 09:32 PM
 Quote:
if anyone knows the "secret" around the popularity of Baraka


Nick, the movie on Blu-ray is visually stunning, it's the first of its kind 8K scan from a fully restored 70MM film.

Sleeping Beauty and Kung Fu Panda are a couple other movies that I feel are excellent in Blu-ray and great for the kids. I have the Dark Knight, Wall-E, as well as the second Narnia on pre-order from Amazon.
Posted By: myrison Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/13/08 11:01 PM
Hitman is one of my favorite Blu-ray demo disks, and also a movie I really enjoy (and did not expect to).

The Dave Matthews Radio City concert Blu-ray is also fantastic.

I'd pass on I Am Legend... I own it and wish I hadn't bought it, though I'm not much into the horror flicks, so I should have known better.

Jason
Posted By: CV Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/14/08 04:36 AM
My favorite Blu-rays so far (as far as both liking the movies as well as the presentation):

Apocalypto
Cars
Iron Man
Juno
Kill Bill: Volume 1
Kill Bill: Volume 2
Kung Fu Hustle
No Country For Old Men
Run Lola Run
Sunshine

Obviously some of those have more over-the-top audio, but I thought they were all fun.
Posted By: jakewash Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/14/08 05:36 AM
The James Bond set, if you like 007.
Posted By: nickbuol Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/14/08 06:35 AM
Thanks guys. Our stupid internet was down so I couldn't comment sooner. Actually, it was down for a huge chunk of central Iowa as someone cut through 2 fiber pipes. One had 96 fiber strands and the other had 126 fiber strands. What a mess. Anyway, it gave me time to re-wire my equipment rack and move some gear around to get ready for when I can put the Blu-Ray player in (Christmas). All cables are in place and labeled.

Now to keep the movie suggestions coming so I can pick out a top few and get them ordered.
Posted By: spiffnme Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/14/08 07:46 AM
re: Baraka...it's beautiful lush photography shot in 70mm. It's certainly worth seeing, but you may want to rent it before dropping $20 on it. It's not a "movie" in the traditional sense of the word. There's really no plot, or narrative.
Posted By: nickbuol Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/14/08 08:36 PM
Would it be worth the cost to get the Blu-Ray versions of Batman Begins and Transformers (which I already own on HD-DVD) to be able to hear the HD-Audio?

Since my receiver doesn't have HDMI audio, and my HD-DVD player doesn't have analog outputs, I only hear the "regular" DD5.1 audio (which is still good) with my HD-DVD versions of these movies.

With my Blu-Ray set up, I will be able to tap into the HD-audio via analog and I am wondering if they are worth buying again (only for better sound potentially, since I already have the HD picture)???
Posted By: CV Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/15/08 04:36 AM
I really liked the sound on Transformers, but I don't know that it's worth buying again. I think the only way I'd buy it again is if I really liked the movie and I was getting rid of the HD DVD version. Batman Begins I bought on Blu-ray after already having given the HD DVD away, but I'm still second-guessing that choice. I definitely want to own The Dark Knight, so I figured I may as well own the previous installment, but subsequent viewings of Batman Begins don't really do a lot for me, and from an audio standpoint, I can't even really remember any scenes that stood out for me.
Posted By: nickbuol Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/15/08 05:14 AM
Sounds good. Just that much less to worry about buying to get a library started.
Posted By: oldskoolboarder Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/16/08 03:00 AM
I picked up Amazon's gold box deal yesterday, 7 James Bond Blu-Rays for $65. Then I have the Bill Me Later a shot for another $10 off. Not bad for $55 shipped free, no tax.

Gotta get that no tax now, I can't imagine that'll exist for too much longer.
Posted By: coldrick Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/16/08 10:59 AM
I don't have many, but I'd recommend:

1) Fifth Element
2) Casino Royale
3) David Attenborough Planet Earth series
4) Master and Commander

Regards,
David
Posted By: myrison Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/16/08 02:26 PM
Dang, I'm sorry I missed that deal, I would have been all over it!

Jason
Posted By: nickbuol Re: Blu-Ray Christmas List - 11/16/08 08:54 PM
I picked up Iron Man ($26 at Amazon) and Kung Fu Panda ($20 at Amazon) on sale for $19 each at Target today. I will just keep my eyes open for other deals between now and Christmas, and worst case, I'll get others from Amazon or some other e-tailer....
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