The 20 Best Blu-ray Movies 2011-2012

We often wait longer than we want to for the definitive blu-ray versions of our favorite movies. Sometimes, when they arrive, they are a little disappointing- the Lord of the Rings Trilogy doesn't offer much more than is already available on DVD. It is still a good buy if you want all the movies plus the cut scenes.

Sometimes, blu-ray delivers what it should the full Monty. The Avatar collectors edition has three different versions of the movie- the original release, the reissue and a special edition never seen in movie theaters. It has another eight hours of cut scenes, interviews and documentary footage that makes it very satisfying.

There have been a few unusual blu-ray movies in 2010-2011 too. The comic motion version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will keep Buffy fans entertained and appeal to lovers of graphic novels.

For me one of the best things the extra space of blu-ray is often best used for TV series. How else could you get 'Lost' in a box in any sensible way?

Blu-ray Movies on this page

It is a bit of a jumble. There are some classic collections. There are some of the latest blu-ray movies. A few of the very best TV series crept in. The one thing that holds them together? They all have fans and they all deserve fans.

Best Anthologies

Alien Anthology

I reckon I have seen the first Alien movie a dozen times. It still scares the pants off me in those moments when the beast is prowling close. 'Alien' keys into all those primitive lost in the woods fears but transfers the action to an even scarier place- a steel box in deep space. Whilst bears and wolves can bring people out in a cold sweat they are cuddly/cute compared to the acid dripping, multi- fanged monster that wants to have babies in your belly (even if you are a guy!).

The sequels are good value too and the full series plus all the all extras is an essential blu-ray collection.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy

Movie fans have complained that this blur-ray collection is exploitative if you have already bought the earlier DVDs- there is not much extra on offer. This may be true. On the other hand, if you don't already have all the Lord of the Rings movies this is a great buy.

It includes a digital copy so you can transfer the movies to a PC, iPad, Smart phone or any movie playing mobile device.

The Complete Star Wars Saga

This has the original trilogy beginning with George Lucas's 1977 movie plus the three most recent offerings. There is also a lot of extra material in the form of interviews and commentary from the people most involved in making the movies.

This brings the collection up to 9 discs and there is a 10 page booklet.

Critics have pointed out that many issues that plagued DVD releases remain largely unfixed. The principle issues are the special effects in the movies. Light sabres are off color, explosion just don't look quite right.

For people devoted to cinema history there is disappointment that the original movies released back in the seventies have suffered scene changes- though some of us will see these as improvements!

So overall, movie purists have been scathing. At the same time this is a great set for kids and it is selling like crazy.

The Bourne Trilogy

Matt Damon has never had a better role than as Jason Bourne. It is almost painful to watch him struggle to work out who he is and who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in this espionage/identity action thriller.

For blu-ray lovers, this package includes some great features that make it a better all round experience than simply watching in a movie house.

The 'U-control' feature allows you to access files on any of the main characters and you are even privileged to chose alternate endings. The interview with the writer of the original novel, Robert Ludlum, is enjoyable but also sad- he died before the first movie in the trilogy was completed,

Blockbusters

Two movies that have topped the bestselling Blu-ray movies in 2011

The Dark Knight

Batman got scary (I mean for grown ups, not just kids) with the Dark Knight. There are plenty of fine gadgets and some nice humor- especially from Michael Caine as the butler- but this is mainly about evil and how far you should you go to counter it.

Heath Ledger as the Joker makes you want Batman to go as far as he can. But is that what we really want- vigilante retribution and vengeance?

Everyone will have an opinion, which is why it is great movie.

Director, Christopher Nolan, has served up more than food for thought here, of course. The action scenes don't get much better, the effects are stunning and the tension just mounts and mounts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

The final book in the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter- Deathly Hallows- was split in two in the movie treatment. This left plenty of time to build the suspense in Part 1 and just as much time for the (genuinely) scary conclusion when Harry battles the evil Voldemort.

If Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is slower than its predecessors, it is also more intense and for real fans, genuinely emotional. There is a sense of sadness that childhood is being left behind as the characters grow up and become young adults. There are also plenty of thrills as the trio of Hermione, Ron and Harry track down the remaining five horcruxes that store Voldemort's soul.

Best Thrillers

Inception (Two-Disc Edition)

You thought your dreams were your own? In Inception even the most hidden parts of the mind are not safe from Cool Engineering Corp. Following up on the Dark Knight and Momento, Christopher Nolan creates another convincing but disturbing world.

This is a movie that repays several viewings and gets more satisfying each time. Leonardo DiCaprio gets a role of a lifetime.

Shutter Island

A forbidding, craggy island, a jittery Marshal and some potentially insane doctors of the mind. The director whips up a storm of anxiety and leaves the audience gasping for air. This is old fashioned movie terror that grips from beginning to end. Does Leonardo DiCaprio deserve so many marvelous roles? Probably. Director Martin Scorsese certainly thinks so.

Best Action Adventure

Dances with Wolves (20th Anniversary Edition)

If you like movies that are gorgeous to look at, Dances with Wolves  is winner from the opening scene. The prairie has never looked better and Kevin Costner is a joy to watch as the guy lost in the middle of a wealth of natural marvels whilst struggling to understand native American customs for the sake of his own survival.

The more he finds himself and the outside world finds him, the more bitter sweet it all becomes. 

Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downie Junior would never have come into my mind as first choice to play Sherlock Holmes but he stands and delivers. He is tough, quirky and engaging as the brilliant detective with a trace of Aspergers in his odd emotional world. Downie is nicely balanced by Jude Law's down-to-earth and not at all bumbling Dr Watson. Victorian London is big, impressive and fascinating to watch as it upfolds in the center of the action.

Best Sci Fi

Avatar Extended Collector's Edition

As mentioned in the introduction, this collection demonstrates what blu-ray issues should be all about. There is the original release, the extended re-release plus a special blu-ray version. On top of this there are another eight hours of fascinating entertainment with behind the scenes footage, cut scenes and an interactive scene-deconstruction feature that lets you explore the production in detail. There is also a guide to the world of Pandora as it evolved in the writers mind.

Best Drama

Lost in Translation

Bill Murray plays himself on a trip to Tokyo. He is charming, bemused and a little homesick as he gets lost in a little romance and a big city. Few places have appeared more beautiful or so downright odd at the same time as Sophia Coppola's Tokyo by night.

Co-star, Scarlett Johansson is as wonderful to watch as the cityscape.

Apocalypse Now (Three-Disc Full Disclosure Edition)

Apocalypse Now, from Francis Ford Coppola, is widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made. It follows a US soldier travelling up the Mekong river during the Vietnam War. The movie contains some of the most extraordinary scenes ever filmed and many have burnt themselves into the America physche. The documentary produced by Coppola's wife shows just what was involved in the making the movie and what it cost in human terms. That documentary and the hi def version of the movie (first on disc) make this a great buy even without all the many extras.

America Lost and Found: The Criterion Collection

What was America Cinema up to in the seventies? How was the US doing back then? The 6 movies in this collection give as good an answer as you will find anywhere.

Don't expect ultra fast cutting or a story that is falling over itself to get ahead. Do expect fine acting, plenty of irony, thought provoking propositions and a few tears as some of the greatest actors of all time are given the space to show what they can do.

Best Supernatural

Twilight

Pale, interesting, doomed, haunted by doubts but unable to resist their appetites for love and 'life'- the Twilight Set provide perfect teen entertainment.

Wolfman

Classy variation on the werewolf theme with Antony Hopkins bringing his special quiet intensity and some scary woods to get lost in.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic

If Joss Weeden could draw. this is how Buffy would have looked. All those monsters, demons and girls with perfect teeth were made for the graphic novel.

It is surprising just how dark a heart this TV series can have at times and how funny it can be at others. It always looked like safe TV but was one of those most adventurous shows around. How many times have you seen an entire cast robbed of their voices throughout one episode (Hush) and forced to sing every line in another (The Lord of the Dance)?

Best TV Series

Lost

The only way to understand what happened and why is to start from the beginning and watch it all the way through again. Being perplexed has never been so much fun.

Band of Brothers

It wasn't Tom Hanks who won WW2 it was the guy with the red hair. He had some help of course from a great ensemble cast in one of the best War series ever made. Expect less gore than is to found in 'Pacific' and more bonding.

Fringe

Science gone mad and an evil corporation. The production values are high and the direction gets you into the far fetched but engrossing stories.

Best Kids Movies on Blu-ray

Toy Story Triology

Sometimes it takes a kid's animation to renew your faith in Hollywood. These are real true stories of the human heart wrapped in wonderfully rendered animations that rivals Disney Classics. The characters are better rounded and more believable than those found in most dramas with the best actors.

If you don't identify with the plight of the lost toys or laugh at Ms Barbie and the sadly out of touch Ken in Toy Story 3 you are a stone!

Tangled

I watched this with a 5 year old girl and she loved it. It doesn't have the whole family appeal of the Toy Story series but it does have the classic hooks of the best Fairy Tales. There is a beautiful, fresh young woman, a handsome suitor and enough baddies standing in their way to draw the hisses.

The action sequences will keep younger boys quiet, too. 

Beauty and the Beast

It is almost a sin to say it but the recent Christmas special version does put the original slightly in the shade.

Even so, it remains a great treat for younger kids and a real life saver on rainy days for Moms who need a break.

Despicable Me

Supervillains compete for the title of 'baddest' in a fun comedy with a good heart.

The army of evil henchmen trying to shrink the moon are a hoot.

Pixar Ultimate Blu-ray Collection

If you are behind in your Pixar movie collecting or only got Blu-ray recently, a good way to catch up, is this collection of popular titles.

It includes A Bugs Life, Cars, Pixar Shorts Vol. 1, Ratatouille, Wall-E and Monsters, Inc. The collection doesn't offer much of a saving on buying the titles individually but it comes in an attractivle movie library style box with each movie separately packaged. For kids, it will make a special gift.

Best Documentary

Life

David Attenborough keeps finding those shots of the natural world  which take your breath away. This is as riveting as 'Blue Planet' but explores life on land as well as in water.

WW II in HD

One of the biggest stories to be told and told in full HD color for the first time. The war that made our world is fully explored in one of the very best documentaries ever made.