Gadgetboyz Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Gadgetboyz Blu-ray Gift Guide 2009

Up is a fantastic movie. The opening sequence is such an emotional scene that you will be wondering why you're crying at a cartoon. The movie is brilliantly paced, looks fantastic and is a fun story to boot. The transfer for Up is flawless. Ok should I stop right there? Colours are dazzling with lush hues of the jungle. The many balloons on Carl's house are bursting with colour. Black levels are fantastic and never falter. Detail is also super sharp. Just like the striking video transfer, the audio is just as spectacular. For the audio track we get a brilliant DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. It's really just jaw dropping! Dialogue is super clear and is mixed properly. No reaching for the remote to adjust the sound. The surround channels are very active providing the listener will full sound immersion. The extras were also well done. I would like to point out that all the extras are in HD which gets them top marks in my book. I would also suggest you check out the "Cine-Explore Commentary". This plays for the length of the film bringing up storyboards, behind the scenes info and more. Plus you get to hear Pete Docter (director) and Bob Peterson (co-director) talk about the film and the trials they had to go through in creating the film. Definitely worth a watch and a listen after you have watched the film and are back looking for more. Overall Disney has hit another one out of the park.

For me Star Trek is the Blu-ray of the year. The movie was fantastic, and brought Star Trek to the masses. It was created in such a way that you don't have to be a fan of Star Trek to enjoy the film. It's action packed and also has a lot of humor. JJ Abrams is on fire right now and has done such a fantastic job with this reboot. Considering they had to recast all these iconic characters they could not have done a better job. The transfer for this film is breathtaking. It looks so good and ranks up there as one of the better transfers on the format. The audio is also outstanding, giving your surround system a definite workout. The extras are really in depth and take you behind the scenes of everything from, casting and scoring the movie to rebooting the franchise. There are some great commentaries on the disc as well. For me this is Blu-ray of the year until something trumps it.

Are you a fan of movies that are about true stories and involve a serial killer? If so this is the movie for you. This movie is directed by David Fincher and is an interesting story from beginning to end. The disc has a perfect transfer that is really sharp. They used hi-def cameras to film the movie so it looks spectacular.
There are a lot of great special features on this disc as well. They really go in depth into the real story. They have interviews with people that were involved with the real case back in the 60's. If your looking for a great crime story based on actual events, this Blu-ray is definitely worth it. (Fincher has done other great movies such as Fight Club, Se7en and Panic Room)

Watchmen is a difficult movie to describe.The movie is very dark and every minute people fear that the world is going to end by nuclear war. Don't expect a big action movie out of Watchmen. It does have a few cool fight scenes that are shot perfectly but I would not call it a non stop action flick. Watchmen is more of a cerebral movie than a check your brains at the door kind of flick. Personally I really liked the film and it's interesting to get a superhero movie that makes you think. Warner gives Watchmen a spectacular 1080p transfer in the films original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The picture is almost flawless. For the audio Watchmen is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 track. Just like the video transfer, the audio is equally stunning. It can go from quiet to rattling your walls in seconds. Every punch has a definite weight behind it. The extras are also top notch and it marks the debut of Warner's Maximum Movie Mode. In Maximum Movie Mode the director is up on screen and he is standing in front of two virtual screens. One is playing the movie the other is to show behind the scenes footage. Throughout the movie he stops the film to highlight how something was done. As this track moves along they also show trivia, time lines, side by side comparisons with the graphic novel, featurettes and interviews. It's a fantastic way to view the film and have the director personally explain things you may have missed the first time around. This is a great disc and should be in your stocking.

I think with a movie like 300 you will either love it or hate it. I am in the love it camp! There is something about the story of a band of 300 warriors going to a battle against millions and being so arrogant that they think they can win! The movie was shot in Montreal, Canada and was done primarily with blue screen. The video is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The picture is generally quite sharp with good detail. You can see little details such as dirt and scratches on their shields to beads of sweat on their faces. This is a colourful movie and the colours really jump off the screen. The audio is quite strong in 300. Surrounds are always active, and the clanging of swords and spears are evident throughout. There is a certain noise that is heard whenever someone is run through with a spear and you hear this with sickening clarity. The LFE channel is certainly active and quite loud. I should mention that this is one of Warner's Digibook blu-rays. What that essentially means is that the Blu-ray has a 40 page booklet built in to it. The best feature is what they call Comprehensive Immersion. This is a neat way of watching the picture in picture experience. You can choose to watch one of 3 time lines. You can watch features based on Frank Miller and the comic with time line number one. On time line number two it's more about the making of the film. Timeline number 3 is the history behind the story. This is a cool way to watch the film and get background knowledge about whats going on. It's a great disc and should be on your list.

One of the most watched films of all time should be on your list. Warner has went back and remastered the film and it looks fantastic. Warner could have just used the master they did for the previous DVD which I believe was scanned at 2K, but they decided to go back and do a full restoration and create a new master at 4k. A lot of work has went into this restoration. For example in the restoration feature a technician says that he spent 91 hours cleaning up a 10 minute section at the beginning of the film. For the audio Warner has upgraded us to a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. While not as gratifying as the picture upgrade, they still do a fantastic job with the audio mix. The amount of extras included in this set is bordering on ridiculous. For me the person who loves this kind of thing, I couldn't get enough of it all. The Blu-ray comes in a sturdy box that is 7 1/2 x 11. In the box is a 52 page book called, "Behind the Curtain of Production 1060". A limited edition 70th anniversary collectors watch with genuine crystals in an embossed tin. A reproduction of the films budget sheet, a reproduction of the campaign book and a digital copy of the film are also included. It's a beautiful set that, if you're a fan, I am sure you will cherish!

Who is the fairest of the all? Well that would be Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This was the film that started it all and what I mean by that is that back in 1937 people thought cartoons were only good for shorts. Nobody but Walt Disney thought people could sit through a feature length cartoon. So Walt and his artists spent over 4 years and over 1 million dollars (which was a huge amount of money in that time) creating the spectacular Snow White. Given that this is the classic that basically paved the way for everything that came after it, you would think it deserves special attention. Thankfully it got it. This is a fantastic transfer that displays all the hard work these animators put into this film. Every brush stroke is displayed with the utmost clarity. The audio is fantastic too, with a remastered DTS-HD 7.1 track. The extras are fantastic with my favorite being the Hyperion Studios feature. Hyperion Studios is the name of the studio that they used to make Snow White. This extra takes you on a virtual tour, room by room. Along the way you will hear lost interviews from the animators, see features showing some of the old shorts, and it's very well done in such a classy way. Each location is hosted by familiar people at Disney or Pixar like Andrew Stanton who is the director of Finding Nemo and Wall E. This feature is in HD which is great and there is so much info here it would take forever to go through everything. I do remember a feature in this section called "Where it all Began" which talks about the origins of the company known as Disney. All I can say is if you are at all interested in the history of the company and the movie Snow White this in-depth feature will go though almost everything. This is a fantastic disc for the classic animation fan.

Let me start off by saying Sin City is fantastic. I had never read the graphic novels, so the movie was my introduction to Frank Miller's work. You really have seen nothing like this movie before. It literally looks like the pages of the comic have been torn off and pasted on the screen. I won't say this movie is for everyone but if you're an action fan or a film noir fan then you should definitely check it out. Both the transfer and the audio received 10 out of 10's. The extras are also fantastic giving you great insight into how the film was made. There is also an all green screen version of the film. This is a great way to see how the actors interacted with almost nothing being there. Great disc and high up there for overall score.

When you think of CG films, Pixar comes out at the top of the list every time. This is a CG movie done in house by Disney and it's the closest I think they have gotten to Pixar quality. The movie is about a dog named Bolt and he stars as a dog with superpowers in a television show. The thing is he doesn't know that what he does is not real. Everything is fine until a series of events get him out of his trailer and into the real world. Bolt ends up being shipped to New York. He still believes he is a super dog and thinks he has to fight his way back to save his owner Penny from the evil Dr. Calico. The disc has a fantastic transfer as one would expect from a movie like this. The audio is fantastic with a DTS-HD 6.1 track. The only thing that disappointed me was the extras. The extras were short in length and most were geared towards kids. But that shouldn't stop you from picking up this fantastic film. The Blu-ray set also comes with a SD DVD for the car which is a nice bonus!

A Bug's Life was Pixar's second film. It had a lot of funny characters and it was amazing to see what Pixar did to bring you down to bug's level where everything from a blade of grass looked like trees. I found the movie to be just as enjoyable as I remember it back in 1998. It's quite funny and charming and the animation is superb for it being their second film. If you haven't seen it I suggest you check it out, because I am sure you will like it. The video and audio both scored perfect. The film is really colourful and the Blu-ray does an excellent job of bringing all the colours to life. Even the extras on this disc are well done. My favorite extra was the "Filmmakers Round Table". This is a great disc and is worthy to be on your Christmas list.

When you think of classic Disney films Pinocchio should be right up there. For this Blu-ray release Disney has pulled out all the stops. The restoration and transfer are stunning. I kept on noticing things that I didn't remember on a previous viewing. The picture is as good as you're ever going to get and looks like it could have been made yesterday. The audio is a DTS-HD 7.1 track but considering the source material it's as good as you're going to get. There is an amazing set of extras included with this film including a 55 minute documentary called "No Strings Attached". The Blu-ray set also comes with a SD DVD for the car which is a nice bonus! For the classic Disney fan this one is a no brainer!

If you have not seen Fringe from J.J Abrams you really should. I can't get enough of this show.The show reminds me of the "X-files." It's very well done with a very interesting plot. If you're a fan of Sci-Fi and a fan of a good mystery I urge you to give Fringe a chance. The transfer for Fringe is breathtaking! Colours pop off the screen with startling clarity. Examples of this are the stasis tank that Olivia is put into. It gives off an almost vile yellow colour. Also in one episode where people start bleeding from almost every orifice, the splash of red jumps off the screen. Black levels are really deep as well. In a trend the Warner seems to be continuing, they have decided that they are not doing lossless tracks for their TV offerings. So what we get here is a Dolby 5.1 track. Personally I think if you're buying High Definition content it should come with High Definition audio. That being said most people will not know the difference. There are a lot of good extras on this set. My favorite would be the "Production Feturettes", but be warned these have a lot of spoilers and you should not watch it until you have completed the season. But if you have completed the season these 3 documentaries are packed to the brim with behind the scenes information. They talk about the real science that inspired the show, the visual effects, the casting etc. Great show and a good set.

When Paramount set out to do these two sets they certainly set the bar high. I had never been a fan of the original series and these Blu-ray sets have now made me one. The quality of the image is really good and all the colours used in these shows are lush and vibrant. They have also went back and done new effects to replace the cheesy old ones. You can watch it with the old effects or the new remastered effects. There is a huge amount of extras available on both sets that does a really good job of bringing us behind the scenes. If you have a Star Trek fan to shop for either of these seasons would be a great gift.

If you're a fan of Mel Brooks, this collection needs to be on your Christmas list. Not only do you get 9 of Mel's best films (Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, History Of The World Part I, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Silent Movie, Spaceballs, To Be Or Not To Be, The Twelve Chairs and Young Frankenstein) but you get a 120 page hard cover book about his career. Each film contains bonus material and most of these are making their Blu-ray debut.