Cos its, er, Blu not Red, and because it runs via HDMI and not, er, components, it’s like better, right!?

But the big black Blu-Ray machines need more than just a clear blue screen to demonstrate their abilities on – they need movies!

These movies look like DVDs, they smell like DVDs (yes folks, for the sake of the article I pushed my nose up against the disc and took a whiff) and they fling across a room like DVDs (I recommend flinging whatever-Uwe-Boll-has-out but resiting the temptation to pretend you’re an Olympian competing in shot-put with “The Dark Knight” disc) – but they aren’t DVDs. And if you insist on saying Blu-Rays are a new form of DVD then you’re simply nuttier than the 40-year-old pedophile that plans on sneaking into a ''Twilight'' screening this weekend (bring sharp keys girls!).

There’s only about a 1000 Blu-Ray titles out. You won’t find “Spider-Man” (unless you buy it as part of the trilogy box set), You won’t find “X-Men”, You won’t find “Back to the Future”, nor will you find any of the Indiana Jones adventures except the last one – “Crystal Caves of the Retired and Limping” or whatever-it-was-called. But there’s still a heap of goodies out – and a bunch that’d you love to see hump your home theater system.

Here’s a few goodies we’ve caught of late that might just be worthy of fitting into your sack (be it a Santa sack or your oversized underwear) this Chrissy. And those that aren't reviewed here will be added to the Blu-Ray section at a later date.

Earth

Who is in it? Patrick Stewart (“X-Men”) provides the narration – because Morgan Freeman doesn’t work on the holidays.

What is it? Its essentially reorganized footage from the recent ‘’Planet Earth series’’ – only with Captain Jean Luc-Picard talking over the sequences (and a MUCH shorter running time --- the mini-series went for like 5 hours or something, don’t these people know us webmasters have lives outside of watching TV!? Ok, so we don’t, but still, 5 hours!?). Still, recycled footage or not recycled footage this is still a sweet offering – there’s beautiful footage of sailfish, mandarin ducklings, birds of paradise, and some lovely creatures of the sea. I promise you – you will choke up in scenes here; its frickin’ lovely stuff! Presented in 1.78:1 16:9 Enhanced widescreen (beautiful if your player can handle 1080p – otherwise 1080i will suffice), this is one beautiful looking documentary. It’d grab you if it was playing on SBS or ABC, but because it is in high-definition, and as a consequence you can see every bit of dried bit of poop on the elephant’s behind, and every bit of sparkle from the Antarctic ice, it’s all the more an experience. It comes in eco-friendly packaging (as opposed to all those other blu-ray releases that come in Styrofoam containers) and complete with a featurette on how this beautiful doco was put together.

Verdict For those that can’t be fagged going to an IMAX theater!

The Dark Knight

Who is in it? Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal… and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze (No!? Wrong movie?)

What is it? “The Dark Knight” is chilling, moving, thrilling, depressing (very grim at times) and predominantly, real. Batman is a real guy with real feelings, real emotions and a not-so-great job- if you look at it from his perspective. He has made his choice to dash around a cape and save people at night, rather than spend them with a loved one, and it’s starting to tear him up. He wants a normal life, but it doesn’t look like that’ll ever happen. Not unless someone else steps up to the plate and starts playing hero. It’s already been said but the late Heath Ledger (who died shortly after completion of the film) really does give the performance of his career as The Joker. It’s a tour-de-force turn that’ll stay with you for weeks. He’s creepy, menacing and extremely easy to watch. Every bit of dialogue he has is delivered like the finest mantra. Every bit of scenery chewed to the core. He’s over-the-top at times, sure, but he’s just as silently wicked at other times – and the profusion works a treat. This is an Oscar-calibre performance in an award-worthy film. The Blu-Ray release looks sexier than a lingerie-clad Jennifer Hawkins! If only the extras component of the release were just as hot (nothing much on here at all – unless you’re interested in how they designed the new suit or bat-pod).

Verdict The must-have Blu-Ray release this Christmas!

Entourage : Season 4

Who is in it? Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven

What is it? Entourage – dreamt up by actor Mark Wahlberg and pal, Doug Ellin – is the coolest series since, well, Lee Majors called himself ‘The Fall Guy’ and wrestled Heather Thomas every week. It’s the show that all of Hollywood talks about.. and beyond; a universally appealing series that’s as funny as it is informative. Think Larry Sanders by way of ''The Player'' (1991) and you get the picture. Hollywood is a wicked beast… and this exposes every pussy pimple of its ugliness. From the prick agents, the single-minded managers, egoistical actors, and of course, those who stick close to anyone with money, it’s frighteningly spot-on. The games these people play are ludicrous… but true. In the first season, we watched as young actor Vinnie Chase (Adrien Grenier) received a huge career booster in the form of an acclaimed independent film. His arrogant over-the-top manager Ari (Jeremy Piven) suddenly saw him as a goldmine, as did his two friends and older brother (Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Dillon), who all live at Chase’s house – and out of his pocket. Chase was suddenly a product – wanted by studios, wanted by directors, and wanted by females. He was, it seemed, hotter than a freshly cooked toasted spaghetti sandwich. In this, the fourth season, things start to go a bit, er, 'Ben Affleck' on Vinnie - his latest movie (Medellin ) is getting a worse than wrap than Tom Cruise post-Oprah, and Ari (Jeremy Piven) discovers he no longer has the number one star in town on his books - but someone who better start saying 'Yes' to anything that comes along... before he's playing the drums in Richard Grieco's punk band by day. Meantime, things just seem to be getting better for long-suffering and terminally-unemployed brother Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon), who has snagged a role on a hot new TV series. A real role reversal this season!

Verdict Not the best season (where are all the cameos? where are all the laughs? c'mon, cheer up guys!) but Gary Busey returns! That's enough of a reason to snap up this season!

Open Season 2

Who is in it? The guy from TVs “The Soup” and the guy from the “Friday” sequels that isn’t Chris Tucker or Tiny Lister.

What is it? I bloody loved the first film. It was great. Real funny. Any animated flick that has the guts to use live rabbits as weapons deserves some love. In the sequel, Elliot (Joel McHale from “The Soup” doing his best Ashton Kutcher) is due to be married to Giselle but before he can even make it to the altar he’s informed that his little friend Mr. Weenie has been kidnapped and thus, needs his help. Boog (Mike Epps stepping in for Martin Lawrence), Elliot, McSquizzy, Buddy and the rest of the woodland creatures launch a full-scale rescue mission for their sausage-shaped friend and soon find themselves in enemy camp: The world of the pets. Led by a toy poodle named Fifi, the pets do not plan to let Mr. Weenie go without a fight. Average family films are about as common as glass on a suburban beach, so it’s nice to discover one that hasn’t been written with the PC playing autopilot. Looks beautiful on Blu-Ray – nice vibrant colours, smashing detail and extra oomph whenever a rabbit is thrown!

Verdict Not as good as the first, but still good fun!

The Ultimate Matrix Collection

Who is in it? Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Anne Moss and the kid-that-used-to-play-Damian-on-Home-And-Away

What is it? You’re kidding me, right? Roadshow have done an amazing job porting everything they’ve released up till now with “Matrix” in the title over to Blu-Ray. In addition to the three movies, each disc contains numerous audio commentaries (everyone from cast, crew and respectable film journalists contribute a track) and a slew of featurettes about each film’s conception and realization. There are also promotional galleries. The remaining two-discs include previously-seen documentaries "The Burly Man Chronicles," "The Roots of the Matrix" and "The Zion Archive”; a pop-up trivia track and more. Yes, it’s a bit over-kill… but fans will love the shit out of it. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 makes love to your speakers for every minute of each film – but you’ll really appreciate it in those high-effects sequences like, say, ‘the bullet time’ moments. It really pops then!

Verdict Such a divine Blu-Ray release....even if you're still in two-minds about the sequels, it's well worth picking up!

Constantine

Who is in it? Keanu Reeves, Rachel Wesiz, Tilda Swinton, Gavin Rossdale

What is it? A fun but forgettable comic-book movie. The release is actually better than the pic itself - Its in 1080p high definition and framed at 2.35:1 and has smashing good audio (Dolby TrueHD 5.1) but the 'real' goodies come in the form of the extras. There's a whole heap of new special features on this issue. There are 14 featurettes, a music video, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a picture-in-picture track that enables viewers with the option to view specific featurettes and so on whilst watching the movie (saves you from going through them all separately - just click on the icon when it pops up; sometimes it stays off for a few minutes or more, other times it pops up incessantly), and dual commentary tracks - one from director Francis Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldsman, and another by writers Kevin Brodbin and Frank A. Cappello. I'd go with the first track, if you can only be bothered listening to just one, it's very light and lots of fun whilst still heavy on info and trivia about the film.

Verdict Only when you’ve watched “The Dark Knight” Blu-Ray.

Bond Blu-Ray Releases

Who is in it? Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan… and, er, John Cleese.

What is it? Six 007 movies have just been released on Blu-Ray - and as predicted, they look Keira Knightley-good! They're not amazing-good but they're very-good; I guess you just can't remove every flick and bother from an old print. No amount of soapy sponge to can erase every inch of grime, just as every Blu-Ray restoration machine can't possibly expunge every blemish from an old Bond movie Print - "Dr No", "Thunderball", "For Your Eyes Only", "Live and Let Die", "From Russia With Love" and "Die Another Day". Though, as I said, Brosnan's a fave, I don't know that "Die Another Day" is his finest hour as Bond. It felt way too-gimmicky and had-way-too-much-Madonna for anyone's liking. It was fun, sure, but it lacked the grit and action of Brosnan's debut Bond "Goldeneye" - and that's the one that really should've been hitting Blu-Ray first, not "Die Another Day". Same with the Roger Moore/007 titles on release. He's done better than "Live and Let Die" and "For Your Eyes Only" too, but for some reason they're bringing those out on BR. I wonder who made such decisions. Suppose it doesn't matter, they'll all be available in a pretty Blu-Ray Box Set in a year or so, but for my money, I'd rather had "The Spy Who Loved Me" or "Octopussy" in this first batch than later on. You can't go wrong with Connery's Bond movies - so it didn't much matter which of his they brought out. "Dr No", "Thunderball" and "From Russia With Love" are all terrific flicks, some might say up there with the five or six best Bond movies ever made. Extras-wise, there's a bunch of good stuff on each one too. All of them feature those exhaustive tech-heavy featurettes and doco's that the DVD releases featured, also audio commentaries (sometimes two a disc - as is the case with a few of these), lots of vintage promos and specials and stuff, interviews, trailers, music videos (nothing like a bit of Sheena Easton in Hi-Def!) and more. But, these look and sound perform on the new format - - the office speakers were truly climaxing from the blistering sound bursting through them, and the plasma was thankful that something sweet-looking was playing on it for once. Anyone with a Blu-Ray player (By Christmas, you'll be able to find an affordable model - believe me. They're dropping all the time) will definitely want to get their hands on them... or at least a couple of them (say, the Connery ones).

Verdict Madonna in high-def?! Hell yeah! Now we can play-spot-the-spider-veins!

30 Days of Night

Who is in it? Melissa George and Josh Hartnett

What is it? One of the best vampire movies since “The Lost Boys”. Hands down, it’s a winner. Its set in Alaska, where a local copper and his wife come face to face with a breed of vampire. Everyone's pretty much holed up in this town unable to make it out. Besides the odd bit of blurriness, this is a near-perfect print. The film was made for Blu-Ray! Colours, not that you see a lot of them being that the movie is set - as the title implies - at night, are good, and the blacks are solid. There's nothing to complain about really at all. Audio-wise, the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is equally as pleasing. You'll swear the vamps are coming up from behind you! Extras include numerous featurettes (covering everything you'd possibly want to know about the film - and the legend of the vampire), an informative and entertaining commentary track from actors Josh Hartnett and Melissa George and producer Rob Tapert, as well as trailers for other pics. One of the best value Blu-Ray releases around with most stores selling the title for as little as $25.

Verdict Did I say it’s under $25!?

Rendition

Who is in it? Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal

What is it? Like Peter Berg’s “The Kingdom” and Robert Redford’s “Lions for Lambs”, “Rendition” is a contemporary drama/thriller that examines just how severely our world has changed since the events of September 11 - the paranoia, the distrust, the absolute reprehensible ways we treat anyone that isn't a pink-skin. The film centers around a man who mysteriously disappears on a routine flight from South Africa to Washington DC and his wife (Reese Witherspoon), who will go to any means necessary to disentangle the vast government conspiracy working to cover it up. Witherspoon's character discovers that her husband was secretly flown to a prison where he's suspected of planning a recent bombing – and calls on an old politico friend (Peter Sarsgaard) to help her expose the truth. Meryl Streep plays a cold-hearted intelligence bureaucrat determined to keep this all quiet; Jake Gyllenhaal is the CIA analyst based in the Middle East - whose friend was killed in the bombing - whose world falls apart after he questions his assignment following the police interrogation of the suspected terrorist, and Alan Arkin plays Sarsgaard's boss, a senator who's quite happy to say and do whatever is needed by his superiors. The film looks great in Blu-Ray, but it’s definitely not the kind of flick you’ll want to watch over-and-over again. They have places that rent these, right?

Verdict Google ‘Blu-Ray Rental’

Blue Streak

Who is in it? Martin Lawrence and the less-famous-Wilson-Brother

What is it? comedy about a thief turned ex-con who poses as a cop to retrieve a diamond he stole years ago. In all honesty, Lawrence has been in a lot worse things than this. This was actually entertaining. Yes, you’ll forget about it ten minutes after the end credits roll – maybe even earlier – but you definitely won’t feel the need to depress your finger upon the STOP (or, is usually the case with me, the FAST-FORWARD button) button. The film is presented in a 1.85:1 AVC HD and besides a bit of grain – everything’s more noticeable on Blu-Ray – it’s a pretty good transfer. The blacks, the flesh colours and detail in general is on target. Audio-wise, we’re presented with a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. It sounds great too. The shoot-outs and hip-hop songs really burst through your speakers! Extras-wise you get the same supplementary materials that are available on the DVD – a couple of so-so featurettes on the film, the trailer and a few music videos. Nothing special.

Verdict Well, um, its better than “Beverly Hills Cop III”!

The Forbidden Kingdom

Who is in it? Jackie Chan and Jet Li

What is it? A fantasy-adventure starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Imagine “The Karate Kid” making love to “The Never Ending Story” and capping off the night with a cocktail of chop-suey. Veteran martial-arts choreographer Woo-ping Yuen set-up the action scenes in the film – and a few of them, the end one especially, are terrific. If the studio had decided to do away with the seen-it-all-before plot of the film – kid is magically transported to long-ago Asia where he, Chan and Li take on an evil warlord who has kept ‘The Monkey King’ frozen for years - -and just provide 90 minutes of foot-to-face action, featuring two of the greatest martial artists of the western world, we might’ve had a monster of a movie here (I know, a film with no plot is usually as weak as piss, but the thing is, most of Chan and Li’s films in Asia had little to no storylines, but they’re brimming with action, and remain consistently entertaining). In its current state, it’s a film with teeth – but they’re a little blunt. Looks absolutely amazing on Blu-Ray – in fact, the film is somewhat improved thanks to the divine 1080p res of the thing and the ear-splitting Dolby!

Verdict For those still upset over Chan's “The Tuxedo” and Li's “Kiss of the Dragon”

The Lost Boys

Who is in it? The two men Julia Roberts couldn’t decide between – Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland.

What is it? Say what you will about Joel Schumacher but he gave us one of the most entertaining films of the 1980s – yes, “D.C Cab” but also – “The Lost Boys”. Stylish, Sexy, Star-studded (look bro, it’s ‘Bill’ from the “Bed and Ted” movies!), and Suspenseful, the contemporary rock n’roll vampire movie is a film, not unlike some of its characters, that just won’t die. Plenty of extras on the disc- including commentary and a newly-recorded retrospective documentary – but the real beauty of the release is the transfer… the film has never looked better. Make sure the volume knob is set to ‘11’ before you sit down to watch this on the Blu-Ray player.

Verdict Buy.It.Now.

We Were Soldiers

Who is in it? Mel Gibson

What is it? Unlike fellow war film ‘’Black Hawk Down’’, ‘’We Were Soldiers’’ isn't all visuals and schmaltz. This is the real deal. We do feel for the people; and we are treated to a story with profundity. Even more, the casting is spot-on. Gibson, with his cartoonish oversized arm muscles, is at home in the role of the warm and likable Lt. Moore, and Madeline Stowe, in one of her best parts in years, as his loving, strong-willed wife is a delight. Sam Elliot is his usual Billy goat-gruff self and it works a treat here; as does Barry Pepper's 'wide-eyed' journalist getting a first hand taste of terror on the battlefields. In lesser roles, Chris Klein (there is life after Rollerball) and Greg Kinnear are credible, but a little out of their depth. Like his previous film, ‘’Braveheart’’, which he also collaborated on with Gibson, Director Wallace knows how to give it his all. His storytelling is factual, yet intriguing, his direction non-intrusive, but insightful. Additionally, his cinematographer, Australian Dean Semler provides some stunning shots to compliment the film – which look beautiful on Blu-Ray.

Verdict If only because “Platoon” isn’t out yet, this might be worth snapping up.

Firefly : The Complete Series

Who is in it? Nathan Fillion, Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau

What is it? Created by celebrated ‘’Buffy’’ alumni Joss Whedon, ‘’Firefly’’ was an episodical part sci-fi, part Western show that told of a small space freighter whose crew are willing to take whatever types of jobs come their way in order to preserve a way of life outside of the regimented Alliance. Less refined than George Lucas’s drastically more expensive sci-fi saga, and dirtier in both look and manner than GR’s Enterprise adventures, Whedon’s series is quite a unique experience. The 12 episodes encompassed excellent writing, oodles of humour, mass adventure, distinct characters, cool-ass the battles, some fun sexual tension between a couple of characters, and an imaginatively-designed starship– as dirty as ever, and as wonky as a rusted bike. The Blu-Ray looks terrific but I think its worth stating that a lot of the CGI effects are still at 480i as opposed to the 1080p the medium’s known for. There’s also noticeable grain across the 1080p/24 AVC/MPEG-4 transfer. Having said that, side-by-side with one of the infamously poor Blu-Ray releases like, say, “Young Guns” and you’ll definitely notice improvements between it and the DVD. And so you should. Great extras include commentary from cast and crew on selected episodes; gag reel; making-of, featurettes; and audition tapes. Oh, and Joss sings the theme song at one point too - - yes, sings it!

Verdict Shiny!

Hall & Oates Live at Troubadour

Who is in it? Hall! Oates!

What is it An awesomely awesome music release featuring two legends of the 80s - Hall & Oates! Yeah, you know the guys - Man Eater, Out of Touch, Kiss is on My List, Private Eyes. Recorded in May of this year, this new concert Blu-Ray signals the lads' return to their old-stomping ground - one of the many auditoriums they made their name at in the Reagan-era. This is a very intimate - the audience is darn close to the musicians; the songs aren't being thrashed out as if they're performing on Count Down - show. And a good one of that.

Verdict 1080i doesn't look that bad after all!

The X-Files : I Want to Believe

Who is in it? David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson

What is it? I say it’s ‘just another movie’ but my wife says its ‘the best film of the year’. Decide whose opinion you trust more. It took me a while to figure my way around the Blu-Ray – with so much on here, that’s to be expected – but once I worked out that ‘pressing this would take me to this’ and ‘by clicking this button I could bring up that’ I was in heaven (I’m actually still there – three days later I’m still exploring the guts of the release). The disc is an absolute Valhalla of delight for Shippers. Let’s get onto the extras first. Of most interest to die-hard fans will be the ‘X-Files Complete Interactive Timeline’. This is insanely fun. You can scroll through each year – each year since Mulder and Scully have been on the case – and read about particular case files as well as view clips from them. The clips play in a small box to the left of the screen alongside a bit of scroll-down info about what you’re watching and the episode it comes from (Make sure your player has had its latest firmware update before playing the disc – some of the older machines might have a bit of trouble playing some of the more advanced of extras, like this video-heavy timeline). Also great is the picture-in-picture commentary with series creator Chris Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz. The guys don’t start doing cartwheels or anything, nor do you see them cooking up fried eggs whilst talking, but they do talk – and talk a lot. Fans will love to examine the looks on their faces during specific scenes – it’s clear that both are extremely proud of certain parts of the movie. There’s also a gallery – featuring pics, collectors items (like the books and so on); an Easter-egg (clue: look in the audio section) which is a funny little animated version of the trailer and some more bits and pieces. Bit of fun!

Verdict If you’re going to watch it, watch it in Blu-Ray.

Also worth putting on your list (at the time of printing we hadn’t received review discs for the following):

• “The Hitcher” – Dave Meyers remake should look pretty sweet in Blu-Ray!
• “Star Wars : The Clone Wars” – Lousy film but I imagine it’ll look very nice in the new format.
• “Tropic Thunder” – One of the best films of the year. I’ll be picking this up for sure on Blu-Ray!
• “Speed Racer” – Sure to look a treat. Just remember Aspirin.
• “The Pineapple Express” – So-so movie. Looking forward to the disc though.
• “Punisher : Extended Cut” – released to coincide with the sequel. Could be cool.
• “Batman” – Tim Burton’s original is coming to BR! Rock on!
• "The Descent" - Possibly Neil Marshall's best film to date.