Holiday Gift Guide: Top Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray Releases of 2022

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(November 16, 2022) It's time for our annual Holiday Gift Guide, detailing this year's top movie releases. Whether you're looking for a sure-shot gift for a movie fan in your life, or want to round out your own personal collection, the brain trust of movie reviewer and disc expert Michael Scott is at your disposal, right here, right now. Scott sent me his top picks and asked me to fill in the gaps, which I did by suggesting two measly titles. So, consider yourself well covered by someone who knows a little something about movies.

If you're interested in reading a detailed review or finding a "Buy It Now" button, I've supplied links to Scott's official reviews for each title (when available). Just click on a film's title and you'll be whisked away to a host of information and an Amazon link. Instead of detailing a full Top 20 Countdown, as we've done in years past, you'll find our consensus Top 5 picks followed by a simple list containing the "Best of the Rest." If you have any questions or would like to share your own suggestions, please comment below!


Top 5 Disc Releases of 2022

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once (4K)

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This mesmerizing tale is a visual delight for the eyes and ears, featuring a rich Dolby Atmos track and four different aspect ratios loaded with amazing colors and detail. It's not a great choice for film fans that crave mindless popcorn flicks, but it has enough action to keep its thick and winding plot fresh and fluffy. If you'd like to buy this film from Amazon, click here.


4. To Kill a Mockingbird, 60th Anniversary Edition (4K)
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Landing on 4K with a stellar audio and video transfer, Michael Scott says To Kill a Mockingbird is "one of [his] highest-rated packages of the year," bestowing it with five stars and a "Must Own" stamp of approval. That goes without saying, it's a timeless classic.


3. Spider-Man: No Way Home (4K)
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Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the best of the newer Spidey entries with a nice setup for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and some great redemption story arches for old characters that we all know and love. The 4K UHD disc is amazing, with stunning video, great audio, and some hefty extras to enjoy. Definitely grab it if you are in any way a fan.

2. Belle (4K)
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Belle was one of Scott's favorite 2021 films, taken from the conceit of Beauty and the Beast with director Mamoru Hosoda specifically blending in allegorical references to how social media has consumed our lives and grounding it in reality. Scott says, "it’s sweet, sorrowful, and completely engrossing to watch." Adding, "the Gkids release through Shout Factory is head and shoulders better than the Blu-ray, with much-improved video, slightly better audio, and a metric buttload (yes, a very technical term there we use in “the industry”) of special features."

1. Top Gun: Maverick (4K)
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Top Gun: Maverick stands as one of the best disc releases we've seen in years. Loaded with reference-grade video and thunderous audio, this film is a must-own for home theater fans and a slam-dunk gift at that. Buy it!
If you'd like to purchase this film from Amazon, click here.




Best of the Rest
 
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tripplej

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Very nice list. All excellent options for the holiday! Thanks for posting .

Below are the top rated 20 movies per rotten tomatoes so folks may want to look at the below list as well for inspiration!

Happy xmas shopping!


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Top Gun: Maverick
96%




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The Batman
85%



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Everything Everywhere All at Once
95%



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The Northman
89%
d45a9e00-d359-11ea-b5d9-dd031ef2e6cb--upright.png



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Turning Red
95%




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Prey
93%


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Happening
99%



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Fire of Love
99%


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X
94%


ems.jpg


Nope
82%


ems.jpg


Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
93%


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The Duke
97%


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The Woman King
94%


ems.jpg


The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
86%


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Official Competition
96%


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The Janes
100


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Playground
100%


ems.jpg


The Innocents
96%


ems.jpg


Writing with Fire
100%



 
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Darth Brockstar

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@Todd Anderson Walk me through how DUNE did not make the top 3 - let alone not make the top 5?!?!!?!!? From technical, cinematic, story, "epic-ness", audio/visual it was so so good! I am stunnedo_O
 

Todd Anderson

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@Darth Brockstar

Ah…. Haha… I was waiting for this! First, note that it’s at the tippy-top of list number two. So, technically speaking, it’s number 6 :-) (sort of).

Ok, full disclosure, Dune was something that I added to @Michael Scott ‘s master list. So, hopefully Mike can chime in here. But we agreed on the Top 5 before it was added. In fact, both of us had overlooked Dune and I picked up on its MIA status at the 11th hour!

You’re right, tho. It’s a marvel and is definitely one of the best “new” releases of the year. No doubt about it!

Now, if you were to suggest The Batman belonged in that group of 5, we’d have a battle. ;-). And anyone that’s been paying attention for the last 5 years, knows that ET is Mike’s pick, and Mike’s pick alone…. Which I respect and begrudgingly kept on the list :-))

What’s your Top 5 for the year?
 

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@Darth Brockstar

Ah…. Haha… I was waiting for this! First, note that it’s at the tippy-top of list number two. So, technically speaking, it’s number 6 :-) (sort of).

Ok, full disclosure, Dune was something that I added to @Michael Scott ‘s master list. So, hopefully Mike can chime in here. But we agreed on the Top 5 before it was added. In fact, both of us had overlooked Dune and I picked up on its MIA status at the 11th hour!

You’re right, tho. It’s a marvel and is definitely one of the best “new” releases of the year. No doubt about it!

Now, if you were to suggest The Batman belonged in that group of 5, we’d have a battle. ;-). And anyone that’s been paying attention for the last 5 years, knows that ET is Mike’s pick, and Mike’s pick alone…. Which I respect and begrudgingly kept on the list :-))

What’s your Top 5 for the year?
GOT IT! Glad that was explained and I was self nominated to be the one to bug you first. haha HOW it got overlooked is nutso but good on you grabbing it. It is just breath-taking and Dennis V. is just a brilliant painter and visionary in his craft! For me on just an overall enjoyability and RE-watchability its TG:M, Dune, Spiderman NWH, The Batman. I found ST: The Motion Picture to be shockingly superb to previous versions. The editions, clean up, transfer, and new CGI really made it pop! Way more enjoyable.
 

Todd Anderson

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To be fair, Mike has reviewed a bazillion movies this year. It’s easy to have one bleed into the others :olddude: :-), especially one from early in the year. Perhaps @Michael Scott‘s review copy landed before the end of last year, because I’m almost 100% positive Dune was released on the first or second Tuesday of the new year

I actually need to give it another watch. It’s been a while!

Have you have a good list, tho Batman is one that didn’t have any legs for me. It’s one that will probably never get another spin… ok, maybe “never” is extreme, but it will likely ride the bench in my collection.

I haven’t seen ST the Motion Picture. I’ve viewed it a few times in the distant past… and I definitely saw it in theaters back in the day. But, it didn’t leave a lasting impact on me. For me, that era of Sci-Fi was mainly reruns of Star Trek on TV, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rodgers. So, perhaps a viewing with more mature and seasoned eyes is in order!
 

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Everything Everywhere All at Once, Poltergeist, The Lost Boys, Ambulance among others are $9.99 at Best Buy and Amazon. Most are sold out at Amazon but Best Buy has many available. I snatched Poltergeist, The Lost Boys, and Everything Everywehere All at Once. Also got It's a Wonderful Life for $7.99 on 4K.
 

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Those are GREAT deals!
 

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@Todd Anderson Walk me through how DUNE did not make the top 3 - let alone not make the top 5?!?!!?!!? From technical, cinematic, story, "epic-ness", audio/visual it was so so good! I am stunnedo_O

late to the party but let me have my reasoning.

The top 5 are quite literally specifically chosen for different reasons, and are not truly ranked in order of "bestest" ... the rest are listed without order

1. To Kill a Mockingbird is such an iconic film that received an UNVELIEVABLE restoration and 4K transfer that I wanted to put it up there along with the myriad of new releases
2. Spiderman No Way Home is a huge hitter for families and it actively rocked the entire "meh" feeling of the last year and a half of a Marvel movies. It was so unique in that aspect that I wanted to give it accolades.
3. Belle is is an unbelielvably unique and special retelling of "Beaty and the Beast" and being that anime movies don't always get their accolades when they're truly great, I wanted to put it out as one of my FAVORITE 4K's of 2022, especially how crummily mediocre the Blu-ray turned out to be visually speaking
4. Tom Gun (yes, pun intended) needs no explanation. In world where we are literally STARVING for a giant big blockbuster that is without overt socio-political pandering and controversy, as well as thriving off of one of the last remaining true STARS of Hollywood makes it such a great buy
5. Everything, Everywhere All at Once was the biggest sleeper hit of the year. No one saw it coming and it not only was great, but had some incredible legs in theaters.


everything else is quite literally a "not in order of quality or like" in the list. The top 5 were simply chosen to highlilght what I considered best of show for their particualr audience
 

Michael Scott

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To be fair, Mike has reviewed a bazillion movies this year. It’s easy to have one bleed into the others :olddude: :-), especially one from early in the year. Perhaps @Michael Scott‘s review copy landed before the end of last year, because I’m almost 100% positive Dune was released on the first or second Tuesday of the new year

I actually need to give it another watch. It’s been a while!

Have you have a good list, tho Batman is one that didn’t have any legs for me. It’s one that will probably never get another spin… ok, maybe “never” is extreme, but it will likely ride the bench in my collection.

I haven’t seen ST the Motion Picture. I’ve viewed it a few times in the distant past… and I definitely saw it in theaters back in the day. But, it didn’t leave a lasting impact on me. For me, that era of Sci-Fi was mainly reruns of Star Trek on TV, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rodgers. So, perhaps a viewing with more mature and seasoned eyes is in order!

correct, Dune arrived and was reviewed the first week of January this year
 

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I’m not sure how Everything, Everywhere All at Once made this list. Was this an early April fools joke because you got me? Thought it was awful. I turned it off after an extremely long 40 mins of trying to be optimistic that it would get better. :justdontknow:
 
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