Two of the highest-grossing movies of the year are getting a Blu-ray release this week: Christopher Nolan's action thriller
Inception and Dreamworks Animation's closure for the
Shrek saga,
Shrek Forever After. In the meantime, Criterion is releasing a couple of fairly disturbing movies by David Cronenberg and Guillermo del Toro. All in all, there is something for everyone.
In his
review, staff reviewer Ken Brown proclaims that
Inception is "far and away my favorite film of 2010, and a strong contender for my favorite film of all time. And believe me, that isn't the sort of statement I ever make lightly." This film is "cinema in its purest form – bold, inventive and daring." Video and audio get high marks, and the only area where this release falls somewhat short of expectations is in the extras department. All in all, concludes Ken, this is a "must-own release."
Shrek Forever After, in turn, "puts the perfect finishing touches on the characters' four-part journey of discovery," according to staff reviewer Martin Liebman, in whose opinion this fourth installment offers "the best story, finest animation, and most memorable villain of the bunch." As to the Blu-ray release, it "sports one of, if not the, finest transfers yet seen on Blu-ray, accompanied by an equally fantastic lossless soundtrack and plenty of informative and adorable extra content."
In the catalog department, the two standouts come from The Criterion Collection:
Cronos and
Videodrome. In his
review for
Cronos, staff reviewer Dr. Svet Atanasov finds Del Toro's debut feature film to be "genuinely raw" compared to the rest of his work and praises that this film, "instead of trying to retell a familiar horror story it actually manages to evolve into an excellent character study."