New to Blu: December 12-18

Nazis on the moon and an innocent in the White House vie for your vote this week on Blu-ray.

“The Campaign‘s strong-n-steady 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer doesn’t make any gaffes, glaring or otherwise.

“The film’s palette is understated but colourful (with screen-wide splashes of bold Democrat blues and robust Republican reds), skin tones are natural, black levels are deep and satisfying, and contrast is consistent throughout.”

“Despite the silly content, this is actually a very impressive video presentation filled with strong detail and vibrant colours.”

“The 2.35:1/1080p/AVC-encoded transfer for Iron Sky is good but displays some anomalies likely attributable to the film’s low budget.

“The entire image is a bit soft, but there is still plenty of detail in the close-ups.”

“Iron Sky looks really good for what it is. The special effects are generally believable in 2.35:1/1080p HD; the colors are crisp and bold; the contrast is as sharp as a knife.

“It’s that pristine contrast that makes the green screen work somewhat obvious, but it never detracts from the action.”

On the eve of Les Miserables’ theatrical release comes the Blu-ray of the 1998 dramatisation while French film buffs should seek out Cafe de Flore.

“Café de Flore is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the original ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code. This is a lovely print with crisp, sharp detail.”

New on the back catalogue front are Repo Man and Suspira while going direct-to-disc are A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas (“comes wrapped in a beautiful Blu bow thanks to a terrific 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer), Werewolf: The Beast Among Us  (“looks pretty good“), Exit Humanity, The Trouble With Bliss, LOL (“few will find anything to complain about vis a vis the film’s sparkling high definition presentation”) and Love and Honour.

Last week’s TV holdover Star Trek: The Next Generation competes with seasons 15 of The Simpsons, seven of Bones (“a better-than-broadcast image that’s both lively and bright, but not so overblown as to detract from the picture”) and one of Girls (“looks beautiful, stunning for a TV production”).

Also new are Paul Kelly: Stories of Me, Metalicca: Quebec Magnetic and Shiki: Part 2.