New to Blu: January 16-22

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may not be the greatest show on earth but it’s one of the greatest on Blu-ray.

“This transfer is meticulous, exceptional, outstanding, distinguished, and even a little superb at times.

“It’s also an intense experience, full of conflicting styles, aggressive movement, and constantly shifting focal points.

“I’m also thinking that the 3D version might melt your eyes out of your skull.”

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted features one of those rare transfers where one look pretty much says it all.

“This is a dazzling display of colour and clarity, ranking up there with the absolute finest the Blu-ray format has to offer.”

“The previous two movies hit Blu-ray with great soundtracks, but never really presented much of a challenge to one’s audio system.

“This third installment finally changes that with a splendid, demo-worthy Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track.”

“For all of the shortcomings Resident Evil: Retribution may have as a movie, none are evident when it comes to the 1080p AVC-encoded transfer.

“It’s time to dig out the adjectives because this sucker is reference quality on every level; there is just not one negative thing I could possibly say about this.”

“Resident Evil: Retribution is presented on Blu-ray Disc with a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Like the visual element, the audio is pure demonstration quality.”

“The Watch‘s $68 million budget seems awfully high for a fairly low-key sci-fi/comedy that doesn’t need many special effects until the last act, but hey, at least it looks good on Blu-ray, with a 1080p/AVC encode that’s consistently sharp and clean.”

“Ditto the audio, which is clear, fine, and acceptably unexceptional.”

“The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track of Coriolanus is positively unnerving in its evocation of the hell of an urban firefight, with automatic weapons fire from all sides, explosions, debris and rocket fire.”

“The transfer is flawless with a slight graininess that adds texture to the overall picture. Details are fine and colours are strong.”

“Sparkle boasts top-notch picture and sound on Blu-ray. The 2.40:1 picture is spotless, sharp, and vibrant, while the 5.1 DTS-HD master audio makes strong use of the soundfield and keeps volume levels consistent.”

Also new are: the fifth and final season of Chuck (“Like the previous sets, the 1080p presentations on Blu-ray are better than what has been seen on broadcast, but the series’ 16mm production techniques don’t exactly make Chuck visually dazzling”); Stephen Hawking’s Grand Design; Shelter (“video and audio are fine“); Pusher; and Excision (“very clean sharp image with the brilliant tableaux of the film given every chance to impress with bold colours, fine contrast and very natural treatment of the edges”).

Being dusted off from the vault are: Child’s Play (“the original installment to the popular franchise, which also introduced Chucky to the world of horror cinema, arrives on Blu-ray with nice picture quality and a strong audio presentation”); and Cyborg (“the sort of movie one might expect to be shoveled onto Blu-ray with little thought — MGM has countless more historically significant and better-received movies than this to worry about — but the transfer is actually quite good and fans should be elated with the results”).

Wrestling fans can thrill to WWE Brock Lesnar: Here Comes the Pain!, Survivor Series 2012 and The Best Pay-per-view Matches of 2012.