New to Blu: June 13-19

The Social Network of baseball movies, Moneyball, is the catch of the week on Blu-ray.

“The film proper boasts absolutely stunning picture depth, great contrast levels, and very bold, but natural colours.

“There’s no black crush, not even a bit of aliasing, and no sign of the hefty grain being tampered with.

“Stray hairs constantly leap, making you think [star Brad] Pitt is one sasquatch-like hombre!”

“Sony have once again knocked it out of the park for this release, providing a rendition that’s strong on detail, rich with colour and refined with clarity.

“There’s really nothing to complain about here and, moreover, there is plenty to shout about, the presentation remaining one of the few perfect-10 video releases I’ve come across so far this year.”

The Ides of March is similarly “spectacular … it boasts amazing clarity and critical grain retention, both of which ensure precise, complex details and that much-sought-after natural film-like texture.

“Indeed, fine detail is terrific, and viewers will be hard-pressed to find another transfer that betters this one in terms of its ability to handle clothes and natural facial textures with such ease.”

Also new are Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business, which should look sensational on Blu-ray judging from its HD trailer on other releases; The Vow (“a fantastic transfer, with an image that’s crystal clear but still retains a nice cinematic appearance); Blackthorn (“looks great on Blu-ray if still displaying smidgeon of the waxiness of the HD camera used”); and the direct-to-disc The Aggression Scale (“incredibly crisp and very well defined”).

Breaking Bad fans at last can buy seasons one and two on Blu-ray from retailers other than JB Hi-Fi while new everywhere is season four of The Tudors.

Back-catalogue newcomers range from Warlock and a repackaging of the first three Spider-Man movies to ‘toon titans Pinocchio and Howl’s Moving Castle.

The 70^th Anniversary Platinum Edition of Walt Disney’s puppet classic “easily blows away any past video version … This is another restoration on par with absolute Disney triumphs such as Snow White.”

“This is the Pinocchio that lifelong fans of this animated masterpiece have been waiting for. Virtually every frame is a revelation; superbly rendering every bit of the beauty and loving detail that the artists put into Pinocchio.”

The latest anime titles include: Naruto Shippuden Collection 09 (episodes 101-112), Arrietty (Studio Ghibli Collection), .Hack//Quantum (Ova) Collection, Fairy Tail – Collection 4, Dragon Ball Z Kai – Collection 7, Broken Blade Collection, Tales From Earthsea and Sekirei Collection.

Music fans can choose from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Live, Simply Red – Live at Montreux 2003 and Prince: Sign ‘o’ the Times.