Phoenix DVD Blog

If you’ve ever upgraded from DVD to Blu-ray and thought, “That’s nice, but is it really worth it?” , these films answer that question immediately. Blu-ray isn’t just about higher resolution. When it’s done properly, it’s about restoration, colour depth, film grain, shadow detail, and sound design that DVD simply cannot reproduce. Some films benefit more than others, and a handful feel like completely new experiences. These three titles are the ones I always come back to when someone asks me why I still buy physical media.  I’ve written more broadly about this before in my post on why physical media is still worth fighting for , but these three films are the clearest, most practical examples I can point to. This Post contains Affiliate links – I may earn a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. Kingdom of Heaven (Director’s Cut) Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven is one of the most dramatic examples of how a film can be transformed by both a proper edit and a pr...

I’ve found myself getting increasingly disconnected from what Hollywood and the major studios are churning out these days. It’s not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, and it’s certainly not a complaint about actors getting older. Aging is natural. Careers evolve. That’s not the issue. What I miss is something more fundamental. There was a time, roughly from the 1980s through to the early 2010s , when cinema felt reliable in the best possible way. Every year you could almost guarantee two big summer blockbusters , followed by two or three genuinely strong films later in the year , with plenty of solid, mid-budget movies scattered in between across every genre.

Every December I end up looking back at the year in movies and asking myself the same question: why do I still bother collecting discs in a world that wants everything streamed? And every December, the answer gets clearer.

Every December, when the nights get darker and the house gets quieter, I always end up gravitating toward a few familiar dramas. Not Christmas movies, not really — just films with enough heart, weight, or emotional punch to feel right for this time of year. And even outside the holidays, these are the kinds of films that remind me why physical media still matters. Streaming is grand for convenience, but if you want the picture quality, the proper sound, and the full experience the filmmakers intended, you won’t get it from a compressed stream. These are films worth owning, revisiting, and keeping on your shelf.

Every year I try to squeeze in a few Christmas movies but I’m not always in the mood for the cosy, sugary stuff. Sometimes you just want explosions, sarcasm, and a hero who spends more time bleeding in a dirty vest top than wrapping presents. Christmas action movies scratch that itch perfectly. And while these films are easy to find online, I’ve learned (the hard way) that most streaming platforms don’t exactly give action movies the treatment they deserve. Fast cuts, dark scenes, snow, night-time shootouts, all of it turns into a blurry mess when the bitrate drops. Watching the Blu-ray, UHD, or even a good DVD gives you a cleaner picture and proper sound, especially for older action films.

The older I get, the more Christmas turns into a return to the same familiar movies. The ones I watched as a kid or ones I watched with my son when he was small. These are the movies that somehow feel like Christmas before anything in the house is decorated. This year I ended up rewatching The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2 . I still haven’t seen the third one, but judging by the reviews, I’m preparing myself for… let’s just call it an experience. (Author note: I have since watched it, see below) Either way, nostalgia gets the better of me every December, and this felt like the perfect time to revisit where the whole thing began. Check out my other Christmas movie post  5 Essential Family Films for Christmas and see if you remember those titles too. Affiliate links Below– I may earn a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. The Santa Clause (1994) Scott Calvin accidentally becoming Santa, the North Pole unfolding in that magical 90s way, and Tim Allen right ...

Did you ever see that game of kiss, marry, kill mentioned on US TV or Movies? The premise is simple, who would you like to do those things to. I had a bright idea one day recently that I could do the same to movies but obviously change the options. I have to say in advance that I do like the films I have marked as Forget but I randomly picked titles to give myself a bit of a challenge. Even as I typed them out, I was humming and hawing about it. Would you have come to the same conclusion?