*Why fight the crowds when
Amazon has
Blu-ray &
DVD up to
80% off!
Amazon's Movie & TV Holiday Deals Calendar
Movies, movies, movies. We love 'em, you love 'em, and most important of all, we want other people to love 'em too. That's why they make great gifts.
Below you'll find some great
TV Shows, as well as some of the best
Non-Genre movies that were released in
2014, all of which make for great gifts for the
Horror Lovers in your life, or even yourself. There's no shame in taking advantage of some
Black Friday Week bargains for yourself. Guilt is for suckers.
- Keep in mind that prices will rise and fall, so if you want something that is still a bit too much for your tastes, add it to your cart, and check back until it drops again.
- Also, if you prefer DVD versions of these movies, you can select that option form the linked Blu-ray pages.
We'll be back tomorrow with
Part 3 of our Holiday Gift Guide, which will cover
Gift Sets & fun items (like Horror-related games & toys.) For now though, peruse the list below, click the pics to order whatever strikes your fancy, and make hay while the sun shines!
Pre-Order for December 9th So
Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty much the biggest movie of
2014 (
Mockingjay be damned!), and it deserves to be; this was non-stop fun from start to finish, and one of the best times we had in theaters all year.
Marvel needed a movie in their universe with a bit of a lighter heart, and
Guardians filled that void perfectly. We can't wait to own this one on
Blu-ray.
$19.99.
The other big
Marvel movie of
2014 was
Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Though it may have lacked the levity of
Guardians of the Galaxy, it was every bit as good, and it even improved on the first
Cap movie.
Chris Evans is truly at home in the role of
Steve Rogers, and with
Scarlett by his side, there's really no limit to the ass that they can kick.
Robert Redford wasn't too shabby in this one either.
$19.96.
The best retro
Crime Thriller of 2014 is
Cold in July, hands down. It may also be the only retro
Crime Thriller of 2014, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. Anchored by the fantastic performances of
Don Johnson,
Sam Shepard, and
Michael C. Hall, and accented by a brilliant synth-driven score,
Cold in July is a dark and gritty movie about revenge, betrayal, and as it turns out, snuff porn. Who knew? If you want to surprise someone with a movie that they most likely have never heard of, but will most likely love, then this is your ticket.
$14.99
As monumentally great as
The Raid was,
The Raid 2 is not only better, but it's bigger, badder, and if you can believe it, more breathtakingly violent. I have personally never seen a better, more relentless action movie than
The Raid 2, and I've seen "them all." If you love action flicks and you've never seen either of the
Raid movies, just buy them both, and send us a nice thank you note after they completely kick your ass. Or cookies. We always accept cookies.
$14.96.
Damn the naysayers;
Maleficent was a really great take on the
Sleeping Beauty story. I know,
Disney purists are all pissed off that
Maleficent wasn't quite the evil caricature in this one as she was in the
1959 animated classic, but you know what? There are no "bad guys" in movies that are completely evil and irredeemable. Oh, they exist, but that's called shitty writing. Aside from the stunning visuals, the real draw of this movie is
Angelina Jolie's performance as
Maleficent... and here comes the hyperbole: she was truly born too play this role. She was just perfect in this, and if it weren't for the fact that the movie isn't the type that academy voters consider award-worthy, I wouldn't bat an eye if she got an
Oscar nom for her performance here. I know it sounds crazy, but I promise you, she's that good.
$24.99.
The Hobbit movies... They're not as good as the
Lord of the Rings movies (for various reasons), but they are still enjoyable on a purely escapist level. If you're going to own either of them (and eventually, the third one), then the
Extended Editions are the only real way to go. The
EE's won't make either
Hobbit film radically different on the level that they did for the
LOTR movies, but they still play a bit better, and the
Special Features are a great watch.
$19.96.
Pre-Order for December 2nd We never expected to like
Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it was released back in
2011, but we loved it, and we can honestly say that we love
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes even more. For a movie filled with
CGI monkeys (which by the way, looked real),
Apes never felt fake or forced, in its visuals or narrative. It's a hell of a movie, and it would make for a great gift.
$19.96.
If there was one movie that was unfairly abandoned by the movie-going public this year, it's
Edge of Tomorrow. Much like
Expendables 3 and
Sin City 2, it basically bombed at the
Box Office, which is a shame, because unlike those other two movies, it didn't suck. In fact, it was really good. If you like
Sci-fi flicks, and you haven't seen
Edge of Tomorrow yet, just take a chance and see it now.
Tom Cruise really doesn't make bad movies, you know? So trust him.
$19.96.
Some loved it, some hated it, but either way,
Godzilla was a big, fun popcorn movie that delivered the goods. Don't listen to anyone that whines about not seeing very much of
Godzilla on-screen until the third reel of the movie, because that's how most
Godzilla movies have always played. Plus, this is an "origin" story, so we're sure to see more monster action in part 2. *
Rodan,
King Gidorah, and
Mothra are all but confirmed! This is exactly the kind of movie that
Blu-ray was made for.
$22.96.
Yes, this is a cheesy sequel to a movie that was probably a bit over-hyped to begin with, but that doesn't mean that
300: Rise of an Empire isn't still enjoyable as hell. I may not be as good as
300 in some ways, but
Sullivan Stapleton makes for a compelling lead, it's visually stunning, and it has
Eva Green in it...
Eva Green naked! If you liked the first one, you'll be surprised at how much you actually end up enjoying this one as well. It made $331 million worldwide, so it can't be too bad... right?
$19.96.
Do we really have to explain to you how great
NBC's Hannibal is, or why you should be watching it? We sure hope not, because you should already know how great this show is. If for some reason though you haven't taken the
Hannibal plunge yet, then now is a great time to dig in and catch up. There's never been a
Network TV Show this violent, artistic, or visually stunning before, so let's support it as much as we can, so they keep making it. We need more.
$17.94.
Season 2 of
Hannibal was just as good as the first, and even better in many respects, and its
Season Finale stands as one of the craziest, bloodiest, insane things that we've ever seen on any
TV Show, ever. Maybe wait until it drops to around the
$19 mark (because it will) before grabbing it, but grab it none the less.
$25.00.
You know what this is, we're just here to point out how crazy cheap it is on
Blu-ray right now so that you can buy it if you don't already own it.
$9.99.
Having just watched back through our
Blu-rays of
TWD Season's 1-4, we have to say that we liked this season more than we did the first time through. Many people complained about their time on the farm as being boring and uneventful, but we disagree; they can't run around all the time, fighting through hordes of hungry walkers, because they'd be dead by now if they did. This season is better than most give it credit for, and for the price of
$14.99, it's a steal.
You still know what this is, so why are we still explaining it to you? We really need to learn to trust you more.
$14.99.
You can't own one season of
TWD without owning them all, but wait for this season to drop lower than
$37 before you buy it. Because it will drop.
$37.00.
Only 8 episodes long,
Showtime's excursion into the realm of
Gothic Horror proved to be a worthwhile one. The way that
Penny Dreadful takes the legends of
Frankenstein,
Dracula,
The Wolfman, etc... and twists them all together into one coherent and related story is something special to experience.
Eva Green is an acting powerhouse in this one, proving herself more than just a pretty face (and dynamite body.) If you like your
TV Shows creepy and
Gothic, then it doesn't get much better than
Penny Dreadful.
$27.99.
You have to really, really love
True Blood to be willing to pay nearly
$200 for this
Blu-ray set of
The Complete Series, but if you do love it that much, then it's absolutely worth it.
$194.99.
True Detective was about as good as
TV got in
2014.
Matthew McConaughey was mesmerizing to watch as a tortured detective trying to solve a series of murders, furthering the notion that he might just be the best actor alive right now.
Woody Harrelson was just about as good as his partner, but
MM stole this one, hands down. The
Lovecraftian overtones throughout were great too, and let us not forget that
Alexandra Daddario was naked in this one. NAKED.
$29.99.
For
Twin Peaks fans,
Christmas came in
July this year when
Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery was released on
Blu-ray. Now, this show was good, but it's also really bizarre and quirky, so if you're curious about it, maybe stream a few episodes on
Netflix before coughing up
$80 for this massive set. If you do end up liking it though, then every penny of that
$80 will be worth it to not only have the entire series in
Blu-ray, but also the movie (
Fire Walk With Me), and a wealth of great
Bonus Features. *It doesn't come with a slice of cherry pie though. Sorry.
$84.96.
We really expected this show to suck, because how do you make a quality
TV Show out of a beloved
Coen Brothers movie like
Fargo? That's nearly impossible. Well, they somehow managed to make this
Fargo TV Show just about as good as the movie (and you could argue that it's better in some ways), and we're more than happy to admit that we were wrong to have doubted. This show is worth watching for
Billy Bob Thornton's killer performance alone.
$29.96.
Sure, go ahead and dismiss this
Cinemax show as being low-brow entertainment, because how could
Cinemax ever produce a great
TV Show of any sort of quality? Well they have produced a great
TV Show with
Banshee, and it's been one of the most entertaining things on
TV since it premiered in
2013. If you like unapologetic action, great melodrama, and anti-heroes kicking ass, then this show was tailor-made for you.
$16.99.
As much as we enjoy
Cinemax's Banshee, we love their
Strike Back even more. Over the course of 3 seasons, this
BBC Worldwide/
HBO co-production is a pure action-fest that delivers the adrenaline-pumping goods week in and week out.
Sullivan Stapleton and
Philip Winchester make for a perfect tandem of mercenary badassery, and we'll be sad to see the show end its run after its upcoming
4th Season (5th, counting the
British one.) If you like action, you simply have to add this show to your library.
$16.99.
Many people consider
The Sopranos to be the best
Television Show ever made. We'd personally put
The Wire ahead of it (and maybe 1 or 2 others), but the fact remains that it is stellar, in just about every respect. Yes, even the ending. This series is worth watching for
James Gandolfini's performance alone, and it's sad to think that we'll most likely never see a
Mob Drama of
The Soprano's quality again. At least now we have it to re-watch at our leisure on
Blu-ray.
$170.00.
Band of Brothers is some of the best
Television that has ever been filmed, and that is a fact. It's hard to explain what makes it so great, probably because there are so many things that do, but the fact remains that it is perfect in every way. I can't imagine how anyone could sit and watch this stellar
Mini-Series, and not be blown away by its emotional narrative. For the
CRAZY LOW price of
$22.99, this is a
PERFECT gift for a
Dad or a
Grandpa, or for anyone who loves top-tier drama. Or for anyone who likes to cry.
If
Band of Brothers is a perfect 10, then
The Pacific is a 9.5. In some ways, we prefer this one to
Band of Brothers, probably because we like
Leckie's story so much. On its own though,
The Pacific stands as a harrowing chronicle of the
Soldiers that fought in the
South Pacific during
WWII, which makes for a compelling and emotionally-draining watch. Watch
The Pacific back-to-back with
Band of Brothers, and then go find a
Veteran and give them a hug. Because you'll need to.
$22.99.
While we're on the topic of
TV Shows that revolve around war, allow us to add
Generation Kill to our list of
Must Own Blu-rays. This is one of the most enjoyable
Mini-Series we've ever seen, and for
$19.99, it's a
Must Own if you're a fan of good drama mixed with dark humor.
Generation Kill is the perfect
TV Mini-Series experience, and that is not hyperbole. If you take a blind chance on anything that we recommend to you, make it this.
$19.99.
