As it appears many 'zoners have taken the high-def plunge, I've created this thread to talk about the high-definition media available. First, I've found the following thread at AVS Forum to be invaluable in identifying the best Blu Ray video available:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316
They do a pretty good job of ranking the films, even if I do disagree with some of the placements. For example, there's no way on Earth that Apocalypto should be ranked higher than Crank in the "Gold" tier. A Scanner Darkly under The Host? No.
But those complaints are minimal considering that I'm just thankful to have a useful tool to preview something resembling a consensus on PQ prior to purchasing a Blu Ray flick. Just note that the folks on the thread don't give a hoot if intentional film grain obscures detail (300) or the use of non-HD cameras in some shots (Apocalypto). But hey, PQ is subjective so like what you like. Overall, the list there is still a very good guide regardless of personal preference.
For live action movies, I can personally verify that the following represent live action "demo" material:
Crank
Kingdom of Heaven
Apocalypto (excepting the non-HD camera scenes)
Black Hawk Down
The Host
Curse of the Golden Flower
300 (which suffers from intentional film grain), Casino Royale, The Prestige, and Blood and Chocolate are close.
For animated movies (digital by nature):
A Scanner Darkly
The Wild
Happy Feet
Ice Age: The Meltdown
I'll be interested to hear more from folks about their Blu Ray experiences and I'd really like to hear more from those who've gone the HD-DVD route about the best flicks in that format.