Reference titles (sorry, I'm a newbie)

[Null]

Greetings all--

I'd like to know what you consider to be "reference disks" for Blu-Ray.

And while I ask that, it's only fair that I outline my own situation.

42" 720P Plasma TV, with the XBox 360 external drive thing as an HD-DVD player, and a Sony PS3 as the Blu-Ray personage. Both through HDMI ports.

I am not a format champ of any stripe. Whatever wins, wins, and I'll follow along behind you guys at some point. (I still have many laserdiscs and VHS tapes. Prying them from my cold dead hands...well, you know the drill).

In HD-DVD, I've seen Corpse Bride, Dune, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and The Thing. All have been very impressive, at times astonishing. Bit of grain where I expected it, but, what's grain between friends?

In Blu-Ray, I've seen The Fifth Element and Total Recall. Fifth Element looked wonderful, but...midway through, I took a break and saw some reviews which said the original release of this title was...rather lacking. So Columbia re-released it, kudos to them, but what do I have?

I'm sure I have the newest, bestest ever release...only I'm paranoid, so when I'm thinking "I can see how the plastic sticks to Gary Oldman's scalp" I'm also thinking, "Is this the bad version? Should I judge Blu-Ray based on this? And look, on this forum, it says the old version seemed perfectly fine! Argh! What's the catalog number so I can compare!"

Problem: my brain doesn't work as well as it ought. I'll say this, though: Total Recall. Detail and color looked great, but man, was that a grainy film. It looked like it was shot on sandpaper. I know that sometimes (rolls eyes) directors want grain to emphasize the "dream-like" presentation, but that doesn't make for a compelling experience.

So: given the garbage level of films I like, what can you folks recommend as a reference title for Blu-Ray? Here are some things I'm considering: "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" (so moronic it makes "stupid" into a compliment; visuals good though,) "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (great visuals, bad storytelling), "Superman: The Movie" (great all around, but how's the grain?)

What I'm looking at is stuff to buy. I don't mind spending more on, cough, say "Fantastic Four" if the visuals are awesome. (I know the story will still be just as idiotic as the regular DVD...say, they don't upgrade the smart-ness with Blu-Ray, do they? Well, didn't think so.)

I know I ask a lot. I'm asking you to make my menu with only a vague idea of my tastes, and I apologize. So when you say, "Here's my awesome clams marcello" and I say, "Um, thanks, I'm not crazy about shellfish" I hope you won't dislike me too much. So, yah, while I might like "Ghost Rider," I'd really rather have...um, "Alien"?

Best wishes to you all.