Anyone who says time travel is impossible obviously isn't a magazine collector. I recently thumbed through the premiere issue of Home Entertainment (from way back in the winter of 2002), and scattered throughout its pages I found quite a few surprises: bulky floorstanding rear-projection TVs, massive three-gun CRT projectors all over the place, and—what's this?—a Show-Offs column with nary a theme in sight.

I had almost forgotten that when Editor in Chief Brent Butterworth and I cooked up the concept for Show-Offs nearly five years ago, we didn't give a moment's thought to the titles having anything in common. Our goal was to be the antithesis of the David Denbys and Gene Shalits of the world. Our intent was merely to give you a handful of discs each issue that would fill your screen with pretty pictures, overheat your amps, and give your speakers a workout—with no regard for artistic merit. And I hope you'll agree that we've done at least that. But in honor of our original vision, this month I leave all thoughts of themes behind, and simply give you some of my recent favorite Show-Offs—three titles guaranteed to remind you why you built a home theater in the first place.

Chronos: HD Digital Reference Series Special Edition (Blu-Ray & HD DVD)
Best Chapter: 5—"Escalator"
This is perhaps the quintessential Show-Off: no plot, no actors, no script, just 45 minutes or so of luscious time-lapsed large-format film footage, strung together in a beautiful work of kinetic art. Chronos is famous among IMAX film aficionados for its awe-inspiring images of the world—from natural wonders like the Grand Canyon to ancient spectacles like the Sphinx and pyramids of Giza.

But by far, my favorite of the film's vistas are the modern landscapes, which take on an almost alien light thanks to Ron Fricke's time-bending cinematic techniques and Michael Stearns' one-of-a-kind score. I especially love the chapter "Escalator," which leads you on a breakneck tour of the streets of Paris, the cramped markets of Old City in Jerusalem, and the crowded hustle-bustle of Grand Central Station at an ever-quickening pace, set to a roaring surround-sound score that gains passion and intensity with every note. By the end, people become nothing but blurs of glorious, high-definition color. Notes melt together in a deafening cacophony. And just when you think you can't take any more, the screen erupts into the serene skies of Monument Valley, and floats gently to the pristine, unmechanical deserts below.

Hanna-McEuen: Tried & True (DVD-Audio/Video)
Best Track: 6—“Ocean”
As with every AIX Records release, the surround sound mix for this slick country jam doesn’t whack you over the head with its five-point-oneness. Don’t get me wrong—it fills the room to the brim: Even on low-key numbers like “Ocean,” McEuen’s slow-picked acoustic guitar loops around to the right to shake hands with Hanna’s sultry-smooth Telecaster on the left. T.J. Russell’s bass sloshes around, low to the ground, like water in a pool on a cruise ship in five-foot seas. Close your eyes, point to the drums, and I guarantee your finger won’t be aimed anywhere near a speaker.

But what I really love about the disc—and this song in particular—is its haunting fidelity. It takes a recording like this to remind you that most of the guitars that pour out of your speakers sound more like someone’s hazy memory of a six-string than the instrument itself. Harmony vocals join together to form that sort of room-resonating, goosebump-generating singularity that you just don’t expect from a five-inch disc. If you want it any more real than this, you’re going to have to hire Hanna-McEuen for a live show, and I’m really not convinced it would sound any better.

Casino Royale (Blu-ray & DVD)
Best Chapter: 3—"Fancy Footwork"
If older, distinguished, debonair 007 is the only James Bond that does it for you, you probably want to skip this new reboot of the series completely. If, on the other hand, you like your hard-core, pedal-to-the-metal, adrenaline-overload action shaken, not stirred, the new blond Bond is sure to be right up your alley.

Check out Chapter 3 on the DVD—or if you're Blu-ray capable, the unnamed Chapter 2—for a sequence that does for foot races what The French Connection did for car chases. I know a hot pursuit without the hot rods may not sound all that thrilling on paper. But did I mention that the pursued is none other than real-life Spider-Man Sébastien Foucan, founder of the free-form acrobatic urban sport known as "free running"? As he runs from Bond, scurrying up I-beams, over buildings, in and out of elevator shafts, he creates poetry of motion that shines on the screen—especially in 1080p.

Blu-ray owners are also treated to one of the most oof-inducing uncompressed surround-sound tracks in recent memory. Every slap of flesh against concrete, every rap of bone against bone, and every 10-ton jingle-jangle of industrial metal falling 200 feet to the asphalt below sends shock waves through the room with the force of Thor's mighty hammer, and only relents long enough to let you catch your breath before slamming you into your seat again and again.

Happy Feet (Blu-Ray, HD DVD & DVD)
Best Chapter: 21—"Orca Encounter"
I almost feel guilty for including this one. Not that it isn't a bona fide feast for the senses, mind you; it's certainly that. But pop this one into your home theater, fire it up, and you'll see what I mean—it feels a bit like cheating. Every scene drips with detail that looks too good to be true. This joyous musical extravaganza makes even the tired old DVD format look better than most high-definition material you'll see this year, so imagine how it looks on Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Scratch that. Don't imagine. Buy it and see for yourself. Even if the music doesn't make you move your feet, scenes like Chapter 21—in which our hero Mumble and his misfit band of penguin friends face off against two killer whales—will have you wiggling in your seat. Not only is it the film's most heart-pumping action set piece, it also paints the screen in every texture known to man (and a few that aren't). You'll swear you can reach right in and feel the blubbery slickness of the whales' skin, the furry fluff of ruffled feathers, the rough rust of the seawater-soaked buoy. Just wash your hands before you start the scene. You don't want to get your screen all icky.

Thomas Dybdahl: Science (CD)
Best Track: 6—“Always”
With all the fuss over surround sound music and uncompressed audio tracks on next-generation optical discs, it’s easy to forget that the good old two-channel Compact Disc format still has a few tricks left up its sleeves. If you need a reminder of that fact, look no further than the latest release from Norwegian singer/songwriter Thomas Dybdahl. Disengage all sound processing before you pop the disc in, though. Cut off the Pro-Logic II, the Circle Surround, the Five-Channel Stereo, the Neo:6. With a mere two channels, this disc weaves a three-dimensional sonic tapestry that fills the air.

Check out the haunting “Always” for a taste of this. Layer upon layer of music builds on upon the next like an ethereal watercolor wash. Dybdahl’s voice joins that of Silje Salomonsen to create a wall of sonic gauze in front of the guitar and drums. The bass hovers just a bit further forward, sending ripples through the room like some delicate gravitational anomaly. And on top of it all, the strings wave back and forth through the air, like the hands of an invisible painter putting a glaze over the finished composition. To sully such a splendid stereo mix would be a sin of the worse sort.