Home Market Releases for October 27th, 2015
October 26, 2015
It's the week of double-dips, as there are five double-dips for films that would normally be Pick of the Week contenders, but only if you don't have them already. Army Of Darkness has been released so many times, it is hard to keep track of them all. Same with Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you don't own either of these movies, you need to buy them. However, most fans will already have them. Because of this, I'm giving the Pick of the Week to Mad Men. I reviewed Season Seven, Part Two, but the Complete Series Megaset is the better deal.
Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Back to Christmas (VOD), Celtic Thunder: Christmas, A Dogwalker's Christmas Tale (VOD), Festive Friends, How Sarah Got Her Wings (VOD), A Little Christmas Business, A Little Christmas Business (VOD), Marry Me for Christmas, Marry Me for Christmas (VOD), Naughty and Nice (VOD), and Thomas and Friends: Thomas' Christmas Carol
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Forbidden Zone and CD Sountrack - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Gift - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
GTFO - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Home Fries: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Human Centipede 3: The Final Sequence - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Middle: The Complete Sixth Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Series 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Army Of Darkness: Collector's Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
According to Amazon.com, this is the best-selling new release of the week. It is a great movie, but it has been released way too many times on the home market for me to rush out and get it. Granted, there are three versions of the film here, plus plenty of other extras. However, odds are, if you are a fan, you already own the movie a couple of times. However, if you don't own it on Blu-ray yet, it is Pick of the Week material. This is a running theme this week. Re-releases that are Pick of the Week material if you don't own it on Blu-ray yet.
Video on Demand
One of the biggest Direct-to-Video franchises around. I'm not even close to the target audience, and I've never gotten a chance to review any of them, so I can't say anything about it.
Next week is the first week after Halloween, which means it will be acceptable to release a Christmas title.
A classic horror anthology from 50 years ago. The film has a number of great stars, including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Donald Sutherland. Certainly worth picking up, but there are no extras, so it is not quite a Pick of the Week contender.
This is an amazing and amazingly weird movie. I'm hoping a screener is on the way, because it is so strange I need to experience it again in high definition.
This is the best-reviewed first-run release of the week. However, I have a bone to pick with it. Spoilers ahead... In the movie, Jason Bateman and Joel Edgerton play characters, Simon and Gordo, who knew each other in high school. Simon comes across as the normal guy, while Gordo is definitely a little strange. Simon's wife, Robyn, played by Rebecca Hall, feels more sympathy to Gordo than Simon does. We then learn that Simon bullied Gordo in high school and ruined Gordo's life. When Robyn learns this, she's shaken up. Is her perfect husband a monster? Up to this point, the movie is very well done and deserves its strong reviews. However, the movie goes from "What would happen if you found out your seemingly perfectly normal husband was a bully?" to a bog-standard revenge film. Worse still, it is heavily implied, although not shown on screen, that Gordo rapes an unconscious Robyn to get revenge on Simon. So we have yet another movie that uses rape as nothing more than a plot device and treats it as something bad happening to Simon. That's writing so bad that it ruins the rest of the movie.
A documentary about the abuse women get in gaming. The film has earned excellent early reviews, but sadly the people who need to see this film the most will be the ones least likely to see it.
I think this is the first season of Home Fries. The running time is right, but the box doesn't say what season it is from. The show is a British period piece about women living in a small village just as World War II breaks out. The reviews are excellent, as is the cast, but it suffers from the usual problems with British imports. The price of the DVD or Blu-ray is high compared to the average TV on DVD release, while the running time is low.
Video on Demand
Let's hope this is the final installment in this franchise. If you are a fan, you can also buy the Franchise Megaset.
Mad Men: Season Seven, Part Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This is the final half of the final season of one of the most acclaimed TV shows of the past decade. For most people, buying this release, or the Complete Series Megaset was an obvious choice. But is it a wise choice? Many great shows fail to create a finale that satisfies fans. Is that the case here? Do we get closure? Or are we left shaking our heads? Also, how many drugs do you have to take before you think that mustache makes you look good? Answers to all but the last question can be found in our review.
Video on Demand
A family film that was too schmaltzy to win over critics and struggled to find an audience in theaters. It isn't the worst wide release of the week, but that's hardly a glowing recommendation.
This show constantly earns good reviews, but it is too sitcomy for my liking. I know it is a sitcom, so that complaint might seem strange, but it doesn't do enough to transcend the genre to appeal to me.
A British murder mystery TV series. Long-time readers know what to expect. The price-per-minute is way too high for a TV on DVD release. However, if you consider it a series of TV movies, it's worth the price.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Limited Edition Castle Catapult Gift Set - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
You need this movie in your collection. It is a classic and it has huge replay value. It is so quotable that even if you have never seen any Monty Python release in your life, you've probably heard at least a few of the jokes from this movie. There's no doubt this is Pick of the Week material. However, you can buy just the Blu-ray for just $12 instead of the gift set for $35. I'm tempted to grab the Gift Set.
Mulholland Dr. - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
David Lynch usually makes great movies, but he rarely makes commercial success. This film is no different, earning 81% positive reviews, but pulling in less than half of its $15 million production budget domestically. The film is getting a Criterion Collection release this week and it deserves it. Extras include interviews with the cast and crew, including new interviews and archival ones, plus a booklet and more. Definitely worth picking up and even a contender for Pick of the Week. The only downside is it is a double-dip, sort of. The film has been released previously on Blu-ray, but only has part of a Box Set. If you only want this movie, there's no reason not to grab this release. But if you own the box set, you are paying full price for twice the extras. That's still not a bad deal.
My Fair Lady: 50th Anniversary Edition - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
I previously reviewed this film when it came out on DVD six years ago. It is one of the best of its genre. However, this isn't the first time it has been released on Blu-ray. At some point, the double-dip hurts the value more than the reviews can compensate. This is the fourth double-dip on this week's list that is a Pick of the Week contender, if you don't own it on Blu-ray already.
Paper Towns - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This movie actually came out last week, but I forgot to include it on the last list for a simple reason. Amazon isn't selling it. At least not at the moment. Every time I've checked the page for the past week, it has been "Temporarily" out of stock. Fortunately, the screener has arrived, so I will get to the review ASAP.
Pixels - Buy from Amazon: DVD or 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
One of the worst wide releases of the summer. It still might break even, assuming it does well on the home market. I can see a lot of people renting it on VOD, just to see how bad it is. If you are a fan of bad movies, it's not your worst choice.
The Professional: Cinema Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Like too many releases on this week's list, this one is absolutely worth owning, if you don't already own it on Blu-ray. However, unlike the others, this one has been released countless times and I think one of the older editions might be a better choice. Also coming out this week is The Fifth Element on Blu-ray, but I could never get into that movie. A group wants to destroy all of existence and they hire a villain to do that. The villain negotiates for higher pay. He's going to die along with everyone else. ... But he wants more money. Sorry, I can't get into a movie with a villain that dumb.
Sailor Moon R is one of the most popular Anime series here. In fact, one could argue it has been helping to bring Anime to the mainstream for more than a decade. The Blu-ray releases are not great, as the technical presentation is only average, but fans of the show will still enjoy watching these episodes.
Southpaw - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This looks like an Oscar-bait movie, it certainly had positive buzz. However, it was released in theaters about three months too soon and the reviews were just mixed. It's not a bad movie and the extras are fine. Call it a solid rental, leaning towards purchase, if you like boxing movies.
Special Effects Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
You can also buy them individually (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Mighty Joe Young, Son of Kong, and Them). Buying the box set is like buying three of them and getting the fourth for free. There is another similar release coming out this week, Phase IV.
TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Blade and Soul and Downton Abbey: Seasons 1 - 5
I'm not sure either of these counts as Megasets, as Downton Abbey is still running, although it's final series has just started in the UK, and the other is a Anime series and those rarely run more than a couple of seasons.
Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: Amy, Bloody Knuckles, A Borrowed Identity, Chloe and Theo, Green Lantern (Extended Edition), Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour, The LEGO Movie, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mr. Holmes, Nasty Baby, The Rape of Nanking, Self/Less, and Unity
Mr. Holmes and Amy are by far the best, but both of them are so good that you should wait and buy them on Blu-ray. On the other hand, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a perfect VOD rental. On a side note... who thought 9 minutes of additional Green Lantern was a good idea?
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, My Fair Lady, Léon, Mulholland Drive, Army of Darkness, Pixels, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Max, Paper Towns, Mr. Holmes, Southpaw, The Gift, Amy, Monty Python, Barbie, The Human Centipede, Jason Bateman, Peter Cushing, Joel Edgerton, Rebecca Hall, Christopher Lee, David Lynch, Donald Sutherland