Home Market Releases for May 14th, 2019

May 15, 2019

It’s another weak week on the home market. The biggest release of the week is Fighting With My Family, which is also one of the best. The other contenders for Pick of the Week are a documentary, Apollo 11; a classic collection, The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 1; and a foreign-language import, Princess Mononoke. They are all worth owning, but they all have issues as well. The last two releases are double-dips, while the first two don’t have a ton of extras. In the end, I went with Fighting With My Family as the Pick of the Week, because it has the best combination of movie quality and extras without being a double-dip.

Apollo 11 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
A documentary about the Apollo 11 moon landing. It is one of the best movies released this year and one of the biggest documentary hits of the year, at least so far. The only extra is a featurette on filming in IMAX 65 mm. That’s not a lot of extras, but there’s also not a lot of competition, so it is a Pick of the Week contender.

Backdraft 2 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
How is this selling so well? The original film wasn’t a classic, nor was it a monster hit at the box office. Furthermore, the first film came out nearly 30 years ago. Despite this, it is one of the best-selling releases of the week.

The Buster Keaton Collection: Volume 1 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Buster Keaton is one of the greatest entertainers in movie history. If you don’t have at least some of his films in your collection, you should. Furthermore, Volume 1 sounds like the perfect place to start. There are a couple of featurettes on the two-movie set and it is a Pick of the Week contender. On the downside, this isn’t the first time either of these films were released on Blu-ray.

Cold Pursuit - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This isn’t a bad movie, but it is part of a particular subgenre (Liam Neeson getting revenge after something happens to a family member) that has overstayed its welcome and I think moviegers are tired of it. That said, it’s worth a VOD rental, or maybe wait till it is on Netflix or something similar.

Happy Death Day 2U - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film isn’t quite as good as the original was, but it is certainly better than its box office numbers. If you did like the original then this one is also worth checking out. Extras include a trio of featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes making it worth picking up.

Princess Mononoke: Collector’s Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
One of the best animated movies ever made and the only reason it is a slam dunk for Pick of the Week is it’s a double-dip. In fact, it is more than a double-dip and I’m not sure how many times it has been released on Blu-ray. That said, there’s enough here, including an art book and CD soundtrack, that is it worth the upgrade.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Road Less Traveled - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
It’s a Hallmark Channel original mystery movie. Like most Hallmark Channel original movies, this one is selling well despite have no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Triple Threat - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A martial arts movie from Thailand with a very impressive cast and merely good reviews. If you are a fan of martial arts movies, then it is still worth checking out, but it doesn’t live up to its potential. The only extra is an interview with the cast, so call it a solid rental, leaning towards a purchase for fans of the cast.

Valentine: The Dark Avenger - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
An Indonesian super hero movie starring Estelle Linden as the titular masked vigilante. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; in fact, it doesn’t even have a page. However, I read a few reviews online and they are mostly positive. The film has a good concept and a strong leading lady, but the overall execution isn’t great. That said, if you are a fan of super hero movies and just want to see something new, it is worth checking out.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Anaconda - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Armored Trooper Votoms: OVA Collection 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: SD on Blu-ray
The Bedroom Window - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Big Clock - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Birds of Passage - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Boogie Boy: Collector's Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Chosen - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Conduct Unbecoming: Special Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Devil's Nightmare - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Eyes of Laura Mars - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Funny Games: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Ghosts of Mars - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Guilty Crown: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hentai Heaven Volume 7: Two Fetish Freaks & The Psychic - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
House of Games: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Kokkoku: The Complete Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Landlord - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Link - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Never Grow Old - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Never Look Away - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Power: Season 5 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
WWE: WrestleMania 35 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Yakuza Law: Special Edition - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
There are a lot of secondary Blu-ray releases on this week’s list, but it is a case of quantity over quality and there are very few that are of any interest to me. The Big Clock is film noir and I love that genre, so it is the film I most want to see.

4K Ultra HD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Cold Pursuit - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
Field of Dreams - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
Godzilla - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
Field of Dreams is clearly the best movie coming out on 4K this week, but you really don’t need to see it in 4K to enjoy it.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
The Donna Reed Show: Seasons 1-5 No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Technically it is not a Full-Series Megaset, but it is the closest we’ve gotten for a couple of weeks.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Greta - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story - Reviews - Video on Demand
Never Look Away - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Upside - Reviews - Video on Demand
Wedding March 4: Something Old, Something New - Reviews - Video on Demand
I’m hoping to get Greta to review. Its Tomatometer Score isn’t great, but it looks right up my alley.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Pájaros de verano, Happy Death Day 2U, Backdraft II, Apollo 11, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Road Less Traveled