July 8th, 2013
It is a very busy week on the home market with four wide releases, five if you count Spring Breakers, which expanded semi-wide during its second weekend of release. None of these films were big hits at the box office. In fact, the five of them combined made $122 million. Additionally, only one of them earned good reviews. Fortunately, not only did Spring Breakers earn good reviews, its DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack are loaded, enough to be a contender for Pick of the Week. The other main contender is The Legend of Korra - Book One: Air. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the screener for both of those releases, and I hate handing out the Pick of the Week when the screener is on its way. Because of that, I'm going with a late review, Wilfred: Season Two on DVD or Blu-ray.
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July 6th, 2013
In Old Arizona was made in 1928 and earned a number of Oscar nominations, including a win for its lead, Warner Baxter. It is also historically significant for being one of the first talkies, and the first such Western and the first such film with an outdoor sequence. On the other hand, 80 years is a long time and there is certainly a chance the film hasn't aged well. Is it a classic in its own right? Or is it only a classic because of its age?
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June 4th, 2013
It's a typical summer week on the home market with a good mix of first run releases and some summer TV shows coming out on DVD and Blu-ray. There are certainly some releases that are worth picking up, but nothing that will set sell records. Overall, it is solid, but unspectacular. There were a few contenders for Pick of the Week. Breaking Bad: Season Five on DVD or Blu-ray, but it is a split-season release and I'm not happy with the price-per-minute. By comparons, The Newsroom: Season One, which comes out next week, is nearly twice as long but only 25% more money. Brooklyn Castle is another contender; however, while its DVD is certainly worth picking up, I'm not sure it will have wide enough appeal. In the end, I went with Warm Bodies. It may seem like a strange choice, but it is still one of the best wide releases of the year and the DVD and the Blu-ray are loaded with extras.
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