DVD and Blu-ray Releases for October 22nd, 2013

October 21, 2013

This week on the home market is... well... it's short. Last week, according to Amazon.com, there were 459 new releases or reissues. This week there are 161. Fortunately, there are a few releases of note, including The Conjuring, which pulled in more than $300 million worldwide on a production budget of just $20 million. Fortunately, it really deserved this success and the DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack are contenders for Pick of the Week. Other contenders include Before Midnight on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack and The Way Way Back on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. In the end, it was literally a coin toss and The Conjuring won.

As Cool As I Am - Buy from Amazon
Sarah Bolger stars as a teenager dealing with typical teenager problems, but her parents were teens when they had her, and they are not mature enough to help her deal with her problems. I like the cast, but the reviews were not good. It doesn't do enough that's new within the Coming of Age genre.

Barbie & Her Sisters in a Pony Tale - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
One of the best-selling direct-to-DVD series out there. I'm clearly not in the target demographic, but there are enough fans out there that this could sell 1 million units in total.

Before Midnight - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The third film in the Before Sunrise franchise. Like the previous two, this one stars Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke and earned absolutely amazing reviews. Extras are fine, especially for a limited release, with an audio commentary track, Q&A with the cast, and more. It is easily worth picking up, and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: 100 Bloody Acres, Blood-C: Last Dark, Def Leppard: Viva! Hysteria, Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, Hugh Laurie: Live on the Queen Mary, John Cassavetes: Five Films (Criterion Collection), Morrissey: 25: Live, Oka!, Sakura Wars: Movie, Snuff, and Uninvited (Criterion Collection)
There are a few secondary Blu-ray releases on this week's list, including a couple that are worth picking up. The top of that list is Uninvited, the 1944 haunted house movie, which is getting a Criterion Collection release this week.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: AMAZON 3D - In The Heart Of Wild Nature, GALAPAGOS 3D - Charles Darwin's Big Adventure, and YELLOWSTONE 3D - America's Greatest Wonder
Only three 3D releases this week and all of them are in the Edutainment genre.

Bruce Lee Legacy Collection - Blu-ray Combo Pack - Buy from Amazon
After some "issues" with an earlier release, Shout! Factory has revamped the release with improved transfers for a few of the movies. The older version wasn't worth picking up. This version is still pricey, but a much better deal.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Dreamworks Holiday Collection, Santa's Magic Crystal, and Veggie Tales: Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas
After last week's flood of Christmas releases, this week's list is much more manageable.

The Conjuring - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
One of the biggest surprise hits of the summer. Horror films rarely have breakout success, even during the best of times, and in the summer, they are competing with big-budget action films. However, this film, despite costing just $20 million, at the box office earned more than $40 million during its opening weekend. Then, amazingly, it had strong legs. Horror films almost never have strong legs, but this one did, thanks to incredible reviews. On the downside, there are not a lot of extras on the DVD or the Blu-ray. It is still worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Dead in Tombstone - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Danny Trejo stars in this supernaturally tinged revenge fueled western. He stars as the lead of a ruthless gang of outlaws who was killed in a leadership coup. Now Satan has given him a second chance, if he kills the six members of his gang. It's an interesting setup for a film, but there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and the few reviews I read online were mostly mixed. If you are interested in the genre or the cast, then it is worth a rental, but that's it.

Frankenstein's Army: Collector's Edition - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film just came out on DVD and Blu-ray, but this week it's coming out with a three-pack of figures. The movie earned good reviews, but without knowing how big these figures are, it is impossible to say if this is worth it.

I Give It a Year - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Nat and Josh are getting married, but nobody thinks it will last. The film is a romantic comedy that did good business in its native U.K., but only managed a short limited release here. Its reviews are not bad, for a romantic comedy, and there are lots of extras on the DVD and the Blu-ray. If you are a fan of romantic comedies, then it is worth checking out.

The Internship - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A buddy comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson that lived up to expectations at the box office. Unfortunately, that means it struggled to find an audience. Its reviews are pretty bad, but not terrible. Perhaps if you really like the two stars, it is worth checking out, but with light extras, it is worth a rental, at most.

Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A feature-length documentary about the most famous villains in the D.C. universe. It's an interesting topic, but with no reviews, it is hard to judge if it is worth checking out or not.

Nikita: The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A TV series based on the movie of the same name. It has earned good reviews, but its ratings have been really weak, even for the CW. It has lasted mostly because they never had enough new series to replace it. (It costs money to develop a new show, so they can only replace so many shows per year.) This season will be its last, but hopefully it goes out on a high note.

Only God Forgives - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film had a lot of pre-release buzz, for a limited release, but its reviews were mixed, to be kind, and it struggled at the box office. Extras are better than expected with an audio commentary track, interviews, behind-the-scenes, and more. Worth checking out, but a rental will be enough for most.

Primeval New World: Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A Canadian spin-off of the British series, Primeval. It struggled to find an audience and was canceled after just one season.

Standing Up - Buy from Amazon
Two kids, Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso, are victims of bullies while at summer camp and decide to runaway together. The film's reviews are mostly good, but not great. Then again, family films tend to earn much weaker reviews, so if you are looking for this kind of film, this is a better choice than most.

Transformers Rescue Bots: Griffin Rock Rescue - Buy from Amazon
A Transformers cartoon with Decepticons. Instead, the Autobots help humans deal with more everyday disasters. It's not a bad show, but it is definitely aimed at a much younger audience.

TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Kindred: The Embraced
Just the one Megaset this week, but I remember liking the show when it was on.

The Vincent Price Collection - Buy from Amazon
A four-disc, six-film collection featuring some of the best films by Vincent Price, and just in time for Halloween. Generally speaking, the technical presentation is good, but not great, but that is to be expected given the age of the films. There are plenty of extras, on the other hand, including audio commentary tracks on most movies.

The Way Way Back - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
One of the biggest limited release hits of the summer. It's a coming of age story about a boy dealing with a rather unhappy family life. (His new step-father is a rather big douche.) The film's reviews were great and it expanded enough to reach $20 million in total. The extras on the DVD include a behind-the-scenes featurette and some deleted scenes, while the Blu-ray has an exclusive featurette. It is clearly worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, The Croods, As Cool As I Am, The Internship, The Conjuring, Before Midnight, The Way Way Back, I Give It a Year, Dead in Tombstone, Only God Forgives, Frankenstein's Army, Apocalypse Z, Standing Up, Before Sunrise, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Sarah Bolger, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Vincent Price, Rafe Spall, Danny Trejo, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Annalise Basso