DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 3rd, 2011
May 3, 2011
Historically, this is the weakest time of year for DVD releases. The last of the winter releases have already been released. It's too early for the flood of TV on DVD releases for the upcoming season in the fall. And studios are too worried about competing with blockbusters in theaters. There's really only one first run release that's generating any buzz, The Green Hornet, but while the 3D Blu-ray / Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack is worth picking up, the sales potential quickly declines from that point and by the time you reach the bottom of the top ten, you are really struggling to find any release that will have any real impact on the home market. As for the best release, as opposed to the biggest, there are two TV on DVD imports that are worth checking out: Being Human: Season 3 on DVD and Murdoch Mysteries: Season 3 on DVD or Blu-ray. (The Blu-ray release for Being Human is too pricey.) Both are worth picking up, but for Pick of the Week, I'm going with Murdoch Mysteries.
Being Human: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Being Human: Season Three, The Dilemma, Fat Girl: The Criterion Collection, From Duck Till Dawn, From Prada to Nada, The Green Hornet, Halloween H20, Kung Fu Dunk, The Man Who Could Cheat Death / The Skull, Murdoch Mysteries: Season 3, Smiles of a Summer Night: The Criterion Collection, TAPS, Those Daring Young Men and Their Jaunty Jalopies / Houdini, Twelve O'Clock High, and What Dreams May Come
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: The Green Hornet
The Dilemma - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Drop Dead Diva: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon
The Green Hornet - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, or 3D Blu-ray / Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
Make It or Break It: Season Two, Volume Three - Buy from Amazon
Melrose Place: Sixth Season, Volume One - Buy from Amazon
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A Somewhat Gentle Man - Buy from Amazon
Soy Tu Duena - Buy from Amazon
The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest For The Infinity Sword Volume Four - Buy from Amazon
This show lasted eight seasons and at one time was the highest rated sitcom on ABC. But did it deserve this success? Read our review for my opinion.
A group of monsters (vampire, werewolf, and ghost) live together while trying to avoid revealing their true natures to the outside world. It's a great show that spawned a remake here. If you are a fan of either show, although if you haven't seen this show, start with season one, obviously. The show is also coming out on Blu-ray this week, but it costs almost twice as much as the DVD, which is too much to ask.
This week's list of Blu-ray releases is a little light on top with only one first-run release that was a real hit at the box office. There are a few Criterion Collection releases, TV on DVD releases, limited releases, etc. to help fill out the list, but I'm not expecting a good week in terms of sales. Granted, that's usually the case this time of year and we won't see much in the way of blockbuster releases till the fall.
There's only one 3D release this week, but it could do rather well. It is a post-production conversion, which are usually much weaker than native filmed 3-D films. However, the director, Michel Gondry, understood this and instead of trying to make the 3-D perfect, he decided to make it stylish.
According to Amazon.com, this is the second best selling new release of the week. Actually, its in fourth place, but the top three are all releases for The Green Hornet. Is it worthy of such a high placing? Check out our review for my opinion.
A terrible movie that missed expectations at the box office by a rather large margin. There's no audio commentary track on either release, but there are lot of other extras, including interviews, behind-the-scenes, etc. The Blu-ray also has a number of additional extras and only cost $4 more. On the other hand, it's a bad movie and unless you are a fan of the two leads, its best ignored.
The latest DVD release for this popular preschool show. How does it compare to previous releases? Check out our review to find out.
A skinny lawyer is killed and wakes up in the body of a plus size lawyer and now has to adjust. The screener is a little late, but hopefully it will get here soon.
This movie did worse than expected with critics, but better than expected with moviegoers. So which group will I side with? Read our review to find out.
One of the few pleasant surprises at the box office during the first few months. Granted, it didn't reach $100 million domestically, but it came very close. Its reviews were also better than expected, but again not by enough to hit the overall positive level. This suggests the movie is entertaining enough to be worth checking out, but not a must have. There are enough extras on the DVD to lift it from a solid rental to the purchase level, while the Blu-ray has a number of exclusives. Meanwhile, if you are interested in upgrading to 3-D sooner rather than later, the Combo Pack only costs $5 more than the Blu-ray, and it includes the Blu-ray and the DVD. It's hard to beat that deal.
I reviewed the first release of this series and thought it was good, if getting a little too close to soap opera territory at times. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a hold of screeners for the following releases, so I don't know if it has gotten better or worse.
I never liked this show and I hate splitting seasons into two volumes.
A Canadian police procedural show that takes place in a time when forensics were just in their infancy. It's a very good show that has been earning plenty of Gemini nominations during its first three years and has been winning a few of them. It is also making its High Definition debut this season, so that's an added bonus for fans of the show, especially at just $10 more for a 4-disc set.
It was recently announced that this will be the last season of Bullshit before the pair move onto another show. But does the show go out on a high note? Read our review for my opinion.
A Foamation TV series featuring the voice of Eddie Murphy, among others. It generated a lot of buzz before it debuted, but did it live up to the buzz? Check out our review to find out.
Stellan Skarsgard stars as a gangster just getting out of prison and who is trying to go legit and reconnect with his family. His boss has other ideas. The film earned amazing reviews, but never found an audience in theaters. Maybe Thor will give Stellan Skarsgard a boost in name recognition an help this film on the home market.
A Telenovela mini-series and right now it's in the top 20 new releases for the week. You can look at this as a sign of how popular Telenovela has become, but also as a sign of how weak the overall releases for the week are.
A Marvel TV series aimed at younger kids, or drunk college students. It has the same target audience of SpongeBob, at least in my opinion. If you are looking for a serious adaptation, stay away. If you are looking for goofy fun, it's a good show.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, What Dreams May Come, Halloween: H2O, Taps, From Dusk Till Dawn, Twelve O'Clock High, Fat Girl, The Green Hornet, Gong fu guan lan, En ganske snill mann, From Prada to Nada, The Dilemma