DVD and Blu-ray Releases for September 27th, 2011
September 27, 2011
It's another incredibly busy week on the home market with over 400 new releases on Amazon.com. However, again there were only a few that were worth mentioning with a whole lot of filler. The biggest release of the week is Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Blu-ray, but it doesn't come out till Friday. Looking at some of the other top selling releases and it's clear how weak the selection is. There's a stand-up comedy DVD, a couple catalog titles being released on Blu-ray, Anime, a couple TV on DVD releases, and the first DVD release of Adventure Time. Adventure Time on DVD? Pick of the Week.
Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People - Buy from Amazon
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Basket Case, Ben Hur, Buster Keaton: Battling Butler / Go West, Carlos (Criterion Collection), Dead Cert, Footloose, Gamera: Triple Feature, Good Neighbors, The Hour, Hung: Season Two, Jeff Dunham: Control Chaos, The Ledge, Mimic, The Phantom Carriage (Criterion Collection), Torso, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, and Yu Yu Hakusho: Season Three
Cleveland Show: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon
Complete Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Dawson's Creek, Gavin & Stacey, King of Queens, Married... With Children, and Queer as Folk (U.K.)
C.S.I.: Miami: Season Nine - Buy from Amazon
C.S.I.: New York: Season Seven - Buy from Amazon
Dead Cert - Buy from Amazon
DreamWorks Halloween Double Pack - Buy from Amazon
Goosebumps - Buy from Amazon: Attack of the Mutant and Ghost Beach
Henry's Crime - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Herculoids: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon
Hostage - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
Hickey and Boggs - Buy from Amazon
Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Kojak: Season Two - Buy from Amazon
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season Twelve - Buy from Amazon
The Looney Tunes Show: Season One, Volume One - Buy from Amazon
Ma & Pa Kettle Complete Comedy Collection - Buy from Amazon
The Middle: Season Two - Buy from Amazon
Monkees - Buy from Amazon: Season One and Season Two
New Tricks: Season Five - Buy from Amazon
Roseanne: Trick or Treat - Buy from Amazon
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season Nine - Buy from Amazon
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Trigun: Badlands Rumble - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
One of the strangest cartoons on TV at the moment that's not part of the Adult Swim lineup. The film was aimed at Tweens and younger, but has developed an older following than that. Much older in some cases. The reviews from adult critics are as strong as reviews from the target audience. On the other hand, there's only one featurette on the DVD, plus there could be full seasons sets coming sooner rather than later. In the meantime, it's still worth picking up, and a contender for Pick of the Week.
Filmed in 2007, but only getting a release in 2011, and it is being dumped direct-to-DVD. That's not a good sign. Did it deserve this fate? Or is it worth checking out? Read our review for my opinion.
I didn't think I would be a fan of this show, but the first season surprised me. Since then, it has had trouble returning to that high level of quality, but will season five do so? Read our review for my opinion.
It's not a very deep selection of Blu-ray releases this week. There's a large drop between Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Ben-Hur in terms of sales potential. That said, Transformers should sell more than enough to compensate.
MacFarlane's latest series is just too similar to his previous ones, which really hurt the show's reviews. Many consider it the weakest of the three shows. On the other hand, its ratings are better than American Dad!, so keep that in mind.
A true sign the Christmas Shopping Season has started. Megasets like these are for people who liked the show enough to want the whole series, but didn't like the show enough to buy the seasons individually. That's a Venn diagram with two circles that barely touch. On the other hand, they make great gifts.
I think this show is one that's on the way out. Its ratings are down more than 40% from its peak and there was talk last season of CBS canceling one of its C.S.I. shows. I would recommend ending this one, because in my opinion, it's the weakest of the three, although it is earning better ratings than New York.
This show's ratings are also down from their peak, but by a lesser degree than Miami's decline. On the other hand, its peak was a lot lower and it ratings are weaker. At this point, I don't think any of the C.S.I. shows do enough to stand out and if it weren't for the franchise, they wouldn't be still be around.
Still waiting for the screener for this film. Hopefully it will get here soon.
Still waiting for the screener for this release. This double-pack is much cheaper than buying the two DVDs separately, but I won't know if they are worth buying over just a rental till the screener does arrive.
This film opened in more than 200 theaters, which is tough at the best of times. Combine that with the lack of reviews and a weak star power (only Aimee Garcia has any real name recognition) and it's no surprise the film struggled at the box office. Now that it is coming out on DVD, will it find a more receptive audience? Read our review to find out.
A Canadian film that opened in limited release in the United States and did almost no business at the box office. Is it a bad movie? Did something get lost in translation? Or was it just too small of a film? Check out our review for my opinion.
Nearly every episode of this horror series for kids is now out on DVD. Were these next to last DVDs late in coming out because they were weak? Or are these two DVDs a good representative selection of the show? Read our review to find out.
This film was mostly ignored by moviegoers during its short limited release, despite the higher than average name recognition of its cast. It came out on DVD and Blu-ray last month but the screener arrived late. Was it worth the wait? Check out our review to find out.
Didn't this DVD come out already? I'm sure it came out in June.
Rounders - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
Swingers - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
A trio of films that made their Blu-ray debut near the end of August. Are any of the films worth checking out? And do they shine on High Definition? Read our review for my opinion.
Master of the World - Buy from Amazon
The latest wave of MGM films making their DVD debut include a neo-Noir directed by Robert Culp and a Jules Verne adaptation starring Vincent Price. Is either worth checking out, Perhaps even buying? Read our review for my opinion.
This will likely be the biggest selling release on Tuesday, but it will be crushed by Transformers for the week. The show is popular, but am I one of the fans? Check out our review to find out.
This spin-off of Peter Pan focuses on the adventures of three pirates and their parrot, who are constantly being bothered by Captain Hook. Is the show good compared to others aimed at the same target demographic? And is the DVD worth picking up? Read our review to find out.
I've never been a fan of ventriloquism and don't quite get the appeal of Jeff Dunham. However, this is one of the best selling DVDs on this week's list, so obviously not everyone shares my opinion.
For five seasons, Telly Savalas starred as Lieutenant Theo Kojak, one of the most recognizable characters in the police procedural genre of all time, which is impressive given the sheer number of shows in that genre. Season One of the series was released way back in 2005, but Shout! Factory has taken over, so I'm hoping the remaining three seasons will be released before the end of the decade. (They might be released by this time next year.)
This is a good show, but it has lasted so long that it would take days and days to watch every single episode, and that's if you didn't take time to sleep. The law of declining marginal value has simply run its course.
The Looney Tunes gang re-imaged as a suburban sitcom. When this was first announced, a lot of people reacted negatively to classic cartoons characters being changed like this; however, now that it is out, the reviews are better than the initial reaction. On the other hand, $15 for four episodes? Are you kidding me?
Ten films from the popular film franchise that ran from 1947 to 1957. Most of these have been released on DVD in the past, but $15 is still a pretty good deal, even with the double-dips.
A very run of the mill sitcom with a better than average cast dealing with below average scripts. There are simply too many other options out there.
This show was previously released on DVD, but that special box set is now out of print and rather expensive. Here's a cheaper way to get it.
A police procedural show from the U.K. that looks at a cold case department which uses formerly retired cops to work on old cases. After all, who better to solve an old case than an old cop? It's a very good show that has compelling cases and interesting characters. The price-per-minute is a little high, like all TV on DVD imports, but it is worth it.
This show was famous for its Halloween specials, and this DVD includes all eight of them. Granted, I prefer full-season sets to single-disc releases, but this is a good theme and the price is really low. Its price-per-minute is lower than some full-season sets.
Just one more season to go for this cartoon series, which lasted a decade on the air. However, just because is lasted ten seasons doesn't mean all of them are worth buying. Is it time to give up on the show? Check out out review for my opinion.
One of the biggest hits of the year but it wasn't a hit with critics. Was it an okay popcorn flick? Or were the flaws too big, even for a mindless action film? Won't know till the screener arrives. Since it doesn't come out till Friday, I still have a few days to get it.
An Anime series from japan that was made in 1998 and based on a Manga series from 1996 / 1997. It's one of the best selling releases according to Amazon.com, but Amazon does tend to overstate Anime sales when compared to the market as a whole.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Footloose, Ben-Hur, Hostage, Mimic, Rounders, Swingers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, American Loser, Carlos, The Ledge, Henry's Crime, Go For It!, Good Neighbors