Home Market Releases for August 23rd, 2016

August 24, 2016

There are not many major hits on this week’s list, but there are several releases that are contenders for Pick of the Week. This includes TV on DVD releases like Ash vs The Evil Dead: Season 1 (DVD or Blu-ray), as well as limited releases like Maggie’s Plan (DVD or Blu-ray). However, in the end I went with The Nice Guys on Blu-ray Combo Pack.

The Bloodstained Butterfly - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
An Italian film from the 1970s. It looks interesting, but I’m still waiting for the screener. There’s not even a page on Rotten Tomatoes.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
One of the best comedies on Fox news, although I haven’t seen more than an episode or two of the show. ... In fact, I don’t watch any Fox shows anymore. I watch Bob's Burgers, but not on Fox. Strange. It’s worth picking up, but the extras are not enough to make it a Pick of the Week contender.

Castle: Season 8 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I watched this show from the first episode right to the end of the series. The final season wasn’t the best, but I liked the finale so I will be picking up the DVD sooner rather than later.

Clown - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
A man puts on a clown outfit only to learn it was the skin of a child-eating demon. Now he is driven to eat kids. ... Okay. The reviews are okay, so renting it on VOD is enough for most.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A bit of a misstep in the DC TV universe. It only earned 59% positive reviews, compared to 96% positive reviews for Arrow. Extras include a quartet of featurettes, plus some outtakes. That’s not bad, but not great either. Also coming out this week are a trio of DC Animated Double-Shots, Batman: Gotham Knight / Batman Year One, Justice League: Doom / Justice League: War, and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox / Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths.

DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
DC’s latest animated foray focuses on a group of female heroes and villains as they go to high school. There are still no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but since I really want more super hero stories that focus on female characters, I’m interested in this.

Elementary: Season 4 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A police procedurals that is a modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes with Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu as Holmes and Dr. Watson respectively. The reviews have been good, but the ratings have always been on the low side. I reviewed the first two seasons of this show, but I didn’t put in requests for the other two seasons, as I’ve grown tired of the police procedural genre.

Hard Labor - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I put in a request for this film, but the screener hasn’t arrived. It does look really good.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, 4K Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The movie has a lesson to teach other studios. Don’t make a sequel without the original star. It rarely works out. The extras are okay, so you if you liked the movie, the extras are fine with an audio commentary track, making of featurette, outtakes, and deleted scenes.

Jillian Michaels 10-Minute Body Transformation - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
An exercise DVD in the top ten for the week. That’s rare.

Lucifer: The Complete First Season - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Lucifer leaves Hell and decides to help solve crimes. ... Okay, police procedurals have hit a new low.

Maggie’s Plan - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Greta Gerwig stars as a woman who falls in love with a married man, but soon realizes the relationship was a mistake. She then works with his ex-wife to get the two back together, so she’s not the bad guy. The reviews are excellent, but it didn't do as well as expected in limited release. Extras include audio commentary track, making of featurette, Q&A session at Sundance, and outtakes. It is worth picking up and it is even a contender for Pick of the Week.

The Man Who Knew Infinity - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
A Biopic of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The reviews were good, but not great, as the critics said it followed too many Biopic clichés. It did well compared to most limited releases, but not enough for the studio to put any extras on the DVD or Blu-ray. It is worth a rental, but that’s it.

Masterpiece Mystery! Double-Shot - Reviews: Endeavour and Inspector Lewis - Buy from Amazon: Endeavour: Season Three and Inspector Lewis: Season Eight
Two related British police procedurals hitting the home market. Like most such releases, the reviews are good, but the price-per-episode is really high.

Narcos: Season 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A TV series based on the life of drug cartel leader, Pablo Escobar. The reviews are good, certainly better than most shows that debuted last season. However, it’s not award-worthy and it certainly doesn’t have the buzz that other shows on this week’s list have. I think it is going to fall between the cracks for most people.

NCIS: Season 13 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I stopped watching this show a few seasons ago. In fact, with the demise of Castle, there are no police procedurals that I watch anymore.

The Nice Guys - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Ryan Gosling plays a P.I. and Russell Crowe plays an enforcer for hire, who team up to help on a missing woman case. The reviews are amazing, but it struggled in theaters. The extras are limited to a single featurette on the DVD and an additional one on the Blu-ray. That’s not good, but it is a shallow week, so it is still a contender for Pick of the Week.

Roots - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A remake of the classic TV mini-series. When they first announced this remake, I was skeptical, because I thought it had no chance of living up to the original. I’m not 100% sure the new one is as good as the original, but it came damn close. It came much closer than I think anyone thought it would. Extras include a documentary on the real history. It is worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week. However, if it had a full set of extras, it would have been the clear winner.

Scandal: Season 5 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This show is no longer at its peak in terms of quality or ratings, but it is still an amazing show. Unfortunately, it is not coming out on Blu-ray, which does hurt its overall value.

The Strain - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A TV series about a vampiric infection that strikes New York City. The reviews for the second season were below those of the first season, and usually the opposite occurs, as critics who didn’t like the first season drop out from reviewing the show. This explains why the ratings were nearly half of what they were season one. If the show drops like this for season three, there won’t be a season four.

Superstore: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A workplace comedy set in a superstore. The reviews are mixed as the cast is great but the writing is sadly typical of your average sitcom.

The Walking Dead: Season 6 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This season had one of the worst end of season cliffhangers of all time. If the fans cared, they wouldn’t watch the first episode of the new season to punish the showrunners. I certainly wouldn’t buy the DVD or Blu-ray.

Weiner - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
One of the best political documentaries from the past several years. It is about Anthony Weiner's epic political meltdown after it was revealed he was sting sexting, even after this killed his political career the first time. If you are interested in political documentaries, or biographies about public figures taken down by scandal, then this is a must have.

Wiener-Dog - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Given this film’s pedigree, it missed expectations, both with critics and with moviegoers. It is worth checking out, if you like writer-director Todd Solondz. Admittedly, his work isn’t really mainstream, so that audience is limited.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Chandu The Magician - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Duel - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
KISS Rocks Vegas - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Midnight Run - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Modesty Blaise - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Psycho IV: The Beginning - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Spiders - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Tab Hunter Confidential - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A Taste of Honey (Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Woman in the Dunes (The Criterion Collection) - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
None of the secondary Blu-ray releases really stand out. Although, any time there are a couple of Criterion Releases, there’s something to be interested in.

4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
The Huntsman: Winter’s War - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
Only one 4K release this week. It is an visually impressive movie, but not a good movie.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Matt Houston - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Wonder Years - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Is this the third or fourth Megaset release for The Wonder Years?

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
The Duel - Reviews - Video on Demand
Father Joseph - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Genius - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Jungle Book (Extended) - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Jungle Book (Theatrical) - Reviews - Video on Demand
Now You See Me 2 - Reviews - Video on Demand
Outlaws and Angels - Reviews - Video on Demand
Tab Hunter Confidential - Reviews - Video on Demand
Wrong Swipe - No Reviews - Video on Demand
The Jungle Book is by far the biggest VOD release of the week. It comes out on Blu-ray next week. I have the screener and the review will go online over the weekend.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Clown, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Jungle Book, The Nice Guys, Now You See Me 2, Genius, Ratchet and Clank, Wiener-Dog, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Duel, Maggie’s Plan, Weiner, Outlaws and Angels, DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, Wrong Swipe, Father Joseph, A Taste of Honey, Suna no onna, Chandu The Magician, Evil Dead, Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Greta Gerwig, Ryan Gosling, Lucy Alexis Liu, Jonny Lee Miller, Julianne Moore, Dev Patel, Todd Solondz, Anthony Weiner