Home Market Releases for November 8th, 2016

November 8, 2016

It’s not a particularly deep week for new releases. A lot of releases on this week’s list were good, but not good enough to be a contender for Pick of the Week, like Daredevil: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray. I reviewed Finding Dory this weekend, but I have already named it Pick of the Week. So the only real contender was Bubba Ho-Tep: Collector’s Edition.

Billions: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A TV show about high finance. The reviews weren’t as good as the cast is, but it is still worth checking out. The extras include a quartet of featurettes, which makes is enough for a purchase.

Black Sails: Season Three - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
The first season of this show earned good reviews, but not great reviews. By the third season, there were only three reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. They are all positive, the drop in critics bothering to review the show says more than its average ever could. The extras include a recap of season two and a quartet of featurettes.

Bubba Ho-Tep: Collector’s Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This is an awesome, and awesomely bizarre movie. It’s about Elvis and a black JFK living in a retirement house trying to battle a mummy that is killing the residents to steal their life force. The original release was fantastic, but the Collector's Edition has even more extras, including a third audio commentary track. Definitely worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Daredevil: The Complete First Season - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The first of the Netflix Marvel show and it is simply fantastic. I accidentally binged-watched the entire season in one sitting. It’s a great show and definitely worth owning, but the complete lack of extras on the Blu-ray means it isn’t a contender for Pick of the Week.

Hetalia: The World Twinkle Season Six - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A rare Anime title on this column. It is set in World War II, but instead of various nations going to war, Aliens attack and the nations of the world have to come together to fight off the invaders.

Indignation - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Set in the 1950s at a conservative college, Logan Lerman plays a Jewish man who falls for Sarah Gadon, who isn’t Jewish. This causes a lot of problems. This film earned excellent reviews and pulled in over $3 million at the box office, which is better than the vast majority of limited releases manage. The only extras are two featurettes, but that’s average for a limited release. Worth picking up, but not a Pick of the Week Contender.

Into the Badlands: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This show has super stylish fighting scenes... and really nothing else. If that sounds appealing get the first episode on VOD and check it out.

Kickboxer: Vengeance - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This is almost a remake of the original, only Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the mentor instead of the avenging brother. If you are a fan of the genre and / or the actor, it is worth checking out, but I would rent it.

L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
As a Canadian, I’m patriotically bound to mention any adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. It is a beloved classic up here for a reason.

Lone Wolf and Cub (The Criterion Collection) - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This 3-disc box set is $80, but it is worth it for fans of ultraviolent martial arts movies. It also includes the American recut of the first two movies, released as Shogun Assassin, which is good, if you’ve never seen the original. Most of the extras are interviews, but there is also an archival making of documentary and more.

Making of the Mob: Chicago - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The first season, the reviews were bad. The second season, there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Clearly the critics don’t think it is worth their time.

Morris from America - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film was a VOD premiere, which killed its box office chances. It is already free on VOD with Amazon Prime, so that will likely kill its DVD / Blu-ray sales. That said, this could be the distribution model that a lot of independent releases use.

One Piece: Season Eight, Voyage Four - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I would guess this is the Anime title that shows up the most on this list.

Red Dwarf XI - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
I haven’t had a chance to watch this season yet, but I’m a long time fan of the show and I will likely buy this season soon. There are plenty of extras, including making of featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, and more.

The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I think this includes the Blu-ray, two CDs, and a vinyl copy of the concert.

Sausage Party - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Arguably the biggest release on this week’s list. The reviews were surprisingly strong, while it earned nearly $100 million at the box office. Extras are good, but not great for a first-run release. They include making of featurettes, behind-the-scenes, as well as Line-O-Rama and outtakes. It’s worth picking up, but not a Pick of the Week contender.

Strike the Blood: TV Series Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
It's a busy week for Anime titles. This is about a high school boy, who is an ancestor of an ancient vampire and the girl who is sent to mentor him, or kill him if he becomes a threat.

Taxi Driver: 40th Anniversary Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
One of the best movies ever made. If you don’t own it yet, it is an absolute must have. That said, the only new extra on this edition is a 40-minute Q&A session with select members of the cast and crew. That’s worth the double-dip, especially at this price, but not enough to be a contender for Pick of the Week.

Turn: Washington's Spies — The Complete Third Season - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
The first season earned mixed reviews and by the third season, there was only one review on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s all you really need to know.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
The Goodbye Girl - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I, the Jury - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Initiation - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Night Has A Thousand Desires - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Overlord: The Complete Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Private Property (1960) - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Private Vices Public Virtues - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Rush Hour Trilogy - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Sky Wizards Academy: The Complete Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
There’s nothing here that truly strands out. One could argue The Goodbye Girl is the best, but Private Property (1960) could also take that title.

4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
The Hunger Games - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
Sausage Party - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Combo Pack
Do you really need to see Sausage Party in 4K?

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon
Snowtime! - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Only one Christmas release this week. Now that it is acceptable to start pushing Christmas, the number of such releases tends to shrink from the September / October levels.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
Batman Beyond - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Slow week for TV on DVD Full-Series Megasets with just one release. It is a good animated show, on the other hand.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Hands of Stone - Reviews - Video on Demand
Hell or High Water - Reviews - Video on Demand
Kubo and the Two Strings - Reviews - Video on Demand
Mechanic: Resurrection - Reviews - Video on Demand
Operator - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Surprised by Love - Reviews - Video on Demand
War Dogs - Reviews - Video on Demand
Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the best releases on this week’s list, but I would wait for the Blu-ray.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Finding Dory, Sausage Party, Kickboxer: Vengeance, War Dogs, Mechanic: Resurrection, Kubo and the Two Strings, Hell or High Water, Hands of Stone, Indignation, Snowtime!, Morris from America, Private Property, Operator, Rush Hour, Logan Lerman, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sarah Gadon