Home Market Releases for May 16th, 2017

May 16, 2017

It is another terrible week on the home market. There are three first-run releases coming out this week, which isn’t a bad number. However, all three earned terrible reviews and bombed in theaters, so you should avoid all of them. There’s not a lot of limited releases, classics, or TV on DVD releases to make up the gap, so for the second week in a row, we have a Video on Demand release topping the list of best new releases. This week it is Logan, which is one of the best wide releases of the year. I would wait for the Blu-ray, on the other hand.

American Experience: The Great War - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This would be filler on even an average week on the home market. This week, it is one of the ten best-selling new releases of the week.

Bruce Lee Double-Shot
Game Of Death - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Return of the Dragon - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Special edition Blu-rays of two Bruce Lee movies, including the last movie he made. Extras include audio commentary tracks, deleted scenes, outtakes, interviews, retrospectives, etc. They are worth picking up and contenders for Pick of the Week.

Digimon Adventure Tri.: Reunion - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
It’s been 15 years since this show first aired, so the new version has a lot of nostalgia going for it. The user reviews on My Anime List are better than I was expecting, so if you liked the show as a kid, this version is worth checking out.

Girls und Panzer: The FILM - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
An Anime movie that is a continuation of the TV show. It’s a parody of the sports club Anime subgenre, sort of. The sports club in this movie is tank battles. High school girls are in a club where they fight in tanks. It is rare for Anime titles to get theatrical releases here, but this film is one of the exceptions. There’s only one review on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is earning good reviews on My Anime List, so if you are a fan of Anime, it is likely worth checking out. Maybe start with the TV show.

The Kennedys: After Camelot - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
There are zero positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, so you can safely skip it.

Lovesong - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Jena Malone and Riley Keough play two women who go on a road trip. They become intimate, which causes their friendship to end. Two years later, they reconnect when one of the women gets married. The reviews are good, but it struggled in theaters, so it is only getting a DVD release. Definitely worth checking out, but not quite a Pick of the Week contender.

The Mummy Ultimate Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
With the reboot coming soon, now is a great time to re-release the Brendan Fraser trilogy. None of them were great, but they tend to at least be fun. I’m worried the new movie will be grim and take itself too seriously. Maybe if you liked the movies, but never bought them on Blu-ray, then it is worth upgrading. That’s not an enthusiastic recommendation.

The Outcasts - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
When a high school prank goes too far, the unpopular girls decide to rise up and take on the popular ones. This film will likely please its target audience, even if most critics said it was extremely average.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
I know the film says it is the final chapter and it bombed domestically. However... $280 million internationally on a $40 million budget it hard to ignore. There’s a real chance it paid for its combined production and advertising budgets just on the international box office numbers. And that doesn’t take into account the home market, merchandising, franchise synergy, etc. I could see the studio making another installment in the franchise, one that doesn’t even get a wide release in North America. As for the DVD / Blu-ray release, if you like the movies, then it is absolutely worth picking up. There’s a Retaliation Mode, which interrupts the movie for behind-the-scenes footage hosted by Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson. I love features like this and I wish more Blu-rays had them. Also coming out this week is a Franchise Box Set, for those who like the movies, but didn’t bother buying them on Blu-ray.

The Space Between Us - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
One of the biggest bombs of the year so far and completely skippable in the home market.

Streets of Fire - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This film was a box office bomb when it was released in the 1980s, but according to Amazon, it is in the top five best-selling new releases of the week. It is a really shallow week.

Vision Quest - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This film was a box office bomb when it was released in the 1980s, but according to Amazon, it is in the top ten best-selling new releases of the week. On an average week, this would barely be worth a spot in the secondary Blu-ray releases.

Universal Monster Movie Double-Shot
Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Mummy: Complete Legacy Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Like I mentioned above, The Mummy reboot is coming out soon, so the studio is pushing some of its older material to take advantage of the buzz.

Willard - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Ben - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The horror film and its sequel are both about killer rats. I think it would be fair to call these films cult classics. Both Blu-rays have an audio commentary track and interviews, as well as archival publicity (trailers, TV spots, etc.). It is worth picking up, if you are a fan of the movies. On the other hand, the reviews are barely above 60% positive, so they are not true classics of the genre.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, 3D Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This film bombed domestically, but might have done well enough to justify another installment in the franchise. If it does, it might not get a truly wide release here. As for the home market releases, the extras consist of four behind-the-scenes / making of featurettes and some outtakes. Combined, the total running time is about an hour, which isn’t bad, but is also not great for a first-run release.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Africa's Great Civilizations - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Ajin: Demi-Human - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Climber - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Danger Close - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Divine Gate: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Gangsta: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Good Morning - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Haruchika: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Payback Time - Triple Feature - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Seven Deadly Sins: Season One, Part One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
There are a lot of Anime titles on this week’s list of secondary Blu-ray releases.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
xXx: Return of Xander Cage - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 3D Combo Pack
Only one 3D release this week and it bombed domestically. It was a big hit internationally, on the other hand.

4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
The Mummy Ultimate Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
xXx: Return of Xander Cage - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
None of the 4K releases this week are really worth picking up. The Mummy box set is a marginal buy, at best.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
The Westerner - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Calling this a Megaset is a bit of a cheat, as it only lasted 13 episodes. It is better regarded now than when it first came out, as it was a bit ahead of its time.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Before I Fall - Reviews - Video on Demand
Between Us - Reviews - Video on Demand
Cold Zone - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Collide - Reviews - Video on Demand
Fist Fight - Reviews - Video on Demand
The LEGO Batman Movie - Reviews - Video on Demand
Logan - Reviews - Video on Demand
Logan is the best VOD release on this week’s list. In fact, it is the best new release on this week’s list. That said, I would wait for the Blu-ray.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Willard, Streets of Fire, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Logan, The Lego Batman Movie, Collide, Danger Close, The Space Between Us, Fist Fight, Before I Fall, Lovesong, Between Us, Cold Zone, Mummy, xXx, Resident Evil, Brendan Fraser, Milla Jovovich, Bruce Lee, Jena Malone, Paul W.S. Anderson, Riley Keough