Home Market Releases for June 14th, 2016

June 14, 2016

Hello, My Name is Doris

It is a much slower week than it was last time. In fact, the only two reviews this week were for releases that came out last week. That doesn't mean we don't have any good releases and there are a few contenders for Pick of the Week. Of these, Hello, My Name is Doris is the one I'm most interested in buying and the Blu-ray, while not loaded with extras, is the Pick of the Week. I'm also giving an honorary Puck of the Week to Dark Matter: Season 1, which is a Canadian Sci-fi series.

(On a side note, Amazon's list of new releases is a mess with a bunch of Game of Thrones and Star Trek titles, most of which don't even have images. This made sorting through the new releases a lot harder.)

10 Cloverfield Lane - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This film remains one of the best-reviewed wide releases of the year and also one of the most profitable, on a percent basis. On the negative side, there are people who just hated the ending and that does make it harder to recommend. Extras include an audio commentary track and a 30-minute behind-the-scene featurette, which is fine, but not Pick of the Week material.

45 Years - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
One of the best-reviewed movies of 2015. It even earned Charlotte Rampling an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the DVD or Blu-ray. It is still worth picking up, but it is not a Pick of the Week contender.

American Girl: Lea to the Rescue - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
I've reviewed one of these movies in the past and the franchise is better than most aimed at the same young demographic.

Ballers: The Complete - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Dwayne Johnson stars as an ex-football star turned financial advisor for current football players. The reviews are great, but I couldn't get into the show. A lot of critics compared it favorably to Entourage, but it is that comparison that kept me from enjoying the show.

The Bourne Classified Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A good franchise, but you know there will be a better franchise box office coming out when Jason Bourne hits the home market. I would wait.

Dark Matter: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This is a summer show and these shows tend to earn mixed reviews. I think it is better than its Tomatometer Score. Granted, the premise isn't original, but the characters are engaging and that makes the whole show worth checking out. It's one of the few shows I actually make time to watch each week.

Eddie the Eagle - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4k
Video on Demand
One of the best bombs of the year. There have been many films that failed to find an audience despite earning a lot of critical praise. Unlike Keanu, which is, in part, a parody of a little seen action film, Eddie the Eagle really feels like a populous hit. It's an inspirational sports story based on real life events. How did this bomb so badly? It did bomb and as a result, the only extra is a single featurette. It's still worth picking up, but it is not a contender for Pick of the Week.

Get a Job - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
One of the worst discrepancies between talent and Tomatometer Score. No wonder it sat on a shelf collecting dust for so many years before being released.


Gold - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I'm hoping to get a screener for this film. It is a German film from 1934. It is considered a classic by fans of both Science Fiction films of the era, as well as German films of that time. However, it is also mostly forgotten. If you are a fan of Metropolis, then this is absolutely worth checking out as well. I'm not sure what the extras are like, so I don't know if it is just worth picking up, or a real contender for Pick of the Week.

Grantchester: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A British murder mystery where a vicar and a cop team up to solve murders. The reviews are excellent, but the price-per-minute is really high for TV on DVD. Then again, that's true of most British imports.


Hello, My Name is Doris - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
One of the best limited releases of the year, both in terms of its box office results and its reviews. One could argue that the film has too much "Indie Quirk", but one could also argue that Sally Field is so charming in the movie that it doesn't matter. I fall into the latter group. Extras include an audio commentary track and some deleted / extended / alternative scenes. That's not a lot, but it is better than most limited releases and worthy of Pick of the Week.

The League: The Seventh and Final Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
I watched a few episodes of this show earlier in its run. The characters were just too unsympathetic for me to care what happened to them. On the other hand, the overall reviews were good for most of its run, so maybe it just took a while to get going.

London Has Fallen - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
2016 could go down as the year of the unnecessary sequel. This film earned terrible reviews and struggled domestically. On the other hand, it did well internationally and there will likely be a third film in the Fallen Franchise, but one that will debut internationally and not domestically. The only extras are a couple of making of featurettes, so even if you liked the movie, a rental will be enough.

Note: This Blu-ray made its home market debut on the 7th.

The Martian - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The screener arrived late, but I got to the review this week. I loved the film when I previously reviewed it, but do the new changes make it better? Read our review to find out.

Star Trek: The Original Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Didn't this come out last week? Maybe this means there's still a chance the screener will show up.

Note: This Blu-ray made its home market debut on the 7th.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Director's Cut - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Does the Director's Cut of this movie change what is widely considered the best Star Trek movie ever made? Check out our review for my opinion.

X-Files: The Event Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
A six-episode revival of the classic 1990s Sci-fi series. The show started out amazingly in terms of ratings, but its reviews started out mixed. This explains why it lost half of its audience during its run. Worse still, its final episode earned the weakest reviews. The extras are excellent, so if you did like it, it is worth picking up. However, even most fans of the show will be disappointed in that ending.

The Young Messiah - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
The only reason this isn't among the worse wide release flops is because it didn't technically open truly wide. The reviews are not nearly as bad as its box office performance, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:

Airport Box Set - Reviews / Reviews / Reviews / Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Blues Brothers Double-Shot - Reviews / Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Bodacious Space Pirates - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Conan Double-Shot - Reviews / Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Jaws 2 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Jaws 3-D - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Jaws 4: The Revenge - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Jeepers Creepers - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Jeepers Creepers 2 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Sorceress - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Jaws used to be the perfect example of declining returns for sequels. However, sequels now routinely out-perform their predecessors. ... Except for this year.

4K Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Star Trek - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4k High Definition
Star Trek Into Darkness - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4k High Definition
ULTIMATE Bodyweight Workout - No Reviews - 4k High Definition
Two points. Firstly, I think the two most recent Star Trek movies are vastly overrated. Secondly, why does anyone need an exercise video in 4k?

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
As I AM - Reviews - Video on Demand
Gridlocked - Reviews - Video on Demand
Margarita with a Straw - Reviews - Video on Demand
Mountains May Depart - Reviews - Video on Demand
Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made - Reviews - Video on Demand
Songs My Brothers Taught Me - Reviews - Video on Demand
Terrordactyl - Reviews - Video on Demand
We Got Lucky - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot - Reviews - Video on Demand
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is the biggest VOD release of the week, but that's not saying much. It is better than its box office numbers would indicate, but it is clear that political comedies are box office poison at the moment.

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Get a Job, The Young Messiah, London Has Fallen, Eddie the Eagle, Hello, My Name is Doris, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Shan he gu ren, 45 Years, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Gridlocked, Gold, We Got Lucky, Terrordactyl, Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, Star Trek, Jaws, Airport, Conan, Blues Brothers, Bourne, American Girl, Has Fallen, Sally Field, Dwayne Johnson, Charlotte Rampling