Home Market Releases for March 29th, 2016
March 29, 2016
There are a huge number of new releases on Amazon this week. Unfortunately, they go from Oscar contenders to stuff that would be filler on a slow week really, really quickly, so I will be skipping over most of them. Almost half of the releases on this week's list are contenders for Pick of the Week, so it is really hard to narrow that list. In the end, I couldn't chose between any of the movies / TV shows, so I went BabyMetal Metal Resistance, which comes out on CD on Friday.
Big Bad Mama - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Cherry Falls - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The City of the Dead - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
CodeGirl - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Concussion - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Exposed - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Forsaken - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Humans, Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Killing Them Safely - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Point Break - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack
Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: An American Ascent, Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival, Curveball, Fish: The Surfboard, Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Norm of the North, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Archer: Season 6 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Archer is arguably the best animated show currently on TV. I didn't get a chance to review season five, but I'm hoping the season six screener arrives soon. If the reviews are any indication, the quality hasn't dipped a bit. I can't wait to see it.
Bicycle Thieves: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
An Italian movie about a man who pawned his bed in order to buy a bike he needed for work, only to have it stolen the first day on the job. This is widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made and the Criterion Collection includes a documentary on the movie, and another on Italian neorealism, and more. Definitely worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.
A Roger Corman movie. Like most of his movies, it isn't high art, but it is entertaining.
Cartel Land - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This documentary deals with the drug cartels that have dominated the Mexican drug trade for so long. The reviews are amazing and it even picked up an Oscars Nomination. Unfortunately, it is not getting a Blu-ray release here.
A Teenage slasher from the year 2000. It never got a theatrical release, because the MPAA could never agree on a rating, despite the studio coming up with many cuts. Eventually it was released on TV, while it appears the original cut might be lost forever. The reviews are mixed, but fans of the genre might want to check it out.
A 1960 British horror film featuring Christopher Lee. There are no reviews, but any horror film with Christopher Lee is worth mentioning. This is the longer U.K. cut and the extras include an hour of interviews with Christopher Lee, as well as an audio commentary track. Worth picking up. And if you like this movie, this Poe / Lovecraft Double-Shot is also worth picking up.
Video on Demand
A documentary about a technology competition designed to get girls into programming, where they are underrepresented. The reviews are reviews are good, but not great, so call it a rental.
Busted Oscar-bait about the doctor who discovered the link between repeated head trauma and the degenerative disease CTE. The reviews are good, but not Oscar-worthy. Extras include audio commentary track, a couple of featurettes, and deleted scenes. It is a solid purchase, but not a contender for Pick of the Week.
I really hope John Wick 2 is as good as the first film, because Keanu Reeves is better than this.
There have been more Westerns released over the past couple of years than Super Hero movies. However, most westerns are like this one, earning mixed reviews and failing to find an audience in theaters. The only extra is a making of featurette. Still, if you like the genre, then it is worth a rental.
The Hateful Eight - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film earned great reviews and picked up three Oscar Nominations and one Oscar for Best Original Score. Unfortunately, the extras are very weak with just a featurette on the history of 70mm and a short behind-the-scenes featurette. It is still a contender for Pick of the Week, but that's partially because it is a slow week.
Hidden Fortress: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A film by Akira Kurosawa. The reviews are 100% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, while the Criterion Collection release has an audio commentary track, documentary, interview, etc. Worth picking up.
A British TV series about a society where there are humanoid robots called synths. Not everyone is happy with the way this changes the society. Some think these synths devalue them as people. The reviews are excellent, but this two-disc set is only eight episodes, so the price-per-minute is high.
The Hunger Games: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The screener arrived a couple of days late, but I got to the review over the weekend. The last two films didn't receive as positive a critical reaction as the first two films did. However, did the franchise end on such a sour note that it isn't worth picking up? Or did it end in such a way that even hardcore fans will give up on these films? If not, are there enough extras to be worth the double-dip?
Video on Demand
A documentary about the Taser, which should be a great non-lethal police weapon; however, due to numerous reasons, the weapon has a really high death toll. (Here's one reason: A lot of cops are not trained to treat the Taser like a weapon.) The reviews are excellent so fans of documentaries will want to pick it up.
An Anime title that is selling well enough to be worth mentioning on this list. That doesn't happen every week.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The latest four-movie collection from this series. I love this show, but I will admit the price is high, even if you look at the set as a four TV movie collection. It is a niche market release, which tend to cost more than average.
Why? Why was this movie made? And who thought spending $100 million on this movie was a good idea? Skip it.
Obviously Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the biggest release of the week and if you pre-order the DVD or Blu-ary, you can watch it on VOD on Amazon starting on Friday. That's nice. But I definitely think the Blu-ray will be the better deal. As far as rentals go, I'm interested in Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens, Point Break, The Hateful Eight, Exposed, Concussion, Forsaken, Killing Them Safely, Cherry Falls, Hunger Games, Keanu Reeves, Akira Kurosawa, Christopher Lee