DVD and Blu-ray Releases for September 23rd, 2014
September 23, 2014
This is both a great week on the home market, as well as an amazing week on the home market. There are by my count, at least a dozen releases that could be considered must haves or perfect Christmas gifts, which is great. What makes it amazing is the lack of filler. There are a couple of weak releases here and there, but the hit to miss ratio is as good as I can remember. The biggest release of the week, according to Amazon.com, is the Halloween Complete Collection, but it is not the best release. Contenders for Pick of the Week include a couple of limited releases: Ida - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray and We Are the Best! - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray. However, in the end I went with a TV on DVD release, Modern Family: Season Five - Buy from Amazon: DVD.
The 100: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Attack on Titan, Part 2 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack or Limited Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: The Best of Sting, Distant Drums, Elmer Gantry, The Innocents (Criterion Collection), Kampfer: Complete Collection, Macbeth (Criterion Collection), Run Silent, Run Deep, Taras Bulba, and Yes: Songs From Tsongas 35th Anniversary Concert
Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: 4-Classic Christmas Movies, 5-Movie Great Holiday Collection, Children's Holiday Collector's Set, Christmas Miracles Collection, and Mr. St. Nick with 2 Bonus Movies
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
China Beach: Season 4 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Defiance: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Coffin Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Exorcist: The Complete Anthology - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Ghost in the Shell: 25th Anniversary Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Halloween: The Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
How I Met Your Mother: Season 9 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Ida - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Law & Order SVU: The Fifteenth Year - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Mama's Family: Season 5 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Modern Family: Season Five - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Mom: Pilot & Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Nashville: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Reign: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Royal Pains: Season 5 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Saw Franchise Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Scandal: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Signal - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Daniel Boone, How I Met Your Mother, Mama's Family, and State Trooper
Very Good Girls - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
We Are the Best! - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A CW show that earned good reviews, but wasn't a major hit for the network. Then again, they are barely a major network at this point.
One of the most popular Anime series around right now. The regular edition is selling very well, while the Limited Edition is much more expensive, so it is only for hardcore fans, or as Christmas gifts.
There are not a lot of secondary Blu-ray releases this week, but if you like classics, there are a few intriguing titles. Anything released by Criterion Collection it worth a second look, while Run Silent, Run Deep is a classic of the genre.
There are a number of Christmas releases, but none of them are first tier or even second tier releases.
One of Fox's best reviewed new shows from last season, but not one of its bigger hits. I would wait till this time next week before buying it. If the ratings are strong, grab it, otherwise it might not last past the season and I don't know if you want to get invested in another short-lived Fox show.
The fourth and final season of this series. It was never a monster hit in the ratings, but has developed a fanbase that remains loyal to the show.
A TV show with a video game tie-in. Yeah... that doesn't sound like a good idea. Also, there's still no word on whether or not this show has been renewed or canceled and that should have been announced a while ago.
A 13-disc, 26-movie collection hosted by Cassandra Peterson. The films are all public domain, but you are paying for Elvira's campy humor between movies. Is it worth it? It is if you are a fan of Elvira.
Is there really any reason to get this over just grabbing the original Blu-ray instead? Oh right, the complete collection is actually cheaper than the single movie release for the original. That just shows you how little the sequels add to the overall value.
A low-budget direct-to-DVD release brought to you by Lionsgate. They do find some real gems, but they also release their share of duds. Is this the former? Or the latter? Check out our review for my opinion.
The same week we have Attack on Titan coming out, one of the newest Anime titles, we also have a classic hitting the home market in an Anniversary Edition Blu-ray. Sadly, while this is labeled an Anniversary Edition, there are no extras on the Blu-ray, so that will be greatly disappointing for fans.
A 15-disc Blu-ray collection with all of the films in the franchise, plus a ton of extras. It is a lot of money, but there's plenty of value here. Unfortunately, there were too many duds in the franchise for the collection to rise to level of a Pick of the Week, but fans should be more than happy.
For the nine years this show ran, it was one of the biggest hits on TV and one of the most beloved sitcoms. ... Then they got to the series finale where they had to undo most of the character development of the past few years to cram in a predetermined but no longer viable ending. Needless to say, a lot of fans were not happy. On the other hand, if you bought the previous eight seasons, I doubt you will stop now. In fact, there's a chance you will buy the Complete Series Megaset.
This film earned 95% positive reviews and pulled in more than $3 million during its limited release run. That's a great result. Extras on the DVD and Blu-ray include a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes and a Q&A with the director. Easily worth picking up, perhaps a contender for Pick of the Week.
It is really hard to review a sketch comedy show, because you can't talk about plots without spoiling jokes. That said, I reviewed season one and really liked it. So is season three as good as the first season? Read our review to find out.
Great show, it would have to be to last this long. However, the DVD releases have never been strong and it isn't the type of show you need to see in the correct order for it to have the greatest impact.
If you have the previous four seasons, then this is worth picking up. If you waited for the Compete Collection, it wasn't worth the wait, as it is much more expensive than the individual seasons.
This year this show tied Fraser for most Outstanding Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Awards at five and tied M*A*S*H with four for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. It is clearly not only one of the best sitcoms on TV today, it is one of the best of all-time. Sadly, I don't have the screener yet, but hopefully it will arrive soon.
Given the two stars of the show, it started out rather poorly. However, the show's writing improved as the season went on and I think it is better than its reviews would indicate.
I liked the first season more than I thought I would, but I'm still waiting for the screener for season two. Hopefully it will arrive soon.
There were a lot of tentpole releases that failed to live up to expectations at the box office this summer, but Neighbors was a low budget comedy that thrived. Is it as good as its box office numbers would indicate? Or did it thrive because of weak competition? Check out our review to find out.
This show was a big hit for the CW last season, so much so that they renewed it early. ... And then its ratings tanked. The CW has made some really bad decisions lately, so much so that I wonder if they are actually trying to find rating winners, or if there's something else at play here. It is jointly owned by Paramount and Warner Bros., so perhaps the behind-the-scenes drama is having an effect.
This film started well in limited release, but collapsed as soon as it tried to expand. Is it good enough for limited release, but lacked mainstream appeal? Or did it only thrive in its opening weekend because of its two leads? Read our review for my opinion.
A summer show that has been described as a "guilty pleasure" by more than a few critics. At least it is a well made guilty pleasure.
All seven films in the Saw franchise... on 4 DVDs or 3 Blu-rays. ... You know there's something not right here. All seven movies are here, but there are no extras and the audio isn't even HD. Yeah, it's cheap, but that's not much of a saving grace, as fans of the franchise likely already have many of the films' previous releases and those releases are better.
Not only is this one of ABC's biggest hits, but it is also earning some of the network's best reviews. The biggest downside this year is the number of episodes, as there were only 18 episodes. There's a good reason for this, Kerry Washington had a baby. I don't think this adversely affected the price-per-minute, so I'm happy with the overall value. It is absolutely worth picking up.
This film opened in more than 100 theaters, but its reviews were only mixed and it opened below the Mendoza Line. Extras include audio commentary track, deleted scenes, making of featurette and outtakes. That's enough to be worth checking out for most, picking up for those who like the genre and / or cast.
How I Met Your Mother is the newest release to get a Megaset this week, but it also ended on a really low note, so that might scare away some potential buyers.
Both Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen are terrific actresses, but they have made some bad choices in roles. This is one of them. The cast is great, but 17% positive reviews is terrible, no matter how you look at it.
I'm hoping to get a screener for this movie. The reviews are nearly perfect and there are a couple of featurettes, so it is a contender for Pick of the Week.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Kôkaku kidôtai, Very Good Girls, Neighbors, Vi ar bast!, The Rover, The Signal, Ida, Run Silent Run Deep, Exorcist, Halloween, Saw, Dakota Fanning, Cassandra Peterson, Kerry Washington, Elizabeth Olsen