Home Market Releases for April 16th, 2019

April 17, 2019

We’ve hit the summer doldrums on the home market, but we do have the first major hit of 2019 to talk about. Too bad Glass earned reviews that are so weak. Unfortunately, none of the smaller releases really rise to the level of Pick of the Week. Fans of animation are in luck, as both Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Justice League vs. The Fatal Five are both worth picking up. Bend of the River is a great western. Meanwhile, if you like B-movie cult classics, The Manitou is for you.

The Ancient Magus Bride: Part Two - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
I’ve talked about this Anme before. The reviews are great, but the child bride part of the show is too much for me.

Andy Sidaris Double-Shot
Hard Ticket to Hawaii - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Malibu Express - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Two slices of 1980s Cheese directed by Andy Sidaris. They are not good, but they are entertaining, if you are into cheesy films.

Bend of the River - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A 1950s Western starring James Stewart, among others. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but the ones there are 100% positive. On the other hand, the only extra is a new audio commentary track, so while it is worth picking up, especially for fans of the actor and / or genre, it is not Pick of the Week material.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
It’s very rare for Anime to get a theatrical release, so for this film to earn $30 million in theaters is practically unheard of. Fans of the show will certainly want to pick up the Blu-ray, which includes a number of extras, mostly interviews.

Escape at Dannemora - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A TV mini-series about the 2015 prison break in upstate New York. The reviews are great, but even positive reviews mention its slow pacing.

Glass - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The third and final installment in the Unbreakable franchise. It is also the worst installment in the franchise. There are plenty of extras on the DVD / Blu-ray, but not enough to compensate for the quality of the movie.

Justice League vs. The Fatal Five - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
The D.C. Animated Universe is going strong as this film is earning 100% positive reviews. Granted, there are only four reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, so 100% positive isn’t as impressive. The extras are strong, so it is certainly worth picking up for fans of this franchise.

The Kid Who Would Be King - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This film earned a Tomatometer Score of 90% positive, but it bombed in theaters earning less than $30 million worldwide. Is it as good as its Tomatometer Score or as bad as its box office numbers? As in many cases, it is somewhere in the middle. If you look at the film’s average score, it is under 7 out of 10, so while nearly all critics liked the film, very few loved it. Additionally, live action kids films rarely do well in theaters. That said, if you have kids in the right age range, then it is worth picking up.

The Manitou - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This is not a good movie in the traditional sense, but it is a fun and schlocky cult classic. If you want to see Tony Curtis play a fake psychic battling a Native American spirit, then this is something you have to see.

Replicas - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Video on Demand
One of the worst-reviewed films of 2018. Skip it.

Victoria: Season 3 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A TV series about Queen Victoria, played by Jenna Coleman. The reviews have been consistently strong throughout its three-season run so far, so if you like British period pieces, it is worth checking out.

Wedding Of Dreams - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The latest Hallmark Channel original movie to hit the home market. This one stars Debbie Gibson and an actor I don’t recognize. (Sorry.) This is usually the case. The actress tends to have some name recognition from a TV career, or in this case, a music career, but the actor is rather generic.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Black Gunn and The Take - Double-Feature - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Brief Encounter - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Becky Sharp - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Diamonds of the Night: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Grave of the Vampire - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Keoma: Special Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Master of Dark Shadows - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Of Fathers and Sons - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A Summer in La Goulette - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Superstition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The best secondary Blu-ray releases tend to be the older ones, including Diamonds of the Night.

4K Ultra HD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Glass - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Justice League vs. The Fatal Five - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
The Karate Kid - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
The Kid Who Would Be King - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Four 4K releases this week. Of these, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five is the one I would recommend the most.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
The Big C - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This show started out well but fell apart in the end. That’s too bad, as Laura Linney is really good in the show.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Thriller - Reviews - Video on Demand
Why would you make a movie called “Thriller”? A name that generic makes it hard for people to discover it and if you know about, trying to find reviews to see if it is worth watching is going to be even harder.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Glass, Replicas, The Kid Who Would Be King, Kinder des Kalifats, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, Master of Dark Shadows, The Manitou, Démanty noci, Brief Encounter, Unbreakable, James Stewart, Tony Curtis, Laura Linney, Debbie Gibson, Jenna Coleman, Andy Sidaris