New on Disc: Eureka! The Pick of the Week
August 11, 2020
TV on DVD continues to dominate the home market on DVD and Blu-ray. This includes this week’s Pick of the Week, Eureka: The Complete Series: Blu-ray. However, it isn’t the only new release worth picking up. The Wretched was a hit in theaters, which you can’t say about most films over the past several months. Meanwhile, the price is the only downside with The Complete Films of Agnès Varda. If you want smaller releases, I would go with Lucky Grandma (DVD or Blu-ray) or Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (Blu-ray).
The Blacklist: Season Seven - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Complete Films of Agnès Varda - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Eureka: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The High Note - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Inuyasha: Set 2 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
NCIS: New Orleans: The Sixth Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Wretched - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Accidental Climber - Buy from Amazon: DVD
We have a very long list of smaller releases this week, so finding the undiscovered gems is a little more difficult. The best of this list is likely Lucky Grandma (DVD or Blu-ray). However, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (Blu-ray) is a great follow-up to one of the first and still one of the best Magic Girl animes.
All Summer Long - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The yearly flood of TV on DVD releases continues this week, including several complete series Megasets from several very disparate genres. If you want comedy, then you can pick Broad City or Mork & Mindy. Fans of westerns can grab Rawhide. Drama is represented by The Good Wife and Dynasty. Tales from the Darkside is a horror anthology series. There are even a couple of police procedural series in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and JAG. Something for everyone.
Highlights
I think the show got off to a good start, but went off the rails a few seasons ago. Then again, it has been renewed for an eighth season, so clearly there are still enough committed fans to keep it going. There are plenty of extras, more than enough to be worth picking up. In fact, one could argue it should be a Pick of the Week contender, but it has at least one too many cheesy reveals for my liking.
This 15-disc, 39-film box set is an absolute must have for fans of Agnès Varda. However, it is also $200 and that price tag, while cheap on a per-film basis, is still high enough to take it out of the running for Pick of the Week.
This fantastic sci-fi show that only ended because the Sci-fi channel was bought out and the new owners didn’t want to spend money on original shows. On the downside, there are no new extras on this 12-disc set; however, Mill Creek ported over all the old extras and there were a ton of them. It is certainly worth picking up and easily a Pick of the Week contender.
This is one of countless films that had their theatrical release disrupted by the pandemic. Its reviews are not amazing, but they are good enough that it could have become a midlevel hit under normal circumstances. Extras include a couple of making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, and a music video. It is a solid rental, leaning towards a purchase.
This Anime series turns 20 years old this year and the second Blu-ray set is one of the best-selling new releases of the week. Clearly it has maintained a large fanbase over the decade.
There are too many police procedurals out there and I’ve stopped watching all of them. That said, this DVD is selling well, so not everyone has been burned out on the genre.
This is one of the few films to do well in theaters during the pandemic. In fact, it did so well that I’m a little surprised that it isn’t getting a much bigger release. Perhaps the studio didn’t expect the film to be a box office hit, as so few horror films do well in limited release. The pandemic is making it hard to film interviews now, which limits the options as far as producing extras for the disc release. Granted, two audio commentary tracks is better than most limited releases get and that’s more than enough to be worth picking up.
Other Movie Releases
Aliens & Hippies - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Archive - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Are You Afraid of the Dark - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Complete Collection - Buy from Amazon: SD on Blu-ray
Beyond the Visible — Hilma af Klint - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
British Invasion - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card - The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Crshd - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Diva - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Elvis: That’s the Way It Is - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
G-Loc - Buy from Amazon: DVD - Rent from Redbox: DVD
Gemini - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The High Note - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
How to Build a Girl - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Inside the Rain - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Lady Kills / Pervertissima - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Lucky Grandma - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Max Reload and the Nether Blasters - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Michael - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Mikey: Collector’s Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Monstrous - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Neo Ultra Q - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Phantom of the Opera: Collector’s Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Revenge of the Living Dead Girls - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Rook. - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Skin Walker - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Sonja: The White Swan - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Tender Mercies - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Valley of the Gods - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Waiting for the Barbarians - Buy from Amazon: DVD - Rent from Redbox: DVD
A White, White Day - Buy from Amazon: DVD
TV on DVD Releases
American Experience: The Vote - Buy from Amazon: DVD
American Masters: Mae West: Dirty Blonde - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Arthur: The Ultimate Friendship Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Asian Americans - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Belgravia - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Bridal Wave - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Broad City: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Dynasty: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Final Space: The Complete First and Second Seasons - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Gold Digger: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Good Wife: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
JAG: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Love Boat: Seasons 1 - 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Mork & Mindy: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Nova: Eagle Power - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Playing For Keeps: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Rawhide: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Tales From the Darkside: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Filed under: Home Market Releases, DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Waiting for the Barbarians, The High Note, Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur, Skin Walker, Max Reload and the Nether Blasters, G-Loc, Crshd, Valley of the Gods, Aliens & Hippies, Archive, All Summer Long, Monstrous, La revanche des mortes vivantes, Rook., Accidental Climber, Dynasty, Mork & Mindy, The Love Boat, Rawhide, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Neon Genesis Evangelion, JAG, Eureka, The Good Wife, American Experience, Nova, American Masters, Broad City, The Blacklist, NCIS New Orleans, Arthur, Asian Americans, Gold Digger, Belgravia, Agnès Varda