The dead zone on the home market continues with only three wide releases... well, two and a half wide releases, none of which matched expectations at the box office. There's not even a lot of limited releases, catalog titles, or TV on DVD releases to compensate. There are some, just not a lot. My favorite title on this week's list is actually a late review: White Collar: Season One on DVD and Blu-ray. Meanwhile, the two best new releases this week have a Canadian Connection, Degrassi: The Next Generations: Season 9 and NHL: Greatest Stanley Cup Moments, both of which earn Puck of the Week honors.

2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams - Buy from Amazon: R-rated DVD or Unrated DVD
The sequel to 2001 Maniacs, which was about a group of southerns who celebrated the anniversary of the loss of the Civil War by killing an eating a bunch of Yankee tourists. This time they've taken their act on the road and run into a Reality TV crew.

Being Human: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost live together in a flat in the U.K. The show has quite a few fans, enough that it is being remade for the SyFy channel, so it makes sense they are releasing the first season on DVD now that the buzz for the new show is growing. Granted, a lot of that buzz is, "The remake is going to suck compared to the original." Hopefully that's not the case. Regardless, it doesn't affect the quality of the original, which is worth picking up, while the Blu-ray is the better deal thanks to its price.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Being Human: Season 1, Black Narcissus, Cats & Dogs, Cop Out, Evil Aliens, Forbidden World, Galaxy of Terror, Kurokami: The Animation Volume 2, Last Chance to See, Legends of the Dark Kings: Fist of the North Star, The Losers, Margot, Most Dangerous Man in America, Mother, NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2010: Chicago Blackhawks, The Red Shoes, Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne: The Complete Series, The Runaways, and Tin Man
There's weakness on the top of the list of Blu-ray releases with no one title that looks like it will be a huge seller. On the other hand, there are a number of interesting catalog releases, including the latest Criterion Collection release, The Red Shoes.

Cop Out - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film represents the first time Kevin Smith directed a film that he didn't also write, and the results were mixed. On the one hand, the film's reviews were the weakest in Kevin Smith's directing career, but the box office numbers were the best. The DVD has some deleted scenes, but that's it, so it's only worth a rental. On the other hand, the Blu-ray has a picture-in-picture track, making-of featurette, and more. If you are interested in buying the film, High Definition is the way to go. However, I would start with a rental first.

Courage the Cowardly Dog: Season One - Buy from Amazon
The second of the Cartoon Network Hall of Fame release. This one, along with the Johnny Bravo release, are being used to test the waters to see if other cartoons deserve their own DVD releases. They picked two strong shows, so if you are a fan of the network's original shows in general, and this show in particular, pick it up right away.

Degrassi: The Next Generations: Season 9 - Buy from Amazon
This show has now been on the air in various forms for 30 years starting with The Kids Of Degrassi Street starting in 1979. This four-disc set includes all 19 episodes from the latest season of the latest incarnation of the show, plus the Degrassi Takes Manhattan TV movie. Absolutely worth picking up, and a contender for Pick of the Week.

I Do & I Don't - Buy from Amazon
A young couple needs to take mandatory marriage counseling before the church will marry them. However, the couple they are assigned to are in a dysfunctional marriage and are on the verge of divorce. On the good side, it stars Jane Lynch, who is one of the most reliable comedic actors out there. On the other hand, it was made in 2007 and it is only coming out on DVD now. Also, there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and that's not a good sign either. If you are a fan of Jane Lynch's then it might be worth checking out, but I think it's a bit of a risk for a blind buy, so start with a rental.

Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny - Buy from Amazon
Kevin Hart has had a lot of smaller parts in a lot of movies, but this is only his second stand-up concert DVD. I must admit, I haven't seen any of his stand-up work, so I can't judge the quality. The DVD is selling very well, at least compared to most releases, so that's something to consider.

Look Around You: Season One - Buy from Amazon
A parody of old educational shorts from the 1970s. There's a lot of talent involved here, including Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and reports are they help create pitch perfect parodies. Extras include audio commentary tracks with many of the people involved, which is great fun. On the other hand, the price per minute is high for a TV on DVD release.

The Losers - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars as the leader of a group of special ops who are turned on and left for dead. However, they survive, and with the help of Uhura, they seek their revenge. The film earned mixed reviews and went almost nowhere at the box office. It should perform better on the home market, even if the releases are only average. The DVD has a trio of making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, and a preview for Under the Red Hood on DVD and Blu-ray. The Blu-ray has all of these, plus a digital copy of the movie and costs just $3 more. Worth picking up.

The Most Dangerous Man in America - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
One of the best documentaries of the year; in fact, it earned an Oscar nomination for best Feature Length Documentary. It is also an incredibly timely documentary, as the same mistakes made in Vietnam are being repeated in Iraq and Afghanistan. Extras include interviews, bios, and excerpts from the Nixon tapes. Definitely worth picking up. Unfortunately, the Blu-ray is very expensive compared to the DVD over on Amazon.com.

Mother - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Written and directed by Joon-ho Bong, who also made The Host. This film earned reviews that were even better than The Host's. On the other hand, it wasn't able to find the same level of success at the box office. (It did do very well compared to most foreign language films.) There are quite a list of extras on the DVD and the Blu-ray, but I'm hoping my screener will arrive sooner rather than later and I'll get into more detail when it does.

My Boys: The Complete Second and Third Seasons - Buy from Amazon
This is a confusing show to talk about. Season one was 13 episodes long, while season two was only 9, so they combined those two and called it Season One when it came out on DVD. The next two seasons each have 9 episodes and are found here while the fourth season begins its run on TBS next week. The show's quality leaves it stuck in sitcom land, while the DVD has no extras. The price per minute isn't bad, on the other hand.

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2009-2010 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Dear NHL. Real fans want full games, not just some highlights.
Dear Chicago Blackhawks. You're on my list. ... Another year without a shave and a haircut. While I wait for my Canucks to win it all, I can watch them lose game seven of 1994 Stanley Cup Finals on this Seven-Disc Collection, which is a much better deal.

Prodigal Sons - Buy from Amazon
When Paul was in high school, he was the star quarterback but left to become a filmmaker. When she returned as Kimberly Reed, she decided to film the reunion for this documentary. The film earned overwhelmingly positive reviews, but it struggled to find an audience theatrically. Extras include a 12-minute featurette on Kimberly, introducing the film to her church, and highlights from several Q&A sessions. Worth checking out and worth buying over just renting.

The Runaways - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The film had a huge amount of buzz when it was announced. With a big cast of up-and-coming actresses and a compelling story of rock'n'roll, it seemed like a surefire hit. However, as the release date neared, the reviews were only mixed and that's not enough for a film opening in select cities. For that matter, opening a film in select cities is often a mistake. The DVD has an audio commentary track, making-of featurette, and a short promo piece. The Blu-ray includes the MovieIQ trivia track, plus it only costs $3 more, so it is clearly the better deal. And it is worth picking up.

Super Friends!: Season One, Volume Two - Buy from Amazon
The second half of the first Justice League show from 1973. It would be so much better if Warner Bros. were to release these shows in chronological order, but at least they appear to be releasing them all.

Super WHY! : Attack of the Eraser - Buy from Amazon
I got to review one of the PBS Kids DVD releases, but not the other. That's because this one was marked United States only, and even though the site is American, I live in Canada, so there's this weird no man's land effect. I've reviewed a previous release of Super WHY! and it is good value if you have kids of the right age demographic.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2010-07-19