It is an awesome week for new releases on the home market. Not only is one of the biggest hits of all time coming out, but there are a number of other releases that are Pick of the Week contenders. The Dark Knight Rises, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Finding Nemo, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Two, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: Season One, Brazil, Francis Ford Coppola: 5-Film Collection - Blu-ray, and others. In the end, I went with Finding Nemo: 3D Combo Pack, but it really is an excellent week for prime releases.

The Adventures of Mark Twain - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This is one weird movie, at least as far as I can tell based on the clips I've seen. I'm looking forward to getting the screener and seeing the whole thing.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Awesome timing. Not only did this film earn incredible reviews, it got shortlisted for an Oscar nomination this week. It is absolutely worth checking out for fans of documentaries, especially biographies, but there are not a lot of extras on the DVD or the Blu-ray. Also, the Blu-ray is twice as expensive as the DVD is. The DVD is worth picking up, but keep an eye on the price of the Blu-ray before making a purchase.

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film picked up four Independent Spirit Award nominations. Given its reviews, it could convert some of those into wins. The DVD only has a making of featurette, which is still enough to be worth a solid purchase, but the Blu-ray has several exclusive extras, which makes it a Pick of the Week contender.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Angry Boys, Black Lagoon: Complete Set, Bleach the Movie: Hell Verse, Brazil (Criterion Collection), Existenz, Ninja Scroll, Oklahoma, Purple Noon (Criterion Collection), and Wu Dang
There are a few good releases on this list, including Brazil, eXistenZ, and Ninja Scroll.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Finding Nemo and Up
Only two 3D releases this week, but both are Pick of the Week Contenders.

Butter - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film has an amazing cast and it earned a lot of pre-release buzz. However, one look at its reviews and it is clear something went horribly wrong. It failed to connect with critics, which explains why it failed to connect with moviegoers, which further explains why the DVD / Blu-ray has so few extras. (There's only some deleted scenes and outtakes.)

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Babes in Toyland, Blood Beat (Christmas Horrors), The Dog Who Saved The Holidays, Elf-Man, The Magic of Christmas II, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (DVD), Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Blu-ray), Silent Night (DVD), Silent Night (Blu-ray), Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 1 & 2, and Young Pioneers Christmas
There are a lot of Christmas horror movies coming out this week, but not much in the way of family films. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is one of the best known B-movies and fans of the genre should be interested in the film. I'm supposed to get a screener, but it is late.

The Dark Knight Rises - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Christopher Nolan's take on Batman is one of the most successful franchises of all time. The final chapter earned amazingly positive reviews, although not quite as positive as The Dark Knight's reviews were. There appears to be no extras on the DVD; however, the Blu-ray is loaded to the point that is it a Pick of the Week contender. Also coming out this week are the Trilogy Box Set on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Donna Reed Show: Season 5 - Buy from Amazon
This show is old-fashioned, and in a way that isn't 100% a compliment.

Eastbound & Down: The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I like Danny McBride in a lot of films he's been in. However, he is generally much better as a supporting character rather than a star. Clearly too many others felt the same way, as the third season was the last season of this show.

Francis Ford Coppola: 5-Film Collection - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
I'm pushing this back to the gift guide, partially because I've previously reviewed half of the films in the box set. It is a contender for Pick of the Week, but it would also make an amazing gift.

The Game: Season Five: Buy from Amazon
I've reviewed one or two seasons of this show and in my opinion, it was only average. Obviously since it has lasted five seasons, it has some fans out there.

Godzilla vs. Biollante - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Still waiting for the screener for this release. It is currently out of stock on Amazon.com, so perhaps something is wrong.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Based on one of the biggest video game franchises around. This website cost $5 million to make and stars some rather big names for a web series, including Anna Popplewell. The reviews have been mostly positive, while there are more than an hour of extras.

Hope Springs - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
One of several screeners that is officially late. The reviews were very good, so I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

Last Ounce of Courage - Buy from Amazon
A Christmas movie released in September. It earned no positive reviews and it bombed at the box office. Avoid at all costs.

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic - Buy from Amazon: Adventures In The Crystal Empire and Season One
A very fun cartoon that is aimed at young girls, but has found a receptive audience with a much wider demographic. The studio realizes they have a lot of older fans, and they are smart enough to realize older fans want full seasons sets. Hopefully this DVD sells very well and other studios realize full season sets are the way to go.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXV - Buy from Amazon
One of my favorite TV shows of all time. I used to get the screeners for this show all of the time, but they've dried up. I'll double-check to see if I can get this as well.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
I might get a screener for this film. Its reviews were a weak, but it was able to become a midlevel hit at the box office. I'm hoping the film is sentimental without being too sappy.

Power Rangers Super Samurai: The Complete Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I'm still waiting for the screener for this release. I was never a huge fan of this franchise, but I have enjoyed some of the incarnations, so I remain cautiously optimistic the show improved during the latest run.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
One of the best B-movies of all time. Maybe best isn't the right word. I'm still waiting for the screener, but I'm eager to see how it looks and sounds on high definition.

Silent Night - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The latest in a long line of Killer Santa Claus movies. It actually earned good reviews, but there were too make strikes against it to find an audience in limited release. It should perform better on the home market. Also coming out this week is the original film and the sequel on DVD.

The Simpsons: Season 15 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Still waiting for the screener to arrive, but while I wait, you can enter our latest contest for a chance to win the DVD.

Thunderstruck - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Real life basketball star, Kevin Durant, stars as himself, while Taylor Gray plays a 16-year old fan. Taylor is really, really bad at basketball, but one day the two switch talent levels. Now Taylor is a superstar in his highschool, while Kevin is going through a major slump, just as his team is about to reach the playoffs. Early reviews have not been kind to the film. Even the positive reviews say it is okay for kids, but no one else.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Cagney & Lacey, McMillan & Wife, and Space: 1999
Just the three Megasets this week, and none of them are major releases.

V/H/S - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This horror anthology film earned great early reviews, but when more mainstream critics voiced their opinions, the overall reviews were merely mixed. The extras are fine for this type of release with some behind-the-scenes, making of featurette, deleted scenes, etc. If you are a fan of the genre, it's not a bad deal.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2012-12-04