DVD and Blu-ray Releases for November 18th, 2014
November 19, 2014
There are no summer tentpole releases making their home market debuts this week, but that doesn't mean it is a bad week on the home market. 22 Jump Street is leading the way, while there are four other first run releases among the new releases, ranging from If I Stay to Sin City: A Dame to Kill For in terms of box office numbers. Not only that, but this week there are a trio of Hayao Miyazak releases, including his more recent film, The Wind Rises, which is coming out on DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack. That film, along with the double-shot, are the Picks of the Week. However, they are not the only films worth picking up. If you like horror / comedy, give Housebound on DVD or Blu-ray a try.
20,000 Days on Earth - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
22 Jump Street - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
And So It Goes - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Automata - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Boy Meets Girl, A Certain Magical Index: Complete Season 1, Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Coming Home, The Dark Half, The Dirt Bike Kid, I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job, It Happened One Night, Jeff Beck: Life in Tokyo, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Monkey Shines, Moontrap, Penance, Ragnarok, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, and Trancers
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: The Bubble
Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Christmas Evil, The Last Straw, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie's Winter Bow Show, Northpole, Oh Christmas Tree, Pocketful of Miracles, Power Rangers Megaforce Robo Knight Before Christmas, Robot Chicken: Christmas Specials, and A Very Funny Christmas
Frozen - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Housebound - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
If I Stay - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Into to the Storm - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Jeff Dunham: All Over the Map - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Johnny Worricker Trilogy - Buy from Amazon: Turks & Caicos and Salting the Battlefield
King of the Hill - Buy from Amazon: Season 7 and Season 8
The Last Play at Shea - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
One Piece: Season 6: Voyage Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Paradise: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Death Note and The Twilight Zone
This film earned near perfect reviews. However, it is a weird mix of documentary and drama and it couldn't maintain its momentum after its opening weekend.
The biggest hit of the week and one of the best comedy sequels ever. It's rare for a comedy sequel to do as well as its predecessor. Unlike Sci-fi sequels or fantasy sequels, there's not a lot of world building happening in the first film. Because of that, you can't simply tell another unique story in the same universe, so in order to be connected to the first film, the plot of the sequel has to be too similar to the first film. As such, the sequel tends to come off as a remake with the same actors. The Hangover franchise is an excellent recent example of this. This movie doesn't fall for that trap. Additionally, the DVD and Blu-ray are loaded, with the Blu-ray having a significant amount of exclusives. Easily worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.
This film earned terrible reviews and bombed at the box office. I can't find any information on the extras, but I doubt it will matter to most people.
A Sci-fi thriller about a post-apocalyptic world where robots protect the few remaining humans. When one breaks its programming to protect, Antonio Banderas has to investigate. It is an interesting setup, but the reviews were weak. Additionally, the only extra is a five-minute making of featurette. Maybe if you really like the genre it is worth a rental.
As usual, there's an eclectic mix of movies on the secondary Blu-ray releases. The one I'm most interested in is Moontrap, which I saw when it first came out on VHS, but that was years and years ago. I want to know if it lives up to my memories. And on name alone, I might have to buy I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job.
A film from 1966 being released on 3D Blu-ray. I haven't found many reviews on line,but most of them are quite bad. That said, if you like B-movies, then this one should be worth a try.
This is the oldest film I've ever reviewed and arguably the first horror film ever made. Obviously the genre has evolved since then, but is this film still effective? Or does its value come from an historical perspective? Read our review to find out.
There are not a lot of Christmas releases on this week's list and none are must haves. Robot Chicken is funny, but the DVD is overpriced for its running time. I guess Pocketful of Miracles is the best.
I might get this DVD to review, but the chances are 50/50 at best.
Two of Hayao Miyazak's earlier films are making their Blu-ray debuts this week. Are they worth owning? And are they worth the double-dip for those that have them on DVD? Check out our review to find out.
A horror comedy, which is a tough genre to pull off. Usually these films are not funny enough to be a good comedy and / or not scary enough to be a good comedy. The reviews suggest the film manages to hit both ends of the genre. The extras are limited to an audio commentary track and deleted scenes, but that's enough to be worth picking up.
A Young Adult Adaptation. This film earned weak reviews, but the main complaint was the film was emotionally manipulative rather than emotionally moving. However, if you are a fan of the genre, this particular problem is common, so it might not be as big of an issue as it was with critics. Extras are impressive with two audio commentary tracks, although the second one is merely a select scene commentary track. It details the songs chosen for the film and why. It is close to an hour long, so it is not an insignificant extra. There are also deleted scenes, with optional audio commentary, a 15-minute long making of featurette, etc. Worth picking up, if you are a fan of the movie.
One of the weaker wide releases of summer, at least as far as critics were concerned. It did okay at the box office compared to its production budget. Extras include a trio of featurettes, which isn't bad, but it isn't enough to overcome the reviews.
This Blu-ray arrived unannounced on my desk last week; however, I won't be reviewing it for two reasons. Firstly, I never know what to say when it comes to reviewing stand-up comic releases. Additionally, I don't like ventriloquism. I will be giving it away in our next box office prediction contest starting this Friday.
The first part of this trilogy, Page Eight, came out three years ago. The first one earned plenty of nominations and awards, but there are not a lot of reviews for the two new installments. [Copy Ed: They were not as strong as Page Eight, but were still enjoyable.]
It has been four years since this show was canceled, but we still have two seasons before its DVD run is over.
I previously reviewed the DVD but didn't get a Blu-ray for an updated review.
An Anime title that appears on the top page of the Amazon's new releases list. This is rather rare, but One Piece is popular here.
A British TV series set in 1870s about a woman working as a shop girl during a time where the society was changing. Its reviews are great, but like many British imports, the price-per-minute is really high.
The latest Power Rangers DVD is a Christmas special. It is after Halloween, so this is an acceptable release date. However, is the DVD worth picking up? Check out our review for my opinion.
The first movie had a lot of style and that helped it win over critics and moviegoers. Nearly a decade later, the sequel has the same sense of style, but it doesn't seem as fresh and as a result the reviews were weaker. The box office numbers were a disaster. A Tomatometer Score of 44% positive isn't great, but it certainly doesn't explain the $14 million box office run. The first film opened with twice that much. Extras include the ability to watch the entire movie with the green screen backgrounds, but only in high speed mode. This could have been a great picture-in-picture feature, but no one does those anymore. Next up are a handful of character profiles, as well as featurettes on the stunts and the make-up. It is worth picking up for fans of the first film, even if it is not as good as the first movie.
Just the two TV on DVD Megasets coming out this week, I think. There are also entries for In Search Of... and McMillan and Wife, but Amazon has them as "Currently Unavailable".
Hayao Miyazak's final film... maybe. He's retired a number of times in the past, but he says this is it, for sure this time. Is this film among his best films? Is it his first bad movie? Read our review for my opinion.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, If I Stay, Frozen, 22 Jump Street, The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ), Into the Storm, , And So It Goes, Autómata, 20,000 Days on Earth, Hangover, Antonio Banderas, Hayao Miyazaki, Jeff Dunham