DVD and Blu-ray Releases for September 24th, 2013
September 24, 2013
If I were to use a single world to describe this week's list of new releases, that world would be Iron Man 3. This film will dominate the DVD and Blu-ray sales chart by such a degree that practically none of the other releases matter. That's not to say there are no other releases that are worth picking up, it's just that they will be crushed on the sales chart. The best release of the week is Modern Family: Season Four, which is a clear contender for Pick of the Week. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive. This is also true for a number of new releases this week, but fortunately a late release is able to fill the void. Homeland: Season Two is clearly the best release on this week's list and the Blu-ray is the Pick of the Week.
2 Broke Girls: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon
American Dad!: Volume Eight - Buy from Amazon
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: 3 Films By Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman (Criterion Collection), Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 2, The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition, Halloween: 35th Anniversary Edition, Psycho II, Psycho III, Prince Of Darkness (Collector's Edition), Queen's Blade Rebellion: Complete Collection, Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania: Live In NYC, An Unfinished Life, and V/H/S/2
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Iron Man 3
China Beach Season 1 - Buy from Amazon
Dark Girls - Buy from Amazon
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast-Collectors Edition - Buy from Amazon
Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Family Guy: Volume 11 - Buy from Amazon
Fill the Void - Buy from Amazon
Foyle's War: Set Seven - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Hannibal: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Hawaii Five-0: Season Three - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Homeland: Season Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I Spit on Your Grave 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Is This a Zombie: Season Two (Limited Edition) - Buy from Amazon
The Kings of Summer - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Fourteenth Year - Buy from Amazon
Modern Family: Season Four - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Neighbors: The Complete First Season - Buy from Amazon
Nirvana: Live and Loud - Buy from Amazon
Redemption - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Room 237 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Tenth Season - Buy from Amazon
Unfinished Song - Buy from Amazon
WWE: Triple H - Thy Kingdom Come - Buy from Amazon
I'm hoping this screener will arrive, but I really doubt it. I really liked the first season, but I'm also a big fan of Kat Dennings and I'm not someone who will shy away from crass humor. The show got better as the first season went along and the second season maintained the quality, as the characters became deeper. I'm not sure about the extras, and I'm disappointed there's no Blu-ray option, but it is still at least worth picking up.
I'm still waiting for the screener. Sadly, you will hear that phrase a lot this week.
There are a few secondary releases on this week's list that are worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of horror. This includes Prince of Darkness, which I think is underrated. That said, I'm still more interested in the Betty Boop Blu-ray than anything else on this list.
There's only one new 3D release this week, although both Thor and Captain America are re-released on 3D Combo Packs.
The complete series has already been released, so most fans won't bother with this, unless they missed it the first time. If you did wait, the single-season sets are much cheaper than trying to pick up a copy of the box sets, which are going for more than $300 on Amazon.com's marketplace.
A documentary about how darker skinned women tend to suffer cultural prejudice, pretty much no matter where they live. This used to be true of white Europeans, back when poor people worked outside and tended to get tanned. Back then, the whiter the better. Now that poor white people tend to work inside, being tanned it a sign of wealth. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I have read some very good reviews online and it generated a lot of buzz when it aired on OWN this summer. I hope it sells well.
A six-disc collection of classic comedy roasts. These tend to be a whole lot funnier than the modern rebirth of the genre, as the jokes tend to be wittier and the insults tend to be sharper. There's a lot of humor here for just $45.
I have seen enough of this show to know I like watching it, but it has been on far too long and there are far too many episodes I haven't seen for me to start collecting now. The time and money needed to get all of the DVD and Blu-ray is just too daunting. On the other hand, if you have been collecting them so far, adding the latest release to your collection is a no-brainer.
I'm still waiting for the screener for this show. The last volume I reviewed was hit and miss, more miss than hit, so I'm hoping this volume bounces back.
This film earned excellent reviews and did extremely well in limited release for a foreign language film. Sadly, it transparently didn't do enough to convince the studio to release the film on high definition. Strange. It certainly did better than a few limited releases that are earning Blu-ray releases this week.
A British detective series set in World War II. The show has a lot of dedicated fans, but like most similar releases, the price-per-minute is really high for a TV on DVD release. Even if you look at the DVD or Blu-ray as three TV movies, it is still not a bargain.
If you are a fan of this show, buy the DVD and / or Blu-ray immediately, or you won't get season three. The show was a midseason replacement and while its ratings started out good, for NBC, it lost more than half of its viewership by the end of season one. If it doesn't sell a lot on the home market and the ratings don't bounce back, it will be canceled quickly. The reviews were good and the DVD and Blu-ray have a lot of extras, so it is worth picking up, unless you don't want to risk getting sucked into a show that will end before the plot can be further explored.
I reviewed the first two seasons but I couldn't get into the show, so I decided not to request a screener for season three. I was not alone in giving up on the show, as the ratings dropped so much that for season four it is being dumped to Friday night. If it weren't for syndication, it likely would have been canceled.
The first season of this show was one of the best dramas on TV, if not the best drama on TV. Can the second season live up to first? Check out our review for my opinion.
The term "Unnecessary sequel" barely begins to describe this release. So far its reviews are universally negative and I'm not surprised given the weak reviews for the original.
The biggest hit of the year is coming out on home market. Did it deserve this success? Or was it merely cashing in on the success of The Avengers? Read our review to find out.
According to Amazon.com, this is one of the best-selling new releases of the week. Since Anime is a niche market, I doubt it will reach the top 30. Amazon.com definitely caters to a niche market, because brick and mortar stores tend not to carry releases that are not going to sell many, many copies.
This limited release had a lot of pre-release buzz, but its reviews were only good, but not great. It started out well and did earn more than $1 million at the box office, which most limited releases can only dream of. The extras on the DVD include an audio commentary track and a featurette, while the Blu-ray has two additional featurettes and some deleted / extended scenes. It is worth picking up, but the Blu-ray costs nearly twice as much as the DVD, so wait till the price is better.
This is a good show, but there are just too many similar TV shows out there for it to stand out. Also, generally speaking you can watch any episode in any order and it is syndicated constantly, so you don't need to buy the DVD to see the show.
Four years and four Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys later. This is my favorite sitcom on TV at the moment and it is one of the best ever. I can't wait to review the show, but the screener is a late. When is does arrive, it will be a clear contender for Pick of the Week.
The Weavers move to a new neighborhood only to learn all of their neighbors are aliens awaiting instructions from their home planet. It's a high-concept show, but the reviews were not good. "Cartoonish" seems to be a term used by a lot of critics. Extras only include some deleted scenes and outtakes, which is not enough to rate it a purchase.
Normally I don't mention concert DVDs, just like normally I don't mention exercise DVDs. However, this one is selling very well according to Amazon.com and it has reached the front page of the new releases.
This movie debuted in limited release, but it was the wrong genre and the reviews were merely mixed, so it comes as no surprise that it bombed, hard. Extras are limited to a short making of featurette, which is not enough to lift it past a rental, and it is only really a rental if you like Jason Statham.
A film about five people obsessed with The Shining who are convinced the film has hints to some conspiracy theory, only they don't agree on what are hints or what these hints are meant to convey. The reviews are amazing, but a lot of reviewers on Amazon.com are giving it negative reviews. However, these people seem to be rating the conspiracy theories and not the movie itself. If you go into the movie expecting to be convinced, you will be disappointed. If you go in expecting to see people take their love of money to an insane degree, you will be entertained.
I think all but the most hardcore fans of this show will admit the past few seasons have not lived up to the earlier years of the show. Since it has been renewed to season 20, it has time to turn around, but does that turnaround begin here? Or does the downward slide continue? Check out our review to find out.
I would call this sitcom unchallenging. On the other hand, or perhaps because of that, its ratings are constantly strong.
This film earned good reviews, but not great reviews, with many critics praising the cast for rising above the script. It did well enough in limited release to cross $1 million, which again is good, but not great. If you are a fan of the cast, it is worth checking out, but perhaps start with a rental, as the replay value might not be there.
Long time readers know I know almost nothing about professional wrestling, but I do try to mention these releases, because they tend to sell well.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Iron Man 3, Unfinished Song, Room 237, Lemale et ha'halal, Redemption, The Kings of Summer, I Spit on Your Grave 2, Kat Dennings, Jason Statham