Home Market Releases for November 24th, 2015

November 24, 2015

Shaun the Sheep

This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend, which means Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While the sales usually mean a massive increase in units sold, the sales also tend to scare away new releases. This is certainly the case here and this week's list is very short as a result. That's not to say there are no releases worth picking up. In fact, there are several Pick of the Week contenders, led by Shaun the Sheep on Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack. Meanwhile, for the second week in a row, we have a Puck of the Week, for best Canadian release, Guidance on DVD.

American Ultra - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This was a late summer bomb, one of many. Is it as bad as its box office numbers would indicate? Or is it just a niche market release? Read our review to find out.

3D Releases - Buy from Amazon: The Mask
The only 3D release of the week is from 1961. It is not a great movie, but it does have some appeal for fans of the genre.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Beverly Hills Christmas, A Christmas Horror Story, A Christmas Horror Story (VOD), Doctor Who: Christmas Specials Giftset, Doctor Who: Christmas Specials Giftset with Tardis Speakers, and Northpole: Open For Christmas
Not much in the way of Christmas releases. The best, A Christmas Horror Story, is a horror film, so that isn't quite in keeping with the holiday.

A Christmas Horror Story - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A horror anthology set around Christmas. When I first checked its Amazon sales rank, it was 666. (Yes, I know the original Number of the Beast is actually 616, but 666 is the number that stuck with the public.) The film's reviews are good and anthologies are definitely better on the home market where you can skip a bad short. Extras are light with only a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, but fans of the genre will still want to buy it.

ESPN 30 for 30 Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Fans of sports documentaries will certainly get their money's worth with this 12-disc set.


Guidance - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
This film is written, directed, and stars Pat Mills, a former child star. It is about a former child star who decides to get a real job, so he fakes a new identity and gets a job as a high school guidance counselor. The reviews are amazing, but it is a small Canadian film, so it went nowhere at the box office. Hopefully it will find an audience on the home market.

Heartbreakers - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I'm a huge fan of conman movies and I like this one a lot more than the average critic did. I would grab it, but the two audio commentary tracks from the DVD are not included on the Blu-ray. That's too bad, because the audio commentary tracks were entertaining.


Ikiru (The Criterion Collection) - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
One of Akira Kurosawa greatest films, and that is saying a lot. Extras include an audio commentary track, feature-length documentary on the director, and more. It is easily worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Incredible Two-Headed Transplant - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Complete Schlock. However, it is considered by many to be Prime Schlock. Case in point... the Blu-ray comes with the RiffTrax audio. That's awesome.


Inside Amy Schumer: Season 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Amy Schumer is rapidly becoming one of the biggest comediennes around. This show is earning critical acclaim and her first movie, Trainwreck, was a $100 million hit. I'm hoping to get a screener for this season, but it hasn't arrived yet. If it is as good as the first two seasons, it is a contender for Pick of the Week.

Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I was hoping to get a screener for this title, but if it is going to arrive, it will be late.

No Escape - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A combination of average action and creepy xenophobia. Extras include an audio commentary and some deleted scenes, so even if you liked the movie, it is only worth a rental.

Once I Was a Beehive - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Paris Warner stars as a 16-year old girl whose dad suddenly dies from cancer and her mother remarries soon after that. She then has to spend summer at a girls camp, which is rough, as camping with her dad are the fondest memories she has. She does begin to bond with the other girls, including Mila Smith. It is a faith-based film, a Mormon one at that, which is a niche market of a niche market. That said, the reviews are great and it does have crossover appeal.

The Pit and the Pendulum - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This isn't the first time this film has been released on DVD. It's a low-budget film from Full Moon Productions, a company that made a lot of low-budget films and did it better than most.

Ricki and the Flash - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Amazing cast plus an average script equals a movie that is disappointingly good. With this cast, it really should have been a great movie. The film struggled at the box office, so it is not surprising the extras are on the weak side. Even so, it is worth a rental if you are a fan of the genre and picking up if you are a fan of Meryl Streep.


Shaun the Sheep - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
I first reviewed this movie when it came out on VOD, because the screener arrived early. My opinion hasn't changed, but it is a much slower week, so it is the Pick of the Week.

Also coming out this week is Season One of the TV show.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: Applesauce, Country's Family Reunion 2: Volume One, Cut Snake, Foodies, Gorillaz Demon Days Live, Minions, Paradise Is There, A Memoir by Natalie Merchant, The New Tigerlily Recordings, Peace Officer, and Scar Tissue
Of the VOD releases this week, Minions is by far the best. On the other hand, it only managed to earn mixed reviews.

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Minions, Ricki and the Flash, No Escape, Trainwreck, Shaun the Sheep, American Ultra, Meryl Streep, Akira Kurosawa, Amy Schumer, Pat Mills, Paris Warner, Mila Smith