Home Market Releases for March 22nd, 2016

March 21, 2016

Mountain Men

This week, there are not many releases to talk about and one of them, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, is dominating the list so much that I could ignore the rest of the list and very little of substance would be lost. I'm not going to do that, but I could. The Box Set is a contender for Pick of the Week, but I'm still waiting for the screener. City Lights is another contender for Pick of the Week, but in the end, I went with the Canadian movie, Mountain Men on DVD, which is Puck of the Week.


A Brighter Summer Day: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A Taiwanese film about rival gangs and a couple of the people caught in the middle. The reviews are unanimously positive, while Criterion Collections are really well done. It is definitely worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.


City Lights: Criterion Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This film is a classic by every definition of the word. It is a classic by virtue of its age (85 years old); its quality (98% positive reviews); and the impact on the history of filmmaking. Combine this with the Criterion Collection release, and this is clearly a Pick of the Week contender.


Daddy's Home - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg team up again after making The Other Guys together. This film was an even bigger hit at the box office, but earned much weaker reviews. I guess if you really loved the first film it is worth checking out, but that's as enthusiastic as I can get.

Date a Live 2: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
An Anime title that is in the top best-selling new releases of the week. That's unusual. What is even more unusual is that there are two such titles on this week's list and this is the better selling. The second best new Anime release is One Piece: Collection Fifteen.

Fear the Walking Dead: Season 1: Special Edition - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Why is there a special edition of this release? They are milking the fans of this show and it is not acceptable.

Freaks And Geeks: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This is an amazing show, but $80 for a single TV on Blu-ray release is a lot to ask.


The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The final installment of one of the biggest franchises to debut in the past decade. Overall, the films earned nearly $3 billion worldwide, but the last film was below expectations at the box office and with critics. Is it still worth picking up? ... I don't know. The screener is late. Also coming out this week is a franchise Box Set. This looks like a Pick of the Week contender.

The Letters - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A faith-based film about Mother Teresa. It earned bad reviews and completely bombed at the box office.

Lost Girl: Seasons 5 & 6 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The final season of this show was split into two 8-episode chunks. For the DVD, these are being called seasons five and six. This comes close to being false advertising. Fans will still want to pick up the DVD / Blu-ray this week, but many will feel annoyed by this.

Monster High: Great Scarrier Reef - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Monster High is one of the most successful Direct-to-DVD franchises around. It is so successful that it has a theatrical release coming up. I'm not in the target demographic, nor have I seen the show, so I can't comment on the quality. Clearly its target audience likes the show, on the other hand.


Mountain Men - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A Canadian film starring Tyler Labine and Chace Crawford as two brothers who go to a cabin in the mountains that their family owns. The films starts as a dysfunctional family comedy, but turns into to a survival drama. The reviews are excellent, but it might be too small to get noticed in the States.

Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume Five- Buy from Amazon: DVD
It is a bittersweet week for long-time Perry Mason fans, as the fifth and final volume of the Perry Mason Movie Collection comes out this week. It is great to be able to complete the collection, but it is sad not having anything else to look forward to. Does the show go out on a high note? Or did the death of Raymond Burr negatively hurt the show too much? Read our review to find out.

Turn: Washington's Spies Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This show's Tomatometer Score went from 52% during the first season to 80% during the second. That looks good at first glance, but the number of reviews went from 33 to 5. Clearly this was a case of critics giving up on the show more than the show getting a whole lot better.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: Cooking Up a Tribute, James White, Consumed, The Last Treasure Hunt, Twinkle Toes Lights Up New York, The Sparrows, The Revenant, and Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
The Revenant is by far the biggest VOD release this week. However, I would consider it overrated.

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, The Letters, The Revenant, Daddy’s Home, Hunger Games, Mark Wahlberg, Raymond Burr, Chace Crawford, Will Ferrell, Tyler Labine