Home Market Releases for October 18th, 2016

October 18, 2016

Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro

It’s a bad week for the home market. There are only two first-run releases and neither of them are worth picking up. There’s not a lot of limited releases, TV on DVD releases, etc. to make up the gap. However, there is one truly great release, Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro from The Criterion Collection. The Blu-ray costs a lot, but it is a must have for fans of Guillermo Del Toro, especially his earlier Spanish-language work: Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Alice Through the Looking Glass - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand (with Bonus Features), Video on Demand (Movie Only)
The original movie was fine, but nothing more. The sequel looks just as amazing, but the story is even worse. If you loved the first one, give this one a rental. If you thought the first one was “Meh” then skip this one.

Barbie and Her Sisters in a Puppy Chase - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
One of the best-selling direct-to-DVD franchises around. I’m not in the target audience, so I can’t comment on the quality.

Bates Motel: Season Four - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Season five has been announced as the show’s final season. In fact, it will be a remake of Psycho. That could be a risk. That said, the reviews for the first four seasons have been amazing, so hopefully that keeps up.

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A documentary about the ease with which billionaires can influence an election. The timing is great, even if the reviews are not. Even the positive review on Rotten Tomatoes admits there’s a bit too much flash and that interferes with the substance. There is a lot of substance and it is at least worth a rental.

Café Society - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The latest from Woody Allen. It’s better than average for the writer / director in the past decade or so. However, that only means it is good, but not great. Like most Woody Allen movies, there are almost no extras on the DVD or Blu-ray, but it is still worth picking up, for fans of the director.

Ghost Team - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
0% positive reviews. Moving on.

Guilt: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
The reviews are good, but not great, and there is a lot of competition on TV in this genre. Maybe grab the first episode on VOD, before buying the season.

Independence Day: Resurgence - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A delayed sequel that struggled with critics and at the box office. If it does well on the home market, it could break even. However, even with good extras, it is worth no more than a rental, and that’s only if you really liked the original and really want to see how the story continues.

Microbe and Gasoline - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
The latest from Michel Gondry. It earned stellar reviews, but it failed to find an audience here. It did so poorly that there isn’t even a Blu-ray release.

The Night Of - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Am HBO mini-series about a Pakistani-American college student accused of murder. The reviews are phenomenal, but there are no extras on the DVD or Blu-ray. Even so, it is worth picking up, but it is not a Pick of the Week contender.

Our Kind of Traitor - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris play a couple who get mixed up in a spy plot while on vacation. The reviews are good, but it opened in “select cities” and struggled at the box office. Extras include three featurettes with a total running time of less than 20 minutes and deleted scenes. That’s not a lot, but fine for a limited release. Call it a solid rental, leaning towards a purchase.

Strawberry Shortcake Hi Tech Fashion - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I’m not in the target demographic for this show, but I’ve reviewed enough shows like this to know this is better than most of its competition.

Teen Wolf: Season Five, Part Two - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
When I first heard they were turning Teen Wolf into a TV series, I was skeptical. It is better than I anticipated, but I’m still not in the target demographic.

Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro (The Criterion Collection) - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Three early films from Guillermo Del Toro: Cronos; The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth. All three are absolute classics. Add in The Criterion Collection’s usual release quality and this box set is clearly the Pick of the Week. It is expensive, but it is worth it.

What We Become - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A horror film about a flu outbreak that turns its victims into blood-crazed killers. It’s not the most original premise, but the reviews were good. If you are looking for a good Blu-ray to grab for Halloween, then this is good choice.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Body Snatchers - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Child’s Play - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Fuzz - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hamburger Hill - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Nighthawks - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Pan’s Labyrinth (The Criterion Collection) - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Pit - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Salem’s Lot - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Short Cuts (The Criterion Collection) - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Snafu Too - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Stephen King's It - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Strategic Air Command - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Vision of Escaflowne: Complete Series & Movie - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
There are a lot of horror films on this week’s selection of secondary Blu-ray releases. Pan’s Labyrinth would jump out as the most impressive, but it is part of an even more impressive box set above.

4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Reviews - 4k Combo Pack or 4k Limited Edition Collector’s Set
Independence Day: Resurgence - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon
Back to the Future: The Animated Series - Dickens of a Christmas - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Barbie: 3-Movie Holiday Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Thomas & Friends: Tinsel on the Tracks - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Not a lot of Christmas releases on this week’s list and none that are top-notch.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
Downton Abbey - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Limited Edition Collector's Set, or Blu-ray
Inspector Lewis - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Power Rangers Dino Thunder - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Mr. Selfridge - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Wallander - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Downton Abbey is the biggest Megaset on this week’s list, but there have been so many previous multi-season box sets that it is hard to get excited about this one.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Bad Moms - Reviews - Video on Demand
Deadly Inferno - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Morphine Journey of Dreams - Reviews - Video on Demand
Neither Heaven Nor Earth - Reviews - Video on Demand
Vampyres - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Bad Moms is the only big VOD release this week. It is worth a rental and the Blu-ray only has interviews and outtakes, so VOD sounds like a plan.

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Independence Day: Resurgence, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Bad Moms, Our Kind of Traitor, Microbe et Gasoil, Ghost Team, Ni le ciel ni la terre, Sorgenfri, Café Society, Vampyres, Morphine: Journey of Dreams, The Pit, Barbie & Her Sisters in a Puppy Chase, Strawberry Shortcake: Hi-tech Fashion, Barbie, Independence Day, Ewan McGregor, Woody Allen, Guillermo del Toro, Michel Gondry, Naomie Harris