Home Market Releases for October 31st, 2017
October 31, 2017
It’s Halloween, so most people are concerned with how much Halloween candy they can eat before there’s not enough for trick or treaters, so they are not paying attention to new home market releases. At least I assume that’s why there are so few top-notch releases on this week’s list. The Dark Tower is the biggest release of the week, but it is not worth renting, and it is certainly not a Pick of the Week contender. So what is the Pick of the Week? There’s not a lot of competition, but I think any film history bull will love Dawson City: Frozen Time on DVD or Blu-ray.
1804: The Hidden History of Haiti - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Dark Tower - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Dawn of the Dead: Collector’s Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Dawson City: Frozen Time - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Food Wars: Premium Box Set - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Humans 2.0 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Kidnap - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Land of the Dead: Collector's Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Richard Simmons: Sweatin' to the Oldies The Complete Collection 30th Anniversary - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Slaughter High - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Studio Ghibli Releases
The Testament of Sister New Devil: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Vampire Vixen & Fuzzy Lips - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
A documentary about the 1804 Haiti slave revolt. The film is directed by Tariq Nasheed, who previously made the Hidden Colors documentary series. That was a popular series, so it is no surprise this one is selling well as well.
Video on Demand
This is one of the worst big releases of the year and even fans of the book should ignore it. Fans of Stephen King in general should just watch It again.
The remake isn’t as good as the original was, but it is still a good horror film. This two-disc collector’s edition is loaded with extras, including both versions of the movie, an audio commentary track, a ton of making of featurettes, and 75 minutes of new featurettes. If you like the movie, it is worth picking up. It might even be worth the double-dip. It’s close.
Video on Demand
Dawson City is out of the way, to put it mildly. Because of this, early in cinema’s history, it was the last stop for a lot of film prints. It was simply too expensive to mail back the prints, so a lot of rare films were stored there. They weren’t stored well and they were only accidentally found in the 1970s. This documentary is a must have for fans of early cinema, especially those who like the history of movies.
I mentioned this Anime before. It is one of the best recent Animes, but it takes the term “food porn” to a new level. It’s not actual porn, but there are a lot of shots of people feeling orgasmic over the taste of food. The premium box is only about 33% more than the regular Blu-ray, which isn’t a bad deal compared to all the things you get. That said, $100 is still a lot to ask.
Video on Demand
This Sci-fi TV show is about a parallel present in which super advanced robots called Synths are part of daily life and not everyone is happy about it. In fact, some of the Synths are very unhappy with their lot in life. The show has been earning great reviews, while the DVD / Blu-ray have nearly an hour of extras. The overall value is more than enough to warrant a purchase. It is even a contender for Pick of the Week.
Video on Demand
Halle Berry stars as a mother who sees her son kidnapped and gets into a car chase with the kidnapper in order to save her son. There’s an interesting story at the core of the movie and Halle Berry gives an impressive performance, but overall execution is weak. The DVD / Blu-ray only has a single short featurette in terms of extras, so even if you like the cast and are intrigued by the premise, it is only worth a rental.
While this film isn’t the best of George A. Romero’s Dead Series, it is the last in the franchise that is worth buying. New extras on the Collector’s Edition include an audio commentary track on the director’s cut, over an hour of new featurettes, and a few short extended scenes. If you like the franchise, then this is worth picking up. It’s worth picking up as a double-shot with Dawn of the Dead: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from above.
Sweatin' to the Oldies is 30 years old. Ugh. Again, I feel ancient. Maybe I should buy this, as the exercise could help me live longer.
I previously reviewed this movie. It’s a bad movie, but it does have a bit of a cult following. The Blu-ray has two audio commentary tracks, two featurettes, and an alternate title sequence.
Castle in the Sky - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
These are not two of the best films from Studio Ghibli but they are still both worth owning.
This Anime is selling well on Amazon, but it is not the kind of Anime that beginners should jump into, because it will give viewers the wrong impression of Anime. ... Or an accurate impression of Ecchi. It’s not porn, but it is a weak story that is only there for nudity.
The Anime above is Ecchi, which is usually somewhere between PG-13 sex and nudity and R-rated sex and nudity. This Anime is Hentai, which is just porn. It is also one of the ten best-selling new releases of the week, according to Amazon, so I can’t just ignore it. I can warn people, on the other hand.
A Charlie Brown Christmas - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs the Series: Lobster Claus Is Coming to Town - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Jordan Smith: 'Tis The Season Holiday Special - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a great movie, but it is not worth paying for 4K.
The Devil’s Rain - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Down aka The Shaft - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Dragon Dentist - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Halo: The Complete Video Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Junior Bonner: Special Edition - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
L7 - Pretend We're Dead - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Lift - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Miracle Worker - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Return of the Ape Man - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Rock-a-Doodle - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Scarecrow - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Sissi Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
True Tears: Complete TV Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Voice of the Moon - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Young Doctors in Love - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
It’s not a good week for secondary Blu-ray releases. There are a couple of Anime titles that look good. The Miracle Worker is a classic, but it appears to lack extras. Two of the more intriguing releases are Down and The Lift, which are the remake and the original Dutch films respectively, both of which were directed by Dick Maas. I’m interested in seeing both films to see how the same director tackled the same material for two different audiences.
No 3D releases this week.
A Charlie Brown Christmas - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
The Dark Tower - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
I have no interest in The Dark Tower, but A Charlie Brown Christmas is worth owning. If you are looking to get a new TV on Black Friday, then you will likely get a 4K TV, because they have all but replaced 1080p at the larger sizes, so you might want to grab A Charlie Brown Christmas to go with it.
As Time Goes By: Remastered - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Chargeman Ken! - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Fist of the North Star - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Remastered - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Orphan Black - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Power Rangers: Denji Sentai Megaranger - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Sherlock - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Just a quick note about the two Remastered shows on this week’s list. They were both released as individual seasons / volumes, except for the last one. So if you were keeping up, the only way to complete your Remastered collection is to buy the complete series. That’s a scummy business model.
Cradle Swapping - No Reviews - Video on Demand
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature - Reviews - Video on Demand
Patient Seventeen - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Wind River - Reviews - Video on Demand
Wind River is the only secondary VOD this week that is even worth renting. You certainly shouldn’t buy any of the rest.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Young Doctors in Love, The Dark Tower, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, Kidnap, Wind River, Patient Seventeen, 1804: The Hidden History of Haiti, De Lift, George A. Romero's Dead Series, Halle Berry, Stephen King, Tariq Nasheed, Dick Maas