DVD and Blu-ray Releases for September 13th, 2011

September 13, 2011

It is an incredibly busy week on the home market with several major releases, including Thor on Blu-ray, as well as Star Wars The Complete Saga, which comes out this Friday. Unfortunately, neither of the screeners have arrived yet, so it is hard to tell if they are pick of the week material. I figured Star Wars would easily take that honor, but the changes made have pissed off enough people that I think it's best that I hold off making a judgment till after it arrives. After spending way too long trying to pick between the two, I'm going with Degrassi: Season Ten, Part Two instead.

Barbie: Princess Charm School - Buy from Amazon
The latest DVD release in this amazingly popular franchise. Even with the competition, it's is still in the top ten selling DVDs for the week, at least according to Amazon.com.

The Big Bang Theory: Season Four - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
One of the more popular shows on TV at the moment, but the DVD isn't exactly loaded with extras. There's an interview featurette, outtakes, and a music video. The Blu-ray also has a behind-the-scenes on the live episode they did, but that's it. It's better than last season, but would it kill them to record a few audio commentary tracks? Its worth picking up, but it's not Pick of the Week material.

Bill Cunningham New York - Buy from Amazon
Photographer Bill Cunningham is the subject of this documentary. The film earned 98% positive reviews and was very strong in limited release, especially for a documentary. If you are a fan of the genre, this is a must have.

Blue Bloods: Season One - Buy from Amazon
Tom Selleck plays the Police Commissioner of the NYPD, who is the son of the former Police Commissioner and has two sons that are cops, plus a daughter who is an A.D.A. Will this family dynamic help this TV series stand out? Or will it fade into the crowded genre of police procedurals? Check out our review for my opinion.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: 3 Women - Criterion Collection, The 10th Victim, 35 & Ticking, The Big Band Theory: Season Four, Brand New Day, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Camelot: Season One, Citizen Cane: 70th Anniversary Edition, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part Six, The Frighteners, Glee: Season Two, Halloween II, Hesher, The Hills Have Eyes, Incendies, Inspector Lewis: Series 4, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season Six, The Last House of the Left, Love, Wedding, Marriage, Manhunter, Meek's Cutoff, My Life As a Dog - Criterion Collection, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, Le Quattro Volte, Robocop 2, Sanctuary: Season Three, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Star Wars: The Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy, Supernatural: Season Six, The Tempest, Thor, Trainspotting, and True Legend
It's a huge week for Blu-ray release with several that are top-tier choices. Star Wars, Thor, Citizen Cane, not to mention the flood of TV on DVD releases. There should be records set this week.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Thor
Just the one 3D release this week, but it's a good one.

Brand New Day - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
An Australian film based on a musical of the same name. Both the movie and the musical were popular in Australia, but here the film only earned mixed reviews and never found an audience while in limited release. It worth checking out for fans of the genre, but I won't know if it is worth buying or not until the screener arrives

Camelot: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A modernization of the King Arthur myth. It's still set in the Middle Ages, it just has a more modern feel to the storytelling. This has not exactly pleased everyone. This is an understatement, as there are some aggressively negative reviews to this show.

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A documentary about the comedy tour Conan O'Brien undertook after he left The Tonight Show. The reviews were good, but it never found a large enough audience to thrive. Sort of like his new talk show. Extras include an audio commentary track, deleted scenes, and outtakes, while the Blu-ray is BD-Live enabled.

Danny Phantom: Season One - Buy from Amazon
Both of Danny Phantom's parents are ghosthunters, which could explain all of his ghostly powers. However, while he's got the powers, he'll have to learn to use them right if he wants to defeat the spectral enemies he has.

Degrassi: Season Ten, Part Two - Buy from Amazon
The franchise continues to show its longevity and has been on the air on and off since 1979. The latest incarnation has now been on for more than a decade, but has it started showing its age? Read our review to find out.

Dora the Explorer - Double-Shot - Buy from Amazon: Dora's Enchanted Forest Adventures and Dora's Storybook Adventures
This week two Dora the Explorer DVDs are coming out. Are either of them worth picking up? Read our reviews here and here to find out.

Dragon Dynasty Releases - Buy from Amazon: Avenging Eagle, Blood Brothers, and Killer Clan
Three more martial arts movies brought here by Dragon Dynasty. It's been a while since I was able to review one of their releases, but they had an excellent track record when I was reviewing them, so odds are good that these films are worth picking up for fans of the genre.

Dreamworks Halloween Double-Shot - Buy from Amazon: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space and Scared Shrekless
Skip it. The package deal comes out in two weeks and its a better deal.

Glee: Season Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The first season of Glee was spectacular. The show was an instant hit, it wowed critics, and it won numerous awards. The second season seems to be a bit of a let down in all three areas, but given its start, it could have dropped even more and still been worth checking out. Is it worth picking up? Or perhaps even worthy of Pick of the Week consideration? Won't know till the screener arrives.

Goosebumps - Buy from Amazon: Attack of the Mutant and Ghost Beach
Two DVDs from the popular horror series for kids are coming out this week, but the screener hasn't arrived yet.

Grey's Anatomy: Season Seven - Buy from Amazon
I've reviewed the past few seasons of this show, but it has gotten just way too soap opery for me.

Hesher - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the titular Hesher, a man who invades the lives of a family dealing with the grief after the death of the wife / mother. The film wasn't able to find an audience during its limited release, but will it perform better on the home market? Check out our review for my opinion.

Inspector Lewis: Series 4 - Original UK Edition - Buy from Amazon
This is a good show, but like many imports from the U.K., the price-per-minute is really high.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Season 6 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I reviewed the Christmas special for this show and loved it, but the screener for Season Six is late.

Jackie Evancho: Dream With Me in Concert - Buy from Amazon
This DVD is the extended version of the PBS concert and includes a couple bonus songs. It is selling quite well and is worth picking up for fans of the genre.

Love, Wedding, Marriage - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
In the right film, Mandy Moore can act. Unfortunately, her choices in projects have not been so good, and this film is really bad, even compared to her career average. It's also further proof that the Twilight cast is yet to translate the success in that franchise to general box office appeal.

Note: These Blu-rays made there home market debut on the 2nd of August.

The Magnificent Seven - Double-Shot - Buy from Amazon: The Magnificent Seven and Return of the Magnificent Seven
The first of two Westerns based on a film by Akira Kurosawa. Are either of the first two installment in the The Magnificent Seven franchise worth pricking up now that they are on high definition? Check out our review for my opinion.

Note: These Blu-rays made there home market debut on the 2nd of August.

The Man With No Name - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon: Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More
Sergio Leone helped revitalize Westerns but that was many, many years ago. Have these two films aged well? And are the Blu-ray debuts worth picking up? Read our review to find out.

Marvel Knights: Thor & Loki Blood Brothers - Buy from Amazon
The latest Motion Comic from Marvel Comics. They weren't the first studio to experiment in the format, but I've been impressed with their work so far. I'm still waiting for the screener for this release, but hopefully it won't take too long.

Meek's Cutoff - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Buy from Amazon
This film earned amazing reviews and even an Independent Spirit Award, but it wasn't enough to thrive in limited release. The DVD and Blu-ray only have a behind-the-scenes featurette, but it is still worth picking up.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos The Hands Of Fate - Special Edition - Buy from Amazon
One of the most infamous episodes of one of the best TV shows of all time. However, the price-per-minute is really high for a TV on DVD release. It is a special edition and maybe the amount of extras makes it worth it, but I won't know till the screener arrives.

Mythbusters: Collection 7 - Buy from Amazon
Still one of the best shows on TV, while the two-disc set is good value for the money.

Note: This DVD made its home market debut on the 30th of August.

Norwegian Ninja - Buy from Amazon
With a name like Norwegian Ninja, you know this is going to be a weird movie. But will it be weird in a good way? Or is the target audience just way too small? Check out our review to find out.

Outsourced: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon
This TV series was based on the movie Outsourced, which earned good reviews, but barely made a peep at the box office. The TV show earned mixed reviews and was canceled after just one season.

Private Practice: Season Four - Buy from Amazon
I feel the same way about this show as I do its predecessor, which is also coming out on DVD this week.

Rescue Me: The Final Season - Buy from Amazon
This is a really good show, but it got too dark for me after a while. The screener for the final season should arrive shortly and I will be interested to see if it ended on a high note.

Robocop 2 - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
One of many releases on this week's list where I'm still waiting for the screener to arrive.

Sanctuary: Season Three - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Amanda Tapping from Stargate stars in this series. The show is earning good reviews and ratings but I'm waiting for the screener. I'm certainly looking forward to getting it.

Silent House - Buy from Amazon
A real time horror film supposedly filmed all in one take. (I believe there are a few hidden cuts.) Is it a good movie? Or too much gimmick, not enough genuine scares? Won't know till the screener arrives.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
When Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the second season of his popular show was put on hold and instead a prequel mini-series was made. Sadly, he lost that fight to cancer over the weekend. This mini-series does hit the home market this week and the DVD and Blu-ray are loaded with extras, but it is sad timing.

Star Wars - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon: The Original Trilogy and The Prequel Trilogy or The Complete Saga
Still waiting for the screeners for these Blu-rays to arrive. Hopefully they will get here so I can discuss changes to the film and the extras on the Blu-rays. For some the changes have been deal-breakers, but I'd like to see for myself before I make that conclusion. In fact, there's a really good chance the changes are being overblown and that the Blu-ray is a contender for Pick of the Week.

Note: This DVD made its home market debut on the 30th of August.

Strawberry Shortcake: Growing Up Dreams - Buy from Amazon
The latest in a long line of DVDs based on the popular greeting card / toy line. Is the DVD worth checking out? Perhaps even worth picking up? Check out our review to find out.

Supernatural: Season Six - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Many fans agree that season six was not as strong as season five, but it is still worth checking out. Also, the extras are very strong with audio commentary tracks on two episodes, a behind-the-scenes featurette on Jensen Ackles directorial debut, a look at the soul as a concept, outtakes, etc. The Blu-ray has an interactive guide for all episodes and a trivia track on one episode. Not only that, but there are the first two episodes of the Anime series, for those who haven't seen it before. Absolutely worth picking up, and a contender for Pick of the Week.

The Tempest - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
The film has an impressive cast, including Helen Mirren in the starring role of Prospera, which was a male character in the original play. Unfortunately, that gender bending change is one of the few noteworthy aspects of the film. Also worth noting, the film's DVD doesn't have a release date yet and it is only coming out on Blu-ray this week.

Thor - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, 3D Combo Pack
One of the best summer releases of the year, it earned more than $400 million worldwide as well as overwhelmingly positive reviews. The home market releases are loaded with extras and it is certainly a contender for Pick of the Week, but the screener is late, so I don't want to make that call just yet.

Trainspotting - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
This film helped boost the careers of much of its cast, as well as Danny Boyle, the director. But how well has it aged fifteen years later? Read our review for my opinion.

True Legend - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film has a huge amount of talent on both sides of the camera and I'm really looking forward to reviewing it, but the screener is a little late.

Wishing Drinking - Buy from Amazon
This started out as a book, then it was it turned into a one-woman show, and finally this TV special. I might get a chance to review this DVD. It would be nice if it arrived the same day as the Star Wars screener arrives.

X-Men: First Class - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I was hoping to get this review done by now, as the film hit the home market last Friday. Alas, the screener is still late.


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Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Ep. II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire Strikes Back, The Count of Monte Cristo, RoboCop 2, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Hills Have Eyes, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, The Last House on the Left, Halloween II, The Frighteners, Trainspotting, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Manhunter, Mitt liv som hund, Per qualche dollaro in più, Per un pugno di dollari, Citizen Kane, Thor, Bran Nue Dae, The Tempest, X-Men: First Class, Meek's Cutoff, Hesher, Incendies, Love, Wedding, Marriage, Bill Cunningham New York, Le quattro volte, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, La casa muda, 35 and Ticking