DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 21st, 2012

February 21, 2012

It's a mixed week on the home market. The biggest hit coming out on Tuesday is Tower Heist, which struggled compared to expectations and its production budget. The rest of Tuesday's offerings include more wide releases that missed at the box office, some TV on DVD releases from cable networks, as well as a few limited releases of note. Fortunately, there is a film coming out on Friday that is picking up the slack. Puss in Boots also missed expectations at the box office, at least domestically. However, it earned more than $500 million worldwide, not to mention an Oscar nomination. It is also the easy choice for Pick of the Week.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: American Experience: The Clintons, Anatomy of a Murder (Criterion Collection), AVN: Aliens vs. Ninjas, Broken Blade: Complete Collection, The Epic Journey of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Fort Apache, Lady Gaga: Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden, Santana: Live at Montreux 2011, Unforgiven, and World on a Wire (Criterion Collection)
The secondary Blu-ray releases include a number of intriguing items, including a pair from Criterion. However, it's Unforgiven's Digibook release what I'm most interested in.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Puss in Boots and The Scorpions: Get Your Sting & Blackout Live in 3D
There are two 3D releases this week, one is a $500 million worldwide hit and the other is a concert film from a band that peaked in the 1980s. Although to be fair to The Scorpions, Sting in the Tail did open in 23rd place in 2010.

Borgia: Season One - Buy from Amazon
On of two TV shows out at the same time dealing with the Borgia family, lead by the man who would become Pope. The American one, The Borgias, earned high praise and even a few Emmy nominations. Can this version top that? Check out our review for my opinion.

Fades: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A supernatural series from the BBC about a boy trying to stop spirits of the dead, the titular Fades, from becoming corporal and returning to Earth. The show has earned good reviews, while the DVD and the Blu-ray have plenty of extras. It's worth picking up, even if the price-per-minute is high for TV on DVD. (This is common for British imports.)

Hazel: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon
Season one of this show came out on DVD in 2006, so if you want to see season three before the end of the decade, you better buy season two really soon.

Honey 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Jessica Alba starred in the original Honey, which was able to break even because it was inexpensive, not because it was a major box office hit. Now they are making a direct-to-DVD sequel, for reasons unknown. This film's reviews are even weaker than the original's reviews, so I don't think it will find an audience. Speaking of the original, it's coming out on Blu-ray.

Inkubus - Buy from Amazon
Robert Englund stars as the titular Inkubus, a demon / serial killer who walks into a police station to confess his crimes, because he has a history with one of the detectives. There are still no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but there are some mixed to positive reviews from genre critics out there.

J. Edgar - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray Combo Pack
The latest film directed by Clint Eastwood was expected to be a major Oscar contender. It wasn't. It did pick up a few major nominations, but was mostly ignored. The DVD and Blu-ray only have one featurette, so I think it's only worth a rental.

Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1991 - Buy from Amazon
This show has been going on for four decades now. If you don't know what it is about, you likely don't care. If you do like the show, you likely know a lot more about it than I do.

London Boulevard - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film has a good cast, earned bad reviews, and failed to generate much noise at the box office. I think it will also be quiet on the home market.

Martha Marcy May Marlene - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film was pegged as a potential Awards Season winner for a long time before its release and this helped it at the box office earning close to $3 million during its limited release run. And while it didn't quite live up to expectations in terms of major nominations, it did pick up four Independent Spirit Award nominations. However, is the worst thing you can say about the film is that it is, 'Not quite Oscar-worthy'? If so, is the DVD or Blu-ray worth picking up? Read our review to find out.

Matlock: Season Seven - Buy from Amazon
There were a lot of changes between this season and the previous one. Can the show survive? Or it is significantly off its peak? Check out our review to find out.

The Mighty Macs Buy from Amazon
At the beginning of October, it was not known if this film would open in limited release or wide. In the end, it opened in just under 1000 theaters, which is the worst of both worlds. It earned mixed reviews, but it was DOA in theaters. It should do better on the home market, but mainly because it can't really do any worse.

Nurse Jackie: Season Three - Buy from Amazon:DVD or Blu-ray
Nurse Jackie got off to a great start, and while I thought the second season stumbled a bit, I was still excited about this season. Could it bounce back? Or did it slide further? Check out our review for my opinion.

On The Bowery - The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
On The Bowery was a mixture of documentary and dramatization about Skid Row in New York City. It was the first film by Lionel Rogosin and is widely considered one of the best documentaries of all time. This DVD includes that film and a few others by the director and his son, plus plenty of extras. It's easily worth picking up for fans of documentaries and while the Blu-ray is out of stock on Amazon.com, it is the better deal.

Puss in Boots - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Puss in Boots / The Three Diablos, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack
This is the third Oscar nominated animated film from 2011 that I've reviewed. How does it compare to the others? Check out our review to find out.

Retreat - Buy from Amazon
Cillian Murphy and Thandie Newton star as a couple on vacation in a remote cabin. Their time alone is interrupted by Jamie Bell, who claims Europe has be overtaken by an apocalyptic virus. Is he telling the truth, or is he just crazy? The film earned excellent reviews, but went nowhere at the box office. Hopefully it won't remain undiscovered on the home market.

Slavery By Another Name - Buy from Amazon
A PBS special about slavery... post Civil War slavery. It still exists to this day, but in the form of prison labor. This TV special focuses on "Convict Leasing", which lasted from the end of the Civil War till the 1940s. However, it still happens today, but under a different name. It's scary.

The Son of No One - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Channing Tatum stars as a cop dealing with a crime from his past and a cover-up that persists to this day. While the actor has been in a number of hits, his track record with critics is less impressive. This film doesn't help his career average, as it earned just 18% positive reviews. This explains why it failed to find an audience, opening below the Mendoza Line during its opening weekend and disappearing shortly after that. The DVD and Blu-ray have an audio commentary track and some deleted scenes, which isn't bad for this type of release, but not enough to lift it to the rental level.

Tower Heist - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film cost $85 million to make, in part due to a massive star cast. However, it only made just over $75 million domestically and just under $150 million worldwide. That's not a bomb per se, but certainly the studio was hoping for more. Does it deserve to find a more receptive audience on the home market? Read our review for my opinion.

Underdog: The Complete Series - Buy from Amazon
A nine-disc set with 21 hours of the classic cartoon. This would make a great Christmas gift, so I'm a little surprised it is coming out now.

The Way - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film opened poorly during in limited release with an average of just $3,346. Granted, it was playing in 33 theaters, which is a lot, but I still didn't have high hopes after this result. However, thanks to impressive reviews, its legs were amazingly strong and it reached more than $4 million in total. Extras on the DVD and Blu-ray include an audio commentary track, a trio of short featurettes, and some text based behind-the-scenes information. It's good enough to be worth picking up over just a rental, but a fully-loaded disc could have been a contender for Pick of the Week.

War of the Arrows - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A South Korean film that was a huge, huge hit in its native market, but it struggled in limited release here. The film earned good reviews and while the DVD and Blu-ray are nearly devoid of extras, it's still a solid rental / leaning towards a purchase.

Weeds: Season Seven - DVD or Blu-ray
This show got off to a great start, earning amazing reviews and many major awards. However, in recent years the shine has come off the show. Can it turn itself around this time? Or does is slip even further? Read our review to find out.

Young Justice: Season One, Volume 3 - Buy from Amazon
Great show, but the price-per-minute of these DVDs are unacceptable.


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Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Unforgiven, Honey, Puss in Boots, The Son of No One, Retreat, London Boulevard, J. Edgar, Tower Heist, The Way, Honey 2, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Mighty Macs, Inkubus, Choi-jong-byeong-gi-hwal