DVD and Blu-ray Releases for November 13th, 2012

November 13, 2012

New releases this week are dominated by one title, Brave. The second best selling title according to Amazon.com is Lawrence of Arabia, which is a film that should be in everyone's collection, but as a catalog title, it likely won't sell a huge number of units. The third best selling title according to Amazon.com is Duck Dynasty: Season One. That's not a good sign. Fortunately, Brave is clearly Pick of the Week material with the Blu-ray Combo Pack or 3D Combo Pack battling for that honor.

2 Days in New York - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A follow-up to 2 Days in Paris. This film earned weaker reviews and didn't do as well at the box office, but it is still worth checking out. There are only a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes, but that's enough to be worth a purchase.

Note: This DVD made its home market debut on the 9th of October.

Annie Claus is Coming to Town - Buy from Amazon
A Hallmark Channel original Christmas movie. You can probably already guess that it is not a deep movie. But is it lighthearted fun, or is it annoying fluff? Read our review to find out.

Astonishing X-Men - Buy from Amazon: Unstoppable (DVD) or Blu-ray Box Set
The Joss Whedon and John Cassaday collaboration comes to an end with Unstoppable and along with that DVD, the complete run is coming out on Blu-ray. Is it worth picking up? And if so, is it worth the upgrade to Blu-ray? Read our review for my opinion.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
It has been a long time since I saw this movie. The first time I watched it, I really liked it. Have the years caused me to change my mind? Read our review to find out.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Abraham Lincoln, Austin Powers Box Set, Big Trail, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, Coldplay: Live 2012 (CD/Blu-Ray), Dark Horse, Empire of the Sun, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 & 2, Hellsing Ultimate: Volumes 5-8 Collection, Lawrence of Arabia (Restored Version), Lawrence of Arabia (50th Anniversary Collector's Edition), My Big Fat Greek Wedding: 10th Anniversary Special Edition, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Box Set, Trilogy of Life, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Watchmen Collector's Edition, and Weekend (Criterion Collection)
There are a ton of Blu-ray releases, including some that are contenders for Pick of the Week (Lawrence of Arabia). There are also a lot of releases that felt like fillers, to be generous.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Amazing Nature, Brave, History in 3D, Nitro Circus: The Movie, and The Universe in 3D
There are quite a few 3D releases this week, but only Brave is really worth checking out.

Big Tits Zombie - Buy from Amazon
I'm still waiting for the screener for this release. Given the name, it definitely belongs in my, "Strange stuff from Japan" box.

Brave - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack
The latest Pixar film is their first with a medieval fantasy setting and their first with a female lead. Do these changes affect the quality of the film? Check our out review for my opinion.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Christmas Around the World With Perry Como
Just one Christmas release this week?

Company - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I reviewed this musical a while back, but I can't find the link. Or maybe I'm just loosing my mind. I really liked it before and giving the amazing cast this version has, it could be even better.

Note: This DVD made its home market debut on the 13th.

The Cottage - Buy from Amazon
A horror / thriller starring David Arquette as the bad guy. You generally don't think of David Arquette as the villain. Does this bit of unusual casting work? Check out our review to find out.

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The latest season / series of Doctor Who was split into two volumes, which is annoying, but given the quality of the episodes and the amount of extras, the fans will still be happy to pay the money. Also coming out this week is Ep. 57: The Claws Of Axos (Special Edition), which is a double-dip.

Duck Dynasty: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon
For the longest time, I assumed Reality TV would eventually be seen by an alien civilization who use it as an excuse to destroy all of humanity. Shows like this might save us, because they'll say, 'Why bother?'

The Island President - Buy from Amazon
A documentary that might be too depressing to watch. It is about the president of the archipelago nation of Maldives, who was an advocate to solve Global Warming, for reasons that are obvious when you look at the nature of his nation. At its highest point, it is only 8 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, between the making of this movie and its release, his government collapsed, in part due to religious conflicts. (He allowed tourists resorts to be exempt from religious restrictions on pork and alcohol.) The film earned nearly perfect reviews and it is worth checking out. It is a shame that someone who was trying to do good was removed from power by a very undemocratic method.

Lost Girl: Season Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The first season came out less than a month ago. There's not much new to say.

Note: This DVD made its home market debut on the 6th.

The Muppets Christmas Carol - Blu-ray Combo Pack - Buy from Amazon
This film is still one of my favorite Christmas movies. But how does it fare on high definition? Read our review for my opinion.

Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D - Buy from Amazon: DVD or 3D Combo Pack
This movie flopped with critics and missed the Mendoza Line during its opening weekend. Avoid.

Painted Skin: Resurrection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The highest grossing Chinese film of all time in its native market. On the other hand, it didn't really make much noise here. Granted, opening in limited release is always a risk. So should it find a more receptive audience on the home market? Or is something lost in translation on the way here? Check out our review for my opinion.

Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack
The second collection of Pixar short films. If you have been collecting their feature-length films, you likely have most of these already. But is there enough added value to make the DVD and / or Blu-ray worth picking up? Read our review to find out.

The Queen of Versailles - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A documentary about David and Jackie Siegel, who were billionaires at the beginning of the film and were planning building the largest home in all of the United States. Then the economic collapse happened. The film earned nearly perfect reviews and earned a huge amount at the box office, for a documentary. The extras are limited to some deleted scenes, but there's still enough to be worth picking up.

Savages - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Before this film came out, there was a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding it. Then it moved from a prime Awards Season release date to a midsummer release date. That was a little odd, but when the reviews came in, it became clear why this happened. Enough works that it is worth a rental, but that's it.

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season 2 Part 1: Danger in the Deep - Buy from Amazon
One of the longest running cartoon franchises of all time. It has been on the air in one form or another since 1967. Granted, a lot of that time was in syndication, but there have still been hundreds of episodes made. There is a reason it has lasted so long, even if some of the various incarnations have been a lot weaker than others. This is one of the better versions.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Complete Series Megaset - Buy from Amazon
This series was at one time the longest running animated series in the United States. It lasted ten seasons, but were enough of them worth picking up to grab the Megaset? Is there anything here that lifts the value above the individual season releases? Check out our review to find out.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon: The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Flintstones, Friends (Blu-ray), Scooby-Doo Where Are You!, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Five TV Megasets this week and two of them come in boxes shaped like vans. That's a strange coincidence.

Vamps - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Amy Heckerling and Alicia Silverstone team up for the first time since Clueless. It would be unfair to expect this film to be as good as that first film, but is it worth checking out? Check out our review for my opinion.

The Watch - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
There were some who thought this film would make $100 million domestically. I was more cautious about its chances, but it failed to come close to my lower expectations. The reason for this is simple: it is a bad movie. The extras are good, so if you did like the movie, it is worth picking up, but for most people, it isn't even worth a rental.


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Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Brave, 2 Days in New York, Vamps, Savages, The Watch, The Island President, The Queen of Versailles, Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D, Hua Pi 2, The Cottage, Annie Claus is Coming to Town, Alicia Silverstone, David Arquette, Amy Heckerling, Joss Whedon