DVD and Blu-ray Releases for July 22nd, 2014

July 22, 2014

I think it is fair to say it is a mixed week on the home market. There are four wide releases coming out this week, but all but one struggled at the box office. Worse still, looking down the list of new releases and you quickly run into filler. Fortunately, there are a few films that are contenders for Pick of the Week, including Blue Ruin and Next Goal Wins. However, the winner is Ginger Snaps, which is coming out on a Special Edition Blu-ray.

All Cheerleaders Die - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A high school outsider joins the cheerleader squad to get revenge on the football captain, but somehow ends up killing all of the cheerleaders and turning them into undead killers. The reviews are mixed, but that's better than most similar releases earn.

An American Girl: Isabelle Dances into the Spotlight - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
I might get a screener for this release. I have reviewed a previous release from this franchise and it was better than expected, so I have high hopes this one will be as good.

Antboy - Buy from Amazon
This is a Danish live action kids movie about a young boy who is bitten by an ant and gains super powers. Obviously there are parallels to a well-known super hero we won't name here, but outside of a lack of originality, is it worth checking out? And will the DVD ever be released on Amazon? At least the Video on Demand is no longer marked Unavailable. Regardless of whatever is wrong with Amazon, you can read the review here.

Appleseed: Alpha - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A digitally animated Anime movie. Normally I would stick this in the Secondary Blu-ray releases, but it is such a slow week I need to talk about something.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Anaconda, Devil Is a Part Timer: Complete Series, The Essential Jacques Demy (Criterion Collection), Flatliners, Insomnia (Criterion Collection), Last Action Hero, Legend of Billie Jean, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Sabata, The Scalphunters, Witness for the Prosecution, and ZZ Top: Live at Montreux 2013
Not a ton of secondary Blu-ray releases this week. Witness for the Prosecution is the one I'm most interested in and I'm not alone.

Blue Ruin - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Despite earning stellar reviews, this film failed to find an audience in limited release. Hopefully that will change on the home market. There are enough extras on the DVD and the Blu-ray (audio commentary, making of featurette, deleted scenes, etc.) to be worth picking up over just renting.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: Princess Christmas Collection: 15 Holiday Films or Mr. St. Nick
There are not one, but two Christmas releases on this week's list. It's July and there are two Christmas releases on this week's list. ... I hope the Earth spirals out of its orbit and crashes into the sun.

Dalziel & Pascoe: Season 10 - Buy from Amazon
A BBC murder mystery, so you know the drill. It is a great show, but the price-per-minute is really high for TV on DVD.

Dom Hemingway - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
This screener arrived on Saturday. Screeners need to get to me by Friday in order to get reviewed in time for Tuesday. That said, I will get to the review A.S.A.P.

Ginger Snaps - Blu-ray Combo Pack - Buy from Amazon
One of the best werewolf movies of all time is getting a special edition Blu-ray release. Pick of the Week. It is as simple as that.

GMO OMG - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Arg. There have been more than 500 independent scientific studies on GMOs and they have been found to be safe. Watch this. That said, I don't like the business practices of Biotech corporations. Then again, I don't like the business practices of most corporations. Corporations have way too much political power.

Heaven is for Real - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Can someone explain this movie to me? It is about a Christian preacher, who believes in God, heaven, etc., whose son has a near-death experience and experiences heaven... and he freaks out. This only makes sense if he didn't actually believe anymore, but that's not what the movie says. Maybe this is partially why it only earned mixed reviews. The DVD has one featurette and some deleted scenes, while the Blu-ray also has a couple of making of featurettes. That's not great, but if you are in the target demographic, there are so few well made movies in this genre that it is likely worth picking up.

Hetalia: The Beautiful World: Season 5 - Buy from Amazon
According to Amazon.com, this Anime release is in the top ten new releases for the week.

The Human Race - Buy from Amazon
A high-concept Sci-fi film that unfortunately didn't live up to its premise. It isn't bad and it is worth checking out if you like the genre.

Make Your Move - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Just your average dance movie. The only thing that makes it stand out is BoA, a Korean pop star who is making her English-language acting debut in this movie.

Next Goal Wins - Buy from Amazon
American Samoa lost a World Cup qualifying match to Australia by a score of 31 to 0. That's a goal every three minutes. In a typical soccer match, nothing happens every three minutes. This documentary looks at how the team tried to turn things around. The reviews are perfect so far, but I'm still waiting on the screener.

Note: This Blu-ray made its home market debut on the 15th.

Rio 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack
The screener arrived a couple of days late, but I got to the review this weekend. Was the film better than the first film was? And is the Blu-ray worth picking up? Read our review to find out.

Sabotage - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film was attacked by critics and ignored by moviegoers. I'm not surprised there's not much in the way of extras.

Shogun - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
This TV mini-series came out more than 30 years ago and was a big hit with TV viewers and awards show voters at the time. But has it aged well? And is the Blu-ray worth picking up? Check out our review for my opinion.

Transcendence - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Not the worst first-run release of the week, but it is close enough that it is worth avoiding. The DVD only has a couple of short featurettes, while the Blu-ray has a few exclusive extras, none of which is enough to be worth picking up. It is only worth a rental if you really love the concept and / or the cast. For most it is skippable.

Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The screener for this film arrived unexpectedly on Friday. However, I've reviewed enough Tyler Perry films in my career to not put myself through that again. Expect the contest to begin next Friday.


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Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Ginger Snaps, Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club, Rio 2, Transcendence, Heaven is for Real, Dom Hemingway, GMO OMG, All Cheerleaders Die, Sabotage, Antboy, Blue Ruin, Make Your Move, The Human Race, Next Goal Wins, American Girl, Tyler Perry, BoA