DVD and Blu-ray Releases for March 26th, 2013

March 27, 2013

It is a shallow week on the home market. Lincoln is coming out and should dominate the sales chart, but after that, there's almost nothing to talk about. Given its reviews and its Awards Season success, it is the easy choice for Pick of the Week, right? Not so fast. I'm still waiting for the screener. Speaking of late reviews, Skyfall finally showed up and despite not coming out this week, or this month, I'm giving the Blu-ray Combo Pack Pick of the Week honors.

Beautiful Girls - Buy from Amazon
This film came out nearly 20 years ago and it earned good reviews, but never found an audience in theaters. It is making its Blu-ray debut on a bargain priced disc from Echo Bridge Home Entertainment. Is it worth checking out? Is it worth picking up? Read our review for my opinion.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: From Beyond (Collector's Edition), Futureworld, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Jurassic Park III, A Man Escaped (Criterion Collection), Monsieur Verdoux (Criterion Collection), Paul Anka: Live in Switzerland, Phantasm II (Collector's Edition), Playing By Heart, Stand-Off, and Terminator Anthology
There were not a lot of secondary Blu-ray releases that really stood out this week. If you didn't want the entire Jurassic Park, now you can buy the movie(s) you wanted individually.

The Borgias: The Second Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This screener arrived unexpectedly, but I'm pushing it over to the prize pool, because I haven't seen season one.

Carol Burnett Show: This Time Together - Buy from Amazon
I previously reviewed the Megaset, which is the better deal.

The Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
A sequel to The Collector. This film earned slightly better reviews than its predecessor earned, so if you liked the original, you will probably want to check this one out as well. However, if you are not a fan of torture porn, you can safely skip this one.

Continuum: Season One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A Canadian sci-fi film starring Rachel Nichols as a cop from the future sent back to 2012 to fight future criminals also in the past. It is filmed in and set in my home town of Vancouver. A lot of movies and shows are filmed in Vancouver, but not many are set there. It has earned good reviews and I might blind buy this one.

Killing Them Softly - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film earned excellent reviews and had good pre-release buzz, but it failed to make an impact at the box office. I'm still waiting for the screener, but I'm looking forward to see it.

LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Stikes Out - Buy from Amazon
According to Amazon.com, this is the second best selling release of the week, behind only Lincoln. Either it is selling a lot better than expected, or it is an even slower week than expected.

Note: This Blu-ray made its home market debut on the 12th.

Life of Pi - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack
The big winner at the Oscars this year, it earned incredible reviews, but even a lot of critics that loved the movie said it was a better technical achievement than it was an actual story. Is that true? If so, is the technical achievement enough to be worth checking out? Read our review to find out.

Lincoln - Buy from Amazon: DVD, 2-Disc Blu-ray, or 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack
I'm still waiting for the screener for this release, but given its reviews and its success during Awards season, it is a solid contender for Pick of the Week, even if it has a featureless Blu-ray, and that's not the case.

MADtv: Season Two - Buy from Amazon
Wow, it has been a long time since Season One came out. I think Season Three is the last season I would consider buying, because after that the quality went down.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Series One - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
An Australian murder mystery show set in the 1920s starring Essie Davis. The show has earned very good reviews, while Essie Davis picked up a nomination for Best Lead Actress in a TV show at the Australian Film Institute. Worth picking up if you are a fan of the genre.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXVI - Buy from Amazon
Great show, but I no longer get screeners to review, so I'm not sure how strong the four episodes are.

Parental Guidance - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film earned terrible reviews, but it did very well at the box office earning more than $75 million on a $25 million budget. Were the critics right or were the moviegoers right? I won't know till the screener arrives.

Note: This DVD made its home market debut on the 5th.

Power Rangers: Clash of the Red Ranger - Buy from Amazon
I'm not a fan of the latest incarnation of the Power Rangers, but I thought RPM was the best Power Rangers series of all. Does this two-part special episode rise to the level of the old show? Check out our review to find out.

A Royal Affair - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The film earned incredible reviews and did very well for a foreign film in limited release. Extras on the DVD and the Blu-ray are limited to an interview featurette, but it is more than 30 minutes long, so that's better than most foreign language films. Worth picking up for fans of the genre.

The Sandlot: 20th Anniversary Edition - Buy from Amazon
This film is 20 years old? Suddenly I feel really old. This film never really found an audience in theaters, but became a bit of a cult classic on the home market. Not quite on the same level as A Christmas Story, but there are a lot of people who watch this movie over and over again. However, this is not the first time it has been released on Blu-ray. Is it worth picking up? Is it worth the double-dip? Read our review to find out.

The Shipping News - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
I think it is fair to call this film busted Oscar bait. However, it only earned mixed reviews and failed to find an audience in theaters. It is making its Blu-ray debut on a bargain disc, but is it worth checking out? And is it worth the price? Check out our review for my opinion.

Note: This Blu-ray made its home market debut on the 12th of February.

Skyfall - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The latest Bond film earned the most money in the franchise and earned some of the best reviews for a Bond film and it also did better than most in the franchise during Awards Season. Will I also praise the film? Or am I going to be one of the rare exceptions. Read our review to find out.

Star Trek: Enterprise: Season One - Blu-ray - Buy from Amazon
Considered by most to be the weakest of the Star Trek TV shows, but does it deserve this reputation? Is its Blu-ray debut worth picking up? Read our review for my opinion.

Veep: The Complete First Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
I'm still waiting for the screener for this TV on DVD release. I've heard good things, so I'm looking forward to reviewing it.

Note: This Blu-ray made its home market debut on the 13th.

White Zombie - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The first feature-length movie to use the word, "Zombie". It is important for that historic reason, but does it also work in its own right. Or, is this 1932 film simply too old-fashioned, and not in a good way? Read our review for my opinion.


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Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, The Sandlot, The Shipping News, Beautiful Girls, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Parental Guidance, The Collection, Killing Them Softly, En kongelig affære, LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, White Zombie, James Bond, Jurassic Park, Rachel Nichols