Home Market Releases for October 25th, 2016

October 24, 2016

Finding Dory

It’s not a great week on the home market, as the biggest release of the week is the low-budget horror film, Lights Out. It is worth picking up on Blu-ray, but it is not worth the Pick of the Week title. The best film on this week’s list is Finding Dory, but it is only coming out on Video on Demand and it is worth waiting for the Blu-ray. That said, there’s no top-notch competition, so it is the Pick of the Week.

Agatha Raisin, Series 1 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A British murder-mystery show. The price-per-episode is higher than most American shows, but a little lower than most British imports. Also, there are a lot of extras compared to most British imports. It’s a good deal, if you like the genre.

Ancient Aliens: Season Nine - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
I hate this show. It’s pseudo-science on a channel that used to be fact-based.

Captain Fantastic - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
One of the best films on this week’s list. It earned more than 80% positive reviews and scored $5 million in limited release. Unfortunately, it is still a limited release and the only extra is a short featurette discussing the opposing points of view brought up in the movie. This is disappointing, but it is a shallow week, so it is still a Pick of the Week contender.

The Exorcist III - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This is the fifth best-selling new release of the week, according to Amazon.com. I find that odd. Granted, it is much better than the second film was, but it is still an average horror film that came out more than 25 years ago and wasn’t a big hit when it was in theaters. It’s a sign of just how shallow this week’s list of new releases is.

The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Grandfather of Gore films. This 17-disc set is a must-have for gorehounds with a sense of film history. However, I think the price could scare away a few people.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film came out on DVD last month but is being released on Blu-ray this week. I’m not sure why that is. It is one of the best movies of the year and definitely deserves to be seen by more, but releasing it early on DVD seems like a cash grab. Get some people to buy it on DVD and Blu-ray, because they didn’t know a Blu-ray release was on its way.

Janet King: Series 2 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
An Australian crime drama that costs a lot on a per-episode basis, but this is common for imports like this.

Lights Out - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
It was a great summer for horror films and this one was one of the stand-outs. It earned 13 times more than it cost to make at the domestic box office and even more internationally. The only extras on the DVD / Blu-ray are some deleted scenes. ... It’s still worth picking up, but it is not a contender for Pick of the Week, or at least it would have been had it not been such a shallow release.

Mad Max High Octane Anthology Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
There are some great movies in this franchise, but $240 is too much to ask.

Mr. Church - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Eddie Murphy’s first theatrical release in four years and it bombed, harshly. It earned only 15% positive reviews and it missed the Mendoza Line by a wide margin during its opening weekend. The extras are not bad, all things considered, but I can’t even recommend a rental.

Nerve - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film had good reviews, but not great reviews, and did well at the box office, compared to its production budget. Extras are good, given its box office performance. If you think I’m being wishy-washy here, it’s because I am. Nerve is good enough to watch, but not so good I can be enthusiastic about that recommendation.

Papa: Hemingway in Cuba - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
There have been a lot of movies either about Hemingway or based on one of his stories that have come out in the past few years, but almost none of them have earned good reviews. This one is no exception.

Shopkins: Chef Club - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
I’ve never heard of this show before and one look at the DVD shows I’m not in the target audience. However, it is selling extremely well compared to most new releases, so clearly it has an audience out there.

Skiptrace - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
The Chinese movie industry has grown so large that they can afford to pay Hollywood stars to co-star in their productions. That’s great for them and I really hope these films do well enough here that Chinese stars get opportunities to act in Hollywood movies. Or at the very least, Asian-American actors are given more roles here. If they are going to be hits here, they will need to be better than this film was.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Boy on a Dolphin - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Burial Ground - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Deathrow Gameshow - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Executioner (The Criterion Collection) - Noe Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Hobgoblins - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Hunter x Hunter Set 1 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Iggy Pop: Post Pop Depression - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Juden Chan: Recharged - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Kanojo X Kanojo X Kanojo - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Majorettes - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Manhattan Baby - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Men and Chicken - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Murder Weapon / Deadly Embrace - Reviews - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Night of the Grizzly - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Nightmare Sisters - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan Documentary - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Pornograffitti Live 25 / Metal Meltdown - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Private Property - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Quiet Man - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Street Fighter II The Animated Movie - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (The Criterion Collection) - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I wonder if Hunter x Hunter and Kanojo X Kanojo X Kanojo are connected. I’ll ask my nephew who is into Anime. ... Nope. No connection. Hunter x Hunter is one of those shows where a young boy trains to be the best fighter and overcome obstacles with the help of his friends, while worrying about nemeses. Naruto is a good comparison. Kanojo X Kanojo X Kanojo is porn. That’s actually more interesting, because Hentai rarely comes out in high definition. On a side note, Nightmare Sisters is a film I tried to rent a number of times in high school with my group of friends. They always vetoed my choice. It looked like a fun bad movie, but it does have some cult followers.

4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
No 4K releases this week.

Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon
Angels and Ornaments - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Video on Demand
Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas - Reviews - Movie Plus Extras, Movie Only
Christmas with Tucker - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD - Video on Demand
Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas is by far the biggest Christmas release of the week. It is also a terrible movie. Just watch the original.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
Grace Under Fire - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Miami Vice - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Nash Bridges - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Nothing too special on this list. Miami Vice is the biggest release, but it has already come out on Blu-ray, so the DVD Megaset is a step down.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Finding Dory - Reviews - Video on Demand: Movie Plus Extras, Movie Only
Gleason - Reviews - Video on Demand
Indignation - Reviews - Video on Demand
Perfect Husband The (2014) - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Finding Dory is by far the best movie on this week’s list. However, it is equally clear that you should wait for the Blu-ray and buy that.

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Finding Dory, Skiptrace, Captain Fantastic, Lights Out, Indignation, Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, Nerve, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Gleason, Mr. Church, Mad Max, Eddie Murphy