Home Market Releases for June 5th, 2018

June 4, 2018

Thoroughbreds

This is a busier week than usual on the home market, but that’s only because there are a higher than usual number of box office flops coming out the same week. The biggest box office hit of the week is A Wrinkle in Time, which did okay here, but bombed internationally. I’m still waiting for a screener to see if it is at least worth a rental. As for Pick of the Week contenders, there’s My Hero Academia: Season Two, Part Two and Thoroughbreds on Blu-ray. In the end, I went with Thoroughbreds, but both are worth owning.

Avatar - The Last Airbender: The Complete Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I own the complete series on DVD and I’m still tempted to make the jump to Blu-ray, even though there appears to be no new extras. That’s how good this show is.

Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This film is based on the very popular Anime series and its reviews on My Anime List are stunning. There are not a lot of extras on the DVD / Blu-ray, but that is common for Anime releases.

Death Wish - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
I forgot this film came out. Given the reviews, most people who saw it probably wish they could forget it. Skip it.

Every Day - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film bombed, hard. This is too bad, as the reviews are actually rather good. I just think audiences are tired of Young Adult adaptations, especially ones with a heavy romance angle. Extras include four making of featurettes and some deleted scenes. If you liked the movie, then it is worth picking up. If you never saw the movie, but like romances with a supernatural / Sci-fi hook, then it is at least worth a rental.

Game Of Thrones: Season 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
I’ve been a fan of the show since season one and it makes sense that this is one of the first shows to make the leap to 4K. It is much more cinematic than nearly every other TV show. In fact, it is more cinematic than most movies. If you have made the leap to 4K and like this show, then this might be worth the upgrade, especially if you only bought the DVD back in 2011. On the other hand, I would wait a year or so until the complete series comes out on 4K. At the latest, that will be a Christmas 2019 release.

Gringo - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This is a black comedy that earned weak reviews and bombed in theaters. This is typical of most black comedies; however, it bombed harder than anticipated. It does have four making of featurettes, which is better than expected. That said, it is only worth a rental for most fans of the genre.

The Hurricane Heist - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This is the third bomb on this week’s list. It is not as bad as its box office numbers would indicate; however, even if you are a fan of action films, it is only worth a rental for most.


My Hero Academia: Season Two, Part Two - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The screener is on the way, but it’s going to arrive late. I hope to get here soon enough to do the review this weekend. In the meantime, it is a Pick of the Week contender.


The Last Ship: Season 4 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Before season four even began airing, the cable network it airs on, TNT, renewed it for a fifth and final season. Season four was its weakest in terms of ratings. Does the show still have enough gas to last another season? Or did it jump the shark?

For those who haven’t seen the show, The Last Ship takes place in a world where an epidemic wiped out most of the world’s population with only one United States navy ship, the USS Nathan James, being completely unaffected. The scientists on board try to come up with a cure, which is made more difficult by forces trying to stop them. The Russians don’t want the Americans to control the cure, while there are some who are naturally immune to the disease who think they have been chosen to rule a new world order. It was cured at the end of season two, season three saw a mutation that was part of a bio-weapon, which leads us to season four, where...

The disease has jumped to plant life and is killing all of the crops in the world. There’s only one crop, the ancient African palm tree, that is immune to the disease. So needless to say, everyone is after it. Well, almost everyone. The captain of the USS Nathan James, Tom Chandler, left the navy and has gone missing. We know where he is. He’s in Greece, trying to live a simpler life. Obviously that doesn’t work for him, because if it did, there would be no show. However, it is equally obvious that he will return to the USS Nathan James before long, which makes his parts of several episodes rather pointless.

Unfortunately, pointless is the most apt description of this season. It’s a complete reset to the first season as far as the main plot is concerned. They just switched a human disease to a disease affecting crops. If you are a huge fan of the show and just really wanted another season to watch, this might be enough, but for me, it just showed the writers are out of ideas. Furthermore, the TV show has a number of other weaknesses that also hold it back. Too much of the acting is wooden, although this is partially a product of the dialogue, but not entirely. There is plenty of action in these episodes, but even then it looks cheap, especially the special effects. Overall, it just never grabbed my attention and if I didn’t have to watch it for this review, I would have turned it off for good very early in the season.

Extras include Inside the Last Ship on disc one, which are five featurettes with a total running time of 17 minutes. The third disc has The Last Ship: The Oddessy is a 13-minute look at the theme of season four.

The Last Ship is a summer show and these tend to be lower budget shows that can be described as guilty pleasures. I’m sure there are many people reading this who consider themselves fans of the show, but even then, if the rating are any indication, a lot of them gave up on the show during season four. I’m not surprised. That said, if you liked the season and have purchased the previous releases, then the DVD or Blu-ray isn’t a bad deal.


Peter Pan: Anniversary Edition - Review - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand (Movie Only)
Video on Demand (with Bonus Features)
I reviewed this film when it came out on Blu-ray the first time. It is widely considered a classic, even if some of the elements haven’t aged well. Also, I find Peter Pan to be rather annoying as a character. That said, given its reviews and the sales numbers, I’m in the minority here and most fans of classic animation will want to own it if they don’t already. I don’t think there are enough new extras to be worth the upgrade, on the other hand.


RWBY: Volume 5 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
I previously reviewed Volume Four of this series and have watched earlier volumes for the Holiday Gift guide. Volume Four was the weakest, because it spent so much time setting up plot threads without paying them off. I assumed they would address this in volume five. Was that the case? Or has the show lost its way?

The show focuses on four main characters, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, a.k.a., Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Goldilocks. Just like at the beginning of the fourth season, they are separated at the beginning of this season. Again, I think this is a mistake, because you miss out on the comradery. They are dealing with two main villains. Salem is the mysterious mastermind behind most of the machinations in this world and she’s currently trying to obtain all of the relics she needs, one of which is held by Raven, who is Yang Xiao Long’s mother. The other faction is the Faunus, a group of non-human humanoids with some animal-like traits. Blake Belladonna is one of them. For most people, Faunus are treated as second-class citizens. Some factions of the Faunus want to fight for equal rights and there are some factions of the humans who want to help them. Others, led by Adam and the White Fang army, are going to rebel and not only demand equal rights, but overtake the humans as the dominant power. Worse still, these two forces are teaming up.

Compared to volume four, volume five is more or less the same. It doesn’t live up to the first three volumes for a couple of reasons, but before I start, there is a real world tragedy that’s at the root of this. Firstly, the creator, Monty Oum, tragically died due to a severe allergic reaction while season three was in production. Since he passed away, the show doesn’t have the same focus that he imbued it with. There’s a lot more world building, but I get the impression that the writers are more or less making it up as they go along and it is a lot harder to be engaged in the plot when you know details you learn not might be changed next volume. Additionally, there’s less action than in the first three volumes. That said, the main cast of characters still has good chemistry together, when they are together, and there’s enough action to make up for the deficits in the plot.

There are a lot of extras on the DVD / Blu-ray, starting with two commentary tracks on each episode, one for the writer / director and the other for the technical crew. Disc Two also has 5 Years of RWBY is a 10-minute featurette on the history of the show. There are three character shorts, which mostly deal with backstories for the main characters. Finally there are CRWBY featurettes and image gallery. That’s an amazing amount of extras for a TV on DVD release.

RWBY: Volume 5 doesn’t live up to the first three volumes of the show, but if you liked Volume 4 enough to buy it, then the DVD or Blu-ray is certainly worth picking up. Personally, I’m still engaged enough to want to watch Volume 6 when it comes out.


Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
This film is considered one of the best musicals ever made; however, I’m not a real fan of the genre and this particular style of musical just isn’t for me. It is absolutely worth owning for fans of musicals in general, especially for fans of musicals of this era.

South Park: The Complete Twenty-First Season - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I don’t think this show has been good for over a decade. This year, a lot of critics agreed with me, as it earned the worst reviews the show has ever earned.


Thoroughbreds - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This film earned excellent reviews, but it was playing in over 500 theaters, which is way too many for a limited release, but way too few for even a semi-wide release. Needless to say, it struggled in theaters. That said, the reviews make it worth picking up. The extras are limited to a making of featurette, character profiles, and deleted scenes. That’s not a lot, but it is good enough for a limited release and enough to lift it to a Pick of the Week contender.


Wedding Bells - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
It’s a Hallmark Channel original movie, so long time readers know what that means. There are no reviews on Rotten tomatoes, but if you are part of the target audience, then you already know if you want to buy it or not.

A Wrinkle in Time - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand (Movie Only), Video on Demand (With Bonus Features)
I was really hoping the screener for this film would arrive on time. It could still arrive before it is technically late, but it is already too late to get a review done on time. I’ve heard mixed reports on the film, with some praising the unique visual style, while others saying the style got in the way of telling a compelling story. I won’t know which side I agree with until after the screener arrives.


Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Anonymous Noise - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
As the Gods Will: Live Action Movie - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Big Country - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Freak Show - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Greaser's Palace - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Great Silence - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
In the Mood for Love: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Lost Horizon - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Midnight Man - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Mobile Suit Gundam: Age - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Oh Lucy! - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Satellite Girl And Milk Cow - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
There are not a lot of quality secondary Blu-ray releases. Of the handful that earned excellent reviews, Lost Horizon is the one that interests me the most.


4K Ultra HD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Escape Plan - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Game Of Thrones: Season 1 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
A Wrinkle in Time - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
A Wrinkle in Time must look gorgeous in 4K. I’m not sure it is worth owning as a movie and won’t until the screener arrives.


TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
The Awesomes - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Invaders - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Jericho - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I really like The Invaders, but it only lasted two seasons and didn’t get a proper finale, so keep that in mind when considering buying the show.


Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Flower - Reviews - Video on Demand
I Can Only Imagine - Reviews - Video on Demand
Matthews - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Midnight Sun - Reviews - Video on Demand
Pacific Rim: Uprising - Reviews - Video on Demand
Pacific Rim: Uprising is easily the biggest secondary VOD release of the week, but its reviews were mixed, to be kind. On a side note, the DVD screener for Flower has already arrived and I will get to it once I clear out some of the screeners that arrived late.


Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Midnight Sun, A Wrinkle in Time, Death Wish, Gringo, I Can Only Imagine, Thoroughbreds, The Hurricane Heist, Every Day, Oh Lucy!, Flower, The Midnight Man, Freak Show, Il grande silenzio, Wedding Bells, Matthews, Eric Dane