DVD and Blu-ray Releases for July 23rd, 2013
July 23, 2013
This week's new releases are so bad that I'm tempted to hold on to this story till I finish the review for Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Four on Blu-ray, just so I would have a real contender for Pick of the Week. According to Amazon.com, the best-selling new release of the week is an Anime title. Most weeks, Anime titles are filler, because of their are niche appeal. There are a few foreign releases and limited releases worth checking out, but there are not many contenders for Pick of the Week. The two best are Ginger & Rosa on DVD and Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXVII on DVD. I'm going with the former for Pick of the Week. Meanwhile, Starbuck's DVD earns Puck of the Week. See it before Hollywood ruins it with a bad remake.
The Bitter Buddha - Buy from Amazon
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Aerosmith: Rock For The Rising Sun, Babette's Feast (Criterion Collection), The Ice Storm (Criterion Collection), Kiss of the Damned, and Summer and Smoke
Craig Ferguson: I'm Here to Help - Buy from Amazon
Dragons: Riders of Berk - Buy from Amazon: Part 1 and Part 2
Duck Dodgers: Deep Space Duck Season Two - Buy from Amazon
Fairy Tail - Blu-ray Combo Packs - Buy from Amazon: Part 5 or Collection Two
Femme Fatales: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon
Ginger & Rosa - Buy from Amazon
How the States Got Their Shapes: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon
The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes - Buy from Amazon
Love and Honor - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXVII - Buy from Amazon
New World - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
One Piece: Season Five, Voyage One - Buy from Amazon
Pieta - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Silence - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Spring Breakers - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Starbuck - Buy from Amazon
Super Friends: A Dangerous Fate Season 5 - Buy from Amazon
Superjail: Season Three - Buy from Amazon
Trance - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Twixt - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Vehicle 19 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Wedding Chapel - Buy from Amazon
Welcome to the Punch - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex - Buy from Amazon
A documentary about stand-up comic Ed Pepitone, who is famous within the stand-up community, but virtually unknown outside it. The reviews were amazing, but sadly, it went nowhere at the box office.
There are not a lot of secondary Blu-ray releases on this week's list, but three of the five are worth checking out.
I've reviewed a couple stand-up concert DVDs from Craig Ferguson and if this one is as good as the first two, it is worth picking up.
Our current contest features these two DVDs, but I'm still waiting for the screeners to review.
There have been a lot of good Loney Toons cartoons coming out in the past few years. This one is worth picking up, especially if you are a fan of the original Duck Dodgers shorts.
This Anime series is selling incredible well, at least according to Amazon.com's list. That is a sign of a really weak list.
A TV series from Cinemax, which means there's a lot of sex and nudity. However, there are also good stories, at least in some of the episodes. Does this season balance the sex and the stories better that the first season? Or does the sex continue to get in the way of good stories? Check out our review for my opinion.
This film earned quite a bit of advance buzz and opened with strong reviews and made more than $1 million at the box office. This makes it one of the biggest box office hits on this week's list. The DVD includes audio commentary track and interviews with the director and cast. It is definitely worth picking up, but it is strange it is not getting a Blu-ray review.
One of the best educational shows on the History channel. A claim like that would have meant a lot more about a decade ago, but even so, it is worth picking up, if you are interested in American history.
Jack Benny is one of the funniest people ever to appear on TV. This DVD includes 18 lost episodes and is a must have for fans of him in particular, or of early American TV in general.
Some good cast members, but it earned terrible reviews and missed the Mendoza Line when it opened in limited release. The only extra on the DVD or the Blu-ray is a making of featurette, which is not enough even for a rental.
It has been a long time since I got a screener from this show. I might have to call and find out how to get them again. I do love the show and they are great fun to review.
A South Korean film involving organized crime. It's not the only such film on this week's list. Like a lot of foreign films on this week's list, it earned good reviews, but failed to find an audience in theaters. It did do better than most. There are practically no extras on the DVD or Blu-ray, but if you are a fan of South Korean organized crime movies, then it is worth picking up.
One of three Anime releases in the top ten, at least according to Amazon.com. Yeah, it really is that slow.
A South Korean film about a loan shark enforcer whose estranged mother shows up one day. The film's reviews were great, but the film bombed here. It is worth picking up for fans of South Korean movies.
Two recent movies from the Robotech franchise, one of which is a double-dip and the other is making its DVD debut. Are either of them worth checking out? And is the two-disc set worth picking up? Read our review for my opinion.
A German film about the murder of a young girl and a similar crime many years before. The film's reviews were excellent, but it failed to find an audience in theaters. There are not a huge number of extras, but the extras you get are substantial (interviews and two previous short films by the director) and it is worth picking up.
This film still holds the record for highest per theater average for the year. I don't think anyone was expecting that. It did reasonably well when it expanded the next weekend and it earned good reviews. Will I add to the number of critics who liked the movie? Or will I be part of the smaller, but vocal, group that hated this movie? Check out our review to find out.
A man is a prolific sperm-donor and now he finds out he has hundreds of children, many of whom are looking for their real father. The reviews were good, but not great, but it did really well up here in Canada and it is being remade starring Vince Vaughn. I think this version will be the better of the two.
There is a lot of nostalgia tied in with this show. Fans will want to grab it A.S.A.P., unless you want to wait another three years for the next release from this cartoon franchise.
I like a lot of shows Adult Swim has made over the years, but this one is too bizarre for me.
One of two James McAvoy movies on this week's list. This one is better, but not great. It also didn't live up to expectations at the box office. Don't get me wrong, very few limited releases earn more than $2 million, but with Danny Boyle behind the camera, most analysts were expecting a lot more. It is still worth checking out and with a lot of extras, it is worth purchasing over just renting. However, it is not Pick of the Week material.
This film earned weak reviews, but there are several cast members that I really like, so I'm going to try and get a screener.
Paul Walker stars as a man who picks up a rental car only to find out there is a woman, Naima McLean, kidnapped in the trunk. Now there are men trying to kill them both. He wants to go to the cops, but she tells him it is the cops that are trying to kill her, as she has the evidence to blow the lid off massive government corruption. A good setup, but poor execution.
According to Amazon.com, this is one of the best selling new releases of the week. According to Google, there are no reviews online. Granted, it is such a generic name that it is hard to Google the film, but still, there should be something out there that is easy to find.
A great cast plus a weak script equals mixed reviews. The DVD and the Blu-ray do have some interviews and a making of featurette, so if you are a fan of the cast and / or genre, it is worth a rental, but that's it.
One of two Selena Gomez releases on this week's list, both of which arrived late. I am not part of the target audience, but I have reviewed a number of releases from the TV show. How does this show compare to the TV series? And is it worth picking up for fans? Read our review to find out.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Trance, Starbuck, Spring Breakers, Hangul, Love and Honor, Ginger & Rosa, Welcome to the Punch, The Bitter Buddha, Das letzte Schweigen, , Vehicle 19, Twixt, Danny Boyle, Craig Ferguson, James McAvoy, Vince Vaughn, Paul Walker, Selena Gomez