Home Market Releases for August 18th, 2015
August 18, 2015
The TV on DVD season is kicking into high gear, but it is still too soon for the summer blockbusters to arrive on the home market. This has led to a number of good releases, but not a lot of great ones. It was a pretty easy race for Pick of the Week with Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection on Blu-ray Combo Pack well ahead of the rest.
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window and Disappeared - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Bottoms Up - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Descendants - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Grey's Anatomy: Season 11 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
It Happened Here - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Lambert and Stamp - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Little Boy - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Mike & Molly: Season 5 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
NCIS: Season 12 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
NCIS: Los Angeles - Season 6 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
NCIS: New Orleans: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Once Upon a Time: Season 4 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-
Psycho Beach Party - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Rookie Blue: Season 5, Volume 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
The Royals: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Strangerland - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: The Jeff Foxworthy Show and The Rebel
Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: 5 to 7, 6 Years, Barbie in Rock'n'Royals, Barefoot Artist, Catching Faith, Cub, The Curse of Downers Grove, The D-Train, Dark Star: H.R. Giger's World, Ejecta, Elena, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, Hackers, The Hunger, Iris, Navajo Joe, Nightmare Castle, The Riot Club, La Sapienza, Unbelievers, and Vendetta
A foreign-language film that earned good reviews, but not great reviews. It did really well in the box office, for a foreign-language release, earning just over $1 million.
Video on Demand
A follow-up to Animal Instincts. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. There isn't even a page. Strange.
The Blacklist: Season 2 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
This TV show has been earning a lot of critical praise, especially for James Spader. However, I couldn't get into the show. There's just too many similar shows out there and not enough time in the day to watch them all.
There are plenty of secondary Blu-ray releases, but none that jump out as must haves.
A documentary about changing fashions, specifically how big bottoms are now fashionable. However, while this is good news for women who are more curvaceous, it has driven many women to get butt augmentation plastic surgery. This was part of a flood of a dozen films that arrived over the course of one week. (Only one of which I requested.) It will be featured on this week's Box Office Prediction contest.
Video on Demand
The latest Disney Channel Original Movie. I was impressed by the previous such movie I reviewed. Will I also like this movie? If not, is it good for a kids movie? Read our review to find out.
This show is way too much of a soap opera for my taste, but it has lasted more than a decade, so it clearly has some fans.
Video on Demand
A documentary about the epidemic of rapes in university and the poor track record universities have when dealing with the problem. It is part of this week's Box Office Prediction contest.
Video on Demand
A documentary about Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert, the managers of The Who. Given its reviews, it's worth checking out if you are a fan of the band, or of rockumentaries in general. Add in the extras (commentary track and Q&A on the DVD, plus a few short featurettes on the Blu-ray) and it is worth picking up over just renting.
Video on Demand
I had completely forgotten about this release. The film's reviews are terrible and the box office numbers were even worse. Add in weak extras and it just isn't worth renting.
Video on Demand
A sitcom featuring Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy. The reviews are good for a sitcom, but not award-worthy. Worth checking out, but I don't think you need to purchase it.
Video on Demand
With the loss of Cote de Pablo, the show jumped the shark last season and I stopped watching. It might have improved this season, but the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a little lower for season 12 than it was for season 11, so that's not a good sign. (There are no actual reviews to judge the two seasons.) It is still a good show and worth picking up, but it is no longer a contender for Pick of the Week.
I like a few characters on this show, but I found the two leads to be uninteresting. When the two leads are your weakest link, it is hard to enjoy the show as a whole.
I only saw the backdoor pilot for this show and I was not impressed. The reviews are okay, but well below what the original show earns.
Video on Demand
I reviewed the first season of the show and I liked it. However, its reviews have slipped to just over the overall positive level. The extras are still great, so if you like the show, it is worth picking up. However, a lot of people who started watching the show in season one have moved on.
Video on Demand
Admittedly, I like this movie more than most critics do, but this is a must have in my book.
Good show, but there's no reason to release the season in two parts.
A summer show that is too trashy and not witty enough, at least for critics. It did well enough with viewers to get a second season.
Video on Demand
Great cast, bad reviews, bombed at the box office. Extras are limited to a couple of behind-the-scenes / making of featurettes, so even if you are interested in the film, a rental will be enough.
Only two complete series Megasets on this week's list and one of them only ran for two seasons.
Of all of the VOD releases on this week's list, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me is the best. However, it is so good that it is worth waiting to buy on DVD.
Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A collection of a dozen short films from the past few years, including intros from the filmmakers and a short featurette on the various animation methods used on the shorts in this collection. I'm hoping to get a screener to review, but even without having seen all of the shorts here, I can tell it is a Pick of the Week contender.
- C.S.Strowbridge
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Psycho Beach Party, Little Boy, Lambert & Stamp, Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann, Strangerland, Teen Beach Movie 2, Descendants, Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, Melissa McCarthy, Billy Gardell, Cote de Pablo, Chris Stamp, Kit Lambert