Home Market Releases for February 14th, 2017

February 13, 2017

It is an interesting week with four top-notch releases. Unfortunately, two of those releases, Doctor Strange and Moonlight, are VOD only. This leaves just two contenders for Pick of the Week: Arrival and The Edge of Seventeen. Both are absolute must haves, but Arrival’s Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack have far more extras and it is the Pick of the Week.

Arrival - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
One of the best movies of the year and one of the best Sci-fi films since The Martian. Yes, I know these movies were only released a year apart, but it is worth noting that we got two amazing Sci-fi films back-to-back. I really hope this is a trend. Extras on the Blu-ray include five featurettes with a total running time of about 80 minutes. I would have liked an audio commentary track, but you really can’t complain about the in-depth nature of the extras.

Beavis & Butt-Head: The Complete Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This isn’t a complete series. It’s the previous three volumes in one box set. There are more than a few shorts that Mike Judge is no longer comfortable having his name attached to, so as long as he’s in charge, they won’t be released again.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This is more of a tech demo than a real movie. Ang Lee shot the film in 4K UHD at 120 fps. If you don’t know what that means, here’s the key information: There are only two theaters in all of the United States that can play films at that resolution and frame rate.

Bleed for This - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Busted Oscar Bait. The film’s reviews are good, but not great, so it is worth checking out, but not a must have. Extras include a couple of making of featurettes, plus some deleted scenes. This pushes it up to a purchase, but no more.

Christine - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
A movie based on the life and death of TV news reporter Christine Chubbuck. The film earned excellent reviews, but given its subject matter and release date, it was up against a lot of Oscar contenders, so it is no real surprise it wasn’t able to thrive against this competition. Sadly, it isn’t even getting a Blu-ray release. Even so, it is worth picking up.

Def Leppard: And There Will Be A Next Time...Live From Detroit - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This DVD / Blu-ray was also on last week’s list. However, it came out on Friday, so it sort of straddled two different weeks.

King Cobra - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A movie about the gay porn industry. It only managed mixed reviews, while it struggled in limited release. On the other hand, it is selling rather well on the home market.

Mercy Street: Season Two - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
A PBS series set during the civil war focusing on two nurses from opposite sides of the conflict. The reviews are great, but it is not an instant classic.

One Million Years B.C. - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The most famous, and possibly the best, of this sub-genre of films. The prehistoric humans interacting with dinosaurs became a real fad in the 1960s / early 1970s, mainly due to women like Raquel Welch wearing a fur bikini in the movie. As soon as producers realized they could skip the dinosaurs and the films would do almost as well at the box office, the films got a lot weaker in terms of quality. On a side note, one of this film’s sequels, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is coming out on Blu-ray at the end of the month.

One Piece: Collection Eighteen - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
One of a few Anime titles that regularly appears on this list. On a side note, it would literally take a week to watch every episode released on DVD. That’s a week, non-stop, without a break.

Priceless - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
A faith-based film about human trafficking. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and most of them are negative.

Scooby Doo Shaggy’s Showdown - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
The film is selling well on DVD, but I couldn’t even find a page for it on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s very odd.

Stake Land 2 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
The first Stake Land earned great reviews and became a hit on the home market. This film is earning no buzz. If you liked the first film, then maybe give this film a rental on VOD.

Thomas & Friends: Extraordinary Engines - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
I’m impressed by this franchises longevity, as it has run for 20 seasons over the past 30 some years. That said, I’m not in the target audience, so I can’t really comment on the quality.

The Yakuza - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
This film was directed by Sydney Pollack and stars Robert Mitchum. It has an interesting premise: A former soldier returns to Japan to help an old friend, who has become mixed up with the Yakuza. However, the execution is flawed. It is worth checking out, and I’m sure fans of the movie are happy it is coming out on Blu-ray. That said, for most a rental will be enough.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
23 Paces to Baker Street - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Busou Shinki - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
City of Dead Men - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Comet Lucifer - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Deep Water: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Mystic Archives of Dantalian: The Complete Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
October Sky - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Quarry: Season One - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Steamboat Bill, Jr. / College - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Suddenly In The Dark - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Tree of Wooden Clogs: Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Buster Keaton Blu-ray is the best secondary Blu-ray release of the week.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
It Came from Outer Space - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
We have a 3D release this week. It’s a classic from the 1950s, so if you are a fan of Sci-fi films from that era, it is worth picking up.

4K Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Arrival - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk was shot in 4K Ultra HD, but Arrival is by far the better movie.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
Star Trek Enterprise - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Wacky Races - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
I previously reviews all four season of Enterprise. I’m not a fan of the show, but this Blu-ray box set is much cheaper, so if you are a fan but balked at the price before, now it is worth picking up.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Bad Santa 2 - Reviews - Video on Demand
Doctor Strange - Reviews - VOD (Movie Only) or VOD (With Bonus Features)
London Town - Reviews - Video on Demand
Moonlight - Reviews - Video on Demand
Mythica: The Necromancer - Reviews - Video on Demand
Rules Don’t Apply - Reviews - Video on Demand
Seasons - Reviews - Video on Demand
Taken Heart - No Reviews - Video on Demand
You May Now Kill the Bride - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Doctor Strange is clearly the biggest VOD release of the week, and second best to Moonlight. However, I would wait for the Blu-ray to come out; it is something worth seeing in Blu-ray. Moonlight, like most dramas, isn’t needed to be seen in high definition to be enjoyed.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Doctor Strange, The Edge of Seventeen, Arrival, Bleed for This, London Town, Moonlight, Bad Santa 2, Les Saisons, Christine, Priceless, Rules Don’t Apply, City of Dead Men, Scooby Doo Shaggy’s Showdown, Stake Land 2, Taken Heart, You May Now Kill the Bride, Buster Keaton, Robert Mitchum, Mike Judge, Ang Lee, Sydney Pollack, Raquel Welch, Hailee Steinfeld, Kelly Fremon Craig