Home Market Releases for March 28th, 2017

March 29, 2017

It’s a good week for Pick of the Week contenders, as there are seven such releases on this week’s list. Unfortunately, none of them really scream out as The Pick of the Week. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is by far the biggest, but it is only out on Video on Demand right now, while Hidden Figures is the best, but again, it is only on VOD this week. There are also a couple of busted Oscar-bait films, Archer: Season Seven is only getting a DVD release, while the previous seasons came out on Blu-ray. In the end, I went with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVIII, partially to celebrate the return of the show.

20th Century Women - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Is this busted Oscar-bait? It was certainly made to win awards and while it didn’t win any Oscars, it did pick up a nomination, so it wasn’t completely shut out during Awards Season. Extras include an audio commentary track and two making of featurettes, which isn’t bad for a limited release. Easily worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Archer: Season Seven - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Still one of the best animated shows on TV right now, which is even more impressive given its longevity. Unfortunately, there’s no Blu-ray release for this title.

Boruto - Naruto the Movie - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Naruto was infamous for its longevity, so much so that even fans were starting to tire of the show and just wanted a proper ending with real closure. They got it... for a little while. Shortly after Naruto ended, they announced Boruto, which is Naruto: The Next Generation, or Moreuto, as some are sarcastically calling it. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all three are positive, so that’s a good sign.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, 3D Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack,
Video on Demand
The first in the post-Harry Potter Harry Potter franchise. It didn’t earn as much critical praise and the box office numbers were weaker, but if you are a fan of the franchise as a whole, it is worth checking out. The extras are not as good as I was expecting with no audio commentary track. There are a quartet of making of featurettes and some deleted scenes, so it is worth picking up, but it isn’t a Pick of the Week contender.

Fast and the Furious Box Set - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
NO! Do not buy this box set. Based on the recent history of this franchise, you know there will be another box set when Fate of the Furious hits the home market, and another when the ninth film comes out in theaters, and another when that installment hits the home market, and another when the tenth hits theaters, and at least one more when number ten hits the home market. That’s five more box sets that are nearly guaranteed to be released. This is beyond cash-grab territory.

The Handmaiden - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This film was named Pick of the Week when it came out on DVD in January. I was able to buy it on Blu-ray in Canada months ago, so I’m not sure what the delay was south of the border.

Jack Taylor: Set 3 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
An Irish murder mystery show starring Iain Glen. Like most similar shows, the price-per-minute is high and it is better to consider it 3 TV movies.

A Monster Calls - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Video on Demand
Busted Oscar-bait. The film did earn excellent reviews, but it got no traction during Awards Season and bombed in theaters. The DVD / Blu-ray is excellent with two audio commentary tracks, two making of featurettes, and deleted scenes. Definitely worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week.

Monster High Electrified - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray
Video on Demand
I’ve never seen any of the films in this franchise, but it is constantly a strong seller and I’m tempted to check out one of the movies, just to see what the hype is about.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVIII - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
One my my favorite TV shows of all time, which explains why I spent over $300 on the Kickstarter. This is an all-Mike box set, because they are rapidly running out of Joel episodes that are not locked up in legal issues. In fact, after 38 box sets, they are rapidly running out of episodes, period.

Patriots Day - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K Ultra HD
Video on Demand
I consider this film to be busted Oscar-bait. The film is based on a real life story and it opened in limited release at the end of December with a January expansion. The film’s Tomatometer Score is 80% positive, but I’ve also seen some reviews of critics who live in the Boston area and they hated this movie. Just hated it. Extras on the DVD are limited to a couple of featurettes, while the Blu-ray has four additional exclusive featurettes.

Planet Earth II - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K Ultra HD
The original Planet Earth hit the home market the same time Blu-ray and HD-DVD were battling to see which format would rule and it became one of the highest selling high definition releases of all time. In fact, the gorgeous nature documentary likely helped convince many people that high definition was worth the investment. I don’t think it will be able to do the same thing for 4K, but it is a Pick of the Week contender on Blu-ray.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
The latest installment in the Star Wars franchise is the first in the spin-off series. The film was expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year, but did the high expectations hurt? Read our review to find out.

Silence - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Video on Demand
It seems unfair to call this film busted Oscar-bait, as it earned 85% positive reviews. However, given the release date, its pedigree, etc. a lot of people assumed it would be an Awards Season player. It never panned out and without Awards Season success, it wasn’t able to find an audience in theaters. As a result of its box office troubles, the DVD / Blu-ray doesn’t have a lot of extras. In fact, there’s only one featurette. It is still worth checking out and picking up if you are a fan of Martin Scorsese. It is not a Pick of the Week contender.

Static Shock: The Complete First Season - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
This is a DC comics animated series that first debuted in 2002. It wasn’t a monster hit, but it still maintains a fanbase all of these years later, so there are a lot of people who are happy it is finally coming out on DVD. It is a DVD-R release, on the other hand, so don’t expect extras.

Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà vu - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Normally we don’t talk about Anime titles, unless they are selling really well. This one is fighting for a spot in the top ten on Amazon’s list of best-selling new releases. On the other hand, the name looks like a random collection of words and punctuation marks stuck together.

A Tale of Love and Darkness - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Video on Demand
Natalie Portman makes her feature-length directorial debut with this film. Its reviews were good, but not good enough to thrive in limited release, which in turn explains why there’s only a DVD release.

Why Him? - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Bryan Cranston stars as Ned Fleming, a man who hates his daughter’s new boyfriend. The reviews were mixed, to be polite, and it is only really worth checking out if you are a fan of the cast. Even then, a rental will be enough for most people.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
After Porn Ends 2 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Another Man's Poison - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Arsenal - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Blow-Up: Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Coming Convergence - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Dakota - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Diabolik Lovers II: More Blood - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Fairy Tail: Collection Seven - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Heavy Object: Season One, Part Two - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Horus, Prince of the Sun - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Luck & Logic: Season One - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Phantasm: Special Edition Box Set - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar: The Complete Series - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Venom - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
What's The Matter With Helen? - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Wishmaster Collection - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Witchtrap - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray Combo Pack
World Without End - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
ZPG - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
There are a ton of Anime titles on this week’s list, as well as a few Oliver Reed films. I think Anime is becoming more and more popular here, so we should be getting a lot of ports. I started getting back into Anime, so this is good news.

3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 3D Combo Pack
September Storm - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 3D Blu-ray
There are only two 3D movies this week and only one of then is big enough to make an impact on the home market.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
There are no Megasets this week, but there are a couple of them next week.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Bodyslam Revenge of the Banana - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Hidden Figures - Reviews - Video on Demand
Junction 48 - Reviews - Video on Demand
Hidden Figures is easily the best VOD release of the week. A screener is hopefully on its way and it should get here in time for its DVD / Blu-ray release.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Silence, A Monster Calls, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Patriots Day, Bodyslam: Revenge of the Banana!, 20th Century Women, Why Him?, A Ga ssi, Arsenal, Junction 48, Monster High: Electrified, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Fast and the Furious, Monster High, Bryan Cranston, James Franco, Iain Glen, Natalie Portman, Oliver Reed, Martin Scorsese, Zoey Deutch

Home Market Releases for March 28th, 2017

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