DVD and Blu-ray Releases for June 4th, 2013
June 4, 2013
It's a typical summer week on the home market with a good mix of first run releases and some summer TV shows coming out on DVD and Blu-ray. There are certainly some releases that are worth picking up, but nothing that will set sell records. Overall, it is solid, but unspectacular. There were a few contenders for Pick of the Week. Breaking Bad: Season Five on DVD or Blu-ray, but it is a split-season release and I'm not happy with the price-per-minute. By comparons, The Newsroom: Season One, which comes out next week, is nearly twice as long but only 25% more money. Brooklyn Castle is another contender; however, while its DVD is certainly worth picking up, I'm not sure it will have wide enough appeal. In the end, I went with Warm Bodies. It may seem like a strange choice, but it is still one of the best wide releases of the year and the DVD and the Blu-ray are loaded with extras.
12 Rounds 2: Reloaded - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Adventure Time: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection, Appleseed XIII: Complete Series (Limited Edition), Appleseed XIII: Complete Series, Creature From the Black Lagoon, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry / Race With The Devil, The Doobie Brothers: Live at Wolf Trap, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia Complete Collection, Earthquake, Electra Glide in Blue, The Invisible Man, Its A Disaster, The Last Ride, Mad Max Trilogy, Midway, The Mummy, The Odd Couple, Perfect Understanding, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, The Phantom of the Opera, The Shadow, and Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz Double Feature
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: Escape from Planet Earth
Breaking Bad: Season Five - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Brooklyn Castle - Buy from Amazon
Bubble Guppies: Sunny Days! - Buy from Amazon
Demi Lovato: Her Life, Her Story - Buy from Amazon
Escape From Planet Earth - Buy from Amazon: DVD or 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack
Falling Skies: The Complete Second Season - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme - Buy from Amazon
A Good Day to Die Hard - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Honor Flight - Buy from Amazon
Identity Thief - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
In Old Arizona - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Mental - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Mountain Men: Season 1 - Buy from Amazon
Pretty Little Liars: The Complete Third Season - Buy from Amazon
Rawhide: The Sixth Season - Buy from Amazon: Volume One and Volume Two
Ring of Fire - Buy from Amazon
A Taste of Romance - Buy from Amazon
The original film bombed, so I'm not sure why they made a sequel. I'm not surprised that sequel was made direct-to-DVD.
Wow. A studio that recognizes its target demographic for cartoons like this is adult collectors. Good job. There are even plenty of extras on the DVD and the Blu-ray, at least compared to most similar releases. Also coming out this week is Season One on Blu-ray. They are both definitely worth picking up.
There are a lot of secondary Blu-ray releases coming out this week, including a ton of double-shots, most of which I skipped. There are a lot of old-school monster movies in the mix, but there was a recent box set of these, which is a better deal.
Only one 3D release this week, and it is a decidedly second-tier kids movie.
I was hoping to get a copy of this show to review, but that's probably not going to happen. I ask each time they offer, but so far only one season has shown up. The show's reviews and ratings are still very strong. On the other hand, this is actually a split-season release and part two of season five begins shortly. This means there are only eight episodes on the three-disc set and the price-per-minute is rather high.
This documentary is about a school in a low income neighborhood that nonetheless has a national class chess program. Its reviews are almost perfect, and if you are a fan of documentaries, it is a must have.
An animated skit show for preschoolers. What episodes are on this DVD? And is the overall price-per-minute worth it? Read our review to find out.
I don't like the way it looks when there are two featured reviews back-to-back. That's the only reason I mentioned this DVD. Although I do like Demi Lovato in the few things I've seen her in.
The latest Dora the Explorer hit the home market this week. So what episodes does it have and is the price-per-minute worth it? Check out our review to find out.
I completely forgot this movie came out this year. Then again, calling it forgettable is a compliment compared to its reviews. There are not a lot of extras on the DVD or the 3D Blu-ray combo pack, but if you have kids in the right demographic, then it is worth a rental.
A summer series about an alien invasion and a group of survivors that try to fight back. The reviews are only good, but not great, and a step down from season one. Still, if you liked the first season enough to buy the DVD or the Blu-ray, then it is worth picking up again.
A TV special Frank Zappa made in 1974. It hasn't been released in the nearly 40 years since it has was made, so if you are a fan of the musician, it is a must have.
The screener for this film arrived, but it didn't arrive in time to get the review done for Tuesday. It has to arrive before the weekend for that to happen, not on the Monday before it comes out. I assume this happened because of Memorial Day holiday. Regardless, I will get to the review ASAP.
A documentary about a memorial to World War II veterans and the task to fly out several vets to be at the unveiling. According to Amazon.com, it is the fifth best selling new release of the week, but that's probably just a quirk in the system. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, nor did it have a lot of success in limited release. Nothing suggests it should be a big seller on the home market, but if you are a fan of the genre, it is likely worth a rental.
This film earned terrible reviews, but cruised past the $100 million mark. Despite this success, the extras on the DVD are very weak (a making of featurette and some deleted scenes) while the Blu-ray has some exclusives (alternative scenes and a couple of featurettes) but it is not enough to make it even a rental.
The screener just arrived and I'm looking forward to reviewing it.
A black comedy that earned mixed reviews and bombed at the box office. Dark comedies are hard to get right, so 40% positive reviews isn't a deal-breaker for fans of the genre, but definitely start with a rental.
This DVD will appear on the Box Office Prediction contest in the coming weeks.
Guilty pleasure is probably the best way to describe this TV show. It's good, for a soapy summer series, but that's not high praise.
Great show, but I don't like the split-season release. The price-per-minute is on the high end.
This DVD arrived on my desk unexpectedly. Normally I try to get to all such releases and I was planning to get this one over the weekend, but then a computer crash wiped out a ton of work I did and I had to redo it immediately. Because of that, I won't get to this one and I will have to add it to the prize pool. I did check out the reviews and they are mostly, "mostly good". There are almost no enthusiastically positive reviews, but most critics gave it a moderately positive overall score.
A TV movie romantic comedy. Its reviews are not bad, especially compared to the average for this particular genre, but it is not essential viewing either.
A surprise hit with critics and an early midlevel hit at the box office. Did Warm Bodies deserve this success? And are there enough extras on the DVD and the Blu-ray to warrant picking them up? Read our review for my opinion.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, A Good Day to Die Hard, Warm Bodies, Escape From Planet Earth, Identity Thief, Brooklyn Castle, 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded, Honor Flight, Mental, In Old Arizona