DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 15th, 2012
May 14, 2012
It's not a bad week, for this time of year, with three films that are selling well, and two of those earned really good reviews. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for those screeners. Also, after those three big releases, there's a sharp drop-off in sales strength and we quickly find releases that would be overlooked most weeks. As for the best of the best, both Chronicle and The Grey are contenders for Pick of the Week, but like I said, I don't have the screeners to judge the extras. Therefore, I'm giving that title to Being John Malkovich Criterion Collection Blu-ray.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters: Season Two - Buy from Amazon
Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: 1900, Being John Malkovich, Bringing Down the House, Cat Planet Cuties: The Complete Series, Duets, Father of the Bride Anniversary Collection, Gone Fishin', New York Stories, The Odessa File, The Order, Walking Tall: The Trilogy, White Squall, and The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake
3D Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon: History of the World in Two Hours
Chronicle - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
The Devil Inside - Buy from Amazon
Diana Ross:Live in Central Park - Buy from Amazon
Dora The Explorer: Dora's Explorer Girls - Buy from Amazon
eCupid - Buy from Amazon
Flashpoint: Season Four - Buy from Amazon
The Grey - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Hazel: Season Three - Buy from Amazon
Hell on Wheels: Season One - DVD or Blu-ray
Norwegian Wood - Buy from Amazon
One for the Money - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Rampart - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray, or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Scooby-Doo: 13 Spooky Tales Around the Word - Buy from Amazon
This is a really fun cartoon that looks at the monsters under your bed from their point of view. Specifically, how they learned to scare kids so well. It was made by Gabor Csupo, who also made shows like Duckman and Rugrats, as well as Peter Gaffney, who helped make Rugrats and wrote for Recess, Daria, and other shows. That's a great pedigree. If you haven't seen the show, but like cartoons from the 1990s, it is worth checking out.
This film came out during the heart of Awards Season, but while it managed a few major nominations, almost all were for acting, it came out empty handed. Was it a good movie that should have done better? Or was it an average movie with a couple of excellent performances? Check out our review to find out.
There were actually quite a few secondary Blu-ray releases, but many were double-features of previously released Blu-rays. As for the ones that did make my list, there's not a lot here that I would consider prime releases. Being John Malkovich is the one exception. It's not only the best Blu-ray of the week, it's Pick of the Week material.
Only one 3D release this week, and it is an Edutainment release, so it likely won't sell very well.
One of the best wide releases of the year, it could be Pick of the Week material. If its extras are as good or better than The Grey's extras, then it is the pick of the week. However, the screener is late, so I can't judge.
I mentioned that there were three wide releases that were selling rather well this week. This is the lone wide release that appears to be struggling in terms of sales. This is not surprising, as its reviews were awful. More surprisingly, it is only coming out on DVD. It's not even worth a rental, so that hardly matters.
This DVD is currently in eighth place on the Amazon.com sales chart for the week. Granted, the concert is nearly 30 years old and fans of the singer haven't had a chance to see it in almost all of that time, but placing in the top ten is still a bad sign for the overall strength of the home market sales this week.
Dora's growing up, which makes sense, after so many years. Now as an Explorer Girl, she's aimed at a Tween audience instead of a preschool one. It will be interesting to see if this one sells as well.
A Gay Interest film that is essentially a wishgranting story centered around a cell phone app that helps Marshall (Houston Rhines) gets what he wants, at least for a little while. However, like all wishgranters, it soon turns on him. It's a gay romantic comedy and does well within that genre, but can't rise above it.
A Canadian TV series about a SWAT team in Toronto starring Enrico Colantoni. I got a chance to review the first season and it is quite good, but there is a lot of competition in the genre.
Described by some as, "Liam Neeson punches wolves." Despite that dismissive description, it earned excellent reviews, especially for a January release, and I'm looking forward to seeing the film. Unfortunately, the screener is late. Depending on the selection of extras, it could be Pick of the Week material.
This series ran for five seasons in the 1960s and I think it is safe to say most people today don't remember it. It is ranking rather high on this week's list of new releases, but I think that's cause it's a slow week.
A new series from AMC about a post-Civil War wild west involving a Confederate soldier looking for revenge, a freed slave trying to adapt to his new life, a railroad baron trying to complete his transcontinental line, and more. The show's reviews were good, but not great, with a lot of critics saying it has great potential, but the show struggles to match that potential. It was heavily promoted by AMC and it opened really well in terms of viewership, but hasn't held on to its audience quite as well, losing about a third of its audience from the pilot to the finale. The DVD and the Blu-ray have over two hours of featurettes, but no audio commentary tracks. Overall, it is worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of the gritty western.
This is not the first time this documentary has come out on the home market, but this week it makes its debut on Blu-ray. Is it worth owning? Yes. But is it worth upgrading to high definition? Read our review to find out.
The film is set in the 1960s at a Japanese sanatorium and looks at a love triangle between Toro Watanabe and his first love, Naoko, and a new girl, Midori. It earned very good reviews, but failed to find an audience in theaters. Hopefully that will change on the home market.
I mentioned that two of the three big sellers this week earned very good reviews. This one didn't. In fact, it might go down as the worst movie of the year. There are not a lot of extras (a couple featurettes, outtakes, alternative ending) but no amount of extras would lift it to a rental.
One of two films on this week's list clearly made to win awards, but didn't live up to expectations. Woody Harrelson's performance was excellent, but the rest of the film wasn't up to that level. It is still excellent, but not award-worthy. Extras are limited to interviews and a behind-the-scenes featurette. If it had a full set of extras, then it would be Pick of the Week material.
The latest DVD release for this franchise, which has been around for more than 40 years now. This one has a collection of episodes from different shows with the gang travelling the world investigating the paranormal in exotic places like Greece, Italy, and... Canada? Some of these haven't been released on DVD yet, but most are double-dips, so keep that in mind.
A "Complete Series" Mega box set was previously released, but another season was given the green light shortly after that. Is there still a lot to talk about? Or is repetition really hurting the show by this point? Check out our review for my opinion.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Bringing Down the House, Father of the Bride, Father of the Bride Part II, Being John Malkovich, Gone Fishin', New York Stories, White Squall, The Order, Duets, One for the Money, Albert Nobbs, The Grey, Rampart, Chronicle, Noruwei no mori, The Devil Inside