Home Market Releases for October 6th, 2015
October 7, 2015
The home market release report is a little late this week, because in our ongoing attempt to improve our site, we are looking at the format of this column and it will change shortly. (Also, this week both Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes were acting up. I had to download a script blocker and block all scripts on Rotten Tomatoes. Certain things no longer work, but at least it doesn't cause Firefox to freeze every ten minutes.) The biggest release of the week is The Avengers: The Age of Ultron, sort of. It came out last Friday, not this Tuesday. I'm waiting for my copy to arrive so I can do a full review. Meanwhile, the best new release of the week is When Marnie Was There in Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Awake: The Life of Yogananda - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Bram Stoker's Dracula - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Burnt Offerings - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Christmas Releases - Buy from Amazon: 6-Movie Christmas Collection, 13-Film Christmas Collector's Set, Best Christmas Party Ever, Christmas at Cartwrights, Deck the Halls, Jingle All the Way, My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic & Littlest Pet Shop: Winter Vacation, Pee-Wee's Playhouse: Christmas Special, and The Sandman And The Lost Sand Of Dreams
Dark Places - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Falling - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Final Girl - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Home Alone Ultimate Collector's Edition
Horror Classics, Volume One Collection - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Insidious: Chapter 3 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
The Last: Naruto the Movie - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Magic Mike XXL - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Penny Dreadful: Season Two - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
People, Places, Things - Buy from Amazon: DVD
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
South Park: Season 18 - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Tremors 5: Bloodlines - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
TV on DVD Full Series Megasets - Buy from Amazon: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bewitched, Grace Under Fire, I Dream of Jeannie, Little House on the Prairie, Mission: Impossible - Original TV Series, and The Wonder Years
Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon: The Anomaly, Batkid Begins, I Spit On Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine, The Iron Giant, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Paper Towns, and Pixels
The Avengers: The Age of Ultron - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack or 3D Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Streaming never seems to work for me, so I bought the Blu-ray and will review it when it arrives.
This documentary did very well at the box office earning $1.5 million, despite earning good, but not great reviews. I guess it has a particular target audience.
When this film first came out, it was expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year. It never lived up to the hype, but it still earned great reviews and pulled in $200 million worldwide. If you have never seen it, it is worth checking out, but there are better vampire movies out there.
A haunted house horror movie from the 1970s hitting Blu-ray for the first time. It is also one of several Kino releases that may or may not be on its way. I hope it gets here and I hope it is better than its reviews.
Now this is what I'm used to in terms of Christmas releases at this time of year.
Video on Demand
This film has a great cast, but the reviews were terrible and it failed to find an audience in theaters. (It was a VOD release.) A screener is apparently on its way, so I'm hoping I enjoy it more than the average critic.
Video on Demand
Maisie Williams gives the film a bit of star power and the reviews were strong. Despite this, it failed to find an audience in theaters. Hopefully it will find an audience on the home market.
Video on Demand
Abigail Breslin stars as Veronica, a girl who is trained from a very young age to be a killing machine. Her first mission is to take down a group of men who hunt and kill young women for sport. The reviews were weak and it went nowhere at the box office. On a side note, anyone check out Scream Queens? It was one of three new shows I was looking forward to watching, but after three episodes I've dropped it. It wasn't able to manage the balance between the slasher horror and the comedy.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Just a decade ago, this movie would never have been made, because Scientology had too much power. The reviews are fantastic and this is arguable the best look at Scientology.
Video on Demand
The first and only season, of this Black Comedy. This genre is notoriously hard to pull off, but does this film manage to balance the humor and the darker elements? Read our review for my opinion.
A copy of this box set is on its way, I think. It is from Fox and since I'm Canadian, screeners from Fox always arrive late. Many consider the first film a classic, but honestly, I've never seen the whole thing, so I will be coming at the franchise with fresh eyes.
A four-movie set with some classic horror films. Well, The Mummy is a classic, but two of the others are merely good and not true classics. You can also get them individually, but it is like buying three and get one free if you buy the box set. If you are a fan of the genre, all are worth owning, even if only one lives up to the label.
Video on Demand
The third, and likely final film in the Insidious franchise. The box office slumped this time around and the reviews failed to reach the overall positive levels. It likely broke even, but another installment might not be as lucky. The extras on the Blu-ray are better than the DVD, so if you like these movies, it is worth picking up. I'd say it is closer to a rental.
One of the few Anime franchises that routinely sell well enough to appear on the front page of the new releases on Amazon.com. The Manga run ended this time last year, so fans will want to check out the last movies as they come out.
Video on Demand
One of a handful of sequels to come out this summer that didn't live up to their predecessors. Even so, the reviews are good and the film was likely profitable. However, the franchise is over, unless they switch to a Direct-to-DVD model. The only extras on the DVD and Blu-ray are a short making of featurette and deleted / extended dance scenes. You can also watch the movie with just the dance sequences, which should appeal to the target audience.
Video on Demand
I reviewed the first season and I liked it, but I wasn't blown away. There were too many plot threads that didn't hold my attention and too many other similar shows as competition.
Video on Demand
This film stars Jemaine Clement, who isn't a huge star here but does have a lot of fans. The reviews were good, but not good enough to thrive in limited release. That said, it is certainly worth at least a rental, if not a full purchase.
The law of declining returns is in full force with this franchise.
This is still a very popular show, but it has been a long time since I watched a full season of this show and felt that the hits outnumbered the misses. There were so many misses the last few seasons that I gave up on getting screeners to review.
Spartacus: Restored Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A classic with an all-star cast. The film won four Oscars and was arguably the best film of the year. (The Apartment is it's biggest competition for that honor.) The restored edition has plenty of extras and is an absolute must have.
I love the original movie and I'm not alone. The film didn't do well enough in theaters, but the franchise has thrived on the home market. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I might have to blind buy it.
I might get Avatar: The Last Airbender to review. I really hope I do. The show is excellent, but I don't know if it is truly worth the double-dip. I know I Dream of Jeannie isn't. It is just a repackaging of the older release. Meanwhile, Little House on the Prairie is only coming out on DVD, despite Blu-ray releases for the show.
The Iron Giant is by far the best VOD release this week, but I'm holding out for a Blu-ray. Paper Towns is worth a rental, while Pixels should be avoided at all costs.
Video on Demand
A British comedy / drama about a family going through divorce traveling to be at the husband's father's 75th Birthday. It struggled in theaters, but is it better than its box office numbers? Read our review to find out.
When Marnie Was There - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
This is the latest Studio Ghibli film to get a release here. It is one of its epic adventures, or is it one of its more modest tales. Will the film please fans of the studio? Is the Blu-ray worth picking up? Check out our review do find out.
Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Pixels, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Insidious Chapter 3, Magic Mike XXL, Dark Places, Paper Towns, Awake: The Life of Yogananda, People, Places, Things, Omoide no Mani, What We Did on Our Holiday, Final Girl, The Falling, Tremors 5: Bloodlines, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, Home Alone, Insidious, Magic Mike, Sharknado, Tremors, Abigail Breslin, Jemaine Clement, Maisie Williams