Home Market Releases for July 23rd, 2019

July 24, 2019

We are still in the summer doldrums on the home market. The biggest first run release of the week is Alita: Battle Angel, which is much better than its box office numbers and one of the best releases on this week’s list. Other contenders for Pick of the Week include Do the Right Thing and Nichijou: My Ordinary Life: The Complete Series. In the end, I went with Nichijou: My Ordinary Life: The Complete Series. In part because it is an amazing series, but also in part in solidarity with the victims of the Kyoto Animation arson attack.

1984: The Criterion Collection - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
This is the 1984 version of 1984 and not the better BBC version from 1954. It is still worth picking up and you know The Criterion release is going to be top-notch. Extras include two new interview featurettes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a booklet with an essay on the movie.

Alita: Battle Angel - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, 3D / 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray (Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set)
Video on Demand
A live-action Sci-fi action film that is an adaptation of a Manga / Anime that is designed to look like a Manga / Anime. It’s reviews were barely above the overall positive level and it struggled in theaters, at least domestically. Worse still, it got caught up in the “culture war” around Captain Marvel with the bad guys deciding to rally around this movie instead of Captain Marvel. Don’t let the worst of this film’s fans cloud your judgment about this movie. It is worth checking out and it is loaded with extras. It is even a contender for Pick of the Week, thanks in part to weak competition. Also coming out this week is a $200 Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set. That’s just too much money. I’m sure there are hardcore fans who want it, but I can’t recommend it for the average person.

Critters Attack! - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Another Critters movie. I like this franchise more than the average person does and this film’s reviews are actually not terrible. Okay, having a Tomatometer Score of 44% isn’t good, but it is better than all but the first film earned. Extras include an audio commentary track and three featurettes. If you are a fan of the genre, then it is worth renting. If you are a fan of the franchise, then it is worth picking up.

Cutie Honey Universe - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray or Limited Edition Collector’s Boxset
This is not the first time this Manga has been adapted into an Anime and nor will it be the last. Sadly, it is one of the worst and I would stick with the earlier Anime adaptations and the live-action film instead.

Do the Right Thing - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
An absolute classic from Spike Lee. The Blu-ray is loaded with extras, but they are mostly of the archival variety. The Blu-ray is still easily worth picking up and a contender for Pick of the Week, but it is not a slam dunk like it would have been had there been more new features.

Double Impact: Collector’s Edition - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
A martial arts action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as twins. No, not that one, the one from 1991. It got a collector’s edition release a while back, but the screener was late. Was it worth the wait? Or will it be disappointing to the actor’s fans? Read our review for my opinion.

Hail Satan? - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD
A documentary about the Church of Satan, which actually does a lot to protect religious freedoms by suing when the government discriminates against them. The documentary earned nearly perfect reviews and it is certainly worth picking up for fans of documentaries.

Hellboy - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Video on Demand
Stick with the original.

Missing Link - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
I love stop-motion animation, but I was never drawn in by the advertising for this movie. I’m not alone, as the film bombed in theaters. The reviews are fantastic and the extras are much better than its box office numbers, so it is certainly worth checking out.

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life: The Complete Series - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
An Anime about three childhood friends. It’s one of the best a slice-of-life series and it is from Kyoto Animation, which is one of the best studios in the industry. Sadly, the studio was the victim of an arson attack that killed more than 30 people with dozens more injured. There has been an outpouring of support for the animators who lost their lives or were injured and there are ways you can help here.

Weird Science - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
I put in a request for this film, but the screener is late. It is selling extremely well compared to most new releases this week, so I’m not alone in wanting to see it again.

Blu-ray Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Armored Trooper Votoms: Ova Collection 2 - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Criss Cross - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Death in the Garden - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Death Takes a Holiday - Reviews Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Easy Living - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Fate of Lee Khan - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack
Merrill’s Marauders - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
The Milky Way - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray
Pacific Heights - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Soundgarden: Live From The Artists Den - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
Universal Horror Collection, Volume 2 - No Reviews - Buy from Amazon: Blu-ray
There are a lot of classics on this week’s list of secondary Blu-ray releases, including films that are old enough to be considered classics for several decades. Of these, I think Death Takes a Holiday is the best bet.

3D Releases - Buy from Amazon:
Alita: Battle Angel - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 3D / 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
Oh my god! We have a 3D release two weeks in a two. I can’t remember when the last time that happened.

4K Ultra HD Releases - Buy from Amazon:
The Doors - Reviews - Buy from Amazon: 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack
There’s only one secondary 4K release this week and it was a critical disappointment when it first came out. I don’t think the overall opinion has changed much since then.

TV on DVD Megasets - Buy from Amazon:
No Megasets this week. That will change when we get closer to the start of the fall season.

Video on Demand - Buy from Amazon:
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu - Reviews - Video on Demand
Poms - Reviews - Video on Demand
Skin - Reviews - Video on Demand
Tolkien - Reviews - Video on Demand
I’ve already watched Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and it is wonderful. The Blu-ray is almost guaranteed to be the Pick of the Week when it comes out on the 6th of August.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: DVD and Blu-ray Releases, Home Market Releases, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Captain Marvel, Alita: Battle Angel, Missing Link, Hellboy, Poms, Skin, Tolkien, Hail Satan?, Ye Wen hui chuan: Zhang Tianzhi, Ying chun ge zhi Fengbo, Critters Attack!, La mort en ce Jardin, Critters, Spike Lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme