Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jul 6, 2018 16:39:20 GMT -6
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DVD ROUND-UP: 'BLOCKERS,' 'BEIRUT,' 'THE SCARLET EMPRESS,' & 'GRIMM'
Week of July 3, 2018
Posted by Tom Flinn on July 1, 2018 @ 10:59 pm CT
This week’s home entertainment offerings include the R-rated comedy Blockers and the savvy thriller Beirut, both of which deserved a wider audience than they received, along with a new high-definition collection of the most beautifully photographed films in Hollywood history, plus complete collections of the Grimm and Psych TV series.
Theatrical Movies
This week’s biggest box office release is the R-rated comedy Blockers (Universal, “R,” 102 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), a raunchy, and yet heartfelt farce about the parents of three high school girls, who learn that their daughters are planning on losing their virginity at the Senior Prom, and attempt to thwart the plans of their offspring. Critics gave Blockers, which benefits from director Kay Cannon’s ability to capture the mindset of its female protagonists, a solid 83% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and more than few compared the film to the work of John Hughes (16 Candles).
Blockers earned $58 million at the box office, though many felt it underperformed, given its critical reception, but the espionage thriller Beirut (Universal, “R,” 110 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), which had a similar strong rating from the critics (77%), made only $2 million in theaters. With solid performances from John Hamm and Rosamund Pike, and a screenplay by Tony Gilroy, Beirut is a cut above the typical political thriller, and definitely worth catching on video.
Rosamund Pike also stars in the semi-documentary thriller 7 Days in Entebbe (Universal, “PG-13,” 107 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), but this turgid retelling of actual events could only earn a 25% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and just $1.6 million in theaters here in North America.
Tuesday will also see the release of one of the best collections of vintage American films of the year, Dietrich and Von Sternberg in Hollywood (Criterion, 542 min., $124.95, BD $124.95), which contains the six feature films that Von Sternberg directed starring Dietrich in Hollywood in the early 1930s. Morocco, Dishonored, Blonde Venus, Shanghai Express, The Scarlet Empress, and The Devil Is a Woman are hands down the most beautifully shot and composed films in Hollywood history, so film buffs should be sure to get the Blu-ray versions, which do justice these extraordinarily beautiful films.
TV on DVD
There aren’t very many TV releases this week, but there are a couple of interest to geek viewers, especially Grimm: The Complete Series (Universal, 5,396 min., $99.98, BD $129.98) is a massive 28-disc collection that includes every episode from all six seasons of the TV series that brought the characters from the classic Grimm fairy tales to life in gripping fantasy police procedural in which detective Nick Burkhardt discovers that he must keep the precarious balance between humans and the creatures of mythology; and Psych: The Complete Series (Universal, 5278 min., $99.98), the lighthearted comedy mystery series that starred James Roday and Dule Hill.
Also due on Tuesday is the Zooey Deschanel-starring sitcom New Girl: The Final Season (Fox, 180 min., $19.95).
Overseas offerings this week include the stylish U.K. drama Delicious, Series 2 (Acorn, 187 min., $34.99), a visually appealing and appetizing saga of food, love and infidelity in Cornwall; and the Irish legal drama Striking Out, Series 2 (Acorn, 327 min., $39.99) that follows the adventures of a young Irish lawyer, who quits her job and starts an unconventional private practice after she is dumped by her fiancé.
Anime
This week’s releases include In Another World With My Smartphone (Funimation, “TV-14,” 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, Ltd Ed. $84.98), which contains the 12-episode 2017 anime from Production Reed that is based on the light novel series by Patora Fuyuhara about a teen who is mistakenly killed, and then set up by God in a fantasy world, who also allows the hapless teen to keep his smartphone. The limited edition comes in a rigid box along with a 40-page art booklet and a 3-D Kohaku smartphone charm.
Many old school anime fans are familiar with the 1990s OVAs based on Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga, but the classic fantasy adventure manga has received a much more meticulous adaptation from David Productions in a TV anime series that began in 2012. This week’s offering from that series, JoJo Bizarre Adventure, Set 2 (Viz Media, “TV-14,” 600 min., $39.99, BD $69.99), contains the first 24 episodes of the 2014-2015 second season of the anime, which adapts the manga’s third story arc, “Stardust Crusaders.”
Also of interest are A Centaur’s Life: The Complete Series (Funimation, “TV-MA,” 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98), which contains the 12-episode 2017 series from Haoliners Animation League that is based on the fantasy manga series by Kei Murayama (published here by Seven Seas) that is set in a world of centaurs and satyrs ; Assassination Classroom: The Movie—365 Days’ Time (Funimation, “TV-14,” 92 min., BD/DVD Combo $34.98), a compilation from the TV series that narrates the wild sci-fi saga depicted in Yusei Matsui’s manga (published here by Viz Manga) about a ragtag group of students who have to save the Earth by killing their alien teacher; and the Magic of Stella Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “TV-14,” Subtitles Only, 300 min., BD $59.98), which collects the 12-episode 2016 anime from Silver Link that is based on the 4-panel seinen manga by Cloba U about a group of high school “game” club members who decide to produce their own visual novel.
DVD ROUND-UP: 'BLOCKERS,' 'BEIRUT,' 'THE SCARLET EMPRESS,' & 'GRIMM'
Week of July 3, 2018
Posted by Tom Flinn on July 1, 2018 @ 10:59 pm CT
This week’s home entertainment offerings include the R-rated comedy Blockers and the savvy thriller Beirut, both of which deserved a wider audience than they received, along with a new high-definition collection of the most beautifully photographed films in Hollywood history, plus complete collections of the Grimm and Psych TV series.
Theatrical Movies
This week’s biggest box office release is the R-rated comedy Blockers (Universal, “R,” 102 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), a raunchy, and yet heartfelt farce about the parents of three high school girls, who learn that their daughters are planning on losing their virginity at the Senior Prom, and attempt to thwart the plans of their offspring. Critics gave Blockers, which benefits from director Kay Cannon’s ability to capture the mindset of its female protagonists, a solid 83% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and more than few compared the film to the work of John Hughes (16 Candles).
Blockers earned $58 million at the box office, though many felt it underperformed, given its critical reception, but the espionage thriller Beirut (Universal, “R,” 110 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), which had a similar strong rating from the critics (77%), made only $2 million in theaters. With solid performances from John Hamm and Rosamund Pike, and a screenplay by Tony Gilroy, Beirut is a cut above the typical political thriller, and definitely worth catching on video.
Rosamund Pike also stars in the semi-documentary thriller 7 Days in Entebbe (Universal, “PG-13,” 107 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), but this turgid retelling of actual events could only earn a 25% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and just $1.6 million in theaters here in North America.
Tuesday will also see the release of one of the best collections of vintage American films of the year, Dietrich and Von Sternberg in Hollywood (Criterion, 542 min., $124.95, BD $124.95), which contains the six feature films that Von Sternberg directed starring Dietrich in Hollywood in the early 1930s. Morocco, Dishonored, Blonde Venus, Shanghai Express, The Scarlet Empress, and The Devil Is a Woman are hands down the most beautifully shot and composed films in Hollywood history, so film buffs should be sure to get the Blu-ray versions, which do justice these extraordinarily beautiful films.
TV on DVD
There aren’t very many TV releases this week, but there are a couple of interest to geek viewers, especially Grimm: The Complete Series (Universal, 5,396 min., $99.98, BD $129.98) is a massive 28-disc collection that includes every episode from all six seasons of the TV series that brought the characters from the classic Grimm fairy tales to life in gripping fantasy police procedural in which detective Nick Burkhardt discovers that he must keep the precarious balance between humans and the creatures of mythology; and Psych: The Complete Series (Universal, 5278 min., $99.98), the lighthearted comedy mystery series that starred James Roday and Dule Hill.
Also due on Tuesday is the Zooey Deschanel-starring sitcom New Girl: The Final Season (Fox, 180 min., $19.95).
Overseas offerings this week include the stylish U.K. drama Delicious, Series 2 (Acorn, 187 min., $34.99), a visually appealing and appetizing saga of food, love and infidelity in Cornwall; and the Irish legal drama Striking Out, Series 2 (Acorn, 327 min., $39.99) that follows the adventures of a young Irish lawyer, who quits her job and starts an unconventional private practice after she is dumped by her fiancé.
Anime
This week’s releases include In Another World With My Smartphone (Funimation, “TV-14,” 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, Ltd Ed. $84.98), which contains the 12-episode 2017 anime from Production Reed that is based on the light novel series by Patora Fuyuhara about a teen who is mistakenly killed, and then set up by God in a fantasy world, who also allows the hapless teen to keep his smartphone. The limited edition comes in a rigid box along with a 40-page art booklet and a 3-D Kohaku smartphone charm.
Many old school anime fans are familiar with the 1990s OVAs based on Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga, but the classic fantasy adventure manga has received a much more meticulous adaptation from David Productions in a TV anime series that began in 2012. This week’s offering from that series, JoJo Bizarre Adventure, Set 2 (Viz Media, “TV-14,” 600 min., $39.99, BD $69.99), contains the first 24 episodes of the 2014-2015 second season of the anime, which adapts the manga’s third story arc, “Stardust Crusaders.”
Also of interest are A Centaur’s Life: The Complete Series (Funimation, “TV-MA,” 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98), which contains the 12-episode 2017 series from Haoliners Animation League that is based on the fantasy manga series by Kei Murayama (published here by Seven Seas) that is set in a world of centaurs and satyrs ; Assassination Classroom: The Movie—365 Days’ Time (Funimation, “TV-14,” 92 min., BD/DVD Combo $34.98), a compilation from the TV series that narrates the wild sci-fi saga depicted in Yusei Matsui’s manga (published here by Viz Manga) about a ragtag group of students who have to save the Earth by killing their alien teacher; and the Magic of Stella Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “TV-14,” Subtitles Only, 300 min., BD $59.98), which collects the 12-episode 2016 anime from Silver Link that is based on the 4-panel seinen manga by Cloba U about a group of high school “game” club members who decide to produce their own visual novel.