The following is a list and short description of all major Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of June 9, 2015. At the end of the post, there is also a complete list of all the Blu-ray and DVD releases that I know of for the week (in alphabetical order). Clicking on any links will bring you to the Blu-ray or DVD’s Amazon.com page where you can get more information about the release and/or order it. If you buy something using the links provided, a small percentage of your purchase comes back to us to help keep Geeky Hobbies running.
We here at Geeky Hobbies are always looking to try and review as many new Blu-rays and DVDs as we can so if you are involved in the promotion of any of these releases and would like to see it reviewed on this blog, contact us and we’ll most likely be willing to review it.
June 9 Blu-ray and DVD Highlights:
Kingsman: The Secret Service (Blu-ray, DVD)-Based on Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar’s comic book The Secret Service, Kingsman is a movie I’ve heard a lot of great things about and will definitely be watching. The story doesn’t sound particularly original (secret spy organization recruits promising kid and takes on a global threat) but the film is supposedly super fun, stylish, and has one of the best fight scenes in movie history.
Knights of Sidonia: Season 1 (Blu-ray, DVD)-I have heard so many great things about this anime series that I’m going to have to give it a try before season two is released on Netflix on July 3. Set in the year 3394 (a thousand years since humans fled from Earth), Knights of Sidonia is set on a massive spaceship called “Sidonia” which has developed its own culture which is very similar to Japan’s. Since the fates of the other ships are unknown, the residents of Sidonia might be the last human settlement remaining.
The Last Ship: The Complete 1st Season (Blu-ray, DVD)-The Last Ship is a TNT action drama based on a novel and produced by Michael Bay. I know that last thing isn’t exactly a great selling point but the show did get pretty solid reviews in its first season. The Last Ship stars Eric Dane (from Grey’s Anatomy) as the commanding officer of the USS Nathan James, which has the mission of saving humanity from extinction when a deadly virus wipes out over 80% of the world’s population. From the reviews, it seems like a popcorn movie turned into a television program, with a plot that doesn’t really do anything new or make a ton of sense, but the action and thrills still make it fun to watch.
Teen Wolf: Season 4 (DVD)-Despite being a remake of a very campy film and airing on MTV, Teen Wolf has gotten respectable reviews throughout its first four seasons. The series is often compared to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (one of my five favorite TV shows of all-time) so I’ll have to give it a try sometime.
The Facts of Life: The Complete 6th Season (DVD)-The Complete Series was released earlier this year but this is the first time collectors have been able to buy the sixth season of this classic sitcom individually.
Thunderbirds: The Complete Series – The Gerry Anderson Collection (Blu-ray, DVD)-Thunderbirds has been released on DVD before but has been long out of print and this will be its first time on Blu-ray in America. Yet another show on my really long list of TV shows to watch, this British science-fiction show uses marionette puppetry and scale-model special effects for a really unique style. Shout! Factory usually does a pretty nice job on their classic show releases so let’s hope they do the same with Thunderbirds: The Complete Series.
Red Army (Blu-ray, DVD)-I’m a huge sports fan and love to watch sports documentaries. While I will always be a football fan first (Go Pack Go), I have recently really gotten into hockey, so much so that it has become my second favorite sport to watch. Red Army is a well-regarded (96% on Rotten Tomatoes with 70 fresh reviews) documentary about the Soviet Union hockey team known as the Red Army. It isn’t just about hockey though, it also examines how sports mirror social and cultural movements (since the Red Army rose and fell like the Soviet Union did). This sounds like a must-watch film for all sports documentary enthusiasts and especially hockey fans.
The Duff (Blu-ray, DVD)-Mae Whitman plays a high school senior who learns that the student body knows her as “The Duff” (“Designated Ugly Fat Friend”) to her more popular friends. To save her senior year, she tries to reinvent herself and attempts to overthrow the school’s mean girl/label maker. This film sounds a lot like every other teen-movie out there but Mae Whitman is getting a lot of praise for her work in this film (and the film has a very respectable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes).
Serena (Blu-ray, DVD)-A film starring both Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper that somehow went so poorly that it only got a limited release on theater and quickly moved to home video. Serena got a very bad 18% on Rotten Tomatoes and is likely only worth a rental for diehard Lawrence or Cooper fans.
Project Almanac (Blu-ray, DVD)-A found footage science fiction film, Project Almanac is about a high school senior who finds a device his deceased father was working on for the government and ends up turning it into a functional time machine. The film doesn’t sound like anything too unique or original (and found footage films are starting to get a bit annoying) but I’m a sucker for films involving time travel (it’s one of the most fascinating topics to me) so I’ll probably give it a watch sometime down the road.
GETT: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (Blu-ray, DVD)-An Israeli woman (Ronit Elkabetz, one of Israel’s most acclaimed actresses) in a country with strict and sexist marriage laws, seeks a divorce from her cruel husband. Since a husband’s full consent (and he won’t give it) is required for the dissolution of a marriage, she has applied for divorce for three years without any success. With a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 63 reviews), GETT is definitely critically-acclaimed even if the concept sounds a bit boring.
The Giant Spider Invasion (DVD)-From my research, this is the first time The Giant Spider Invasion has been available as an actual DVD release. The film was shown on an eighth season episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (and released in a now ridiculously expensive DVD set of the show) and you could get a DVD-R version on Amazon but this appears to be the first actual DVD release. Since I love B-movies, the film takes place in a small Wisconsin town (similar to my Wisconsin hometown), and it has the awesome premise of “the Skipper vs. the spiders” (Alan Hale Jr., the skipper from Gilligan’s Island is one of the stars), this is right up my alley.
Miss Marple: Volume 3 (Blu-ray, DVD)-To mark the 30th anniversary of the series, BBC Home Entertainment started releasing the British classic Miss Marple late last year. These releases are the first time the show has been released on Blu-ray. Volume three features A Caribbean Mystery, At Bertram’s Hotel, Nemesis, and Sleeping Murder.
Transporter: The Series – The Complete 2nd Season (DVD)-A co-production between France and Canada, Transporter: The Series aired on TNT late last year in America. It’s a spinoff of the film series of the same name with Chris Vance taking over for Jason Statham in the role of Frank Martin, a courier driver who will deliver anything, anywhere for the right price.
The Strain: The Complete 1st Season – Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)-Season one of The Strain has already been released on Blu-ray and DVD but this Collector’s Edition includes a pretty awesome looking exact copy of The Master’s head.
Mardock Scramble Trilogy (Blu-ray, DVD)-All three of the Mardock Scramble anime films have already been released individually on Blu-ray and DVD but this set is basically the same price as just one of the individual releases. The Mardock Scramble trilogy is a series of cyberpunk anime films that tells the story of Rune Ballot, a girl rescued from an explosion and healed with the use of cybernetic technology.
Gunslingers: Season 1 (DVD)-A docudrama which airs on American Heroes Channel (AHC), Gunslingers is a six-episode look at the true stories behind the icons and conflicts of the Wild West. The second season of the show premieres in July.
Hart to Hart: The Final Season (DVD)-Even when it isn’t a show I actually watch (or have any interest in whatsoever), I love it when DVD companies like Shout! Factory go back and release the unreleased seasons of shows their studios gave up on due to low sales. With this fifth and final season release, Hart to Hart will join the list of completed TV shows on DVD.
The Abbott and Costello Show: The Ultimate Collection (DVD)-One of the most influential comedy series of all-time, The Abbott and Costello Show sure has seen a lot of DVD releases. The Ultimate Collection is the latest release and it includes all 52 episodes (which have been digitally restored and re-mastered) and over three hours of special features.
Rich Hill (DVD)-Rich Hill is a documentary focusing on a couple of teenagers from a small Missouri town faced with difficult circumstances (like parental unemployment, instability, poverty, and isolation). Winner of the 2014 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Rich Hill takes a glimpse at the subject of poverty in America.
Healing (DVD)-At the end of a long prison sentence, an inmate is sent to a low-security prison with a special program that pairs men with injured birds. This would normally sound pretty boring to me but the film does have a solid 73% on Rotten Tomatoes (though only eleven reviews so far).
Cooper & Hemingway: True Gen (DVD)-A documentary about the 20-year friendship between Ernest Hemingway and actor Gary Cooper, narrated by Law & Order alum Sam Waterston, this seems like the type of film that would have won awards and become one of those chosen few documentaries to become a mainstream hit (it just seems like that kind of subject). However, it didn’t take off and for some reason only has four reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Collection (DVD)-With Jurassic World coming out soon, everybody is trying to get all the dinosaur-themed content they can out. This set of National Geographic specials includes Walk Like a Dinosaur, Life After Dinosaurs, Dinofish, Dinomorphosis, When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs, Sky Monsters, and The Great Dinosaur Escape.
Cupcakes (DVD)-Six friends are watching the super popular UniverSong competition and are appalled by the Israeli entry. They decide to create their own and record it. Surprisingly, their performance is seen by the show’s judges and selected as Israel’s entry for next year’s competition.
Debug (DVD)-Debug is the tale of six young computer hackers who are sent to work on a space freighter as part of a work release program. Unfortunately, the ship has a vengeful artificial intelligence which would kill to be human.
Tough Being Loved By Jerks (DVD)-Also called It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks, this is a documentary about the Charlie Hebdo Muhammad caricature controversy in 2006, which was given new relevance after the attack on the publication’s offices in January.
Cas & Dylan (DVD)-Richard Dreyfuss and Orphan Black‘s super-talented Tatiana Maslany star in Cas & Dylan, which just arrived in theaters (as a limited release) a month ago. While the film doesn’t look particularly good, I’d watch Tatiana Maslany in pretty much anything.
Too Cute: Season 4 (DVD)-Everybody needs a little bit of cuteness every now and then (watching some cute baby animals frolic around is a great stress-reliever) and this DVD set has 396 more minutes of cuteness overload.
Other June 9 Blu-ray and DVD Releases (Listed in alphabetical order):
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