Weekly New Releases – October 15, 2013

Christmas is coming. We’ve omitted most of the direct-to-video Christmas movies starring has beens, as well as the glut of rereleases of holiday titles.

Adventure Time
iTunes
  • Volume 5 Digital: US, CAN
  • Volume 6 Digital: US, CAN
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season One
iTunes
  • Digital: US, CAN
Comments With an official full season pick-up in place, the number of episodes has been set and the Season Pass is now available.
Anger Management Volume 2
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/Digital: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
iTunes
  • Digital: US, CAN
Arrested Development: Three Original Seasons
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Attack of the B’s: The Ultimate Collection
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
Comments A collection of 18 B-movies, including Eegah!, The Amazing Transparent Man, Devil Girl From Mars, The Came From Beyond Space, Attack of the Giant Leeches, Rocketship X-Men (which made it into the GSFFT), Teenagers From Outer Space, Bucket of Blood, I Bury the Living, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Killer Shrews, Tormented, Spider Baby, The Devil’s Hand, Wasp Woman, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Little Shop of Horrors (1960) and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. Note that this is being released on Blu-Ray disc purely for capacity: it is still encoded at DVD-level 480i resolution.
Bewitched: The Complete Series
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Black Sabbath
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Campione Complete Collection
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
Rightstuf
  • Blu-Ray: US
  • DVD: US
Comments Alex: Harem action comedy wherein the main character, Kusanagi Godo, accidentially kills a god (I suspect this is a god in the Shinto animistic sense), causing him to develop considerable powers, as well as an somewhat unwanted bevy of attractive female followers.
DC Super Heroes 3 Movie Pack
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments Includes direct-to-video Batman: Gotham Knight and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights as well as the movie edit of Superman: The Animated Series episodes called A Little Piece of Home.
Defiance: Season One
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/Digital: US, CAN
  • DVD/Digital: US, CAN
Comments Blaine: As a Canadian with no cable, I was totally unaware of this series. That said, anything that includes Julie Benz wearing the skintight leather on the cover is worth watching at least once.
The Eagle Has Landed (Collector’s Edition)
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/DVD: US, CAN
Embrace of the Vampire (1995)
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments Blaine: The tagline was “The innocence is over.” This is why Alyssa Milano agreed to do the movie: she wanted to show the film industry that she was capable of a wider variety of roles than the “good girl” from Who’s The Boss? She has later expressed regret at making it, since she thought it would be quickly forgotten. She didn’t realize what the impending popularization of the Internet would mean to her nude scenes. Having seen it, I can confidently state that people who aren’t interested in seeing nude scenes have absolutely no reason to see this movie.
Embrace of the Vampire (2013)
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/DVD: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments Blaine: …and yet, that terrible movie from 1995 spawned a direct to video remake this year.
Eureka Seven AO: Part Two
Amazon
  • DVD/Blu-Ray: US, CAN
Rightstuf
  • DVD/Blu-Ray: US
Comments Alex: Shockingly, this is the only mecha anime coming out this week. You’d think there’d be some other super robot anime coming out on the shelves as complementary programming. Hell, this would be a great time for Section 23 to put out a new SKU of Goddanar or something.
Eyes Without a Face (Criterion Collection)
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
The Fall: Series 1
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Gravity Falls: Six Strange Tales
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
The Guild: Season 6
iTunes
  • Digital: US, CAN
Comments This actually came out last week, but the iTunes links weren’t ready in time for this column.
Hart of Dixie: The Complete Second Season
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
The Haunting
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
The Heat
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
High Plains Drifter
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/Digital: US, CAN
The Hitch-Hiker: Kino Classics Remastered Edition
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
I Dream of Jeannie: The Complete Series
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments This is significantly cheaper than the prior release, largely because it’s in a compact rectangular box rather than a large box shaped like the genie bottle from the series.
In the Mouth of Madness
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
Comments Alex: I reviewed this for Halloween in 2009. Sadly, we have no information on any Blu-Ray features. This year, look forward to another John Carpenter classic.
The IT Crowd: The Complete Series
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
King Kong Double Feature (1933/1976)
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Love Actually
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital/Collectible Ornament: US, CAN
  • DVD/Digital: US, CAN
Maniac
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
Monsters vs. Aliens: Cloning Around
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
The New Three Stooges: Complete Cartoon Collection
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
One Piece: Season Five, Voyage Three
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Rightstuf
  • DVD: US
Orson Welles’ The Stranger: Kino Classics Remastered Edition
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
Pacific Rim
Amazon
  • Limited Edition 3D Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital: US, CAN
  • 3D Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital: US, CAN
  • Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital: US, CAN
  • DVD/Digital: US, CAN
Partridge Family: Complete Series
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Popeye Cartoon Collection
Amazon
  • Volume 1 (Max Fleischer Era) DVD: US, CAN
  • Volume 2 (Famous Studios Era) DVD: US, CAN
Rocko’s Modern Life: Complete Series
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Rome: Complete Series
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Shrek the Musical
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
Slap Shot
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray/Digital: US, CAN
The Complete Space Rangers Collection
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments Alex: I remember watching this show religiously when it aired, and being disappointed that it was canceled. The show could be described as a mix of Babylon 5 and Firefly, well before the release of either show.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Amazon
  • Seasons 1-5 Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • Seasons 1-5 DVD: US, CAN
  • Season 5 Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • Season 5 DVD: US, CAN
  • 3 Disc Collector’s Edition (A Galaxy Divided / Clone Commandos / Darth Maul Returns) DVD: US, CAN
Superheroes: Never-Ending Battle
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
TCM: Greatest Classic Legends: Barbara Stanwyck
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments Includes Baby Face, Annie Oakley, East Side, West Side and My Reputation.
TCM: Greatest Classic Legends: Ronald Reagan
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
Comments Includes Storm Warning, The Winning Team, Knute Rockne All American and Kings Row.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Beginning
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
Untold History of the United States
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
Vikings: Season One
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
  • DVD: US, CAN
WWE Presents Night of Champions 2013
Amazon
  • DVD: US, CAN
WWE Presents Payback 2013
Amazon
  • Blu-Ray: US, CAN
Comments Alex: This event has actually already been out for a while as an exclusive with Best Buy. It’s only getting a general release now.

Finally, the picks of the week. Alex says, “My pick goes to Pacific Rim. As an anime fan, this film really serves as the perfect proof of concept that you can make Super Robot Anime and do it live-action without going all Bay-formers. It hits all the right beats, and takes a 52+ episode super robot show, cuts all the Monster-Of-The-Week padding, puts it in about 3 hours, and makes it work.” Blaine says, “I think Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is off to a good start, but hard to judge conclusively this early. In terms of titles I’ve seen in their entirety, I’d go with the King Kong double feature for the sake of the 1933 film.”