Generally speaking, it’s nice to find some connective tissue between the week’s home-video offerings in order to recommend features that might pair well together (remember how last week was all about female-centric films? what a time we had!), but that’s not always possible. Case in point: this week. Oh, this week. It’s not that there aren’t good picks this week—just look at A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night and that Escape From New York special edition and probably also this one feature called Arachnoquake—but finding good, solid connections between this batch of new DVDs and Blu-rays, well, just isn’t happening.
Instead, the week offers up a tremendously mixed bag, one that includes titles as diverse as Bio-Dome (remember the golden age of Pauly Shore films? what a time we had!), the Jennifer Aniston-starring awards season delicacy Cake, and Liam Neeson kicking ass again (ow, his knees) in Taken 3. Is there something for everyone here? Probably! But if none of these new (or just new-ish, in the case of Bio-Dome, modern classic that it is) titles are ringing your bells, there’s Warner Archive to get you going, as the studio’s classic arm is releasing a slew of older titles for your DVD consumption. From Black Gold to Black Legion to, uh, Black Patch, Warner is putting out enough Westerns to make your dogs go giddy-up and keep your spurs sharp (probably a thing, right?). It’s at least excellent counter-programming, and a yee-haw way to beef up on your movie history. Get along now!
DVD and Blu-ray (* = combo pack)
42nd Street (Warner Archive)
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (Kino Lorber)
Bio-Dome (Olive Films)
Blind Woman’s Curse (Arrow)
Blue Sky (Olive Films)
Cake (Fox)
Cell Count (Parade Deck Films)
Cooley High (Olive Films)
Dance With Me Henry (Olive Films)
Deep In The Darkness (Scream Factory)
Escape From New York: Collector’s Edition (Scream Factory)
Everly (Starz/Anchor Bay)
Firewalker (Olive Films)
Gabrielle (Hannover House)
Ghoulies/Ghoulies II (Scream Factory)
Motivational Growth (Parade Deck Films)
Paranormal Extremes: Text Messages From The Dead (SGL Entertainment)
Supremacy (Well Go USA)
Taken 3 (Fox)
The Marine 4: Moving Target (Fox)
The River (Criterion)
The Wicked Lady (Scorpion Releasing)
DVD
Aftermath (Freestyle)
Arachnoquake (MTI Home Video)
Arrow In The Dust (Warner Archive)
Auteur (Auteur)
A Whisper In The Dark (Moonlight Films)
Bedlam (Lionsgate)
Black Gold (Warner Archive)
Black Legion (Warner Archive)
Black Patch (Warner Archive)
Blood Slaughter Massacre (Evil Eye)
Captain Of The Clouds (Warner Archive)
Chasing Ghosts (New Kingdom)
Chillers (IMDFilms)
Crystal Skills (Phase 4 Films)
Dirty Shield (Shami Media Group)
Doc (Shout Factory)
Efficiency (FilmWorks)
First Period (Screen Media)
Hit By Lightning (Anchor Bay)
Intuition (Maverick)
Jonah Lives (Wild Eye)
Life Inside Out (Monarch)
Like Sunday, Like Rain (Monterey)
Little Accidents (Anchor Bay)
Little Sister (Facets)
Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed (Strand Releasing)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Warner Archive)
My Demon Within (Unearthed)
Mysterious Ways (Image Entertainment)
Nothing Sacred (Tomcat Releasing)
One Million Dubliners (Kino Lorber)
Sombrero (Warner Archive)
Son Of Belle Star (Warner Archive)
Spyfall (Camp Motion)
Ten (Brink)
Territory 8 (Phase 4 Films)
The Coven (4 Digital Media)
The Hired Gun (Warner Archive)
The Marauders (Warner Archive)
The Mothman Curse (Wild Eye)
The Narrow Margin (Warner Archive)
The Pigman Murders (Wild Eye)
Shelter (IMDFilms)
So Bright Is The View (Indiepix)
Sorrow (Brink)
Wake Before I Die (Parade Deck Films)
Wal-Bob’s (Shami Media Group)
Walter (Phase 4 Films)
Where’s The Love? (Alchemy)
Wingman (Lionsgate)
Worms (Vertical)
Blu-ray
Breakin’/Breakin’ 2:Electric Boogaloo (Shout Factory)