This week’s home entertainment offerings include Ant-Man, the genial 12th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with a pricy BD (3-D BD) collection of all 7 Phase 2 MCU movies, plus the mega-popular Despicable Me spin-off Minions, the Blu-ray debut of the X-Files TV series, the third season of Brian K. Vaughan’s Under the Dome, and the 13th of Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy.

Theatrical Movies

There is an embarrassment of riches this week starting with the debut of Marvel’s Ant-Man (Disney, “PG-13,” 117 min., $29.99, BD $32.99), one of more interesting productions from the Marvel cinematic universe.  Paul Rudd stars as Scott Lang with Michael Douglas as Hank Pym in this origin saga, which is remarkably deft and light on its feet for a Marvel Comics-based film.  Not that there isn’t a lot of CGI here, but it is just employed a bit more ingeniously here than in those endless superhero Donnybrooks with characters trading Earth-shaking blows in the action set-pieces in other Marvel productions.  Originally developed by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish (who still get major writing credits), the Ant-Man movie took a decisive turn when Wright left the project in pre-production and was replaced by Peyton Reed.  One can’t help but wonder what the Edgar Wright-directed version of Ant-Man would have been like—but that’s mere speculation and the film that Reed directed (with help from a rewrite by Adam McCay) is genial and fun—and it has earned over $518 million worldwide.

Ant-Man is the 12th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is part of The Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 2 Collection (Disney, BD $249.00), a 13-disc collection that includes all 7 of the post-Avengers MCU films (from Iron Man 3 to Ant-Man) in Blu-ray as well as in Blu-ray 3-D (plus a digital copy of each film and a disk of exclusive bonus content).

Ant-Man did well at the box office, but this week’s biggest release did more than twice as well.  The animated Despicable Me spin-off Minions earned $335.8 million domestically and $1.157 billion worldwide.  Minions (Universal, “PG,” $29.98, BD $34.98, 3-D $49.98) features those lovable characters from the Despicable Me movies in a sort of origin saga set in the 1960s with a soundtrack of 1960s pop hits.  Depending on your interest in the latter and your tolerance level for the Minion’s sing-song gibberish, you may find this movie, as many did, initially diverting, but eventually grating—though your mileage may vary and it will divert the kids.

Hardcore action movie fans might be the only ones possibly interested in The Transporter Refueled (Fox, 96 min., $29.98, BD $39.99), which could muster only a 17% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.  Stone-faced Ed Skrein replaces the more expressive Jason Statham in the title role, but the real problem here are the over-the-top action sequences that just defy credibility so much that they undermine any shred of integrity that the movie has tried to establish.

TV on DVD

There are quite a few releases of interest to geek viewers this week starting with the Blu-ray debut of The X-Files: The Collector’s Set (Fox, 9061 min., BD $299.99), which includes all 202 episodes of the original groundbreaking series, which is returning in miniseries form in early 2016, in glorious high definition.  The Collector’s Set includes 23 hours of extras.  All nine seasons of the X-Files series are also available individually on Blu-ray for an MSRP of $29.98 per season.

Also due on Tuesday is Under the Dome: The 3rd Season (Paramount, $64.98, BD $76.99), the latest season of the CBS summer series developed by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Saga) that is based on the novel by Stephen King, which provides geek viewers with one few network TV summer offerings of interest.

Another release of major interest to geek viewers is Family Guy: Season 13 (Fox, 413 min., $39.98), the latest collection of the popular Fox network animated series.  Season 13 has loads of great episodes including “The Simpsons Guy, Part 1 & 2 crossover, plus other great episodes like “Baking Bad,” and “The 2000-Year-Old Virgin” and “Stewie is Enceinte,” to name just a few.

Other animated offerings include The Wild Thornberrys: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, $39.91), which includes all 91 episodes of the Nickelodeon series, and the even more juvenile series Dora and Friends: Into the City! (Paramount, $22.98), which follows the further adventures of Dora the Explorer.

The only other contemporary series out on Tuesday is Hannibal: Season 3 (Lionsgate, 560 min., $24.98, BD $24.98), which includes all 13 episodes of the final season of the NBC series about the early doings of the loathsome Hannibal Lector.

This week’s overseas offering is an excellent one, Doc Martin: Series 7 (Acorn Media, 500 min., $39.99), the delightful off-beat comedy featuring the adventures the prickly practitioner and his quirky patients in the picturesque seaside village of Portwenn.  Martin Clunes excels in his portrayal of the blood-averse physician, who in Series 7, has to adjust to the struggles of raising his son and keeping his marriage to the spirited Louisa (Caroline Catz) on an even keel.

Anime

This week’s most interesting release is Riddle Story of Devil (Funimation, 300 min., $59.98, Ltd. Ed $64.98), which collects the 12-episode 2014 anime series from Diomedea that is based on the Yun Koga yuri manga that takes place a girl’s boarding school where 12 members of a special 13-member “Black” class are assassins tasked with killing the 13th girl.  Things get interesting when one of the 12 develops feelings for the would-be “victim” and decides to protect her against the others.

Another interesting release is Aura: Koga Maryuin’s Last War (Sentai Filmworks, $29.98, BD $39.98), a 2013 anime film based on the romantic comedy light novel written by Romeo Tanaka.  Also of great interest to railroaders and anime fans interested in Japanese culture is the Rail Wars!: Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, 300 min., Subtitles Only, $49.98), an interesting look at four trainees looking to join Japan’s National Railway System that is based on a light novel written by Takumi Toyoda.

Those who enjoy Japanese collectible card games may want to check out the Z/X Ignition: Complete Collection (Discotek, 300 min., Subtitles Only, $39.98), which is based on the collectible card game produced by Broccoli and Nippon Ichi Software that was marketed as the first “Free” CCG in Japan thanks to a free deck offered to players at card shops and events in Japan.

The other major new release this weekend is Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas—Complete Collection (Discotek, 650 min., Subtitles Only, $44.95), which collects all 29 episodes of the 2009-2011 TMS anime series based on Shiori Teshirogi’s spin-off Saint Seiya manga series.

This week’s re-priced release is the Haganai Season One Collection (Funimation, 325 min., BD/DVD Combo $49.98), which was previously released at $64.98).