This week’s home entertainment releases includes 2015’s biggest movie so far, a solid YA novel adaptation, the DVD debut of the Back to the Future TV series, the second DBZ movie personally supervised by series creator Akira Toriyama, and a gritty U.K. period gangster drama.

Theatrical Movies

This week’s major release is now, and is highly likely to remain, the highest-grossing film of 2015 so far.  Jurassic World (Universal, “PG-13,” $29.98, BD/DVD $34.98, 3-D BD $49.98) was a much bigger hit than expected, earning a mammoth $651 million here in North America.  Chris Pratt, who burst on to the big screen in Guardians of the Galaxy, proved once again that he is today’s perfect young “everyman” hero (and a huge improvement over Jeff Goldblum).  Yes this film basically reprises the essence of the previous Jurassic Park films, but it does it well, with state-of-the-art special effects and a wonderful variety of computer-generated reptilian actors of the first rank. 

The adaptation of John Green’s YA novel Paper Towns ( “PG-13,”  ) didn’t do nearly as well as the movie version of Green’s The Fault In Our Stars, but Paper Towns avoids the sentimentality of Stars, though it still has the earnest, idealistic, hopeful quality of a lot of the best YA literature.  This is a movie for teens, and it is well-acted by a talented young cast. 

This week’s most bizarre release is The Wolfpack (Magnolia, “R,” 89 min., $26.98, BD $29.98), a documentary about five brothers, who were brought up in near seclusion in New York City, developing an almost religious attitude of worship toward their favorite films, for which they wrote (and acted out) their own scripts.

For those who like a little romance in their serious drama, there is Testament of Youth (Sony, “PG-13,” 130 min, $30.99, BD $34.99), a potent story of love during wartime that is based on a memoir of World War I by Vera Brittain.  This film looks at war from the woman’s point of view (and the view isn’t any better from the distaff side either).

This week’s obligatory post-apocalyptic film is Z for Zachariah (Lionsgate, “PG-13,” 98 min., $19.98, BD $24.98).  Based on a 1974 science fiction novel, this is basically your last woman on Earth meets the last man, and then a second man shows up and viewers are left with a sort of ultimate triangle move.  Though it is well-acted by Margaret Robbie, Chris Pine, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Z for Zachariah is slow moving, and seems much longer than its 98 minute running time.  Fans of post-apocalyptic films will find Z for Zachariah different and interesting as long as they don’t expect a lot of action.

TV on DVD

Among this week’s offerings is Back to the Future: The Complete Animated Series (Universal, 589 min., $49.98), which collects all 26 episodes of the animated series based on the Back to the Future movie trilogy that ran on CBS from 1991-1993.  The TV series is also available in a combination package that includes the three Back to the Future movies—Back to the Future: The Complete Adventures—Limited Edition (Universal, 942 min., $88.88, BD $99.98)—though it should be noted that if you buy The Complete Adventures in BD, you get all three movies in high def, but the TV series is still on DVD, not BD.

Other TV animated offerings due this week include the single-disc Mike Tyson Mysteries: Season 1 (Warner Bros., 220 min., $14.98), and the classic Mike Judge primetime animated series King of the Hill: The Complete 13th Season (Olive Films, 540 min., $34.96, BD $34.95).

The only contemporary series out on Tuesday are the Edie Falco-starring, healthcare professional with a drug problem drama Nurse Jackie: Season 7 (Lionsgate, $29.98), and the Canadian/British fantasy series Olympus: Season 1 (Shout Factory, 600 min.,$19.97, BD $34.99) that appears in the U.S. on the Syfy Network. 

Vintage series available include yet another edition of the classic, multiple Emmy-winning western miniseries, Lonesome Dove (Mill Creek, 373 min., $14.98, BD $19.98), plus CPO Sharkey—Mr. Warmth: The Ultimate Don Rickles Show, the 1970s sitcom starring the era’s top insult comedian, the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life: The Complete 7th Season (Shout Factory, 540 min., $29.93), Growing Pains: The Complete 6th Season (Warner Bros. 560 min., $29.93), yet another 1980s sitcom, the 1980s primetime drama Hotel: The Complete Collection (VEI, $249.95), and the Golden Age sitcom My Favorite Martian: The Complete Series (MPI, 3000 min., $99.98).

Actually the top releases this week come from overseas including (a Michael Martens recommendation) Peaky Blinders: Season 1 (BBC, 342 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), the period (post WWI) saga of gang of Birmingham toughs who sewed razor blades into the peaks of their caps that features an all-star cast including Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight), Helen McCrory (Skyfall), and Paul Anderson (Sherlock Holmes).

For those who enjoy well done adaptations of literary classics, there is Therese Raquin (Acorn Media, 180 min., $29.99), a powerful version of Emile Zola’s searing novel of adultery with strong performances from Kate Nelligan and Alan Rickman.

Another release of interest is Chasing Shadows (Acorn Media, 183 min., $34.98), a four-part miniseries that aired on ITV in 2014 and features Reece Sheersmith as a socially awkward, but brilliant detective, who is paired with a woman who is exact opposite in this character-driven crime drama.

Anime

This week’s top anime release is Dragon Ball Z—Resurrection F (Funimation, 95 min., $29.98, BD Combo $34.98, Collector’s Ed. $54.98), the second DBZ movie that has been personally supervised by DBZ creator Akira Toriyama.  Resurrection F spotlights the return of the fan-favorite character Frieza, one of the series’ best villains.  Only the Blu-ray and the Collector’s Editions come with 50 minutes of extra footage.  The Collector’s Edition includes four art cards, and very cool premium packaging featuring Toriyama art.