Two summer blockbusters, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Kung Fu Panda 2 headline this week’s home entertainment releases, but the best offering on Tuesday is a film that most Americans haven’t heard about—but would probably enjoy quite a bit if they ever get a chance to see it.

 

 

The top release this week is Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox, “PG-13,” $29.98, BD $39.98), which will likely go down as the most successful franchise revival of 2011.  Fox dared to make a fundamental change in the series, replacing the “actors in ape suits” with computer-generated mo-cap animated apes with mo-cap maven Andy Sirkis (King Kong, Lord of the Rings) providing the movements of Caesar, the ringleader of the apes.  The far greater realism provided by this technique lends a real edge and some definite menace to this saga of animal revolution.  Produced for $93 million, Rise of the Planet of the Apes earned nearly half a billion worldwide and managed to post a stellar 83% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.  While by no means a perfect film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes manages to be consistently entertaining and is a “must see” for science fiction fans.

 

The bestselling release this week will surely be Kung Fu Panda 2 (Dreamworks, “PG,” $30.00, BD/Combo $49.98), the second installment of the most consistently visually interesting animated series from Dreamworks.  Strong visuals and solid voice acting compensate (to a degree anyway) for a less-than-stellar story.  Viewers who enjoyed the first Kung Fu Panda movie will like this one as well.

 

But the best movie due on Tuesday is Detective Dee & The Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Indomina, “PG-13,” $19.97, BD $29.95) Tsui Hark’s masterful adaptation of Robert Van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries.  With superb sets, great costumes and excellent fight choreography this is a film that won’t disappoint viewers who enjoy movies that transport them to a magical and exotic distant realm.  It is easy to see why Detective Dee with its deft mixture of martial arts, mystery, and intrigue earned a stellar 83% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

 

After last week’s onslaught the pace of TV on DVD offerings slows considerably this week.  The most popular release will likely be The Family Guy Vol.9 (Fox, 384 min., $49.98), which includes fourteen episodes of the popular prime time animated series created by Seth MacFarlane.  The one problem with this release is the fact that it does not include a complete season’s episodes—this collection contains the last 11 episodes of Season 8 (but without the “Something, Something Dark Side” Star Wars parody) and the first 3 episodes of Season 9--though it should be noted that it does include the classic 150th episode, “Extra Large Medium.”

 

This week’s other contemporary release of interest is The Life and Times of Tim: The Complete Second Season (HBO, 310 min., $29.98), the animated cable series created by Steve Didarian, about a feckless young couple in New York City.  HBO initially cancelled the series after two seasons, but the show has developed a cult following and HBO had a change of heart (Season 3 is slated to kick off on December 19th,2011).

 

The only other modern show due on Tuesday is Switched at Birth (Disney, 430 min., $29.99), a one-hour drama series that debuted on ABC Family this summer.  This set includes the first ten episodes of the series.

 

Classic TV series out this week include Gunsmoke: The 5th Season Vol. 2 (Paramount, 496 min., $36.99), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp: Season 1 (Inception Media, 900 min., $24.98), Spin City: The Complete Sixth Season, which includes the final season of the popular sitcom in which Charlie Sheen replaced Michael J. Fox, and the 1950s syndicated cop series State Trooper: The Complete 2nd & 3rd Seasons (Timeless Media, 1625 min., $39.98), which stars Rod Cameron in stories taken directly from the files of the Nevada State Patrol.

 

But the classic series of most interest to geek viewers will likely be Sledge Hammer! The Complete Series (Image Entertainment, 902 min., $34.98), which includes all 41 episodes of the satirical police series that ran on ABC from 1986-1988 and made delicious fun of the “Dirty Harry” tough guy cop stereotype, which had just about run its course in the movies by the mid-1980s.

 

 

This week’s top anime releases include Bleach Box Set 11 (Viz Media, “13+,” 300 min., $49.95), which contains episodes #168-#179 of the popular supernatural action drama based on Tite Kubo’s manga, and Kekkaishi Set 3 (Viz Media, “13+,” 300 min., $49.95), which includes episodes #27-#38 of another supernatural action comedy—this one is based on Yellow Tanabe’s manga series.

 

The march to Blu-ray continues with the release of Dragon Ball Z Blu-ray Level 1.2 (Funimation, “13+,” 410 min., $34.98), which includes episodes 18-34 of the popular martial arts anime series that continues to get plenty of TV exposure (on Nickelodeon), and Twelve Kingdoms Part 3: Great Distance (Media Blasters, “13+,” 300 min., $44.99), which collects 12 episodes of the stylish period adventure series from Production I.G.

 

Re-priced bargain sets out this week include the sexy female martial arts anime, Ikki Tousen Complete Series (Funimation, “17+,” 325 min., $19.98), the singular, philosophical anime about a female motorcyclist who visits a different “culture” in every episode, Kino’s Journey Complete Collection (Section 23, “13+,” 325 min., $34.98), and the 1990s anime classic Yu Yu Hakusho OVA Set (Funimation, “13+,” 170 min., $29.98), which includes the Yu Yu Hakusho movie plus all six Eizo Hakusho OVAs.