The fall home entertainment onslaught continues with the release of Joss Whedon’s delightful “home movie” Shakespeare adaptation, plus a complete set of all the Emma Peel Avengers episodes, the first DVD of Marvel’s new Avengers Assemble series, plus the hilarious Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel.Theatrical Movies
The most interesting release in October so far could be Joss Whedon’s “home movie” adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (Lionsgate, “PG-13,” $19.98, BD $24.98). Filmed in black-and-white in just 12 days in Whedon’s house, this modern dress Shakespeare adaptation features solid performances from members of Whedon’s stock company including a stellar turn by Nathan Fillion as Dogberry. There’s plenty of wit and style in this adaptation that makes up in verve what it lacks in budget. Much Ado made just $4.5 million theatrically, so it’s not for every fan of The Avengers or Buffy, but anyone who really enjoys Whedon’s work should check out this “passion project,” which contains all of the writer/director’s stylistic hallmarks in the service of one of Shakespeare’s wittiest plays.
There are a bunch of films due this week that earned over $100 million. The problem is, they may have been somewhat popular at the box office, but they aren’t very good. Case in point, The Hangover: Part III (Warner Bros., “R,” $28.98, BD $35.98), the third and final (we hope) chapter in the sorry saga of three aging man/boys not coming to grips with adult life. While the first Hangover managed to put director Todd Phillips and his stars, especially Zack Galifianakis in their manic comfort zones, the second film was a feeble retread and the third comes off as the palest of imitations, and it could manage only a weak 19% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The animated feature film The Croods (Dreamworks, “PG,” $28.98) did better with the critics (69% positive rating on RT), and audiences (it earned $187 million), but while this film does have a warm and fuzzy message for the kids, it is not recommended for anyone over 12. Cartoon caveman humor has a long proud heritage, but the formula appears to have worn a little thin in this case, as has the endless parade of celebrity voices in animated cartoons—whatever happened to professional voice actors? Most of them are doing good work on TV animation projects, but it’s too bad their more distinctive vocal stylings are not heard emanating from the big screen very often these days.
Will Smith wrote the story for After Earth (Sony, “PG-13,” $30.99, BD $35.99), which was the first of the summer of 2013’s big flops. Critics and audiences alike smelled out this “vanity project” that stars Smith’s son Jaden in an “inspirational” science fiction saga that simply plods. Jaden Smith did an excellent job in the remake of The Karate Kid, but he couldn’t save this mish-mash, which could muster only an 11% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The high concept horror thriller The Purge (Universal, “R,” $28.98, BD $34.98) posits a world in which “anything goes” in a single 12-hour period when no laws apply and no police forces are around to protect ordinary people. Buoyed by a major ad campaign built around its controversial premise, The Purge earned over half of its $64 million domestic total during its initial weekend. Stripped of its crazy context The Purge is just another home invasion thriller made for $3 million bucks.
TV on DVD
Vintage animated TV productions of interest include the Charlie Brown /Peanuts Specials—Thanksgiving: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Warner Bros., 28 min., $19.97), which includes the classic seasonal Peanuts specials with their haunting piano-driven scores.
Anime
Also from Studio Deen is Hakuoki Season 3: Dawn of the Shinsegumi (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 300 min., $59.98, BD $69.98), which collects all 12-episodes of the 2012 series based on the video game series by Idea Factory. Those who enjoy samurai anime set during the turbulent years of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Anime powerhouse Sunrise is responsible for Tiger and Bunny the Movie: The Beginning (Viz Media, “16+,” 94 min., $19.99, BD $24.98). This feature film recaps the first few episodes of The Tiger and Bunny anime TV series before introducing a new story (a second Tiger and Bunny anime film due out here later appears to be composed of almost all new material). With its super-powered characters and New York City-like setting, this is one anime series that American superhero fans will likely find entertaining.
In spite of competition from Sailor Moon and now Attack on Titan, Naruto remains the top manga franchise in the U.S. Naruto Shippuden Set 16 (Viz Media, “16+,” 300 min.,$ 44.82) collects episodes 193-205 of the long-running (and slightly more mature) Shippuden segment of the ninja-in-training franchise.
Also of interest to those who enjoy fan service-filled hentai anime is We Without Wings: Season 1 (Funimation, “17+,” 300 min., DVD/BD $64.98, Ltd.Ed. $69.98), which collects the 12-episode 2011 series from Nomad based on the visual novel developed by Naval. The series follows the everyday lives of a group of young people (and doesn’t spare the panty shots).
Another new (to the U.S.) release is Phi-Brain: The Puzzle of God Season 2: Orpheus Order (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 325 min., $59.98, BD $69.98), which collects the 13-episode Sunrise series about a group of puzzle-solving teens that aired on the NHK educational network in Japan. This is not a dry educational show, it is a rousing adventure show that has been renewed for a third season in Japan.
Re-priced re-releases include Aria: The Animation Season 1 (Right Stuf, “13+,” 325 min., $39.99), which collects the 2005 series based on the utopian science fiction manga by Kazue Amano that is set on a terraformed Mars that teems with Venetian-like canals, and Godannar: The Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, “15+,” 650 min., $74.98), which collects the sexy 2004 mecha series in which “male” and “female” robots merge to form the super robot Godannar.
Tom Flinn
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
