This is the last slow period for home entertainment releases.  Next week the first of the big third quarter releases, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War, kicks off the big fall season.  Of course Infinity War is already available to stream as Hollywood pays increasing attention to that now dominant post-theatrical format.  Still there are some interesting releases on disc this week, including what is quite likely the best adaptation yet of the Death of Superman saga, along with the second seasons of Star Wars Rebels, a LEGO/DC Aquaman animated feature, and the second season of Riverdale.

TV on DVD

This week’s most intriguing release is the latest DC “direct to disc” animated movie, The Death of Superman (Warner Bros., 80 min., $18.96, BD $24.98, 4K $39.99).  This is the third time that the folks at Warner Bros. have retold this story, which was a major “event” in the comic book world in 1992 and 1993, and then the subject of the Superman: Doomsday direct-to-disc animated release in 2007 (see “Superman: Doomsday DVD Out Sept. 18”), and more recently the Superman/Doomsday conflict provided the climax of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.   The new Death of Superman strikes me as the closest to the original comic book series, and a considerable improvement over the 2007 Superman: Doomsday version.   Doomsday remains an undefined and undistinguished villain, and the film’s climax is an entirely predictable superhero smackdown, but The Death of Superman has its charms, mostly in the way it portrays Supes and his relationship with the citizens of Metropolis, so fans will at the very least want to watch this film, which tries a little too obviously to set up its sequel (The Reign of the Supermen), but still manages to present the best movie version yet of one of the most interesting Superman sagas.

Recent releases of great interest include Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season Four (Disney, 367 min., $38.84, BD $45.99), which includes most recent season of the popular Star Wars TV series; the direct-to-video animated movie LEGO DC Heroes: Aquaman: Rage of Atlantis (Warner Bros., 78 min., $18.36, BD $24.98); and the 40-episode, 2012-2016 mystery/adventure Toon Disney series, Gravity Falls: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, 900 min., $59.98, BD $99.98).

Equally intriguing is the darkly fascinating Riverdale: Season 2 (Warner Bros., 932 min., $39.99, BD $47.99), a dark reimagining of the soda fountain-centric Archie Comics universe—“Teen noir” if you please.

Elmore Leonard’s 1990 novel Get Shorty not only inspired a successful movie, it is also the inspiration for a new TY series starring Chris O’Dowd.  Get Shorty: Season 1 (MGM, 566 min., $29.98) includes all ten episodes of one of the more interesting (and funny) series of 2017—and one that was unfortunately largely overlooked because of all the new streaming series.

Theatrical Movies

The biggest releases of this late summer period happen to be comedies led by the Melissa McCarthy-starring Life of the Party (Warner Bros., “PG-13,” 105 min., $29.98, BD $35.98), a sort of distaff remake of the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield comedy, Back to School.  Screen comedies have arrived at something of a box office low point lately, and Life of the Party only managed to earn $52.8 million, a very similar total to that earned by Overboard (Lionsgate, “PG-13,” 112 min., $29.98, BD $39.98), which stars Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris in a remake of a Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell film with some added juice thanks to a strong performance by Derbez, one of the most popular stars in Mexico.  Neither of these films will ever join the top echelon of screen comedies, but they both deliver some laughs, and in these days humor is getting harder and harder to find on the big screen.

Art movie lovers have some excellent choices including Chloe Zhao’s The Rider (Sony, “R,” 103 min., $25.98), a documentary-like feature utilizing non-professional actors that tells the story of Brady Jandreau, a rodeo cowboy, who has to rethink his entire existence after he is seriously injured by a horse.  Filmed in the badlands of South Dakota, The Rider is a poetic film that feels authentic in every frame. 

Those who might not appreciate the non-actors of The Rider, may be more attuned to the fine performances by Saoirse Ronan and Billie Howe as the virginal newlyweds having problems in On Chesil Beach (Universal, “R,” 111 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), a BBC-like adaptation of an Ian McEwan novel, though those looking for a more entertaining (though still challenging) option might want to check out Ivan Reitman’s Tully (Universal, “R,” 95 min., $29.98, BD $32.98), the director’s fourth collaboration with screenwriter Diablo Cody, a slice-of-life comedy that features a ferocious performance by Charlize Theron.

For action movie aficionados there is Breaking In (Universal, “R,” 89 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), which stars Gabrielle Union as a mother, who will stop at nothing to rescue her kidnapped children in this bloody modern action movie.

Anime

DVD Round-Up missed the past couple of weeks of releases including some real gems like Twin Star Exorcists: Part 1 (Funimation, “TV-14,” 325 min., BD/DVD Combo $54.98, Collector’s Box $64.98), which collects the first 13 episodes of the 50-episode 2017 series from Studio Pierrot based on the supernatural/action/romance shonen manga by Yoshiaki Sukeno (published here by Viz Media); the 2013 remake of the classic 1974 space opera, Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199-Part 1 (Funimation, “TV-14,” 325 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, Ltd. Ed.,$84.98), with a Limited Edition that includes a 40-page art book, art cards, and a box to hold the entire series.

For those who enjoy mecha anime, the big release due on Tuesday is Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: Season 2 (Funimation, “TV-MA,” 625 min., Ltd ED. BD/DVD Combo $149.98), which contains episodes 26-50 of 2015-2017 series from Sunrise, the 14th installment of the Gundam franchise.  The Limited Edition come in box that holds the entire season, plus a 24-page artbook, plus an exclusive model kit unavailable elsewhere.  The same episodes are also available in standard editions Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-Season 2, Part 1 (Funimation, “TV-MA,” 325 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98), and Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans-Season 2, Part 2 (Funimation, “TV-MA,” 325 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98).

Also due on Tuesday is Tsuredure Children: Shorts (Funimation, “TV-PG,” 156 min., BD/DVD Combo $39.98), a collection of 12-short episodes based on a 4-panel manga about the difficulties that teenagers have in expressing love.