Typically the number of new home entertainment releases drops off considerably after the holidays, and this year is no exception though there are some offerings that should be of great interest to geek viewers including the fourth season of the outrageous spy spoof Archer, the Blu-ray debut of another Star Trek season, as well as the first season of the serial killer drama The Following, which starts its second season on the Fox network later this month.TV on DVD
There are not a lot offerings this week, but a good percentage of them are of interest to the geek audience including the outrageous adult animated spy spoof Archer: Season 4 (Fox, 325 min., $28.99, BD $39.99), the over-priced (but underrated) Star Trek: Enterprise—Season 3 (Paramount, 1025 min., BD $129.98), which is now available in Blu-ray, the American version of the supernatural flatmate comedy/horror series Being Human: The Complete Third Season (eOne Ent., 572 min., $39.98, BD $49.98), which includes 13 episodes of the SyFy series, the Manson-family inspired serial killer drama The Following: Season 1 (Warner Bros., 600 min., $39.98, BD $49.98), and the interesting BBC series about a 19th Century American policeman, Copper: Season 2 (BBC, $49.98, BD $59.98).
Also of interest are the biting satire House of Lies: The 2nd Season (Showtime, $45.98), which follows the financial adventures of a group of cutthroat business consultants, and Top of the Lake (BBC, 360 min., $34.98), the rather bizarre serial drama created by Jane Campion (The Piano) that follows the story of a detective played by Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men) investigating the mysterious disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old.
Vintage TV releases include Maverick: Season 4 (Warner Bros. $49.95), a DVD-R release that features the debut of Roger Moore as “Beau” Maverick, the final episode featuring the “good” Maverick (James Garner) as well as one directed by Robert Altman (Nashville), plus the excellent Vietnam War-era drama China Beach: Season 2 (TimeLife, 832 min., $29.95), and the always entertaining ensemble cop comedy Barney Miller: The Complete 4th Season (Shout Factory, 555 min., $24.97).
Theatrical Movies
2014 is starting off with a whimper in this category thanks to a very weak slate headed by Runner Runner (Fox, “R,” 92 min., $29.98, BD $39.99), a disjointed little thriller about an Ivy League student (Justin Timberlake) who gets cheated at online poker and goes to confront the site operator (Ben Affleck) at his offshore digs in the Caribbean only to face the temptation of a life of ease on the fringes of legality. Despite the starpower of its protagonists, Runner Runner was able to earn just a 9% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and $19.5 million in wide release.
Considerably better, but by no means great, is Closed Circuit (Universal, “R,” 192 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), a talky thriller featuring a great cast (Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciaran Hinds, Jim Broadbent, and Julia Styles). This conspiracy saga takes on some very interesting topics, including the massive government spying this age of terrorism, but be forewarned Closed Circuit is a film that takes its time and slowly builds interest. Some will find this film compelling, while others will be put off by endless dialogue scenes and the movie’s grim, grey cinematography.
There won’t likely be any “Avengers Effect” for Thanks for Sharing (Lionsgate, “R,” $19.98, BD $24.98), a not-very-funny “comedy” about sex addiction that largely wastes the efforts of a fine cast headed by Avengers vets Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow in a talky saga about characters who are continually “over-sharing” with both themselves and the audience.
Equally sex-obsessed, but even less interesting is Pedro Almodovar’s I’m So Excited (Sony, “R,” 90 min., BD $40.99). This is definitely not one of the director’s best. It is a senseless spoof those over-the-top 1970s disaster films (like they need much in the way of parodying!) with a gay cabaret sensibility and lots and lots of various permutations of “Topic A.”
For those who enjoy political documentaries there is Robert Reich’s Inequality for All (Starz, “PG,” 90 min., $24.98, BD $29.98), which features Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor making an impassioned (and surprisingly well-documented) case about the fast-growing gap between the super-rich and the rest of American society. Conservatives certainly won’t agree with Reich’s suggestions about how to rein in what is in the long run a disastrous trend for a consumer economy (the shift of wealth from the middle class who would spend it and keep it in circulation to the wealthy who don’t is in part responsible for the lack of consumer demand that has made the current recession so long-lasting), but perhaps his well-documented demonstration of the pernicious trend that has created the greatest gulf between rich and poor in the U.S. since well before the Great Depression will stimulate those on the right to come up with their own market-based solutions to the problem.
Anime
Those who like the original Dragon Ball Z series now have the opportunity to buy the popular martial arts series in high-def at a reasonable per-episode cost with the release of Dragon Ball Z Season 1 Uncut (Funimation, “13+,” 800 min., $44.98).
Another interesting new release is Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne Season 2 (Viz Media, “17+,” 300 min., $44.82, BD $54.97), includes 12 episodes from the second season of the mecha sci-fi fantasy adventure series produced by Xebec and Production I.G.
Uta no Prince-Sama (Sentai Filmworks, “14+,” 325 min., $49.98, BD $59.98) collects the 13 episodes of the 2011 anime series produced by A-1 Pictures and based on a Japanese visual novel/game that targets a young female audience (otome games).
Revamped reissues due this week include Aria The Natural Season 2, Part 1 (Right Stuf, “13+,” 325 min., $39.99), the kid-oriented Monster Rancher Complete Season 1 (Eastern Star, “7+,” 630 min., $49.95), and Chrono Crusade S.A.V.E. Edition (Funimation, “14+,” 600 min., $29.98).
Tom Flinn
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.