It is very slim pickings on the home entertainment front this week with the only exceptions being the serviceable action film Taken 3, the depressing addiction saga Cake, which features an outstanding performance by Jennifer Aniston, the swashbuckling BBC Musketeers TV series, the arctic mystery/thriller Fortitude, and the action and fan service-packed anime series Freezing Vibration.

Theatrical Movies

The biggest hit due out this week is Taken 3 (Fox, "PG-13," 105 min., $29.98, BD $39.99), which finds Liam Neeson once again taking on the persona of Brian Mills, a retired black ops agent with near superhero fighting skills.  While Taken 3 gets no credits for originality and registered only 10% positive on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it does deliver the action movie goods with plenty of fights, explosions, and general mayhem.

Fans of serious movies will have to make do with Cake (Fox, "R," 102 min., $22.98, BD $29.99), which stars Jennifer Aniston in a powerful movie about chronic pain and suicide.  The subject matter of Cake is undoubtedly depressing, but the performances, including Aniston’s-which should have received at least an Oscar nomination—are excellent.  Cake is the latest in a long line of dramas and movies about addiction- it is sort of a contemporary version of “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night” with Oxycontin subbing in for morphine - and there really are no certain answers to the question of how society should help people who are in constant pain.

TV on DVD
It is not a huge week in the TV category, but those who like lighthearted swashbuckling adventure dramas should check out the BBC’s The Musketeers: The Complete Second Season (BBC, 600 min., $34.98, BD $39.98), which collects the second 10-episode season of the series that is based on the characters from Alexander Dumas’ classic novel.

Equally interesting is the artic mystery thriller Fortitude (PBS, 570 min., $39.99, BD $44.99).  Created by Simon (Low Winter Sun) Donald, this taut psychological thriller is set in an international settlement in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard and stars American actor Stanley Tucci.

The only other remotely contemporary shows due this week are the Hallmark Channel’s feel good series about postal workers who alter lives by delivering lost letters, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Complete Series (Cinedigm, 427 min., $24.95), and a DVD-R release of the anime-influenced Teen Titans Go! The Complete First Season (Warner Bros., 578 min., $29.99).

A vintage series of interest is Tour of Duty, the Vietnam War series that aired from 1987-1990 following the theatrical success of Platoon, and like that Oliver Stone film, Tour of Duty dealt with all tough “issues” raised by the Vietnam War including racism, drug abuse, civilian deaths, fragging, and suicide.  Tour of Duty: The Complete Series (Mill Creek, 2741 min., $44.98) includes all 58 episodes of the show.

Also due on Tuesday is What’s Happening!!—The Complete Series (Mill Creek, 1596 min., $29.98), which collects all 65 episodes of the funky late 70s comedy featuring high school pals Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun.

Anime
This week’s top anime release is Freezing Vibration: The Complete Series (FUNimation, 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, Ltd.Ed. $69.98), which collects the 12-episode 2013 series from A.C.G.T. based on the popular seinen manga series by Dall-Young Lim and Kwang-Hyun Kim, two Korean creators who have had solid success in the Japanese manga market.  In this science fiction saga, Earth has been invaded by aliens (called the Nova), and the terrestrials fight back with genetically-engineered females known as "Pandoras,” who have male partners, known as “limiters."  The second season follows the manga pretty closely through the E-Pandora story arc, and along with some interesting characters including a Pandora afflicted by haphephobia (intense fear of being touched), it provides plenty of grisly action and fan service for its intended male audience.

Also due this week are two releases from major long-running anime series, Naruto Shippuden Set 22 (VIZ Media, 300 min., $44.82), which contains episodes 271-283 that include the start of the 4th Ninja War, and One Piece Collection 12 (FUNimation, 600 min., $34.98), which presents 24 previously released episodes of the rollicking pirate anime at a new lower price.

Another interesting long-running (99 episodes) anime series has made a successful beachhead in the U.S.  Space Brothers: Collection 2 (Sentai Filmworks, 325 min., SUBTITLES ONLY, $49.98, BD $59.98) collects episodes 13-26 of the A-1 Pictures anime adaptation of Chuya Koyama’s comedy/drama science fiction manga that is set in Japan’s astronaut training program.

The other new (to North America) series is the Unlimited Psychic Squad Complete Collection (Sentai Filmworks, 300 min., SUBTITLES ONLY, $49.98, BD $59.98), the 12-episode 2013 follow-up to a 51-episode 2008-2009 series based on the action-packed shonen manga by Takashi Shiina about three young girls with big problems and even bigger psychic abilities.

--Tom Flinn

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.