Typically having five release dates in a month means meager offerings in the final week, but it’s now the fourth quarter, so we have one of the summer’s more interesting failures, a moderately-budgeted adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, plus the first season of the Robert Kirkman-created horror series Outcast, and a full house of holiday-targeting “complete series” releases from the BBC that includes the geek favorite series Orphan Black and Sherlock.

Theatrical Movies

This week’s highest-grossing release is The Dark Tower (Sony, “R,” $30.99, BD $34.99, 4K $45.99), which was one of the summer of 2017’s many box office disappointments, and is definitely not the best Stephen King adaptation of 2017.  This project, which is based on a series of 8 novels, has bounced around Hollywood for years with plans for a mega-franchise that would include a trilogy of blockbuster films interspersed with coordinated TV series that would continue King’s lengthy narrative.  What we got instead of Ron Howard’s grand vision, was a single feature film, a blockbuster on the cheap—made for $60 million—that drowns King’s saga in murky photography illuminating mediocre special effects and poorly choreographed action sequences.  Perhaps if you haven’t read any of King’s Dark Tower novels, you might find The Dark Tower interesting.  I don’t know if the film is as bad as its 15% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes would indicate, but I would only recommend it for hardcore fantasy film fans who haven’t read the source material.

Kidnap (Universal, “R,” 94 min., $29.98, BD $34.98), which stars Halle Berry, is one of those frenetic chase films that makes no sense if you stop and think about it, but kind of works if you don’t.  There is far too much jumpy editing for my taste—there was a reason that this film sat on the shelves for two years before release—but Berry is a compelling presence as an ordinary woman turned into a tenacious and capable warrior thanks to her maternal instinct.

For those who enjoy serious movies there is Hermia & Helena (Kino Lorber, 87 min., $29.95, BD $34.95)    from Argentinian director Matias Pineiro, a subtle meditation on life and art that slowly reveals the secrets of its protagonist.  With all sorts of formal inventiveness, including a play within the movie, which follows the adventures of an Argentinian stage director who travels to New York to work on a new Spanish adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as a black-and-white film-within-the film, Pineiro has created the kind of closely observed, literary film that will please those who enjoy the work of Whit Stillman (Barcelona).

TV on DVD

This week’s top geek release is Outcast: Season 1 (Fox, 491 min., DVD-R $29.98, BD $39.98), which collects the ten-episode first season of the Cinemax series based on the horror comic book written by Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead.  Unlike the in-your-face immediacy of The Walking Dead, the horror in Outcast is of a subtler, less tangible form lurking behind the surface of everyday life.  Fox apparently intends to make Outcast available only through its “manufacture-on-demand” service, which could mean that only a few online outlets like Amazon will be selling the series. If true, this is yet another indication that streaming is capturing more and more of the market that used to go to “hard copy” disc sales.

There are two complete series releases of contemporary geek favorite TV series due on Tuesday including Orphan Black: The Complete Series (BBC, 2181 min., $99.98, BD $104.99), which collects all 59 episodes of this intricate near future science fiction saga about human clones, and Sherlock: The Complete Series (BBC, 1170 min., $94.99, BD $99.99), which includes all 13 feature-length episodes of the updated 21st Century incarnation of Conan Doyle’s super-sleuth starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Less well known, but just as interesting, is another British import Humans 2.0: Uncut U.K. Edition (Acorn Media, 378 min., $38.99), which collects the second 8-episode science fiction series (based on the Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans) that delves deeply into the societal consequences of the introduction of anthropomorphic robots.

In addition to the holiday-timed “complete series” listed above, there’s a trio of other shows from the BBC including The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Newly Remastered Complete Collection (BBC, 1,920 min., $99.99), which collects all 24 of the mysteries, based on the novels by Elizabeth George that aired from 2001-2008; the Judi Dench/Geoffrey Palmer comedy series As Time Goes By: Remastered Complete Series (BBC, 1,920 min., $99.99); and the beautifully photographed documentary series Planet Earth I & II Gift Set (BBC, 910 min., BD $64.99).

Releases potentially of interest to younger viewers include Super Sentai Megaranger: The Complete Series (Shout Factory, 1,020 min., $59.97), which presents the original Japanese series that was behind the American series Power Rangers in Space; the live-action, “sea-going Lassie series,” Flipper: Season 3 (Olive Films, 728 min., $34.95,  BD $39.98); and the single-disc Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: Lobster Claws Is Coming to Town (Sony, $9.99).

Anime

The Testament of Sister New Devil (Funimation, 325 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, Ltd. $84.98) should appeal to those who enjoy echii harem comedies.  The 13-episode 2015 series from Production IMS is based on the light novel series by Tetsuo Uesu about a high school student whose father remarries, providing the kid with two half-sisters, who just happen to be descendants of a demon clan.  The novels also inspired a manga series published here by Seven Seas.  The Limited Edition comes in a chipboard box and a fabric poster, both of which are adorned with art featuring “less clothed” images of the sexy demon characters.

Also due on Tuesday is The Dragon Dentist (Sentai Filmworks, 90 min., BD $39.99), which contains the two 45-minute TV specials based on an 8-minute original net animation by Otaro Maijo, an interesting fantasy about a girl who is trained to clean the teeth of the dragon who protects her native land.  The 2 forty-five minute TV specials were produced by Khara and aired in Japan in February of this year.