Weekly Digital Disk Picks for July 19th, 2011

In addition to the two titles that our readers would consider door-crashers, we also have an assortment of “Best of” 10 episode TV collections and some rereleases. The economy must be bouncing back, too; I haven’t had to sift through that much soft porn preparing this column since 2006!

Title DVD Release(s) Blu-Ray Release(s)
Action
Belly of the Beast Amazon.com
House of the Rising Sun Amazon.com Amazon.com
Nowhere to Run Amazon.com
Tekken Amazon.com Amazon.com
Alex: Live Action film based on the Tekken games, with nothing to do with the CGI Tekken film that gets a one-night only screening through Fathom Events next week, nor to do with the Tekken anime made to promote the release of Tekken 3.
Anime
Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Six Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Alex: Covers the Babidi and Majin Buu Sagas.
Gungrave: The Complete Series Amazon.com, rightstuf.com Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Alex: I’ve previously reviewed this.
Hidamari Sketch: Hoshimittsu Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Season 3 of the anime series about art students.
Queen’s Blade 2: The Evil Eye, Part 2 Amazon.com, rightstuf.com
Art House
Double Life of Veronique (Criterion Collection) Amazon.com
Classics (Cult)
Rifftrax House on Haunted Hill (live), Old Tyme Shorts Roundup, Shorts-To-Go
Classics (Traditional)
24 Hours to Kill Amazon.com
Comedy
California Dreams – Best of Amazon.com
Mayor Cupcake Amazon.com
Blaine: – Lea Thompson and Judd Nelson star in this comedy about a cupcake baker who is accidentally elected mayor of her town. People who credits include “Back to the Future” and “The Breakfast Club” should be getting better offers than this.
Peep World Amazon.com Amazon.com
Potiche Amazon.com Amazon.com
Punky Brewster Best of Season Two, Best of Season Three
Skidoo Amazon.com
Blaine: This is the first I’ve heard of it, but with a cast including Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx, George Raft and Mickey Rooney, all directed by Otto Preminger, I’m curious.
Documentary
Dark Days – 10th Anniversary Collection Amazon.com
Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird Amazon.com
Drama
Boyz ‘N The Hood Amazon.com
Limitless Amazon.com Amazon.com
Melrose Place: Season Six Volume 2 only, complete season
Take Me Home Tonight Amazon.com Amazon.com
Family
200 Colossal Cartoons Amazon.com
The Littles Best of, Complete series
Blaine: At the time of this writing, the 10 episode “Best of” set is $9.98, the MSRP. The 29 episode “Complete Series” is $10.99, on sale from the MSRP of $12.98. The choice is not difficult.
The Smurfs: A Magical Smurf Adventure Amazon.com
Spirit Bear Amazon.com
Timeless Animated Favorites Amazon.com
Includes non-Disney versions of “Snow White,” “Cinderella,” “Hercules,” “Black Beauty,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Call of the Wild,” “Pocahontas,” “Thumbelina,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Princess.”
Fantasy
Beauty and the Beast (Criterion Collection) Amazon.com
Blaine: This is the 1946 French version, not the Disney version. This is not a movie for most children. This is yet another title on my “need to watch and review” list, as I own the DVD.
Horror
Hellraiser VIII: Hellworld Amazon.com
Alex: From the film’s premise (the suicide of a user of Hellraiser themed MMO leading to someone summoning Pinhead again), I’d say that this film’s connections to the Hellraiser films and short story would be dubious at best.
Music / Musical
Beastie Boys Anthology (Criterion Collection) Amazon.com
The Music Room (Criterion Collection) Amazon.com Amazon.com
Mystery
Simon and Simon Best of Season Three
Reality
The Girls Next Door: Season Six Amazon.com
Top Gear: US Season One Amazon.com
Romance
Amelie Amazon.com
Blaine: It was hard to decide whether to file this under “Romance,” “Comedy,” “Art House” or a newly created “Forget Labels – This Is Just Damn Awesome” genre.
Bridget Jones’ Diary Amazon.com
Blaine: I don’t care if the official title does have a second letter s after the apostrophe, that is wrong and I’m not doing it.
Chocolat Amazon.com
Science Fiction
Doctor Who, Season Six, Part One Amazon.com Amazon.com
Blaine: These prices are far lower than previous releases. Huzzah!
Torchwood: The Complete Original UK Series Amazon.com Amazon.com
When Animals Strike Back Vol. 1 Amazon.com
Includes the King Kong from 1978, Orca: The Killer Whale and Congo.
Sports
2011 NBA Finals Champions: Dallas Mavericks Amazon.com
TNA Wrestling: Immortal Forever Amazon.com
Alex: 2 DVD set highlighting TNA’s Heel(?) faction, Immortal.
NHL Stanley Cup Champions: Boston Bruins Amazon.com Amazon.com
WWE Presents Capitol Punishment 2011 Amazon.com
Alex: So, if you’ve been watching WWE programming for a while you may remember when they had a bad Bill Clinton impersonator at Wrestlemania. Near as I can tell this Pay Per View was done so they could have a bad President Obama personator. There were some good matches here, but none that merit this sort of *ahem* punishment.
Superhero
Justice League 3 Pack Amazon.com
Includes “Justice League: The Brave and the Bold” (four episodes from the first series of that show), “Justice League Unlimited: Season One Volume One” and “Young Justice Season One Volume One.”
Young Justice: Season One, Volume One Amazon.com
Suspense
War
Western
Hey Dude – Season One Amazon.com

Finally, the picks of the week. Blaine says, “had this been the first Blu-Ray release, I’d have gone with Amelie. As this is a rerelease, I’ll go with Doctor Who, Season Six Part One. As much as I love the Doctor, he’s no Amelie Poulin.” Alex says, “As I have not seen Doctor Who, Season 6 yet, I’m not picking that for my pick. However, I am picking Gungrave.”

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