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DVD ROUND-UP: 'TOY STORY 4,' 'ANNABELLE COMES HOME,' 'MIDSOMMAR,' & 'BLACK LIGHTNING'
Week of October 8, 2019
Posted by Tom Flinn on October 7, 2019 @ 1:29 am CT
This week’s home entertainment releases include what is perhaps, alas, the final Toy Story film, the seventh film in the Conjuring franchise, an unsettling slasher film from the creator of Heriditary, and the second season of the CW’s DC Comics-based Black Lightning.
Theatrical Movies
This week’s top release is Pixar’s Toy Story 4 (Disney, “PG,” 100 min., $29.98, BD $39.99, 4K $44.98). While some might argue that the fourth installment is the weakest in the franchise, but that’s just silly talk. Toy Story 4 is the best animated film of 2019 so far, and a fitting end to one of the great movie sagas of our era. Pixar continues to embody the very best in contemporary animation, and Toy Story 4 is an excellent example of the studio’s inimitable blend of character-driven humor, exquisite visuals, and a powerful appeal to genuine emotions (also known as “heart”).
Horror movie fans have a choice this week. Annabelle Comes Home (Warner Bros., “R,” $28.98, BD $35.98) is a sequel to Annabelle (2014) and Annabelle’s Creation (2017), and the seventh film in “The Conjuring” horror universe. As such Annabelle Comes Home, which earned $228 million worldwide, a prime example of the contemporary mainstream horror film, filled with all the shock scares associated with “evil doll” films.
Those who like their horror films more challenging might want to check out Ari Aster’s Swedish/American co-production Midsommar (Lionsgate, “R,” $28.98, BD $39.99). The critics loved this unsettling, creepy, slasher film, giving it an 86% fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but some might find the film’s 147 minute running time (cut down from 171 minutes) a bit much, while others will relish its slow moving psychological horror.
TV on DVD
This week’s top geek TV release is another DC-based series from the CW network. Black Lightning: Season 2 (Warner Bros., $24.98, BD $29.98) doesn’t reach the heights attained by Season 1, which has a 96% fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but it is still a very solid superhero TV series enlivened by a stand-out performance by Cress Williams in the title role.
Also of interest are the final season of the History Channel series, The Vikings: Season 6, Part 2 (MGM, 449 min., $24.98), which contains the final 10 episodes of action-packed historical series based on 9th Century sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok; and Into The Badlands: The Complete Series (Starz, $55.98), which collects all 3 seasons of the wuxia-influenced, post-apocalyptic action series.
Anime
This week’s anime offerings feature the latest collections from a trio of popular anime/manga franchises including: Boruto-Naruto the Next Generation: Set 3 (Viz Media, 325 min., $39.98, BD $44.98), which includes episodes 27-39 of the martial arts anime series from Studio Pierrot that adapts the sequel to Masashi Kissimoto’s Naruto; Tokyo Ghoul: re, Part 2 (Funimation, 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, LE $84.98), which contains episodes 13-24 of the 2018 anime series from Studio Pierrot that is based on the Tokyo Ghoul: re manga written by Tokyo Ghoul creator Sui Ishida; and Dragon Ball Super: Part 9 (Funimation, “TV-14,” 325 min., $39.98, BD $44.98), which contains episodes 105-117 of the latest Dragon Ball series.
DVD ROUND-UP: 'TOY STORY 4,' 'ANNABELLE COMES HOME,' 'MIDSOMMAR,' & 'BLACK LIGHTNING'
Week of October 8, 2019
Posted by Tom Flinn on October 7, 2019 @ 1:29 am CT
This week’s home entertainment releases include what is perhaps, alas, the final Toy Story film, the seventh film in the Conjuring franchise, an unsettling slasher film from the creator of Heriditary, and the second season of the CW’s DC Comics-based Black Lightning.
Theatrical Movies
This week’s top release is Pixar’s Toy Story 4 (Disney, “PG,” 100 min., $29.98, BD $39.99, 4K $44.98). While some might argue that the fourth installment is the weakest in the franchise, but that’s just silly talk. Toy Story 4 is the best animated film of 2019 so far, and a fitting end to one of the great movie sagas of our era. Pixar continues to embody the very best in contemporary animation, and Toy Story 4 is an excellent example of the studio’s inimitable blend of character-driven humor, exquisite visuals, and a powerful appeal to genuine emotions (also known as “heart”).
Horror movie fans have a choice this week. Annabelle Comes Home (Warner Bros., “R,” $28.98, BD $35.98) is a sequel to Annabelle (2014) and Annabelle’s Creation (2017), and the seventh film in “The Conjuring” horror universe. As such Annabelle Comes Home, which earned $228 million worldwide, a prime example of the contemporary mainstream horror film, filled with all the shock scares associated with “evil doll” films.
Those who like their horror films more challenging might want to check out Ari Aster’s Swedish/American co-production Midsommar (Lionsgate, “R,” $28.98, BD $39.99). The critics loved this unsettling, creepy, slasher film, giving it an 86% fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but some might find the film’s 147 minute running time (cut down from 171 minutes) a bit much, while others will relish its slow moving psychological horror.
TV on DVD
This week’s top geek TV release is another DC-based series from the CW network. Black Lightning: Season 2 (Warner Bros., $24.98, BD $29.98) doesn’t reach the heights attained by Season 1, which has a 96% fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but it is still a very solid superhero TV series enlivened by a stand-out performance by Cress Williams in the title role.
Also of interest are the final season of the History Channel series, The Vikings: Season 6, Part 2 (MGM, 449 min., $24.98), which contains the final 10 episodes of action-packed historical series based on 9th Century sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok; and Into The Badlands: The Complete Series (Starz, $55.98), which collects all 3 seasons of the wuxia-influenced, post-apocalyptic action series.
Anime
This week’s anime offerings feature the latest collections from a trio of popular anime/manga franchises including: Boruto-Naruto the Next Generation: Set 3 (Viz Media, 325 min., $39.98, BD $44.98), which includes episodes 27-39 of the martial arts anime series from Studio Pierrot that adapts the sequel to Masashi Kissimoto’s Naruto; Tokyo Ghoul: re, Part 2 (Funimation, 300 min., BD/DVD Combo $64.98, LE $84.98), which contains episodes 13-24 of the 2018 anime series from Studio Pierrot that is based on the Tokyo Ghoul: re manga written by Tokyo Ghoul creator Sui Ishida; and Dragon Ball Super: Part 9 (Funimation, “TV-14,” 325 min., $39.98, BD $44.98), which contains episodes 105-117 of the latest Dragon Ball series.