For the period ending January 24, 2020 ... New DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD selections added to the DVD & Blu-ray Release Report's database

 

DVD New Additions

 

Bayview Entertainment

03/10/20 — Adds All Your Dead Ones (Spanish), Tail Sting, Technotise: Edit and I (Serbian), Therapy, Tunnel of Bones (Spanish), Utopia and Weakness

03/17/20 — Sets Bastard Sword, Good Intentions: Special Edition, Weather Station (Russian), Wedding In New York (Spanish), West of Brooklyn, Whale Caller, When I Became a Butterfly (Farsi), Yakel: The 100 Year Old Chief and Yokai (Spanish)

Cheng Cheng Films (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released One Night Only (Mandarin)

Get Digital World (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released Brain Training To Increase IQ, Focus & Creativity , Clean Eating for a Healthier, Happier Life, Clickbank Domination Secrets They Never Told You, Driving Force Within, Forum Marketing: The Internet's Forgotten Money Machine , Freedom Through Forgiveness, Getting Targeted Traffic Through PPC for Dummies, How to Make a Profitable Blog That Pays From Scratch, How To Successfully Open, Maintain, And Grow Your Very Own Online Business, Instant Strategies Anyone Can Use To Become More Productive Instantly , Learn To Convert Up To 98% Of "Window Shoppers" Into Buyers Using Retargeting, Meditation for the Mind and Soul, Mind Blowing Effects of Optimism, Online Branding Made Easy, Open an Online Coaching Business for Dummies, Product Launch for Dummies, Program Your Mine for a Successful Future Made Simple, Ruby Programming for Dummies, Ruby Programming Made Simple, Sales Funnel Mastery, Secret Proven Formula For Digital Advertising Success , Snapchat Marketing For Complete Newbies, Snapchat Marketing for Dummies, Snapchat Marketing For Dummies , Ultimate Business Model That Lets You Sell Huge Inventories Without Lifting A Finger, Ultimate Sleep Therapy For Insomniacs and WordPress Security & Hack Prevention Made Easy

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released In Search of the Last Action Heroes, Age Out (aka: Friday's Child), Lobster War, Melrose and Miss Snake Charmer

Icarus Films

03/24/20 — Sets Jinpa (Tibetan)

Indican Pictures

01/21/20 — Released Lumber Baron (ARR of 242 days; box office: $88,336)

01/28/20 — Sets 100 Acres of Hell (ARR of 109 days; box office: $5,152)

02/04/20 — Sets Not for Human Consumption

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

01/21/20 — Released The Courier and Jay & Silent Bob Reboot (ARR of 95 days; box office: $2,801,841)

02/25/20 — Sets Knives Out (ARR of 88 days; box office: $147,004,034)

MVD Entertainment Group

04/28/20 — Sets Style Queens Episode 5: Beyonce and Style Queens Episode 6: Jennifer Lawrence

PCN Productions (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released 2020 Sports Classics: 2019 PIAA Boys 6A Basketball Championship and PA Books: Pittsburgh and the Great Steel Strike of 1919

Paramount Home Media

03/10/20 — Sets Affair: The Final Season (4 disc set)

03/31/20 — Sets SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Eleventh Season (4 disc set)

04/07/20 — Sets Madam Secretary: The Final Season (3 disc set)

Rarefilmsandmore.com (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released Ia Im Oberbayern (German), Johnny Stiehlt Europa (German) and Traumulus (German)

20^th Century-Fox Home Ent.

02/18/20 — Sets Jojo Rabbit (ARR of 123 days; box office: $24,047,106)

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

03/17/20 — Sets Black Christmas (ARR of 95 days; box office: $10,376,155)

Smart Mark Video (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released CCW: For Who the Slay Bell Tolls - South Gate, CA, LVAC: Holiday Hangout, 2019 - Bethlahem, PA and Ultimate Empire Wrestling: Passage 2 Pain - Sun Valley, CA

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.

02/25/20 — Sets Frozen II (ARR of 95 days; box office: $466,476,766)

Blu-ray New Additions

Blue Underground

01/21/20 — Released House by the Cemetery: Limited Edition (Italian) (2 disc set with bonus CD)

Dark Force Entertainment

03/17/20 — Sets Mirror Mirror: Collector's Edition

Film Movement

01/21/20 — Released Gregory's Girl

Frontiers Music

01/21/20 — Released Blue Oyster Cult: Hard Rock Live Cleveland 2014

FUNimation

01/21/20 — Released Alice & Zoroku (2 disc set), D-Frag!: The Complete Series (2 disc set) and Monrose Mononokean II (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

GirlFightMovie.com, LLC (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released SuperHell: The Johny Walker Collection (2 disc set)

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released In Search of the Last Action Heroes, Age Out (aka: Friday's Child), Lobster War, Melrose and Miss Snake Charmer

Kino-Lorber

01/21/20 — Released High-Ballin', Museo (Spanish), Semi-Tough, Tobruk, Ulzana's Raid and War Lord

Left for Dead Productions, LLC (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released Divide

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

01/21/20 — Released The Courier (with Digtial Copy) and Jay & Silent Bob Reboot (with Digital Copy)

02/25/20 — Sets Knives Out (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

03/10/20 — Sets Bombshell (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Mill Creek Entertainment

04/21/20 — Sets Ultraman X: The Movie (Japanese) (with Digital Copy) and Ultraman X: The Series/The Movie (6 disc set)

Naxos

01/21/20 — Released George Benjamin: Written on Skin/Lessons in Love and Violence, Leonard Bernstein: Young People's Concerts, Volume 2 (4 disc set) and Wheeldon: Within the Golden Hour

PCN Productions (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released 2020 Sports Classics: 2019 PIAA Boys 6A Basketball Championship and PA Books: Pittsburgh and the Great Steel Strike of 1919

Paramount Home Media (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released Grease 2 and Odd Couple

Shout! Factory

01/21/20 — Released Sliding Doors: Collector’s Edition and Summer Days with Coo (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (Japanese)

Sony Pictures Home Ent.

03/10/20 — Sets Charlie's Angels (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

20^th Century-Fox Home Ent.

02/18/20 — Sets Jojo Rabbit (with Digital Copy)

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

01/21/20 — Released American Pie: Band Camp

03/17/20 — Sets Black Christmas (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Universal Pictures Home Ent. (MOD)

01/21/20 — Released Dragonfly, Dragonheart: A New Beginning, Idlewild and Kitten with a Whip

VCI Entertainment

04/14/20 — Sets Jungle Queen (13 chapter serial) and Phantom Rider (15 chapter serial)

VIZ Media

01/21/20 — Released Boruto Naruto: Next Generations, Volume 4 (2 disc set)

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.

02/25/20 — Sets Frozen II (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Well Go U.S.A.

01/21/20 — Released Knight of Shadows (Mandarin)

4K Ultra HD New Additions

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

02/25/20 — Sets Knives Out (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Sony Pictures Home Ent.

03/10/20 — Sets Charlie's Angels (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

20^th Century-Fox Home Ent.

02/18/20 — Sets Jojo Rabbit (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.

02/25/20 — Sets Frozen II (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Ultraman X: The Series On Blu-ray From Mill Creek Entertainment On Apr. 21

Mill Creek Entertainment has selected Apr. 21 for the next round of Blu-ray releases featuring the legendary Japanese Ultraman series.    

Last summer the company announced that they had acquired the entire Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd Ultraman library — 50 years worth of programming extending to over 1,100 series episodes and some 20 feature films.   

Good to their word, Mill Creek set about to bring all of the fun, excitement and monster mayhem to domestic audiences.  Ultra Q: Complete Series 01 and Ultraman: Complete Series 02 arrived on Oct. 15, Ultraman Geed: The Series + The Movie and Ultraman Orb: The Series + The Movie followed on Nov. 19 and Ultraseven: The Complete Series finished out the 2019 release campaign on Dec. 10.

Return of Ultraman: The Complete Series kicked off the 2020 campaign on Feb. 25 … and now we learn that Apr. 21 will bring fans the 2015 production of 24 thrill-packed episodes from the Ultraman X: The Series/The Movie (a six-disc set), which also features the 2016 feature-length follow-up, Ultraman X: The Movie.

A mysterious solar flare has awakened monsters from the depths and the newly formed Xeno Invasion Outcutters, known simply as XIO, must meet the challenge.    15 years pass and a new Ultraman, a member of the XIO team, rises to become Ultraman X … he will find an unlikely ally in Cyber Gomora!!

Also on the same date, Apr. 21, Mill Creek Entertainment is making available a stand-alone Blu-ray edition of Ultraman X: The Movie.

Both Blu-ray presentations are presented with the original Japanese language tracks and English subtitles … and complete with Digital Copy.

 

Paramount Home Media's SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Eleventh Season Arrives On DVD On Mar. 31

Paramount Home Media announced this past week that the Nickelodeon favorite, SpongeBob SquarePants and the rest of the gang from Bikini Bottom, will be returning to DVD on Mar. 31 with the four disc collection of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Eleventh Season.

Plankton is up to mischief as usual, Mr. Krabs and the Krusty Krab (Mr. Lobster in charge, noooooo) have issues and if that wasn’t enough to keep SpongeBob hopping, there’s a trip to the moon, runaway crabs, a wayward clown and more in featured in these 26 episodes of undersea adventures.

In other release news from Paramount Home Media, two stalwart dramatic series will be bidding farewell to fans with final season DVD releases.   The Affair: The Final Season (a four disc collection), will be ready for fans to enjoy on Mar. 10, while Madam Secretary: The Final Season (a ten episode, three-disc set) will street on Apr. 07. 

Indican Pictures Tabs Feb. 4 For The DVD Debut Of Writer/Director Chris Alonso's Not For Human Consumption

Spice, a form of synthetic marijuana, is deadly … a killer.   The story of just how deadly — in more ways than one — the distribution of “designer” drugs are plays out in Indican Pictures’ Feb. 4 DVD release of writer/director Chris Alonso’s Not for Human Consumption.

Jay (Nick Thurston — Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, First Person: A Film About Love) has just done a three-year jolt for manslaughter and is now back in the real world.   Things begin to look up for him when he is given an opportunity to have a piece of a lucrative Hookah Bar.

Meanwhile, his father, Tony (played by Michael Rispoli — Kick-Ass, The Taking of Pelham 123, Invincible, etc.), cautions him to avoid any trouble that might land him back in the joint.   Stay clean, stay sober … stay straight.

It is good advice, but when Jay discovers a stoner smoking incense in the club — because it gets you high — he hits upon a money-making scheme that seems too good to be true. 

 

They will make “Magic Flame,” but label this synthetic marijuana blend as “not for human consumption” (wink wink … nod, nod).   It will be strictly for incense burning, but of course it sells like hot cakes for illicit use and the money comes rolling in.

Based on actual events, in Not for Human Consumption it doesn’t take long for sinister forces to zero in (muscle in) on Tony and his associates with deadly results.   His girlfriend, April (Maddy Curley — Chalk It Up, Starting from Scratch), has been kept in the dark about the danger … and his father’s advice of stay clean, stay sober ... stay straight has been ignored.   Jay’s options are not looking good!!

Also on the release calendar from Indican Pictures is director Hank Leigh Hump’s terror in the woods thriller, 100 Acres of Hell, which will making the transition from its theatrical showcase run to the DVD marketplace on Jan. 28.

After opening at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival in March of last year, 100 Acres of Hell proceeded to work the genre festival circuit pulling in wins (Hollywood South Film Festival, New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival, Philadelphia Independent Film Festival … and more), great reviews and audience raves.   Indican Pictures pulled off a major coup with the acquisition of the domestic distribution rights, while studio powerhouse, Liongate, only got the international markets.

For the record, a brief theatrical showcase yields an ARR of 109 days.

At the center of the story is Buck Severs (played by WWE superstar Gene Snisky — Bikini Girls vs. the Surf Wolf, Morning Star, etc.), a professional wrestler who has suffered a career-ending injury.   His buddies want to get together for a weekend of shooting, drinking and fooling around in the woods … this is not your traditional “victim pool,” these guys are packing!!

We also get a traditional warning when Buck and his buddies — Trent Masters (Jeff Swanton — By the River Rye), Morgan Childs (Ernest O’Donnell — Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, Gone for the Weekend) and Bo McKeever (Jim Roof — Zombie Strippers!, House with 100 Eyes) — stop at a remote country store to stock up … don’t go anywhere near Foggy Creek or the infamous Jeb Tucker (a prologue shows us why this warning should be taken to heart) and his clan will hunt you down and kill you!!!

So where do these good ole’ boys go.   Come on, Foggy Creek of course!  Game on!!

Also of note, Indican Pictures released on DVD this past week director Barry Anderson’s The Lumber Baron, a throwback family dynasty story starring Joseph Bezenek as the wayward son who is suddenly thrown into the center of the family’s lumber business when his father is murdered.

MVD Entertainment Group Announces Two New Style Queens DVD For Release On Apr. 28 Featuring Beyonce And Jennifer Lawrence

MVD Entertainment Group will be styling on Apr. 28 with two new highly-anticipated additions to its “Style Queens” line of DVD products.   

Joining Style Queen releases featuring Kate Middleton (Jan. 21), The Kardashians (Jan. 21), Taylor Swift (Mar. 17) and Jennifer Lopez (Mar. 17) will be Style Queens Episode 5: Beyonce and Style Queens Episode 6: Jennifer Lawrence.

Music icon, dancer and fashionista, Beyonce Knowles, is showcased in this DVD presentation which features fashion, style and business insights from CRStyles LLC’s Christian Ramirez, PlanMember Financial Corporation’s Digital Marketing Project Manager Marcel Rivera-Baillaregeon and fashion blogger and producer Sepideh Haftgoli.   They take a sharp look at Beyonce’s fashion statements, her career management and even explore the creation of her own fashion line in this segment from the Style Queens series.

Up next is Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence.   Host Vail Bloom looks at the career of Jennifer Lawrence, with a focus on her growth as both a celebrity and fashion leader.

Bloom is joined by the aforementioned Marcel Rivera-Baillaregeon and Christian Ramirez, plus Style Barre public relations firm founder Joy Bullard and celebrity hair stylish Xavier Jimenez (of Salon Obsidian) as they breakdown Lawrence’s look and fashion choices.

Icarus Films To Release Director Pema Tseden's Jinpa On DVD On Mar. 24

Icarus Films announced this past week that Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden’s Venice International Film Festival award-winning film for Best Screenplay, Jinpa, will be making its domestic DVD debut on Mar. 24.

Of note, this is the third film from Tseden to be released on DVD from Icarus Films, Old Dog (Best Picture winner at the Tokyo Future International Film Festival in 2011) was released in July of 2013, and Tharlo (nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival in 2015) has been available since February of 2017.

Jinpa opened at the Venice Film Festival in September of 2018 and has marched out to various festivals around the world during 2018 and 2019, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Ukraine’s Molodist International Film Festival and more.   

Jinpa (whose actual name is Jinpa), the title character, is a truck driver who travels the lonely roads of Tibet’s Kekexili Plateau (literally meaning is “Blue Ridge) in the western area of the country.   He is seemingly at one with the solitude and majesty of the rugged beauty of this remote place (cinematography is by Lu Songye, who also worked with Tseden on Tharlo as well as with writer/director Heng Yang’s 2017 film release of Ghost in the Mountains).  

He passes the time listening to his recordings of classical music, however on this particular trip the solitude is shattered when he accidently strikes and kills a wayward sheep.  Call it a bad omen or just bad luck, Jinpa’s routine is disrupted by the accident … in more ways then he first realizes.   

Soon he crosses paths with a hitchhiker (played by Genden Phuntsok — Meido) at a lonely outpost (the only signs of civilization, if you can call it that).   It is here that Jinda has a few delightful moments of interaction with the local bar maid (waitress, whatever) played by Sonam Wangmo (as Sing-Sang in The Royal Tenenbaums) … it is playful, fun and breaks up the monotony of the lonely trek.   

Both Jinda and Sonam Wangmo are reunited in Tseden’s Balloon, which is following the same distribution pattern as Jinpa, having opened at the Venice Film Festival at the end of August this past year.

The hitchhiker comes from the Khampa region of Tibet (the eastern end of the country), his name is also Jinpa and he is on a mission.  During their ride to the crossroads, the hitchhiker says that he is on his way to kill a man … there is a dagger strapped to his leg.   The crossroad is reached … a fork in the road, dusty, barren, beyond remote and they go their separate ways.

The film plays out as Jinda, our truck driver, begins to have second thoughts about having delivered a potential murderer closer to his goal.  After wrestling with his conscience (and the omen of the dead sheep) he sets out to find the other Jinda and stop him.

Jinda, almost surreal at times, is a marvelous story that plays out against the backdrop of this remote — and strikingly beautiful — area of Tibet.   The film is presented in Tibetan with English subtitles.

 

Bayview Entertainment Readies The DVD Debut Of Director Zola Maseko's The Whale Caller

Bayview Entertainment has tabbed Mar. 17 for the domestic DVD debut of Swaziland/South African filmmaker Zola Maseko’s 2016 film adaptation of novelist Zakes Mda’s 2005 novel, The Whale Caller.

They come to Hermanus, about 40 miles down the coast from Cape Town in South Africa, by the bus loads to watch whales — specifically Southern Right Whales — during the late winter and early spring.   

The town has an official whale crier, you know, like the town crier of old who gathered people in the square to make announcements   His name is Whale Caller (Sello Maake Ka-Ncube  — Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Hearts & Minds, Bopha!), perhaps he has a real name, but that has been lost to time.   

He has been at this all of his life.   He lives alone on the beach, near Hermanus Cove, and blows a kelp horn to announce the arrival of whale pods during the “season.”   

The tourists are now gone and the Whale Caller has something of a hole is his heart as his favorite whale, one he has named Sharisha, has not returned when expected.   The local town people are more than a little concerned that their Whale Caller is losing it.  He’s a man in his prime and in love with a whale, how can this be?

Saluni (Amrain Ismail-Essop — Boy Called Twist, Forgiveness, Number 37) comes to his defense during the rambunctious town gathering.   While that might seem laudable, she has something of a reputation as being the town drunk … and more.   Depending on the time of day — and the light — Saluni is either a very attractive woman or a hag.

To complete this “love triangle,” Saluni becomes enamored with the Whale Caller, and more or less will not take no for an answer.   He reluctantly, at first, comes around and tries to help her with her drinking problem … but his heart is not totally in it as he worries about Sharisha and why it has taken so long for her to return.

The Whale Caller, a love story like none other, worked the film festival circuit, including local (South African) stops at the Joburg Film Festival in Johannesburg and Durban International Film Festival … and then opened theatrically in South Africa in October of 2017.   It arrives here virtually unseen.   DVD, Mar. 17 from Bayview Entertainment … it is certainly worth a look.