This Week in Blu-ray / DVD Releases: Batman, How to Train Your Dragon 2

By John Law

November 10th 2014, 11:49pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This week: You’re not dreaming…the Batman TV show finally comes to Blu-ray. Plus: Tammy, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and one last season of suck for True Blood.

► The bonanza of boxed sets we thought we’d never see continues. ‘WKRP’ and ‘The Wonder Years’ last month, and now – holy hell – it’s BATMAN: THE COMPLETE TELEVISION SERIES. Without going into the boring legal crap between Fox, Warner and DC which kept the show in limbo all these years, fans will finally get all 120 remastered episodes along with three hours of prime bonus stuff which includes a long chat with Adam West, a look at the show’s sound and design, and the series’ vast memorabilia. You’ll also get trading cards, a 32-page episode guide and a replica Batmobile. This is the big one for the character’s 75th anniversary.

► Thought HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 was a flop? Maybe in the U.S., where the $176 million box office didn’t match the first film. But worldwide, it’s the biggest animated movie of the year at $615 million. Set five years after the original, with the village Berk at peace with their scaly former enemies. While out exploring, Hiccup discovers a conqueror and his dragon trappers. Things get surprisingly dark, but fans of the first will adore it.

► Melissa McCarthy’s TAMMY might be the most maligned comedy of the year, mostly because she tried branching out from the template that made her a superstar in recent years. After a pretty hilarious opening sequence in which she’s fired from her fast food job and leaves her cheating husband, the movie settles into a laid back road trip. McCarthy is joined by her grandma (Susan Sarandon) as they head to Niagara Falls, which includes a criminal detour and a stopover at a lesbian house party hosted by Kathy Bates. Underachieved at the box office, ripped by critics, this one deserved better.

► Maybe some stories just aren’t meant to leave Broadway. Clint Eastwood’s JERSEY BOYS has all the tragedy, mobsters and great Four Seasons music you’d expect, but it never crackles on film like it does the stage. John Lloyd Long plays Frankie Valli (as he did on stage), Joey Russo plays a young Joe Pesci, and Christopher Walken is the gangster who takes an interest in the group. Blu-ray extras include a feature on the show’s 10-year journey to the screen.

► If any once beloved show overstayed its welcome worse than ‘Dexter,’ it had to be TRUE BLOOD. After three straight abysmal seasons, the one-time HBO crown jewel mercifully threw in the towel for Season 7. Literally, they just gave up. The storylines and characters reach a ludicrous crescendo as Bon Temp’s vampires take on their Hep V-infected counterparts. Plenty of characters die, including one of the big three in a laughable finale, and the entire season felt like an endurance test for longtime fans just to say they made it to the end. In the end, ‘True Blood’ squandered the trashy-but-addictive fun of its first two seasons the way every soap opera does – by pushing its camp factor too far. See for yourself with TRUE BLOOD: THE COMPLETE SERIES, also released Tuesday: The show’s early spark was all in the fun interplay of the Sookie/Bill/Eric trio. As the universe expanded into werewolves, witches and faeries, it stopped becoming a vampire show and simply became ‘Twilight’ with nudity. The big set includes 80 episodes on 33 discs, with all the bonus stuff from previous releases.

► Always the more respected offspring of the Star Wars prequels, THE CLONE WARS wraps up with a shortened sixth season dubbed ‘The Lost Missions.’ The Yoda-heavy final episodes are a feast for fans, as he travels to the heart of the galaxy and finds the source of The Force, as well as a vision of the ‘new hope’ to come. Subsequent storylines which were never finished have been collected in comics and an upcoming novel.

► The surprise summer hit LET’S BE COPS has Damon Wayans, Jr. and Jake Johnson as two L.A. buds who on a lark wear police uniforms to their college reunion party, and their lives immediately take an upswing. I have full confidence each and every one of you reading this knows what happens next. It’s a ‘formula’ for a reason.

Also out this week: