This Week in Blu-ray / DVD Releases: Star Trek Beyond, Bad Moms, Outlander

By John Law

November 1st 2016, 10:22am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This Week: Boldly going to bat for Star Trek Beyond, a good time with Bad Moms, and Round 2 of the addictive Outlander.

► After an awful first trailer and the anemic reaction to the last movie, I can’t remember lower expectations for a Star Trek flick than STAR TREK BEYOND. So, of course, that’s when they deliver the best one in years. With a script polished by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, the series calls back to its TV roots by bringing the Enterprise back to its original mission – charting the nether regions of space. During a rescue mission, the ship is ambushed by an alien race led by Krall (Idris Elba), who is looking for a relic which can complete an ancient bioweapon. By far the worst box office of the rebooted series, but Star Trek has been on the ropes before and come back in spectacular fashion. Classy dedications to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin as well. In addition to standard blu-ray and 3D version is a Gift Set which includes mini ship replicas.

► Pickings may have been slim, but BAD MOMS might have been the best comedy of summer. Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and a full-on hilarious Kathryn Hahn are a trio of stressed-out, dissatisfied mommies who all decide to cut loose and flip the bird to their thankless responsibilities. Which puts them in the crosshairs of the school’s PTA chairwoman (Christina Applegate). Predictable but still plenty funny – love the interviews with the cast’s real moms over the end credits.

► Season 2 of OUTLANDER finds Highland rebel Jamie and his time-traveling lass Claire in Paris trying to prevent the Battle of Culloden in 1756, which history shows will devastate the Scottish culture. But they also have to deal with the rape trauma inflicted by the awesomely slimy Redcoat Captain Randall, who isn’t as dead as they hoped. The follow-up to ‘Battlestar Galactica’ for executive producer Ronald D. Moore, and it’s proving to be just as addicting. An Amazon exclusive edition includes 20 minutes of bonus stuff and a sneak peek at Diana Gabaldon’s ninth book in the series.

► You’d think ‘The Killing Joke’ would have been DC’s biggest animated release of the year, but that honor goes to BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS – a lovingly-made tribute and continuation of the ‘60s Batman show. Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar all lend their voices, and there are so many subtle gags you’ll need a few viewings to catch them all. A nostalgic feast. Sequel has already been announced with William Shatner voicing Two-Face.

► No matter how many times I read the plot description, I still can’t believe NINE LIVES actually exists. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (?), it has Kevin Spacey (??) as a business tycoon with no time for his daughter, whose mind gets trapped in the body of a cat named Mr. Fuzzypants (???). Jennifer Garner, Christopher Walken and Cheryl Hines also star. Again, for reasons I can’t fathom.

► To our American friends: Yes, there is actually a show in Canada called SCHITT’S CREEK. It not only stars two SCTV legends, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, it also has Chris Elliott and ’12 Monkeys’ star Emily Hampshire. Premise follows a wealthy couple (Levy and O’Hara) who lose all their money and try rebuilding their lives in the Ontario town of Schitt’s Creek, which they purchased as a gag. DVD gathers Seasons 1 & 2.

► You know what was a bad time to open a potential action franchise? June, 1975…the world decided it was going to see ‘Jaws’ and pretty much nothing else that summer. Including George Pal’s dopey DOC SAVAGE: THE MAN OF BRONZE. Ron Ely looks decent as the classic pulp hero, but this Mystery Science Theater candidate of a movie is so horribly acted, cheap looking and unforgivably campy it likely would have bombed even without that big shark. Tried to revive itself years later to cash in on ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ but still no luck. Ended up being Pal’s final film.

► Even that dismal ‘Psycho’ fared better for Gus Van Sant than THE SEA OF TREES, his first movie in four years. Matt McConaughey is an American who heads to Japan’s famed ‘suicide forest’ near Mount Fuji to kill himself, only to meet a Japanese man (Ken Watanabe) there for the same reason. Hokey sentimentality follows. Naomi Watts also stars.

Also out this week: