To coincide with the unveiling of yet another instantly disappointing Netflix series, Marvel is doing its damndest to completely dominate this week’s home video slate. There’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which is supposed to be good and much better-looking than these Marvel things usually are (I still have PTSD from the visual mush that was Age of Ultron), the first season of Jessica Jones, widely-praised as being the best of a very sorry slate of Netflix shows, and season 2 of Daredevil, which has not gotten such praise. But since I am an edgy boy, I will say that Criterion actually wins the week, with their reissue of Alex Cox’s Sid and Nancy, given a much-needed 4K spit-shine to bring out the beauty of Roger Deakins’ cinematography better than ever, and packed with extras, many from Criterion’s long out-of-print DVD with quite a few new additions. I guess there’s also their release of Sacha Guitry’s La Poison, but that seems to have a pretty dated transfer, and the movie itself doesn’t really leap out to me. Still, that’s better than what Kino has prepared this week. As evidenced in their botched releases of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Duel in the Sun, Kino could fuck up a baked potato (and they couldn’t find Joe Lewis in a bowl of rice), and they’ve done it again with a soft, underwhelming transfer for the Coen brothers’ masterpiece, Barton Fink (there’s Deakins again, btw). Maybe they really do need a road map.

Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete Second Season (Lionsgate)
Barton Fink (Kino)
Beggars of Life (Kino)
Daredevil: The Complete Second Season (Disney)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Disney)
Jessica Jones: The Complete First Season (Disney)
The Love of a Woman (Arrow Academy)
Lucifer: The Complete Second Season (Warner Archive Collection)
My Blue Heaven (Warner Archive Collection)
La Poison (Criterion)
Sid & Nancy (Criterion)
The Slayer (Arrow)
Supergirl: The Complete Second Season (Warner)
Varieté (Kino)
Whale Rider (Shout Factory)