Blu Tuesday: “Game of Thrones” and More

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Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on social media with your friends.

“Game of Thrones: The Complete Seventh Season”

The penultimate season of “Game of Thrones” may not have as many episodes as previous years, but it’s filled with all the drama, action and intrigue that we’ve come to expect from the HBO series. Though the shorter length is certainly disappointing, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have made the most of every precious minute with this incredibly entertaining and furiously paced build-up to the grand finale. From the long-awaited meeting between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, to the excellent loot train attack in “The Spoils of War,” to the much-criticized (but no less awesome) battle beyond the Wall, Season 7 has no shortage of killer moments. This is without a doubt the show’s most ambitious season to date, and while it’s not always successful (see: the Sansa/Arya storyline), there’s so much great stuff packed into these seven-plus hours that it’s hard to be too critical of something operating at such a high level.

Extras include audio commentaries on every episode with various cast and crew, a two-part featurette on the show’s production design and art department, a behind-the-scenes look at filming some of the season’s most pivotal moments, a 45-minute animated history of the Seven Kingdoms and more. FINAL VERDICT: BUY

“Home Again”

It’s hardly surprising that the daughter of rom-com queen Nancy Meyers would make a movie like “Home Again,” but the problem with writer/director Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s feature debut is that isn’t very good. It’s not exactly terrible, either, but rather the same frothy, domestic fantasy that Meyers has been churning out for the past few decades. Everything about this movie is too perfect to be believable, from the initial meet-cute between Reese Witherspoon’s single mother and Pico Alexander’s aspiring filmmaker, to the complete lack of flaws in any of the characters. The whole thing plays out like wish-fulfillment porn for people who shop at Pottery Barn, and while it’s pretty harmless for the most part, “Home Again” feels less like Meyers-Shyer’s own thing than a cheap knockoff of one of her mother’s films.

Extras include an audio commentary by writer/director Hallie Meyers-Shyer and producer Nancy Meyers. FINAL VERDICT: RENT

“Wolf Warrior 2”

Chinese action star Wu Jing may be one of the most exciting martial arts performers working today, but his ability behind the camera is severely lacking. The sequel to 2015’s “Wolf Warrior” (also directed by Wu) is a poorly executed piece of Chinese military propaganda that features some terrible acting. Its attempts at serious drama also come off looking corny, while the treatment of African people in the movie is borderline offensive. Using the “Rambo” series as the inspiration for your own jingoistic action franchise probably isn’t the wisest idea, and it feels every bit as dated. Perhaps even more disappointing is the waste of Frank Grillo in the bad guy role. He’s given very little to do apart from his climactic showdown with Wu, and while that fight scene (as well as a few other sequences) is really entertaining, it doesn’t make sitting through the rest of this overrated mess worth it.

Extras include a four-part making-of featurette. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

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In addition to writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Jason is a proud member of the Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) and the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS).