Hot This Week: July 30

Hot new movies are big this week as July prepares to fade into August, with four new titles on our list, including the top two. Music sees a reshuffling of last week's albums, while, in fiction, Daniel Silva pushes the Clinton-Patterson combo from the peak while a new novel from Debbie Macomber debuts as well. In non-fiction, a new pair of political explorations bookend the list.

Movies

1. Rampage (Blu-ray | 4K)
2. I Feel Pretty (Blu-ray)
3. A Quiet Place (Blu-ray | 4K)
4. Blockers (Blu-ray)
5. Truth or Dare (Blu-ray)
6. Traffik (Blu-ray)
7. Tomb Raider (Blu-ray | 4K)
8. Tyler Perry's Acrimony (Blu-ray)
9. Escape Plan 2: Hades (Blu-ray)
10. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Blu-ray | 4K)

CD

1. Drake, Scorpion
2. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys
3. XXXTENTACION, ?
4. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
5. Maroon 5, Red Pill Blues
6. Luke Combs, This One's for You
7. The Carters, Everything Is Love
8. Panic! At the Disco, Pray for the Wicked
9. Taylor Swift, Reputation
10. Imagine Dragons, Evolve

Fiction

1. The Other Woman, Daniel Silva
2. The President Is Missing, James Patterson and Bill Clinton
3. Cottage by the Sea, Debbie Macomber
4. The Outsider, Stephen King
5. The Perfect Couple, Elin Hilderbrand
6. All We Ever Wanted, Emily Giffin
7. Spymaster, Brad Thor
8. Clock Dance, Anne Tyler
9. The Good Fight, Danielle Steel
10. When Life Gives You Lululemons, Lauren Weisberger

Non-Fiction 

1. Liars, Leakers, and Liberals, Jeanine Pirro
2. Educated, Tara Westover
3. Calypso, David Sedaris
4. The Soul of America, Jon Meacham
5. Indianapolis, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
6. How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan
7. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson
8. The Plot to Destroy Democracy, Malcolm Nance
9. Fascism: A Warning, Madeleine Albright
10. From Cold War to Hot Peace, Michael McFall

Hot This Week: July 23

A new week of summer brings plenty of new hot titles to the list. The critically acclaimed horror movie A Quiet Place leads three new titles onto the movie list. Drake's Scorpion continues its dominance by taking over our music chart. In fiction, new novels by Danielle Steel and Anne Tyler can't quite overtake the juggernaut that is James Patterson, while two new books make the list in non-fiction.

Movies

1. A Quiet Place (Blu-ray | 4K)
2. Blockers (Blu-ray)
3. Tomb Raider (Blu-ray | 4K)
4. Escape Plan 2: Hades (Blu-ray)
5. Tyler Perry's Acrimony (Blu-ray)
6. Pacific Rim Uprising (Blu-ray | 4K)
7. Future World (Blu-ray)
8. Sherlock Gnomes (Blu-ray)
9. Game Night (Blu-ray)
10. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Blu-ray | 4K)

CD

1. Drake, Scorpion
2. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys
3. XXXTENTACION, ?
4. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
5. The Carters, Everything Is Love
6. Panic! At the Disco, Pray for the Wicked
7. Maroon 5, Red Pill Blues
8. Luke Combs, This One's for You
9. Taylor Swift, Reputation
10. Post Malone, Stoney

Fiction

1. The President Is Missing, James Patterson and Bill Clinton
2. The Good Fight, Danielle Steel
3. Clock Dance, Anne Tyler
4. The Outsider, Stephen King
5. All We Ever Wanted, Emily Giffin
6. The Perfect Couple, Elin Hilderbrand
7. The Summer Wives, Beatriz Williams
8. Spymaster, Brad Thor
9. When Life Gives You Lululemons, Lauren Weisberger
10. There There, Tommy Orange

Non-Fiction 

1. Calypso, David Sedaris
2. Educated, Tara Westover
3. The Soul of America, Jon Meacham
4. How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan
5. Indianapolis, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
6. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson
7. The Plot to Destroy Democracy, Malcolm Nance
8. Barracoon, Zora Neale Hurston
9. I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara
10. Trump's America, Newt Gingrich

Comic-Con Heavy on TV

Written by Jon Williams

Comic-Con International kicked off yesterday in San Diego. Beginning in 1970 and initially focused primarily on comic books, SDCC has evolved into a preeminent pop-culture showcase extravaganza that goes far beyond just comics (although they are still a large part of the show) and into the realms of movies and TV. Here is a quick look at some of the television titles, both beloved favorites and soon-to-be breakthroughs, that will be holding panels and releasing news as the convention progresses through Sunday.

A natural outgrowth of comics is into animation, a format that is often associated with children’s entertainment. A number of animated children’s television shows will be at Comic-Con. One of those is Adventure Time, the beloved cartoon whose tenth and final season is all set to wrap up, with just the series finale remaining. Lego’s animation has become quite a force in entertainment, and Lego Ninjago will be represented at Comic-Con as well. Fans will also be able to hear about the upcoming seventh season of Voltron: Legendary Defender, a reboot of the classic Voltron series from the ‘80s. Another reboot comes in the form of DuckTales, the new adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. And in a bit of surprise news, it was announced yesterday that Star Wars: The Clone Wars will return for one final 12-episode arc to complete the series.

Of course, cartoons aren’t just for kids anymore, and animated entertainment for grown-ups is very much on Comic-Con’s agenda. The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom in American history, animated or otherwise, and at Comic-Con will be looking ahead to its 30^th season. In addition, creator Matt Groening (who also created Futurama) will be presenting his new series, Disenchantment. Similarly long-running Seth MacFarlane staples Family Guy (going into its 17^th season) and American Dad (13^th season) will be represented, as will Bob’s Burgers (9^th season) and Archer (10^th season).

Horror television is a genre that has seen quite a bit of growth lately, and that will be reflected in big panels for both The Walking Dead, which will undergo some big changes in its upcoming ninth season, and Fear the Walking Dead, which returns for the second half of its fourth season on August 12. Carrying on the zombie theme is Z Nation, soon to return for its fifth season. From the mind of Stephen King comes the second season of Mr. Mercedes, based on his book trilogy, as well as Castle Rock, a new series not directly from King’s writings but set in and around a town that features prominently in many of his works. Also making the leap from the page to the screen are The Passage, from Justin Cronin’s vampire trilogy, and Nightflyers, based on a novella from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

Then there’s sci-fi and fantasy TV, which has perhaps the largest presence at this year’s convention. The granddaddy of them all is Doctor Who, which will have a huge panel in preparation for its eleventh season and first female Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker. Fans can also look forward to panels on Star Trek: Discovery, the latest series in that massive universe, as well as the Trek-inspired homage from Seth MacFarlane, The Orville. Legion and The Gifted both tie into the X-Men universe, while Preacher is adapted from the Vertigo comics series. A Charmed reboot is coming this fall, and fans of witches can also look forward to A Discovery of Witches, adapted from Deborah Harkness’s novels. Finally, The Magicians, a series based on Lev Grossman’s novels, recently wrapped its third season and will return next year for a fourth.

And there are also plenty of shows that don’t easily fit into any of these categories. Riverdale makes perfect sense for Comic-Con, as it is based on classic Archie Comics characters. Breaking Bad’s panel will celebrate ten years since the show premiered, and the spinoff/prequel, Better Call Saul, will be there as well to focus on the upcoming fourth season. The surreal life-after-death comedy The Good Place will look ahead to its third season, while the historical drama Vikings prepares for its midseason premiere. And the trend of reboot continues with a new iteration of Magnum P.I. coming in September.

That’s a lot of TV—and that’s just a small portion of all the movie, comic, and other pop-culture media properties that will be exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego this year. What are you and your patrons looking forward to hearing about? Let us know, and stay in touch with Midwest Tape for all the latest news as these shows and more make their way onto DVD and Blu-ray.

Hot This Week: July 9

Two new movies make this week's list, while Lara Croft holds strong in the #1 spot for a second week. Five new CDs on the chart are led by a new album from Panic! At the Disco. Emily Giffin's new novel makes its debut at #2 in fiction, while David Sedaris returns to the top in non-fiction.

Movies

1. Tomb Raider (Blu-ray | 4K)
2. Tyler Perry's Acrimony (Blu-ray)
3. Pacific Rim Uprising (Blu-ray | 4K)
4. Escape Plan 2: Hades (Blu-ray)
5. Death Wish (Blu-ray)
6. I Can Only Imagine (Blu-ray)
7. Game Night (Blu-ray)
8. Sherlock Gnomes (Blu-ray)
9. Black Panther (Blu-ray | 4K)
10. A Wrinkle in Time (Blu-ray | 4K)

CD

1. Panic! At the Disco, Pray for the Wicked
2. XXXTENTACION, ?
3. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys
4. The Carters, Everything Is Love
5. Dan + Shay, Dan + Shay
6. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
7. 5 Seconds of Summer, Youngblood
8. Nine Inch Nails, Bad Witch
9. Bebe Rexha, Expectations
10. Luke Combs, This One's for You

Fiction

1. The President Is Missing, James Patterson and Bill Clinton
2. All We Ever Wanted, Emily Giffin
3. The Outsider, Stephen King
4. The Perfect Couple, Elin Hilderbrand
5. Shelter in Place, Nora Roberts
6. Tom Clancy's Line of Sight, Mike Maden
7. The Death of Mrs. Westaway, Ruth Ware
8. There There, Tommy Orange
9. When Life Gives You Lululemons, Lauren Weisberger
10. Something in the Water, Catherine Steadman

Non-Fiction 

1. Calypso, David Sedaris
2. The Soul of America, Jon Meacham
3. How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan
4. Educated, Tara Westover
5. Trump's America, Newt Gingrich
6. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson
7. Yes We (Still) Can, Dan Pfeiffer
8. Barracoon, Zora Neale Hurston
9. The Sun Does Shine, Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin
10. Lincoln's Last Trial, Dan Abrams and David Fisher

Hot This Week: July 2

We move into July with two big new movies atop the movie list. Appropriately, 5 Seconds of Summer leap to the top of the music chart, while rapper XXXTENTACION's untimely passing spurs a surge for his recent album. Elin Hilderbrand can't quite beat out James Patterson and Bill Clinton for the top fiction spot, but her new novel does nudge Stephen King to #3. And in non-fiction, a pair of political books from opposite ends of the spectrum bookend the week's list.

Have a wonderful holiday week!

Movies

1. Tomb Raider (Blu-ray | 4K)
2. Pacific Rim Uprising (Blu-ray | 4K)
3. I Can Only Imagine (Blu-ray)
4. Sherlock Gnomes (Blu-ray)
5. Death Wish (Blu-ray)
6. Game Night (Blu-ray)
7. Black Panther (Blu-ray | 4K)
8. A Wrinkle in Time (Blu-ray | 4K)
9. The Strangers: Prey at Night (Blu-ray)
10. Red Sparrow (Blu-ray | 4K)

CD

1. 5 Seconds of Summer, Youngblood
2. XXXTENTACION, ?
3. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys
4. Christina Aguilera, Liberation
5. Jason Aldean, Rearview Town
6. The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
7. Jay Rock, Redemption
8. Mike Shinoda, Post Traumatic
9. Luke Combs, This One's for You
10. Maroon 5, Red Pill Blues

Fiction

1. The President Is Missing, James Patterson and Bill Clinton
2. The Perfect Couple, Elin Hilderbrand
3. The Outsider, Stephen King
4. Tom Clancy's Line of Sight, Mike Maden
5. Shelter in Place, Nora Roberts
6. The Death of Mrs. Westaway, Ruth Ware
7. When Life Gives You Lululemons, Lauren Weisberger
8. There There, Tommy Orange
9. The Fallen, David Baldacci
10. Something in the Water, Catherine Steadman

Non-Fiction 

1. Yes We (Still) Can, Dan Pfeiffer
2. Calypso, David Sedaris
3. The Soul of America, Jon Meacham
4. How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan
5. Trump's America, Newt Gingrich
6. Educated, Tara Westover
7. Lincoln's Last Trial, Dan Abrams and David Fisher
8. The Sun Does Shine, Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin
9. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson
10. Born Trump, Emily Jane Fox