The Great Geek Manual

It looks to be another disappointing October, completely devoid of decent scares. This week, Friday, October 10th, City of Ember (PG) and Quarantine (R) open. City of Ember looks to be a decent kids’ movie, albeit one that utterly mutilates the story of the original book, while Quarantine looks to the typical HollyWood horror shtick without any surprises.

Video Releases

• The Happening (R)
• Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (NR)
• Kill Switch (R)
• Rest Stop – Don’t Look Back (NR)
• You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (NR/13)

Television

• Lexx: Season One
• Mission Impossible: Five TV Season Pack
• Robot Chicken: Season Three
• Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete First Season

Re-Releases & New Formats

• Drive-In Cult Classics 3

Read the rest of this entry » » »

Nothing ground-shaking is coming out this Friday, October 3rd, but there do seem to be a shower of mid-list draws, including the comedy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (PG-13), the nerd-worthy drama based on true events Flash of Genius (PG-13), and the sci-fi thriller Blindness (R), which, to me, looks a lot like The Day of the Triffids. Of course, none of that matters, because everyone with time to kill will be going to How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (R) in the hope of catching a glimpse of Megan Fox partially nude.

Video Releases

• Iron Man (PG13) [Blu-ray]
• Mindscape of Alan Moore

Television

• Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series
• The Mr. Bean: Best of, Vol. 2

Read the rest of this entry » » »

This Friday, September 12th, Burn After Reading (R), The Family That Preys (PG-13), and Righteous Kill (R) will be hitting the theaters. Not great geek pickings, but you really can’t expect too much geek on the screen with the summer winding down and the streets back in control of the adults.

Video Releases

• Felon (R)
  A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.
• Juncture (R)
  Diagnosed with a terminal illness, a woman uses her final three months to enact some vigilante justice, furiously tracking down vicious criminals.
• Legend of the Shadowless Sword (R)
  The kingdom of the land has been conquered, and the ruler’s only remaining descendant is the exiled Prince Jung-Hyun. Unaware of the darkness that has fallen over his homeland, Soha guides him toward his royal destiny.

Television

• Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD] [Blu-ray]

Re-Releases & New Formats

• Day Watch [Blu-ray] (R)
• Pumpkinhead Collector’s Edition [WS]
• Night Watch [Blu-ray] (R)

Read the rest of this entry » » »

Death Race hit the big screens Friday August 22nd, but I’m still not certain whether or not I’ll go see it. Jason Statham flicks can either go the way of the Transporter (good) or the way of Crank (wtf!), and even though all his stuff is jam-packed with explosions and fight sequences, its hard to tell whether or not shelling out theater prices is going to be worth it from promos.

In any case, with Babylon A.D. coming out next week (August 29), Death Race doesn’t have long to make its impression.

Video Releases

• Prom Night (NR/13)
• Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (PG13)
• Street Kings (R)

Television

• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Complete First Season [Blu-Ray] (NR)

Re-Releases & New Formats

• The Secret [Blu-ray] (R)

Read the rest of this entry » » »

Movie: Wargames: The Dead Code

Taglines: Are you ready to play?
Rating: PG-13 for some violence and language.
Release: July 29, 2008 (Direct to DVD)
Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Starring: Matt Lanter, Amanda Walsh, Colm Feore, Maxim Roy, and Chuck Shamata… IMDB listing

Verdict:
When I heard that there was going to be a sequel to Wargames, I was delighted. When I heard that it was going to be released direct to video, I was very pessimistic. When I watched it for the first time, I fully admitted that I heckled it like an old episode of MST3K. But, after re-watching the original 1983 classic, which I considered the height of cool when I was a kid, I realized that this movie is actually a very close approximation of the spirit and production value of the original.

In short, if you, like me, hailed WarGames as a culture icon when you were a know-it-all teen haxxor wanna be (back in the eighties), you’re probably going to be disillusioned by this update. If, on the other hand, you’re currently a teen script-kiddie who had to Google the title WarGames to see whether it was a Nintendo or PlayStation title or are of the opinion that Live Free or Die Hard was a brilliant update on the Die Hard franchise, you’re likely going to want to buy Dead Code immediately.

Synopsis:
Computer whiz Will Farmer runs afoul of an artificial intelligence created and operated by the government to root out terrorist cells around the globe when he plays and wins a biological warfare game with an inside tip from his mother, who happens to be a biochemist. Disguised as an innocent gambling site, the super-computer named R.I.P.L.E.Y. infiltrates Will’s computer and cellphone, marking him as a threat to national security.
Read the rest of this entry » » »

Here it is, the trailer for Sam Raimi’s adaptation of Terry Goodkind’s The Sword of Truth series.

I’ve been waiting to see how this one turn outs. The fantasy genre has been very under-represented in television, and when it does turn up, its usually crap – Buffy exempt, of course. With the fantasy genre riding high at the box office, one highly-rated fantasy series could start a trend. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.

After watching the trailer, I’m even more hopeful. Not because the series it how I imagined it, but because it’s not going to be another Beast Master. And when it comes to television, that’s really the best you can hope for.

Personally, I’m praying this series pulls down Seinfeld-level ratings, encouraging other big screen directors to step up and make some television based on a few good series, like the Wheel of Time.

The comedy Pineapple Express (R) hits theaters this Friday, August 6th.

Video Releases

• Nim’s Island (PG)
• Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (R)

Television

• Doctor Who: Black Orchid – Episode 121
• Doctor Who: The Five Doctors [25th Anniversary Edition] [2 Discs]
• Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series
• Star Trek: The Original Series – Season Two

Read the rest of this entry » » »

This week, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (PG-13) opens in theaters this Friday, August 1st. How well it’ll do in the face of The Dark Knight and X-File is uncertain, but there you have it.

New Video Releases

Doomsday (unrated)

Lost Boys 2 – The Tribe (R)

War Games: The Dead Code (PG-13)

Television

Birds of Prey: The Complete Series

Witchblade – The Complete Series
Read the rest of this entry » » »