I present you with a super kick-ass guest post from Ms. Manda Bull:

If, like me, you’ve stuck by Ms. Betty Suarez through the past four years, you were most likely heartbroken (a little piece of my soul actually died. Lit-er-al-ly.) when ABC announced the cancellation of Ugly Betty this January. This news came mid-season, leaving a lot of loose ends.

To bring you up to speed, season four finds a stylish and confident Betty (America Ferrera) transitioning into office life as the new associate features editor for Mode magazine (think Vogue, A Devil Wears Prada…, Teen Girl Squad goes to The Office?). In classic soap opera-style, her office and personal life are constantly entwined, for better and for worse.

The biggest (and most overdue) event of season four was the removal of Betty’s braces. Symbolic of her awkward past, (cast as a rock in a school play, never went to the prom, a math tutor, an honorary member of the local Historical Society, fashion outcast…) their removal brought Betty’s character to a new level and left all of the overdone “ugly” jokes behind.

Overall, I was very satisfied with the series’ end. If you were a fickle-fan or have never seen an episode in your life, you COULD get away with just watching season four. Many themes that originated in the beginning of the series were revisited and (mostly) resolved.

The DVD extras
Watching the behind-the-scenes footage from the Bahamas just made me really jealous. The cast of Ugly Betty didn’t have to work very hard to make it look like the funnest job in the world. The blooper real featured flubbed lines, silly sounds and some comical smooching. That’s pretty common, but it had me roaring with laughter and glee.

Still need convincing? Here are eight reasons why Ugly Betty was a GREAT television show and should be added to your Netflix queue:

Top Eight Reasons why I love Ugly Betty.
1. Attention graphic design nerds: the art direction on this show blows my mind! Consistently vibrant and eye-catching, from the costuming and sets, to promotional materials, press photos and DVD packaging. It’s like a pinata full of glittery jewels and mixed fruits, combining and contrasting high-fashion New York City with Betty’s Mexican heritage.

2. Mark & Amanda. This dynamic duo stuck out from the beginning and has some of the most memorable dialogue in TV history. They could have easily had their own spin-off.

3. A great soundtrack. I was often surprised and/or elated at the choices. From classic pop songs to up and coming indie jams, they always enhanced the emotion in just the right ways.

4. It was groundbreaking for the homosexual community by showing positive role models and supporting family members and discussing gay issues honestly and with heart.

5. Eye candy for both sexes. We are talking about a TV show that is set at a fashion magazine. It’s filled with fine looking men and hot, scantily clad women. It would be really hard to not develop a crush on SOMEONE.

6. Celebrity cameos: Lindsay Lohan, Ralph Macchico & Gene Simmons are among the amazing guest starts that appear throughout all four seasons. You’ll also find Vanessa Williams own brother playing the drag version of her character.

7. Plenty of sabotage, subterfuge, “accidental” killings and jailbreaks. Action-packed to even out all the “girly” stuff.

8. My personal favorite character is Henry Grubstick (Christopher Gorham). This quirky accountant and Betty’s first true love won my heart back all the way back in season one. An episode set at a medieval-themed restaurant should not be missed.

I am still carrying a torch for a rumored Ugly Betty movie.

First on my list today is the Superhero Squad Volume 1 that is coming on DVD.  My kids and I could watch this show together on a continuous loop.  It’s cheesy at times, but funny and cool.  It also introduces kids to obscure Marvel characters that they would have no knowledge of whatsoever by reading today’s comics.  Like M.O.D.O.K.  Thank you Marvel Superhero Squad for teaching my kids about M.O.D.O.K.

Next on my list is Alpha Dog on blu-ray.  It was surprisingly not bad when I saw it in theatres, and it was my introduction to the kid who plays Chekov.  He’s fantastic in this movie, as is Justin Timberlake.  This is what helped prove to me that Justin Timberlake needs to be a permanent cast member on Saturday Night Live because his range isn’t just comedy.

I’m told In Bruges is great, though I’ve never seen it.  It’s coming out on Blu-ray today.  What say you guys.  Should I check it out?

Today sees the special edition Blu-ray release of Predator, which is perhaps one of the finest science fiction/action adventure films ever made. If you’ve never seen this movie and are keen to see Robert Rodriguez’ badass looking sequel, this is certainly the place to start. Stan Winston’s creature effects have held up remarkably upon my last viewing of the film, and I’m keen to see how much more detailed the costume was in this new transfer of the film.

Next on the list today is an interesting indy film starring Paul Giamatti as a rocket scientist who is enlisted by his buddies to build a functioning jetpack like those seen in James Bond and Kick-Ass. It seems comical and Giamatti is always fun to watch. I’m definitely checking this one out.

Amazon is broken, otherwise I’d be recommending more. Anything else out today that I should know about?

*UPDATE* We just got the official press release for the movie that details who will be playing who. Yes,  Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy are back! It also shows what extras will be on the DVD/Blu Ray Releases.

THE END IS NEAR!
WORLD’S FINEST WAGE WAR WITH DARKSEID IN
ALL-NEW DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGNAL MOVIE
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE
AVAILABLE FROM WARNER HOME VIDEO
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010!

Andre Braugher, Summer Glau, Ed Asner join popular voices Kevin Conroy
& Tim Daly;
New DC Showcase GREEN ARROW on Special Edition Blu-ray & 2-Disc
Special Edition DVD

BURBANK, CA, (June 29, 2010) – To save an earthbound Kryptonian, the
Man of Steel and the Dark Knight unite once again – this time to
battle the powerful forces of Darkseid – in Superman/Batman:
Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC
Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28, 2010 from
Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation. The highly
anticipated, full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video
as a Special Edition Blu-Ray™ and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD as well
as single disc DVD. The film will also be available On Demand and for
Download.

Fan favorites Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Kevin Conroy (China
Beach) return to their seminal roles as Superman and Batman,
respectively. The celebrity-laden guest cast is headed by Andre
Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) as the daunting Darkseid. Sci-Fi
heroine Summer Glau (Serenity/Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor
Chronicles) provides the voice of Supergirl, and seven-time Emmy Award
winner Ed Asner (Up) reprises his Superman: The Animated
Series/Justice League role as Granny Goodness.

Based on the DC Comics series/graphic novel “Superman/Batman:
Supergirl” by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald,
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is produced by animation legend Bruce Timm
and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Justice League: Crisis on Two
Earths) from a script by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tab
Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist).

After a spaceship splashes down in Gotham City Harbor, Batman and
Superman encounter a mysterious Kryptonian with powers as great as
those of the Man of Steel. The Kryptonian is soon revealed to be Kara,
cousin of Superman, who takes her under his wing to educate her about
the ways of Earth. However, the villainous Darkseid has other plans.
Seeing an opportunity to finally defeat Superman, Darkseid abducts and
gains control of Kara, utilizing the powerful Kryptonian to do his
bidding. It’s up to Batman and Superman to save Kara, but they’ll have
to take the fight to Darkseid within his hostile world – where
unknown, deadly threats lurk around every corner, including a
brainwashed Kryptonian able to match Superman blow-for-blow.

In addition to the feature film, the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
Special Edition Blu-Ray™ and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD include the
third DC Showcase animated short, Green Arrow.  Screenwriter Greg
Weisman’s story finds Oliver Queen at the Star City International
Airport to pick up his girlfriend, only to be forced into action as
Green Arrow to protect the 10-year-old Princess of Vlatava from his
old nemesis Merlyn the Magnificent and the League of Assassins. The
short features the voices of Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) and
Malcolm McDowell (Entourage). Bruce Timm is executive producer.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse 2-Disc Special Edition DVD features more
than 1 1/2 hours of exciting extra content, including:
•       Feature film (est. 75 min)
•       DC Showcase: Green Arrow (10 min)
•       Sneak Peak at the Next DC Universe Animated Original Movie (10 min)
•       Featurette: Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton – A
comprehensive look at The Maiden of Might from her introduction in the
classic age of comics to her death in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths”
crossover event to her appearance on Smallville and beyond.
•       2 bonus episodes from animated television series handpicked by Bruce Timm
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Special Edition Blu-Ray™ will include more
than 2 1/2 hours of intriguing bonus features, starting with all of
the content available on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD and adding:
•       All-New Featurette: The New Gods – This documentary covers
Darkseid’s story, particularly in reference to the adaptation of
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. A primer on the wealth of material and
stories contained in the New Gods series, along with a deeper
understanding of why these characters – and especially Darkseid – are
so memorable and important to the DC pantheon.
•       All-New Featurette Pods
•       Orion – The mightiest warrior on either New Genesis or Apokolips,
Orion follows an almost Shakespearean arc culminating in the slaying
of his father, Darkseid. This mini-featurette shines a light on this
classically tragic character.
Mister Miracle – This mini-featurette focuses on the greatest escape
artist the universe has ever known and how he was traded in a peace
effort to be raised by Darkseid, the enemy of all New Genesis.
•       2 additional bonus TV series episodes handpicked by Bruce Timm
•       Digital copy on disc of the feature film
“Great things happen when powerful entities come together, and the
partnership of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation
is proud to continue this popular film series by once again uniting
the two most popular characters in the DC Universe in a story that
truly tests their strength, trust, loyalty, ingenuity and heroism,”
said Matt Bierman, Senior Vice President Production, Warner Premiere.

“It is a testament to the larger-than-life nature of Jeph Loeb’s
blockbuster storylines that two of the first nine DC Universe movies
are based on his work,” said Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC
Entertainment. “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse lets us see Superman and
Batman in action side-by-side again, but this time along with
Supergirl and one of DC’s greatest villains, Darkseid.”

“Just as Superman and Batman stand atop the DC canon of characters, so
do the respective seminal voices of Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy in the
hearts and minds of fans. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse will no doubt
please comic-centric and mainstream audiences alike – particularly in
the performances of Daly and Conroy opposite dynamic actors like Andre
Braugher and Ed Asner, and fanboy favorite Summer Glau,” said Amit
Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brands.

We have just found out that the next DC direct to dvd animated movie after “Batman: Under the Red Hood”  will be “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.” This story will be based on the 2nd Jeph Loeb arc on Superman/Batman that introduced the new Supergirl.

Although they are listed on the IMDB page it is not known weather Tim Daly and/or Kevin Conroy will reprise their roles as Superman and Batman. However tvguide.com is reporting that Summer Glau (Firefly,Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) will be voicing Supergirl.

The movie is scheduled to release on September 28th and will also include a Green Arrow short.

I’ve decided that June is the worst month for DVD releases.  It’s really another light week and there’s not much I’d recommend at all, let alone as my top pick.

The first thing on my list is something I’m half interested in checking out: Avatar The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 1.  Dave Filoni who is the supervising Director of Clone Wars was in charge of quite a bit of this series, so his work on Clone Wars has made me vaguely interested in this show.  And I’m doubly curious to see how bad M. Night Shyamalan is going to screw it up in his feature adaptation.  And he IS going to screw it up, make no mistake about it.

Thomas Jane, who I predict will one day make it to Bruce Campbell-like status, stars in the first season of Hung, which comes out today.  I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard it’s good and now that Lost is over, you might have room to add another television show onto your schedule.

That’s about all I have to recommend today.  Go buy Shutter Island from two weeks ago if you haven’t yet.

Since there’s nothing this week I’d care to recommend and I missed last week because work was so busy, I’d like to point you to last weeks best releases, starting with Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island.  This has been one of my favorite films this year so far.  It was well made and the tone was so pitch perfect that I felt uneasy watching it.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Jackie Earle Haley, and Max Von Sydow (among others) are cast perfectly in this old school-styled thriller.

Next is Caddyshack on Blu-ray.  This is a funny film and worth watching.  Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield are particularly hilarious.  The Kenny Loggins soundtrack is a bit annoying, but the film is great.

Seriously, that’s it for the last two weeks, unless you care that Showgirls came out on Blu-ray.

I’m not sure I would put it at the top of my list otherwise, but I think too many people are expecting to see it this week for me to not put it at the top.  Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is coming out in a variety of editions today.  What I like about this version more than the film version is that I can turn it off before the Futterwacken and imagine that it was still the great movie I was hoping to see.

Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman is coming out today.  I didn’t get to catch this one at the theatre, but I’m interested in checking it out on Blu-ray. The cast and effects team are top notch, so I’m guessing I have at least a little to look forward to there, despite the terrible reviews.

I’m slowly coming to the idea that my favorite kind of movies are war films from the 50s through the 80s and so the release I’m actually most excited to get my hands on this week is a double-sided Blu-ray edition of Kelly’s Heroes and Where Eagles Dare.  Both Clint Eastwood films, both damn fine war movies.  If you’ve not seen either, I would recommend you pick this disc up now.

The last movie I’m going to throw your way today is, oddly enough, another Clint Eastwood movie.  Written by the master screenwriter William Goldman, Absolute Power is probably one of Eastwoods strongest performances, both as an actor and as a director.  And Gene Hackman in this film is tremendous.

Michael Emerson, who played ficcle Ben Linus in LOST, recently chatted with ‘Attack of the Show’ and revealed a very interesting tidbit as to what you can expect on the LOST: The Complete Series DVD and Blu-ray due out in late August:

“For those people that want to pony up and buy the complete ‘Lost’ series, there is a bonus feature which you could call an epilogue… [or] a lost scene,” Emerson told host Kevin Pereira during “Attack of the Show.” “It’s a lot.”

“It’s 12 or 14 minutes that opens a window onto that gap of unknown time between Hurley becoming number one and the end of the series,” continued Emerson.

Personally, I wasn’t terribly surprised when Hurley became the “new Jacob”, but I was surprised when Ben became Hurley’s “Richard”. I thought it was a great twist and very in character for Ben to willingly accept this role. In the finale, Hurley and Ben acknowledge their time spent on the island together (was it 200 years? 2000?) with a very simple exchange:

Hurley: “You know, you were a real good number two.”

Ben: “And you were a great number one, Hugo.”

So now, it looks like we will get a little insight into their time on the island together – but of course, this is LOST so how much insight is anybody’s guess, but I wouldn’t expect a ton.

You can check out the video interview with Michael Emerson below.

Clone Wars Season 2 has been announced on Blu-ray and DVD and it can’t come too soon.  October 26th is the date given, which leads me to believe that we might not see Clone Wars season 3 on TV until after that.

It makes sense to want people able to catch up before the new season, doesn’t it?

In any case, here’s the press release from Lucasfilm:

The Force is back and better than ever – in Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ The Complete Season Two, coming to DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc October 26 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Warner Home Video. Featuring cutting-edge animation and a host of special bonus materials, the comprehensive collection explores the farthest reaches of “a galaxy far, far away” with all-new adventures set against the spectacular backdrop of the Star Wars universe.

Relive all 22 Season Two episodes – featuring bounty hunters, space pirates, giant monsters, mind-controlling brain worms and the return of Boba Fett! – and then dig deeper with the ultimate look behind the scenes of the hit TV series. Bonus features include a look inside the Lucasfilm vaults, with featurette interviews along with Director and Artist commentaries on each disc. In addition, The Complete Season Two will include a 64-page production journal with concept designs, original sketches and notes from Supervising Director Dave Filoni. And exclusive to the Blu-ray disc, The Jedi Temple Archives provides in-depth access to an extensive database of creative materials.

“Everything’s improved since the first season – the stories, the animation, everything,” said Filoni. “It’s bigger and better, and it’s going to look great in high-definition. We’re all just so proud of the series, and I think it shows; we’re bursting to share our production secrets, so the features are just full of fun insights from behind the scenes. As a fan, this is what I’d want.”

Created and executive produced by George Lucas, the first-ever TV production from Lucasfilm Animation explores the tumultuous time between Episodes II and III, expanding the scope of Star Wars beyond anything seen in the feature films. With the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, the heroes of the Republic – including the valiant Jedi Knights and their loyal clone troopers – fight bravely to repel the attacks of the evil Separatists and their droid army. With fierce battles, expanded storylines and ground-breaking animation, this is a Star Wars adventure that is bigger, bolder, and more intense than ever before!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Two will be available October 26 for the suggested retail price of $44.98 for DVD and $59.99 for Blu-ray.

The first release I’d like to direct your attention to is John Ford’s early masterpiece Stagecoach. It’s reported that this is the film Orson Welles watched repeatedly while he was working to draw inspiration for Citizen Kane. It’s a western that changed the rules of westerns and starred an incredibly young John Wayne as an outlaw. The Criterion Collection is putting it out on Blu-ray and it’s a release I can’t wait to get my hands on.

The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen, is hitting a DVD and Blu-ray release today. I haven’t seen it yet. I really, really wanted to, but every time I tried to go see it, I would be told invariably by whoever I was with that they weren’t in the mood to be depressed. Now, I can watch it by myself. And probably cry doing so.

Stanley Kubrick’s epic Spartacus comes out on Blu-ray. Starring Kirk Douglas, this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Although my brother reviewed it here, I thought it would be worth mentioning that today sees the release of David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer.

Next on the list is The Virginian, Season 1. This was a pretty interesting thing to see. Television from the 60s is always of interest to me from the standpoint of historical curiosity, and it was incredibly interesting to see television drama’s of the 60s through the lens of the western.