I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of David Cross’ new comedy special, Bigger and Blackerer…. (Blackerer isn’t a real word…. yet.) The DVD comes complete with an enlarged poster of the cover… its repugnance made me laugh… Which I thought was a good first sign that I was going to like the DVD. I’ve been a fan of David Cross for a long time now… although I’ve never watched any of his comedy specials before…

What I like about his humor is that it comes off as somewhat intellectual, (I think because he wears glasses.) but at the same time he isn’t afraid of using low-brow humor simultaneously. Some people aren’t fans of racist jokes… But I’m not a part of that faction… while I don’t make many racist jokes myself… I’m completely impartial to hearing them… as long as the user doesn’t seem to be actually racist… and even then, only if the jokes aren’t funny. But his jokes were funny… My favorite parts were about religion and how outdated it is…But I was genuinely laughing out loud throughout the whole thing… So overall I thought it was really good.

Apparently the CD and the DVD vary quite a bit… They recorded two shows in a row, and they cut together two entirely different specials… and so I’d be interested in hearing the CD as well… but for the time being, I’ll just say that it was a good DVD. The special features were mostly just deleted scenes from the special… some of them were definitely as funny as anything in the special itself… The special itself was about an hour long, and contains swearing.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any opinions about this special that will change your world view, or give you the courage to finally send your Grandma to that home… but that doesn’t mean I don’t highly recommend it… It is going to be released May 25th, along with the CD. You can buy the completely reasonably priced DVD from Amazon here! or else the CD here!

I’ve commented that there were sparse weeks before, but I’m not sure I meant it any of those other times. This week is one of the lightest I’ve ever seen and I’m having a hard time finding things to recommend to you.

The highest profile release is Clint Eastwood’s Invictus. This movie looked mildly interesting but it came and went at the theatres, even though it had pretty solid reviews. Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman are always fun to watch, so this really is probably worth checking out.

Next on the list is the Criterion release of Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout. Again, another film I haven’t seen, but it’s been on my list for a while. Nicolas Roeg and Criterion have both been responsible for some good work, so this might be on that list, too.

Last thing I’ll put on the list today is the complete set of The Greatest American Hero. It’s nerdy and from the 80s. And admit it, the second you read the title the theme song to the show hit you. “>If it didn’t, watch it here and it will.

The first film on the list today is Fritz Lang’s masterpiece M.  You can read my review of the Blu-ray from Criterion here.

Next on the docket is the Blu-ray release of Mel Brooks’ classic parody Robin Hood: Men in Tights.  It’s a fitting release since Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood hits theatres this week.  This film still holds up as incredibly funny, though a number of the jokes are pretty directly tied to the Costner Prince of Thieves picture.

For those of us who remember the Beavis and Butthead spin-off Daria, the entire series comes out on DVD today.  It was a good show and it sucks that MTV has fallen out of playing music videos and cool animation.  I don’t even know what the hell they program that isn’t a reality show.  Is there still music on MTV?  I’ll never know.

The last film I’ll mention today is the Blu-ray release of the original Karate Kid.  I bought this film for my kids a while ago, interested in forcing them to relive bits of my childhood and I was surprised to see that not only did this film hold up remarkably well, it still works for the kids of today as well.  Whether or not you have kids, if you have a nostalgia for this movie, as long as you can deal with the cheesy conventions of 80s filmmaking, this is a safe one to pick up.  Though it’s way longer than I remembered it.

Hot Tub Time Machine
Release Date: June 29
Distributor: MGM Home Entertainment
Summary: Delivering “non-stop political incorrectness” and “about a billion laughs” (Los Angeles Times), the film stars John Cusack (High Fidelity), Craig Robinson (“The Office”) and Rob Corddry (“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”) as buddies looking to recapture a little of their youthful glory by returning to the ski resort where they used to party. After a crazy night of drinking in the hot tub, they realize that they’ve been transported back to the 80s and into the bodies of their younger selves. Now they have to decide whether they should change their futures while wading through a sea of spandex, blue eye shadow and heavy metal hair bands. Hot Tub Time Machine also features a hilarious supporting cast including comedy legend Chevy Chase (Caddyshack), Crispin Glover (Back To The Future) and Clark Duke (Kick-Ass).
Special Features:

DVD:

• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical trailer

Blu-ray:

• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Theatrical Promotional Spots: “Production: Acting Like Idiots”, “Chevy Chase: The Nicest Guy in Hollywood”, “Totally Radical Outfits: Dayna Pink”, “Crispin Glover: One Armed Bellhop”
• Digital copy of the film

Box Art:

Bored to Death – The Complete First Season
Release Date: September14
Distributor: HBO
Summary: Meet Jonathan Ames: writer, romantic, unlicensed private detective. Moonlighting from his job as a novelist and writer for a New York magazine, Jonathan is looking to jettison some heavy emotional baggage (his girlfriend just dumped him, okay?) through an unusual second careerof cracking cases of missing persons, espionage and infidelity in the Big Apple.
Special Features:

• Audio Commentary
• Behind the Scenes Featurette

Box Art:

Steven Spielberg’s D-Day epic Saving Private Ryan is heading to Blu-ray, today.  This is a pretty good film, but it’s reputation is much better than it deserves.  Like I said, it’s pretty good, but it’s not great.  It’s overly long and some of the casting and script choices were questionable at best.  If you want a really great war film from the same year, I would suggest Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line.  Where Saving Private Ryan is the terse prose of war, The Thin Red Line is elegant poetry.  According to Amazon, Criterion is putting out a Blu-ray of it some time in the future, and that’s one I’m more excited for than just about anything.  But as far as Ryan goes, the only thing that gets into “great” territory is the D-Day invasion, and seeing it on Blu-ray is a must.

What I think is the third greatest of David Lean’s epics (behind Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai) Doctor Zhivago comes out on Blu-ray.  Blu-ray is exactly the format that suits Lean best and this is a movie that is perfect for it.  It’s a sweeping epic with frames so dense with information, I daresay you’ll get more out of a release like this than the DVD.

In the geek department today, comes the fifth volume of the 90s X-Men cartoon series and the fifth volume of Wolverine and the X-men.  We should have full reviews up soon, but be sure to check out the contest we have going to give away a copy of the X-Men, along with the complete series of the 1994 Iron Man cartoon, which also comes out today.

I’m also terribly interested to see Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro, starring Vincent Gallo.  I want to see what Coppola does in his quest for “small, personal” films.  They’re just so damned hard to catch.  His last, Youth Without Youth, starring Eric Roth, was here and gone in a flash and I haven’t picked up a DVD of that yet, either.  But you should check it out if you feel so inclined.

The last thing on my list today is a four pack Turner Classic Movies war collection.  It contains one of my favorite movies ever, Gunga Din, as well as Battle of the Bulge, The Dawn Patrol and Operation Pacific.  Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Cary Grant, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. all together in one set for less than $20, that’s simply a deal you can’t beat.

Arse-bot here. Starting this week I am going to start bringing you all the major DVD and Blu-ray announcements we get from the studios regarding future releases (not to be confused with Swank’s “Out Today on DVD” stuff). This will hopefully provide you with a little insight as to what you can expect ahead of time from your favorite films on DVD and Blu-ray. First up this week, The Crazies…

The Crazies

Release Date: June 29

Distributor: Anchor Bay Home Entertainment

Special Features:

• Audio commentary with director Breck Eisner
• “Behind the Scenes” featurette
• “Creepy Paranormal Pandemics” featurette
• “Crazy Make-Up Mastermind: Rob Hall in Action” featurette
• “Thematic Exploration of George A. Romero Films” featurette
• Storyboards
• The Blu-ray will also include a digital copy

Box Art:

Batman: Under the Red Hood

Release Date: July 27

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Summary: Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when the Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.

Special Features:

Single-Disc DVD-

• No Special Features

Two-Disc DVD/Blu-ray-

• Next Upcoming DCU Sneak Peak
• DC Showcase: Jonah Hex animated short
• “Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson” featurette
• 2 bonus episodes from Batman The Animated Series Season 1 handpicked by Bruce Timm
• “Robin’s Requiem: The Tale of Jason Todd” featurette*
• Digital copy*

*Blu-ray only

Box Art:

Green Zone

Release Date: June 29

Distributor: Universal Home Video

Summary: Academy Award® nominees Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) reteam in this action-packed thriller. Damon stars as Roy Miller, a rogue U.S. Army officer who must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil before war escalates in an unstable region. Also starring Academy Award® nominees Greg Kinnear and Amy Ryan, Green Zone is “one hell of a thriller” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

Special Features:

• Commentary with Matt Damon and Director Paul Greengrass
• Deleted scenes
• “Inside the Green Zone” featurette
• “Matt Damon: Ready for Action” featurette
• Digital copy of the film
• BD-Live and U-Control features*

*Blu-ray only

Tentative Box Art:

Hamlet (Blu-ray)

Release Date: August 17

Distributor: Warner Home Video

Summary: “Hamlet has the kind of power, energy and excitement that movies can truly exploit,” actor/director Kenneth Branagh says. In this first full-text film of William Shakespeare’s play – shot on 65mm film and exhibited in Panavision Super 70, power surges through every scene. The timeless tale of murder, corruption and revenge is reset in a lavish 19th-century world, using sprawling Blenheim Palace as Elsinore and staging mich of the action in mirrored, gold-filled interiors. A landmark cast (Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Charlton Heston and more), the excitement of the Bard’s words and an energetic filmmaking style lift the story from its often shadowy ambience to fully-lit pageantry and rage.

Special Features:

• Introduction by Director/Star Kenneth Branagh
• Commentary by Kenneth Branagh and Shakespeare Scholar Russell Jackson
• “To Be on Camera: A History with Hamlet” featurette
• 1996 Cannes Film Festival Promo
• Shakespeare Movies Trailer Gallery

Box Art:

A week or so ago we posted the trailer for the latest from the DC Animated Universe, Batman: Under the Red Hood. Now, Warner Bros. has provided all the details on the DVD and Blu-ray releases coming July 27! Details below:

Official Press Release:

Batman confronts new enemies, old foes and painful memories when a powerful vigilante with a penchant for violence comes to Gotham City in the intense graphic-novel-come-to-life Batman: Under the Red Hood, the next entry in the popular ongoing series of DC UNIVERSE Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming July 27, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition version on Blu-Ray™ and 2 disc DVD!

The stellar voice cast has Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike in the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek) donning the famed cowl as the voice of Batman. Supernatural star Jensen Ackles is Red Hood, and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) voices Nightwing. John DiMaggio (Futurama) and Jason Issacs (the Harry Potter films) round out the main cast as The Joker and Ra’s Al Ghul, respectively.

Batman: Under the Red Hood is scripted by award-winning comics writer Judd Winick and based on his popular 2005 comics storyline and subsequent comics graphic novel of the same name. Animation guru Bruce Timm returns as executive producer, as he has for all eight DC Universe animated original movies. Director is Brandon Vietti, who served as co-director of Superman Doomsday and was responsible for the first one-third of that film, including the fatal battle between the two title characters.

In Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when The Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.

Fans will be treated to an incredible package of DC Universe storytelling as the Special Edition Blu-Ray and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD include the second animated short in the all-new DC Showcase series – which features the popular DC Comics character, Jonah Hex. The short is scripted by renowned author Joe Lansdale and stars the voices of Thomas Jane (Hung), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder).

Batman: Under the Red Hood – 2 Disc Special Edition DVD will have more than two hours of fascinating bonus features, including:

• Featurette – Robin’s Story – It was decided it was time to add a fresh face into the story mix, which turned out to be Dick Grayson, aka Robin. This is the story of Dick Grayson and how he transformed into Robin, with Batman as his father-figure role model.
• Extended Sneak Peek at the next DC UNIVERSE Animated Original PG-13 Movie.
• Widescreen (1.78:1)
• Two title-themed episodes from of Warner Bros. Animation’s 20-year history of Batman television series, hand-picked by animation legend Bruce Timm.

Batman: Under the Red Hood Special Edition Blu-Ray will have more than three hours of bonus materials, including all the great extras from the 2-disc Special Edition DVD as well as:

• Featurette: Death in the House of Batman – The story of how DC Comics heard the fans’ cry that the new Robin was not going to fit the cape, and how the Boy Wonder was scheduled to die.
• Two additional bonus Batman-themed episodes personally selected by Bruce Timm
• Digital copy

“Batman: Under the Red Hood is another terrific entry in the groundbreaking series of DC Universe animated movies, a shining representation of the adult storytelling that comics-turned-to-film has to offer, and further evidence of the combined creative power within the collaboration of DC Entertainment, Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video,” said Matt Bierman, Senior Vice President Production, Warner Premiere.

“Judd Winick’s and Doug Mahnke’s story of a Robin gone wrong introduced Batman’s most personal enemy to date. It’s unbelievably cool to see it brought to life like this,” said Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment.

“With each exciting new chapter of the DC UNIVERSE films, fans have come to expect more – and Batman: Under the Red Hood delivers with an action-packed tale of mystery and emotional struggle brought to animated life by an outstanding filmmaking crew and voiced by the all-star talents of Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Neil Patrick Harris and John Dimaggio,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brand Marketing.

“In his feature length solo directorial debut, Brandon Vietti has brought this dark, psychological thriller to the screen with all the action and emotion of a great Batman story,” said Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Animation. “

There are a lot of Blu-rays and DVDs coming out today, so let’s get on with it, shall we?

My top pick for the week is Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. This was a gem of a film and, although I would like to have seen what it would have been like if Heath Ledger had survived to finish it, it turned into something tremendous. And really, for a filmmaker to come up with a cohesive film after the lead dies with only a couple of weeks of filming under his belt is nothing short of creative genius. And the replacements all actually shine. In fact, this is some of the best (and maybe only) acting Johnny Depp has done in quite a while. Which is another odd point, how did this movie not do better based on Johnny Depp and Heath Ledger’s star power? In any event, Tom Waits as the devil steals the show. I give this my highest recommendation to you if you’ve ever loved a Terry Gilliam film in the past.

Next on the list is a little sci-fi gem we like to call David Lynch’s Dune. It’s hitting a Blu-ray release. This film has its pros and cons, but if nothing else it’s fun and it’s great to watch Kyle Machlachlan in his second greatest David Lynch role.

This one is something of a gem: We have three of the biggest and best names in filmmaking in the 50s and 60s together for a film I’d never even heard of. Sidney Lumet directing Marlon Brando in a Tennessee Williams adaptation called The Fugitive Kind. That’s a powerhouse trio and I’m a little surprised I’ve not heard of them before. I’ll be putting a review up in the next week of the film. Criterion puts it out, though, so it’s sure to be at least interesting.

Two sort of big mindless action releases on Blu-ray today: Armageddon and Tombstone. I liked Tombstone a lot more than Armageddon. Reviews of both should be up by the end of the week. And let’s be honest, Armageddon did give us this though, so I’m eternally grateful:

Last on the list for the day is the remastered DVD version of BBC’s Pride and Prejudice. It is my ardent suggestion that you bone up on this film before the forthcoming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies film comes out.

Just in time for the release of Iron Man 2, we’ve been given the opportunity to give away a pair of animated DVD collections you’re sure to want on your shelf. Walt Disney Studios is putting out the 5th volume of the X-Men animated series and the complete volume of the 1994 Iron Man cartoon.

On Tuesday May 4th, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release IRON MAN: THE COMPLETE 1994 ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES and X-MEN: Vol. 5 on DVD! From Stan Lee comes Marvel’s complete 1994 animated television series, Iron Man. Experience every thrilling moment – from the very first episode, to the final climactic battle – in this 3-disc collector’s edition. The action doesn’t end there! The original tales of Marvel comic books come to life in Volume 5 of the X-men collection. Relive the action of the popular animated series in this collectible compilation of the X-men adventures.

If you can’t wait for the contest and just want to order them, you can buy them off of Amazon here.

This is going to be one of our easiest contests yet. All you need to do is leave a comment telling us what you like about Big Shiny Robot! and what you want to see more of. We’ll count your entry double if you spread the word about the contest to all your social media friends, just let us know you’ve done it.

A winner will be picked randomly on May 7th.

The latest outing for the DC Universe Original Animated Movies is Batman: Under the Red Hood, featuring the voices of Bruce Greenwood as Batman, Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing, Jensen Ackles as Red Hood, and John DiMaggio as The Joker!

In this new DVD based on the acclaimed story from Batman comics, the Dark Knight finds himself being stalked by a mysterious criminal who seems to know all of his secrets.

Personally, I think this looks pretty epic, though, judging by the trailer alone, I’m not a fan of Bruce Greenwood’s Batman, but the rest of the voice cast seems pretty solid. And while I am excited to see this latest installment from the DCAU, I’m pretty sure Swank disagrees with me on the potential awesomeness of this…

Watch for Batman: Under the Red Hood coming to DVD on July 27!