I will be the first to say that this week is pretty light.  The special two-disc release of Superman: Doomsday comes out today. I really, really enjoyed this movie. It even moistened my optic circuits a time or two. At points, it was even better than the comic.

The long awaited Criterion edition of Wes Anderson’s fantastic Bottle Rocket . This was his first feature and one of his best. Not as good as Rushmore, but still a laugh riot.

Also coming out today is the Freaks & Geeks: Yearbook Edition. I haven’t seen this show, but far too many people tell me how great it is for me to ignore it on here.

That’s pretty much it for the day…

Wall-E comes out today and it’s a must own.  The Blu-ray also comes with a digital copy so I can burn it to my iPod (or iPhone) which makes me extremely happy.  This movie is an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 and if you haven’t seen it then you have to catch this Blu-ray.

Criterion is releasing a Blu-ray edition of The Third Man and I have to say that this is required viewing.  This film is on my top-ten and if you haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to do so immediately.  Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles headline this second collaboration between director Carol Reed and writer Graham Greene and is quite possibly their best.  (True story, Criterion has put out their first two collaborations, but their third, Our Man in Havana (starring Alec Guinness, Maureen O’Hara and Burl Ives) is not available in any way in the United States…)  Anyhow, buy this and watch it.  You can thank me for it later.

Star Trek: The Original Series – Season 3 Remastered hits the streets today. I’m keen to see the “Special Editions” of Star Trek. I want to show the little robots Star Trek pretty soon, so I’m also wondering if the price tag for these sets is worth it. Anybody have an idea?

Not much else out today… Tropic Thunder comes out, and I rather enjoyed it in the theatre. In fact, Tom Cruise is worth the cost of the DVD.

The Big Shiny Robot crew will be hanging out at Brewvies on November 30th to relax, have some beers, and watch a double-feature of Big Trouble in Little China Town and Escape from New York starting at 5:00 pm.

Just so happens that this day also is Pixelbot 7’s, yours truly, twenty-first year since boot-up. So, come on down! Not only will the BSR! folks be there, but also some members of The Geekshow podcast.

The address is 677 South 200 West, in Salt Lake City. Seriously, what better way could a 21 & over person spend a night? You know there isn’t a lot of situations that beer, movies, and other like-minded geeks and nerds come together in one place.

The fate of the world hangs in the balance today and he we are bullshitting about what DVD’s are coming out…  Aside from the inherent pettiness of our behaviour, there is a plethora of good stuff.

Just be sure to go and vote before you pick up any of these DVDs.  If you don’t, you’re a naive moron.

This is a collected box-set of The Classic Star Wars Trilogy.  “Why should I buy this again?” I hear you asking, but the bonus disc for each of these films is the non-Special Edition version of the film…  It’s the same thing that was available last year, but packaged in an attractive trilogy format.  Personally?  When watching all six films together, I prefer the Special Editions, they make more sense despite some deep flaws.  But if you haven’t gone in on a copy of the films on DVD, this is the time to do it.  Lucas is incredibly fickle about the original releases and you might not get them on a better format.

This is a collected box-set of The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, which I truly love every bit as much as the classic trilogy.  Basically, if you’ve been too much of a hard-headed prick to take the plunge and buy these movies, this is the best way to do it, as it’s slightly cheaper than buying individually, though there isn’t much of a reason to buy it if you’ve already got them since the discs are exactly the same…  Just FYI, I won’t hear any arguments about Lucas re-releasing more and more shit for us to buy.  Both of these trilogies are just repriced collections of previously released discs…  This is like discount day, not go buy it for one more extra special feature. They’re probably just doing all of this in advance of the Clone Wars disc that comes out later in the month.

Today also sees the release of the latest Futurama film: Bender’s Game.  This is a good day for everybody.  I’ve thought that Futurama is superior to Simpsons for a while now and these movies have only served to prove my point. From the Amazon.Com synopsis:

The game in question is Dungeons and Dragons, and Bender wants in–only robots aren’t programmed with the necessary imagination. Naturally, Bender’s plans to develop one go completely awry and land him in an android asylum. The role-playing plotline later re-emerges–in typically convoluted Futurama fashion–via a subplot involving Professor Farnsworth’s conversion of dark matter into spaceship fuel, which created a key to a very D&D-influenced universe where our hapless heroes eventually find themselves.

Sounds great to me.

Today is going to be expensive on a lot of geeks.  We’ve got Batman – The Complete Animated Series today which will set you back a pretty penny (bit is certainly worth every one). Blu-Ray releases see A Christmas Story and Universal Soldier.  Universal Soldier is actually the only Roland Emmerich film that I will in good conscious recommend.  Though I haven’t seen it in a long time, I remember it being bad-ass…  This and Under Siege (which would be a great Geek night double feature) seemed inextricably linked in my teenage years.

Last but certainly not least is The Gregory Peck Film Collection which contains a film I have been searching high and low for years for.  Ever since Clang! Boom! Steam! was able to catch a viewing of the Stanley Donen-directed Arabesque, he hasn’t shut up about it and I haven’t been able to track down a copy.  That all ends today.  The collection also contains To Kill a Mockingbird (a perfect film), Cape Fear (a great film), and a few others I’ve never heard of but would love to see because I really, really, really dig Gregory Peck.

(Also, there’s a new feature starting this week.  The hotlinks to the films will take you to Amazon.  If you choose to buy them, Big Shiny Robot will benefit greatly for it.)

Abbot and Costello: The Universal Collection is the first item on my list (primarily because I want it so bad.)  There are too many titles in this collection to list here, but it includes all the greats including one of my favorites, Buck Privates, as well as all of the films with Bud and Lou fraternizing with all of the Universal Horror monsters.  I can’t explain how much I dig Abbot and Costello and I can’t explain how much I want to buy this set.  And for as many movies it has, it’s dirt cheap.  (Amazon has it for around $80.)

Another blast from the past here with The Little Rascals: Complete Collection.  I loved watching these as a kid and I imagine most people would like to watch them again, or at least show them to their kids.  They just don’t make entertainment like this anymore…

Next on my list is more of something I would rent to check out.  Dead Space: Downfall is a prequel to a video game that I’ve never heard of that hasn’t come out yet, but the preview for it makes it look like it could be pretty cool.  Anybody else have any info about this?

The MST3K: 20th Anniversary edition comes out today.  Which is cool.  I like MST3K.

Baraka came out today, too.  I’ve not seen this personally, but I’m told it’s something I need to see.  It’s not a narrative, per se, but a series of images with an environmental bent to them.

Is totally lame.

So, remember how there was all that hullaballoo about a scene being cut from the Hulk which featured a quick glimpse of Captain America being frozen in ice in the antarctic? Well, I can see why they cut it. It’s shit. Tell me if you can spot ol’ Cap in the video cap below:

I know. Right? No, you didn’t miss Captain America frozen in ice due to the shitty video quality. This is supposed to be the infamous Captain America frozen in time:

Look for a man laying next to his sheild. How was anyone supposed to catch that? I mean, we don’t want to see everything, but we should be able to at least see something! Besides, if he is frozen with his shield, why would the sheild appear on Tony Stark’s desk in Iron Man? I think it was a good thing this was cut to keep with good continuity between the Iron Man and Hulk movies…

Disappointing.

The Incredible Hulk is obviously the big release today.  It was as good (though more action-packed) as Ang Lee’s Hulk and will tie in nicely (I hope) with the future Marvel Avengers franchises.  (Related note: the fifth season of The Incredible Hulk: TV series came out today, too.)

Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 is out today as well.  I don’t know how many of you guys dig Looney Tunes, but if you don’t, you should.  These sets are fantastic for getting into the history of it as well, since they collect even the cartoons they don’t show on TV anymore because they’re racist, politicially incorrect or balls out propaganda.  Also, they’re all still funny as hell.

The first batch of James Bond films to hit Blu-ray came out, starting with Dr. No, Die Another Day, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, Thunderball, and Casino Royale.  You can read my thoughts about all of the Bond movies here.  I can only imagine Bond fever will only get warmer and warmer with next months release of Quantum of Solace, so this is a good start.  I’ve watched them all over again in the last year and can say I really like James Bond, even at his worst (For Your Eyes Only).

Honorable Mentions: Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd comes out on Blu-Ray and Warner Bros. released another Gangster collection that has the following films: The Amazing Doctor Clitterhouse, Little Giant, Larceny Incorporated, Invisible Stripes, Kid Galahad, and a bonus disc featuring a new documentary, Public Enemies: The Golden Age of Gangster Film.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull obviously tops the list today.  Not because it’s the greatest film in the world, but because it’s an Indiana Jones picture.  True, it isn’t as good as any of the other films, but who doesn’t love Harrison Ford kicking ass and taking names in a fedora with a whip?  And to all of you people out there who found it hard to swallow because of the aliens, how was Jesus and Shiva somehow easier to swallow?  Being a robot of science, I find aliens waaaaay more plausible.  (Special Note: This is also available on Blu-ray, which is the first Lucasfilm movie to hit Blu-ray.)

Then we have the Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection which contains Lifeboat, Spellbound, Notorious, The Paradine Case, Sabotage, Rebbecca, Young and Innocent, and the Lodger.  Spellbound, Notorious, Paradine, and Rebbecca represent Hitch’s involvement with David O. Selznick and it contains one of the best Hitchcock films (Notorious, which is also one of my favorite) and Hitch’s only Best Picture, Rebbecca.  Lifeboat was quite good, too.  It was written by John Steinbeck.  Basically, this is a must.  It’s unfortunate that I already have all of these except Young and Innocent, otherwise this set would be a must-buy.  These will also be available individually as special editions and if I had to pick two, if that was all you were going to buy from this lot, I would say Notorious and Spellbound.  Why?  It’s simple.  I’m in love with 1940’s Ingrid Bergman. And Cary Grant and Gregory Peck playing opposite her, respectively, is never a bad thing either.

Criterion is re-releasing a version of Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, which is always great to watch.  In a lot of ways this film paved the way for Magnolia, which is one of the more perfect films ever made.  It’s a joy to watch and often quite humerous (and shocking…  Chris Penn’s part especially…)

They are also releasing a Special Edition of Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin.  I’ll be the first to admit that this film is a little dry, but it’s a pleasure to watch.  If you have any interest in Charlie Chaplin or Robert Downey, Jr. you owe it to yourself to watch this picture.  And if you don’t have any interest in Charlie Chaplin, I would fully advocate that you be dragged into the street and shot.

Does anybody remember the cartoon of The SilverHawks?  Volume 1 comes out today…  I wonder if it’s as bad as I remember it being good…  If that made sense…

Blu-ray titles hitting the shelves this week:  Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile (always fun when I was a kid), Casino (always a classic, though often left beneath the shadow of Goodfellas), Poltergeist (don’t remember too much about this one, it’s been that long), and American Gangster (meh, it was pretty good.)

We’ll be back next week with some more of some of my favorite stuff.

My first pick this week is Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.  This film is beautifully animated (and was also the first animated film to be photographed anamorphically.  Even if you think you’re too old or too cool for one of the classic Disney Princess films, you’re not to cool.  The animation is stunning and you really can’t argue with the utter bad-assedness of the fight with Malificent as a dragon in the end.

We also have the first in a very long spell of seasons of the Simpsons with Simpsons Season 11. This is the last season that had episodes in the 90s, but still had some great episodes, including that great Mad Max episode with Mel Gibson, the Death of Maude Flanders, and the one where The Simpsons take the Burns Yacht out to international waters and are plagued by pirates.  A lot of great moments in this season.

Robot Chicken Season 3 hits the streets today.  This is a funny show, but I just don’t think it’s ever been funnier than just the Star Wars special.

Today also sees Special Edition releases of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho.  These are pretty much required viewing (and I would advise purchasing them as well) and if you haven’t seen them, you’re no longer my friend.  These are all masterpieces.  My favorite of the trio?  Rear Window.  Seriously, I have a big robo-crush on Grace Kelly and the film is just thrilling.

Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil gets another release today.

The next film of note is Watership Down.  Yes.  The animated film about the rabbits based on the novel.  This seems to be a much larger cult classic than I realized and now it’s finally getting the Special Edition DVD treatment.

The two big Blu-ray re-releases of the day are Beetlejuice and Young Frankenstein.  If you’re getting into Blu-ray’s, you could do worse than adding these to your collection.

The last item on my list is Michael Moore’s Slacker Uprising Tour.  In some stores, it’s being sold in a two pack with a little film you may have heard of called This Divided State.

That’s all for today (it was a big day) and I’ll see you next week which sees the releases of a couple of my most favorite movies ever.

Number one for today isn’t Iron Man, surprisingly.  Best Buy has an exclusive DVD release of Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D starring David Hasslehoff.  I caught some of this on TV a few years ago and I’m wondering why they decided to put this out on DVD.  I’m sure some of us will buy it to have it on our shelves for a bad movie night.  And may I be the first to suggest that we do this movie for a Geek Night at Brewvies.

Next on the list is obviously Iron Man.  This movie was great and there really isn’t anything I can say about it here that you don’t already know.  Another big comic book movie to come out is Daredevil on Blu-ray.  It’s not too terrible.  It’s fun.  It’s not good, but it’s certainly the peak of Mark Steven Johnson’s career.

Obviously, today sees the release of The Mindscape of Alan Moore which you all know was the subject of a number of articles here on Big Shiny Robot! including a contest and interview with the director.  It’s good.

There’s a few cool Blu-ray releases, too.  John Carpenter’s The Thing, Romero’s Land of the Dead (shut up, it was better than you say it was) as well as Zack Snyders okay, but not as good as the original, Dawn of the Dead.

Lemme know if there’s anything important I missed.  (Also note, I didn’t “miss” Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I just didn’t care to see it or mention it because I’m sick and tired of the Apatow crew.)