Not a lot today that I’d recommend.  First on the list would be The Counterfeiters though.  I’m pretty sure it won best foreign language film award at the Oscars.  It looked good and I’d meant to see it but I didn’t.  I don’t remember why I didn’t, because I know Dr. Cyborg saw it.  It did look good though.

Gattaca is coming out today.  That movie’s a solid 10.  A cool thing about this version is that it comes with a digital copy as well.  The problem with digital copies is that sometimes they work really easy (like Family Guy: Blue Harvest) and load right into your iTunes.  Sometimes (Justice League: The New Frontier) they direct you to some lame ass website that you can’t figure out and your mac doesn’t seem to be compatible with.  Anyhow, if you haven’t seen Gattaca, now is the time.

Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers is coming out again today, too.  That movie’s great.  It’s sort of a great “What if…?” concept.  What if Frank Capra directed a movie about a war in the future?  You’d get Starship Troopers.  This movie is seriously a lot of fun and it has a lot to say about propoganda.

Today is the day that I would declare DVD officially dead since it is the first day in the long (ok, maybe not so long) history of the Out Today on DVD column where ALL of my picks are Blu-Rays.  It’s only going to get bigger, people.

First, we have the Director’s cut of Dark City.  Holy shit, this movie is perfect.  If you haven’t seen it, you need to.  I kid you no, it’s a masterpiece.  It’s hands down the best film of 1998 (it was lucky that it didn’t have a Star Wars movie to compete with for that spot) and I would even say one of the best of the 90s–no…  One of the best of the 1900’s…  No lie.

This disc has 3 commentary tracks (the commentaries on the last release are like going to film school)  and I can’t imagine them getting any better.  But Blu-ray will provide the picture and sound quality that this film deserves.  And there’s no reason for you not to buy it, either.  Amazon has it listed for less than $20 which is a steal for a Blu-ray these days.

Next on our list is The Lost Boys on Blu-ray.  This movie is pretty cheesy, but I love it.  And it was made before Schumacher’s anal rape of the Batman franchise, so it doesn’t qualify for my post Batman Forever Schumacher boycott. Corey Feldman needs more work these days.  Yes, yes, a straight to DVD sequel to Lost Boys starring Feldman comes out today, too, but that’s not exactly what I meant when I said he needed more work.

Also a bunch of Jack Ryan films are coming out on Blu-ray today (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears and The Hunt For Red October) and to be honest, I only vividly remember two of these.  (Red October and Patriot Games).  I remember liking them but would be interested to see them again to form a more concrete opinion.  And you can (almost) never go wrong with Harrison Ford, who is in half of these movies.

That’s it for today.  See you next week.

Sat in on the Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles which is currently in production of it’s second season. This coming season should entertaining enough as they’ve announced that they’re gonna kill off some characters and shit. I’ve seen the show once or twice and it’s pretty good, but I will say that I’m gonna watch it a whole lot more as Shirley Manson, of Garbage fame, is gonna be a regular cast member.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season One will hit DVD shelves (in multiple formats) August 18th.

Sony and Capcom has announced the release of an upcoming animated feature film to be released straight to DVD chronicling the events following the highly successful (and fun) Resident Evil 4. With a release date sometime before the year is over Resident Evil: Degeneration pairs up Clair Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy for the first time since their first appearance in 1998’s Resident Evil 2.

The film takes place entirely in an airport revolving around a bio terror attack that Clair happens to be at. Leon, who is now a specialist in counter bio terrorism is called in to resolve the situation. The animation looks extremely impressive and it should prove to be a very entertaining film.

Robot Chicken: Star Wars is probably the biggest release this week.  Seth Green’s show, populated by action figures and dolls, is an often hilarious satirical look at geekdom.  This DVD collects the single episode that centered around Star Wars.  It was quite hilarious.  The DVD release boasts commentaries, deleted scenes and behind the scenes material.  And with a price-tag of $8-$14 it seems like it would be a no-brainer for any fan of Star Wars or Robot Chicken to get.  Your taste buds can’t repel flavor of this magnitude.

There’s a really interesting Alfred Hitchcock: Studies in Fear collection hitting the streets today that is a preposterously good deal.  It’s $7.98 and 2 discs of 10 Hitchcock movies.  It has three of his early silent efforts (including his first feature “The Lodger” which was about Jack the Ripper) and the other seven or his early British efforts including the original Man Who Knew Too Much with Peter Lorre and Jamaica Inn with Charles Laughton and an extremely young Maureen O’Hara.  A lot of these movies haven’t been widely available before and others you can pick up for cheap in any dollar store, but a collection of this size and importance for less than eight bucks is a must have for any serious student of suspense or cinema.

In British TV releases today comes Spaced.  I don’t think this was ever previously available in the US but it’s a comedy TV show starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg and largely directed by Edgar Wright.  That in itself is reason enough to check it out, but the fact that pretty much every nerd who has seen it over at Aint It Cool News insists that it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread puts it over the top.  It’s about $35 for the whole series and it’s something I’m keen to check out and I imagine you would be, too.

The last movie on the list today is a revamped Criterion edition of Akira Kurosawa’s post-war noir masterpiece High and Low.  Once again pairing Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura in a brilliant film, Kurosawa weaves an intense morality play that is fascinating to watch unfold.  Mifune plays King Gondo, a shoe manufacturing magnate, who is on the cusp of a deal that will ensure the security of his company and the quality of his product forever.  Things go poorly when when his son is kidnapped.  A ransom is demanded and it’s about the same amount of money as he has for this deal to go through and solidify the holdings in his company.  Knowing that ultimately his son is more important, he agrees to simply pay the ransom.

Unfortunately, there’s been a mix-up.  It wasn’t his son kidnapped at all.  It was his chauffeurs son (who was best friends with his son and were playing together when the abduction occurs.)   When the kidnapper realizes this, he doesn’t relent.  He still wants the money from Gondo.

Should he still pay?

This film is a solid 10.  You guys need to watch more Japanese cinema and this new Criterion release of High and Low is a pretty good jumping on point.

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest on Blu-Ray seems to be the only DVD release this week that is worth your checking out. The film is really one of the best movies of the 70s.

Jack Nicholson turns in one of the best performances of his career, which is saying a lot. And the heart-wrenching ending is worth buying the blu-ray for.

And watching it, you’ll get about half a dozen Simpsons references that you didn’t get before.

There’s one more geek-related release this week, but I’m loathe to mention it because it sucks so bad. But the entire series (all 14 episodes of it) of Birds of Prey are being released. I’m mildly interested in it enough to pick it up for rent, but buying it seems out of the question. I watched the pilot to this and it frustrates me how bad it was since any halfway decent writer and Bat-fan (like me) could have made something great out of this.

Today sees the release of two Batman related titles in advance of the release of The Dark Knight that are must haves for any fan of the Bat (like me).  The first is Batman Begins for the Blu-Ray format.  This film is really good and I can only imagine that it’s going to look twice as good on in an HD format. Both versions coming to blu-ray (the fancy shmancy deluxe set and the single disc version) include the 6 minute preview of The Dark Knight in Blu-ray that we all saw in front of the IMAX version of I Am Legend. So, if you haven’t wet yourself in anticipation of the film, watching this will certainly cause you to lose bodily functions.
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The second Batman-centric release is Gotham Knight, which Joey Mousepad was kind enough to review on the 4th (read that here.) I watched it and it was good. It’s something any Bat-fan should have.

The last sort-of-Batman related release is Teen Titans Season 5.  I don’t know how many of you watched the Teen Titans cartoon, but this show was great, the seasons are short and affordable and I suggest that you all get this.  Yes, it’s a little kid-centric, but any Teen Titans book or cartoon should be.

Last on my list this week?  Universals 1932 monster movie classic The Mummy.  I’ve never seen it before, but figure there’s a reason that the character has remained iconic for 75+ year, so now is as good a time as any. And it couldn’t be worse than any shitty Brendan Fraser movie.  (Does anyone else want to vomit the next time they see a trailer for the third Brendan Fraser Mummy picture?)

And the DVD to avoid at all costs this week?  Superhero Movie.

I’ll see you next week with more DVD releases.

Surfing through the internet, I happened upon an online, early release of the Gotham Knight, which doesn’t street until Tuesday (which Swank-mo-tron will undoubtedly cover in his regular column.)  You too can see it here.  If you buy lots of DVD’s or are a certified nerd, you’ll be buying this anyway and might want to wait until you pick up the DVD.  If you’re like me and want to save some coin, click the link and steal it.

Anyhow,  it was overall pretty good.  Everything really depended on the artist and some of the stories didn’t suit the Batman mythos.  The action involved was hit or miss based on the artist, too.  All the stories were at least pretty cool although they made Deadshot a pussy.

Think of the story with Killer Croc will make you realize why I think some of the art didn’t suit the world.  He looked like human blob.

Scarecrow was pretty cool looking though.

All of this stuff happens in the Batman Begins universe so this is a great primer to get you even more pumped for The Dark Knight.  And it was really, really great to have Kevin Conroy back as the voice of Batman and that really went a long way to sell this to me.

Hands down, the coolest story was the story about the police.  Crispus Allen spent an episode doubting the Bat and then ends up getting saved by him.  I imagine this changes his tune.

Overall, this is worth checking out, even if you only check out the link above.  And it was way better than the animatrix.

Today is going to be an expensive day for cineastes like myself and possibly even more expensive for Blu-ray enthusiasts (not so much like myself, yet.)

Let’s get the nerd movies out of the way before we talk about the others.

The Animated Hellboy movies are being re-released in a special edition two pack in advance of what looks to be July’s first comic-book masterpiece film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army.  It comes with a really cool looking animated Hellboy figurine.  (Amazon has pictures here.) Bottom line is this: If you’re a frequent reader of this site and haven’t yet bought these, this means that there is officially no longer any excuse for their exclusion from your DVD collection.  These animated features are great additions to the Hellboy mythos, they’re well-animated and share the movie actors for all of its voice talent.  They really funny and kick-ass, too.  So, get off your ass and get it.

The other nerd release of the week is Batman: The Movie on Blu-ray.  This movie is really bad but preposterously entertaining on about a hundred different levels.  Granted, the 60’s Batman series set the cause of kick-ass Batman stories in live action series back 30 years, but it’s still fun to watch.  This is a brand new special edition and is $30 or so on Blu-ray.  Is it worth that for Blu-ray?  I don’t know.  The regular DVD version of this new edition hits the streets at under $10.

The other big Blu-ray release for the day is Martin Scorsese’s period masterpiece, Gangs of New York.  I know a lot of people are down on this movie, but I would boldly call those people morons to their face.  It’s the best movie Cameron Diaz has ever been in and, to date, it’s the only movie she’s ever been in that didn’t suck.  And Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis burn the house down with their portrayals of Amsterdam Vallon and Bill the Butcher, respectively.  I must have seen this movie six times in the theatre and it gets better every time I revisit it.  I’m excited to see how it looks in the Blu-ray format.

The next two films on our list are companion pieces and are both Criterion releases that I am very much looking forward to.  I’m not sure how many of you guys are Yukio Mishima fans but he’s the Japanese equivalent of Steinbeck or Hemingway and his novels are fantastic (might I recommend The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea).  Long story short though, he sort of went a little crazy and led a coup of the Japanese government in the 1970s.  When it failed, he committed public seppukku in the uniform of his private army.  Paul Schrader (whom you’re all fans of (he wrote Taxi Driver, Hardcore, Raging Bull, Affliction and Bringing Out The Dead among many, many others)) directed a film of his tragic death under the lens of four of his novels and plays and reenactments of his life.  It’s called Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters.  It’s a beautiful and bold piece of art that I would give my highest recommendation to, to anyone interested in literature, history and art films in thier highest forms.  Another plus about the film: it was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

The companion piece to this film is actually a film called Patriotism that was the only foray into filmmaking by the ill-fated Mishima himself.  Made  four years before his own suicide, Patriotism depicts a navel officer commiting a very public suicide.  All prints of this film were thought to be lost because, after Mishima’s own suicide, all remaining film prints were destroyed.  Fortunately, Criterion got their hands on a lost negative and this important piece of film and literary history has been saved.

That’s all for this week.  Next week we’ll be discussing a variety of Batman releases (including Gotham Knight) and some cool Blu-ray releases.

Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs is obviously the top pick of the week, nerd or otherwise.  It’s your civic duty to buy a copy of this movie, watch it, give it to someone and then buy another copy.  They will keep making these if we keep buying them, and I’m certainly going to do my part.  Futurama was the best show on TV.  Period.  Forever.

Do your part.

Persepolis is next on the list.  I didn’t see it, but it looked really cool and seemed like the sort of animation we should be supporting.  Anybody see it?  Anybody have an opinion?

The first classic movie on the list is James Cagney’s The Man of a Thousand Faces.  This is one of the best bio-pics I’ve ever seen.  Cagney stars as Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces.  He was a silent film star who first immortalized stories like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera.  If you don’t know who he was, then, most likely, you’re some sort of idiot.  James Cagney deserved a bloody Oscar for this movie though and a new special edition set of it would be the perfect way to check it out for the first time.  Interesting sidenote: Robert Evans, producer ofa number of movies, including the Godfather and basis for that Comedy Central show Kid Notorious made an appearance in this film as a very young Irving J. Thalberg. This film is a must see.  If you don’t buy many movies, certainly add this one to your list movies to rent.

There is another Criterion release this week called The Furies.  It’s a 1950 western directed by Anthony Mann and stars Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston.  Sounds like it could be a good time.

Honorable Mention: Xanadu.  It was sort of a disgrace that a filmmaker as influential as Robert Greenwald has become (Outfoxed, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price) started his career with the last, worst film of screen legend Gene Kelly.  This film is an acid-trip train-wreck and might be worth watching once for an MST3k style laugh with a group of the fellas, some pizza and massive quantity of beer.

So, I’ll see you guys next week with new releases for the first week of July.