DVD News

Make no bones about it, Roger Corman's Deathsport is a terrible film (sporting the best DVD art ever!) -- but if you have a penchant for the B-King and post-apocalyptic hilarity, then look no further. Add to that David Carradine looking a little worse for wear, Richard Lynch spewing his signature one-liners, and Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings -- and you have yourself an oddball, nomadic bonanza. The film rips off Corman's own Death Race 2000 as much as it does Star Wars -- only Deathsport trades Tie-fighters and X-Wing fighters for motorcycles.

The story (if you can call it that) takes place after the great Neutron Wars (not to be confused with the Neutron Dance ... ), where the world becomes a barbaric wasteland made up of mutant cannibals (complete with goofy eye goggles) and Range Guides. After that I couldn't tell you much, but there are guys in silver jumpsuits, solid gold gladiator helmets, and the ultimate face-off between Darth Lynch and Carradine Skywalker (did they spend three bucks on that head, or what?). We are never really told what the Deathsport is, but you can gather from the action that it involves revenge and dirt bikes. There's also the usual Corman explosions (several!), a terrible landscape/backdrop painting, swords that make sounds like light sabers, and naked dancing girls (in case you got bored and needed breasts to wake you up ... ) who shake their moneymaker while being electrocuted by Lord Zirpola (David McLean).

Deathsport is a fun, late-night movie experience, but definitely not Corman's finest hour. Despite its misfires, you still want to root for anything under the beloved director/producer's banner. Check this one out for nonsensical fun at its finest.

Hit the jump for a look at Battletruck ...

This is the moment I've been waiting for -- not because I'm a big fan of the Battlestar Galactica spin-off, Caprica, but because I've never seen one episode of the show. I heard the pilot episode was just so-so, but that the sci-fi drama, which chronicles the early days of the Cylons, got better and better with each passing episode. I decided then to wait for the home video release and absorb the first season all at once.

Looks like I won't have to wait too much longer, Caprica Season 1.0 is coming to DVD on October 5, 2010, in a feature-laden four-disc set. TrekWeb breaks down all the special features, including the usual commentaries and behind-the-scenes info, but had no information on an upcoming blu-ray release for the cult Syfy show. Here's hoping!

It was anything but sexy when Mulder and Scully finally hooked up in the last X-Files flick. Instead of seeing the longtime FBI partners give in to their sexual desires for each other in a fit of passion and Duchovny sweat, we caught up with them years after they'd settled into a boring old married couple's routine. Believable? Yes. Sexxay? No.

Thankfully, the cast and crew of The Sex Files 2: A Dark XXX Parody are here to make your naughty X-Files fantasies come true.

Head after the jump to watch the SFW trailer for the latest porn flick inspired by Mulder and Scully's fight against aliens, conspiracies and the ... er ... black oil.

I wish that below this text you could find official embeds of Marvel's Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger presentations from this year's Comic-Con, but sadly that's not the case. I do know how you can see the footage, however. It's actually pretty simple: just wait until September 28th and buy Iron Man 2 on Blu-ray.

ComicBookMovie.com tells us that clips from both movies will be a part of Iron Man 2's special features. Thing is, you'll actually have to do some digging to find them. They'll be hidden within something called the "S.H.I.E.L.D. Data Vault". It'll probably just be an item on the menu screen that seems unselectable at first glance, as is the case with most Easter Eggs, but if it's any more complex than that I'm sure it'll be no time flat before someone online explains how to access the goods.

As for the actual goods, you can expect to see: the five-minute Thor trailer (with finalized effects!), the Captain America costume test and teaser trailer, and, according to Movie Viral, "a Cap scene with Hugo Weaving trying to get the cosmic cube." Pretty groovy, especially for a Blu-ray that is already packed to the gills with special features.

Iron Man 2 feels like it came out ages ago. I haven't decided if that speaks to how lackluster this summer's crop of blockbusters has been or how forgettable Iron Man 2 was, though I'm leaning toward the former simply because I think I ultimately liked Favreau's second superhero adventure more than I did most of the films that have come and gone in the intervening months. Whatever the case, I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out again from the leisure of my own couch this September 28th.

Superhero Hype has all the details about the upcoming DVD/Blu-ray release, which looks to be absolutely packed with special features. Check out the impressive list of what you can expect to find below:

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Here's a look at this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (DVD and Blu-ray)
Thrill to the mediocre spectacle of a boy who learns that he's the spawn of a Greek god in a movie that desperately wants to be the next Harry Potter that's based on a book series that desperately wants to be the next Harry Potter. Pick it up for the slumming supporting cast that includes Sean Bean, Steve Coogan, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Joe Pantoliano and Uma Thurman.

Eureka: Season 3.5 (DVD)
And speaking of mediocre spectacle ... OK,OK, I'll play nice ... I actually kind of love this Syfy show. It's a charming and silly little slice of light sci-fi that's perfect for a lazy summer spent on the couch.

Hot Tub Time Machine (DVD and Blu-ray)
Playing more like a half-scripted bachelor party than a feature-length movie, Hot Tub Time Machine offers a few laughs in between all the crude and obnoxious gags that fall flat. The talented cast manages to breathe some life into this half-baked project, which is nowhere near as funny as other popular fantasy/sci-fi comedies like Ghostbusters or even Ivan Reitman's Evolution.

Warehouse 13: Season One (DVD)
The first half of W13's first season is pretty slow-going, with great concepts and guest stars – Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan – being pushed aside in favor of dull procedural plots. But the final few eps give in to the craziness of the show's premise – two agents track down mystical artifacts to house in a mysterious warehouse – and deliver some really fun moments. Season two starts next week on Syfy!

Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition) (Blu-ray)
Now with sharper-looking mandibles, presumably.

I'm a sucker for the Fourth World, DC Comics' cosmic universe and the home of the villainous Darkseid and the heroic New Gods. DC and Warner Animation are bringing that world to life in their next animated feature, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. The story is based directly on the second arc (titled Supergirl) in the Superman/Batman monthly comic, from writer Jeph Loeb and artist Michael Turner, making Apocalypse a sequel to the recent Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

The story focuses on a new orphaned Kryptonian (Supergirl, voiced by Summer Glau) found on Earth by Superman and Batman, but she's soon manipulated by Darkseid into becoming one of the Female Furies of the war-torn planet Apocalypse. I liked this arc of the comic quite a bit, but again, if you throw Darkseid into the mix, I'm pretty much sold no matter what. According to Newsarama, the movie arrives on DVD and Blu-ray on September 28, 2010, accompanied by a Green Arrow short film.

As we mentioned earlier in the year, toy company Bif Bang Pow!™ (in cooperation with EMCE Toys) has been working on a series of 8" Mego-styled action figures and 7" bobbleheads for the [adult swim] television series The Venture Bros. (as well as LOST, The Twilight Zone and Flash Gordon) . Prototypes of the six action figures were show at New York's Toy Fair 2010 in February, but this is our first look at the bobbleheads of The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.

The Mantis-Eye Experiment says the bobbling figures cost $12.99, are "brimming with attitude," and can be pre-ordered at Entertainment Earth along with The Venture Bros. action figures. Collectors take note: the Dr. Mrs. The Monarch bobblehead will be an Entertainment Earth exclusive.

While the bobbleheads and figures won't be released until August 2010, word is all the toys will be available at the San Diego Comic-Con in late July. Better start saving now.

Venture past the jump for more VB news!

The best thing about the Internet, and particularly movie sites in general, to me is how unreliable of a predictor it can be despite how widespread it has become. Last week I wrote a post for Cinematical ("Will the Avatar DVD Match the Success of the Theatrical Release?") musing about how I'd recently encountered a surprising number of non-movie geeks who were all talking about Avatar coming out on DVD/Blu-ray on April 22nd. The comment section wasn't exactly on fire, but over half of the people who responded to the post did so to point out that they would not be buying this barebones release regardless of the format.

If I had used the Internet as my predictor, Avatar would have languished on shelves. It didn't. The non-movie geeks of America united, whether they realized it or not, to make Avatar once again the #1 movie in America; at least as far as retail sales are concerned. Fox' quick press release about the matter pegged the combined retail sales of both the DVD and Blu-ray at 6.7 million units. From that 6.7, 2.7 million were of the Blu-ray variety, a new sales record for the medium.

So my new question is this: Are you one of those 6.7 million people who bought Avatar? And if so, are you going to buy it again when the special editions come out in November?

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's new sci-fi DVD releases:

Avatar (DVD and Blu-ray)
I guess it's time for me to finally go on record about my distaste for all things Pandoran. Yep, it's true, I'm one of the few movie nerds who tuned out and dozed off during Avatar, James Cameron's mega popular, technologically groundbreaking 3D epic. I haven't been so bored by giant cat people since a 1992 screening of Stephen King's Sleepwalkers. But, hey, don't let me stop you from picking up the flick on DVD or Blu-ray on Thursday (Earth Day!). And if your blood runs true blue, you might wanna head over to Amazon to order the two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD combo for under $20.

Minority Report (Blu-Ray)
Steven Spielberg's gorgeous and thrilling futuristic chase flick gets a Blu-ray upgrade with some cool HD features, including a closer look at the movie's surprisingly realistic future tech and gadgets.

The Lovely Bones (DVD and Blu-Ray)
Peter Jackson's slow-burn adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestselling novel was called everything from soulful and chilling to flat and deplorable. For die-hard Jackson fans (or maybe Mark Wahlberg groupies?) only.