NearDark

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Here are this week's notable DVD and Blu-ray releases:

Up (DVD & Blu-ray)
The first fifteen minutes of this emotional Pixar smash had me in tears. (Note: the sight of a grown man crying while wearing 3D glasses is not a pretty one.) After that I couldn't help but root for Ed Asner's mean old man, his chubby wilderness explorer tag along, his giant prehistoric bird buddy, his talking dog, and his floating house. Not counting Batman & Robin, this might be the most ridiculous movie to ever make me cry.

If you really love Up, do yourself a favor and pick up the Blu-ray 4-pack. It's loaded, and it's going for less than $20 at some online retailers. (Hey, Pixarphiles, Monsters Inc. also gets a special edition Blu-ray release today.)

Near Dark (Blu-ray)
So far, only two good things have come out of the god-awful Twilight craze: Cool pictures of Dakota Fanning wearing red contact lenses, and this great down and dirty 1980s vampire flick finally hitting Blu-ray.

Yes, you probably have Stephanie Meyer's sparkly non-vamps to thank for this release – and for the absurd new cover art – but Near Dark is one of the most unsettling vampire movies of all time. (Bill Paxton's chilling performance alone will make you want to avoid anyone with a Southern accent for weeks.) An HD version deserves a spot on any genre movie lover's shelf. (It's too bad the studio skimped on the extras, though.)

More new DVD releases after the jump.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

- Make fun all you want, but I'm a big fan of the Gary Ross film Pleasantville. So I'm happy to hear that Ross, who is also working on The Creature from the Black Lagoon, is re-writing Spider-Man 4 for Sam Raimi. Of course, the script has reportedly been re-worked more times than we'd like to admit. Hopefully Spidey 4 won't end up playing like three or four different movies shoehorned into one.

- More superhero movie news: EW tells us that Cameron Diaz is in talks to play the female lead, opposite Seth Rogen, in The Green Hornet.

- The recent premiere of Syfy's Warehouse 13 drew more viewers than the Battlestar Galactica finale. Check out our review of the premiere.

More sci-fi awesomeness after the jump.