New on DVD

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

The Fourth Kind (DVD and Blu-ray)
Milla Jovovich stars in this sci-fi flick that, sadly, doesn't involve her firing two machine guns at once or kicking zombies in the face. But The Fourth Kind makes up for its lack of Resident Evil-style action with some decent chills and genuinely creepy moments. Jovovich plays a psychologist investigating a string of alien abductions in Nome, Alaska. But despite the fun scares, the film mostly falls apart when trying to balance its grainy "actual" footage of alien abduction craziness with its overstylized "reenactments."

Astro Boy (DVD and Blu-ray)
I don't know much about Astro Boy, the mega popular Japanese manga series first published in the 1950s. But I do know that Astro Boy fans were mixed over this derivative if ultimately good-hearted CGI kid's flick.

Also new this week: Mystery Science Theater 3000: XVII and Clash of the Gods: The Complete Season One.

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

2012 (DVD and Blu-ray)
Watch Roland Emmerich destroy the world with some spectacular CG magic in this fun and bloated schlockbuster starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet and a whacked-out Woody Harrelson.

Where The Wild Things Are (DVD and Blu-ray)
Director Spike Jonze and novelist Dave Eggers cook up a raw, spirited and innovative flick about a rowdy kid and his imaginary monsters, based on Maurice Sendack's beloved kid's book.

Alice (DVD and Blu-ray)
Syfy's hit-and-miss quasi-sequel to Lewis Carrol's classic tale is worth a rental, if only for Primeval's Andre Lee Potts' charming performance as the clever Hatter. Banking on this week's theatrical release of Tim Burton's Alice, the 1966 Alice in Wonderland starring Peter Sellers as the King of Hearts also hits stores today, along with the 1933 version with Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and W.C. Fields.

Cold Souls (DVD)
Paul Giamatti is great (no surprise there) and David Strathairn is hilarious in this dark, twisted and meandering indie that sees Giamatti (playing himself) putting his heavy soul in deep-freeze storage.

Clash of the Titans (Blu-ray)
The campy '80s stop-motion classic gets the high-def treatment, just before the slick new CG version hits theaters.

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

Halo Legends (DVD and Blu-ray)
Fans of the popular game franchise won't want to miss this set of anime shorts set in the world of Halo and produced by Japanese animation studios. The rest of us? I think its OK to skip it (and maybe pop in that copy of Batman: Gotham Knight for old times sake). There's a ton of new anime hitting stores today, including Claymore: The Complete Series on Blu-ray, the second half of Bleach Uncut: Season 4, and the Heroic Age complete series set, also on Blu-ray.

Small Wonder: The Complete First Season (DVD)
A scientist creates a creepy little Cylon girl and brings it home to live with his family. Instead of killing it with fire, they're charmed by her monotone computer voice and her ability to shoot sparks out of her ears. Hey, it was the '80s. How were they supposed to know that she'd grow up to start a war and wipe out humanity in the name of the one true god?

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's notable sci-fi home video releases.

Stargate Universe: 1.0 (DVD and Blu-ray)
Relive or catch up with the first ten hours of Syfy's latest Stargate series with this three-disc set (two disc on Blu-ray), featuring commentaries from the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes video diaries.

Running Man (Blu-ray)
Watch Ahnold crush the competition as a contestant in a brutal futuristic game show in this late '80s favorite, remastered and updated with a 7.1 DTS-HD soundtrack.

The Phantom [Blu-ray]
Every flop has its fans, as proven buy this new high-def release of 1996's The Phantom, starring Billy Zane as the purple-clad do-gooder and a pre-Zorro Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Looking for something good and geeky to watch? Check out this week's notable sci-fi home video releases.

Surrogates (DVD and Blu-ray)
Bruce Willis and Terminator 3 director Jonathan Mostow team up for this serviceable but ultimately disappointing futuristic action flick based on the Top Shelf comic. Willis plays a cop investigating a murder in a world where everyone uses super-powered robot avatars. Bruno is badass as usual, but despite the cool setting and fun effects, the story plays out like a stock crime procedural.

Highlander: Immortal Edition (Blu-ray)
Who says there can be only one? After dropping on DVD in 2002, Anchor Bay is finally releasing Highlander: The Immortal Edition on Blu-ray. The HD disc repeats some of the special features from the old DVD release – commentary, trailer, deleted scenes – and boasts an interview with star Christopher Lambert and a three-part "making of" doc.

Sherlock Holmes (DVD)
The latest Asylum mockbuster pits Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved detective against dinosaurs, sea creatures and a steam-powered robot! Call it a "loose" adaptation. Torchwood's Gareth David-Lloyd somehow got roped into playing Dr. Watson, and Star Trek: Enterprise's Dominic Keating hams it up as baddie Spring Heeled Jack.

InAlienable (DVD)
Star Trek: TOS's Chekov, Walter Koenig, wrote and produced this low-budget sf-tinged drama about a dude who's impregnated by an outer space "rock thing." Koenig recruited a long list of veteran sci-fi actors for the project, including Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica), Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: TNG), Erick Avari (Stargate), Alan Ruck (Star Trek: Generations), and J.G. Hertzler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). It's produced by Renegade Studios, the same folks that gave us the ultimate Trek fan flick Star Trek: Of Gods and Men.

The Real Ghostbusters, Vol. 2 (DVD)
The Real Ghostbusters is my favorite animated series of all time. It has everything – intelligent scripts, compelling drama, mystery, wit, slime, Arsenio Hall. Everything! This set collects 31 episodes of the '80s feature film spinoff plus some great bonus material, including visual commentary tracks and a documentary.

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

Moon (DVD and Blu-ray)
Leading man Sam Rockwell and director Duncan Jones lit up the festival circuit with this smart, satisfying and suspenseful film about a lonely man who encounters a most unusual problem while working on the moon. I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it. I'll just say that Moon is a must-see for sci-fi fans who care about character, ideas and plot and less about showy special effects and gadgetry. The DVD features a short film by Jones, plus commentary from the director and producer Stuart Fenegan.

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (DVD)
Director Mamoru Oshii revamps his groundbreaking and influential 1995 anime with more sophisticated CGI and a brand new soundtrack. Fan reaction was mixed when GIT 2.0 was released in Japan and in the UK. Most GIT devotees dubbed it an interesting but ultimately inessential update.

Transformers: Season 2, Volume 2, 25th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
For those who couldn't pony up for the Matrix of Leadership full series set, Hasbro is releasing the 25th anniversary editions of the classic "G1" series in parts. (Now you can assemble 'em like you did with Devastator when you were a kid.) The second volume of season two features the fan-favorite "Vector Sigma" saga that gave us the Stunticons and the Aerialbots.

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

District 9 (DVD & Blu-ray)
Even those on the fence about Neill Blomkamp's shantytown-set alien flick can agree that District 9 is one of the most griping and original sci-fi flicks of the past decade. It's also a technical miracle, seamlessly blending fantastic CGI with bleak-looking live action. The two-disc DVD set comes loaded with decent special features, but the Blu-ray version boasts a three-part documentary that follows Blomkamp's filmmaking journey, a possible must buy for movie geeks.

Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side (DVD & Blu-ray)
Hurry up, kids! Better buy up Seth McFarlane's latest ode to Star Wars fast so Fox will let him ruin more of your favorite nerd films with his one-note characters and an endless stream of unfunny pop culture references.

Kyle XY: The Complete Third and Final Season (DVD)
Fans can relive the series' unresolved cliffhanger as alien Kyle and his friends do what they do best – work nerdy teenage girls into a frenzy.

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

Star Trek: The Original Series – Season 3 (Blu-ray)
Now you can watch the snail-paced insanity that is "Spock's Brain" and several other mediocre to awful season three TOS eps in high-def. Or, pick up all three seasons bundled together on Blu-ray for less than $60 each.

The Maxx: The Complete Series (DVD)
MTV aired a lot of great weird stuff in the 90s, and The Maxx is example number one of that trend. This adaptation of Sam Kieth's comic was haunting, incomprehensible and strangely compelling. It played perfectly alongside Afghan Whigs videos. (This officially comes out on Thursday for some reason.)

The Head: The Complete Series (DVD)
And here's example number two of MTV's love for the bizarre in the 90s. The Head follows an average dude with a tiny purple alien named Roy living inside his giant bald head. They travel the Earth together in hopes of stopping a future alien invasion with help from their friends, which include a Russian guy who has a mouth on his chest and a guy with a fishbowl stuck in his mouth. It's a steal at $23 bucks.

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

Lost: The Complete Fifth Season (DVD & Blu-ray)
For the truly insane, the fifth season of the greatest show of our time comes packaged in a "Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit" seemingly stolen from the Dharma HR offices. You get the entire fifth season, on DVD or Blu-ray, a VHS Dharma orientation video, embroidered patches, detailed maps, a Geronimo Jackson CD, and some wonderfully retro packaging all for under $100 at most online retailers. Or you could go for the standard version, which is packed with extras like interviews with the cast and a behind the scenes feature with ol' Sawyer himself, Josh Holloway.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (DVD & Blu-ray)
There are way too many versions of this release to list here, so let's just say that Harry, who is growing up and lookin' for love, and his magical wand are available to thrill you in a number of different home video incarnations. There's also the Ultimate Editions and the Year 1-6 Gift Set, which should be pretty popular this holiday season.

Get Smart: Season 5 (DVD)
Don Adams' bumbling spy Maxwell Smart is back to help save the world and wipe away the memory of Peter Sagal's mostly bland big screen update.

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

Mystery Science Theater 3000: XVI [Limited Edition] (DVD)
I've stopped trying to keep track of the endless parade of MST DVD releases, but I'm told this is a must-buy solely because it comes with a limited-edition Tom Servo figure -- quite possibly the only Tom Servo figure that will ever be made, like forever. The four-disc set features the crew tearing down Z-grade flicks like The Corpse Vanishes, Warrior Of The Lost World, Santa Claus, and Night Of The Blood Beast.

Terminator Salvation (DVD and Blu-ray)
Finally, disgruntled Terminator fans everywhere can buy this joyless McG flick and destroy it with their bare hands today! (Imagine the communal catharsis.) I suggest freezing the disc with liquid nitrogen and shattering it to pieces with a sledgehammer. And if that doesn't work, try tossing it into a giant vat of molten steel -- I hear that's a surefire way to dispatch the Blu-ray director's cut, which features alternate endings and Moon Bloodgood's super-short topless scene.

Better Off Ted: Season One (DVD)
What's not to love about a network show that delivers decent jokes about killer cyborgs and giant HAZMAT suits? Buy this, watch it, and catch season two, premiering December 8 on ABC.

Gremlins (Bu-ray)
Sadly, there's no new material added to this Blu-ray release of director Joe Dante's wild '80s classic. (But you know you're dying to watch Spike melt into a steamy puddle of green goo in high-def.)