pandorum

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

Gamer (DVD and Blu-ray)
Gerard Butler continues his post-300 slip with this tired and flashy action flick about a prisoner forced to compete in a futuristic Running Man-esque game. Every move he makes is controlled by a bratty 17-year-old kid, which isn't nearly as entertaining as Michael C. Hall's over the top performance as the film's nutty big bad.

Pandorum (DVD and Blu-ray)
Dennis Quaid and the great Ben Foster add some dramatic heft to this low budget sci-fi horror flick. Pandorum was criticized for being derivative of far superior films like Alien, I Am Legend and The Poseidon Adventure. Still, flicks from Hollywood schlock master Paul W.S. Anderson, who produces here, are known for offering a few hours of dumb and violent fun.

Defying Gravity: The Complete First Season (DVD)
I bailed on this soapy astronaut drama halfway through the first season, and so did ABC. Even the mighty Ron Livingston couldn't save Defying Gravity from cloying romantic plots and tedious space drama.

Kingdom of the Spiders [Special Edition] (DVD)
No cloying romance or lifeless drama here. This campy '70s horror classic features a young William Shatner battling an army of aggressive arachnids in what's billed as "the ultimate man vs. spider showdown." The special edition boasts a new interview with Shatner that's probably worth the DVD's $15 price tag on its own.

2009 is almost over, and it's been a banner year for science fiction. More than three dozen science fiction themed films have seen release in the US. Some emphasize the science fiction more than others, and a couple may be more occult/horror than actual science fiction, but they're close enough.

While the quality of the films listed below varies wildly, the fact that science fiction elements are featured in so many wide released films is outstanding, and there are at least three critical and box office hits among the list below. At least three of the movies listed below give me hope that smart science fiction films are still viable.

I can't help thinking I'm missing something. I didn't include TimeCrimes because it came out on DVD. What else should be on this list?

9
2012
Alien Trespass
Astro Boy
Avatar
Battle for Terra
The Box
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cold Souls
District 9
The Fourth Kind
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Gamer
Gentlemen Broncos
Knowing
Land of the Lost
Men Who Stare at Goats
Monsters vs. Aliens 3D
Moon
Pandorum
Planet 51
Push
The Road
Star Trek
Stingray Sam
Surrogates
Terminator Salvation
Thirst
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Watchmen
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TV and straight-to-DVD, or otherwise extremely limited theatrical release include: The Mutant Chronicles, Dante 01, Eden Log, Before the Fall, Sleep Dealer, The Objective, and Outlander.

What was your favorite?

Looks like San Diego Comic Con has started to put up banners promoting this year's convention around town, and one of the films to get a little love thrown its way is James Cameron's Avatar, which, if you ask me, will most likely be the talk of the convention this year. Here we get our first look at the face of one of those slender blue alien creatures called Na'vi. Seeing as Hall H will be converted to 3D for some presentations, look for Avatar to absolutely steal the show come later this month. Other sci-fi films in attendance this year include (from what we've been told) District 9, 2012, Shane Acker's 9, Pandorum and more. But don't you worry -- we'll have plenty of coverage right here on SciFi Squad once all the action begins. For a larger version of the image below, head over to Coming Soon.