Godzilla Gets The Criterion Treatment

"H-E-L-L YEAH!!!" Those were my exact words when I got the news that Godzilla would be stomping his way onto Criterion's blu-ray line on January 24th. I'm a big fan of bonus materials and Criterion usually goes above and beyond when it comes to extra content. Godzilla is no exception:

 New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition

Audio commentary by David Kalat (A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series)

New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, starring Raymond Burr

Audio commentary for Godzilla: King of the Monsters! by Kalat

New interviews with actor Akira Takarada (Hideto Ogata), Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube

Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects

New interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato

The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo fukuryu maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla

Theatrical trailers

New and improved English subtitle translation

PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman

The Blu-ray is up for pre-order now at amazon.com

Classic Who On Blu

I love me some Blu-ray. I LOVE me some Doctor Who. To date the only Who to be released on the format are the Tennant specials, A Christmas Carol (with "The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe" coming soon) and Series Five and Six. Also available are all four seasons of Torchwood (Miracle Day is available for import from the UK) and The Sarah Jane Adventures Series Four, also available from the UK  (Series Five follows in February).

If you're like me and itching to see some of the classic stories on Blu-ray, you're in luck! I just got my copy of The Sarah Jane Adventures Series Four and one of the bonus features is "Doctor Who Pyramids of Mars: Parts One-Four. In tribute to Elisabeth Sladen." It's a nice bonus feature for both older and newer fans of Doctor Who. For older fans it's a chance to reminisce and appreciate the hours of entertainment, hard work and great memories Sladen gave us. For newer fans and the younger set, it exposes them to a Doctor other than Eccleston, Tennant and Smith (if they haven't been already). This alone makes it worth the purchase!

Synopsis: The TARDIS materialises on Earth in the year 1911 inside an old priory owned by Egyptologist Marcus Scarman. Scarman has been possessed by Sutekh, last survivor of the god-like Osirans, who held prisoner inside a pyramid in Egypt by a signal trasnmitted from one on Mars. Sutekh desires his freedom and instructs Scarman to construct servicer robots - which look like Eygptian mummies - to build a missile with which to destroy the Martian pyramid …

The Sarah Jane Adventures Series Four is available for import from Amazon.co.uk for about $25.00 shipped!

Post-Christmas Bargains!

Didn't get everything on your Christmas Wish List? Well, most stores and online retailers are having some great post-Christmas sales. Check out some of the deals on Amazon.com

 Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Two-Disc Edition Blu Ray + DVD/Digital Copy Combo) $14.99

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a revolution; an action-packed epic featuring stunning visual effects and creatures unlike anything ever seen before. At the story's heart is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug. Raised like a child by the drug's creator (James Franco), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned. Seeking justice, Caesar assembles a simian army and escapes -- putting man and primate on a collision course that could change the planet forever.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 $39.99

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is First-person Shooter rooted in a fictional, but ultra realistic near-future conflict of mostly American forces with those of the Russian Federation around the globe. The third installment in the Modern Warfare branch of the Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 3 features a heavy focus on multiplayer gameplay which includes innovative new functionality that encourages multiple gameplay combat strategies, a new 2-player co-op option, new play modes, weapons and more. The game also includes a gripping single player campaign that picks up where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 left off, and game integration with the Call of Duty: Elite online service.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King Extended Editions + Digital Copy) $49.99

3 Region-Free Blu-ray's You Need To Import Now!

Doctor Who. The Office. Coupling. The UK has some amazing televison. Obviously. Luckily, these shows are available on DVD (and some are even on Blu-ray). Unfortunately, some of the prices on these sets (Doctor Who) are pretty pricey. Recently, I've been importing region-free Blu's from the Amazon UK site for quite a bit cheaper than what they can be purchased for stateside. Here are 3 great deals you should snatch up while you can:

Misfits: Series 1 & 2 Box Set- $16.29

When five outsiders on community service get struck by a flash storm they end up lumbered with special powers. Hard-as-nails Kelly can suddenly hear people's thoughts, shamed sporting hero Curtis discovers he has the ability to turn back time, and party-girl Alisha can send people into a sexual frenzy when they touch her skin. Even painfully shy Simon can make himself invisible, which makes it all the more hard to swallow for smart-alec Nathan, who seems to have been unaffected... or has he?

Torchwood: Children of Earth- $9.11

After two engagingly frothy seasons of action-packed science fiction TV, the Russell T. (Doctor Who) Davies-produced Torchwood takes a decidedly dark and thoughtful turn in its abbreviated third season miniseries, Children of Earth. Here, Captain Jack Harkness and the Torchwood Three team, still reeling from the deaths of two of its key members in the previous season, investigate a outbreak of hypnotic chanting by children across the globe. The phenomenon heralds the arrival of an invading alien force, the 456, who plan to destroy the human race if 10% of the Earth’s children are not given to them. Captain Jack and his cohorts must find a way to stop the 456’s plan, but encounter formidable obstacles along the way, including enemies in the British Home Office and Jack’s own past, which is intertwined with the 456.

The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Fourth Series- $19.55

Created by former Doctor Who show runner, Russell T Davies, this exciting action-adventure series follows the exploits of school friends Luke, Clyde and Rani, who team up with alien investigator Sarah Jane Smith and her trusty super-computer Mr Smith to examine strange and mysterious events. This time, Sarah Jane is reunited with another of the Doctor's former companions, Jo Grant, and they're joined by the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) in an adventure featuring new vulture aliens and a trip to an alien planet.

*Keep in mind that there's a shipping charge and a currency conversion charge may be added to your order.



eigoMANGA and ShortsHD Reach Television Deal

San Francisco based comic book publisher, eigoMANGA announces its deal to produce and distribute original animation shorts with ShortsHD, the first and only high-definition television network dedicated to short movies. ShortsHD has a television distribution reach of over 40 million households which spans over 3 continents. ShortsHD is available on Direct TV (Channel 568), Dish Network (Channel 375), and AT&T U-Verse (Channel 1789).

"I'm really excited about working with ShortsHD", triumphs Austin Osueke, eigoMANGA's Publisher. "It's a great opportunity for emerging animators to showcase their work on television and beyond to a worldwide audience."

eigoMANGA's animation content will become part of ShortsHD televison programming such as their animation block, 'SHORTS Animate!' The deal kicks off with the broadcast of the animation short, 'Christmas In Taxi'. This is a Christmas story based about a taxi driver who reluctantly spends his Christmas Eve with a passenger who is down on her luck. 'Christmas In Taxi' is produced by Jongmin Shin and directed by Young-Kwang Jo.

Fruit Ninja Plushies Just In Time For Christmas

Halfbrick, the Australian developer behind the hit mobile games Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, today announced that it has partnered with Internet-based brand merchandise company, ToyFoundry, to launch an online Fruit Ninja toy store. Fans of the hit mobile sensation can now cozy up with Fruit Ninja plushies just in time for the holiday season.

The Fruit Ninja online store features two soft and authentic-looking plushies, including the wise sensei ($15.99), a sliced juicy watermelon ($14.99) and a training pack ($29.99), which includes a sensei and watermelon combo. Additionally, Halfbrick plans to introduce new merchandise to the online store next year.

For more information on the Fruit Ninja online store and to buy Fruit Ninja plushies, visit: http://store.fruitninja.com/

Game of Thrones Coming To Blu-ray In March

HBO announced it will release Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on March 6, 2012. It will feature all 10 episodes as broadcast.

The planned special features:

Seven audio commentaries with cast and crew including David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harrington, and more


Character profiles of 15 major characters as described by the actors portraying them

Five behind-the-scenes featurettes: - Making Game of Thrones

- Creating the Dothraki Language

- The Night's Watch

- From the Book to the Screen

- Creating the Show Open

Blu-ray-exclusive features: - Complete Guide to Westeros compendium with twenty-four exclusive histories of the Seven Kingdoms

- Anatomy of an Episode on "A Golden Crown"

- In-Episode Guide that provides real-time background information on each episode

- Hidden Dragon Eggs with never-before-seen hidden content

You can pre-order it now from Amazon.com