Joss Whedon Directs Glee

Joss Whedon will direct an episode of Glee.

Find out more here:

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/10/19/glee-exclusive-joss-whedon-to-direct/

ROM: Spaceknight

I owned this toy and read the comic book for quite awhile, until I couldn't take it anymore.

High Drama Between Jon and Kate Plus 8

The marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin keeps unraveling. It's quite the soap opera at this point. For the latest, see Kate on the Today Show, and this People news article:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20310132,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines

In Depth Interview of George Carlin

I found an in depth interview of George Carlin on youtube:

David Letterman blackmailed

David Letterman blackmailed

Preview of Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths

MTV posted a preview of Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Review of Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection

My review of Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection is up on Netflix. If you're a member please see it here and mark it helpful:

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerReviews?prid=120953079&lnkctr=fsb2srev

Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore

Here's a very nice video interview with Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore, talking about his time on Star Trek and the ways in which he wanted Battlestar Galactica to be different.

Joss Whedon Interview

Joss Whedon was interviewed by Ira Glass last night, and someone in the audience put it on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Priscellie

Video of Dr. Horrible Winning Emmy

Video of Dr. Horrible Winning Emmy:

4 days to season 2 of Dollhouse

4 days to season 2 of Dollhouse.

Dr. Horrible Hacked onto the Emmy's!

Dr. Horrible hacked onto the Emmy's! It was great to see a new entry in Dr. Horrible's blog during the Emmy Awards.

I found it here on youtube; check it out fast before they take it down.

This copy has the intro:



This copy does not:

Harry Potter Ultimate Edition Blu-rays

The first two Harry Potter movies will get Ultimate Edition releases on December 8, 2009, with extended versions of the movies.
Find a lot of details here:

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3447

The Office Season 6 Starts Tonight

The Fall TV season is in full swing. I'll never watch most of it, and some of it I'll rent on disc one day, but The Office is one of the few shows I'll watch as it airs, either on TV or at hulu.com. The Office has no earth shaking special effects that I want to save for seeing on Blu-ray, and hulu does an okay job of presenting the show online. It's nice to be able to watch one episode a week, instead of a bunch all at once on disc.

The Office on disc, though, does have extremely good extras. Each episode includes a lot of very funny deleted scenes. Sometimes the deleted scenes are as long as the episode, and they have a lot of improvised comedy. And, of course, The Office is now available on Blu-ray, but I have no idea why.

Has Megan Fox seen "Hotel for Dogs"?

Has Megan Fox seen "Hotel for Dogs"? Find out in this entertaining interview:

The Prisoner Blu-ray

The Prisoner comes to Blu-ray October 27, 2009, and it looks like it will be a nice release. Read more here:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Prisoner-The-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/12681

Doctor Who DVDs

Two Doctor Who stories are coming to DVD in the U.S. on January 5, 2010:

Story 5: The Keys of Marinus (the first Doctor)

Story 136: The Twin Dilemma (first full story with the sixth Doctor)

The first story with the sixth Doctor is something to see, because of how unlikable the Doctor is.

Find out more here:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Doctor-January-2010-Classic-Doctor-Who/12682

New Justice League Animated Film

The next DC direct to disc animated film will be 'Justice League: Crisis of Two Earths', coming out Spring 2010.

If you're a Netflix member, see my list of DC direct to disc animated films here:
http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=307073

I was disappointed by the recent 'Green Lantern: First Flight' and 'Wonder Woman' features, but I liked 'Superman Doomsday' and 'Justice League: The New Frontier'.

Joss Whedon Status

Joss Whedon was interviewed by Sci Fi about the status of his projects. There might be more Dr. Horrible! Find the short interview here:

http://scifiwire.com/2009/09/big-joss-news-dollhouse-d.php

Obama Calls Kanye a 'Jackass'

Obama Calls Kanye a 'Jackass'. Hear the audio at TMZ:

http://www.tmz.com/2009/09/15/obama-calls-kanye-a-jackass/

Joss Whedon with Emmy

Joss Whedon with his Emmy.

Joss Whedon has Won an Emmy!

Joss Whedon has won an Emmy for Dr. Horrible!

Kathy Griffin: Official Book Club Selection

Just out in book stores is Kathy Griffin's autobiography, Official Book Club Selection.

I haven't read it but I did find her promoting it on youtube, and she's pretty funny.



Here she spoofs Kate from Jon & Kate Plus 8:



There's a lot of other good clips of her on youtube too.

Disney Plans for Classics on Blu-ray

Disney has announced some of its plans for releasing classic animated movies on Blu-ray. The releases are being called the Diamond Collection. From now until 2015, 14 titles will be released. The 2009 release is 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'. Starting in 2010, there will be two releases each year. For 2010 there are 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Fantasia and Fantasia 2000'. The future titles will be:

The Lion King

Bambi

Cinderella

Lady and the Tramp

The Little Mermaid

Peter Pan

The Jungle Book

101 Dalmatians

Also, 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'Pinocchio', already out on Blu-ray as Platinum editions, will be re-released at Diamond editions.

Ellen DeGeneres Replacing Paula Abdul on Idol

Ellen DeGeneres will be a judge on American Idol. Find the People article here:

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20303396,00.html

Trailer for Plan 9, remake of the Ed Wood classic

Here's the trailer for Plan 9, the new remake of the Ed Wood classic:

Plan 9 Teaser Trailer from Darkstone Entertainment on Vimeo.

Glee tonight at 9 pm on Fox

The second episode of Glee is tonight at 9 pm on Fox. Reviews appear to agree that so far this is the best new show of the season. It's funny, smart, joyful, poignant, and silly. People break out in song, and none of them are cops.

Terminator Salvation Blu-ray for December

"Terminator Salvation" comes to Blu-ray and DVD December 1, 2009. It will have the theatrical PG-13 version and, on a separate disc, the director's R version. The reviews of this movie were negative, but I'll probably rent it.

Delay for Lord of the Rings Blu-ray

The "Lord of the Rings" Blu-ray release has been moved to early 2010.

Lost Prop Auction

There will be an auction of props from "Lost" in 2010. I'll have to save up for a Dharma jumpsuit. Find out more here:

http://www.profilesinhistory.com/index3.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62

Shatner & Nimoy at Dragon*Con

Star Trek's Shatner & Nimoy appeared together at Dragon*Con this past weekend, and they were very entertaining together. See them on youtube here:

Reese's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are back. I noticed a commercial for them, and then I saw them at Wal-Mart, on sale for 50 cents a package. They're pretty good. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my favorite candy, and I like dark chocolate. Reese's dark chocolate doesn't taste very dark to me, but it is noticeably different from the milk chocolate. I noticed that online, Reese's Dark was selling for at least 70 cents a package. So I went back to Wal-Mart and stocked up.

Review of "Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors"

"Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors" is the fourth DVD release of episodes of "Shaun the Sheep". It has 6 episodes, where Shaun and the other sheep get into adventures. I did not enjoy this fourth DVD as much as the first and second, because the comedy has become a bit broad. As TV shows age, they tend to become too over the top, like Fonzie jumping the shark in "Happy Days". Cartoons need to follow some set of rules to be entertaining, like cartoonist Chuck Jones imposing the rule that the Road Runner could only run on roads. In this fourth DVD, I felt that Shaun and his fellow sheep could now do anything for the sake of comedy, and weren't following any rules. The DVD includes two simple games, suitable for young children, but I also found them pretty amusing. For similar titles, see my list, "Wallace & Gromit & Related Titles".

If you're a member of Netflix and you found this review helpful, please mark it helpful here:

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerReviews?prid=120953079&lnkctr=fsb2srev

Dragon*Con 2009 on youtube

Dragon*Con 2009 was this weekend in Atlanta, and videos of it are up on youtube. So far I've noticed a "Buffy" panel with a lot of Buffy actors, Nimoy & Shatner, Patrick Stewart, and some blond dude named Tom Felton (ah, apparently he's a Harry Potter actor, and apparently he's got a lot of fans on youtube).

Youtube member cloudyvisions seems to have posted a lot of the panels; see them here:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=cloudyvisions&view=videos

My favorite video so far is this one where Charisma Carpenter talks about the fate of Cordelia on Angel; the second half of the video is very informative:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_igTbXKPck

Cordelia is my favorite character from "Buffy", so it's great seeing her again.

I miss going to cons, but it's hard to justify the cost when I can watch the panels for free at home on youtube. If there were a con nearby with good guests, I'd go.

Joss Whedon and Dollhouse

Entertainment Weekly has a nice article on Joss Whedon that includes several youtube clips from his career. Season 2 of "Dollhouse" starts up September 25, 2009. If you watched season 1, then the 13th episode, available only on the DVD and Blu-ray releases, is a must see. I watched it this week and was very impressed.

Blu-ray and DVD News

'The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy' had been announced for a Blu-ray release on November 3, 2009, but there has not been any recent news, so some are speculating that the release will be delayed.

'Angels & Demons' comes to Blu-ray and DVD on November 24, 2009.

'The Professional', starring Jean Reno and Natalie Portman comes to Blu-ray on November 17, 2009.

Dr. Horrible

It's a long weekend, so here's something to watch online at hulu if you haven't seen it yet:

Dr. Horrible

It's from Joss Whedon and friends, makers of "Buffy" and "Firefly". If you like the Buffy musical episode, then "Dr. Horrible" is the best thing ever.

Our Gang

Looks like all of "Our Gang", a.k.a. "The Little Rascals", is now available for a limited time, including some rare shorts that were not shown on TV.

The 1929 to 1938 shorts, made by Hal Roach and shown on TV as "The Little Rascals", are available in one collection. Find it at Netflix here:
The Little Rascals: The Complete Series

Despite its title, that's not the complete collection. MGM started making "Our Gang" after that. The Warner Archive is now selling these later shorts for a limited time:
http://www.wbshop.com/Our-Gang-Comedies-%2052-Shorts-1938-1942%20-%20EST-MOD/1000113696,default,pd.html

Ain't It Cool News has a nice article about these later shorts here:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/42214

The idea of seeing nicely restored "Our Gang" shorts that I have never seen before is quite tempting.

September 2009 Blu-ray Releases

My Netflix list of September 2009 Blu-ray Releases is now complete, except for perhaps a few titles. See it here:

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=328057

Top of the list is "The Wizard of Oz". I was worried that Netflix would not carry "Oz", because it's being sold as a big and expensive collector's edition.

Jack Kirby's Mickey Mouse

Back in 1991 Jack Kirby, the classic Marvel artist, was asked to draw his interpretation of Mickey Mouse.

Marvel

I read the Wall Street Journal article about Disney buying Marvel. One detail I find disturbing is that Marvel Chief Executive Ike Perlmutter, who negotiated the deal for Marvel, gets $600 million of Disney stock for himself as part of the deal. That's a lot of money for one guy who is not Stan Lee. When I buy a Spider-Man toy, I hate to think that so much of my money is going to one Marvel suit, rather than a writer or artist.

Marvel

Disney is buying Marvel.

I'm not sure I will like Disney running Marvel.

Doctor Who

There are three new DVD releases of Doctor Who this week, and all of them are available to rent at Netflix:

Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin

Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl

Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen

I'm most interested in seeing "The Deadly Assassin" again.

Review of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead

"Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead" is the first of the 2009 Doctor Who specials, and follows the Christmas 2008 special "The Next Doctor". It is the first Who story available in high definition. Aside from that, "Planet of the Dead" is good but not very special. Compared, for example, to the 2007 Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned", "Planet of the Dead" has a simpler and less original story, less interesting characters, and less excitement. It's not bad, and I enjoyed watching it, but it's not among the best episodes with the tenth Doctor.

If this review is helpful, please mark it so at Neflix:
http://www.netflix.com/StrangerReviews?prid=120953079&lnkctr=fsb2srev

Upcoming Animation Releases

Some upcoming releases of interest are now listed on Netflix:

Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Vol. 1

X-Men: Vol. 3

X-Men: Vol. 4

Superman / Batman: Public Enemies

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s: Vol. 2

Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s: Vol. 2

I'm probably most excited about the X-Men cartoons, because this show is the best adaptation of the X-Men comic books so far. I don't know much about the other releases, but I want to check them out.

Dog

Eek.

I don't know the story behind this image on the web.

Dollhouse

Summer Glau ("Firefly," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") reunites with Joss Whedon when the actress joins the cast of "Dollhouse" this fall in a recurring role as BENNETT, a Dollhouse employee who shares a past with ECHO (Eliza Dushku). The second season of "Dollhouse" premieres Friday, Sept. 25 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Additional guest stars appearing throughout the upcoming second season include Alexis Denisof ("Angel"), Jamie Bamber ("Battlestar Galactica"), Michael Hogan ("Battlestar Galactica") and Keith Carradine ("Dexter").

Yes, I was hoping Summer Glau would be on "Dollhouse". One month to go!

September 2009 Blu-ray Releases

I've added more to my Netflix list "September 2009 Blu-ray Releases":

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=328057

"Gojira", the original Godzilla movie, is now on the list, as is "Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection" and "Star Trek: Season 2".

Review of Green Lantern: First Flight

"Green Lantern: First Flight" does not offer much more than a basic story and a lot of generic fights. The other DC PG-13 animated features, such as "Superman Doomsday" and "Justice League: The New Frontier" have either more exciting action or better stories. The rules about the Green Lantern's powers were also unclear in the movie. It was unclear why he would be in distress one moment and then winning the next. The animation is okay but not pretty or creative. This movie is mostly for fans of all the various DC TV cartoons, rather than a brooder audience.

If this review is helpful, please mark it so at Neflix:
http://www.netflix.com/StrangerReviews?prid=120953079&lnkctr=fsb2srev

The Friends of Eddie Coyle Review

"The Friends of Eddie Coyle" is a 1970's crime movie, with great dialogue, acting, and intrigue. The movie reminded me of "The Sopranos" more than classic film noir. "Eddie Coyle" is more realistic and subdued than a lot of noir. It also has a lot of criminals interacting: pulling capers, making deals, and distrusting each other, like some of the criminals in "The Sopranos". It's centered more on the interaction of the characters and the story than on action. There are several great scenes, where the dialogue and the acting are engaging, particularly when Robert Mitchum speaks. I've never been a fan of Robert Mitchum, but here he's excellent, bringing a lot of emotion and weariness to Eddie Coyle. The story is also very good, as we see Eddie struggle to stay out of jail. The DVD is from The Criterion Collection, and looks good. There is a new commentary track from director Peter Yates. I don't think this film will appeal to a wide audience, because it's completely a crime film and nothing else, but fans of crime films might thoroughly enjoy it.

If you found this review helpful and you're a Netflix member, please plus it on Netflix here:
http://www.netflix.com/StrangerReviews?prid=120953079&lnkctr=fsb2srev

August 2009 Blu-ray Releases

I've added a few more titles to my "August 2009 Blu-ray Releases" Netflix list:

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=318231

September 2009 Blu-ray List

A lot of my "September 2009 Blu-ray Releases" Netflix list is done and posted:

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=328057

These are Blu-ray titles that are available to rent at Netflix. I'll add more titles over the next few weeks.

I noticed that a few famous turkeys are on the list, like Stallone's "Over the Top", his infamous arm wrestling movie. I was in a theater when the trailer for this was shown, and the audience was groaning and laughing. I've never seen this movie, since the trailer looked so bad.

The very disappointing "Van Helsing" is also coming to Blu-ray. The effects were terrible, along with the story and the monster makeup.

Doctor Who

We're just a few weeks away from the U.S. DVD release of another Doctor Who special, 'Doctor Who: The Next Doctor'. This was the Christmas 2008 special, with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and written by Russell T Davies. The DVD arrives September 15, 2009. This is only being released on DVD, and not on Blu-ray.

See my Doctor Who lists on Netflix:

Doctor Who: All Available
http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=176672

Doctor Who: New Releases
http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=189396

Rocky

A set of all six Rocky movies is planned for Blu-ray on November 3, 2009.

August 2009 Blu-ray Releases

I've finished my list of "August 2009 Blu-ray Releases" on Netflix. Find it here:

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=318231

I finished it later than normal because I was offline most of August.

Sherlock Holmes

The upcoming movie 'Sherlock Holmes' has started a viral campaign on the web. If you go here:

http://94.236.57.221/

and type in "IRENE" (for Rachel McAdams' character, Irene Adler), then you see a short video, and then you can give you're email address for updates.

September 2009 Blu-ray Highlights

Wow, looks like many classics are on schedule for release onto Blu-ray during September 2009, plus some new stuff that might be good. It'll be hard to keep up. I'm hoping to watch:

Gladiator
Fringe: The Complete First Season
An American Werewolf in London
Army of Darkness
Hero
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Wallace & Gromit
How I Met Your Mother: Season Four
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
The Wizard of Oz

I think 'Gladiator' is one of the best movies ever made. I prefer the original theatrical cut to the extended cut, but the Blu-ray release will have both.

I have not watched 'Fringe' but one of my friends says it's like the good 'X-Files', so I'll give it a try.

I haven't heard much of anything about 'Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'. Looks like it's the latest PG-13 direct to disc animated movie from DC. I've enjoyed the others.


I love the humor in 'An American Werewolf in London'.

No one is better than Bruce Campbell, so I'm ready to watch 'Army of Darkness' again.

'Hero' is a bit overboard on style, but director Zhang Yimou makes such pretty movies that I'd like to see this on Blu-ray. But I prefer his 'House of Flying Daggers'.

No one seemed too excited about 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' when it came out, but I'll rent it.

Now, this is what I've been waiting for: Godzilla on Blu-ray! The word is that the disc will have the original Japanese version of the original move, a.k.a. 'Gojira', but will not have the American version of the movie. I hope more Godzilla movies will make it onto Blu-ray. I'll have to save up and buy this one.

The 'Wallace & Gromit' Blu-ray will have the four shorts, including the new one, 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'. Everybody loves these shorts.

I've enjoyed watching 'How I Met Your Mother' because of the writing and the cast. It's a great show, and I hope this season holds up.

Ah, another reason to go Blu: 'The Wizard of Oz'. I hope it looks and sounds perfect.

There's also some stuff I'm going to avoid, like 'The Girl Next Door (Unrated Edition)'. Elisha Cuthbert is not nude in this movie, not even in the unrated version! It's full of tease. Watch 'Risky Business' instead.

Avatar teaser trailer

See the Avatar teaser trailer here:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/

Avatar is James Cameron's next movie.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' comes to Blu-ray and DVD October 20, 2009. I decided not to see this in the theater, because the reviews were very negative, but I'll rent it from Netflix. The 'Transformers' Blu-ray is very nice.

Review of Battle in Outer Space

From the makers of Godzilla comes "Battle in Outer Space", where flying saucers try to conquer Earth! This Toho movie has the classic Godzilla director, composer, and special effects team. There are a lot of models and miniatures that look great. We get to see flying saucers, Earth space ships, the moon, and a lot of ray guns. As a 1950's alien invasion movie, "Battle in Outer Space" has a lot of cool special effects and action. It's not 80 minutes of military men and politicians talking in offices about what to do, like a number of low budget American science fiction movies at that time. The DVD is widescreen, color, and stereo, with both the original Japanese version and a dubbed English version. I watched the Japanese version, and the picture is very clean, clear, and sharp. It's all too easy to spot the wires on the models, but I tried not to look. The only special feature is commentary from a few historians, which sounded pretty good. I recommend this for fans of Godzilla or 1950's science fiction movies.

This review is also at Netflix. If this review is helpful and you're a member, please mark it helpful:

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Battle_in_Outer_Space/70120054?trkid=204759

For similar titles, see my Netflix list "From the Makers of Godzilla":

http://www.netflix.com/StrangerLists?prid=120953079&showList=294281&lnkce=mdp-stranger-list

Dumbo

Disney's 'Dumbo' is planned for Blu-ray in March 2010.

Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi's 'Drag Me to Hell' comes to Blu-ray and DVD on October 13, 2009. I saw this in the theater and had a great time being scared. I'm not much of a horror fan, but I really like Raimi's Evil Dead movies, and 'Drag Me to Hell' is fairly similar.

New Video from some of the Dr. Horrible Crowd

Jed Whedon and Felicia Day have an amusing video available on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urNyg1ftMIU

Free Avatar preview

Go here to sign up to see a free preview of James Cameron's Avatar:

http://www.avatarmovie.com/ticketing/

Keeping Up with the Kardashians

'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' Season 2 comes to DVD Nov. 10, 2009, with deleted scenes. This show is surprisingly well made. Each episode has the format of a classic "learning and hugging" family situation comedy. Each episode, some conflict in the family occurs, but by the end someone has learned an important lesson and gets a hug. Each episode also has some humorous secondary story. And Kim does look good, indeed.

Criterion, Harry Potter, and Ishiro Honda

The Criterion Collection will release 'Gomorrah' on Blu-ray and DVD on November 24, 2009. It won the Grand Prize at Cannes Film Festival. I've enjoyed many of the Criterion Blu-ray releases so far.

Warner says there are plans to release extended editions of the Harry Potter movies.

Three movies by the classic Godzilla director Ishiro Honda are coming out this week on DVD: Mothra (1961), Battle in Outer Space (1959), and The H-Man (1958). They will all be available to rent at Netflix. I have not seen any of these, but I have watched some of Ishiro Honda's non-Godzilla movies, and some I found to be very entertaining. I've got 'Battle in Outer Space' at the top of my queue.

Me at Netflix

I've been very active at Netflix: writing reviews, making lists, and sending notes to freinds. Find me here:



http://www.netflix.com/StrangerProfile?prid=120953079&lnkctr=MDP2RL&lnkce=mdp-profile

I plan to keep writing reviews and lists on Netflix, but I'll post notes here, rather than Netflix.

Hello

Greetings, I hope to start adding entertainment news shortly.