New Geek DVD Day - 04/07/09

Ok, so I'm just going to apologize in advance here.  This is pretty much a dead week as far as Geeky DVD releases go.  There was pretty much nothing great geek-wise that came out this week.  We're scraping the bottom of the barrell here folks, so I apologize if this week's selections seem a little less stellar than usual.  Due to this lack of cool things to post, I've done away with the usual category names of Good, Badass and Awesome this week and have chosen new, more appropriate names.

 

With that said, here we go:

 



 

The Good:  Yes Man

 

Why It's Good:  Yeah, I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking to yourself that a typical Jim Carrey comedy isn't really geeky and shouldn't be included on this list.  Typically, I'd agree with you, but as I've already mentioned, this is a slow week and this is the best we've got. 

 

However, the film does have some endearing geek qualities.  In the film, Jim Carrey's boss is played by Actor Rhys Darby who you may know from his role as Murray Hewitt, the manager of the Flight of the Conchords from their HBO series.  Darby plays a total geek in the film and he throws these awesome comstume parties where people get dressed up as characters from a specific film and then all sit and watch the film.  The most memorable of these two events are his 300 party in which everyone dresses up as Spartans and his Harry Potter party in which everyone dresses up as wizards.

 

That's geeky enough to count for this list, right?  The film itself is fun, if rather predictable.  Still though, it's enjoyable to watch, and the geeky references add to the fun.

 



 

The Gooder:  Max Fleischer's Superman (1941-1942)

 

Why It's Gooder:  The old Fleishcher Superman cartoons, while admittedly horribly dated when compared to something like the animated Justice League series, are still fun to watch.  They're an animated version of golden age superman.  They're a look into our collective geek past, and they still have a style that's all their own.  Just check out the awesome cover art to that DVD package.  This is a must have for any Superman fan or fans of animation.

 



 

The Goodest:  The Day The Earth Stood Still

 

Why It's The Goodest:  If you read my review of this film, then you already know I didn't really like it.  As far as remakes go, this was pretty poor.  It wasn't horrible, really.  It just wasn't all that great when compared to the original which is a classic of Science Fiction filmmaking.

 

There are things to enjoy in the film.  I thought Keanu Reeves did an admirable job as Klaatu.  He was a good casting choice for the character and I enjoyed watching him play it.  However, what they did with Gort was stupid and there was that annoying kid that I wanted to slap every time I saw him on screen. 

 

If you're really bored this week and have nothing else to do and really need a new Sci-fi flick, then this remake will fill your needs.  It's worth renting definitely, but I don't think I can fully endorse its purchase.