New Geek DVD Day - 05/19/09

Holy Guacamole!  There's a ton of really great geek DVD's out this week.  Seriously, like a ton of stuff.  So much so that I can't fit it all in with just three entries.  Therefore, this week we're making up some new category ratings. 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

The Good:  My Bloody Valentine - In 3D

 

Why It's Good:  I'm a sucker for cheesy horror films.  Especially for ones that use classic gimmicks like 3D.  This film on a technical level isn't all that great (to be honest).  The story is cheesy, the acting is bad, and the characters aren't really anyone you'll ever care about.  But this is a horror film, you're not watching this for any of that stuff anyways.  You're here to see horny young people being killed in creatively gruesome ways, and this film has that sort of stuff in spades.

 

Making full use of the new 3D technology, My Bloody Valentine is very much like a throwback to classic slasher flicks with modern effects.  Buckets and buckets of blood are spilled during this film's runtime, and most of the main characters meet enjoyably unique and brutal deaths at the hands of a madman with a pick ax.  If you love horror films at all, you'll really dig this.

 

Sorry for the really bad "dig" joke there.  You see, the main villain was a miner.

 

 

 

The Badass:  True Blood - The Complete First Season

 

Why It's Badass:  When I initially watched the first two or three episodes of HBO's very adult vampire series, I thought that the show was trying too hard to be sexy and edgy and was bordering on skinemax style softcore porn, vampire style.  Not that that's a bad thing mind you, I was just expecting more from the series.  However, as the show went on it got a hell of a lot more depth to it.  By the 5th episode or so, I was hooked. 

 

Anna Paquin is absolutely perfect as Sookie Stackhouse, a young naive southern girl with the ability to read minds.  She falls in love with an almost 200 year old vampire, and all sorts of drama pops up.  Oh, and did I mention that in this world, Vampires have gone public with their existence and are treated much like a repressed minority in the show, complete with hate crimes against them and all.

 

The show is incredibly entertaining and features all sorts of the things you'd expect from a good vampire show.  There's blood, sex, violence, more sex, and even more blood.  It also has one of the best TV opening credits sequences that I've seen in a long, long time.  I can't wait for season two.

 



 

The Awesome:  The Guild - Season One and Season Two

 

Why It's Awesome:  What started off originally as a youtube series has become something of a cult phenomenon.  The Guild was created by and stars Felicia Day (whom you'll remember as Penny from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog).  It's a series about a group of die hard World of Warcraft players who, through a series of events, are all forced to meet each other in the real world.  And as usually happens in these instances, hilarity ensues.

 

What makes this series great is its endearing sincerity.  This is a show about geeks, made by geeks, and starring geeks.  The care that they take with discussing topics they love like video games comes across without any hint of corporate meddling or trying to package a show towards a specific audience.  This was made by people who wanted to share something they enjoyed doing with others they thought might enjoy watching it.  This is the antitheses of giant corporate grabs at the geek audience like the TV show Heroes.  This is genuine geek, and it's awesome become of that.

 

Plus, Felicia Day.  Mmmmmmmmm.  Pardon me while I swoon.

 



 

The Even More Awesome:  Fanboys

 

Why It's Even More Awesome:  Fanboys is the greatest Star Wars film ever made that isn't directly a Star Wars film itself.  Think of it like the ultimate fan film, only good.  It's about a group of huge Star Wars fans back in the year 1998, right before Episode One comes out, who decide to travel across country so they can break into Lucasfilm and steal an early print of the film so their friend with cancer can see it before he dies.

 

Along the way, thet get caught up in car chases, fights with Trekkies, and even meet Carrie Fisher.  Much like The Guild, this is a film for geeks, made by geeks.  The love the filmmakers have for Star Wars is evident in every moment of this film, and for anyone who was a huge Star Wars fan growing up, you'll definitely see a lot of yourself and your friends in the characters in this movie.  I couldn't help but feel nostalgic as I watched it.

 



 

The Awesomest:  Limited Edition T2 Complete Collector's Set Endoskull

 

Why It's The Awesomest:  Dude, it's a metal skull from the T-800 Terminator.  What else do you need?  Seriously.  Ok, sure, it also comes with a Blu-ray copy of T2 (one of the best damned action films ever), and a bunch of bonus discs with special features which are not Blu-ray, by the way.  But really, why would anyone want to spend $120 on this set other than to get the really cook Terminator skull?

 

Admittedly, I am really never one of those guys who goes for collector's sets or fancy packaging with his DVD's.  I'm typically fine with the bare bones editions of DVD's that don't have any of the bells or whistles that cost me an extra $10 at the store, but for this set I'd totally make an exception.  Just look at how awesome that skull looks and tell me honestly that you wouldn't love to own that.  We all would, it's ok to admit it. 

 

Personally, I'd use the skull as the most badass paperweight ever.  Either that, or I'd throw it at Fox network executives who were responsible for cancelling the Sarah Connor Chronicles.  What would you use it for?