Do not ask how it happened, but for some reason, this news — which seems to have broken in late October — never ever reached our ears, and this pains us. In true “better late than never” fashion, here’s the good news for those of you who also have yet to hear.

On the Playstation blog, Product Marketing Manager of SCEA, Anthony Caiazzo, announced that the realms of video games and movies would finally cross paths in a fashion that did not involve one of them making a terrible adaptation of the other or vice-versa. The big reveal was that when Neil Blomkamp’s ultra-popular science fiction drama District 9 was released, a playable demo for God of War III would be included exclusively on the Blu-ray edition of the film.

Not that anyone needed more of a reason to go out and buy District 9, but rabid fans of the God of War series will certainly be even more inclined to rush out and buy it now. [...]

The Warner Bros. Home Entertainment division announced today the launch of DVD2Blu.com, a site for consumers to upgrade their current WB DVDs to Blu-ray for a fee.

The DVD2Blu program currently offers an Blu-ray upgrade on 55 of the WB’s home entertainment DVDs for the price of $7.95 to $9.95.

To get the Blu-ray version, visit the site and select the movie(s) you want to trade in (there’s a limit of 1 DVD per title; up to 25 titles per order) and then mail the DVD disc (without case) with special pre-paid postage to WB’s processing center. In 4-5 weeks, you’ll receive that title in Blu-ray. If you spend more than $25 on your order, you’ll get free shipping (otherwise, it’s regularly $4.95 per order).

Some of the films up for swap are Pan’s Labyrinth, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and Superman II: Richard Donner Cut. Check out the site for all the available titles [...]

Fans of the original Star Trek television series already know all the details behind “The Cage,” the original pilot for the 1960’s series. The first pilot did not include William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, and was rejected by the network at the time for being “too cerebral.” Instead of scrapping the show, created by Gene Roddenberry, NBC ordered a second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which did star Shatner and led to the series’ three-season run.

Apparently, there was an alternate version of the second pilot which was completed in 1965 that was never aired and never released to the general public. This version of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was completed in 1965 and features archived footage never shown before and is believed to be what was originally screened for NBC.

The alternate second pilot will be included in the release of the Star Trek: The Original Series – Season 3 Blu-ray, due out on December 15, 2009.

According to THR, the newly discovered pilot will be presented in three parts with 1970s-style act breaks and contains an entirely different version of Captain James T. Kirk’s opening monologue (”But now a new task. A probe out into where no man has gone before”) with music that contrasts from the famous opening theme and an extended action sequence.

Check out the video here below which contains some clips from the unreleased alternate pilot, as well as the full list of Blu-ray extras from the upcoming Season 3 release [...]

The classic 1960s television series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan, was recently released on Collector’s Edition DVD and Blu-ray. To coincide with this release, we here at Geeks of Doom have one (1) DVD edition and one (1) Blu-ray edition of The Prisoner Complete Series to give away to some lucky readers!

One (1) winner will receive:

One (1) The Prisoner Completed Series on DVD

One (1) winner will receive:

One (1) The Prisoner Completed Series on Blu-ray

What do you have to do to get a chance to win? Glad you asked ’cause it’s really easy. Just make sure you’re a subscriber to our email digest, and then go ahead and fill out the handy dandy form below. Done.

In the Optional Comments field, make sure you tell us whether you want the Blu-ray or DVD version OR put ‘Both’ if you’ll take either.

Good luck! [...]

Don’t be surprised if you see more and more ‘Deal’ posts here at Geeks of Doom for the next month or so, because not only am I in full-on Christmas bargain-hunting mode, but it appears that online retails are practically giving their merchandise away!

Therefore, whatever bargains I find, I’m going to pass on to you, dear readers, typically along with a little math to help you figure out its worth (I try my best, but please don’t hold my math accountable!).

Earlier this week, I wrote about the pre-order deal on Disney/Pixar’s Up; now, a new Pixar sale is happening from right now!

In this new Pixar DVD/Blu-ray Sale, there are three ways to save:

– Order Up on DVD and buy any other Pixar DVD from the list and save $7.50 off your total purchase at checkout.

– Order the Up DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack and buy any other Pixar Blu-ray disc from the list and save $15 off your total purchase at checkout. To receive the $15 discount, enter the promo code UPBLURAY at checkout.

– Buy the Up DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack and both Monsters, Inc and Cars on Blu-ray from the list and save $26 off your total purchase at checkout. To receive the $26 discount, enter the promo code PIXARBLU at checkout [...]

Up
4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack
Directed by Pete Docter & Bob Peterson
Starring (voices): Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Delroy Lindo
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date: November 10, 2009

I never got to see the latest Disney/Pixar feature Up when it was out in theaters this summer, though I did get to view 20 minutes of the film at a convention early this year. What I saw at the time was what seemed like a cute little story about an elderly man named Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) who, in an effort to relocate his house, ties thousands of balloons to it. Strangely enough, the balloons do the trick, and away the man goes off on an adventure in his flying house. Along for the ride is Russell, a boy scout, who manages to get on Carl’s last nerve. At some point, talking dogs come into the picture and that’s where I lost my interest in Up.

I really should have known better, what with this being a Disney/Pixar effort, and let’s face it, with beloved films like Toy Story and Monsters Inc., you know anything from this studio is going to be good … real good.

From the preview, I could tell that Up would be a movie kids would love: there’s a little boy for them to relate to; a house that flies away on thousands of colorful balloons; and real-world dogs that somehow manage to speak. What I didn’t know was what a compelling story Up had, and how for the first 20 or so minutes of the film, I would be in tears.

Yes, tears [...]

Coming to Blu-ray this November 17 is the 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of Fight Club, the 1999 film starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. To coincide with this event, we here at Geeks of Doom have five (5) copies to give away to some lucky readers!

Five (5) winners will each receive:
– One (1) Fight Club 10th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition

TO ENTER: There’s just two simple steps:

(1) Make sure you’re subscribed to the Geeks of Doom email digest. If you’re not then click here and sign up. (If you’re already a subscriber, then go right to the next step.)

(2) Fill out the entry form with your contact information and in the Fight Club Rules field, answer the following question: What would YOUR rules of Fight Club be? [There are no "right" answers, just tell us your thoughts.]

Good luck! [...]

I finally saw Disney/Pixar’s Up this weekend, and while I went into it figuring I’d probably like it but not love it, I ended up absolutely loving it.

I was finishing up my review for the Up 4-Disc Combo Pack, which will be released this Tuesday, November 10, when I noticed that there’s a pre-order deal for it.

If you pre-order the Combo Pack, which includes the Blu-ray version as well as the standard DVD and a Digital Copy, you can get $10 off a second Blu-ray title from a select list: UP Combo Pack Deal. The select list includes great Blu-ray sets for movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bolt, Sleeping Beauty, the Pirate of the Caribbean trilogy set, and much more.

Choose from the list and enter promo code DISNEYBD checkout to receive your credit. Remember, the Up 4-Disc Combo Pack comes out this Tuesday, which means you have to pre-order it with the purchase of your second Blu-ray title before then.

If you’re not sure whether to get the 4-disc Blu-ray version or the 2-disc standard DVD version, right now they are both $19.99. The Blu-ray version comes with an extra disc of bonus features not included in the single- and 2-disc versions, plus it comes with a standard DVD copy that you can watch an any DVD player. Getting the Blu-ray version is obviously the better deal, and it seems like this is standard practice for Disney Blu-ray releases [...]

Star Trek is coming to DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on November 17, 2009.

Like with many big-name summer blockbusters, Star Trek is getting a few retail exclusive releases at select stores like Target and Best Buy. I don’t usually concern myself too much with different versions of DVDs, unless an exclusive strikes my interest. In this case, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was my absolute favorite movie of the year (not surprising, since I’m a Trek fanatic), so naturally, I know how to think carefully on which version of the home entertainment release I’ll be choosing.

Check out the list of retail exclusives for the U.S. and Canada here below and feel free to help me decide which I’ll be getting! [...]

A group of trenchcoat-wearing, boombox-lifting Lloyd Dobler look-a-likes took to the streets of New York City today in celebration of the 20th anniversary release of Say Anything on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Doblers, which called themselves “Mobler,” began their adventure at Penn Station and make their way around the city to Washington Square Park and Union Square before ending their journey at Times Square, where the indie band Lloyd Dobler Effect put on an acoustic performance of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” [...]

Disney/Pixar’s latest animated features comes to DVD and Blu-ray on November 10, 2009. In celebration, the studio has released 8 retro posters created for the film.

Check them out here below (and click for larger, full view), along with details on the DVD/Blu-ray bonus features.

Synopsis
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios take moviegoers up, up and away on one of the funniest adventures of all time with their latest comedy-fantasy. Up follows the uplifting tale of 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Their journey to a lost world, where they encounter some strange, exotic and surprising characters, is filled with hilarity, emotion and wildly imaginative adventure. [...]

I absolutely love the American Pie franchise, especially since it stars one of my favorite comedic actors ever, Mr. Eugene Levy.

After the original R-rated trilogy movies were released in theaters, the franchise shifted to the direct-to-DVD market with their American Pie Presents line. Now, coming out on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download on December 22, 2009 is the latest installment, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, available in both Rated and Unrated versions.

CraveOnline has both the standard and uncensored trailers for the film, which sees Levy’s return as the wannabe insightful dad Noah Levenstein, along with a story about three high school virgins who find a “legendary guide to seduction” at their school library. Unfortunately, it’s missing a few pages, which leads the sex-obsessed boys on a crazy journey to lose their virginity and reconstruct this sexual “Bible.”

Apparently, the Book of Love has a bunch of celebrity cameos, like Bret Michaels and one that totally caught my eye — C. Thomas Howell, my first celebrity crush! Now I’m really curious what he’ll be doing in the film.

See below for synopsis, casting, and DVD/Blu-ray details [...]

The Gold Box deal of the day over at Amazon today is The Omen Collection on Blu-ray for only $44.99 (that’s 65% off the list price of $129.98).

This Blu-ray collection contains the 1976 classic film The Omen, our first encounter with spawn of Satan, Damien, as well as its sequels Damien: Omen II (1978) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981). The set also includes the 2006 remake, known as 666: The Omen.

All the original movies come with feature commentary, with the first film having several commentries, including one by director Richard Donner. The Omen also has a trivia track and deleted scenes, as well as features pertaining to the remake [...]

The Plan is the new Battlestar Galactica prequel that fills us in on some of the storylines that we’ve seen, but from the other side of the fence: the Cylons’ point of view. The movie is directed by Admiral William Adama himself (Edward James Olmos) and will feature most of your favorite stars and characters. A teaser trailer for the movie was released a while back (and has since been pulled), but now you can see the new trailer for the show right here!

Back in August, Olmos appeared on Attack of the Show and pleaded with the fans to make sure that they purchase the movie when it comes out on October 27, 2009, because if it sold around 350,000 to 500,000 copies in its first day of release, we would see “many plans” (Read: Could Big Numbers For ‘The Plan’ Mean More ‘Battlestar Galactica’?). No one knows what exactly this means, but one would assume there’s a lot more DVD movies like this to be made if the success keeps flowing. [...]

300: The Complete Experience
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West
Warner Bros Home Video
Release Date: July 21, 2009

If people loved the way Sin City (another Frank Miler comic book) was made with such flavor that popped off of the screen, I am sure that people will get on their knees and bow for Zack Snyder’s new kind of filmmaking, a movie simply called 300. It is a bloody, sexual, and extremely violent movie that uses computers unlike any other movie that we’ve seen in past years. Even though I am kind of biased to computer generated movies (Lord of the Rings) this particular one made me sit back and enjoy the visuals that surpasses the greatest PS3 game. I like the natural filmmaking (no blue screen or green screen), not the kind that your next door neighbor can do on his laptop computer while just passing the time. This being something that I’ve never seen before, I let it work its magic and try not to let that ruin the movie, which it didn’t.

This movie is about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC which takes place in a narrow path between mountains on the coast of Greece, which translates to “Hot Gates.” A ripped and honorable King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) has a problem as his 300 army of Spartans are out numbered 100 to 1 as they go to war with the Persian army that includes giants, elephants, rhinoceros, ninjas, and creatures. They are lead by a gay commander (who is a tall man as he towers over everyone) Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) who wants everyone to answer to him [...]

This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘Save us!’…and I’ll whisper, ‘no.’

What would you do in order to ensure the safety of all mankind? Would you sacrifice millions of lives if it meant saving billions of other lives and creating a perfect and peaceful world? This is the impossibly difficult scenario placed in front of a small group of crime fighters known simply as Watchmen.

Watchmen is based on the timeless graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The book is the only graphic novel on Time magazine’s top 100 novels of all time — a truly epic feat for its platform. For many years, the novel was also called “unfilmable” by most people who strongly believed that no one could faithfully and accurately adapt the complex story and characters into a movie [...]

The 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray release of Fast & Furious doesn’t just come with higher definition video quality than its DVD counterpart, it’ll also comes with a free companion iPhone/iPod Touch application that grants viewers access to an exclusive “Virtual Car Garage” feature.

The iPhone/touch acts as a remote control specific to the Blu-ray disc, that allows users to control 360-degree views of the movie’s suped up racers and instantly pull up exclusive technical specs for cars featured in the film.

It’s the first of many special edition discs that will include support for a companion application with the ability to control interactive content over the Internet via Wi-Fi connected Blu-ray players, according to Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Future companion apps like this will allow viewers to use their mobile devices as a virtual remote control and also to download bonus content from the discs to their iPhone/iPod that they can watch on-the-go [...]

Yeah, baby, yeah!

The Gold Box deal of the day today at Amazon is the Austin Powers Collection on DVD for only $15.99 (60% off the list price of $39.98) or Blu-ray for only $32.99 (56% off the list price of $74.98).

Both DVD and Blu-ray sets come with all three Austin Powers movies — Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; Austin Powers in Goldmember — all of which star Mike Myers as the title character, a 1960’s British spy who awakens three decades after being cryogenically frozen not realizing that his hipster style went out long ago. In this series of spoofs of 1960’s spy films, Myers also plays several other characters, including Powers’ nemesis, Dr. Evil.

Both DVD and Blu-ray sets, dubbed the Shagadelic Edition Loaded With Extra Mojo, come with the three movies — the DVD version with three separate cases packed in a 3-pack box — and include documentaries; commentaries; deleted and alternate scenes; music videos, and trailers [...]

The Gold Box deal of the day today at Amazon is the Blade Runner Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition on limited edition DVD for only $37.49 (52% off the list price of $78.92) or on Blu-ray for only $18.99 (53% off the list price of $39.99).

The DVD version comes packaged in a limited edition individually numbered case that looks like Rick Deckard’s briefcase, complete with handle, and includes a lenticular motion film clip from the original feature, miniature origami unicorn figurine, miniature replica spinner car, collector’s photographs, and a signed personal letter from director Sir Ridley Scott.

Both DVD and Blu-ray sets contain five versions of the classic scifi film starring Harrison Ford, including the newest “Final Cut” version from director Ridley Scott; there’s also the 1982 theatrical and unrated international versions; the 1992 director’s cut without Deckard’s voiceover narration and “happy ending” finale and adds the unicorn” sequence; and the rare workprint version with altered opening scene and altered scenes, Deckard narration only in the final scenes, no “unicorn” sequence or “happy ending,” and alternate music [...]

The Gold Box deal of the day today at Amazon is Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector’s Edition on DVD for only $31.99 (57% off the list price of $74.98) or on Blu-ray for only $56.99 (56% off the list price of $129.95).

This collection includes all five of the Dirty Harry films, which star Clint Eastwood as badass detective “Dirty” Harry Callahan — Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, The Dead Pool.

Both collections contain bonus materials, such as feature-length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows; several featurettes; a 42-page hardcover book; a replica Harry Callahan wallet with inspector’s badge and I.D. card; five 5″ x 7″ reproduction lobby poster cards; never-before-seen production correspondence; a Scorpio Portrait of a Killer Poster-Sized (19″ x 27″) map of San Francisco detailing Harry’s hunt for the killer, and much more [...]