• Mystery Science Theater 3000 Vol. XVII
You know if there's a new MST set out, I'm gonna pimp it pretty hard. Luckily, this set is worth all the praise I can heap on it; it includes The Crawling Eye (the very first MST episode!), The Beatniks (a classic Joel joint), and The Final Sacrifice and The Blood Waters of Dr. Z (two of the most bafflingly awful films they ever did). Indeed, The Final Sacrifice is one of MST's gems, starring as it does the mulleted Zap Rowsdower, whose highlight reel is above. Zap Rowsdower, I LOVE YOU.

• The Twilight Saga: New Moon
I just thought you should be aware this comes out this week, although it's actually being released Saturday and not today. I have to admit I'll be ordering this on Netflix, just like the first one. Why? Here's why.

• Ninja Assassin
The Wachowski brothers/siblings' faux ninja movie starring Korean pop star/Stephen Colbert nemesis Rain. I didn't see it, but I'm interested. Any thoughts?

• The Princess and the Frog
Disney's return to 2-D animation. I doubt it's going to hurt for cash, but again, I thought you ought to be aware.

• Astro Boy
Meanwhile, the abomination that was the American Astro Boy movie is also out today. Again, be aware it's out -- not so you can buy it, but so you can urinate on it when you see it at Target, Best Buy, etc.

• The Vengeance Trilogy
If you've seen Oldboy, you know that it is a truly awesome film. but you might not know that it was part of a trilogy, based on one story or set of characters, but about people getting the most insane vengeance possible. I think this is the first time all three movies, including Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance, have been released in one set. Highly recommended.

• Gladiformers
I have no fucking clue what this is, but it's called Gladiformers and it has a big, stupid-looking robot on the cover. I can't even imagine how terrible it must be.

​• Ponyo
Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie, about a little fish-girl-thing, which I didn't actually see in theaters. By all accounts I should be okay with that.

• 2012
Things go boom.

• Where the Wild Things Are
The beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak comes to life via Spike Jonze. I know it's very hipster-y, but I have a very high tolerance of Jonze, Arcade Fire and melancholy.

• Clash of the Titans and The Neverending Story
Both on Blu-ray, maybe for the first time, maybe not, too busy to check.

• Doctor Who: Dalek War and Remembrance of the Daleks
First one contains "Frontier in Space" and "Planet of the Daleks," episode 67 and 68, and the latter is 152.

• Bitch Slap
A modern homage to Russ Meyer's Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill, meaning it's a terrible movie starring women with extremely large breasts.

• Strawberry Shortcake: The Berryfest Princess
A DVD which is the utter diametric opposite of Bitch Slap.

• King Arthur and the Knights of Justice: Complete Animated Series
I have no recollection of this cartoon other than someone in my past being incredibly vocal about its awesomeness. Dude, whoever you are, congratulations.

• Ninja
This is a ninja movie about a ninja played by a man named Scott Adkins. I have given you all the information you need to know about this movie.

• Gentlemen Broncos
The critically panned movie about Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords being a sci-fi author who steals some kid's book idea. I really like that premise, but it's directed by the guy who did Napoleon Dynamite, which I loathed. Too bad for both of us.

• Various Miyazaki
Looks like Disney/Buena Vista is re-releasing several Hayao Miyazaki DVD special editions today, and I thought I'd weigh in quickly. My Neighbor Totoro is probably Miyazaki's masterpiece, and the finest young children's film ever made (like 2-6 young) I've said it before, but no nerd child should be without this movie. Castle in the Sky is a wonderful adventure and one of Miyazaki's finest; I prefer it over the less epic Kiki's Delivery Service, although it's perfectly fine. Unfortunately, my personal favorite Miyazaki film Porco Rosso doesn't seem to be on the re-release list today, but it couples Miyazaki's incredible art, animation and storytelling with the most adult --and yet perfectly kid-friendly -- story he's ever done. Although it's still currently available, so why not give it a try?

​Well, finally.

Shout! Factory and Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc., announced a multi-property alliance to bring the highly anticipated Warner Bros. television series Max Headroom and The Norm Show to the home entertainment marketplace. Under its multi-year agreement with Warner Home Video, Shout! Factory will be the exclusive media company to distribute Max Headroom and The Norm Show DVDs for home entertainment releases in the United States and Canada. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos; and Jeff Brown, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Non-theatrical Franchise Marketing for Warner Home Video.

Production has begun to develop a wide range of bonus content for Max Headroom: The Complete Series DVD box set, as well as re-transferring the episodes from the original elements to provide the highest picture quality.

"Max Headroom is a uniquely sought-after television property, boasting a large fan following and consumer interests. We have been pursuing this property with Warner Bros. for years, and we're thrilled that it's finally coming to fruition," state Shout! Factory founding partners. "We're pop culture fanatics at Shout!, and both of these shows are loved by fans of TV and are highly requested. We'll do them justice with great extras and packaging."

No word on what those extras or packaging might be, but I figured this news was worth posting even without all the details. I actually never watched Max Headroom -- one of the many gaps in my nerd education, clearly -- but I'll rectify that once this hits DVD. You guys are welcome to go nuts in the comments, especially the three million or so of you who emailed me the announcement. (Via TV Shows on DVD)

As per standard operating procedure, Tuesday's release of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths came with a bonus look at DC's next comic book DVD movie, Batman: Under the Red Hood. Finally, someone has put it on YouTube (and thankfully tipped to me by Neon Tofu); part one is above. It doesn't have any animation, but it does have several animatics and color character designs, so it's certainly worth a look. Also, if you hadn't heard, it reveals that Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike in the new Trek) will be Batman, Neil Patrick Harris will voice Nightwing, and Supernatural's Jensen Ackles will play Red Hood, which is kind of a nerd voice-acting hat trick. So what's the verdict? Interested? Dismayed? Cautiously optimistic?

​• Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Warner doesn't send me copies for review (*cough* hint *cough*) but word on the nerdy streets is that this is just as good as Wonder Woman and Green Lantern: First Flight, both of which were excellent. Groovy.

• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
These are based on some other kids' books, right? All I know is that the vampires don't sparkle and the amazing John C. Reilly consented to be in the movie, so it's only about one kajillion times better than Twilight.

• The Universe: Complete Season 4
Hardcore space porn. You probably want the Blu-ray version.

• Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers
Here's something that sucks. This Lego movie is about adventurer Clutch Powers, who goes to the planet Ashlar and fights the evil wizard Mallock the Malign. Clearly, at one point, Lego thought about buying the Flash Gordon license and decided not to. Can you even imagine Flash Gordon Legos? The mind boggles at the awesomeness.

• Dead Snow
Nazi zombies. I repeat, Nazi zombies. I think I've told you everything you need to know.

• Beyond Sherwood Forest
Ever wonder what Erica Durance does when she's not doing Smallville? She slums it in SyFy TV movies as Maid Marian about Robin Hood fighting the Sheriff of Nottingham's evil black dragons. Hee hee!

• Superjail
Adult Swim did send me Superjail to check out, which I hadn't seen on TV. Short review: Man, is this show insane -- but not like most other Adult Swim shows. Those are barely animated, and usually weird for weirdness' sake. Superjail is a like a 12-minute fever dream or like '60s alt-comics come to terrifying life -- the animation literally never slows down for a second, always flying from scene to scene, filled with countless details. The show -- which is nominally about a jail, an insane warden, several aliens, and graphic violence -- isn't for everybody, but man, is it nice to see something that combines Adult Swim's penchant for experimental weirdness and applies it to creating the best animation possible, as opposed to the cheapest.

• Black Dynamite
Really, there's nothing I can or should say. Watch the trailer, and if it kicks your ass like it does mine, 'nuff said.

• Halo: Legends
The Halo version of The Animatrix. I've not seen anything from it that makes me feel that two chapters will be awesome, a few will be mediocre, and the rest will be characters with big hair talking to each other about how awful war is.

• Small Wonder: The Complete First Season
You know, I didn't realize this at the time, but Small Wonder is just a big pro-child slavery endorsement. This dude makes a daughter, and puts it to work. No one else in the family minds. Huh.

• Ran
Criterion has a bunch of Blu-rays coming out today, but the one of most nerd-interest would like be Kurosawa's Ran. Warning: It's just a tad depressing.

• Hot Wheels Battle Force 5: Season One, Vol. 1
"An elite team of teen drivers and their ultra-fast vehicles are out to save the planet! As they race through interdimensional Battle Zones at hyperfast speeds, their cars transform into high-tech armored battle machines, decked out and ready for combat. Once in the Battle Zones, they must work together to defeat their enemies and capture the powerful BattleKeys to save the Earth from destruction. ... Can Battle Force 5 and their awesome vehicles defeat The Vandals and The Sark capture all the BattleKeys and save the world from evil? Watch the battle to find out!" You think the person who wrote this description committed suicide immediately afterwards? I think he did.

• Zombie Apocalypse
It comes with a free comic book. I'm sure this is a sign that this is a good movie and not at all a desperate plea for buyers' attention.

• 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope
I've read the description for this based-on-a-manga movie like five times, and it makes less sense each time. So... this exists. That's all I got.

It's yet another clip from Crisis on Two Earths -- specifically the beginning of the fight scene we saw another part of a few weeks ago -- and man, it's not doing Superman any favors. Maybe you could excuse him just standing there while Superwoman tackles good Lex Luthor right next to him. Getting decked after grabbing Superwoman's arm -- what the hell did he think she was gonna do? -- is pretty pitiful. But the worst, most shameful moment is when Superman gets knocked down by some kid who pulled a fucking pop n' lock after shooting him with energy or something. I doubt it hurt Supes, at least physically, but the mental anguish must be enormous. Seriously, if was Superman and was hit by this jackass, I'd be so ashamed I'd leave the fight and fly to the Fortress of Solitude to cry for at least a week.

​• Stargate: SGU-1
Wait a second. Does this mean the show's real name is "Stargate: Stargate Universe-1"? Fantabulous.

• Dante's Inferno
The anime of the videogame based on the classic work of literature in that a character is called Dante and it takes place in hell. I'll pass, thanks.

• The Guild Season 3
Felicia Day and pals continue to have wacky hijinks in and out of the World of Warcraft. I think. Probably. I haven't watched it.

• Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai
Apparently this is a classic Japanese movie about several generations of a samurai family that won some awards. Sounds kind of cool.

• XIII: The Conspiracy
All I know about XIII is that it's a French spy comic, and the only reason I know that is because of that PS2 game from a few years ago. I didn't know there had been a movie starring Val Kilmer until I got on Amazon about 20 minutes ago.

​• Zombieland
If, for some reason you haven't seen Zombieland yet and haven't had the surprise spoiled for you -- although that hardly seems possible -- buy or rent Zombieland tonight. You're living on borrowed time.

• Doctor Who: The Complete Specials
Well, more specifically, this set includes the complete Tennant specials, except it isn't complete and only includes his final four specials (five if you count The End of Time as two). So it's got The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, Waters of Mars, and The End of Time, specifically. All are sold separately, too.

• Planet Hulk
You know, if this does well, I really hope Lionsgate does World War Hulk as well. I really, really want to see Hulk beating the shit out of the Illuminati animated, don't you?

• Universal Soldier: Regeneration
Starring Jean-Clause Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. I think nothing more need be said.

• Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning
By all accounts Ong-Bak 2 is awesome. I'll probably be posting the trailer for Ong-Bak 3 later, if that helps at all.

• Dragonball Season 3
Dragonball is better than Dragonball Z. There. I said it, and I won't take it back.

• She-Wolf of London
Please don't confuse this '90s TV series with Isla, She-Wolf of the S.S. If you're expecting one and get the other, either way, you'll be immensely disappointed. And possibly offended beyond all measure.

• G.I. Joe: ARAH Season 1.3
All you need to know is that this set contains the episode "There's No Place Like Springfield."

• Hellboy: Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron
Both Hellboy animated specials on one Blu-ray. Convenient!

• Batman: Brave and the Bold Vol. 3
Look, we all know that B&tB will get a Complete Season 1 release at some point. I just wanted to take a minute to explain what happens in the five episodes for anyone who isn't watching this cartoon. Aquaman and the Atom play Innerspace in Batman, and Aquaman rides one of Batman's white blood cells; Batman goes to the Crime Syndicate universe and teams up with the good Joker, then comes home to find Owlman's been masquerading as him; and then he meets Bronze Tiger, turns into a giant mystical bat, and punches a ghost pirate ship so hard it explodes. If that doesn't sound like the awesomest thing ever, I don't know what's wrong with you.

​So remember when we were talking about how awesome Hulk Vs. was in the straight-to-DVD comic book movie list earlier today? Well, I have similarly high hopes for the upcoming Planet Hulk animated adaptation, out on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download next Tuesday, February 2nd (you can check out the trailer over here). I loved the comics by Greg Pak, and it's a stand-alone story that should be perfect for one of these movies. Oh, and there's lots and lots of smashing.

Well, Lionsgate, makers of Planet Hulk and Hulk Vs., emailed me the other day -- not with a death threat, oddly -- but with the message that they wanted to give away the new Planet Hulk  2-Disc Special Edition DVD to two Topless Roboteers. I explained that you were all horrible people who didn't deserve such gifts, but they insisted.

So the contest is this -- tell me about the last time you got furious and wanted to Hulk out. I mean got crazy mad and just wanted to smash somebody (or somebodies, or venerable institutions, or whatever). Since this is TR, I'd prefer it to be still be over something nerd-related, like at a comic store or a role-playing game rather than when you were in line at the DMV or something -- and since I'm still judging the winners, I'd pay attention to that rule if I were you.

The winner will still get TR shirts, too. As usual, only one entry per person, the contest ends on Monday, February 1st at 12:01am, and TRY TO KEEP IT FROM RUNNING TOO LONG OR I WILL SMASH YOUR PUNY ENTRY MYSELF. HULK NO HAVE TIME FOR READING 1000-WORD ESSAY ABOUT HOW SCALPER STOLE LAST SLAVE LEIA FIGURE FROM YOU AT TOYS "R" US ONE MORNING.