Blu-ray Today: Stark Raving, and a Psycho Too

Iron Man 3 – One of the rare three-quels that pretty much everyone agrees is better than part two, with Robert Downey Jr. bringing in his Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black to add snark and the inevitable Christmas setting. Not everyone likes the controversial new twist on arch-villain The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) – I understand comic-book purists who wanted to see a truer version, yet adore the fact that this take is an original development in the increasingly crowded and predictable field of cinematic superheroes. Disc includes the “Agent Carter” short that may yet spawn a series, and an exclusive preview of Thor: The Dark World.

The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition – You might want to stay tuned to the site later today for more on this. Like the ability to own it free of charge. I’m just sayin’.

Doctor Who: The Complete Seventh Series – From dinosaurs on a spaceship to Warwick Davis and Cybermen, and one hell of a cliffhanger, Matt Smith’s mostly final season gave us lots to talk about. (I’ll certainly not forget Diana Rigg’s boob-sucking space lobster any time soon.) The 2011 and 2012 Christmas specials are included, just to make anyone who bought them prematurely on single discs feel terrible, and Chris Hardwick gets a lifelong achievement unlocked as footage from a Nerdist interview with Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman makes it onto the extras also. There’s a lot on this set, but you have time to go through it all before the John Hurt episode comes our way in a month or so.

Prince of Darkness – Lesser John Carpenter Satanic horror that I remember mostly for some bloody faced blonde chick and Alice Copper as a creepy bum. I’m sure this is a great restoration, but my recollections of the film are that it’s kinda boring.

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come – Marry the bosses daughter, treat her right, and you too can force people to accept that you’re a big star, despite a stale persona that never changes and hogs all the glory. I’m sure Paul Levesque worked twice as hard as many people with natural charisma, and he’d be a role model for those who do likewise if not for the uncomfortable fact that, sans Shawn Michaels and Stephanie McMahon, he’d be MidCard4Life.

Halloween: 35th Anniversary Edition – On the one hand, you should own this movie already. On the other, here’s an all-new transfer supervised by D.P. Dean Cundey, featuring a new commentary from John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis. I need to go get this…I’ll be right back!

Room 237 – If you think you’re an obsessive nerd, watch this documentary about superfans of The Shining and their intense “analyses” of same to feel relatively normal again.

Psycho II – If we had all been online in the ’80s, the idea of a Psycho sequel 25 years later would have ignited a shitstorm of rage, and regrettably so, since this is actually quite a good film, with Anthony Perkins returning to the shower-stabber role as a Norman desperately trying to hold on to the sanity he has gradually regained. You’re pretty safe ignoring the subsequent entries in this franchise, though.

Those are my top picks for this week. What are yours?