Hey Dude, It’s Harold and Kumar on DVD and Blu Ray

John Cho and Kal Penn as the new Bob Hope and Bing Crosby? Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo comes out on DVD/Blu Ray this week. (Warner Brothers)

At the Harold and Kumar panel at Comic-Con this past Sunday, someone asked if they could be a stoner version of Hope and Crosby creating a whole new set of Road pictures for the new millennium. And I have to admit that thought crossed my mind too. As wacky as that sounds, it's kind of accurate because like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Harold and Kumar are buddies with an appealing chemistry and marked set of differences, and they keep hitting the road for comic adventures. I have to confess I took something of a slacker approach to covering the last H&K road pic, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay when it opened theatrically back in April. Instead, I made one of the teen critics hustle to get his review up in time for the film's opening. But if there's any film where such slacker behavior might be acceptable, Harold and Kumar would be it. So dudes, here's my belated review of what is now the DVD/Blu Ray release of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo. (By the way, check out video highlights of their Comic-Con panel --and see how unlike Kumar Kal Penn is -- at the KPBS Comic-Con blog)

Exclusive Interview with Matthew Goode

Actor Matthew Goode came to Comic-Con this past weekend to promote the upcoming adaptation of the graphic novel Watchmen. But he also had time to talk about his new role in another literary adaptation, that of Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel Brideshead Revisited. Goode had literally just gotten off the plane before being brought to the Hard Rock Hotel's cabana for interviews, and he seemed a little punchy from the trip. He had no idea what would await him in Hall H for the panel on Watchmen, only that there were going to be a lot of people, and many fans of the graphic novel that he feared would grill him. British actor Matthew Goode had first impressed me as an actor when I saw him in The Lookout where he played a small-time American crook who took cruel advantage of the brain-damaged character played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That role followed on the heels of his role in Woody Allen's Match Point where he played a charming British rich kid. The contrast between the two roles was impressive. In fact, I didn't realize it was him in The Lookout until I read the end credits. Goode is proud of his work in The Lookout and says that without that film demonstrating his range he never would have gotten the role in Watchmen.

Here's what he had to say about working on Brideshead Revisited. I began by asking him if this latest adaptation brought something new to the story in comparison to the popular 1981 PBS mini series.

You can see a video of Goode discussing his work on Watchmen on our KPBS Comic-Con blog.

The X-Files Teaser

Together again! David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson in The X-Files 2 (20th Century Fox)

With the new X-Files movie opening in the midst of Comic-Con, I fear I may not get to my review up until Monday. So here's a little teaser. This Friday,The X-Files proves you can go home again... or at least you can return to a cancelled TV series on the big screen. Six years after the Fox TV show was cancelled and ten years after the first X-Files movie, creator Chris Carter is bringing the characters of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully back in a feature film. Arriving in theaters on July 25, the second film takes its title from the slogan on the poster that adorned Mulder’s office: "I Want to Believe." That title holds particular significance for series creator Chris Carter.

“I always thought of The X Files as a search for god,” Carter said, “and that was a big part of the inspiration. As for a particular religion? There is no particular religion. It was really, ‘the truth is out there’ is for me, is the mantra, but “I want to believe,” that poster on Mulder’s wall, says it all.”

Spaced on DVD - FINALLY!

The brilliant cast of the Brit-com Spaced, now on DVD in the US (BBC Warner)

If you only buy one DVD this year make it Spaced. Seriously, it's funny. Very funny. This show will not only make you laugh, it will get better with each viewing as you pick up on more and more of the pop culture references. This1999 Brit-com brought together actor/writer Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright, the comic geniuses behind Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. But the U.S. DVD release of their show was held up in production limbo for years due to music-rights issues (every show is crammed with musical quotes). The U.S. DVD box set comes out July 22 (that' today people!). In the show Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes) star as Tim and Daisy, twenty-somethings who meet by chance and decide to pose as a "professional couple" to rent an apartment. He's an aspiring comic book artist who's just been dumped, and she's a writer looking for any excuse not to write. Each episode is loaded with riffs and homages to movies and TV shows. The references range from discussion of which minor Star Wars character the entire trilogy hangs on to simply framing a shot like Woody Allen.

Pegg told me the "series was about people living their lives through pop culture. Their lives were mirroring movies and TV shows. Whereas now Edgar and I are making movies so it's no longer about mirroring, it's no longer about people living their life through pop culture, we are making pop culture. So you can see the beginnings of what we're interested in in Spaced, and possibly evidence of what we might do in the future."

So far, everything they've done has been brilliant. Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Jessica Hynes will all be at Comic-Con on Friday July 25 for a panel and a screening of fan fav episodes. "Cocked locked and ready to rock!"

Check out ourKPBS Comic-Con Blog where you can find videos, recommendations, and live coverage of the Con... and hopefully some video of Simon, Jessica and Edgar...

Hellboy II Web Feauturette

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (opening July 11 throughout San Diego) is probably the film I have been most eagerly awaiting this summer. I am a diehard fan of Guillermo Del Toro's work but I have been especially excited about the Hellboy sequel ever since Del Toro appeared at Comic-Con and said that the script was so good that if you read it you would cry. (That was before Universal had given the greenlight to the sequel and Del Toro was still trying to convince people it was worth it.) In anticipation of Del Toro's new film I have been watching all of his old ones, and he just keeps getting better. Anyway, I thought I would share my enthusiasm by posting a video I cut together from the clips and interviews provided by Universal in their electronic press kit (highlighting the stuff I thought was cool like using trampolines for some of the fight scenes). Ron Perlman returns as Red along with Selma Blair as Liz, Doug Jones as Abe, and Jeffrey Tambor as Tom. I hope this whets your appetite like it did mine.

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Comic-Con Masquerade: KPBS Wants You!

Summer's here and superheroes, stormtroppers, gundams and sexy babes are about to invade America's Finest City. That's right, it's time for Comic-Con International. Four-day passes have already sold out so you better move fast if you want to attend this year's convention. I have been attending the Con for more than two decades, and it is one of the things that I look forward to most every year. This year I'm particularly excited about the fact that KPBS will be providing extensive coverage of the Con with videos of panels, highlights of booths, interviews with cool people, and recommendations about what's hot in comics, film, gaming, and collectibles. We also want to focus on the Con-goers, those wonderful fans who have embraced their obsessions and just want to hang out with like-minded people. One of the things that we'd like to do is to follow one person through the process of designing and creating a costume for the annual Masquerade. If you live in San Diego and plan to enter the Masquerade, please contact us! We are looking for one talented, passionate individual who's putting their heart and soul into a costume and is willing to let KPBS invade your life to record the entire process. Ideally we are looking for someone who will be competing in the Best Original Design (check out last year's winner in that category to the left) or Most Beautiful category. I have seen some stunning costumes in my years at the Con so I know the perfect person is out there. If you have any questions or would like to be considered as the subject for out Masquerade web feature and video, please email me at .

You can check out last year's Masquerade or find info on this year's event.

Hulk Smash Gets Teen Thumbs Up

The Incredible Hulk is pretty incredible says KPBS Teen Critic (Universal)

By Tony Galindo

Being a comic book kid, and surrounded by many a geek discussing Batman's greatest foe or the X-Men's greatest member it should come as no surprise to those who know me that I would be the first to sign up to review the new Marvel movie of The Incredible Hulk (opening June 13 throughout San Diego).

Being disappointed by the attempt to bring The Hulk to the big screen in 2003 by Ang Lee, I was a little skeptical about how close this movie would be to the true essence of the Hulk, how it would keep us in awe of the not so jolly green giant ripping apart cars and dealing with anger management issues. Let me tell you, walking into the theater there were nothing but Hulk fans. Of course there were promotional shirts and hats being passed out so maybe that could have had something to do with it. All I could think was why did they choose Edward Norton to play Bruce Banner? I could not picture him at all in the role even after watching trailers and looking at screen shots.

It opens with Bruce somewhere in Brazil, exiled from the world because of his mutated condition. He longs to control his anger as he looks for a cure to his gamma radiation. As the film progresses, the military finds him because of a mishap on Banner's part. The chase begins as we see our geeky Dr. Jekyll become the Mr. Hyde. That's what we all wanted to see -- Hulk kicking some serious butt in a bottling factory. Bruce then makes his way back to the states and reunites with his love the stunning Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). He continues to run from the military that's happily lead by Betty's dad General Ross (William Hurt).

I must say this movie was ten times better then the one made in 2003. It had more action and what I consider a better storyline, and one close to the comics. Sure there was still the love story you find in EVERY superhero movie to come to the big screen but it wasn't that bad and it wasn't the main point of the movie. Memorable scenes such as Banner becoming his alter ego in a glass hallway on a college campus and the fight between Hulk and the Abomination put this film on my "will actually pay for" list. Special effects were amazing. This Hulk definitely looked like my childhood hero and had the moves to back it up. I highly recommend this movie to geeks and anyone looking for a good story and sweet action. I'm looking forward to paying next time around and sitting there with my friends.

The Incredible Hulk (rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content) was great and from it we can expect even better movies to come. Not to give away the ending or possible movie spin-offs but at the very end of this movie we meet up with General Ross and the one and only Iron Man, Tony Stark (Robert Downet, Jr.). They talk about starting an organization that I and fellow geeks can only imagine being S.H.E.I.L.D., an anti terrorism/ law enforcement group. Not trying to get crazy on you with this idea but I must say I'm pretty excited. General Ross and Stark's meeting sets up a possible movie about one Captain America. If my knowledge is correct, Stark is a prominent executive member of S.H.E.I.L.D. Betty Ross (Banner's love) also becomes a member and is head of public relations. To top it off, Bruce Banner (Hulk) is part of a research team whose purpose is to recreate the very formula that created CAPTIAN AMERICA!!!!! I am very excited at where this could go and how it will play out. I can say one thing: Comic Con should be very interesting this year if they let us in on any of these little secrets.

-- Tony Galindo just graduated from Mount Miguel High. He was recently accepted at the Art Institute of San Diego where he wants to major in game art design and pursue a career in environmental design. Writing is a hobby of his as well as watching movies, so he thought it would be great to be able to share his opinions on film with people.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indy 4, Harrison Ford 65. It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage! (Paramount)

The man with the hat is back but at 65 the question is, is Indy (or Harrison Ford) up to the task of anchoring yet another sequel? George Lucas and Philip Kaufman created the character of archeologist, adventurer and part-time teacher Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr., and director Steven Spielberg and actor Harrison Ford brought him to life in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film was such a success that it spawned two sequels (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and a TV show (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) -- not to mention comic books, books, games, and toys. Talk of a fourth Indiana Jones has been circulating for years and various incarnations for a sequel have reportedly gone through quite a few scriptwriters. But now, 19 years after the last Indy film, we finally have Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (opening May 22 throughout San Diego). And the big question is, was it worth the wait? [You can listen to the debate we had about the film on the KPBS Film Club of the Air.]

George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead

The dead are coming back to life... again. Diary of the Dead (The Weinstein Company)

Let me be upfront about this – I love zombie movies. I don’t know what it is about the lumbering undead that I find so endearing but they definitely charm me. And George A. Romero is THE master of zombie horror, having essentially created the genre with his 1968 black and white film, Night of the Living Dead. (There were some zombies before Romero but he defined them as we know them today, and anyone who saw him at his panel at last year's Comic-Con should be convinced of his master status in the horror genre.) This year, the 67-year-old Romero delivers his fifth zombie film, Diary of the Dead  (opening February 15 exclusively at the AMC Palm Promenade Theaters), so run, don’t “shamble,” over to catch the undead’s latest uprising.

The great thing about Romero’s zombies films is that you can enjoy them in any of a number of ways. If you just want a zombie gorefest, he delivers a bloody thrill ride of horror fun. But his films can also be appreciated as truly independent filmmaking in which Romero has complete control of everything; his films serve up primers on how to make a film on little or no money outside Hollywood. And finally, if you want something a little meatier, you can always find social commentary mixed in with all the blood and gore. Romero’s latest, Diary of the Dead, satisfies on all three levels.

George A. Romero Interview

George A. Romero reanimates the zombie genre with Diary of the Dead (Weinstein Company)

When George A. Romero made The Night of the Living Dead in 1968, he essentially invented a genre. But potential distributors were not initially impressed. In fact, they asked him to change the film's bleak ending. But he simply said, “F--k you.” That pretty much set the tone for Romero's relationship with the mainstream film industry. Like John Waters, he's a filmmaker who has remained outside the industry (Pittsburgh for Romero and Baltimore for Waters) making the films he wants. This year he delivers the much-anticipated zombie outing, Diary of the Dead (opening exclusively at the Palm Promenade Theaters).

“It's not a continuation, it's not sort of a fifth film in the series,” Romero explains, “It goes back to the first night when the dead are coming back. I sort of felt that I had gone far enough with Land of the Dead, and I was ready to get off of that train… There was a collection of short stories, actually two volumes, called Book of the Dead, and they were all stories about what happened on that first night. I came to realize that I could sort of keep doing stories about different people over those first two or three nights.”