Bulletin: Actor who was to play the Joker in "The Dark Knight" found dead

Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead around 3:30 p.m. ET of an overdose of pills, reports the Associated Press. He was to play the Joker in "The Dark Knight." He looked so good in the trailer. This is sad to hear.

The new "Star Trek" movie trailer

If you haven't seen it, here it is.

When bad is good

Cult Camp Classics 1 - Sci-Fi Thrillers (Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman 1958 / Giant Behemoth / Queen of Outer Space), Cult Camp Classics 2 - Women in Peril (The Big Cube / Caged / Trog), Cult Camp Classics 3 - Terrorized Travelers (Hot Rods to Hell / Skyjacked / Zero Hour!), Cult Camp Classics 4 - Historical Epics (The Colossus of Rhodes / Land of the Pharaohs / The Prodigal) (Warner Home Video): Warner Home Video has become the master of the boxed set. They've boxed up their gangster films, film noir, tough guy and legends, among others. Of course, they have a huge and rich catalog to choose from.
Those folks in the marketing department all too often aim these packages toward the serious film fan. It's refreshing to see something different.
That's the case with the four tongue-in-cheek Warner Bros. Cult Camp Classics sets released late last year. Releasing these sets with a serious face is kind of silly when you have titles like "Attack of the 50 Foot Women", "Land of the Pharoahs" and "Hot Rods to Hell."
Of course, they were supposed to be taken very seriously when first released. "Hot Rods to Hell was a diatribe against juvenile delinquents. "Queen of Outer Space" was a sci-fi film to parallel "Forbidden Planet".
Between the four sets, you have 12 high-camp films that are just great leisure viewing. Our favorite is Cult Camp Classics 1 - Sci-Fi Thrillers with the legendary "Attack of the 50-Foot Women" and the rarely seen (until now) "Queen of Outer Space".

But all of these have reasons to grab them. Cult Camp Classics 2 - Women in Peril has the wonderfully over-the-top prison film "Caged" and Joan Crawford's ignoble final film, "Trog." Cult Camp Classics 3 - Terrorized Travelers has the overwrought "Hot Rods to Hell" and the drama "Zero Hour", about a passenger asked to take over the controls of an airplane after the crew comes down with food poisoning. Sound familiar? It should. It was spoofed in the Zucker brothers comedy "Airplane!"
Cult Camp Classics 4 - Historical Epics is stocked with two lavish epics, "Land of the Pharoahs" and "The Colossus of Rhodes".
Most have special features in the forms of commentary or trailers, though we wish all of them did. And the quality of the transfers are excellent.
All of the films are available separately, though it's much cheaper to get them in the sets. We suggest you grab them all.

Watching Mr. Wizard

With all of today's matter-of-fact technological advances, it's humbling to remember back when science was a world of ooooo's and aaaaaah's.
The vintage TV "Watch Mr. Wizard," which began on NBC in 1951 and ran 15 years, was a lightning rod for curious kids in the '50s and early '60s. It showed young viewers (and older ones, too) how science was all around them in every day life.
Two new DVDs from Digiview "Watch Mr. Wizard - Everyday Illusions and More" and "Watch Mr. Wizard - Electricity and More" feature three rare episodes each from the vintage series.
Mr. Wizard himself, Don Herbert, was the kind of genial kind of guy everyone wished was his teacher. He had the magical knack of taking the mystery of science.
The first segment on "Watch Mr. Wizard - Electricity and More" has Herbert guiding young Alex to figure out six different methods of ways of producing electricity in a Rube Goldberg type of labyrinth. Among the objects: a slide projector, a balloon, a speaker, a motor, a hinge, a bicycle wheel, a moustrap, a medicine dropper and a measuring cup.
The answers aren't as easy as you might guess.
Herbert shows how electricity can be produced from ordinary objects. Some of the methods he uses are quite ingenious.
In "Everyday Illusions," he shows a wheel that looks like it's turning in different directions, but it really isn't. He takes a paper plate and cuts off around the middle, leaving the edge. Cut two sections out of the edge the same size, then lay them down side by side. The one on top looks smaller than the one on the bottom. Things like this make these shows fascinating. Adults will surely find themselves drawn to them, too.
For a show of this vintage, the quality is exceptionally good. All the shows, three on each DVD, are in black and white.
For anyone who grew up with "Bill Nye the Science Guy," these shows will be a revelation. For those of us who watched Mr. Wizard regularly, it will bring back some great memories.
"Watch Mr. Wizard - Everyday Illusions and More" features "Everyday Illusions," "Musical Instruments" and Puzzles in Geometry." "Watch Mr. Wizard - Electricity and More" features "Six Kinds of Electricity," "How Animals Move" and "Sticks and Stones."

Toshiba stands firm .. for now

It's hard to see Toshiba remaining steadfast in its support of the HD TV DVD format in the wake of Warner Bros. announcement abandoning it.
The Associated Press reported Toshiba officials were caught by surprise, but were gathering their forces for now.
But a quote from the statement issued by Toshiba is telling.
"We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps."
Next steps as in dropping HD TV? It would be a serious failure for Toshiba.
But don't be surprised if they don't go without a fight.

Warner Bros. picks Blu-Ray

Warner Bros. announced Friday that it is abandoning HDTV DVDs and will make Blu-Ray its HD format of choice.
In a written statement issued by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO of Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, the two said the company will continue to release in HD TV until May.
Here's their complete statement:

“Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want,” said Meyer. “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

“Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices,” said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. “Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

“A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Tsujihara. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

What does this all mean? It means the battle for the HD format isn't over, but the tide is toward Blu-ray with only two companies -- Paramount and Universal -- releasing in HD TV.

Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Disney release their high-definition videos exclusively for Blu-ray, which is owned by Sony. Paramount and Universal Pictures release for HD DVD -- which is backed by Toshiba and Microsoft. The WB is the biggest seller of DVDs, with 18 to 20 percent of the market, according to the AP.

Do you believe in magic?

CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON : Like most boys, I used to love magicians. I remember watching magician
Mark Wilson and "The Magic Land of Allakazam" on Saturday mornings and being fascinated.
Magic came into play on TV on a more serious note in "The Magician" with Bill Bixby in the '70s.
And in recent years, celebrity magicians such as David Copperfield, Penn and Teller, Siegfried and Roy, David Blaine and Lance Burton have astounded audiences on TV.
In 2005, A&E quietly premiered "Criss Angel - Mindfreak," a weekly show spotlighting Angel's illusions and shock magic. The show slowly built up an audience and is a huge success on the network these days.
"Criss Angel Mindfreak - The Complete Season Three" will be released Jan. 15. Where seasons one and two seemed to go for more traditional magic, Angel gets into some really scary stuff here.
One illusion requires him to escape from a truck full of dynamite as it's heading over a cliff. Another has a steamroller pin him on a concrete slab. (Don't try this at home, kids.) It's not for the faint-hearted. There's also more traditional magic, too.
Even with his tendency toward the weird, we enjoy Angel's work. He also published a book recently called, not surprisingly, "Mindfreak," that includes a few of his secrets.
But the fun of watching Angel and others like him is watching the illusion of the illusions.
Do you still believe in magic? You will after seeing this DVD.