The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is Torchwood series on DVD or Blu-ray for up to 61% off.

Get the Complete Season 1 and 2 DVDs for $33.99 each (that’s 58% off the list price of $79.98); get each season Blu-ray for $38.99 (that’s 61% off the list price of $99.98).

The BBC television series Torchwood is the Doctor Who spin-off that stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack.

Note, this sale is only for today, while supplies last [...]

Actress Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead after going into cardiac arrest early this morning. She was 32.

The Los Angeles City Fire Department reported she was dead upon arrival. No other details have been released about the cause of death.

Murphy starred in countless films such as Sin City, Girl Interrupted, Clueless, 8 Mile, and Just Married. She was also a notable voice actress on the Fox animated series King of the Hill. The actress most recently starred this year in the horror film Deadline [...]

Every year, I finish the bulk of my Christmas shopping around Thanksgiving weekend, and then the week of Christmas, I realize there’s a bunch of gifts I still didn’t get. Also, I start to see all the last-minute deals and can’t help but get in on them.

If you like to shop online (like me), you should show that today is the last day to place a standard delivery order for Christmas Eve arrival for many major online retailer stores (Walmart til 11:30pm PST), through some have extended their Christmas ordering cutoff dates til tomorrow, Monday, December 21 (Best Buy til 11am EST tomorrow; Amazon will let you shop the full day.) This is to pay the standard shipping fee; you’ll still be able to order 2-day and overnight later in the week.

See below for more information on cutoff dates and last-minute gift deals, as well as links to our five-part 2009 Holiday Geek Gift Guide.

Last-Minute Deals*

Best Buy [$3 shipping for Christmas Eve delivery OR in-store pick-up]

– Metroid Prime Trilogy – Wii – $19.99
– Fairytale Fights – PS3 – $19.99
– Fairytale Fights – Xbox 360 – $19.99
– Animal Crossing: City Folk – Wii – $19.99

Amazon

– The Twilight Saga: New Moon — The Movie Board Game – $3.99
– Scene It? Deluxe Star Trek Edition – $7.99
– Lost: Buy Lost: The Complete Fifth Season Blu-ray and get up to $20 off any of the previous seasons.
– Kindle – Ships for free with Two-Day Shipping to arrive before Christmas.

*We’ll update this post as more deals are offered.

Amazon is currently offering a FREE 7-day online rental of the 1934 black and white classic March of the Wooden Soldiers through their Video On Demand service, as well as the Ed Wood cult classic Plan 9 From Outer Space and holiday favorite Scrooge.

March of the Wooden Soldiers is one of my favorites of all time and I’ve been watching it on television every holiday season since I was a little kid. It stars Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel as toymaker assistants Ollie Dee and Stannie Dum in Toyland, a land of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. One day, the villainous Barnaby threatens to evict the Old Woman Who Lives In A Shoe, so Dee and Dum try to get the money for the mortgage payment but end up unleashing the wicked inhabitants of Toyland [...]

The folks over at Funny or Die have managed once again to create the perfect video mash-up.

This time around it’s of two of this year’s best films: Pixar’s Up with the Clint Eastwood film Gran Torino. You might not think an animated kids movie could successfully be meshed with an R-rated violent film, but after watching this video, you’ll be surprised at how similar the two movies are.

Both movies center on curmudgeonly widowers whose neighborhood has changed around them; both leading gravely voiced old men turn to violence when things get out of hand and both men take on young proteges. Neither of them like anyone on their lawn.

Unlike many of Funny or Die’s mash-ups, this one is not so funny per se, given the intense storyline used — the dialogue of Gran Torino set to the scenes from Up. But, it is majorly clever and worth watching.

Check out the video here below [...]

If you’ve seen the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, then you know the fantastic scene where star Jason Segel performs his song “Dracula’s Lament” in a bar in Hawaii. He also performs a big budget presentation of it later in the film. While appearing on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson recently, Segel actually performed the same song with a Dracula puppet in (or on) hand. If you’re a fan of the movie and this oddly catchy tune, you will definitely want to check this out.

Around the time that Sarah Marshall was on the way, we discovered that Segel and friend and writer Nick Stoller would be writing, directing, and starring in The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made for Walt Disney Studios. This is obviously exciting because it’s new Muppets, but also because we can see here that Segel is good with them!

Click on over to other side to watch the video, and if you haven’t seen it, it helps to go to YouTube or rent the movie first and check out the original performances to get a feel for this seriously silly song. [...]

ABC Family is currently running their annual event, 25 Days of Christmas, where for the 25 days leading up to the big holiday, the cable station airs over 200 hours of holiday programming. In conjunction with this event, we here at Geeks of Doom have one (1) 25 Days of Christmas prize pack to give away to a lucky reader!

One (1) winner will receive:

— One (1) 25 Days of Christmas soundtrack

– One (1) 25 Days of Christmas blanket

– One (1) 25 Days of Christmas scarf

– One (1) 25 Days of Christmas large-sized reusable grocery bag

With the anticipation of the holiday season steadily approaching, ABC Family launches the twelfth year of its must see “25 Days of Christmas” event featuring over 200 hours of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family from December 1-25 – the biggest cable programming event of the year. Viewers will celebrate the season with an all-new original movie, specials and, of course, the return of Christmas favorites during primetime, as well as weekend holiday marathons every Saturday and Sunday. [...]

Over the past year or so, there have been a couple of occasions when X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer spoke about an urging desire to return to the world of comic book mutants. The only project that we knew was in the workings was for something called X-Men: First Class; but aside from that, there was only the chance and hopes that Singer would return in a blaze of glory to direct X-Men 4. While speaking to MySpace recently Singer reaffirmed that his next film would be Jack the Giant Killer, but went on to drop the bomb that he had officially signed on and would indeed be directing X-Men: First Class.

X-Men: First Class is based on a comic series that follows Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman as the first group of X-Men a but who knows which of these will be used and interchanged with others. For example, Beast wasn’t in the first or second films that were made, so it will be interesting to see how they make it all fit together and make sense. For all we know, they may just wipe the slate and re-imagine things; that is the cool thing these days, kids. [...]

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is The Bourne Trilogy Blu-ray collection for only $49.99 (that’s 58% off the list price of $119.98).

This Blu-ray collection contains all three of the Jason Bourne action movies, which starred Matt Damon as the title character: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum.

The set also includes plenty of bonus features like deleted and extended scenes, directors commentaries, and featurettes covering the fighting sequences, chase scenes, explosions, and other bits of action goodness. There’s also a feature on Robert Ludlum, the author who created the Bourne book series [...]

It’s amazing how many trailers have been released this week, and there’s no signs of things slowing down any time soon. The first teaser trailer for Shrek Forever After is the latest to be shown to the world, and you can give it a little peek below.

The movie will be the final film made in the series, though there is the planned Puss in Boots spinoff is still on the table. Stars of previous movies like Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, and Eric Idle are all returning with newcomers to the cast including Kristin Schaal, Craig Robinson, Kathy Griffin, and Jon Hamm.

After Shrek the Third, many were turned off of the series. The first two movies were great fun, but there’s no denying that the third film was a complete flat tire. Shrek Forever After has already made one mistake in using terrible songs in their movies as you will hear here, but hopefully this fourth film will return us back to the magic of Shrek 2. [...]

Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane recently had a little chat with the LA Times before a little house party red carpet premiere of his next Star Wars spoof, Something Something Something Dark Side. One of the topics that came up, was what possible popular properties could see themselves being spoofed in the future, to which MacFarlane admitted names like Star Trek, Back to the Future, and Indiana Jones were options.

A third Star Wars spoof likely called We Have a Bad Feeling About This is up next and will be released next year, but that doesn’t mean that plans for the future can be discussed. The only issue with the lucky contestants that are listed off is that “Lucas gave us the rights. Lucas agreed to let us do this, and that’s a rare thing. Most legal departments are much more overprotective,” McFarlane explained. And since George Lucas himself gave the thumbs up to Star Wars getting an animated comedy makeover, that leaves Indiana Jones as the obvious best bet. [...]

Marvel Studios announced that Rene Russo (Lethal Weapon 3 &4, The Thomas Crown Affair) will join the cast of Thor, the upcoming movie based on their classic comic book character who is the Norse God of Thunder.

Russo will star as the Queen of Asgard, Frigga, mother of Thor and wife of Odin. No additional details have been announce about the role itself.

This is yet another addition to an already star-studded cast that includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Stuart Townsend (Fandral), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), and Ray Stevenson (Volstagg). Kenneth Branagh will direct the film, which will be released on May 20, 2011 [...]

An official trailer has been officially released for Ridley Scott‘s upcoming new take on the classic tale of Robin Hood. The first thing to note is of course the title. Long has the question stood strong as to what exactly the title would be. At first it was the seemingly-preferred Nottingham, before we eventually heard it being called Robin Hood. It sounded like that title was only a working title for the time being (even the synopsis included below that came with the trailer announcement still claims it as “untitled,” but now, judging by this new trailer, it looks like it will indeed just be sticking with the title Robin Hood, so there’s that.

The trailer is just the kind of first trailer you can expect from a Ridley Scott film. It features a lot of action, some great period setting shots, and even some modern rock music playing in the background in very similar fashion to Gladiator. Once they win people over with these ingredients, then we’ll see a trailer that focuses on story and speaking. [...]

Hello world! I’m your wild girl, I’m your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch cherry bomb!

Ok, I have to go all fangirl now, I can’t contain my excitement anymore, I’m squealing with delight that the first the teaser trailer for The Runaways is here, woo hoo!!! Yes, so far I’m totally impressed.

Watch the teaser trailer here below!

Listen when I tell you that you’ve probably never come across a greater fan than me of The Runaways, which if you didn’t know, was a 1970’s teenage all-girl rock band that launched rocker Joan Jett‘s music career at the tender age of 15. The film, which stars, Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart doing an amazing performance as Jett (yes, I can already tell just by the teaser), is loosely based on singer Cherie Currie’s 1989 autobiography, Neon Angel: the Cherie Currie Story, which is currently out of print (luckily, I have not one, but two copies). Dakota Fanning stars as Currie in the film, which is scheduled to debut next month at the Sundance Film Festival, then a theatrical release on March 19, 2010,

The Runaways has been making headlines quite a bit this week, with new images from the film and a sneak peek clip (read Sneak Peek: New Clip From ‘The Runaways’), as well as news of a distribution deal (read: ‘The Runaways’ Movie Finds Distribution) [...]

A brand new pair of trailers from Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland have been released. One is simply a new trailer for us to enjoy, while the other is the first International trailer.

The first trailer you can watch right here is absolutely the best that we’ve seen yet. It showcases a lot more character dialogue and what we can expect from the story. You’ll see a lot of really beautiful shots in it that almost look like living, breathing concept art pieces. Another thing to watch for is the shots of what looks like it will be a huge battle scene in the movie, giving it an almost Chronicles of Narnia feel.

Below that, you can find the new International trailer, which is pretty much just the same exact trailer side for one major difference: at the beginning of the International trailer, they show Alice at home, being proposed to in front of a giant crowd of people at a fancy party being thrown. She asks for a moment and takes off, which leads to her falling down the rabbit hole. I’m not sure why this was added to the trailer, but there it is if you wish to see it. [...]

This week, the news broke that The Runaways, a biopic about the 1970′s all-girl rock band that featured Joan Jett, had been acquired by Apparition Films ahead of its debut at next month’s Sundance Film Festival (Read: ‘The Runaways’ Movie Finds Distribution).

Now, Entertainment Tonight has aired a sneak peek clip of the film, which stars Twilight: New Moon‘s Kirsten Stewart (as Jett) and Datoka Fanning (as singer Cherie Currie).

Watch the clip here below.

The Runaways, which will be released in theaters March 19, 2010, is directed by Floria Sigismondi and also stars Scout Taylor-Compton as lead guitarist Lita Ford, Alia Shawkat as Robin (a fictional bassist), and Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley [...]

The past couple of days have seen an insane amount of trailers hitting the web, and we’ll be trying to keep up with the charge with a little trailer bonanza action for you all.

First up is the brand new trailer for none other than Iron Man 2! The trailer came after some minor viral marketing hints and clues came together leading to the cut, but as has been discovered, sometimes it’s much easier to just avoid all that and wait for the goods instead of being dragged along Cloverfield style.

As you might expect, the trailer is about as bad ass as trailers come…no big shock for Iron Man. You get a peek at all of the characters like Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). You’ll also get a very clear look at Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), how his accent sounds, and just how powerful he is. The trailer is capped off by an interesting image involving War Machine or James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). [...]

Fear not, geekdom, we are not done offering suggestions for Christmas gifts yet!

The big day is little more than only a WEEK away now, and if you haven’t yet, you need to get going on the Christmas shopping! As always, we campaign for the banishment of congested mall parking lots and consumer fist fights in front of an Orange Julius, and propose you do it like we do it: online!

This particular guide is all about the reading materials and musical selections. From graphic novels to actual novels; anime to books showcasing the making of and art work of your favorite films of this past year! And let us not forget about the music. Never ever forget about the music. The Beatles, Spinal Tap, and the Star Trek soundtrack are just a few of the featured tunes you’ll discover below.

Oh, and don’t forget: if you’re not looking for music or books, you can also wander the words of our Holiday Geek Gift Guide ’09: Wii Sports Accessories, our Holiday Geek Gift Guide ’09: Specialty Christmas Gift Suggestions, the Holiday Geek Gift Guide ’09: Video Game Edition, and of course, our Holiday Geek Gift Guide ’09: DVD & Blu-ray Edition.

By all means, don’t let us keep you any longer; head on over to the other side to check out our Holiday Geek Gift Guide ’09: Books & Music Edition! [...]

12 Angry Men – **** (Classic Movie)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber

Twelve men walk into a smoldering, small, fan-less room. They are a jury and have to make their decision on whether or not an 18-year-old boy who stabbed his father to death is guilty or not guilty. We only see outside of the small room for 3 minutes (secondhand learning of the case, never any flashbacks) and in one of the scenes it shows the judge telling the jury to make their decision in a bored tone voice. He knows that the jury is going to vote “not-guilty,” but he’s wrong. Most of them are thinking that this is going to be a half-hour meeting. Some light up their cigarettes, open the windows to get a whiff of fresh air, and sit back ready to make their vote. The foreman of it all then lays down the rules that there has to be a unanimous decision and then asks to hear everyone’s verdict. Eleven hands go up for claiming the boy guilty, which would lead to the boy getting sentenced to the electric chair, but one lone hand is proudly raised for not guilty.

This room consists of all types of prejudices, anger, and souls that seem to be heading in the wrong direction. The lone voter is played by Henry Fonda. He has to battle and reason with these men until they decide to come over and see his point of the murder [...]

In case you missed it, the interwebs were abuzz yesterday with whispers of Spider-Man star and newly Golden Globe nominated Brothers actor Tobey Maguire possibly being in consideration for the highly-coveted role of Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit. At first glance, this sounds like the worst rumor ever to be started, but in fact, it turned out to have some solid backing to it.

The possibilities began when Latino Review was informed that while promoting Brothers, Maguire was asked about who he would like to work with in the future, to which he replied “Guillermo del Toro. We may have something here in the near future.” Of course, this is way too good to just leave as it is, so LR dug a little deeper and discovered that Maguire was actually in the earliest of chit-chatting stages with producers of The Hobbit about the role. [...]