All week, Amazon has been offering up Lightning Deals, limited quantities of various products for a discounted price for a 4-hour window of time, as a prelude to the biggest shopping day of the year — Black Friday. You have to be on the lookout for these deals and once the item runs out, the sale is over. Meaning, if you see something on sale that you want, buy it immediately before it’s gone.

Amazon has released the Lightning Deal schedule and prices for Movies & TV on DVD and Blu-ray for Friday, November 25, starting at 12:30AM PST (that’s 3:30AM EST) and running through 11:30pm PST. See the list of Black Friday deals here below, along with more information on how these special deals work.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2011

12:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. PST

Hot Tub Time Machine
Blu-ray – $4.99

U-571 (Collector’s Edition)
DVD – $.99

Charlie Wilson’s War (Widescreen Edition)
DVD – $.99

Bruno
DVD – $.99 [...]

Today marks 20 years since the passing of one of the greatest frontmen in rock history: Freddie Mercury.

Born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946 in Zanzibar off the east coast of Africa, Mercury was always a keen musician. His family eventually made its way to the UK and in the late 1960s he formed a band with guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and eventually bassist John Deacon [...]

The Muppets want everyone to have a Happy Thanksgiving this year, whether you’re doing the cooking or you’re being cooked!

The gang sent out an e-card for the holiday which shows the Swedish Chef boiling up a pot of turkey, but will he be successful? It’s doubtful (just see the video below of one of his previous attempts) [...]

It’s a tradition in the United States for the President to pardon a turkey on Thanksgiving. On an old episode of the NBC drama The West Wing, Martin Sheen’s President Bartlett does just that, but not without some complications leading up to it, thanks to new Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (played by Allison Janney), who has to actually choose which turkey will get the pardon and which will be sent to the slaughter.

Our friends over at The Mary Sue uncovered a video of the scenario from the Season 2 episode (titled “Shibboleth), which you can watch here below [...]

Every year, Geeks of Doom adopts a turkey for Thanksgiving and this year, our sponsored turkey is Elizabeth, who was rescued from severe neglect and from becoming dinner in 2010. The shy Elizabeth lives at Farm Sanctuary’s New York shelter where she enjoys eating kiwi and melon.

In honor of Thanksgiving, regardless of what you’re having for dinner, consider sponsoring a turkey like Elizabeth or one of her friends at the NY shelter or at the California shelter. You can help provide for an animal who was lucky enough to get a second chance in life [...]

Today is the 20th anniversary of the death of Eric Carr, the drummer of KISS who helped keep the band moving forward during the Eighties. Carr, born Paul Caravello, passed away on November 24, 1991 at the age of 41 from complications stemming from his battle with cancer. The loss was colossal to both KISS and their fan base, but he is remembered.

Eric Carr first joined KISS in 1980, when the band decided that it was time for Peter Criss to leave the group. Or perhaps Peter decided it was time to leave… (choose your side of this anecdote). Either way, substance abuse had taken a major toll on original drummer Criss by this stage of the band that it was allegedly affecting his performances both on stage and in the studio [...]

Writer H.P. Lovecraft died in 1937 at 46 years old, with poverty and malnutrition being contributing factors to his early death. It’s with that in mind that Ross Lockhart, the editor of The Book of Cthulhu, came up with a 24-hour Twitter challenge to help feed the hungry. This Thanksgiving, if you donate to a food bank or any charities that help feed the hungry, you can enter to win The Book of Cthulhu, an anthology collecting 17 tales of cosmic horror inspired by the writer Lovecraft.

To enter to win, make your donation, then sign on to Twitter and tweet the following message:

I fed Cthulhu [your donation] to [organization] #FeedCthulhu @lossrockhart [...]

Here in the United States we’re celebrating Thanksgiving, and one of the traditions of the day is watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade happening in New York City.

A big part of the Parade are the custom balloons that make way along the route. This year, filmmaker Tim Burton created a balloon specially for the event that’s 32 feet tall and 19 feet wide [...]

The video game deal of the day over at Amazon today is a FREE Xbox LIVE 3 Month Gold Membership when you purchase an Xbox 360 4GB Console along with the Battlefield 3 video game.

Add all three items to your cart and the discount will be reflected during checkout:

- Xbox 360 4GB Console
- Battlefield 3 for Xbox 360
- 30Month Xbox 360 Live Subscription Gold Card [...]

Every day, Amazon offers up Lightning Deals, limited quantities of various products for a discounted price for a 4-hour window of time. You have to be on the lookout for these deals and once the item runs out, the sale is over. Meaning, if you see something on sale that you want, buy it immediately before it’s gone.

Typically you don’t know what will be on sale until the minute it gets posted, but as a prelude to Black Friday, Amazon has released the Lightning Deal schedule and prices for Movies & TV on DVD and Blu-ray for Thursday, November 24, starting at 4:30am PST (yes, 4:30AM PST – that’s 7:30AM EST). See list of Thursday’s deals here below, along with more information on how these special deals work.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011

4:30a.m.- 8:30 a.m. PST

Friends: The Complete First Season
DVD – $7.99

Friends: The Complete Second Season
DVD – $7.99 [...]

Nothing says Martin Scorsese quite like the crime thriller genre.

According to THR, the filmmaker will be returning to the genre that he helped revolutionize with the upcoming film, The Snowman. Based on a Norwegian novel of the same name from writer Jo Nesbo, the film will follow the story of a son who “finds his mother’s pink scarf wrapped around the neck of an ominous looking snowman. Hole realizes she is the latest victim of a serial killer.” The book is the seventh in the Harry Hole franchise [...]

Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #8
Written by Arvid Nelson
Art by Carlos Rafael
Colors by Carlos Lopez
Letters by Marshall Dillion
Covers by Joe Jusko, Ale Garza, Paul Renaud
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 23rd, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

My hat goes off to creative team of Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #8. This team consistently turns out one of the most fun comics on the stands today. And it’s a shame that more people aren’t reading it. TONS of action, fighting, heroics, and more crammed into each issue!

Writer Arivd Nelson sure knows how to write women. These aren’t the standard “women with a grudge against all men” either. They’re solid characters, full of life and personality who just happen to be members of the fairer sex [...]

Doctor Who: The Sun Makers
DVD
Directed by Pennant Roberts
Written by Robert Holmes
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, John Leeson, Henry Woolf, Richard Leech, Michael Keating
BBC
Release Date: August 9, 2011

Tom Baker‘s era tends to be the most favored among Classic Doctor Who followers – and justifiably so: the man spent 7 years in the role, longer than any other Doctor, embracing the role that would help redefine the series. From his era, recently released on DVD is The Sun Makers (finally available for rent on Netflix, along with a couple others I will be reviewing as well), first broadcast in 1977 during Season 15; and Tom Baker’s fourth season in the role [...]

Warner Bros. Pictures has released a new featurette for their upcoming holiday release Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and you can watch it here below.

Robert Downey Jr. once again assumes the title role of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous literary sleuth in this sequel to 2009′s Guy Ritchie-directed smash hit mystery-adventure, with Jude Law reprising his role of Holmes’ faithful but constantly put-upon compatriot Dr. John Watson [...]

Summit Entertainment has released a new TV spot for their upcoming Christmas Day 3D sci-fi thriller The Darkest Hour, and you can check it out here below.

The Darkest Hour tells the story of five young adults who find themselves trapped in Moscow during an alien invasion and must fight back against their otherworldly oppressors [...]

Star Wars: Darth Vader And The Lost Command
Written by Haden Blackman
Pencils by Rick Leonardi
Inks by Dan Green
Colors by Wes Dzioba
Lettering by Michael Heisler
Cover by Michael Kutsche
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 22, 2011
Cover Price: $24.99

“I am Darth Vader. I am a Dark Lord of the Sith. I am death!”

I have long been a big fan of Star Wars, so when it comes to comic book chronicles from the Expanded Universe, I’m relatively easily pleased. However, Darth Vader and the Lost Command (set 19 years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) excelled far beyond my expectations, and is an admirable entry into some of the more memorable Star Wars publications in several years [...]

Now that the Harry Potter movies are over and done with, it’s time to see if Daniel Radcliffe has the chops to carry a movie without the help of Emma Watson and that creepy ginger kid. The industrious Hogwarts grad will be seen early next year in the atmospheric supernatural thriller The Woman in Black and today we have a sneak peek at the new film you can watch here below [...]

SyFy has ordered a script on the DC Comics character Booster Gold, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The projected one-hour drama will feature a pilot script written and executive produced by Fringe veteran Andrew Kreisberg and produced by Greg Berlanti‘s Berlanti Productions and Warner Horizon Television. Berlanti will also be an executive producer [...]

Each and every week “Team Shawn” MK2Fac3 and “Team Sam Covington” Henchman21 read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible… theoretically. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull lists, grab some comics, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of November 23, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

It’s that time of year, boys and girls! It’s Thanksgiving! [...]

The Muppets
Directed by James Bodin
Starring Jason Segel, Chris Cooper, Amy Adams, John Henson
Release Date: November 23, 2011

So, let me start this review by saying I wasn’t the hugest fan of The Muppets characters when I was growing up and I’ve never cared for musicals. Even today I have a healthy respect for the fandom and appreciate the iconic nature of Jim Henson’s creations, but am still not what I’d call a fan of the franchise. So with these caveats in mind I may actually be the perfect person to review this film, simply titled The Muppets, or the absolute wrong person.

I sort of stand in parallel to Jason Segel, the star of the film and co-writer. He’s the person really responsible for making the film happen [...]