There’s no debating what the biggest DVD in the genre is today: the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The LA Times reports today on the DVD release and the still mixed reaction from fans on the fourth film.

The debate won’t end anytime soon as there are still rumors that George Lucas is kicking around ideas for a fifth film in the franchise. But anyway, you would expect a heap of extras on a DVD for a blockbuster this big. And they include multiple interviews and a whopping 12-part “Making Of” Feature. Cate Blanchett even talks about how she picked out her villainous hair style.

For old school sci-fi fans, the complete series of Ultraman is on DVD. Yes it’s campy, yes it’s Japanese, what more do you need to know? Ultraman would go on to inspire all sorts of shows, both animated and live action. Modern shows including The Simpsons and Yu-Gi-Oh have parodied Ultraman and his exaggerated fighting style and poses.

Image: Paramount Pictures 2008

Buoyed by a new hit franchise (Iron Man) and one of its oldest (Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) Paramount Pictures has passed the $1 billion mark in domestic box office.

That’s right, make your Dr. Evil face, one billion dollars. That’s a lot of movie tickets. The surprise hit Iron Man was a production of Marvel Studios but distributed by Paramount and has pulled down $305 million domestically. It played to stellar reviews and will no doubt open the floodgates for more comic-related fare.

Indy drew mixed reviews, largely due to a complex plot involving Roswell and aliens. It’s funny, initially Cynthia and I were wondering whether an Indiana Jones sequel would fall under our sci fi/fantasy umbrella. Little did we know how sci-fi Indiana was going to get. Despite the ambivalence of reviewers, Indiana Jones and Steven Spielberg are guaranteed to make money together. They’ve raked in $291 million at this point.

But Paramount hasn’t just been a genre juggernaut. Family flick Kung Fu Panda has grossed $156 million domestically.

Image: Paramount Pictures, 2008

Surprising absolutely no one, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull raked in an estimated $151 million over the Memorial Day weekend. That doesn’t break the record set by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End that had a $153 million haul its opening weekend.

It ain’t exactly chump change, though. Indy shrugged off a blasé reaction from critics as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas did what they do best, thrill audiences. But even with the sure fire success of Dr. Jones’ latest escapade and the surprising performances of films like Iron Man, the box office overall is down this year.

In 2007 by this time, there had been seven movies surpassing the $100 million mark. That was propelled by the infamous “Summer of Three” featuring the third installments of the Pirates, Spider-Man and Shrek franchises. This year only the aforementioned Iron Man and Indiana Jones join family flick Horton Hears a Who in that exclusive club.

Image courtesy of Newscom.

Early reviews of the latest Indiana Jones sequel are coming in and they’re a mixed bag. Reports from the Cannes Film Festival describe thunderous applause before the special showing, but only polite “Harrison Ford is still here” claps afterwards.

Media outlets including Yahoo have reported titters of laughter from the audience every time Cate Blanchett’s villainous Russian spy came on screen. She’s sporting the worst Russian accent since, ironically, Harrison Ford in K-19:The Widowmaker.

Even the positive reviews admit it doesn’t hold a candle to Raiders of the Lost Ark, as if it could. Just once it would be awesome if an actor said, “No, I’ve got enough money and I don’t want to tarnish people’s memory of the original films.” Of course, since Ford’s career has deteriorated into starring in dreck like Hollywood Homicide he probably wasn’t going to be the one to say no.

Worse yet, Spielberg hasn’t closed the door on a fifth Indy movie. That could happen with Ford or co-star Shia LaBoeuf’s Mutt Williams character. For the love of God, please stop them.

Image courtesy of Newscom.

It’s down to the final two, folks. SFUniverse fans will soon declare either The Dark Knight or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the movie they want to see most this summer. Iron Man got pretty soundly thrashed, which I was a little shocked by. Vote early and often in our poll about the summer’s most anticipated movie.

Not only would I like to see who our readers think is the biggest hero this summer, I’d love to know why. Let us hear your comments on whether Batarangs or fedoras are the order of the day.

Well folks, the SFUniverse faithful are not excited by Prince Caspian or Hellboy II. So they’re out of the running for the Biggest Summer film poll.

We asked Iron Man, Batman and Indiana Jones why our fans should vote for them.

Read more

In honor of the release of the new Indiana Jones movie, SCI FI Channel will run a mini-marathon of all three previous movies (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Los Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) on May 18th. 

After the movies, SCI FI will air a brand new special, “Mystery of the Crystal Skulls” with host Lester Holt.

The special will investigate the urban legend surrounding the skulls.  So the story goes that there were 13 quartz human skulls discovered amid ruins of Mayan and Aztec societies.  The skulls have since been scattered by the four winds but if they should be reunited they would unleash untold energy and reveal secrets vital to the survival of mankind.

NBC News anchor Lester Holt will examine the myths and the controversies as he takes audiences inside the lab to discover the truth about these mythical skulls.  Finally, Holt will pack his bags and head for the jungles of Belize in a trek that even Indiana Jones could be proud of!

It all happens on May 18th on SCI FI.

“Not as easy as it used to be!”