Josh’s Guide to Great Geeky Gifts — Part One!
October 13-14 is Amazon’s Prime Day, in which they trumpet all sorts of great discounted deals across their site. Personally, I enjoy hunting through their deals and I almost always make some great purchases each year when this comes around. So I thought this might be a fun excuse to assemble a list of awesome geeky gifts that might interest readers of this site either as something fun to get for themselves, or as great potential gift ideas for your friends and loved ones!
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Today, in Part One of my list, I’ll be suggesting some great movies in 4K, some of my favorite extended cuts of movies, and some great complete series sets of TV shows. Onward:
Great Movies in 4K
If you love movies and you love physical media, here are some great films available in beautiful 4K:
The Goonies — One of my all-time favorite films, looking more beautiful than ever.
Superman: The Movie — It’s still one of the best super-hero movies ever made. I have bought many different versions of this film on home video over the years. I haven’t yet taken the plunge for this new 4k edition, but I am sorely tempted!
The Prestige — My favorite Christopher Nolan movie (you read that right) in the most beautiful home-video format possible.
Ex Machina — A gloriously twisty sci-fi film that is currently a steal at $10 for the 4K version!! (No guarantees how long that price will last.) Click here for my full review of the film.
The Hunt for Red October — By far the best Tom Clancy adaptation in any media. I love this film so much.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind — One of Steven Spielberg’s greatest films, and one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.
Great Extended Cuts of Great Movies:
Blade Runner: The Final Cut — The best version of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece.
Watchmen: Ultimate Cut — Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore & Brian Bolland’s classic comic book series is flawed, but underrated. I love it a lot, and this ultimate cut (which combines the Extended Cut with all of the animated Tales of the Black Freighter sequences) is the only way to watch this film.
Doctor Sleep — I loved this underrated adaptation of the sequel to The Shining, and I can’t wait to watch this extended cut which I recently bought on 4K.
Kingdom of Heaven — Ridley’s Scott’s director’s cut completely redeems the disappointing theatrical version, turning this into the gorgeous, sweeping epic it was supposed to be.
Almost Famous: The Bootleg Cut — The original version was already terrific, but this significantly extended version allows one to luxuriate in this great story even longer.
Mimic: The Director’s Cut — Guillermo del Toro was reportedly not treated well during the making of this film, and the version released to theaters didn’t reflect his vision. Years later, he was given an opportunity to rework the film, and this new version is dramatically better. (Click here for my full review.)
The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions — Peter Jackson’s Extended Editions of his three Lord of the Rings films are masterpieces, and the only way to watch these films. (Even though the original theatrical versions were great too!! But the Extended Editions are definitive.) They’re being released to 4k in December, so pre-order away! (Though be aware that Warner Brothers has already announced that a super-special edition with new extra features will be coming out this summer…)
Great Complete Series Sets of Great TV Shows:
The Wire — Probably the greatest TV show ever made. (Click here to watch on Prime — looks like it’s FREE if you have an HBO subscription.)
Freaks and Geeks — Paul Feig and Judd Apatow’s brilliant, cancelled-too-soon series is the best TV show set in high school ever made.
Parks and Recreation — Pure joy through and through. (Though skip the six-episode first season, which is an entirely different show.) (Click here to watch on Prime.)
The Good Place — Another Mike Schur triumph. Hilarious and heartfelt. (Click here to watch on Prime.)
The Larry Sanders Show — Garry Shandling’s behind-the-scenes look at a late night talk-show was absolutely brilliant; incredible comedy mixed with deep investigations of our flawed humanity. (Click here to watch on Prime — HBO subscription required.)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — My all-time favorite Star Trek series. New to Trek? Click here for my guide to how to start watching and fall in love with Star Trek! (Click here to watch FOR FREE on Prime.)
The West Wing — I need this show now more than ever. Note: The first four seasons are the ones to watch. (Click here to watch on Prime.)
Thanks for reading (and, hopefully, purchasing!) C’mon back tomorrow for Part Two!