Short circuits

Last update: January 12, 2009 - 8:41 PM

short circuits

A brief look at new and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.

DVD

Bloodier than before

The 1981 slasher flick "My Bloody Valentine" hews truer to its title with today's release of a special edition that restores several minutes' worth of gory bits that were chopped out in previous versions. Even though the film is a middling entry in the genre, that has made the film's cult following happy in online forums. Of course, it took a remake -- coming Friday to theaters, in 3-D -- to prompt the cross-promotional redo. The new disc (Lions Gate, $20) devotes a chunk of its meager extras to promoting the new film.

Also out today: "Appaloosa," "Brideshead Revisited" (2008), "Captains and the Kings," "Dallas" (Season 10), "Family That Preys," "Little Britain USA," "Matlock" (Season 2), "Mirrors," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Reba" (Season 5), "Skins" (Vol. 1), "Swing Vote," "Tyler Perry's Marriage Counselor," "Walker, Texas Ranger" (Season 6).

GAME

Sporting achievement

The sales-tracking website VG Chartz (www.vgchartz.com) created a stir last week with the news that the Nintendo game "Wii Sports" has become "the bestselling video game of all time," with sales of more than 40 million copies. The funny thing is that most Wii owners have never bought "Wii Sports" -- not singly, at any rate. It's the catch-all title that comes bundled with every Wii system in the United States and most other countries. So if you are among the millions who bought the top-selling Wii, you also "bought" "Wii Sports." It should come as no surprise, then, that VG Chartz's previous record holder, "Super Mario Bros.," also came bundled with its console, the Nintendo Entertainment System, in the late 1980s.

RANDY A. SALAS

Get daily technology news and musings from Randy Salas at startribune.com/technobabble.

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TV news shows - January 12, 2009

TV news shows - Ch. 9: "Fox News Sunday": former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases More