Sanctum is a James Cameron 3D thriller hitting the big screens this weekend. I fully expect the movie to be visually stunning, which is the reason I am mentioning it here, but it is not even close to sci-fi or fantasy. In fact I believe it is based on a true story, and you can find episodes on the National Geographic Channel.
For newly released movies we have Let Me In, the American remake of the award winning masterpiece Let The Right One In, for the fantasy/horror crowd with an addiction to vampires. I can not imagine how the US version can be a quarter as good as the original Swedish film with all its layered complexity, beyond the fact that you don’t have to know how to read to follow the story. But I will watch it, probably on a Netflix equivalent so I at least don’t have to pay extra money to find out if it is any good. The next movie this week is Monsters, the next in the series of alien invasion tales for this century, this Brit entry to the field winning all sorts of awards on the Film Fest circuits before it finally made it to theaters and DVD. And finally we have Quantum Apocalypse, which may be the only end-of-the-world movie set in Lafayette, Louisiana. I don’t have anything to recommend it beyond that, since it is a made-for-Syfy Channel movie (usually a demotion all by itself).
Classic animation is represented this week by the 60th anniversary of Alice In Wonderland, the Disney version. Not the modern Disney version with Johnny Depp, but the old one from 1951. Aldous Huxley worked with Walt Disney on early scripts for this project in late 1945, which gets even twisty-er when you realize Huxley’s mother, Julia Arnold, was one of the little girls that Carroll photographed and told the Alice stories to.
There is one quality new Anime title this week: You’re Under Arrest! Fast & Furious – Season 2. If you are not already a fan of this franchise, get ready for some serious belly laughs as car crazy Miyuki and insanely strong Natsumi get everyone in their cross hairs. The quality re-release anime this week is Chobits; a Persacomp (Personal Computer) that looks just like a life size naked girl ends up at our protagonists place and proceeds to turn his life inside out. I know it isn’t obvious from that perfectly accurate description, but this is a Shojo story, with the plot line and action implications all resolving for the (robot) girls benefit. Any computer geek of either gender will love this classic animated tale.
They started this project in 2006, when they took Terry Pratchett’s wonderful little Christmas tale Hogfather and turned it into a TV Movie special on Sky Television. Then, in 2008, they got together again and outdid themselves with The Color of Magic, which was actually Pratchett’s first two Discworld novels together in a single story. This one is worth viewing for the luggage alone, let alone the great cast, amazing story, or excellent special effects. For the next one, in May of 2010, they did Going Postal, which from all reports is the best one yet. This week, we have received word they have been signed up to do another one, Unseen Academicals. No word on the expected release date, or even if it is going to be on Sky 1 this time, but just knowing there is more Pratchett silliness coming to the small screen makes me grin in anticipation. If you can’t wait, you can always create a football fan character and hang out in the stadium to get ready.
Every year in the UK there is a great little film festival that comes along, the Sci-Fi London Film Festival, happening next from April 23nd to May 2nd. It actually turns up twice every year, because besides the April event they also run an Oktoberfest. Part of the festival focus is to support new film makers, with panels, workshops, and a 48 hour film challenge which usually funds the winner to make a feature length version of the winning entry. Well, it seems they put a number of the shorts, features, documentaries, and interviews online to check out at Sci-Fi London Web TV. You will find all the 2010 48 Hour entries there (with the tag line These films were made for zero budget in 2 days!), lots of the shorts from the previous Oktoberfest, a behind-the-scenes look at Paul, feature films including The Brain That Wouldn’t Die and Planet Outlaws, and a whole lot more. To see their entire collection you can also hit the Daily Motion SFLondon site. And if you don’t watch anything else, be sure to take the time for The Hunt For Gollum. If you happen to be in the UK, The Sci-Fi London team will be part of the SFX Weekender event on the 4th and 5th of February, where, surprise, a lot of science fiction will be screened.
Copy Shop is a bizarre time travel with cloning story with minimum dialog; a wonderful use of the short video medium to convey so much in so little time. And then, from 1943, this surreal and experimental short film is called Meshes of the Afternoon, and was created by husband and wife team Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. While watching this I kept expecting to hear Alan Ginsburg break into poetry narrating the circular ongoing sequence in a single sentence that flowed from twist to turn without ending or pause for breath. Enjoy!
Copy Shop from Nishant Kumar on Vimeo.
Some of the best music comes from Japanese Anime and I have a few to share today. My all time favorite composer is Yoko Kanno, so the tracks are hers, from the original movie Ghost In The Shell. They start with Inner Universe, followed by Lithium Flower, and then finally the Opening Theme song, all from the first film. So this is the music of a single movie, from a single composer; imagine how much more is out there, waiting to be discovered!