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Something to Watch: DVDs

Avatar; if you only buy one DVD this year, this should be it. Enough said.

Among the imported live action movies, K-20: Fiend With Twenty Faces looks like a fun choice, from the teams that brought out 20th Century Boys and Death Note.

For TV series, Merlin, the Complete First Season hits the shelves this week. Seen in the US on NBC and Syfy, this re-imagining of the Arthur legend was built by the BBC.

Comrades in Dreams was a documentary produced in 2006 about a select few people around the world who bring the magic of movies to people and places that otherwise might not have the opportunity to see them on the big screen. I know it is hard to believe in this age of instant streaming video, but these media activists are serving a vital purpose.

Naruto Shippuden Box Set 2 probably tops the popularity charts for this weeks Anime series. This show just keeps getting better.

Previously released as individual seasons, Otogi Zoshi: Collection of Ages is the full 26 episode series. The story takes place in then-capital Kyoto (Then being around 972 A.D.), where a female Samurai archer takes on a journey in search of a jewel with mystic powers.

One of the stranger anime box sets being released this week is Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan; fans of vigilante style justice for perverts or people who like their ultra violence served up cutesy ought to love this one.

Besson and Brussels

Luc Besson released his new masterpiece Wednesday, Les Aventures Extraordinaires d’Adèle Blanc-Sec, pretty much everywhere in the French speaking parts of Europe, and I really hope there is a Subbed or Dubbed English DVD version scheduled for later. This one looks like pure Steampunk fun, and had its world premiere last week at the BIFFF, also known as the 28th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. I should point out, every other movie at that festival is also on my to-be-watched list, and there are a lot of them. I know I posted this trailer a week or 3 back, but here it is again for anyone who missed it…

Something to Do: Cons

There are as always way more cons then I have time to research, but here are a few coming up this weekend. Wizard World is the Anaheim Comic Con taking place this weekend, and includes Stan Lee signing autographs. TMode is a blend of Asian and Western pop culture taking place in Alexandria, VA, with the emphasis on Anime, Gaming, and Cosplay. NashiCon is the third presentation of South Carolina’s original Anime con, and the winner this time around may be Kawaii Kon 2010 in Hawaii, which includes an equal number of guests from both sides of the Pacific.

Joss Whedon gets Avengers?

It looks like a good chance on “Yes”; Joss Whedon may indeed get to direct the Avengers movie, according to Cinematical. Considering how many times Hollywood has shafted Joss, I find this news exciting indeed, as long as they don’t pull the rug out from under him again. And this isn’t just any Marvel Superhero movie, but the one all the others have been building to for years; Iron Man, Nick Fury, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America all in a movie together! And directed by Joss Himself; I am so ready for this one!

And speaking of media monster conglomerate executives, SciFi Wire posted a good Venn diagram of the possible Syfy Movie Monster Combination’s that channel might use to continue creating those really horrible made-for-TV movies they do. I have to scratch my head at that, because some of their TV shows like Eureka or Caprica are world class, while most of their movies are completely unwatchable (the last good one was Deep Red). Then there is the fact that SciFi Wire was (at least until recently) owned by the Syfy Channel, so I have to wonder why they are making fun of their former bosses. Thanks to Science Fiction Geeks for the heads up on that one.