Season 1 of the show based on the Charlene Harris novels, True Blood, was amazing. Season 2, coming out on DVD in a week, blew season 1 away. So are you ready, Fangbangers and Fans of Telepathic Waitresses? Season 3 of True Blood kicks off in a few weeks, on the 13th of June 2010, and looks like a monster and a half to me! In Season 3 we finally get to meet the Werewolves, and learn a bit more about the unseen history of the world. Thanks to Screen Crave for the trailer link.
Redstone Science Fiction has the wonderful tag line We want to live forever. Get us off this rock., and it will be rolling out in June. Meanwhile, Amanda Tapping just did an interview at SciFi Wire about why she feels like Sanctuary has been an important project for her. One of the new TV programs on ABC is No Ordinary Family, and the trailer is fun…
There are two fun but silly entries for this weekend. The first is Shrek Forever After, in which our fairytale friends find themselves in an alternate universe where everything is just a bit different. I fully expect this to be just as good as the previous entries in the franchise, and will definitely be there.
The other film (maybe) for the weekend is MacGruber, basically a 5 minute SNL sketch and parody of MacGyver blown up into an entire movie. I think this one could be fun, but its release has been delayed several times already and there is a challenge from the creator of MacGyver, so don’t be surprised if it is held back again.
In the world of TV, a few cancellations and renewals have been announced. At NBC, Heroes has been canceled, but Chuck has been renewed for one more season. At ABC Flash Forward has been canceled just as it was starting to get really going, but V has been renewed. ABC also canceled one of the funniest shows on TV, Better Off Ted. Even though V has two of my favorite science fiction actresses doing a killer mother-daughter team, Flash Forward and Better Off Ted were both excellent original programs rather than rebuilt returns. Which won’t stop me from watching and enjoying V.
There are a few things this week, but not many. With a rating of 2.5 out of 10 on IMDB, I can’t really recommend War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, but I felt obliged to mention it at least. Nor do I feel any great desire to endorse Mutant Vampire Zombies from the Hood!, but there is always the chance it has some good comedic chops to deliver.
While not exactly genre, The Spy Next Door is a Jackie Chan film, and those are always fun. Also, When You’re Strange hits the shelves, a film about The Doors, narrated by Johnny Depp and featuring a lot of previously unseen footage.
In Anime, two complete collections that were previously available, but are now out in more cost effective packages. The xxxHOLiC Complete Series Viridian Collection set contains the entire 24 episode run of the series, for about the same price that used to buy you each of the two seasons. Also, the Air TV Series S.A.V.E edition will get you the whole package for $20 if you shop around.
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption makes its US debut in a week or two at Viz Theater. They have enough back-story at the beginning so it works as a stand-alone, but the first two films are always fun to re-watch. In just a week or so, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya will see the big screen in the US, also at Viz Theater; here are the trailers…
Gantz was the least subtle anime I have ever watched, at least in its unedited form. The version that aired on late night TV (midnight Tokyo time) in Japan was so heavily edited for sex and violence that some episodes made no sense at all, with very few complete sentences. But now a group in Japan is gearing up to make two live action films based on the Manga that drove the anime. 26 companies around the world are already negotiating to get distribution rights for the two films, and a company each in the US and UK are inquiring about remake rights. I will keep my fingers crossed that they don’t wimp out, but stay true to the original story.