Another new trailer was released for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, which yet again looks even better than the last one. And there are still almost two months to go to the August 13th release date, so they have time to do it again (if they can). Between now and then we have Toy Story 3 and Jonah Hex, on the screens this weekend; The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (yawn) on June 30th; the live action version of The Last Airbender on July 2nd; Despicable Me and Predators on July 9th; the fun-looking The Sorcerer’s Apprentice on July 14th; and the twisted thriller Inception on July 16th. Then there is a gap (unless you count Salt on July 23rd) for several weeks, after which The Expendables comes out the same day as Scott Pilgrim. I’m ready for Scott to be out now, but for the time being the new trailer is all we get.
It looks like a feature length documentary on William Shatner is going to be made, with Shatner as director and executive producer. Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central made the announcement they were partnering with Shatner’s production company on the project a few days ago, where the also made it known they had acquired Canadian broadcast rights to William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet, another documentary that includes the entire ballet as well as Shatner talking about his life and artistic choices. I can’t wait to see the dancing for Common People.
I am going to rethink the Con postings, as I have had several comments that finding out about them a few days before they happen doesn’t leave time to make arrangements and attend the event. But here is a fun site to check out: Part Time Scientists, who have decided to put a robot on the moon. No, they are not kidding; in fact they are so serious that they are registered with the Google Lunar X PRIZE as one of more than 20 teams worldwide in the competition. They are looking for volunteers in several disciplines if you want to get in on the action. Ad Astra!
If you haven’t caught it yet, I would like to recommend a TV program called Through the Wormhole on the Science Channel, one of the Discovery Channel subsets. The host is Morgan Freeman, and the topics range through the tough questions that have always faced mankind, for which we now have enough science to begin to approach an answer. It airs on Wednesday evenings, and here is a sample to get you started…
The comic book film choice this week is Jonah Hex, with John Malkovich as the villein and Megan Fox as the eye candy to Josh Brolin’s Jonah. Based on what I have seen and read I am expecting adventure fun rather than anything profound, but I expect it to be visually interesting enough to require the big screen. For animation fans Toy Story 3 continues the franchise that kicked it off for Pixar, starring everyone you ever heard of. As usual I will be endorsing the 3D version.
Two of each this time: Movies, TV, Anime. To start with Movies, the one that is gut-level intense is the Book of Eli, the first apocalypse story I have seen since Mad Max (the original film, not the sequels) that rings true on every level. Even the touch about the disaster happening because the sun flared through and past the stripped off ozone layers matches in every detail with our current atmospheric situation. The other film of note this week is When In Rome, a romantic comedy that takes several cultural preconceptions and scrambles them beyond belief. Each of these is worth your attention, although one is a bit more important on a long term basis than the other.
In the TV series category, Sanctuary: The Complete Second Season is the top choice. Hopefully you already know why, but if you don’t, consider Nikola Tesla as a Vampire and Jack the Ripper as a Teleporter, and realize they are a few of the more normal regular characters in this series. I recommend this one to everybody. The other TV release worth noting this week is the MacGyver: The TV Movies set, two made for TV movies from 1994. While not strictly SciFi, MacGyver was a Geek Hero, building whatever he needed from whatever was available, the way we all do. It was a nice surprise in those days to have a character who shared our understanding of the world.
On the Anime front, we have 3 box sets this week, with the first two being new. First we have the Clannad: Complete Collection series for 24 episodes, in the growing up damaged category. The other new release is X: TV, not to be confused with the X: Movie series. Both of these are somewhat deceptive, since single season collections have been released for each, but not complete collections until now. The Witchblade DVD Complete Series has been previously released, but this week the Viridian Collection version becomes available, making it much more affordable. If you haven’t been reading the Top Cow comic, and somehow missed the live action TV series, and didn’t know about this Anime TV series, trust me when I say you want to watch this. The weapon chooses its wielder, and modifies their perceptions/gestalt during combat to produce the results it desires. It takes a very strong person indeed to overcome the handicaps to change the end results to something acceptable to them, and watching the protagonist work their tail off to make that happen is the core of this series.
There is a category I don’t usually include that is valid this week: Sleazy Pulp SciFi Collections. One of those collections is the Golden Age of Sci Fi, Fantasy & Adventure, which is a documentary with folks like Ray Bradbury involved. The other is Sleazy Sci-Fi of the 1970s, which is pretty much as the name implies. We go months sometimes before a DVD about SciFi is released, so to have 2 in the same week is well worth noting. While I will do my best to pick up both, I can only recommend one; make your own choices.