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Something to Watch: DVDs

Top choice of the week has to go to Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy), a live oratorio based on The Life of Brian. And yes, most of the surviving Pythons are there for the event. So far I have only seen the trailer (at the bottom of this post), but it is hysterical; this is on my Must Have list for the week. You might enjoy reading the Eric Idle interview about it at the IFC.

San suk si gin, in English the Shinjuku Incident, is a return to the classic Jackie Chan Crime/Drama/Thriller venue that originally made him a star in China. But this time he is not one of the good guys, and the movie tells a more complex and twisted story than any fans of his US movies are used to seeing. If you liked the Police Story series, you will love this one. Fans only of Jackie’s comedy work should skip this and perhaps pick up his other release this week, Jackie Chan & The Karate Kids 8 Film Set. I am sure some marketing person scrambled to find enough old (in this case, 1980 to 1989) Jackie Chan movies with kids doing Kung-Fu to release together in a package, with an eye to cashing in on the new Karate Kid movie hype. But if only two of these films are good, that’s two decent Jackie Chan movies for 10 bucks each, and what if 4 of them are good? And what a surprise, it looks like the new version of Karate Kid hits the big screen Friday.

Somebody decided to release 2008’s Metal Man on DVD, most likely in the hopes that people world confuse it with Iron Man and accidentally buy it. I disagree with the reviewer at IMDB though; I think the SyFy channel would air this movie, probably right after Mansquito, but even they would show it well after midnight but before the infomercials kick in.

A real gem, and my other Must Have recommendation is Animation Express from the National Film Board of Canada. The short films in this collection have between them won 99 awards (and one Academy Award nomination). Some of these have aired on the IFC, and most of them have been making the Film Festival rounds, so I was a bit surprised to find I am already familiar with a number of them. Because of that, I am going to do something I have not previously done, and recommend the Blu-Ray edition of this disk if you have the tech to support playing it. The additional animations include one of the best I have ever seen, Ryan, a groundbreaking animation about a broken former groundbreaking animator; all by itself it is worth the price point difference. Judge for yourself, the animation is at the bottom of this entry.

In Anime, Tuesday has the US DVD release of the Bleach Uncut Box Set: Season 5 and that season brings us up to episode 109 by the time it finishes. As I mentioned a few days ago, Tuesday is also when you can watch the latest episode of Bleach an hour after it airs in Tokyo on Crunchyroll, because that is when they start simulcasting it. There is a definite lag between episodes aired in Japan and the DVD releases in the US, since the current season starts with episode 266 and the one airing this week will be episode 274.

Simulcast Bleach!

Yes, that is correct! You can watch the latest episode of Bleach an hour after it airs in Tokyo on Crunchyroll, and not only is it legal but TV Tokyo, Shueisha, and Studio Pierrot actually make money off of the streaming distribution model. Crunchyroll has been doing this for a number of quality Anime programs, including Naruto Shippuden, for quite a while, as they gradually become The place for streaming Anime online. And hey, they even have some live action programming from Japan, Korea, and China. Don’t be fooled by the Drama header on the page, there is plenty of comedy and action available as well.

Here’s how it works. If you are a Premium Member of Crunchyroll (and if you’re not, please use the link below if you want to sign up; I think they give me an extra 4 hours on my premium membership for referring someone) you can watch the simulcast stream of the episode one hour after it airs in Tokyo. That gives Viz time to bolt the subtitles onto it, but still make it as close to realtime as possible, and you can watch it at 480p and 720p resolutions. If you are not a premium member all is not lost; you have access to stream the new episode a week after it airs, at slightly reduced resolution. Either way beats waiting the months it takes for the episodes to be dubbed and released on Disk in the US, although I still find myself buying the boxed sets as they come out.

There is, of course, a downside or two. First, Bleach starts next Tuesday, June 8th at 5:30AM EDT, 2:30am PDT; likewise, Naruto Shippuden runs on Thursday mornings at 7AM Eastern, 4:00AM Pacific Time. That’s a bit early for me, but I don’t really care. I just watched this weeks Naruto episode when I got home from work yesterday (Streaming is the Video On Demand of the internet), which means I still got to see it the same day as Tokyo, just adjusted to be convenient for my schedule. The other downside is the current season of Bleach consists of episodes #266-#273, going live on the 8th, with 274 being this Tuesdays Simulcast. Why is that a downside? Because the latest US DVD release of the Bleach Uncut Box Set: Season 5 also happens this Tuesday, the 8th, and that season ends with episode 109. I think there is going to be a bit of a gap in my understanding of the story arc. Again, I don’t really care, because eventually that gap will be filled, and until then I will have a steady diet of new episodes to watch.

Crunchyroll

Steampunk Japan

A while back I mentioned the Karakuri, the 16th through 18th century Japanese robots, or programmable clockwork dolls. Nor did it end there; the Karakuri continued to develop in the following centuries, becoming the basis for the development of an advanced robotics industry in that country.

There is an anime series dedicated to the Meiji period and Karakuri called Clockwork Fighters Hiwou’s War that I would like to recommend. Besides being a great Giant Robot series (but the robots are made out of wood and brass, and driven by springs or steam) it is a fun quest-type adventure where a group of kids are out to find their father and save their village. But like Carmen Sandiego, it includes some quality education embedded in the entertainment. The story begins eight years after the port is opened up to ships from the west, a time of cultural and political turmoil that is nicely represented in the program. Many of the people they meet are historical figures, some already famous and some on their way to getting there, and we get to learn a bit about each of them, their attitudes and actions both. Additionally, in virtually every episode there are little 15 to 45 second pieces that give still more of the background and events happening that help put the story into focus, but are also historically accurate. The animation is good and the voice acting is great; this is very definitely worth your time to check out.

Something to Do: Cons

Most folks got Conned out with the massive number of events last week. But if you are ready for more, they are happening. Expo Comic Cancun is taking place in Cancun, Mexico, which includes a series of events by the Cosplay Deviants (they don’t show up at too many US events). Colossalcon 9 is an Anime, Gaming, and Japanese Culture con held in Sandusky, OH. It is being held at a waterpark resort, and they are giving away a trip to Japan, but not at random; you have to win their Cosplay Masquerade competition to get the prize. A-Kon 21 in Dallas, Tx. is an Anime con with a great concert lineup, and for the competitive they are running a Kabuki Slam! In Huntsville, Al., it is HamaCon 2010, an anime con that includes the Okinawa Festival Drums, and AMV and Cosplay competitions. Finally, Anime Kaigi in Flagstaff, AZ has a complete and aggressive series of events to edutain everyone.

A general Sci-Fi con well worth a visit this weekend is Con Carolinas 2010/ Deep South Con 48, in Charlotte, NC. These two events seem to have merged, at least for this year. Jerry Pournelle and Johnny Ringo are the writer GoH’s, Ed Beard, Jr. is the Artist GoH, and Media guests include Claudia God Sent Me Christian and Richard Hatch. Another good general con, although leaning towards the WriterCon side of life is SoonerCon 2010 (2010: A Bubba Odyssey) in Oklahoma City, OK. This one is particularly well endowed with panels and workshops for artists, authors, and fans. And in Nashville, TN, it is HyperIcon 6, again with lots going on.

DieCon X is a great name for a gaming convention, and this one is held just outside of St. Louis in Collinsville, IL; come ready to play, some of the tournaments have already started and will be going through the weekend.

Going Postal

I live on the wrong continent to have been able to watch the latest Terry Pratchett story to be turned into a TV Movie, Going Postal. It aired this past weekend on Sky1 with an amazing all star cast. The previous two Pratchett specials from this production team were Hogfather and The Color of Magic, also with all star casts. If this one follows their pattern, in about 6 months it should become available in the US from RHI; if you haven’t seen them already, track down and watch the first two now.