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Something to Watch: DVDs

The first film worth mentioning is Griff the Invisible, staring Jason from the True Blood series as a hapless superhero who meets Melody, a fellow traveler out to save him from himself. To me, this one holds the most promise, both because of the actors involved and the premise they explore. Another movie coming out this week that I am looking forward to seeing, even if it isn’t genre, is Flypaper, a romantic comedy in the midst of heavy gunfire. The final fictional film that might be worth looking into this week is Bite Marks, which may be cast into the overplayed field of vampires but could always have something new to offer.

Then there are the documentaries, of which there are several. Superheroes from HBO is just what you imagine; an exploration into those people who actually are real life caped crusaders, out to protect us all. Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World is both in IMAX and 3D, and mostly playing in museums, which is what makes it so collectable. A tribute to one of Sci-Fi’s great writers is also released this time around, The Magic Never Ends – The Life & Work of C.S. Lewis. If you are a fan of Narnia, you do not want to miss that one!

We have two live action TV shows of note this time around. Being Human: The Complete First Season is from the American series supported by the Syfy Channel, not the far superior UK show, but worth checking out even so. Then Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns is a UK program every bit as intense as the subject matter might make you suspect, and well worth watching.

Western animation has several programs worth watching, of which my personal favorite has to be Red vs. Blue: Season 9. Trust me when I say no animation you will watch this year will be more entertaining or important (unless it comes from Japan with an insanely good review). From the UK, Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 is the selection of choice, and almost as good as the Master Chief series. I should also mention Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons, which looks to be a hoot. Not only do we get a couple of additional animations from the series (I really like the way Dreamworks, Pixar, and a few others are willing to add new entertainment to the archives), but this one will set you up into online game mode if you are good enough to figure out its triggers.

In Anime we have two new presentations and several cost-effective reissues. First, ICE – Complete Collection gives us a virus, which has wiped out most of the population. The survivors are all beautiful women, and the choices they make will shape society for a thousand years. Then Bleach: Fade to Black is a stand-alone movie that gives us more of the back story of this incredible complex series.

There are also a few classic anime now released in more cost effective packaging, including Blassreiter, Love Hina, and Shuffle. I personally appreciate not having to pay the huge original price for a quality series, considering just how many series I find myself buying.

Tailchaser’s Song movie

Tad William’s classic fantasy Tailchaser’s Song is going to be made into an animated feature, and what encouraged me that they might stay true to the feel of the book is the animation production house, IDA. If International Digital Artists doesn’t ring any bells for you, they are the team that put together Cat Sh*t One, based on the manga of the same name. That is a brutally realistic combat animation starring special forces bunnies; unfortunately, all the legal copies of the trailer for that animation I could find include advertisements of one type or another, but I think you will be impressed by the quality of work once you get to the trailer itself. Thanks to Crunchyroll for the heads up on this one!

Avengers Trailer

The Avengers film isn’t coming out until May of next year, but there is already another trailer for it that makes me wish it was coming out this weekend. I would be worried that it might not live up to the hype surrounding it, but it is Joss at the helm this time, so I feel confident.

Hatsune Miku tomorrow

If you are lucky enough to live in or near the 9 cities the event is going to be held in, then know tomorrow night, November 10th, you could attend the Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011. This is part of the new Live Viewing Japan network they are starting to build at various movie theaters in the US, and the event will kick off at 7PM local time across North America, just to minimize confusion. They already have more events planned, and with luck they will be able to expand the number of theaters in their network soon. Note that every one of the nine cities they started off with hosts one of the major Anime Cons every year; good choice to start building your fan base, since you know they gather there.

Misfits App free download

The TV show Misfits has run for two seasons in the UK with the third under way now, but hasn’t appeared on traditional TV over here yet. You can buy it from iTunes or watch it on Hulu Plus, however, and now you can download and play the Misfits Community Service Game App for free. They have versions available for both the iDevices and the Android OS, you can use the links on their page or search the appropriate marketplace directly. In the game, you are on the community service team performing tasks and are looking to make money and win popularity points. If you play well enough, you will be invited to cash them in for a new superpower and a fresh mission. At the whopping cost of free, I recommend any fan of the show tries this one out.