Doctor Steel’s Fibonacci Sequence is a great example of Heavy Metal Nerdcore, not a well-represented music sub-genre but one with some very interesting songs. His roots were always in his Steampunk background, and I don’t think he got to perform with his Robot Band on stage live since they kept breaking down, but you have to appreciate his attitude and attempts.
Becky Stern bills herself as a DIY Guru and head of wearable electronics at Adafruit Industries, itself a company founded by a former MIT student known as Lady Ada. I got one of those ear to ear grins when I saw this one, and as I know some geeks that do cross stitching, I had to post this for them. If you would like to create one of these for your own, you can download the instructions in PDF format and check out their instructions page for additional background and support. Of course, you can also pick up the kit if you don’t already have the materials available. Thanks to Laughing Squid for the heads up on this one.
The primary movie this week is obviously Prometheus, the Alien prequel starring amongst others Noomi Rapace, and I really can’t think of anyone better to be handed the Ripley torch. If you are looking for something a little more lighthearted, or just more suitable for the younger crowd, then Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is silly fun for the whole family. I may just have to do both.
One of the top 2 movies of 2012, John Carter is the must-have DVD for this week. Disney really messed up bad with their marketing strategy, and just who’s bright idea was it to drop the Of Mars out of the title? But even after only making 30 Million its opening weekend domestically, it did end up pulling in 282 Million all in so far, with a total price tag of 250 Million, so it ended up making a decent profit. Perhaps if DVD sales are good enough to raise the total still farther they will go ahead and make the next movie in the series. I have already ordered my five copies, how about you? And if you were wondering, so far this year the only movie I have seen better than John Carter is The Avengers.
Also out this week, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a fun little followup to 2008’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth, this time starring Dwayne Johnson. Like John Carter, this movie is based on a book over a hundred years old which still has a story worth telling. Let’s face it, Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs were both excellent storytellers and Verne at least also had a firm understanding of scientific extrapolation. Finally, the original 1963 version of 13 Assassins is being released in the US this week, so if you have seen the 2010 remake of the film you should consider going back to the original to get a feel for how Japanese film making has evolved over the last 50 years.
In TV, Falling Skies: The Complete First Season is about the survivors of the conquest of Earth fighting back against the alien invaders, which runs on the TNT Network. Arn, The Knight Templar: The Complete Series is more of a miniseries than a full TV show, at 258 minutes long. There was a shortened version of this Middle Ages Epic Fantasy previously released in the US as a movie formatted story, that was 133 minutes long.
In Anime, Hero Tales: The Complete Series is about a star reborn as a human warrior who uses his celestial fighting skills to protect the citizens from their evil and violent Shogun. While Kurenai: The Complete Collection tells the story of a martial arts master with major negotiation skills in the battle of his life, trying to protect a wealthy 7 year old from her murderous family. Strangely enough, this one is more of a comedy than anything else according to the reports; I have yet to see it myself.
I am pretty sure both of these had already been released to tease us all, but they were posted this week as if it was the first time, so what the hell; they are still fun to watch. Both of these movies are relaunches or re-imaginings; not sequels because they are just hitting reset on the franchises and starting over, not giving us something new. Still, a trailer for Spider Man, and another for Total Recall, and yes, I have every intention of being in the theaters to see them on the big screen.
You have to ID your age to watch this one, but it is the best trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter I have seen so far. Not because of the Red rating, but because it gives better visual background for the movie than the other trailers, which are mostly axe wielding sequences.