The revolutionary 1953 Arthur C. Clarke novel Childhood’s End will be hitting the small screen as a 3 episode miniseries. The first episode airs beginning on December 14th on Syfy, just before the premier of The Expanse, or you can stream it now from their web site. The peaceful alien invasion of Earth is followed by decades of apparent utopia under their rule, but most people fail to notice their goal is to change humanity forever.
Terrestrial Human
Gods of Egypt looks like a lot of fun if this trailer is any indication. It will be in theaters on February 26, 2016, and this video makes me think somebody looked around for inspiration after watching the Thor films and Stargate series, landing on the rich mythology of ancient Egypt for their way to access the other franchise’s audiences. While I don’t expect this film to turn out to be an award winner, it does look like it could be silly fun.
This year the Geminid meteor shower peaks on the 14th, but numbers will be high from December 13th through the 15th. If we get clear skies the viewing should include fainter meteors since the moon will not be overhead during the event, which means 60 to 100 visible per hour, or better than 1 a minute on average. If you haven’t enjoyed a meteor shower before, stop by Meteor Watch to learn the basics. The really short version of the basics are be comfortable (chair, appropriate clothing, munchies and drinks, etc.) and keep looking at the sky.
Most good sequels try to outdo the originals, and the Now You See Me franchise is no different. At least, now that they have a second film in the making, so they become a franchise rather than a single offering. I really like the first film in this series, and can’t wait to see how the new one does!
Nola and the Clones sounds interesting but seems to only exist on IMDB as a minimalist entry. Sadly Krampus, a movie about a boy who unleashes a Christmas Demon, seems to be a real film. The movie that does look interesting this week isn’t Sci-Fi or Fantasy at all; A Royal Night Out is about teenage Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret escaping the palace on VE day 1945 to celebrate in the streets of London along with the rest of the city. That part really happened, but I am pretty sure the events depicted in the film are fiction beyond that. Still, it looks like a fun film, I just might take it in this weekend.
Movies have Cooties this week, about grade school zombies and the teachers who are trying to escape them. This comedy/horror film had mixed critical reviews and low box office, but a lot of that was due to the fact that it only showed up on a handful of screens in the US. TV has The Flash: The Complete First Season w/Figurine for collectors, but the figurine isn’t wearing the red suit, it is wearing the yellow one. AMC is releasing Fear the Walking Dead: Season 1 and The Walking Dead: Season 5 Limited Edition this week as well.
Anime has Space Brothers: Collection 6, bringing home episodes 65 through 75, and bringing Mutta to his final tests; if he passes them, he will officially be an Astronaut. Fairy Tail: Part 18 brings still more magical collateral damage in episodes 200 through 212. I should also mention Mobile Suit Gundam: Collection 02, because even though it is a re-release of the original series, it is the first time it will be available in HD to North America.