There are no wide releases of note this week, but if you are near a theater that gets limited release films, My Way is the most interesting film out there, and the sad part is it is based on a true story. Two high school rivals, one Korean and one Japanese, become enemies and end up fighting together in most of the major theaters of WWII, and eventually have no one to depend on except each other. They start out fighting for the Japanese in China, one an officer and the other a conscript, where they are captured and forced to fight for the Chinese on the Russian front. Soon they are captured by the Russians, who in turn place them on their western front to fight the Nazi’s. In turn, they are captured by the Nazi’s, who put their new cannon fodder along the entrenched installations in Normandy, to fight the invading Allies. Originally titled D-Day, this is a Korean film which has won some awards around the world and done some serious box office in Asia.
Terrestrial Human
No movies to speak of this week, beyond Robotropolis, which is a remake of Westworld without the budget.
In TV, the 1980s spinoff series from the movie of the same name, Starman: Season 1 stared Robert Hays as the alien, come back to Earth to visit his kid. I still love the movie, the TV show was not as impressive but still might be worth watching again, if only to see if it got better with perspective. Ernie Kovacs: The ABC Specials also comes out this week, and that period of his career holds some of his most creative work. If you got the huge Ernie Kovacs DVD collection that came out last year like I did, you already have these. If you were waiting for something resembling a best-of, this would be it.
We do have a treat in Western Animation: Shaun the Sheep: Shear Madness. The folks at Aardman have a new movie coming out in the next few weeks as well, Pirates, Band of Misfits that also looks to be pretty funny. The other western animation this time around is Young Justice: Season 1, Volumes 1-3, which is still funny, but more action oriented.
In Anime, Someday’s Dreamers – Complete Collection looks to be the humorous choice, being the story of a magical girl who can’t spell very well, and who moves to Tokyo for some advanced training. Winning the ward for most redundant title this week is Legend of the Legendary Heroes, with both Part 1 and Part 2 coming out at the same time. This one is a much more serious story of war and power.
Re-released in a more cost effective package, Tsubasa, RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE – OVAs Collection S.A.V.E. edition completely changes the way you view that set of universes, as the two OVA series tells you what lay underneath the tale you thought you understood.
The movie Looper is a movie about a bounty hunter in the present who gets paid to kill time travelers arriving from the future. And one day, the guy who arrives is an older version of him, and all sorts of hell breaks loose. They do have a nice tag line: Hunted By Your Past, Haunted By Your Future. Bruce Willis is the older-me time traveler, this one will be hitting the big screen on September 28th.
Yes, you can also get the printed version of these two, but they look real good online and you can read them there for free. The old favorite Steampunk Comic that you have seen mentioned here many times before is Girl Genius, a graphic novel series so good it has won some serious awards. I have been reading it for years and did order the print version (I think I have through volume 8 so far) just because I wanted to read it the old fashion way. On the other hand, I only heard about Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether within the past week or so from the folks over at SF Signal, and am enjoying it immensely so far. Check them out, and let me know what you think!
Tonight is Yuri’s Night, the anniversary of the first human to make it into space and live to tell about it! Named after Yuri Gagarin, who took his epic ride on April 12th, 1961, this date is now used to celebrate all aspects of humanities continuing efforts to leave this gravity well. That first link will get you details to 183 events in 44 countries on 7 continents, so there will be something going on near you (unless you live way out to sea, in Antarctica, or along the full length of the former Siberia/Alaska land bridge and the lands it tied together). And even if you live in those places, or just don’t feel like driving, there are 9 Online Parties so you can celebrate with your friends at the Second Life International Space Flight Museum or Second Life Frontier Spaceport, the Foundation for Space Development at Mach30, and at Area 52, Outlands for you WoW folks (message HumanityPlus in-game for details, that event is on the 17th).
If you are a bit more serious than that, go for the Constellation Apps platform party, if you have the application development enviro installed, or hit NASA’s Third Rock Radio to listen to it all come down, or watch on SpaceVidcast online or on Roku. There are a lot more; find the one that works for you and join us in celebrating mankind’s attempt to escape this cosmic trap, and survive through the ensuing millennium.
I love the mix you can get sometimes between modern and traditional music, when the right people are involved. In this case it is heavy metal guitar and Taiko Drums, with the guitar played by Tomoyasu Hotei. The first song is Battle Without Honor or Humanity, the second is Devil’s Sugar, and the setting is live in front of a famous Buddhist temple. If they sound familiar, there is a good reason. The first track alone has appeared in the movies Shin Jinginaki Tatakai (where it originally was used), and then in Kill Bill, Hotel for Dogs, Shrek the Third, Transformers, and Team America: World Police. If you don’t see many movies, it was used in the games Dance Dance Revolution and Gran Turismo HD, as well as a number of TV shows and radio programs.
Taiko Drums are traditional Japanese instruments used in temples and festivals, and often played in groups. Taiko actually means “wide drum” or “great drum” in Nihongo, so calling them Taiko Drums is a bit redundant, but that is the usual English usage. The third track is a traditional Taiko performance and trust me when I say the recording did not capture the depth of sound those drums are producing, nor could your speakers reproduce it. One of the most moving episodes in the 2011 season of J-Melo was their broadcast of the live performance by the surviving members of the Fukushima Taiko competitive team. If you don’t have J-Melo available from your cable company or satellite provider, you can watch it and the rest of the programming online from NHK World; just check their schedule to see when your shows will be on.