It’s been a bit more than that, but this video was made a few years back by Nick Kinder. And unlike some shortsighted production companies, Pixar not only didn’t get mad or threaten lawsuits, they sent him a library of their work because they liked his appreciation video. Which makes sense; you need serious heart to make the kind of films they do, I make a point of never missing opening week because of that.
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The new Doctor Who season kicks off on March 30th according to the folks at TOR, and I am certainly ready for the ride. Just to get you in the mood, here is the latest trailer.
The band is called The Slants, the song title is Love Letters From Andromeda, and the footage is from Tai Chi Zero, a Steampunk Kung-Fu movie coming out on DVD today. The second one is the band National Campaign doing another music video for the same movie, called The Stand. Enjoy.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters stars a few of my favorite Sci-Fi folks (including Gemma Arterton) and looks like it should be quite the serious ride. I would select it as my top pick for the week, but I am not sure I can do that. There is also a Jason Statham option this time around, Parker, and while not exactly genre they are usually intense enough that they should be. And one more for the silly factor: Noobz is a gamer film about four friends out to win the Gamecon championship which includes Jason Mewes as one of the competitors. I may just have to see three movies this weekend, and certainly a minimum of two… but which two?
There are a number of new movies this week, of which Tai Chi Zero is the top of the list for me, being a Steampunk Kung-Fu action comedy. How could I possibly resist that combination? If you are looking for something a bit more serious, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai from the creator of 13 Assassins should have everything you could want in a story of martial arts revenge under an oppressive government. Both of these films are quite good and worth your time to watch.
noobz is a gamer film that looks like silly fun this time around, and yes, the name is lower case. Jason Mewes is involved with the project, which I appreciate, but the DVD is coming out only a matter of 4 days after the film was released in theaters, which is never a good sign.
There are a couple of direct to DVD choices this time, or maybe they just never played in my part of the world, or were on a TV channel I don’t watch. Night of the Templar might be interesting, it is a bit hard to get an idea of the quality from the trailer. Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft is being released in the hopes that people will confuse it with the new movie coming out this week (at least, that’s my theory), and I have no real idea why they are releasing Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. Or any of that series after the original movie, for that matter. At least with Death Race 3: Inferno, also out this week, I actually like the first two films in the franchise.
There are no actual genre releases in TV this week that I found, but there are a few geeky items. Chris Hardwick: Mandroid is his Comedy Central special, now on DVD and noticeably expanded from what they broadcast, covering a range of Nerdist topics. The other offering is an award winning British sitcom, Spy: Series 1, in which a divorced father in a custody battle for his son goes looking for a new job, and accidentally gets recruited by MI6.
Anime is comprised of OVAs and a feature film this time. Saiyuki Gaiden is a three episode OVA telling of the battles Goku and his allies fought to escape Heaven. The Shakugan no Shana: Movie and Shakugan no Shana S, a five episode OVA telling four new stories, bring us new tales of Shana’s flaming sword as she and her powerful human partner Yuji destroy demons across two worlds. OVA stands for Original Video Animation, and the instances mentioned here are examples of studio projects for existing series that are released direct to DVD, without a movie or TV showing first. They can also be a privately funded short set of episodes that are then used to shop a project around to the studios in the hopes of getting it picked up as a series.
I loved Red, and am so looking forward to Red 2! I think they called this a teaser because it is the first one, but it looks like a full trailer to me. I WILL be in the theater opening day for this one.