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Things to Watch: DVDs

The most important release this week (in my opinion) is Life on Mars Season 2, the UK edition. This one wraps up Sam Tyler’s journey into the past.

Another one to be aware of is Recon 2023, which actually came out on DVD in the US back in August. What makes this one unique is the fact that it only became available in the country it came from this month… go figure!

From the creators of Spy Kids comes Shorts, a silly kids movie that should be fun. The premise is a wishing-stone falls from the sky, and as it gets passed around town things get stranger and stranger. With actors like William H. Macy and James Spader, I think it could work.

A surprising US release this week is Akihabara Deep; the last movie like this I was aware of was called Hackers, and was one of the very first Angelina Jolie movies ever made. I will enjoy watching this import, and doing my best to track down and acquire Bamboo Blade, which isn’t really related beyond coming from the same culture and attitude.

If you are into interesting/strange music, you need to be aware that the Best of Spike Jones DVD is also coming out this week. If you don’t know who that is, I recommend you take some time and learn; you won’t be disappointed.

SF Movies in Real Places, best Swashbucklers

There is an excellent article at CNet UK’s Crave site called The future is now: Sci-fi films in real locations. Besides all the movies you would expect, it mentioned one I somehow missed: The Girl From Monday. It turns out it is part of Netflix streaming collection, so I will be seeing it soon. Another quality read is io9’s Greatest Swashbuckling Heroes From 100+ Years Of SF Books. The collected artwork alone is worth the visit, like the ERB John Carter of Mars covers (including the one that inspired a certain Starwars costume), and the commentary is just as informative and entertaining as the article itself.

Things to Do: Movies

Just a reminder that tomorrow, 17Nov09, is the last chance for quite a while for anyone to see The Wizard of Oz on the big screen. And it is nice to finally have this classic available on DVD for the small screen (or not so small these days).

It was supposed to be out on July 24th, but Planet 51 finally hits the theaters on Friday. This alien invasion animation looks like it will be a lot of fun, with plenty of humor and the usual world-class animation this team leads you to expect.

The live-action film for this weekend is of course The Twilight Saga: New Moon. If you need to have this one explained to you, nothing I can say could help, but you could try their IMDP page, where you will find new news stories being cranked out at the rate of one every few minutes.

Things to Watch: DVDs and TV

Obviously, the number-one DVD release for this week is Star Trek the reboot. I thought Simon Pegg was brilliant as Scotty, Zachary Quinto likewise for Spock, and Bones was also better than the original. If you have the device, don’t forget to grab the Phaser app for your iToy.

Two other movies may be interesting; Thirst is a Korean Vampire movie from the people who created The Host. And the spoof Vampire Party could be amusing, if a little over the top.

For TV series, both Farscape, the complete series and Farscape Season 4 get re-released this week.

The main Anime release is Evangelion: 1.01 You Are [Not] Alone, the first in the new series of Evangelion animated movies. Also out this week is the Blue Drop: Tenshi-tachi no Gikyoku complete series, and Polyphonica, again the complete series.

On the TV front, the new version of The Prisoner kicks off tonight on AMC; they are also hosting the complete original series for online viewing if you want to catch up before the new one starts.

TV News: The Prisoner, Dollhouse, Torchwood, Bradbury

The Prisoner miniseries will kick off Sunday the 15th and run for 3 nights. This miniseries is a remake of the 1967 cult classic, and will run for three consecutive nights. Currently the original Prisoner is available on On Demand and on DVD.

That was the good TV news; the bad news is that Dollhouse is canceled, which figures, since it was getting better every episode. You can see what Joss has to say about the final episodes.

Torchwood, on the other hand, now has a real good chance of having a season 4! Add that to word that Ray Bradbury’s new miniseries should hit the airwaves soon as well, and the tally comes to 3 good announcements to one bad.

Things to Do: Movies and TV

Probably the most anticipated release for this week is 2012, an end-of-the-world epic based on the Mayan calendar (although the marketing team for this movie hopes you think it is predicted in many additional cultures). It has the budget and star power to actually be a quite entertaining film, which would be a surprise for a disaster flick. I look forward to finding out if they pull it off or not.

The one I think will be the winner this time is The Fantastic Mr. Fox, with folks like George Clooney and Meryl Streep doing the voiceovers for this Film Fest favorite. While only in limited release this weekend, next week it will be playing everywhere.

While not speculative fiction of any flavor, in fact a film based on real life events, I am looking forward to Pirate Radio. I was involved with the American version of a similar radio movement that decade, and expect to enjoy it for personal reasons.

In the week’s strange releases, none stands out so much as The Flying Scissors, a mockumentary about the intensely competitive world of Rock-Paper-Scissors.

In the TV department we have The Prisoner (the new version) launching on AMC on Sunday. There is a very interesting reaction to last week’s V; except it is not about V, but rather SGU. Go figure.