You can watch Blade Runner Black Out 2022 streaming for free from Crunchyroll starting today. If you are a Crunchyroll premium subscriber you can watch it in 1080P, if not you get it in Standard definition. It is the third of a set of animations that tell the story of how we got from the original story, which took place in 2019, to the different world that exists in 2049. This is from the director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, Shinichiro Watanabe, who agreed to create something for it because the original Bladerunner was the film that made him want to tell his ow stories on the large and small screens. The other short pieces bridging that gap are 2036: Nexus Dawn and 2048: Nowhere to Run. My plan on October 6th is to watch the original film (but which version of the many?) and then these three shorts, in chronological order, have a good meal, and descend on the theater fully psyched for the new film. Here are the other two shorts and a trailer:
There isn’t much on offer this week, although Realive has some serious potential if they did it right; I missed it when it was on Sci-Fi, so I don’t really know. I am definitely not going to bother to see the remake of the horror flick Flatliners. The one film that looks like it could be a hoot is Judwaa 2, a variation on the classic Twins, except without Arnie.
There are a couple of good options this week. I pretty much have to see Kingsman: The Golden Circle because the first one was such a hoot. And I am a big fan of the franchise, so I will probably also check out The LEGO Ninjago Movie, having laughed my way through their Batman endeavor. But there is a wonderful animation I absolutely have to mention: Loving Vincent. This may be the first animated feature film about an artist done in that artists own painting style, and it looks amazing.
I didn’t find any genre this week, but In Search of Fellini is pretty surreal, and almost counts as fantasy. It is ‘based on a true story’ of co-author Nancy Cartwright’s own personal journey prior to her nearly 30 year run as the voice of Bart Simpson.
In Search of Fellini Trailer from Spotted Cow Entertainment on Vimeo.
The movie I want to see this weekend is Hirune-hime: Shiranai watashi no monogatari, or Napping Princess for the English title (the Japanese title literally means My baby girl: My story I do not know). It is a sci-fi story about a girl who dreams the future, taking place during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Sadly, there will be very few theaters carrying it in this country; most theaters are carrying It, a decent number will have The Limehouse Golem, and a very few will have Anti Matter. But I am just not a horror fan, so if I have to drive for a while to find a theater where it is playing, so be it.
Almost, at least. The movie I most want to see this Friday isn’t a movie at all; it is the pilot episode of the new TV series The Inhumans. Not only is it in movie theaters, but it is in IMAX format, which means on the biggest screen you can see it on! If it were only in 3D it would be prefect, but I am not going to let a detail like that stop me from seeing it. There is also a fantasy animation called Animal Crackers about a magical circus being released this week, which I would ordinarily be going to see; maybe next weekend.