Skip to main content

Something to Watch: DVDs, 22Jan13

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.

The Power Of Few

There are several actors who’s roles are off the wall enough that I will watch anything they are in. In The Power Of Few one of those actors, Christopher Walken, has had the shroud of Turin stolen so he can clone Jesus. And just because that wasn’t good enough, there are four other separate story lines going on all of which slam together in the climatic scene. I think this one will be fun.

Something to Do: Movies, 18Jan13

While the only two Genre movies I have found reference to seem to be fantasies themselves this week (i.e., they don’t actually seem to exist), The Last Stand should be fun, with Arnie as the main protagonist. He is a sheriff with some deputies who don’t have a clue, and the bad guys are heading their way at full speed. Action flics are always a good time, and there are a few more good folks involved with this one; it might just be a winner.

Something to Watch: DVDs, 15Jan13

In the silly movie department, 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is yet another of those spoof movies that go for multiple targets in a single film. The other feature presentation for the week is the 2011 documentary I am Bruce Lee, originally presented on Spike TV in the US.

Being Human season 4 leads the TV selections, the UK version of course. Also this time around we get Merlin: The Complete Fourth Season, which made me realize that while I am right up to date on the first series, I am a couple of seasons behind on the second. I may need to do a marathon and get up to speed.

The new anime release is Persona 4: Collection 2, where the Investigation Team moves on to the mystery of the Velvet Room and the deadly Midnight Channel, having solved the murder in the first collection. Figuring out how their powers work, and who is behind the new rash of killings, would be good things as well, preferably before they are all dead.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is being released in a complete series box set, for those who didn’t already pick it up as separate seasons. As usual with such things, you get a bit of a discount for buying the entire thing in a single box, and also as usual you want to shop around for the best deal, with a few places having it for as low as $40. Finally, the original 1970’s TV series Gaiking has been re-edited into 3 feature length movies and packaged up for DVD release, for those who love truly old school giant mecha.

Metegol trailer

This non-English animation looks like it might just be a winner. Metegol means Foosball, and this film is based on the book Memoirs of a Right Winger by Roberto Fontanarrosa, an Argentine writer. While the majority of the production work is being done in Argentina, some of the contributions to the final project come from other Hispanic language locations, like the band Calle 13 from Puerto Rico doing the music. It will be hitting the big screen in February, and I am hoping it will include a version with English subtitles so I don’t have to wait for the DVD to come out to enjoy it.