In limited release this week, Shaolin looks like the most interesting selection. It is a historical epic of the feudal warlord period of China’s history (yes, I know that only narrows it down to a few thousand years, but the fact that they have rifles helps narrow it further, to the last several hundred years). The name from the cast everyone should recognize is Jackie Chan, and as you can see from the trailer the cinematography is excellent as is often the case with Chinese made epics.
X-Men: First Class leads the movie field this week. This one was very impressive on the big screen as a reboot of its franchise, and I think the solid storytelling will have it fare just as well on the small screen. The other major movie offering that looks interesting is Hanna, a rather intense thriller about a teenage assassin. On the import front, Clash of Empires was originally called The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines, and is set against a backdrop of the ancient civilizations of Rome and China from the second century AD. It tells the story of a Roman prince traveling to wed a Chinese princess, with a lot of the filming taking place in Malaysia. Expect a lot of combat in this one; the trailer looks quite interesting. I should also mention The Last Kung Fu Monk for completeness’s sake, although it won’t be following me home.
There are two quality choices in the TV category this time around, with the obvious winner being Fringe: The Complete Third Season. This brilliant show just gets better with each season, and as usual the box set is coming out just in time for you to re-watch it all before kicking off the new season. The other release is the short lived No Ordinary Family: The Complete First Season, which I personally enjoyed and was sorry to see cancelled.
The new Anime offering this week is Bleach: Box Set 10, in a franchise that just keeps going. For re-releases, To Love RU is now being made available in a single boxed set rather than the two boxes it previously came out in. A number of recent classics are being offered in more cost effective packages, including Burst Angel – The Complete Collection which you can find for as low as $21 if you shop around, Black Blood Brothers – The Complete Series [S.A.V.E. Edition] can be found for about $15, and Peacemaker – Complete Collection is running at just about $25 if you shop around.
An interesting twist on the Shakespeare legend, this historical fantasy looks like it could be intellectually satisfying as well as just plain fun. Anonymous opens October 28th in the US, November and December for the rest of the world.
Yes, it is true; the game is migrating to the small screen. Black Rock Shooter on TV will lead the winter lineup in January on Fuji TV’s set of programming. Hatsune Miku sings the theme song for the series with the musical group Supercell and the composer Ryo, and a one hour OVA was previously put together by Studio Ordet with a release to magazines. As of a few days ago, a game edition of Black Rock Shooter with animation by ufotable also hit the shelves. If you are a fan of the game, keep your eye out for the Anime.
The second in the series of Mardock Scramble movies is going to be rolling out shortly, and in honor of that there will be a live-broadcast talk event on Ustream and Nico Nico Douga at 7PM Tokyo time tomorrow, 30Aug11, which is 5AM PST, and 8AM EST, but at least all on the same day. The guests on screen include the writer (Tow Ubukata wrote both the sci-fi novels and the screenplays), the director, and the lead actor (actress, in this case). The first film doesn’t get released in the US for another month yet on September 27th, but the English trailer for it is now available (the second one here), and it will be OnDemand from The Anime Network in October.
Both of the two offerings this week seem to be in the horror field, which I am not a fan of (unless the film has a good level of comedy to balance it out, which these don’t appear to have). If I had to pick one, I suppose it would be Apollo 18, because at least that one takes place off Earth, unlike Shark Night 3D. But I think I will give them both a pass, and use the time I free up to catch up with some current Anime series I am behind on, instead.