One of the most unique movies of the year hits the DVD stands this Tuesday: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I haven’t seen a movie that brought in its comic book origins that blatantly and still made me love every minute in a long, long time. On top of that it mixed the Gamer aspects of the graphic novel in ways I hadn’t seen before, and that many of the games turned into movies could have benefited from. If, that is, they had someone with the skill set of Edgar Wright running the productions. The cast brought their A-game to the party, the music was world class, the camera work was spot on. The film may not have done major box office business, earning $45 Million worldwide when it cost $60 million to make, but I intend to do my bit to help them break even by picking up the DVD, because we need more films like this.
There are a few independent films worth noting this week: The Last Vampire on Earth and Zombie Girl the documentary are not major films, but you might just find them each a refreshing change of pace in its own way. And a classic live action film from Tokyo this week, Shinsengumi Chronicles – I Want To Die A Samurai!, is also being released.
Taking the top spot for my personal Must Have list of TV program box sets this week is Doctor Who: The Complete 5th Season. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan have definitely made the Doctor and Companion rolls their own, which seriously surprised me. MY Doctor was Tom Baker. But then David Tennant blew me away, with his perfect Doctor incarnation; I figure that was going to be the last and best Doctor ever, and indeed he might still be. But Matt and Karen have not been the anti-climax I was expecting after David, and I have to attribute some noticeable portion of that to having Steven Moffat at the helm.
Interestingly enough, the other TV DVD box set coming out this week is also from both the BBC and Steven Moffat: Sherlock: Season One. Steve brings a whole new twist to the classic series of tales, just as he did with Jekyll.
A documentary holds the border between live action and anime this week: Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics. It touches on 75 years of comic book history with a large number of the current big names in the business contributing to the project. Or perhaps it should be Detroit Metal City, a live action film about a skizo rocker (j-pop by inclination, death metal by occupation) who fights himself every step of the way that is SOOOO close to being an anime.
In Anime, Xam’d: Lost Memories – Collection 2 definitely gets my vote as the video to beat this week. It has great animation, a quality storyline, first class voice work (with either cast), and a soundtrack that includes the Boom Boom Satellites; what’s not to like? The other major release this week is also a good one; Tsubasa: Season 2 takes us back on the search for the missing feathers, or in alternate realities the missing memories, of Sakura. Yuuko is the one who shows them the path through the multiverse they might want to explore, but leaves the decisions to them, much as she did/is doing for XXXholic. When your story skips around through time, space, and parallel dimensions, your tenses and syntax can become a bit strained.
Finally, one classic gets re-released in a more affordable package: Comic Party Revolution – The Complete Series [S.A.V.E. Edition] comes in at under $20 for the whole season, for your dojin and cosplay entertainment. What gives this one a bit of added spice is the fact it is one of the about us otaku kind of shows, being all about a group of people that get together to put out their own manga.
