The first trailer for the German science fiction film Nydenion is now out (there is also an English version of the site). What started as colony worlds have evolved into empires, and the war between them is killing billions. A former fighter pilot is hired to fly a woman (a special ambassador) to the peace negotiations to get them back on track, but lots of folks don’t want peace to break out, and are doing their best to kill them. I do not know the release date as yet.
According to Feedflix there are some great streaming Anime titles coming up on Netflix in the near future. Moribito kicks off September 15th, and Golgo 13 starts September 25th. It rips wide open when we hit October 1st, with titles including some of my favorite anime, like FullMetal Alchemist, Burst Angel, Basilisk, Black Blood Bros., and Aquarion. Other titles I have heard good things about but haven’t seen yet include Blassreiter, D.Gray-man, Darker Than Black, Claymore, and Devil May Cry. There are other titles that date as well that I don’t think are sci-fi or fantasy, so check the whole list. Thanks to the team at Anime News Biz for the heads up on that one.
This time around is the franchise that wouldn’t die with another entry: Resident Evil: Afterlife. The fourth entry in this series finds Alice and here friend battling for their lives yet again, and this time it is in 3D. Also out this weekend, Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?) is a star studded documentary about one of the most original songwriters of all time. Everybody knows his songs, but the music he was occasionally on the charts for singing was often written by other people; while his songs were sung by the most famous and well respected vocalists of the last five decades. If you don’t know quite who he is, this film is your chance to learn and be amazed.
Lots of good TV out this week, as we get ready to roll into the fall viewing season. Season 3 of Chuck is their strongest season yet, with more guest stars than ever before; No more Mr. Nice Spy! Season 4 hits the tube on Monday, September 20th. Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season finally is out as well this week, with the season 10 premier for that one on Friday, the 24th of September. Also from CWTV, and also with the new season kicking off on Friday the 24th is Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season.
The miniseries that may turn into a full TV series, The Phantom is another rendition of this classic comic strip into a live action format. Like many of Sci-Fi’s miniseries (and almost none of their made for TV movies) this one is surprisingly better than you are expecting.
From UK TV a couple of classic Whos: Dr. Who: The King’s Demons with Peter Davison as the Doctor, Anthony Ainley as the Master, and Janet Fielding as Tegan. The other Davison story is Doctor Who: Planet of Fire. From an earlier incarnation, Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward.
On the animation front, and also from the UK, it’s Shaun the Sheep: Party Animals. This series is from the same team that does Wallace and Gromit, and these little gems use virtually no dialog, telling the story visually. The only real new anime title is My Bride Is a Mermaid: Season 1 Part 2, bringing us the balance of the opening season episodes. Both sets of in-laws are dysfunctional to an extreme degree, besides the fact the non-human family are also Yakuza.
I just feel like watching some Anime Music Videos today, so I thought I would share a few good ones with everyone. I particularly liked the use of Code Monkey in an AMV.
It looks like the movie to hold the record so far for the most expensive Bollywood film is Enthiran: The Robot, due out at the end of September. It is even more interesting that this is a total Science Fiction story line, since India does so little Sci-Fi; their strong suit is definitely closer to the Fantasy field. The soundtrack CD for this movie has also done something unusual: two days after release, the album hit 1st place on the Top 10 World Albums chart on iTunes in the US, UK, and Australia, which no other Bollywood album has done. This one may just pull in enough money to make Bollywood reevaluate its stance on science fiction! And even if it doesn’t, I will be in the theater opening weekend.