Remember the movie Grindhouse in 2007? There was a trailer for a fake movie in that movie, but it isn’t anymore: Robert Rodriguez expanded that trailer into an entire movie, called Machete. It hits the theaters this Friday, and stars Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Jeff Fahey, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, and Don Johnson. Quite a cast for a made-up movie.
There arn’t any movies of note this week, although I did at least like the title of Brainjacked. For TV shows, one solid winner in FlashForward: The Complete Series, although the title might turn out to be a lie since Starz was looking to pick up the series some time ago. Also out this week, season one of The Vampire Diaries, which had that memorable photo shoot on a highway overpass in Georgia. I bet none of that footage will be in the DVD!
For Anime, the complete Black Blood Brothers series hits the shelves Tuesday, bringing the story of the Kowloon Children Wars home. For those who need a score card, the Red Bloods are the humans, and the Black Bloods are the vampires. Also, the Uncut version of Naruto Season 3 is being released. I fail to understand why they couldn’t just release the uncut version at the get-go, but I am betting it had something to do with selling the same episodes to the same people twice. And finally there is a Remastered version of Full Metal Panic: Season 1, one of my favorite Anime series. I have no clues as to what part ws actually remastered, but I figured I should mention it.
You can now watch Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on Google Video for free. This 1984 Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece was made under another studios name, but it is acknowledged by most to be the true start of Studio Ghibli.
Just a taste to get you ready for the new Nick Frost project (and oh yeah, there were some other folks involved)… not to be confused with the original movie of that name…
Nothing really looks exciting for this weekend, although Make-Out with Violence could be an interesting change of pace. This is an undead coming-of-age story of the comedy romance horror genre that was made in 2008 and has been touring the film festival circuit ever since. It has picked up a few awards, so if you are near one of the theaters this limited release is playing in, it might be worth checking out. The other film that looks interesting this weekend is not sci-fi or strictly fantasy, but straight historic adventure: Centurion. This film is an excellent example about how film making works, for it is based on a true story. The true story is that in the year 117 the 9th Legion of the Roman Army marched across what would become the UK, and was never seen again. Since that march was the start of the movie, they made the rest of it up; looks like it could be a fun adventure film.
In the too silly to be avoided department, this weeks winner is Ninjas versus Zombies. While I personally won’t be adding this one to my collection, I will watch it when it comes to late night cable. You know with that title someone will be picking it up. It is kind of sad when this is the only movie worth mentioning for the week (unless something sneaked past me).
Live action TV series did much better, with Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season finally being available. Which also means that Lost: The Complete Collection will be on the shelves as well, for anyone who hasn’t been collecting the seasons one by one.
I am happy to be able to report that Red vs. Blue: Recreation, Season 7 is also being released this week. That only leaves one more season before all of them are available as well, and this series is my favorite Machinima program.
In Anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 2 completes season two of this excellent paratemporal Steampunk story. A series I have not run into before, Persona -trinity soul-2 is also being released. I missed the release of the first half of the series in July as well somehow. This one is Subbed, not Dubbed, and features a series of mysteries to be solved in a futuristic city. If you prefer your action on galactic scale battlegrounds, then Tytania: 1 may be just what you’re looking for. This box set is the first 13 episodes of the series, with the second half to release separately later.