The live action feature film selection for this week is Defendor, and no, spelling is not one of his super powers. A comic book super hero (and his shrink) movie that should go very well with this weeks theatrical release, Kick Ass. This was in very limited release in theaters, so this is your chance to see it.
The one that could have been a documentary but wasn’t is Pirate Radio. It also could have been science fiction, but wasn’t, since this kind of radio was a central part of the evolution of Rock-N-Roll in England, accompanied by its US equivalents in the form of Underground Radio during those same years. As a former DJ at one of those stations, I enjoyed every moment of this film, even the painful ones which sometimes had the highest percentage of truth in them.
The one that actually was a documentary is Digital Nation, a PBS special out this week on DVD. Part of an ongoing Frontline report, this one investigates what it means to grow up digital, and presents it in a format that the digitally impaired (predominantly parents) can relate to. Not genre, but definitely geek friendly.
There seems to be a bit of confusion about Sex Galaxy, with some sites reporting it comes out this week. You missed the target, folks, that was last week, but if you don’t have it already it is silly fun you should add to your collection.
Space Ranger: Complete Collection is a live-action offering from Japan that may be on a par with Power Rangers (it is a bit hard to tell, as no one seems to want to talk about them). I won’t be tracking this one down until I learn a bit more about it, and will wait for Venus Ranger later in the month… or perhaps not.
The live action import from the orient I will be tracking down and adding to the permanent collection is Three Kingdoms-Resurrection of the Dragon. The Three Kingdoms period of China’s history generated some of the best sources of heroic struggle known to man, and with the backdrop of such a large canvas (the land the history took place in, and the people who lived there) the epic nature of the tales combined with the wide screen cinematography it takes to tell such epics has produced some wonderful movies.
On the animation front Living for the Day After Tomorrow – Complete Collection also becomes available this week. Fans of Big or Freaky Friday should enjoy this one; a young girl who hates being treated like a child and a young woman who longs for simpler times get to exchange ages.
The rather more mature animation Rei Rei (OAV) also becomes available this week, for the first time in a while.