There are as always way more cons then I have time to research, but here are a few coming up this weekend. Wizard World is the Anaheim Comic Con taking place this weekend, and includes Stan Lee signing autographs. TMode is a blend of Asian and Western pop culture taking place in Alexandria, VA, with the emphasis on Anime, Gaming, and Cosplay. NashiCon is the third presentation of South Carolina’s original Anime con, and the winner this time around may be Kawaii Kon 2010 in Hawaii, which includes an equal number of guests from both sides of the Pacific.
It looks like a good chance on “Yes”; Joss Whedon may indeed get to direct the Avengers movie, according to Cinematical. Considering how many times Hollywood has shafted Joss, I find this news exciting indeed, as long as they don’t pull the rug out from under him again. And this isn’t just any Marvel Superhero movie, but the one all the others have been building to for years; Iron Man, Nick Fury, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America all in a movie together! And directed by Joss Himself; I am so ready for this one!
And speaking of media monster conglomerate executives, SciFi Wire posted a good Venn diagram of the possible Syfy Movie Monster Combination’s that channel might use to continue creating those really horrible made-for-TV movies they do. I have to scratch my head at that, because some of their TV shows like Eureka or Caprica are world class, while most of their movies are completely unwatchable (the last good one was Deep Red). Then there is the fact that SciFi Wire was (at least until recently) owned by the Syfy Channel, so I have to wonder why they are making fun of their former bosses. Thanks to Science Fiction Geeks for the heads up on that one.
There is only one title worth noting at the movie theaters this week: Kick Ass. The critics are going nuts, and the trailers are excellent, so this movie is on the top of my watch list for the big screen this weekend. Except for Saturday night of course, when I will be watching the US Premiere of the New Who. In fact, over at TOR, they are doing a week long countdown to Who with a new nifty posting every day, and a friend just tweeted this Who-Inspired Picture that has nothing to do with the official program, but I didn’t mind. Hey, there is even an official countdown clock:
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.
Here is a short segment from a new film from Ridley Scott crew member Carl Erik Rinsch. He calls it Small and/or The Gift, and I can’t wait to see the feature version of this; it looks like it could be a monster!
The Hugo Award nominees for this year have been announced, and you can find the full list at Tor Dot Com. You can also find links there to read a number of the stories online, including Charles Stross’s Overtime, another tale of the Laundry that so far has only been published online.