Skip to main content

Things to Do: Film Fests

Sci-Fi London is holding their Oktoberfest Film Festival this weekend! It kicks off on Friday with the Royal Observatory Greenwich (home of Greenwich Mean Time) unveiling the Sci-Fi Universe planetarium program for the first time anywhere. There will also be Aliens, Anime, and MST3K all-night film marathons and much more. Of course, the 53rd BFI London Film Festival continues until the 29th, so the UK looks to be the place for movies in October.

In Melbourne, Au, the Atom Awards Presentation will take place Friday, and while the films are more Science than SciFi, there are some interesting entries.

Also this weekend, the South Asian International Film Festival will be taking place, with entries like ALADIN for the Disney-entranced, and BUBONIC FILMS GONZO TRAILER EXTRAVAGANZA for the terminally warped (pretty much the Hindi version of Troma Studios TrailerFest).

In the US, the Austin Film Festival runs from the 22nd to the 29th, and it is the first time I have heard of Caprica showing on the big screen at a festival (probably because I wasn’t paying attention the last time). Other Sci-Fi like films include 31 Minutes, The Ballad of Friday and June, and The Bake Shop Ghost, for the first few letters of the alphabet. Many of the movies are oriented around Art and Music, the main two driving forces that define Austin (yes, it is the state capital of Texas, but that is a small part of what happens there). Other films worth paying attention to for this fest include Give The Dog A Bone, the Incredible Story Of My Great Grandmother Olive, followed by Leonardo, and then Lo. Other offerings include NASA and the Space Pen, The Mouse That Soared, Mighty Mutant Mollusks, Missy and the Maxinator, and about 20 more. This is my kind of Film Fest!

Opening on the 23rd and running to November 11th in Florida, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival kicks off with a Sci-Fi romantic comedy called Timer in an opening night gala event. Other draws include the live stage presentation of Repo: The Genetic Opera and the film Seventh Moon.

0

Things to Watch

There are a few good DVD’s being released this week. On the Movie front, I have to give the top spot to the live-action release of Blood: The Last Vampire. I really wanted to see that one on the big screen, but it just wasn’t close enough to make. Then we have Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a frenetic non-stop action ride for those times you just need some mindless fun. If you missed getting the first Transformers, they are releasing a 2-pack of both movies as well. Also being released is a BlueRay version of Waterworld.

For TV series, Numbers: the complete 5th season is hitting the shelves, and yes, I know it isn’t Sci-Fi, but it is at least Nerdy, and I didn’t see any actual SF/F TV shows on offer this week. I am a bit annoyed that Red Dwarf: Back to Earth was released in the US on October 6th, but I haven’t found it on a single store shelf. Guess I am going to have to order it online.

There are a good assortment of Anime titles coming out this week, not counting the previously mentioned Blood, The Last Vampire (being a live action version it doesn’t count), but there is Blood+, part 2 for those who want more Vamp action. If you prefer blood viruses that cause men to fuse with machines and go on cybernetic rampages, try out Blassreiter part 1. If you want a paranormal tale of boys traumatized so years later they can travel between dimensions and help fight a ghost invasion, and want excellent production values in the animation, then Shirow Masamune’s (Ghost in the Shell) Ghost Hound – Collection 1 is the DVD box set to look for. For a spiritual battle against demons with a noticeable amount of fan service, the choice is Ah My Buddha volume 5.

There are also re-releases of a number of classic Sci-Fi anime’s this week, including My-Otome – Complete Collection Anime Legends, Toward the Terra – Complete Collection Anime Legends, and Vision of Escaflowne – Complete Collection Super Legends. And one re-released Otaku favorite, Comic Party: Revolution – Complete Set, for some serious fun.

0

Halley’s Comet pieces to hit Earth

Tiny pieces of Halley’s Comet will be hitting Earth for the next week in the form of the Orionids Meteor Shower. The tail of Halley’s Comet is made of dust and small pieces of ice and rock that has broken off the comet itself, and now follows an independent orbit around the Sun. That orbit crosses the Earths twice each year, with the Orionids being the second pass. The event started last night and will continue for a week or so, with the peak display coming Wednesday night. Since we will be within a few days of a new moon, viewing should be good as long as you can get away from city lights. This is one of a series of meteor showers you can see each year, and the International Year Of Astronomy viewing tips will get you ready. Lest anyone was concerned, Halley’s Comet itself, the main ball of ice and rock, will not be impacting the Earth any time in the next thousand years or so; just the tiny pieces that broke off.

0

Wil’s Big Bang

Appearing in next weeks Big Bang Theory is Wil Wheaton. I haven’t actually watched that show, but based on this trailer I guess I am going to check it out.

0

New Sci-Fi Party Line, Oscar query

There is a new Sci-Fi Party Line over at Fancy Fembot’s site for your listening pleasure, containing both spoilers and the undead. While I am only interested in Science Fiction/Fantasy/Anime movies, a lot of the best ones come from other countries. Which means I have to agree when the Euro-Indi-Festival Teams complain that the Academy Awards process unfairly limits foreign competition. The result being that most Americans have no clue that some award-caliber movies the rest of the world has seen and enjoyed even exist. As an American, I feel that I deserve better, and should be allowed to view and vote for (and against) these films. What is your opinion?

0