A few of the monsters escaped from the Doctor Who Experience, recently relocated to Cardiff, and were wandering the streets harassing the passers by. I got to visit the exhibition in London this past October, I can’t wait to go back and learn what new goodies they deployed for the new installation. Obviously I will have to wait at least a little bit, since it doesn’t open there until July 20th…
There are actually 3 excellent choices on the big screen this weekend: the Pixar animated Brave, the politically incorrect Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and the sleeper indi film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. I pretty much have to be at all three of these, but I don’t think I will have enough time what with everything else going on this weekend. If you ask which one I will see first, my answer will change from one hour to the next; I may end up flipping a coin when I hit the theater, these all look too good to make a decision.
Sadly there are no memorable movie selections this time. We do have Witchslayer Gretl is another one of those Syfy TV Movies that you wish they had meant to be that silly. Exit Humanity is a Civil War Zombie film hoping to cash in on Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. Alien Origin is Blair Witch meets Predator ripoff. And Awakened is a lot like Alien origin except I recognized a few of the actors, and felt sorry they were stuck in such a movie. All in all, not a very good week for live action feature length films; there will not be a single one of these coming home with me. Let’s face it, the only feature film at all interesting this week is Radio Rebel, which is a Disney flic that is not even a little bit genre.
In TV we also crash and burn, with pretty much nothing to report.
We do a bit better in Anime, with Golgo 13: Collection 4 bringing us the fourth installment of the assassins story, with more dangerous assignments than ever before. Also out is K-ON! Season 2, Collection 1, and it may not be genre, but any band club with a faculty adviser who is also a secret former Death Metal singer/guitarist has to be having fun and taking us along for the ride. Finally Dragonaut: The Resonance is coming out with the complete series in a S.A.V.E. edition, which means you can now pick it up for around $18.
I missed the pilot for Saving Hope when it was broadcast, so once more I am happy about VOD both through cable and online. Now that I have seen it, I am ready for tonight’s episode, and I was impressed with the first story. I look forward to finding out if they can maintain the quality.
Extraterrestrial looks like a lot of silly fun; you wake up with no memory of the one night stand who’s house you are in, to meet her wacky boyfriend and neighbors, only to discover the Earth has been invaded. While this movie is only opening in New York this weekend (it hits LA next weekend), it is also being released on iTunes, DVD, and VOD on Friday as well, so anyone who wants to can check it out.
This one may be a bit more thinkee but looks every bit as entertaining: Safety Not Guaranteed is a time travel comedy that won awards at Sundance and SXSW, and appears to have a lot of heart. Even though it had it’s initial 4 city release last week, I am mentioning it now because it is going to be on the big screen in my area starting this weekend.
The other interesting choice this week is not genre, but it is entertaining: Rock of Ages is based on the Broadway musical, and also looks a treat.
We have a few good movies this week, starting with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, second in the film series. This is a required addition for my permanent collection, and extends into two of my favorite new media distribution trends. First, it includes an Ultraviolet copy, which means you can stream it from the cloud to any of your compatible devices, and download it to your computer if you want to back up the digital copy for when you do not have INet access. Second, you can download one or more apps (more, in this case) so you can slave your tablet/smartphone to your internet aware Blue Ray device, and run all kinds of additional information about the programing. Warner Brothers (who made the Sherlock Robert Downey movies) added this functionality to their Maximum Movie Mode, while Disney (who had the same combination of Cloud presentation with Apps extras slaved to the point the Blue Ray player is currently showing you built into John Carter last week) refer to it as the Disney Second Screen. They have been building towards this integrated combined presentation for quite a while now, slowly creating and debugging each process required to make it happen. Welcome to the future!
Another movie worth a look this week is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which is definitely worth your time to check out. While it may not be on a par with the first film mentioned today, it has a serious story to tell of its own. And let’s face it, it is always fun to watch Nick Cage go over the top with some silly or serious action. If you are in the market for something different, The Sultry Assassin: The Aphrodisiac Kill is the first in a series of eroninja novels turned into movies that will be making its way to the US.
For TV, the top spot has to go to The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Fifth Season, which unfortunately will be the final round of these. Doctor Who was a children’s show when it began (and still is, though it is hard for some geeks to recognize), and when they spun off Elisabeth Sladen’s character for the new series they definitely kept that in mind. She kept the original promise to the audience; this would always be a show that promoted a way for children to recognize positive problem solving influences and incorporate them into their own lives, so they could be the ones solving the worlds problems when it became their turn.
In new Anime, Zakuro, the Complete Series tells of the Ministry of Spirit Affairs, and the human/spirit teams they put together to solve the mysteries of the world.
For returning Anime, Bleach: Season 13 brings us episodes 194 through 205, in which Karakura town is threatened with destruction. One Piece: Collection 6 brings us episodes 131 through 156, and for the first time they actually try to get their pirate ship to fly.
We also have a couple of returning favorites coming out in more cost effective packaging. Mongolian Chop Squad: The Complete Series is coming out in a S.A.V.E. version, so you should be able to pick it up for around $20 if you shop around. If you are not already familiar with it, it is basically an animated version of the band BECK’s origin story, somewhat fictionalized. Also the Simoun – Endless Melody Collection is a re-release of that entire series for under $20, and you can find it for $15 if you shop around, so now is a good time to add both of these to your collection.