The stylish thriller Evolution will be in theaters this week, but it seems fairly close to horror based on the trailer I saw. Because of that I will not be one of the folks watching it. I also find it a tiny bit confusing that the only web site I could find for this French movie is in Japan, but that could be my search engine stats being out of whack from all the Anime and J-Rock I google.
The wonderful animation Kubo and the Two Strings comes out this week, if you missed it in the theaters you definitely want to catch it now. It is also one of the best instances of stop motion filming I have seen, possibly surpassing Box Trolls. Kevin Smith’s Yoga Hosers is also out this week, a sort of horror-comedy from Canada. Even though it isn’t genre I do have to mention Mechanic: Resurrection, if you are in the mood for action it is the film to watch this week.
In Anime Aquarion Logos: Part 1 is the first 6 episodes of Season 3 of the Aquarion series. The battle is between text and voice to determine which parts of the world are erased and which are saved. Likewise Gatchaman Crowds Insight is season 2 of the Gatchaman Crowds series, in which select Humans and Aliens wear suits which help them manifest their special powers and protect the Earth. Asterisk War Part 2 is the second half of the first season, and since there is a second season I expect waiting until they put the entire thing out in a single box set for a more reasonable price is the way to go.
Luc Besson has made some wonderful movies over the years, with 5th Element and Angle-A being my two favorites, for totally different reasons (they are totally different films after all). Now with Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets he is about to do it again! Based on the groundbreaking graphic novel Valérian et Laureline, it is a movie he has been waiting to make since he was 10 years old! It has inspired such films as 5th Element and Star Wars (yes, Star Trek also borrowed heavily from it, as did many others), but even after its 43 year run it is virtually unknown in the US. That will all change come July of 2017, when it hits the big screen world wide. I haven’t found any references so far, but the original 1960s French comic has such a resemblance to the Guardians of the Galaxy comic and film I can’t help but think there is a link there as well.
Tomorrow the BBC will be airing its annual Children In Need charity drive, and as part of the presentation they will Preview the Doctor Who Christmas Special. The exclusive clip will see the 12th Doctor and Nardole team up with an investigative reporter (think Lois Lane) and a Masked Vigilante to protect New York from an Alien Invasion. Because, you know, there is always an Alien Invasion of the Earth on Christmas Day, it’s in the rules! This clip forms part of the BBC’s Children in Need’s Appeal Show on Friday November 18th. The charity special starts at 7pm on BBC One, with no guesses what time the clip will air, while the actual Christmas Special (entitled The Return of Doctor Mysterio) airs on December 25th.
Episode 1 of National Geographic’s Why Should We Go To Mars? was world class, and there are more to come! Watch the trailer, and go hunt down the program itself to learn about it. If you need more reasons, China will be heading there in just a few years; do we really want to be left behind, and left out of this amazing exploration?
The first trailer presented here is the new one, the first real trailer, and it is impressive as hell. The second one is the original teaser-trailer set, actually 5 little mini-teasers from the upcoming Ghost In The Shell live action film that has Scarlett Johansson playing the cyborg policewoman Major Motoko Kusanagi. Likes for me include the fact that they are playing the cyborg nudity as it was originally intended, necessary for the optical camouflage made possible by the nano-camera in each skin cell sending its captured image to a predetermined cell on the opposite side of the body to re-radiate. The only dislike I have encountered so far is when you hear Scarlett say This is Major like that was her name, rather than This is THE Major, or even better replicate the original story by having her say This is Kusanagi. But the new trailer looks amazing, and when it is released if I get to the end of the film with that being my only objection, I will count myself lucky indeed. Is it 2017 yet?