I couldn’t find a single new genre release in western Movies or TV, but there are a few eastern titles this week. Tokyo Ghoul √A – Season Two continues the war between Ghouls and Humans, cranking up the action and horror as old friends transform and new perils arise. Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign brings the first dozen episodes of the potential extinction of humanity as the vampires grow ever more numerous and hungry. In Shirobako: Collection 2 the five friends once in the animation club are now reunited and ready to create their first professional Anime, if only they can make it work. This was one of the most impressive Anime programs of 2015 for me, both for its recursiveness (an Anime about making an Anime, in the tradition of Golden Boy and Anime Runner Kuromi) and for its fond waves of recognition to some of the most amazing Anime creators in the industry today. I can’t say it anywhere near as well as others already have, so let me pass along links to a few of the better articles about it, from Rocket News 24, from Kotaku, and from Otaku USA. It also indirectly made public some of the sadder details, like the fact that many of the animators and voice actors that work on these projects are only paid a dollar an hour, not exactly a living wage. If you have ever wanted to create your own anime, this is a must-watch!
Roald Dahl wrote the story, Steven Spielberg directed the movie, and Disney is distributing it; The BFG is finally coming to the big screen in July. The Big Friendly Giant has been a children’s classic since it was first published, I am looking forward to seeing how they did with this iteration of it.
The must-have title for this week is Deadpool, absolutely the funniest Marvel film made to date. It is also R rated, so it is no surprise it wasn’t made by Disney, but the folks over at 20th Century Fox. With a sequel already in the works, we might see Deadpool 2 as early as January 2018. Synchronicity is a twisted little time travel story everyone should see; if you missed it in the theaters, now is your chance to catch up with it. Lego Scooby: Haunted Hollywood also deserves a mention.
Killjoys: Season 1 is very much a cross between Firefly and Blade Runner, and one of my 3 favorite shows currently running on Syfy. I am happy to report Season 2 will be along on July 1st. Beauty and the Beast (2012): Season 3 is out just in time to be binged before the next season kicks off on June 2nd. While I am not a horror fan, I should include Scream: The Tv Series Season 1 on this list.
For a change their are fewer Anime titles than the other categories, with Fruit of Grisaia being a school for bad apples as the only actual entry this time. It isn’t exactly genre, but it is strange enough to come close.
This is Alf Lovvold’s Dawn Of The Planet Of The Zombies And The Killer Plants On Some Serious Acid, a tasty trailer done by just one guy. Check out his interview in 3DArtist for an idea of how he went about creating this.
Kubo and The Two Strings is an epic action/adventure story set in a fantasy version of Japan, where Kubo was doing fine, until he accidentally awakened a vengeful spirit. On the run, Kubo must solve the mystery of his fallen father, the great samurai warrior in order to save himself and his village. Good thing he has his magical Shamisen with him! This one will be hitting the big screen around August, I am looking forward to it.
Created by Zack Mathew, the animation The Switch was made while he was at the Vancouver Film School back in 2008.