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Something to Watch: DVDs

Staring us off this week is Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where we learned that we didn’t blow the Earth up after all, but did ourselves in through genetic engineering. Also out is Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, a Sherlock Holmes style action/adventure period piece filled with well known Asian film stars.

I there were any live action genre TV shows coming out this week, I was unable to find them. There is, however, a documentary that might be of interest; PBS’s Steve Jobs: One Last Thing.

For western animation, Kung Fu Panda 2 from Dreamworks continues the saga of Po, with world class animation and a great story. There is of course an expanded pack with a second DVD with new shorts and extras, as well as the Kung Fu Panda Collection, which has both the first and second movie in it.

Bleach Box Set 11 brings episodes 168 through 179 of the Soul Reapers epic series of battles home. Also available is Kekkaishi Set 3, which has the Barrier Masters fighting monsters for an additional 13 episodes. If you are wondering if either of these series are for you, you can watch episodes online at those links to find out. Odds are good you will not be able to watch Urotsukidoji New Saga Complete online; while it is a fantasy adventure about battling gods, it is also hentai, and as such for adults only.

There are a few re-releases into lower cost packaging today. Kino’s Journey – Complete Collection and Ikki Tousen – The Complete Series [S.A.V.E.] can now be acquired for $20 or less if you shop around.

Something to Watch: DVDs

Topping of the film list this week is Cowboys & Aliens, the incredibly well done reimaging of Gene Autry’s 1935 classic The Phantom Empire. It absolutely gets my vote as best Western so far this century. As a counterbalance to that, Alien Armageddon has a bunch of cowboys trying to save Los Angeles from Space Zombies. Three guesses which one I will be bringing home. I am not even completely convinced that The Return of Post Apocalyptic Cowgirls wouldn’t be a better choice, also coming out this week, and extremely NSFW. And don’t even get me started on The Incubus, which can’t hold a candle to its 1982 namesake.

While not exactly genre, Jim Carey’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins is surreal enough to get an entry here, and a whole lot of fun. And the sleeper this week seems to be the Brazilian fantasy Astral City: A Spiritual Journey, which looks very reminiscent of What Dreams May Come, both in its cinematography and in its story. This one is worth checking out.

In TV, the primary choice this time around is The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Fourth Season. I miss Elizabeth Sladen, and am glad we have one more set of adventures to go on with her.

Captain Power: The Complete Series returns a 1980s show briefly to circulation. This one was somewhere between The Terminator and Power Rangers, and I think it may resemble the original Transformers by being a TV show spun off as a way of selling a children’s toy. But it did have a few things going for it, including the fact that along with Max Headroom that same year it was one of the first shows on TV to combine computer graphics with live action footage. But somehow Max has an honored place in my collection, while Captain Power does not, and will not.

In Anime, new this week is Tales of the Abyss – Part 2, continuing the story of the super powered boy hoodwinked by a general… or is he? Perhaps his companions will keep him from being used. Also coming around for the first time (that I am aware of) is Rozen Maiden Ouverture, which is an OVA prequel of the TV series. At the same time, they are also releasing Rozen Maiden – Complete Collection which includes season one (12 episodes), season two (another 12 episodes), and the prequel Ouverture (2 episodes). Since the complete collection is only double the cost of Ouverture while containing 12 times the number of minutes of animation, if you don’t already own the full series you will want to get the former.

Birdy the Mighty: Decode – The Complete Series finally brings this set down to a more reasonable cost than it had when broken down between the first and second season. I still own Birdy the Mighty: Final Force, which this one is pretty much a remake of, but I am looking forward to adding the new version to my collection. Also in re-release, Devil May Cry – The Complete Series S.A.V.E. Edition puts the entire anime series (not to be confused with the games, the manga, etc.) in your hands for noticeably less than $20 if you shop around.

Something to Watch: DVDs

There are several interesting movies this time around, starting with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a twisted little comedy starring Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk. Every variation of a Deliverance movie you have ever seen, with the twist that the Good Ole Boys are under attack by suicidal yuppies. The other quality movie for the week is Another Earth. Having a duplicate planet Earth orbiting on the other side of the sun has been done before in 1969’s Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, but this time the premise is used to explore interpersonal relationships rather than political ones. It’s theatrical run was extremely limited, so for some this will be the first chance to see it.

For TV, there are two super choices of the same entry; Smallville: The Complete Series, and Smallville: The 10th Season give you closure on that series, whichever one you need to add to your collection. The other TV show worth noting this week is a bit of a classic, the Six Million Dollar Man: Pilot TV Movies & Season One. We can rebuild you…

If there is a western animation series this week, it snuck right past me. There are a few Eastern animation series, including One Piece: Collection 3, continuing the story of the Straw Hats as the rescue a little girl and her dragon companion. Also released, Star Driver Part 1, where would-be giant mecha riders battle shrine maidens for power. Another new title is Chaos;Head, where a caffeine-addicted gamer suddenly becomes identified as a schizophrenic murder suspect, as his life falls apart overnight. If you are a fan of Welcome To The NHK you will not want to miss this one, and you can watch the first several episodes online at that link.

There is also a stand alone movie this week called Loups=Garous, about life in a world where a virus has wiped out a major percentage of the human race. The survivors communicate online and avoid physical contact, but a group of girls seeking contact must solve a series of murders before they become the victims. SCANDAL does the music for this one, which means at the minimum I have to have the soundtrack, since they are one of my favorite J-Rock bands. They animate up pretty good too.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

There are some fun movies being released on DVD this week, starting with J.J. Abrams Super 8. That one should work on the small screen just fine, as outside of the train wreck itself and one pan of the battle across the town almost all of the scenes were shot with HDTV in mind, it seemed to me. Also out, Conan the Barbarian, which has noticeably more sex and violence than the Arnie versions. For the younger crowd, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World continues the franchise in its usual somewhat silly way.

From Japan we get Saki the Killer, which tells the twisted tale of the daughter of a Yakuza assassin who teaches art to killers. Finally, Tekken: Blood Vengeance is an entertaining 90 minutes of animated fun straight out of the game. It is being released two ways; as a stand-alone movie, and bundled with the new game Tekken: Hybrid. Looking at this group, it occurs to me it might have made more sense to group them by potential audience rather than list them in box-office results order.

In TV, the primary selection is Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series, but I find myself being aggravated by this one. They broke the airing of the season apart, with a gap in between large enough to run the new Torchwood series, one episode per week. When the first chunk finished running, they released Doctor Who: The Sixth Series – Part 1 on DVD, and if you shopped around you could pick it up for $21 or so. Not a bad deal at all, and lots of folks bought it. Likewise, when the second half was completed, they released Doctor Who: The Sixth Series – Part 2, and dropped the price of the first half to $18, with the stand alone Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol special running $8 or so. If you can buy all of the pieces for $48, why would you need the Complete Sixth Series as well, which costs $54 (again, assuming you shop around for the best deal). Because it includes extras missing from all previous versions, possibly?

Also in TV, Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman: Season 2 is an excellent science series that explores science fiction concepts the same way all the best authors do: by asking What If. If you haven’t seen this one I highly recommend it.

In western animation, the Marvel Knights Collection will be available in a single box set, if you haven’t already picked up the individual stories.

For Anime, Bakuman – First Issue is about someone driven to become a manga author, but is a bit more realistic than some series about the problems that kind of a goal needs to overcome. This set contains the first seven episodes. Also out, Fairy Tail – Combo Pack Part 1 seems to be about a young combat wizard team in typical quest game mode who may not be up to the challenge. At least, not without causing more harm than good. This box set contains the first 12 episodes of the series, but be warned there are over a hundred episodes already released, so you might want to watch a few online to give you an idea if this series is for you.

You would think a show with a title like Star Driver Part 1 would be about spaceships, but this one actually involves shrine maidens worshiping some giant mecha built for battle (ED: This one actually comes out next week). The most interesting of the animations out this week may be Coicent / Five Numbers!, which is two separate but equally strange OVAs. In one, a time traveling boy chases a deer and meets a girl who is herself pursued. In the other, 5 prisoners get loose from their cells, but the guards have disappeared and there appears to be no way out. Both of these short animations have gotten excellent reviews at various anime fests.