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Something to Watch: DVDs

The first film worth mentioning is Griff the Invisible, staring Jason from the True Blood series as a hapless superhero who meets Melody, a fellow traveler out to save him from himself. To me, this one holds the most promise, both because of the actors involved and the premise they explore. Another movie coming out this week that I am looking forward to seeing, even if it isn’t genre, is Flypaper, a romantic comedy in the midst of heavy gunfire. The final fictional film that might be worth looking into this week is Bite Marks, which may be cast into the overplayed field of vampires but could always have something new to offer.

Then there are the documentaries, of which there are several. Superheroes from HBO is just what you imagine; an exploration into those people who actually are real life caped crusaders, out to protect us all. Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World is both in IMAX and 3D, and mostly playing in museums, which is what makes it so collectable. A tribute to one of Sci-Fi’s great writers is also released this time around, The Magic Never Ends – The Life & Work of C.S. Lewis. If you are a fan of Narnia, you do not want to miss that one!

We have two live action TV shows of note this time around. Being Human: The Complete First Season is from the American series supported by the Syfy Channel, not the far superior UK show, but worth checking out even so. Then Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns is a UK program every bit as intense as the subject matter might make you suspect, and well worth watching.

Western animation has several programs worth watching, of which my personal favorite has to be Red vs. Blue: Season 9. Trust me when I say no animation you will watch this year will be more entertaining or important (unless it comes from Japan with an insanely good review). From the UK, Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 is the selection of choice, and almost as good as the Master Chief series. I should also mention Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons, which looks to be a hoot. Not only do we get a couple of additional animations from the series (I really like the way Dreamworks, Pixar, and a few others are willing to add new entertainment to the archives), but this one will set you up into online game mode if you are good enough to figure out its triggers.

In Anime we have two new presentations and several cost-effective reissues. First, ICE – Complete Collection gives us a virus, which has wiped out most of the population. The survivors are all beautiful women, and the choices they make will shape society for a thousand years. Then Bleach: Fade to Black is a stand-alone movie that gives us more of the back story of this incredible complex series.

There are also a few classic anime now released in more cost effective packaging, including Blassreiter, Love Hina, and Shuffle. I personally appreciate not having to pay the huge original price for a quality series, considering just how many series I find myself buying.

Hatsune Miku tomorrow

If you are lucky enough to live in or near the 9 cities the event is going to be held in, then know tomorrow night, November 10th, you could attend the Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011. This is part of the new Live Viewing Japan network they are starting to build at various movie theaters in the US, and the event will kick off at 7PM local time across North America, just to minimize confusion. They already have more events planned, and with luck they will be able to expand the number of theaters in their network soon. Note that every one of the nine cities they started off with hosts one of the major Anime Cons every year; good choice to start building your fan base, since you know they gather there.

Something to Watch: DVDs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 completes the epic series, and for those who don’t have any of the others they are also releasing the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection. This really was an amazing series, and I am glad the studio buckled down around the time they did the third one and decided to spend the time and money to do it right.

The Sleeping Beauty is a French variation on the classic fantasy with a group of witches trying to find an antidote to a lethal curse laid on the young protagonist. This one I probably will go for, as it seems much less ordinary than some other choices. Atlas Shrugged part 1 is the latest incarnation of the Ayn Rand classic story updated for the modern audience, with some interesting casting choices. This will also be on the to-be-acquired list.

On the lighter side, The Change-Up tells the story of two guys who swap bodies after expressing a wish. What, you have heard this one before? Yep, they do variations on this one every 5 years or so, always with a serious difference between the protagonists. Often that difference is age, but this time the difference is marital status. I will wait to see this one when it comes to Netflix or Hulu or HBO, whatever. And finally for movies, Mortal Combat: Legacy started out being assembled as a Web based series but has a number of quality actors involved with the project, as well as the history and background of the series.

The two entries for live action TV series this time around are both from the UK, but completely different from each other. First is Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two, and I still object to their breaking a single season up into two parts, but it does make each part easier to afford (even though the total cost for the season is higher that way). I should probably also mention it looks like you might be able to play the new game on the web site even if you are in the US. The other UK series is Bedlam, which I have not found very interesting so far, but horror fans should love it.

In anime, Squid Girl – Part 2 continues the story of the invertebrate who became a human girl when she invaded the world of the air breathers. She does not seem noticeably more successful in her war against the bipeds. Loup Garous also comes out this week, a feature film presentation involving deadly viruses and a cloistered existence.

The other new release is Amagami SS Collection 2, but there is some dispute between different sites as to exactly when it becomes available. In this instance, it may have come out before this date, but it will definitely be available come Tuesday.

Two titles are being re-released in lower cost full series editions, Mushi-shi and Romeo × Juliet – The Complete Tragedy. If you shop around, you can pick these up for as little as $18 each.

Something to Watch: DVDs

There are a couple of live action movies coming out this week that look interesting, and I think Bunraku will beat out the competition by a noticeable amount. It had a very limited theatrical run, so for most of us this will be our first shot to see it. Stars include Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, Gatck, and Ron Perlman, while the premise includes cowboys without guns and samurai without swords. The other live action selection is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, a story that crosses centuries and cultural evolution to talk about friendship.

There is another film of note this week, and it is a documentary: the Magic Trip, staring Ken Keasey, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, the Warlocks (they later changed their name to the Greatful Dead), and the Merry Band of Pranksters. This is the epic journey the bus Furthur and its humans took in 1964. If you knew what it meant to be On The Bus in the sixties, you can finally see the movie they filmed during that journey a mere 48 years later. I am planning to watch it as part two of a double header, with Howl starting the lineup, therefore watching the core events that caused post WWII America to evolve into the counterculture of the 1960s in one sitting. There is also a western animated feature film, Cars 2, with an all star vocal cast from Disney.

Only one TV series that ran nationally in North America found this week, Transformers Beast Wars: The Complete Series. This show was rather well done, with some good quality 3D animation for its time and a story line that evolved out of the original Transformers series. Personally I thought it was much better done than Transformers themselves, at least until the live action feature films came along.

In anime the primary selection is Amagami SS – Collection 2, continuing the story where all the potential futures for our protagonist are explored, each in their own parallel timeline and universe. There is no indication in what I have read if they continued the previous collection practice of having each shows primary voice actress sing the closing song, but I certainly hope so; it was a very nice touch. Also this week, Gakuen Alice – Complete Collection has schoolgirl friends transferring to a school where explosions, superpowers, and axe-wielding teddy bears are all part of the daily events.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

Top movie choice for the week has to be Captain America: The First Avenger. This one actually exceeded my expectations, and it is a suitable prelude to next year’s Avengers movie. Also out this week, Shaolin stars Andy Lau, Wu Jing, Jackie Chan, and Nicholas Tse, in a epic historical drama well worth watching. If it seems like I had already said it was coming out in an earlier week, I had. Which week it is coming out depends on who’s web site you believe, so I figured if I mentioned it both times there was a 50/50 shot I would be right one of the weeks.

There is an amusing looking documentary coming out this week; The People vs. George Lucas.

The TV choice for this week is also the western animation option, in the form of Robot Chicken: Season 5. Do not think this show has become any more subtle recently, it just gets more outrageous and hysterical with each new season.

In Anime I feel a little more confident saying that Himawari! Season 1 will be made available this week. Himawari is going to Ninja school but is not well prepared for the experience, even having to get rescued by a non-ninja teacher on her first day. Another combat high school series comes along in the form of Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians Part 2. In this series, great warriors of the 12 Kingdoms era are reincarnated as modern high school students, and continue their age old conflicts.

There is also a feature length film anime this week: Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds. I am not sure exactly where this fits in the story arc.

Finally a re-release of a classic in a more cost effective package. You can pick up Witchblade – Complete Collection for as little as $21 if you shop around in its new Classic Collection version.