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Something to Watch: DVDs

For silly action fun we have Drive Angry, in which Nick Cage escapes from hell and goes on a road trip. There is one interesting classic collection being released as a box set this week: the Stanley Kubrick: Essential Collection. It has nine films, including genre favorites Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining. Of course, you can pick up the individual programs for 7 to 9 dollars each, but if you don’t have any of them this could be a cost effective way to go, especially since the non-genre films have the same high quality.

There is a miniseries I absolutely had to mention, Phil Plait’s Bad Universe. Phil has been blogging for years under the heading Bad Astronomy, which he started to post corrections to the bad physics and astronomy he saw in the science fiction TV shows and movies he otherwise loved to watch. He was somewhat qualified for this, being an astronomer with ten years working on the Hubble Space Telescope, an astronomy educator, and on the side wrote some books on the topic as well. The Discovery Channel brought his blog on board and put the programs together, but you can still see the original Bad Astronomy here.

There are two good entries in the TV series category this time around, starting with season three of True Blood. This gives you plenty of time to catch up or review the season before season 4 kicks off on June 26th. Or you can re-watch all three seasons with HBO GO, which allows HBO subscribers to watch a vast library of their series and movies on your computer, ipad, ipod, or android phone or tablet any time you like (and anywhere you have a connection). The best bit is if you have HBO with your cable or dish service it just comes with it for no additional charge, yet another VAR (Value Added Resource) all the media services are adding to their arsenals to keep their subscribers happy. And did I mention, the George R.R. Martin series, Game of Thrones, has exclusive interactive features with every episode you can’t get from your TV set? Trust me, if you are paying for HBO anyways, you really want to add this functionality. Unless you have it already from your cable or satellite provider, since they are also in the category of media services madly implementing portable viewing with Apps and websites for no additional charge to make their product more appealing and keep you as a customer.

The other TV series is SG-U: Stargate Universe: The Complete Final Season, which is a bit sad when you realize the entire cast found out the show was cancelled when they received tweets about it. You can, of course, also watch episodes online.

There are likewise two Anime choices worth noting. Guin Saga – Part 2 continues the story for the final 13 episodes as the leopard-headed gladiator and his two young royal charges continue to unravel the mystery that has plunged their original land and this new sorcery-infested local into war. Mazinkaiser Skl is an old school mecha combat series OVA that was an offshoot of the Mazinger series. It has that whole Go Nagai 1970s early Saturday morning cartoon thing going for it, so I don’t expect to see it racking up any amazing sales records (it won’t be coming home with me, as an example). But it was a major entry into the evolution of the Giant Robo genre, and is worth watching just for its historic value.

Something to Watch: DVDs

The lead movie this time is definitely I Am Number Four, a fun little teenage alien romp from Michal Bay. Don’t be looking for compelling dialog or an intricate plot with this one, but it is a visual adrenalin ride that is quite enjoyable. Compare that to Death Hunter: Werewolves vs. Vampires, a movie apparently so bad that it doesn’t seem to have a web page even on IMDB, and it looks even better. Death Hunter might make a double feature with Gothic Lolita Psycho, a gore fest in a style unique to Japan, also being released this week.

The western animation offering this time around is Gnomeo and Juliet, the twisted classic Shakespeare tale as told by garden gnomes by way of the folks who did Shrek.

New anime this time around includes Shin Koihime Muso: Otome Tairan, a story about a girl who will turn into a cat without the proper antidote. While a team works on putting that antidote together, other things come to light indicating she may just be the first victim in an attack on the kingdom. I almost didn’t mention Queens Blade 2: Evil Eye Series Part 1, since I generally wait for box sets rather than individual volumes (it’s more cost effective, but the real reason is I want to watch an entire program in a back to back marathon). This release falls between the volume (at 4 episodes usually) and the season (usually 13 or 26 episodes, depending on the complexity of the story and the depth of the pockets financing the project). This Series Part 1 release has 6 episodes, breaking the smaller season in half or the larger one in quarters. There have been quite a few programs released in this way the last few years for the express purpose of charging you for 75% the total price of a season twice, but the manufacturers SRP of this one is the same as a volume while delivering 133% of the entertainment. Even if Season 2 ends up being 26 episodes long, I find this a good inducement to pick these up as they become available since they are not very expensive for the amount of anime you get, especially if you shop around.

This time around, Air Gear: Complete Box Set S.A.V.E. is getting re-released, giving you a cost effective option for this modern classic. High school combat on jet-powered wheels forms the conflict for this story, while the core is more about the Noyamano sisters and how they relate to each other and to our protagonist. Another classic re-release is Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series, where two antagonistic Samurai and one crazy waitress team up for a road trip they should have never started and might not survive. Finally, Soul Eater: The Meister Collection gives you the first 26 episodes in a single box set. In a lot of ways this is the Bleach wannabe series, but as usual you can watch a few episodes online before you plunk your money down. And did I mention that the story was excellent, and included a lot of fan service?

Something to Watch: DVDs

In Movies, the 2011 remake of The Mechanic is a stand out rebuild. The original 1972 film was quite edgy at the time, starring Charles Bronson as the elder hit man and Jan-Michael Vincent as the young apprentice out to learn how to kill. They added some twists for the remake, and the combined talent of Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland, and Ben Foster noticeably upleveled the game, even if Sutherland died too early in the movie (it was necessary to keep the plot rolling). Why am I mentioning this non-genre film? Because the original was such a cult classic that it became a genre unto itself as soon as it hit the screen.

The indie science fiction film I Heart Doomsday has won a ton of awards at film festivals all over the world, but if it went into theatrical release it slipped right past me. Perhaps there is a reason for that and I should check this one at Netflix. And that leaves us with another feature length film to consider: RiffTrax: LIVE! Reefer Madness. RiffTrax is the successor to MST3K, with a lot of the same people writing the gag lines. I just wish they would put the theater back on a space ship.

There is a western animated feature length film from Marvel this week: Thor: Tales of Asgard. Based on the graphic novel of the same name it covers earlier adventures of the same five Asgard characters we just saw in the movie the other week.

In TV, all the entries this time around are old, starting with The Feathered Serpent, a 12 episode 1976 series that starred Patrick Troughton as the evil Nasca and Diane Keen as the Empress Chimalma. The story takes place in Aztec Mexico (which surely explains all the British accents) where Troughton is a fanatical Aztec priest out to topple the peaceful Emperor in the name of his human-sacrifice demanding god. Just like his time as Doctor Who, Troughton was the star of a children’s program, but this time he didn’t get to be the good guy.

The Twilight Zone: Season 4 also comes out this week. This isn’t the kind of show I have to explain to anyone; if you don’t know what the Twilight Zone is you have either never owned a TV or just moved here from Mars.

The Bionic Woman: Season Two brings the second round of the classic series back to be watched again. This 1975 spin-off of the 6 Million Dollar Man did well in its own right as well as having a number of crossover episodes with the original series. I quite enjoyed the 2007 rebuild of the franchise, but since it was apparently just me and some folks hiding behind the bleachers, it did not take off.

New anime this week is Allison & Lillia – Part 1, a planet with a single continent that has been at war since forever, with the inhabitants of each side of the dividing mountain range constantly fighting. While this program airs on NHK in Japan, it doesn’t play on either of the NHK channels I get here, nor is it available to watch on Crunchyroll, so to see it legally I went to The Anime Network where I watched the first episode to get a feel for the series. This is a period piece anime, with its old fashioned mores, prop-driven planes, and vintage cars; it would have been the mid 1930s if it took place on Earth, warming up for WWII. While it doesn’t look like anything exceptional, I did find the first one entertaining, and I look forward to adding it to my collection if I can find it for a good price.

The classic anime being re-released this time around is Excel Saga: Complete Series. If I had to pick a category for this series, Psychotic Anime Parody would pretty much sum it up, with a side order of Hysterical. If they missed messing with any anime tropes, it slipped by me; they made fun of the majority of them I could think of. If you don’t already own this and you have even a vestigial sense of humor, this would be the one to go for.

Finally, there is a classic old-school re-release: Project A-Ko: Remastered Special Collector’s Edition brings new quality from a classic. Created in 1986, Project A-Ko could not be shown on American TV at that point with its violence, nudity, and interstellar diplomatic issues, but it still gained a cult following. I think IMDB said it best with their description: Project A-ko is the typical love triangle of three school girls and their confrontations with aliens, giant robots, and women who look like burly men. At exactly 25 words, that quote is a legitimate implementation of the Fair Use rules, and at $14 most places it could be worthwhile updating to the remastered version.

Something to Watch: DVDs

Sadly, there are two productions riding on the coat tails of others this week that are counting on your being numbered among the terminally confused to make their sales quota. With incredibly bad CGI monsters (and I am not going into the script, directing, acting, or cinematography, because I just don’t have the stomach for it), Almighty Thor is last night’s Made for Syfy Movie of the Week and then gets released on DVD this Tuesday. I can tell you it is in fitting (note I did not say good) company, alongside offerings like Mansquito and Sharktopus, to name but a few. I continue to be gobsmacked by how a single channel can produce such wonderful TV series (including Eureka, Warehouse 13, and Haven) and incredible Mini Series (Like Tin Man, Riverworld, Alice, and so many more), yet completely fail at every Made for TV Movie they have ever done. With the exception of 1994’s Deep Red, which was made a year before the channel existed.

We all realize the real Thor movie will be out the day before the cheap knockoff airs on Syfy; a bit more subtle (and the other offering hoping you have no clue) is Chop Kick Panda, a direct ripoff of the wonderful Kung Fu Panda franchise, who’s second film hits the big screen on May 26th.

Supernatural: Seasons 1-5 has been available individually, but now it is coming out in a box set. If you haven’t previously acquired any of these episodes, this does tend to reduce the per-season price.

For western animation The Illusionist is the choice this week, from the same team who created Les Triplettes de Belleville. This previously unproduced film comes from a script created by the French comic genius Jacques Tati in 1956 as a means of becoming closer to his daughter.

The anime masterpieces Coffee Samurai / Hoshizora Kiseki are being released this week in a single package, from the same folks who brought you Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days. Hoshizora Kiseki, in English
Starry-sky Miracle, is about a girl who loves astronomy who meets a boy in a vacuum suit helping astronomers understand the stars, and how they impact one another. It was streamed online in 2006 from Japan for a few months, but while I watched it, the pipe wasn’t there to do it justice. It also made the film festival rounds, picking up a few awards, and was released on DVD in Japan that year, but no where else. I am glad it will finally be available here. Coffee Samurai is a bit different, with the woman in love with a coffee vending machine who goes by the name of Jin. It seems Jin was a Sengoku period samurai who died desperate for an invulnerable steel body to save him from the assassins. This is most definitely a case of be careful what you wish for; you might get it in your next life.

There are a few classics being re-released this time around. The original tale of boy loves computer, computer loves boy back will again be available: Chobits is a Persocomp made for one. If you are not sure that robot romance is for you, you can watch episodes online to get a feel for it. If you prefer your cyberneticly augmented women to be combat certified, Kiddy Grade has all the galaxy spanning action you could wish for, with a mystery to be solved. Again, if you don’t know if this is your kind of thing, you can watch the first few episodes online and then make your decision.

Finally, if it is Samurai action your looking for, Shigurui: Death Frenzy is being re-released in the Viridian Collection edition, which means you can pick up the series for just under $20 if you shop around.

Brainwave Powered Cat Ears

For all those Neko moments, this is the unbeatable apparel accessory; brainwave powered cat ears by NeuroWear. The first video is their commercial, the second is various people at a Con trying them out and getting them to react. Two details immediately spring to mind while watching these, the first being that in the tryouts, everyone has a sensor smack in the middle of their foreheads while in the commercial it is in the models hair and a lot less obvious. I have to wonder whether that is a design improvement they have made or just another case of inflated advertising promises. The other interesting detail is that some wearers in the tryouts were able to simply control them on their own, while others needed artificial stimulation to generate a specific reaction in the form of an aromatic in a small blue jar. This would lead one to believe that the different ear action patterns are caused by calling up specific types of brain activity, which should give method actors instant mastery. I expect we will be seeing a lot of these among the Cosplay addicted over the next year, and I am sure the Furry’s will be adapting them for many other species. New toys!

New Conan Trailer, Free Culture Japan

A new trailer for the remake of Conan the Barbarian has been released, and I am a lot more likely to see the film now that I have watched it. For tonight’s viewing though Danny Choo’s Culture Japan has launched for free at Crunchyroll. You are never going to get a better understanding of the phenomena than by watching Tokyo’s top Otaku take you behind the scenes of the latest Manga, Anime, Music, and Games, explaining it all. They have a dozen episodes now for premium members (that’s the entire first season!), with 5 online right now for everyone and more coming over the next 2 weeks; enjoy!