Put together by the folks who created the Coraline and ParaNorman animations, The Boxtrolls looks like it will be a lot of fun. The film stars Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost, which all by itself is enough to put it on my must see list. It is based on the book Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow, purportedly a children’s book but a fine example of Fantasy as well. Since it is volume 1 of The Ratbridge Chronicles (the fictional town it takes place in, based on the real town Trowbridge in Wiltshire), perhaps there will be more of these down the road. It should be hitting the big screen in September.
There are several interesting choices this week, with Transformers: Age of Extinction topping the list. Let’s face it, I would watch any Michael Bay Transformers movie, even though I never cared for the original Japanese animation series trying to promote toy sales. As the series evolved, Beast Wars came out, a story line built on evolution itself. It looks like Michael is finally incorporating that aspect of the franchise into his movies, and I can’t wait to see where he takes it.
Also this week, the truly twisted and paranoid Philip K. Dick masterpiece Radio Free Albemuth goes into general distribution! This gem has been going around the film fest circuit for a handful of years, it is nice to see it finally going into theatrical release. If you are in the mood for an After the Apocalypse kind of film, then Snowpiercer will give you major class warfare trapped on the Orient Express, with an international cast of favorite actors. If you are hoping for something a bit more light-hearted than any of these, there is a limited release of the 2004 animated classic The Incredibles, finally available in 3D.
The folks over at Cornucopia3D are holding a Game of Thrones Fan Art Contest all this month, until June 30th. Create a landscape, city, hamlet, or castle from Westeros. Or you can illustrate an event from the George R.R. Martin book series or the TV show they made from it, such as a coronation, treaty negotiation, battle, or assassination. Of course, you can not use any copyright images from either source, you will have to create your own original artwork inspired by the series. There are a few other rules, which you can get from their web site, along with a list of the prizes. If you don’t feel like entering the contest but want to show off some of your artwork they have a ton of non-contest galleries you can upload to as well.
They also have some software and 3D modeling resources you might find useful, including a free copy of Vue 2014 Pioneer. If you haven’t used Vue before, it is one of the best 3D modeling programs available for easily creating terrains and landscapes, from a single scene to an entire mountain range or planet. The Pioneer version is a full product, not crippleware or a limited time trial, but it is their entry-level version. There are modules you can buy to upgrade it to some of the functionality of the other versions, such as 3D model importing with bone rigging and texture/bump mapping, but it is a great way to get started on creating your own worlds.
The show The Musketeers is coming to BBC America, and even though they are not exactly French (let’s face it, in most Musketeers variations, the British were the enemy even worse than the French king or Cardinal Richelieu himself!), this looks like it might be very good fun indeed. And I do like the Tag Line: 17th Century Paris, where Law And Order is more an idea than a reality. The show kicks off on June 22nd, and I intend to be there to check it out. Let’s face it, Alexandre Dumas was a genius with a unique place in time and a wonderful understanding of the human heart. I can’t wait to see which direction this newest variant on his story goes in.
In movies, Kill Zombie! is a Dutch horror/comedy. After a night in jail, four hung-over friends and one female officer emerge to discover their city ravaged by a zombie outbreak cause by a meteor shower. The other film choice isn’t genre as such, but an esoteric and visually stunning production called Visitors, a non-verbal film by Godfrey Reggio, Philip Glass, and Jon Kane.
In TV, Resurrection: The Complete First Season is based on the book The Returned by Jason Mott. I was certain it was the American remake of the 2012 French TV show Les Revenants, which won an International Emmy for Best Drama Series, but I was wrong. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is on the list this time as well, and I think this show proves Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a fitting inheritor of Carl Sagan’s cosmic mantle. This is a rather nice release schedule, since the season finale episode airs tonight at 9PM in my time zone, and I am a big believer in instant gratification.
In Anime, Maoyu is the story of the war between humankind and the Demon King. Except, as the hero named Hero discovers, the King is a Queen, and she has a plan to bring lasting peace to both realms with his help. So is this a deal with the devil or the best options for both species? Warning, for those looking for a serious combat-centric war show, this series is a Romantic Comedy/Fantasy. Date A Live: Complete Series is about the spacequakes that killed 150 million people when they first happened 30 years ago, and our protagonist has just learned that the spacequakes are caused by the Spirits, mystical creatures found at ground zero. Now he has been recruited to help save the world by sealing the Spirits powers. The complication is that Shido is an ordinary high school boy, the Spirits are all cute girls, and the only way to seal one is to make her fall in love with you. Surprise, this one is also a Romantic Comedy/Fantasy.
Deltora Quest Megaset, the epic magical quest series, is a bit confusing. It is an excellent series of children’s books from Australian author Emily Rodda that was made into either 52 or 65 episodes of Anime, depending on which Anime web site you read, but everyone agrees the box set has 52 episodes. It was supposed to have been released on May 13th, but most of the web sites say release was delayed until June 10th. When I check the Barnes and Noble web site it says you can pre-order it for the 10th, but when I go to Amazon it says there are only 12 left in stock and has May 13th as the release date, while Wallmart says it came out on June 3rd and they have lots of copies. So I don’t have a clue if it is coming out this week, last week, or last month, but probably one of those times.
Based on the Adam Rex book The True Meaning of Smekday, the Dreamworks Animation version is called Home, and it is scheduled to be in theaters on November 26th. This one looks like it will be a lot of silly fun. This particular short, Almost Home, was already on the big screen in front of the feature animation Mr. Peabody & Sherman.