The main film this week is The Jungle Book, the latest iteration of the Rudyard Kipling classic. The composited Live Action/CGI makes this the best looking version yet, and is an example of just how good the technology has gotten. The last time Disney told this story they did it with hand drawn animation, and that was the best anyone had seen up to that point, so this continues their tradition. While the most widely publicized, this isn’t our only choice this time around; Adam Green’s Aladdin will be making its way to a limited number of screens, and looks interesting enough to check out.
Edgar Rice Burroughs has created some amazing characters, and his most recognized is coming back to the big screen in The Legend Of Tarzan. On July 1st we will get to find out if they are doing this classic story justice, and if they are, we will have a reboot of the entire massive collection of tales, both big and small.
The movie Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is based on Ransom Riggs New York Times best seller debut novel (his previous book being a study of the methods of a Fictional Detective, rather than a fiction itself), and it looks like Tim Burton has set the tone quite nicely for this fantasy. It will be on the big screen on September 30th, and I am looking forward to seeing how they did with it.
Want to catch up on some books you might have missed? The TOR web site has some excellent series going on, one of my favorites being Rereading. It introduces new readers to excellent stories they can fall in love with (and lets them know why they are worth their effort to check out). It also reminds long-time fans why they became fans in the first place, and connects the dots on aspects of the story that only became apparent some volumes later, so you get to experience the foreshadowing you never knew was there. The fact that they keep choosing some of the best series ever written keeps me coming back, if only to get some one else’s take on the plot, characters, and twists these tales offer the reader. This time around the offering is Lois McMaster Bujold’s masterpiece The Vorkosigan Saga, starring Miles himself, and sometimes his mother, and every now and then his cousin. Rereading the Vorkosigan Saga will definitely take you places you didn’t expect to go, but will no doubt enjoy. I hope you like them as much as I do, if you are not already a fan!
MTV brought The Shannara Chronicles to television, and you can watch the first 4 episodes now on their web site. The show is based on the Epic Fantasy series of books of the same name written by Terry Brooks, and are the stories of the Four Lands. The story arc for season 1 is all about saving the tree that protects the Four Lands from the Demon World.
The Martian is out on disc this week, based on Andy Weir’s book and starring Matt Damon. The film has been nominated for a number of awards already, it will be interesting to see which ones it takes home. For animated family silliness we also get Hotel Transylvania 2, with the further antics of Dracula’s daughter. While Mr. Robot: The Complete First Season may not be genre, it is cutting edge TV you should be watching, and it too is up for an assortment of awards. From now to January 21st you can watch all 10 Season 1 enhanced and uncensored episodes on their website, especially if you are voting for any of those awards.
In Anime, Argevollen Collection 2 continues to up the ante in the war, with newer and better combat mechs rolled out to both sides. It is beginning to look like the only winners will be the companies that create the giant robots. The IGPX Immortal Grand Prix: Complete Collection originally came out in 2005 as 2 box sets, this is the first time the entire thing is in a single package. It combines auto racing with combat mechas for a rather unique sport.