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Something to Watch: Discs

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.

The Expanse Renewed

I am happy they have renewed The Expanse for a second season, because there is so much story in the books that there was no way they could fit it into just 10 hours. Of course, they haven’t aired all of the first season yet, but it is good to know another one is on the way.

Something to Do: Movies

This is the weekend we finally get to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and I have been ready since they first announced J.J. Abrams would be heading up the new films. I am definitely seeing it Friday, and will let the film decide if it needs to be seen again Saturday and/or Sunday. Also out this week is He Never Died, the crowdfunded fantasy starring Henry Rollins. And if you are a fan of great Asian films Mojin: The Lost Legend is a good Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider kind of story based on the #1 bestselling series of novels by Zhang Muye. This particular movie is based on his book Ghost Blows Out the Light, and if it does good enough at the box office perhaps they will turn the entire series into movies, one after the other.

The Magicians Trailer

The Magicians is a new show coming to Syfy on January 25th, and if the show is half as good as the books, it will be on my DVR every week. They have a sneak peek on the website that looks like the first few minutes of the first episode, also looking good. It is based on Lev Grossman’s trilogy of the same name, a set of books praised by a lot of people, including Cory Doctorow, William Gibson, and George R. R. Martin. Let’s face it, any time three of your favorite authors tell you somebody else wrote important books you need to read, you pay attention.

Childhood’s End Trailer

The revolutionary 1953 Arthur C. Clarke novel Childhood’s End will be hitting the small screen as a 3 episode miniseries. The first episode airs beginning on December 14th on Syfy, just before the premier of The Expanse, or you can stream it now from their web site. The peaceful alien invasion of Earth is followed by decades of apparent utopia under their rule, but most people fail to notice their goal is to change humanity forever.