In 1999, everyone knew what the internet was, and what it could do for them. But almost no-one understood its potential and power. David Bowie was one of the few who clearly saw it, and this interview was more prophetic than almost anyone at the time understood, except for David himself.
Japanese performance powerhouse World Order has a new song online called Let’s Start WW3, and while I usually avoid anything political here (being rather seriously apolitical myself), this video is just too good to pass up. It features as always their amazing dance routines combined with excellent music and great singing, all the things a quality music video requires. And then there is Singularity, posted on the same day earlier this month, every bit as good, and in fact it includes a group dance-off that is just amazing. To round off the set I had to include their 2014 track Informal Empire filmed in London, UK, and the 2013 song Imperialism filmed in Washington, D.C.; they are both a lot of fun to watch but also present additional food for thought.
There hasn’t been anything worth mentioning for a while, but this week there are a couple of good choices. Top of the list is Marvel’s Black Panther, possible the only Marvel superhero to address the U.N. periodically as part of his day job. As near as I can recall, anyone else that went before the U.N. did it as part of their superhero persona, or worked for a U.N. agency. Also this week, Early Man from Aardman is a comedy about the Stone Age getting overrun by the Bronze Age, with all the highly detailed stop motion animation they made famous with Wallace & Gromit.
Topping the list, Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets was an instant classic that didn’t do well in the US, since almost no one here was familiar with the French comic it was based on. We get another French film this week as well in the form of the animation Leap!, original title Ballerina. Birth of the Dragon is also out this week, and while it isn’t genre, The Hitman’s Bodyguard looks like a fun film. The Korean action-thriller The Villainess also hits the shelves this time around, if you haven’t seen it, now is your chance. TV brings us a couple of comedy favorites in the form of The Librarians, Season 3 and Red Dwarf: XII
This week we get Doctor Who: Series Ten, Part Two, and that seems to be it for Western genre. Score: A Film Music Documentary looks interesting if you have ever wondered about the science of enhancing the movie experience by the application of the right music during the right scenes. The Good Witch of the West looks to be the only Anime option at the moment, and since I haven’t seen it I can’t say one way or the other if it is good or not.
The interesting western selection this week is Absolutely Anything, a sci-fi comedy with the surviving members of Monty Python plus Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, and Robin Williams (it was his final film). The critics didn’t care for it, with lots of reviews saying it was lacking in laughs, but I am going to have to watch it for myself before I decide if I agree with that. The other option is Power Rangers, which could be campy fun. I missed both films when they were in the theaters, so I have no idea how they are.
Anime brings us Assassination Classroom: Season 2, Part 2, a wonderful animation that keeps going in directions you don’t see coming. That completes the Anime series, but I am excited to let you know they are bringing the live action movie version of this story to the US this Wednesday. I saw it a few years ago while on an overseas flight, it was an amazing film. This isn’t an actual North American release, but rather a Region A Blu Ray Import, so while it will play just fine in North American Blu Ray players and does have English subtitles, it is a bit pricey. Kancolle: Kantai Collection, Complete Series is another 13 episode season in the lives of cute girls who are anthropomorphic battleships. Code Geass: Akito the Exiled is a 5 episode OVA that continues the world wide revolution against the Britannian Empire. Naruto Shippuden Uncut Set 31 is episodes 389 through 402 of that series, with episode 500 being their last one, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations taking over the franchise from there. Finally Samurai Warriors: Complete Series is more historical epic than fantasy, but enough of the Samurai involved became mythic figures that I can justify including it here. Plus, this isn’t based on the warriors of that era as much as it is based on those same warriors as portrayed in the game of the same name, which puts us right back in the fantasy realm after all.