The TV series My Love From Another Star was released on Blue Ray yesterday, January 7th, at least in Asia. It was previously released in Standard Definition, which hasn’t been the standard for a while now (tech advances way faster than marketing scams). In honor of that, NBCUniversal Entertainment has posted an embeddable version of the first episode on their YouTube channel, which I almost posted here. But, since it is in Korean with Japanese subtitles, I decided that didn’t make a lot of sense for a blog hosted in North America. If you want to watch that version, it is at the second link. The first link will take you to the Hulu page where you can watch it with English subtitles. The story is he crashed his flying saucer on Earth in 1609, had to dodge being killed by Earthlings and therefore missed the rescue craft, and has been waiting for 400 years for his chance to catch a ride on a comet and go home. But now, with just 3 months to go, he has made the mistake of interacting with someone and getting to know them; his terminally annoying new neighbor, the airhead actress. I rather enjoyed this sci-fi rom-com, and thought this was a good excuse to mention it here.
The next blockbuster from Marvel, even before the Avengers. I am so ready!
In Movies we get Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who is John Galt, the final film which completes the trilogy adapted from Ayn Rand’s novel. We also get Horns, a fantasy based on Joe Hill’s novel. Left Behind is another fantasy about how the world fell apart after a lot of people evaporated off the planet suddenly. They are also releasing the 1967 classic The Sword of Doom on Blue Ray for the first time. I didn’t find anything interesting in the way of genre TV shows this week.
In Anime, Fairy Tail: Collection 3 brings episodes 49 through 72 to the shelves in one box, complete with all the collateral damage those wizards are famous for. The collection editions are a lot more cost effective than the individual seasons, which run at the same price for half the number of episodes; you just have to be willing to wait a bit longer for them to be released. Likewise, One Piece – Collection Box 1 puts the first 4 seasons into a single box set, for a total of 103 episodes. The second one of those will be along in February.
Qwaser of Stigmata: Complete Collection contains all episodes from season 1, season 2, and the OVAs. Super powered combat with a battle for the fate of mankind puts the sisters Mafuyu and Tomo in danger, but it also gives them the power to help determine the outcome. Fantastic Detective Labyrinth: Complete Collection is about a boy detective in a Shinto filled with supernatural crime, 30 years after Tokyo was destroyed. Also, Dog & Scissors is being released on Blue Ray (previously only available as a DVD), a fantasy about a boy who is reincarnated as a dog owned by his favorite author… only he can not read as a dog.
In Saturn’s Rings covers topics from the big bang to the near future as seen from the perspective of the Cassini-Huygens Mission at Saturn. This is an IMAX film that will be playing in museums and planetariums around the country. Hot Bot is at the opposite end of the intellectual spectrum, but could be fun. Two unpopular teen geeks accidentally discover a life-like super-model sex bot.
This week the Disney film Into The Woods is going to corner the musical comedy fantasy market I suspect, and I will no doubt be in the theater to check it out on the big screen. Also, The Imitation Game finally goes into wide release. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, this telling of the life of mathematical genius Alan Turing has been nominated for 5 Golden Globes, on top of the 23 awards it has already won.
7 Assassins is the movie this week, about a group of assassins who have banded together to rid the government of corruption. This movie is quite good, even if it does have a death toll that could rival a Shakespearean tragedy adapted by George R.R. Martin, as the reviewer linked here said.
TV has Continuum: Season Three, with another roll of the time-travel dice pushing Kiera still farther from her original timeline. If you live in Canada you can get the Enhanced Video experience by watching it online, with original bonus webisodes, extended scenes, and behind-the-scenes content in each Continuum Season 3 episode. You can get a lot of that from Continuum on Syfy, but not all of it, and not as nicely integrated. US viewers should go for the discs to get the full effect. We also get Dominion: Season One this time around, about the war between the angels and humanity. I am sure you won’t be too surprised to learn Humanity is in trouble.
The Anime stand out this week is Sword Art Online: Extra Edition, the bit that came between the first and second season, an OVA that comes in at just 100 minutes. It sets the stage nicely for what comes next, and brings its own context and development. There is also One Piece; Season 6 Part 3, which may not sound like much but is 11 full episodes. What Japan calls a TV season is everything produced in a year, and since they go around the calendar with this series, each actual season ends up being 10 to 12 episodes long.