This is shaping up to be an excellent movie month, with several films to chose from this week. I absolutely have to be in the theater for Thor: The Dark World with the 9th Doctor (Chris Eccelston) playing the bad guy, and Chuck (Zack Levi) playing one of the Warriors 3 as kind of a variation on his role in Tangled. For those disappointed that About Time didn’t come out in a theater near them last week, it goes into much wider release this week, so you have a better shot of finding it. And The Starving Games is a parody of The Hunger Games that looks like it could be pretty funny.
In film, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey leads us off, and if you don’t already know all about this one you haven’t been distracted, you’ve been comatose. Computer Chess is set in a 1980 tournament where some of the best programmers in the world got together to run their programs against one another and determine a winner. A comedy-drama about the first steps on the road to the invention of artificial intelligence and the creation of software that can beat us at our own game. I should probably mention that while this is its DVD debut, it have been available for purchase and download at iTunes and the like for a while. Much as I hate sparkly vampires I suppose I have to mention Twilight Forever: The Complete Saga, for those who somehow missed it earlier, or who absolutely have to have the several minutes of extra footage they stuck back in.
In TV we have Under the Dome, the series based on the Steven King story.
In Anime Hiiro no Kakera – The Tamayori Princess Saga Season 2 tells of Tamaki, the new Tamayori Princess. Which makes her the protector of the universe, with 5 protectors of her own. The five hansom boys devoted to her well being do cause a bit of confusion among her high school peer group, and more than a little amusement for the viewer. Living to inhabit her new role is not at all guaranteed, with lots of things doing their best to kill her. Zetman is about two guys with special powers, who each want to use their gifts in the cause of justice. What justice means is different for them, which becomes a source of trouble as their lives intertwine.
Fate/Zero is about the first Holy Grail War, which took place 10 years before the one covered in Fate/Stay Night. If you are not already following this series, whoever wins the wars gets an item that will make any dream come true, no matter how impossible. This particular special edition is a bit pricy for me, so I will be waiting for a more cost effective release to come out.
What could be more American than Mister Peabody and Sherman? I can’t wait for the new movie to be in the theaters, and once more hear that exciting command: Sherman, set the WayBack Machine! Along with Fractured Fairy Tales, this was something I looked for every week in the Rocky And Bullwinkle Show.
We hit the jackpot this week, and I don’t mean the ton of horror flics coming out on Halloween. Best action/adventure based on a literary property is definitely Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, which comes complete with a world-class cast. For those in the mood for a heartwarming time travel romance we have the wide release (previously in Limited) of About Time from the team that did 4 Weddings And A Funeral. The animated treat for the weekend is Free Birds, with time traveling turkey’s out to change the Thanksgiving menu forever. Finally, the foreign film of note is Man of Tai Chi, which is a Hong Kong martial arts film, even if Keanu Reeves is directing and starring in it.
The action/comedy winner is R.I.P.D., the after life cop story based on the excellent Dark Horse comic. The other film of note this week is Byzantium, the dramatic fantasy about two beautiful vampires.
There didn’t seem to be any live action TV options this time around, at least not from North America. The western animation is a good one, though: Disney’s Monsters University. This was released as a digital HD download at the beginning the first week of the month, but this is your first chance to actually get the discs.
In Anime, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is the story of 5 childhood friends who grew apart after the death of Meiko, another friend. Years later, while they are in High School together, the ghost of Meiko returns and draws them back together to fulfill a promise they made to her as children. Thermae Romae: Complete Collection is about a bath house builder from ancient Rome who travels in time to modern Tokyo and gets some great ideas to incorporate into his designs from contemporary bath houses.
The remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty looks really good, possibly even better than the original, although I think I will have to watch them both on the same day before I come to any conclusions. It is based on the book by American humorist and illustrator James Thurber.