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Something to Watch: DVD’s

In theatrical films to DVD, Ong Bak 3 ramps up the supernatural elements introduced in the first two movies, but looses none of the trilogies brutal and intense martial arts action. This film completes the story line of this Thai epic.

Here’s a title I have been waiting for on DVD for a while: Doctor Who: The Movie (Special Edition). This 1996 made for TV movie was Paul McGann’s only onscreen turn at the Doctor, although he has done a bunch of radio plays in that persona over at Big Finish and the BBC. It was also the first time Doctor Who was co-produced by an American company, unfortunately Fox. I thought Eric Roberts brought a nice touch of evil to The Master in this one, and while this has previously been released on VHS it will be nice to finally have it as a disk.

For Anime, Chrome Shelled Regios is the new title, with parts 1 and 2 being released the same day. People live in mobile armored cities, avoiding the terminal levels of pollution in the world outside. It doesn’t always stay outside, but their military caste is ready to protect them.

And then there are a few classics being re-released in the US, including FLCL (pronounced Fooley Cooley), a truly insane little animation series from the folks who made Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion. While only six episodes long, this OVA has enough twists and turns for a full season of most other productions, and a killer soundtrack by The Pillows. The other classic title is Chrono Crusade, the story of a heavily armed nun and her demon sidekick battling the forces of evil in 1928 New York. If you missed getting either of these in your collection the first time around, now is your chance, and at a decent price if you shop around. Depending on which web site you believe, these two series might also be released on 22Feb11 rather than this week.

Where’s Your Tardis Contest

Those of you who watched the BBC America presentation on Christmas Day of Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol probably noticed an add for Where’s The Tardis. If you didn’t follow up on it, you should have, because it is a contest with prizes that include a private Doctor Who screening event in September and over 100 Doctor Who DVDs. Whether you win or not though the fun bit for me is stated right in the rules where it says you have full permission to build your own anatomically correct Tardis and display it in public. In fact, it is a requirement, since you have to submit pictures or video of your Tardis located in interesting but legal public places. They also want at least three videos of you creating your Tardis, and the contest will be judged on four points:

1) Most Original Design of the Tardis
2) Most Creative use of Materials
3) Most Creative Placement in a Public Location
4) Most Facebook Likes on wheresthetardis.com

I am obviously not going to win, since I don’t have a Facebook account, but that will not stop me from entering. You should do the same; the contest is now open (it started when the Christmas Doctor Who episode aired), and they will be accepting entries until May 15th 2011 at 11:59PM ET. Good luck to all of us, and if you win, I am willing to travel to be in the audience for the private screening event!

BTW, do you suppose the private screening event in the US has anything to do with the fact that some of the new Who season, not to mention some new Torchwood episodes, will take place in America?

Singularity Music: Part 4

The Alice Files is the first performance I know of that combines smart phone apps with musical instruments and video processing and display in real time for stage presence, all from only hand held devices. For the example included here, Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland was the narrative starting point, and I managed to locate both of the parts. And then there was the Doctor Who theme song…