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Something to Watch: DVDs, 10Dec13

I usually hit movies first, but Day Of The Doctor gets the number one spot this time around. This is after all the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Special, and definitely had more Doctors than any other episode. While we are on the topic of TV, I should mention Futurama: Volume 8 and Futurama: The Complete Series will both be hitting the shelves this week.

Another break from my normal structure; I usually do live action movies first, but Despicable Me 2 has to start out the movie presentations this week. It was way too much fun, and you just can’t have too many minions. The other movies worth mentioning have either Cantonese or Mandarin as their primary sound track, including Man of Tai Chi. Note that that is the second Asian-centric film Keanu Reeves has starred in this year, and the first one he has directed. Saving General Yang takes place in 986 AD, and involves the famous Yang Family Generals. For something different, The Rooftop seems to be a Taiwan gangland musical with lots of singing, dancing, and fighting. It looks like a fun film to check out.

In Anime, Bleach: Season 19 brings us up to episode 279. To put that in perspective, they are up to episode 366 streaming from Japan, so the DVDs are finally starting to catch up with the streaming sources. Another returning favorite is Fairy Tail: Part 7, bringing episodes 73 through 84, and they are also releasing Fairy Tale: The Movie this week, so you get a double dose.

Btooom!: The Complete Series is about a combat game which suddenly changed when the 7 best players in the world were kidnapped, and woke up on an island with a bag of bombs each and holes in their memories; now they have to kill each other off and be the last one standing to escape, or so they are lead to believe. Finally, in the main series, a bunch of friends had their bodies repeatedly swapped so they never knew who they were going to be next, had their ages change at random, and had their desires overwhelm them and take control, all being done to them by an outside force. Now, in Kokoro Connect: OVA Collection, their inner emotional state is suddenly being projected into one of their friends, including phobias and suppressed desires, sometimes with near lethal results.

Avengers In Sci-Fi

Yet again with a kick ass song and a great video, Avengers In Sci-Fi are an amazing group. This time around the songs start with Sonic Fireworks, and the visual storyline is every bit as good as the musical one. I wish every group did this well at presenting their creations. The next track is Yang 2, another world class piece of music coupled to another astounding video. This band is worth your time to check out, they have a bunch more music you will want to add to your collection.

Neatbeats channel Beatles

I don’t really know how else to describe this group, The Neatbeats. The song is Twistin’ Time With You, and it sounds like what you would have heard when you hopped in your Tardis and bopped back to hear John, Paul, George, and Ringo play a gig in Tokyo in 1965. And it’s not like they didn’t know it, as the second video proves. Yet another proof that music in all its formats is universal.

Something to Do: Movies, 1Nov13

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.