There really is a competition focusing on America’s Greatest Otaku, and it could be you that brings home the prizes this time. The contest is being held by TokyoPOP, and it runs from Monday, February 7th (yes, that is tomorrow) until Friday, February 11th. Each day of that five day period will see a different contest being presented, each a day long and each giving you a shot at some great prizes. You can get the official rules here, and then log into the America’s Greatest Otaku site each day this week to enter each new contest as it comes up. The documentary series that all of this is in support of launches on Hulu on February 24th.
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.
Another place to watch Anime online is Manga Dot Com. At any given time they have a small selection of truly classic episodes, including titles such as Macross Plus, Gurren Lagann, Dante’s Inferno, and Noein, to name just a few. They also have some feature length films, including Paprika, Dead Leaves, and The Castle of Cagliostro. I particularly like Anime Reloaded, which is a lot like the animated version of MST3K as performed by Saturday Night Live.
I am embarrassed to say I missed a Sci-Fi DVD release this week: Never Let Me Go, the new film based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. He also wrote a little story called The Remains of the Day, but this time around we follow the lives of three people over three decades who were brought to life for a single reason: to be spare parts. This first person story about the lives of clones in an alternate timeline is not a happy tale, but it touches the heart in unexpected ways. This is the kind of movie The Island could have been, if it had someone at the helm who understood what being human was about.
The Rose City Steampunk Film Festival takes place in Portland, Oregon’s Clinton Street Theater on the 13th of February, 2011. The event has several feature length films and a boatload of shorts as well as some music videos and a writers panel. The theater is also running the Steampunk thriller Zenith from the 4th through the 10th, they are showing the classic Valley Girl for their Valentine presentation on the 14th, and every Friday night they run REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA, while every Saturday night they run the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I now have a favorite movie theater in yet another town I have never been to.
ZENITH 2011 TRAILER from Surla Films on Vimeo.
Sanctum is a James Cameron 3D thriller hitting the big screens this weekend. I fully expect the movie to be visually stunning, which is the reason I am mentioning it here, but it is not even close to sci-fi or fantasy. In fact I believe it is based on a true story, and you can find episodes on the National Geographic Channel.
For newly released movies we have Let Me In, the American remake of the award winning masterpiece Let The Right One In, for the fantasy/horror crowd with an addiction to vampires. I can not imagine how the US version can be a quarter as good as the original Swedish film with all its layered complexity, beyond the fact that you don’t have to know how to read to follow the story. But I will watch it, probably on a Netflix equivalent so I at least don’t have to pay extra money to find out if it is any good. The next movie this week is Monsters, the next in the series of alien invasion tales for this century, this Brit entry to the field winning all sorts of awards on the Film Fest circuits before it finally made it to theaters and DVD. And finally we have Quantum Apocalypse, which may be the only end-of-the-world movie set in Lafayette, Louisiana. I don’t have anything to recommend it beyond that, since it is a made-for-Syfy Channel movie (usually a demotion all by itself).
Classic animation is represented this week by the 60th anniversary of Alice In Wonderland, the Disney version. Not the modern Disney version with Johnny Depp, but the old one from 1951. Aldous Huxley worked with Walt Disney on early scripts for this project in late 1945, which gets even twisty-er when you realize Huxley’s mother, Julia Arnold, was one of the little girls that Carroll photographed and told the Alice stories to.
There is one quality new Anime title this week: You’re Under Arrest! Fast & Furious – Season 2. If you are not already a fan of this franchise, get ready for some serious belly laughs as car crazy Miyuki and insanely strong Natsumi get everyone in their cross hairs. The quality re-release anime this week is Chobits; a Persacomp (Personal Computer) that looks just like a life size naked girl ends up at our protagonists place and proceeds to turn his life inside out. I know it isn’t obvious from that perfectly accurate description, but this is a Shojo story, with the plot line and action implications all resolving for the (robot) girls benefit. Any computer geek of either gender will love this classic animated tale.