The first trailer presented here is the new one, the first real trailer, and it is impressive as hell. The second one is the original teaser-trailer set, actually 5 little mini-teasers from the upcoming Ghost In The Shell live action film that has Scarlett Johansson playing the cyborg policewoman Major Motoko Kusanagi. Likes for me include the fact that they are playing the cyborg nudity as it was originally intended, necessary for the optical camouflage made possible by the nano-camera in each skin cell sending its captured image to a predetermined cell on the opposite side of the body to re-radiate. The only dislike I have encountered so far is when you hear Scarlett say This is Major like that was her name, rather than This is THE Major, or even better replicate the original story by having her say This is Kusanagi. But the new trailer looks amazing, and when it is released if I get to the end of the film with that being my only objection, I will count myself lucky indeed. Is it 2017 yet?
This weekend we finally get to hit the theater for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the next generation story of the Harry Potter series, and yes, that does mean its by J. K. Rowling. If you need more information than that, you are obviously just visiting this planet, and didn’t do your research before you arrived. We also get Officer Downe this weekend based on the graphic novel of the same name, unless the production company comes to its senses and opts for a different release date.
In Movies the animated Finding Dory from Disney and Pixar is the only film that had a widespread theatrical release. Ron Howard’s The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years was in theaters, but being a documentary it didn’t get the number of screens needed to take it beyond Limited Release. It did get enough that most people who wanted to see it could do so, although some folks had a bit of a drive, and is part of Hulu’s Because The Beatles collection. How Sarah Got Her Wings missed the big screen as it was a TV Holiday Special from Ion the other year.
Anime brings us Charlotte 2, the last 6 episodes of this 13 episode series about those with special powers. Priced at right around $13 per episode, I will be watching it on Crunchyroll for the foreseeable future. Ultimate Otaku Teacher Part 1 is about a smart guy who is only interested in his blog and hobbies of anime and manga. His sisters gets fed up and signs him up for a job as a teacher, which he turns out to be surprisingly good at. Yes, it isn’t genre, I am including it for its Otaku aspects. Chaos Dragon tells of a small country caught between two larger countries war. Its Dragon deity is insane, but the only hope they have is for the surviving member of the ruling family to form a bond with the Dragon, and channel his power to get the country back its freedom. Castle Town Dandelion – Complete Series has nine super powered siblings campaigning to take over their dads job and become the new king. File it under silly fun.
Streaming online Sci-fi, a bunch of it free, is what Watch Sci-Fi Dot Com is all about. They are the folks who put together the SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival each year, and the collection of amazing short films produced specifically for that event makes up a portion of the free-to-watch content. I certainly don’t mind paying them for the few non-free presentations I watch, since most of the ones I select can not be viewed from North America any other way. Check them out, and let me know what you think.
The film worth checking out this Friday is Arrival, told from the viewpoint of the linguist who is recruited by the military to assist in translating the aliens communications. I will be in the theater for this one! As far as I know this may be the first ever Ted Chiang story to be turned into a movie, in this case the short story: “Story of Your Life”. Ted has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, four Locus awards, and a boatload of other top honors in the Sci-Fi universe. The story had a very small scope, if what I have seen of the trailer is any indication Hollywood may have grabbed that ball and run with it in directions the author never intended, but I am still looking forward to seeing what his first outing on the silver screen may have brought about.
And remember, next Monday the 14th is the Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks presentation in theaters across the US! The lost episode when Hartnel regenerated into Troughton; sadly only the audio survived, so they animated the video.
TV brings us Daredevil: The Complete First Season, a rather brutal addition to the Marvel TV collection that has a good story to tell. Marvel is doing better than most at creating continuity between their Movie and TV storytelling, with the Netflix branch of the franchise focusing on the superheroes who called Hell’s Kitchen home. Movies have a couple of animations for us, Phantom Boy being a French production about a kid who can astral project and the policeman he works with to bring down a violent criminal being the first. The second is the rather more adult Sausage Party, which is funny as hell but NOT appropriate to share with your children.
In Anime, Sky Wizards Academy: The Complete Series is about an inept combat team and the outcast who was assigned to train them to fight against the armored insects that now control the Earth. 07-ghost tells of the destruction of a nation after a Thousand Years War, and the survivor who is about to turn everything upside down. Omamori Himari: Complete Collection has a cat girl guardian, a bunch of attacking demons, and the last remaining member of a demon killing family that wishes he was anywhere but here. Strike the Blood is all about Vampires who bounce from body to body, and the killer girls sent to snuff them who seem to spend a lot more time protecting them.
In The Heroic Legend of Arslan Season One: Part Two, trust me when I say Arslan is not having a good time, but you might enjoy the story noticeably more than he does. Overlord: Complete Collection the ultimate “trapped in a game” anime, and it certainly seems to be a lot of fun. Finally, Shomin Sample: I Was Abducted by an Elite All-Girls School as a Sample Commoner win’s this weeks award for most off the wall title, but it does look like an interesting animation.