Edgar Rice Burroughs has created some amazing characters, and his most recognized is coming back to the big screen in The Legend Of Tarzan. On July 1st we will get to find out if they are doing this classic story justice, and if they are, we will have a reboot of the entire massive collection of tales, both big and small.
2 films worth checking out this time, beginning with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the long awaited DC entry into the Group Superhero movie field. Identicals, originally titled Brand New You, is a highly unconventional romantic thriller that will have you guessing throughout who is actually who. It takes place in a near-future world where a select few can get a life-upgrade, taking over the life of someone who has a better job, a better spouse, and a better place in the world. When one of those being replaced refuses to die as intended, he must fight to get his own back.
Movies include The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, with a VR short of selected segments of the film also available, fully 3D and formatted for Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear, and others. There is one more release that looks worth watching, the documentary/essay film Dreams Rewired, a look at movies of 100 years ago at the beginning of the Information Age, with Tilda Swinton doing the voice over. On the silly side, we also get Cowboys vs Dinosaurs, a really fun bad movie, and Roboshark from Syfy, about a shark that eats an alien space probe.
This is the Google Cardboard version of that Mockingjay VR:
In Anime, Celestial Method is about a city with a flying saucer parked over it, which began with fear but turned out to just make the place a tourist destination. Then two girls get together, and everything changes again. Date A Live II is the complete 2nd season of the alien invasion rom-com. Durarara!! x 2 (3) is part 3 of season 2 for entirely too much money; you can buy the Japanese import for about $30 less than the US release, in fact. I will just watch it on streaming until they put out a sanely priced edition. We also get the continuation of a couple of favorites, with Fairy Tail: Part 19 bringing episodes 213 through 226 home. Notice that is putting us at about 4 and a half years into the story at one episode per week. Streaming live from Japan this week is episode 278, if you were curious. One Piece: Collection 15 brings episodes 349 through 372 to the shelves, with episode 457 currently streaming. Which means you can buy about 7 years of it, but they are currently finishing up the 9th year.
We have several this week, including Psycho-Pass the Movie in theaters for a limited run on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 15th and 16th. Topping the wide release list is The Divergent Series: Allegiant, where Tris and 4 must escape Chicago, or die trying. The Little Prince is a children’s classic with a core story as true today as it was back then, and very nicely animated in this version. Pee-wee’s Big Holiday and Midnight Special are also available to check out…
Zootopia was amazing, and Shakira’s official video of Try Everything gives you a little taste of how fluid and detailed the animation was. I don’t think I have ever seen this many animated characters on the screen at the same time before, and they managed to bring a number of them to life as individuals in the course of this film. I am sure the singer enjoyed the experience of being one of those characters throughout the presentation, and her song at the end was the perfect way to close the story. If you haven’t seen this one yet it is still in theaters, and it is detailed enough that you really need to see it on the big screen at least once.
One of the best Star Wars Fan Films I have seen in the last decade, DARTH MAUL: Apprentice tells a lot of story for being less than 18 minutes long. Pretty much the best Fan Film I have seen so far this year, as well. Enjoy!