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Something to Watch: Discs

Movies bring us Jurassic World, this year’s continuation of the classic series. In my opinion the latest addition stands up to the original in terms of action and story, and surpasses it for special effects. If you don’t already have the previous installments you can also pick up all 4 at once in the Jurassic Park Collection. Also out is a post apocalypse tale called Z for Zachariah about what may be the last 3 people on Earth after a nuclear war. I suspect the release timing for this one may be because Chris Pine stars in both sci-fi movies and they are hoping that might boost its sales. I did not see any genre TV this time around.

In Anime, Hayate the Combat Butler 2nd Season embeds 25 episodes of combat fun into the domestic matrix. Meanwhile, Space Brothers: Collection 5 has both brothers being hit with failing health while they are being overworked. Collection 5 adds episodes 52-64, so we are past the half way point on the current story.

SAO, The Movie

Aniplex has confirmed that the Sword Art Online Movie project is going forward, with a brand new story from Reki Kawahara. It looks like this will push back the release of Season 3 to 2016, which is also when the film comes out. The movie and season 3 will have completely different stories, but be created by the same production team.

Something to Do: Movies

My first choice for this weekend has to be Goosebumps, with Jack Black representing R.L. Stine; I think this one is going to be a serious hoot. If you are looking for a more serious thriller this Halloween season then Crimson Peak might be just the ticket for you. Finally, as a Spy fan I have to admit I am excited to see what they do with Bridge of Spies, staring Tom Hanks as the lawyer who had to try to negotiate the release of the pilot of the U2 plane shot down over Russia.

Something to Watch: Discs

Movies brings the Disney treat Tomorrowland, about the future I always wanted to be a part of, and why we didn’t get it after all. It includes some excellent Tesla references and associations from a secret history of the world, and some great special effects delivered in a non-stop roller coaster ride of a movie. Also this week San Andreas destroys a major California city for your viewing enjoyment. I was pretty much done with disaster movies around the time of The Towering Inferno, but it still counts as genre since it is a fictional story based on scientific facts. Even though it isn’t new, it is worth mentioning that the Disney animated classic Aladdin will be available in the Blu-Ray format for what may be the first time.

TV has The 100: Season 2, continuing the story of the outcasts sent back to Earth to see if the planet had healed enough to support life. Wayward Pines: The Complete First Season is the surreal story that seems to have been lifted directly out of Twin Peaks, or certainly inspired by it, or so it seems to me.

Anime is led off by Ghost in the Shell, Arise: Borders 3 and 4, finishing up the prequel stories telling us how the team got together and what they were up to before. Cyborg and hacker Motoko Kusanagi gathered them and forged them into the most unique police unit Tokyo had ever seen. In Beyond the Boundary: Complete Collection a woman with powers who is the last surviving member of her clan teams up with a half human/half youmu boy to save those who have no other hope. Finally Samurai Jam: Bakumatsu Rock tells the story of government suppression of Rock and Roll in 1800s Japan, and the six string Samurai who’s only goal was to be a rock star.

Something to Do: Movies

Two movies in different genres but with a link between the protagonists this week; Pan is the latest reiteration of the Peter Pan classic story, giving it a Prequel spin, showing how it got to the beginning of the event sequence we all know and love. Steve Jobs tells the tale of another who refused to grow up and give up his dreams, but instead dragged the entire world with him into the future his imagination created. If I only have time to see one of them this weekend I am going to have to flip a coin, because I really feel the need to see both. Of course, I may just go off the deep end, and opt for Yakuza Apocalypse instead, and enjoy watching a Tokyo Vampire Crime Lord go bats all over the Cityscape.