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Something to Do: Movies

Not a lot out this weekend, but there are a few that might be worth seeing. Vampires Suck is silly fun poked mostly at the Twilight franchise (OK, pretty much totally at the Twilight franchise). For the first time ever I can honestly say that the parody was better than the film it was making fun of, at least in terms of acting, cinematography, believability, scriptwriting, and a few other details. I suspect that has less to do with how good the parody is and more to do with how bad the original was, and I will be seeing the parody if someone pays me enough to make wasting my time that completely worthwhile (and only then).

While on a more serious topic, and with far superior actors, What If… still bears a noticeable resemblance to the other film in one respect; it is a modified remake of another movie. This time around, the original I associate this with is one of the true classics of film making: the Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart legend It’s A Wonderful Life, itself a modern day retelling of the Scrooge story. From what I can tell from the write up and the trailer, other remakes like Mr. Destiny or What Women Want may be better representations of this film, but I am always willing to check out a new Paratime story, and so few of them make it to the big screen.

Streaming Anime this summer

I commented previously (in fact gave an entire review) about the new show streaming on Crunchyroll, Occult Academy, which is off to a wonderful start. If you are a premium Crunchyroll member, you get to legally watch new episodes one hour after they air in Tokyo; if a non-paying member, you can see them at slightly lower resolution a week later. Anyone who follows this blog knows I have become addicted to this service, and the annual fee has already paid for itself in terms of knowing which shows I do and don’t want to buy when they come out on DVD.

They have added a few new programs to the Summer Streaming Lineup that look pretty good on initial glance, although you might have to work for one of them. That one would be Tono to Issho, which is kind of the Anime equivalent of one-liners, or the 4 panel comic strip jokes everyone knows from newspapers (at least, those old enough to remember what non-interactive static media forms like newspapers were). You have to know a bit about the culture, history, current events, and popular opinion of Japan in order to get these jokes, but if you do they are delightful. Like all the best satire, it occasionally slips into Sci-Fi or Fantasy memes to make its points.

The third brand new program is Asobi ni Ikuyo: Bombshells from the Sky, an Alien Catgirls Romantic Comedy with a certain amount of Kawaii overdose (cuteness overload). We are still 13 hours out from the start of episode 1’s simulcast stream, but the trailer looks promising.

An old favorite come back for another round is Strike Witches season 2, the parallel timeline story of heavily armed propeller booted WWII flying girls versus alien invaders who seem to be related to cats. Check it out, and if you feel the need to catch up with season 1, it is available on DVD now in the US.

Things to Do: Film Festivals

The Berlin International Film Festival comes around for the 60th time from February 11th to the 21st. This monster festival is broken into 7 sections, each with its own director. There are a ton of movies, I thought I should mention a few that sound interesting to me.

One Life, Maybe Two is another paratemporal story, in which a single event goes both ways, and the fork between worldlines explores each outcome. The premise matches up with Sliding Doors in that regard, but the kind of events explored are quite different. While I suspect no one is referencing the Spanish Inquisition in this one, I am looking forward to seeing it some day.

Another film worth noting is Shutter Island, a rather surreal film about a disappearing mass murderess who may have escaped from a psychiatric prison. The talent involved with this film includes names like Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, and Max von Sydow, and the trailer looks great. This one is not just for the film festivals; it goes into public release on the weekend of the 18th/19th of February.

There are a few other films you might want to check out. Howl has been making the festival circuits, a DocuDrama about the Ginsburg obscenity trial in 1957. That was the birthplace of the American Counterculture movement, and everything that it evolved into over the following 50 plus years. This film includes a presentation of the poem itself, which more than anything else puts into perspective just how far we have come since then.

And Ginsburg begat Dury; so how appropriate this festival also includes Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, a film format reconstruction of Ian Dury’s biography, showing how he became key to the development of Punk and New Wave music, and the culture they spawned. He influenced The Clash, The Pretenders and the Sex Pistols to name just a few. He toured the US with Elvis Costello and Lou Reed back in the seventies. As the title of the film (it is also the title of his smash hit song) might make you suspect, he really was on the direct line of decent from Ginsburg, and was a major influence on the development of his segment of the Counterculture.

And Ginsberg begat Warhol and Waters; also in the 70s, No Wave film making was born in New York City, mostly in the low-income parts of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The movie Blank City does a good job of presenting just how intense this Counterculture cauldron became, and what kind of film movements it spawned.

Wish I could be in Berlin for this fest, but I guess I will just have to cheer them on from here.

Avatar Interview, Cowboy Bond, Iron IMAX

James Cameron had a quality interview at The Wrap in which he answered political critics comments about Avatar, and spoke about the technology and the future of movie making. Word is also going around that Daniel Craig is talking with the makers of Cowboys and Aliens, and might be taking over the lead in that film. The part opened up last week when Robert Downey dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with Sherlock II and Iron Man III. The premise is similar to one of my favorite Harry Turtledove series, only this time the aliens land in the 1880s old west, instead of WWII. And word came out today that an Iron Man II IMAX release will be happening simultaneously with the regular theatrical release on May 7th.

More Worldcon, Please!

More awards have already been handed out at Worldcon, according to the 5th AnticipationSF Newsletter. The Aurora Awards have been handed out, and while I have read many of the nominated works, I don’t know a single one of the winners; which means I have a lot of excellent new science fiction to add to my To Be Read list. Also handed out were this years Sidewise Awards for Alternate History, and congratulations to Chris Roberson for his win with The Dragon’s 9 Sons, a very impressive book in a well built new universe; he also has a lack of speech statement about the award. Again, I am adding every book and story nominated that I haven’t already read to my list, and you might want to do the same. They also gave the results of the Ningen-Senkan Sensuikan (aka human battleship) contest, and I was very pleased to see Girl Genius listed under the Webcomics You Should Be Reading header, since it is my all-time favorite. And again, I will be checking out everything listed that I am not already familiar with, since that is one of the most important functions of Worldcon; making us all aware of what our peers think is worth some interest.