Skip to main content

Something to Watch: DVDs

Top of the movie listed this week is The Green Hornet, which was most definitely more of a remake of the Bruce Lee TV franchise than the original Radio Drama series of the 1930’s. Just like the TV series, Kato (Jay Chou this time around) is the star, with the Green Hornet just along for the ride and to supply the financing; this update is a lot of fun. Interestingly enough, Kung Fu Dunk, a martial arts basketball movie from China also staring Jay Chou is being released in the US this week as well.

Also out this week, and not so much fun, is Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies, which I recommend you avoid like the plague. If you absolutely must acquire a horror film this week Ninjas vs. Vampires (from the same team who created Ninjas Vs. Zombies) is a much better option.

For TV, season 3 of the UK version of Being Human is the one to beat. The US version is still only in season 1, and although I have been enjoying it, I can’t seem to identify with the characters the way I have with the original series. As with all the best Sci-Fi, it uses the experiences of the non-humans to underscore just what being human is all about. Philip K. Dick would have loved this TV show.

In Anime, Ghost Sweeper Mikami Collection 4 continues the classic series of lust, greed, and supernatural harassment for fun and profit. The other option for this week is also a re-release of a classic: Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, this time in a Thinpak collection. While the animation for both of these is rather old school, one of them at least is from this century; can you guess which one?

And the Nominees Are…

A few groups have posted their award nominees this week. Obviously the one everyone is paying attention to is the Hugo Awards, and you can find the complete list of the nominees at the Renovation SF site. As always, the choices are between some amazing works, but my favorite bits are the ones I don’t recognize, since that means brand new wonders to read, watch, and discover. I have a few favorites I am cheering for (like Cryoburn, Chicks Dig Time Lords, and Girl Genius), but in most categories which work I prefer changes depending on my mood; they are just that close!

The Parsec Awards Nominees for 2011 are broken into a number of categories, but they all have one thing in common; they are audio based speculative fiction that was released in the course of the year as a free, feed driven Podcast. Categories this time around include Best Speculative Fiction Story in Short Form, Novella Form, and Long Form formats, Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama in Short Form and Long Form subcategories, and several categories that are news about speculative fiction Podcasting. While a number of my favorites are missing from the nominations lists, everything that is there includes links to the Podcasts so you can listen to them yourself, always a good thing.

From Japan comes word that the 2011 Seiun Award nominees have been announced. For those not already aware, the Seiun Awards are Japan’s equivalent of the Hugo’s, and most of each year’s media nominees (TV, Movies, and Manga) become available in the US within a year or so, although novels and short stories often take longer because of the more complex translation job involved. The English Nominees list has been posted by the good folks at Anime News Network. The ones I am looking forward to seeing are the 2010 version of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time live action (this is the third time this story has been turned into a live action movie, and that is not counting the Anime movie or either the live action or animated TV shows), and The Tatami Galaxy animated TV series.

Something to Watch: DVDs

It is a sad week when the optimal DVD live action movie release is a choice between Mongolian Death Worm or Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula (although the latter did win a bunch of Film Festival awards). I think I’ll pass this week, but there are some Anime goodies.

Usually I avoid reality shows like the plague, since they offend me, but this is closer to a documentary series. So I thought I should at least mention Stan Lee’s Superhumans: Season One, which has been running on the History channel.

For Anime, Eden of the East: King of Eden tops the list for me this week. A feature film length presentation continuing the story begun with last years TV series, Eden of the East. The tale moves back to the USA, and the other Selecao are becoming more active trying to eliminate Takizawa and create their own version of a more perfect Japan.

Another Anime title of note is the Girl Who Leapt Through Space, about an A.I. Leopard who comes out of hyperspace to seek repair. Akiha helps out, a soon joins forces with Itsuki of the police to battle the brain colony Nerval, who wants to enslave all humanity. And a new entry in the long running Naruto franchise, Naruto Shippuden: Box Set 6 also hits the shelves this week.

I almost never mention single volumes here, considering anything less than a box set to not be a cost effective way to collect series programming, but K-ON! Volume 1 finally brings the rock anime to the US, and even if it isn’t genre, this one is worth a look see.

Of lesser note, Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl: Vocal Collection is a bit of a mystical gender bender now re-released under the Vocal Collection flag. For those who haven’t seen my previous posts on Vocal Collections, they are not as you might suspect radio plays bringing new stories to the series. Rather they are exactly the same Anime series previously released Subbed (Subtitled), now available Dubbed with an English soundtrack. I haven’t quite made my mind up as to what I think about these, since on the one hand it seems like a ploy to get you to by the same TV series twice, once in each spoken language. But on the other hand, when they do release the Dubbed version, it is generally for around $15 to $20 dollars for an entire season of episodes, making it very attractively priced while simultaneously more accessible to a wider audience.

BBC America new shows

As we all know, the new season of Doctor Who starts this Saturday on BBC America, just a few hours after it airs on the BBC UK. And today, BBC America has announced it is getting two more new shows as well as another season of Being Human for its Supernatural Saturday lineup. The Outcasts is a colonization story on another planet, where humanity gets a shot of starting over (more details on the UK official site). Bedlam is the story of people living in an apartment complex that was an insane asylum a century ago, and the interesting ghosts who haunt them. This one is from Sky TV rather than the BBC, which I find promising. Perhaps they will bring more Sky programs over, such as the Terry Pratchett specials they do each year; coming up next is Going Postal, besides Going Postal previous outings have given us Hogfather and The Color Of Magic.

Something to Watch: DVDs

Top of my list this time around has to be Gulliver’s Travels. While I didn’t care at all for the performance turned in by the flabby guy playing Gulliver, the entire rest of the cast did a truly wonderful job of bringing this Johnathon Swift masterpiece to the screen. I think this may be the first time I have ever seen Chris O’Dowd playing a bad guy (although to be fair it was a very comedic bad guy). Another movie of note is Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster, continuing the story of the legendary martial arts grand master who trained Bruce Lee. And if you are in the mood for epic fantasy’s this week Goemon was the Robin Hood of Japan, except he was an actual historical figure. This film is visually amazing and, as near as I can tell, fairly true to the legend. I am including a clip at the bottom of this entry to give you a feel for the production.

In TV, a blast from the past: The Ernie Kovacs Collection. Ernie was Televsion’s Original Genius in every sense of the word. He invented visual gags that are still in use today and intuitively grasped a media format that would forever change the way we interacted with the world. Programs which acknowledged him as a major part of their inspiration include Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Laugh-In, and Saturday Night Live, to give you an idea of just how pivotal his work was. This collection includes a number of things that haven’t been seen since their original broadcast in the 1950s.

For western animation, Shaun the Sheep: The Big Chase is the optimal choice. Another fine set of mostly non-verbal comedy from the folks who bring you Wallace and Gromit from the UK. I should mention that the Wallace & Gromit: A World Of Cracking Ideas exhibition just kicked off this past Friday, the 16th, at the Newcastle Life Science Centre, and will be running through October 30th. They built a version of 62 West Wallaby Street (the home of Wallace & Gromit) and filled it full of all kinds of interactive exhibits and activities to teach the history of invention and innovation, and show how you can protect your own inventions. Visit the Official Cracking Ideas page for a lot more, including games and competitions.

In Anime, Darker Than Black: Complete Season 1 sets the pace. An impenetrable force field called Hell’s Gate has appeared in Tokyo, along with a class of psychics out to unlock its mysteries. As you would expect, the powers the psychics suddenly received came at a price none of them actually agreed to. Also out this week, One Piece Season 3: Fifth Voyage.