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Something to Watch: DVD’s

In theatrical films to DVD, Ong Bak 3 ramps up the supernatural elements introduced in the first two movies, but looses none of the trilogies brutal and intense martial arts action. This film completes the story line of this Thai epic.

Here’s a title I have been waiting for on DVD for a while: Doctor Who: The Movie (Special Edition). This 1996 made for TV movie was Paul McGann’s only onscreen turn at the Doctor, although he has done a bunch of radio plays in that persona over at Big Finish and the BBC. It was also the first time Doctor Who was co-produced by an American company, unfortunately Fox. I thought Eric Roberts brought a nice touch of evil to The Master in this one, and while this has previously been released on VHS it will be nice to finally have it as a disk.

For Anime, Chrome Shelled Regios is the new title, with parts 1 and 2 being released the same day. People live in mobile armored cities, avoiding the terminal levels of pollution in the world outside. It doesn’t always stay outside, but their military caste is ready to protect them.

And then there are a few classics being re-released in the US, including FLCL (pronounced Fooley Cooley), a truly insane little animation series from the folks who made Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion. While only six episodes long, this OVA has enough twists and turns for a full season of most other productions, and a killer soundtrack by The Pillows. The other classic title is Chrono Crusade, the story of a heavily armed nun and her demon sidekick battling the forces of evil in 1928 New York. If you missed getting either of these in your collection the first time around, now is your chance, and at a decent price if you shop around. Depending on which web site you believe, these two series might also be released on 22Feb11 rather than this week.

Something to Watch: Online

Another place to watch Anime online is Manga Dot Com. At any given time they have a small selection of truly classic episodes, including titles such as Macross Plus, Gurren Lagann, Dante’s Inferno, and Noein, to name just a few. They also have some feature length films, including Paprika, Dead Leaves, and The Castle of Cagliostro. I particularly like Anime Reloaded, which is a lot like the animated version of MST3K as performed by Saturday Night Live.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

For newly released movies we have Let Me In, the American remake of the award winning masterpiece Let The Right One In, for the fantasy/horror crowd with an addiction to vampires. I can not imagine how the US version can be a quarter as good as the original Swedish film with all its layered complexity, beyond the fact that you don’t have to know how to read to follow the story. But I will watch it, probably on a Netflix equivalent so I at least don’t have to pay extra money to find out if it is any good. The next movie this week is Monsters, the next in the series of alien invasion tales for this century, this Brit entry to the field winning all sorts of awards on the Film Fest circuits before it finally made it to theaters and DVD. And finally we have Quantum Apocalypse, which may be the only end-of-the-world movie set in Lafayette, Louisiana. I don’t have anything to recommend it beyond that, since it is a made-for-Syfy Channel movie (usually a demotion all by itself).

Classic animation is represented this week by the 60th anniversary of Alice In Wonderland, the Disney version. Not the modern Disney version with Johnny Depp, but the old one from 1951. Aldous Huxley worked with Walt Disney on early scripts for this project in late 1945, which gets even twisty-er when you realize Huxley’s mother, Julia Arnold, was one of the little girls that Carroll photographed and told the Alice stories to.

There is one quality new Anime title this week: You’re Under Arrest! Fast & Furious – Season 2. If you are not already a fan of this franchise, get ready for some serious belly laughs as car crazy Miyuki and insanely strong Natsumi get everyone in their cross hairs. The quality re-release anime this week is Chobits; a Persacomp (Personal Computer) that looks just like a life size naked girl ends up at our protagonists place and proceeds to turn his life inside out. I know it isn’t obvious from that perfectly accurate description, but this is a Shojo story, with the plot line and action implications all resolving for the (robot) girls benefit. Any computer geek of either gender will love this classic animated tale.

New Pratchett TV!

They started this project in 2006, when they took Terry Pratchett’s wonderful little Christmas tale Hogfather and turned it into a TV Movie special on Sky Television. Then, in 2008, they got together again and outdid themselves with The Color of Magic, which was actually Pratchett’s first two Discworld novels together in a single story. This one is worth viewing for the luggage alone, let alone the great cast, amazing story, or excellent special effects. For the next one, in May of 2010, they did Going Postal, which from all reports is the best one yet. This week, we have received word they have been signed up to do another one, Unseen Academicals. No word on the expected release date, or even if it is going to be on Sky 1 this time, but just knowing there is more Pratchett silliness coming to the small screen makes me grin in anticipation. If you can’t wait, you can always create a football fan character and hang out in the stadium to get ready.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

There are a couple of excellent movies coming out on disk this week, although their genre status is debatable. RED, or Retired, Extremely Dangerous, was my favorite action comedy not based on a comic book for 2010. Nothing deep or surprising, just good silly fun. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest completes the Millennium trilogy by author Stieg Larsson, a rather gritty and brutal tale of government corruption and the brilliant hacker girl who fought for her life against them, and the dogged investigative reporter who helped her. And Nowhere Boy is the story of the young John Lennon. All good movies, but where is the science fiction, you ask? Here it is: Enter the Void is the story of a murdered Tokyo drug dealer who’s ghost watches over his little sister.

TV shows didn’t do as well this week, with no real live action choices available. In western animation, Shaun the Sheep: Spring Shena-a-anigans out of the UK is a good silly choice.

There are a number of new Anime titles this week. Ghost Sweeper Mikami – Collection 2 continues the story of a beautiful but greedy ghost hunter out to get rich off the misfortune of others, and her perverted (therefor easily controllable) sidekick. Pandora Hearts – Premium Edition (Sub.DVD box 2) likewise continues its storyline, about an heir to the throne who is tossed into prison on his 15th birthday for no apparent reason. The series has some resemblance to Alice in Wonderland on several different levels, and is worth following.

The Sacred Blacksmith – Complete Series gives you the entire package with no waiting, unlike the previously mentioned programs. The Sacred Blacksmith has the power to forge powerful swords capable of defeating the demons who threaten his world, and teach people like Knight Guard Cecily Campbell how to use them. If you are not sure if this is for you, you can watch it online before you make your decision. Vampire Knight – Complete Series also has that instant gratification thing going for it, the whole story at once. In this one, Yuki Cross has grown up and become a guardian of the vampire race, in a twisty tale where nothing is what you thought it was, and again you can watch it online before you choose whether to bring it home with you.

Naruto Shippuden: Box Set 5 is not the kind of series you are going to be able to bring home in a single box, no matter how much you want to. There are already a boatload of episodes, with another handful of seasons available in Japan beyond what we have access to here. Disgaea has similar problems…

There are also a few classic anime’s being re-released this week. The reason for the Gantz reissue are obvious; the feature length live action film makes its US debut last Thursday. Not so obvious is the reason for the Armitage: Movie re-release, but I don’t really care; this story is a total classic with world class animation that everyone should see. The robot revolution on Earth didn’t go so well and they were all destroyed. But many survive on Mars, living amongst humans just fine, often undetected. Armitage is one of them, a tough cop who’s partner has been shot up so many times he is now more machine than flesh with computer controlled prostheses. Behind the police procedural, murder mystery, and government conspiracy, this one is a love story; and it works on every level.

Territory Rights explaned

This is the second time in 72 hours I am posting a second entry for the day, and like the previous one, Tv Ratings Explained, it is touching on one aspect of how the business of distributing intellectual property works, specifically of the Sci-Fi TV and Movie programs we all love so much. This time around the factor being examined is Territory Rights, which are the licensing contracts that set up who can distribute a given property in each part of the world. What makes this article timely is the fact that it is an official response from US distributor Funimation about the situation that forced them to shut down their simulcast of Fractale, as I reported yesterday. What makes me want to endorse their position is the fact they are explaining how the business model and industry works in a way that makes intuitive sense, and telling people how they can support it if they want to continue to enjoy streaming video. There are too many companies that have legal teams running wild trying to change laws unreasonably and suing everyone on the planet just to fill their own pockets; companies that actually treat their customers as intelligent partners rather than victims should be appreciated when you find them.