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Something to Watch: DVD’s

In movies we have a very interesting historical epic, 1911, staring Jackie Chan, Bingbing Li, and Joan Chen, amongst others. It tells the story of the defeat of the warlord fueled empire and the near-unification of China (there were still pockets owned by the British, Japanese, etc.) just after the turn of the last century. Jackie Chan is also the director for this film, bringing yet another slice of history to the world in the form of a story you can care about, as he has done so often of late. I think in the long term these productions will stand out as his legacy, and I find it ironic that the slapstick kung-fu comedies that we all know and love has been what has given him the financial backing he needed to create this series.

And then there is The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption, which would be a direct to video release, except it looks like it will also be in a few theaters the week after the DVD is released. The cast does include Billy Zane and Ron Perlman, who between them probably account for a noticeable percentage of the 6 million dollar budget. This is a sequel of a prequel to a sequel of a remake, and I will not be holding my breath in hopes it will be watchable. Three guesses which movie will be coming home with me this week.

The winner in TV this time around hands down is Primeval: Volume Three. The title is a bit confusing, since most folks (and even Amazon, it appears) might think it meant season 3. But volume 1 was season 1 and 2, volume 2 was season 3, and volume 3 brings us season 4 and 5. There is also a quality documentary available, Nova: Finding Life Beyond Earth, from my favorite PBS science show. We may be on the verge of finding out if we are alone or not, and this episode gives you all the latest updates.

One amusing release for western animation in the form of Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Blowhole, doing a great animated James Bond parody.

For true anime, Akikan! – Complete Collection fits the bill, with a unique Japanese concept; inanimate objects as characters. This time around the soda cans are also people, and there is a bit of a war on between the Iron and Aluminum Can tribes. I am sure it will be no surprise to discover the cans become beautiful girls in their anthropomorphic form. Finally, Tweeny Witches – Complete Collection explores how an un-magical human and her two magical best friends team up to take control of their lives.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

If you are reading this, congratulations! You made it to 2012! And nowhere in today’s list will you find any movies about how the world is going to end in 2012; everyone who made one of those made sure to release it in 2011, so they would have time to spend the profits before Armageddon. The movie we do have is Red: Werewolf Hunter, in which Felicia Day is the heavily armed descendent of Little Red Riding Hood, out to keep the werewolves under control. Normally I love Felicia Day, but I am not sure this one is a noticeable improvement over any of the 2012 Armageddon films. Mostly because it was made by the old crew of made-for-TV Syfy channel movies production house, who brought us such classic turkeys as Mansquito and Sharktopus. Their new production house is a joint venture between Syfy and Universal Studios, and I have high hopes for their first contracted film, Wild Cards.

In TV, no new releases, but Fringe: Seasons 1-2 is being released in a combined box set at a reduced price, always worth noting. The various sales sites that have it listed (WB does, Amazon does not, for example) are rather vague about it with no cover image or description of extras, which I find a bit strange. It tends to give me the impression that the studio isn’t really certain if they will release it or not.

In anime, My Bride is a Mermaid – The Complete Series is genre, but the title doesn’t quite tell the whole story. The girl in question is not only a mermaid, but the daughter of the local Mer Yakuza boss, and now that the boy has learned their secret his choices are marry her or sleep with the fishes. This one is a definite comedy. Also a comedy, And Yet the Town Moves – Complete Collection is cosplay in a wanna-be maid cafe, and I think the writers may have seen a Midsummer’s Night’s Dream a few too many times. I say this because of the twisted convolutions layered into who is lusting after whom, which is the dynamic which drives the story here. Although both the ghosts and the aliens do bring their own spin to the series.

In Sekirei 2: Pure Engagement the MBI has declared the super powered combat lovelies as terrorists and intend them and their masters to fight each other to the death until only one pair is left standing. That’s pretty much all the plot line you get, but it is good enough to fuel the entire sequence of fight scenes that make up the rest of season 2, as the girls beat the clothing off each other.

For re-release this time around we have the classic X – The Complete Series, where a young psychic has to decide if he will save the world or destroy it. We also have GUNxSWORD – The Complete Series in a S.A.V.E. edition, which means if you shop around you can pick it up for less than $20. Gun X Sword is a wild west combat mecha from orbit tale of murder and corruption versus condiment-guzzling justice. It may be a bit difficult to describe in a way that makes sense until you see it, but this is one of the better animes of the last decade or so.

Finally, the original girls with guns and LOTS of collateral damage are back with the Dirty Pair OVA Series. This was probably the first anime I watched all the way through back in the ’80s, laughing my butt off as episode after episode they did more damage to the communities they were assigned to protect than the bad guys they were there to protect people from did.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

The one movie of note this week is In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds, a followup to a surprisingly good direct to DVD first video. The first one had a decent amount of star power, this one has Dolph Lundgren as the modern day time traveling protagonist who ends up in a medieval war against evil sorcerers. I think I can do better dragon CGI on my home computer, but other than that this one looks like fun.

In TV we also have a single entry this week: The Nine Lives of Chloe King Volume 1. This one aired on ABC Family, and involves a high school girl who gets killed in the first episode, unleashing her superpowers. This series is a lot like watching a high school remake of Charmed, and they accurately hit their target audience of 13 to 17 year old girls; the appeal outside of that demographic is limited. You can watch full episodes on their official web site (linked above) if you want to see if this one might be for you.

Anime is where this weeks releases come into there own, with several new programs, and a number of old favorites being re-released in more cost effective packaging. To start,
Fairy Tail – Combo Pack Part 2 is the next installment about the most dangerous team in the Wizards Guild, sometimes as dangerous to themselves as to the demons they go up against, and definitely as good at generating collateral damage on the surrounding terrain and inhabitants as Dirty Pair ever was.

Himawari Too!! – Complete Collection likewise continues the story of the student kunoichi (female ninja’s, or perhaps ninjette’s, in English) as they go up against alien invasions, bubblegum maniacs, and evil broccoli. This one is just a tad surreal, more than a little bit silly, and a whole lot of fun. It is not my place to tell you about Viper GTS, the third new release for the week; if you know what it is and want a copy, you no doubt know where to find it.

The bargain editions in more cost effective packages I mentioned, the [S.A.V.E.] (for Super Amazing Value Editions) set, we have Heroic Age – The Complete Series, the Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor – The Complete Series, and D.Gray-man Season 1. If you shop around, you can pick any one of them up for less than $20.

The Nerdist: Year In Review

Happening tomorrow on x-mas eve at 9PM eastern on BBC America we have The Nerdist: Year In Review, hosted by Chris Hardwick. I am not quite sure how Chris became the definitive American nerd for BBC America, but we could be represented by a much less able spokes-geek and I for one am satisfied. The program includes guests Nathan Fillion and Will Wheaton talking about Firefly, a review of Neil Gaimon’s favorite Doctor Who moments, as well as David Tennant and Simon Pegg. Including the results of a two way competition for the Nerd of the Year Award, where you submit a video with your vote embedded in it. What makes it two way is the fact that three of the best videos (best as defined by a combined criteria of most convincing argument and overall geekery) will be featured on BBC America before the special airs.