The TV show Misfits has run for two seasons in the UK with the third under way now, but hasn’t appeared on traditional TV over here yet. You can buy it from iTunes or watch it on Hulu Plus, however, and now you can download and play the Misfits Community Service Game App for free. They have versions available for both the iDevices and the Android OS, you can use the links on their page or search the appropriate marketplace directly. In the game, you are on the community service team performing tasks and are looking to make money and win popularity points. If you play well enough, you will be invited to cash them in for a new superpower and a fresh mission. At the whopping cost of free, I recommend any fan of the show tries this one out.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 completes the epic series, and for those who don’t have any of the others they are also releasing the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection. This really was an amazing series, and I am glad the studio buckled down around the time they did the third one and decided to spend the time and money to do it right.
The Sleeping Beauty is a French variation on the classic fantasy with a group of witches trying to find an antidote to a lethal curse laid on the young protagonist. This one I probably will go for, as it seems much less ordinary than some other choices. Atlas Shrugged part 1 is the latest incarnation of the Ayn Rand classic story updated for the modern audience, with some interesting casting choices. This will also be on the to-be-acquired list.
On the lighter side, The Change-Up tells the story of two guys who swap bodies after expressing a wish. What, you have heard this one before? Yep, they do variations on this one every 5 years or so, always with a serious difference between the protagonists. Often that difference is age, but this time the difference is marital status. I will wait to see this one when it comes to Netflix or Hulu or HBO, whatever. And finally for movies, Mortal Combat: Legacy started out being assembled as a Web based series but has a number of quality actors involved with the project, as well as the history and background of the series.
The two entries for live action TV series this time around are both from the UK, but completely different from each other. First is Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two, and I still object to their breaking a single season up into two parts, but it does make each part easier to afford (even though the total cost for the season is higher that way). I should probably also mention it looks like you might be able to play the new game on the web site even if you are in the US. The other UK series is Bedlam, which I have not found very interesting so far, but horror fans should love it.
In anime, Squid Girl – Part 2 continues the story of the invertebrate who became a human girl when she invaded the world of the air breathers. She does not seem noticeably more successful in her war against the bipeds. Loup Garous also comes out this week, a feature film presentation involving deadly viruses and a cloistered existence.
The other new release is Amagami SS Collection 2, but there is some dispute between different sites as to exactly when it becomes available. In this instance, it may have come out before this date, but it will definitely be available come Tuesday.
Two titles are being re-released in lower cost full series editions, Mushi-shi and Romeo × Juliet – The Complete Tragedy. If you shop around, you can pick these up for as little as $18 each.
The good news is that the shared universe multi-author ongoing masterpiece Wild Cards is going to be made into a film of some flavor, and original authors George R. R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass are both involved. In fact, Melinda Snodgrass will be writing the screenplay for the production, according to the Hollywood Reporter. I would be a bit concerned about this since the project belongs to the Syfy Channel, who has made consistently excellent miniseries and consistently dreadful TV Movies. But this is the very first project for the new Syfy Films (a new joint venture between Syfy and Universal Pictures), so there is hope this could be treated as it deserves. If you are not familiar with the series, do yourself a favor and go out and buy the first 10 books in the series now, and read them in one non-stop marathon. The story opens not long after WWII, when an alien spaceship comes to use a biologic weapon to eradicate the human race, but is engaged in aerial combat by Jetboy, who defeats them to the point where only a single bomb goes off. That bomb impacts on New York City, where the virus kills 99% of everyone it touches. Of those who survive, 99% have bizarre physical and mental modifications, sometimes with a power to counteract their loss: the Jokers. The one percent of one percent who are left are the Aces, blessed with superhuman powers. This series has been going on since its inception in 1987, with some of the best science fiction authors on the planet contributing characters and stories. It treats its superheroes and villains even more like real people than the graphic novels do, although there are graphic novel versions available as well. I can’t wait to see how they do with this one!
Jellybean evidence has been requested by several folks who looked at the Shrek image the other day and contacted me to say they did not see the jellybeans I said it was made out of. So here is a smaller portion of the same picture, but not shrunk to avoid eradicating the details. It was actually missing from the window the final day I was there. When I inquired about it, I was told they had removed it to get the display area ready for their next creation; something in a Tardis, I believe.
Some days you eat the Borg; some days the Borg eats you…
Top movie choice for the week has to be Captain America: The First Avenger. This one actually exceeded my expectations, and it is a suitable prelude to next year’s Avengers movie. Also out this week, Shaolin stars Andy Lau, Wu Jing, Jackie Chan, and Nicholas Tse, in a epic historical drama well worth watching. If it seems like I had already said it was coming out in an earlier week, I had. Which week it is coming out depends on who’s web site you believe, so I figured if I mentioned it both times there was a 50/50 shot I would be right one of the weeks.
There is an amusing looking documentary coming out this week; The People vs. George Lucas.
The TV choice for this week is also the western animation option, in the form of Robot Chicken: Season 5. Do not think this show has become any more subtle recently, it just gets more outrageous and hysterical with each new season.
In Anime I feel a little more confident saying that Himawari! Season 1 will be made available this week. Himawari is going to Ninja school but is not well prepared for the experience, even having to get rescued by a non-ninja teacher on her first day. Another combat high school series comes along in the form of Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians Part 2. In this series, great warriors of the 12 Kingdoms era are reincarnated as modern high school students, and continue their age old conflicts.
There is also a feature length film anime this week: Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds. I am not sure exactly where this fits in the story arc.
Finally a re-release of a classic in a more cost effective package. You can pick up Witchblade – Complete Collection for as little as $21 if you shop around in its new Classic Collection version.