There have never been that many moments of actual footage of Jupiter videos or individual photos of the planet, because no physical camera has ever returned from there for us to develop the film. But this compilation of digital images returned to Earth over the last handful of decades and assembled by some of the more skillful editors at NASA gives you a taste of what is going on out there, and I for one would love to get a closer look.
There are some fun movies being released on DVD this week, starting with J.J. Abrams Super 8. That one should work on the small screen just fine, as outside of the train wreck itself and one pan of the battle across the town almost all of the scenes were shot with HDTV in mind, it seemed to me. Also out, Conan the Barbarian, which has noticeably more sex and violence than the Arnie versions. For the younger crowd, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World continues the franchise in its usual somewhat silly way.
From Japan we get Saki the Killer, which tells the twisted tale of the daughter of a Yakuza assassin who teaches art to killers. Finally, Tekken: Blood Vengeance is an entertaining 90 minutes of animated fun straight out of the game. It is being released two ways; as a stand-alone movie, and bundled with the new game Tekken: Hybrid. Looking at this group, it occurs to me it might have made more sense to group them by potential audience rather than list them in box-office results order.
In TV, the primary selection is Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series, but I find myself being aggravated by this one. They broke the airing of the season apart, with a gap in between large enough to run the new Torchwood series, one episode per week. When the first chunk finished running, they released Doctor Who: The Sixth Series – Part 1 on DVD, and if you shopped around you could pick it up for $21 or so. Not a bad deal at all, and lots of folks bought it. Likewise, when the second half was completed, they released Doctor Who: The Sixth Series – Part 2, and dropped the price of the first half to $18, with the stand alone Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol special running $8 or so. If you can buy all of the pieces for $48, why would you need the Complete Sixth Series as well, which costs $54 (again, assuming you shop around for the best deal). Because it includes extras missing from all previous versions, possibly?
Also in TV, Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman: Season 2 is an excellent science series that explores science fiction concepts the same way all the best authors do: by asking What If. If you haven’t seen this one I highly recommend it.
In western animation, the Marvel Knights Collection will be available in a single box set, if you haven’t already picked up the individual stories.
For Anime, Bakuman – First Issue is about someone driven to become a manga author, but is a bit more realistic than some series about the problems that kind of a goal needs to overcome. This set contains the first seven episodes. Also out, Fairy Tail – Combo Pack Part 1 seems to be about a young combat wizard team in typical quest game mode who may not be up to the challenge. At least, not without causing more harm than good. This box set contains the first 12 episodes of the series, but be warned there are over a hundred episodes already released, so you might want to watch a few online to give you an idea if this series is for you.
You would think a show with a title like Star Driver Part 1 would be about spaceships, but this one actually involves shrine maidens worshiping some giant mecha built for battle (ED: This one actually comes out next week). The most interesting of the animations out this week may be Coicent / Five Numbers!, which is two separate but equally strange OVAs. In one, a time traveling boy chases a deer and meets a girl who is herself pursued. In the other, 5 prisoners get loose from their cells, but the guards have disappeared and there appears to be no way out. Both of these short animations have gotten excellent reviews at various anime fests.
The first film worth mentioning is Griff the Invisible, staring Jason from the True Blood series as a hapless superhero who meets Melody, a fellow traveler out to save him from himself. To me, this one holds the most promise, both because of the actors involved and the premise they explore. Another movie coming out this week that I am looking forward to seeing, even if it isn’t genre, is Flypaper, a romantic comedy in the midst of heavy gunfire. The final fictional film that might be worth looking into this week is Bite Marks, which may be cast into the overplayed field of vampires but could always have something new to offer.
Then there are the documentaries, of which there are several. Superheroes from HBO is just what you imagine; an exploration into those people who actually are real life caped crusaders, out to protect us all. Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World is both in IMAX and 3D, and mostly playing in museums, which is what makes it so collectable. A tribute to one of Sci-Fi’s great writers is also released this time around, The Magic Never Ends – The Life & Work of C.S. Lewis. If you are a fan of Narnia, you do not want to miss that one!
We have two live action TV shows of note this time around. Being Human: The Complete First Season is from the American series supported by the Syfy Channel, not the far superior UK show, but worth checking out even so. Then Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns is a UK program every bit as intense as the subject matter might make you suspect, and well worth watching.
Western animation has several programs worth watching, of which my personal favorite has to be Red vs. Blue: Season 9. Trust me when I say no animation you will watch this year will be more entertaining or important (unless it comes from Japan with an insanely good review). From the UK, Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 is the selection of choice, and almost as good as the Master Chief series. I should also mention Dreamworks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons, which looks to be a hoot. Not only do we get a couple of additional animations from the series (I really like the way Dreamworks, Pixar, and a few others are willing to add new entertainment to the archives), but this one will set you up into online game mode if you are good enough to figure out its triggers.
In Anime we have two new presentations and several cost-effective reissues. First, ICE – Complete Collection gives us a virus, which has wiped out most of the population. The survivors are all beautiful women, and the choices they make will shape society for a thousand years. Then Bleach: Fade to Black is a stand-alone movie that gives us more of the back story of this incredible complex series.
There are also a few classic anime now released in more cost effective packaging, including Blassreiter, Love Hina, and Shuffle. I personally appreciate not having to pay the huge original price for a quality series, considering just how many series I find myself buying.
A band I stumbled across the other day, One OK Rock has been around in Tokyo since 2005, and has a lot of energy. The songs here are Liar, No Scared, and Dreamer, in that order, and represent just a small amount of the band’s output.
And possibly the best one ever done; thanks to Edgar Wright for the heads up on this one!
Doctor Who, that is; this is TROCK, also known as Time Lord Rock. Have a taste of the home-made future, or perhaps another evolution of the Filk music we have been creating since the 1930s. While some of the execution is basic,