Haven’t done this for a few weeks. I know. mostly because I was sick the last couple weeks, and then I spent some time on schoolwork. But I’m back now. And I’ll just lump in some of the more significant releases from last week along with this week.
Underworld: Awakening- I always thought the Underworld movies were pretty decent. Not repeat-viewing material, mind you. But still good and watchable. I haven’t seen this new movie, in which Kate Beckinsale returns to the franchise, reprising her role as Selene (though co-star Scott Speedman is conspicuously absent). She’s revived from cryogenic suspension, advancing the timeline at least 15 years, and discovers that humans have since become aware of vampires and lycans and are going about actively exterminating both.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch- This is the movie’s first time release on Blu-Ray. It’s not as fondly remembered as the original for some reason, but I still thought it was great. I found it just as crazy and hilarious as the first movie, probably even more so. Plus you’ve got Christopher Lee in it playing a mad scientist. What more could you ask for?
Marvel Anime: X-Men & Iron Man- I didn’t really get to see these when G4 showed them. But from what I understand, of the Marvel properties to have gotten the Anime treatment, these two are considered to be the better ones.
Shogun Assassin: The 5 Film Collection- In case you don’t know, the movie Shogun Assassin was actually a live action adaptation of the famous Manga, Lone Wolf & Cub. The first movie got a U.S. release, but apparently there were four sequels that audiences outside of Japan have never really seen…until now. If you’re a fan of this series, then it’s a foregone conclusion you probably want this.
Transformers: Super-God Masterforce- As everyone probably knows, there were a whole bunch of Transformers episodes made in Japan that we never got to see here in the U.S. And that they diverged pretty radically from the continuity that was established in the U.S. episodes that were made in the wake of Transformers: The Movie. First was Headmasters, which got a release from Shout! Factory almost a year ago. Now we have Super-God Masterforce. Transformers fanatics and completionists will definitely want this one.
Doctor Who: Dragonfire- I like to think of this one as, “The Doctor Who episode I could have written in my sleep.” The show was really starting to hit a low point here, thanks in no small part to producer John Nathan-Turner running it into the ground. He certainly wasn’t doing Sylvester McCoy, who had just come on board as the Seventh Doctor, any favors considering the material he had to work with here. The script is really simplistic, and the villains one-dimensional. It’s pretty much on par with a William Overgard script. And you would have to have been psychic to know of any potential then-new companion Ace had, as she was really annoying here.
Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol- It’s been said that Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor is unfairly maligned, and that his stories didn’t start getting better until the latter half of his tenure. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. As with “Dragonfire,” I’d say give this a pass.
Doctor Who: The Nightmare of Eden- Ah, a Tom Baker Fourth Doctor episode! Now this is more like it! Even though this episode may not be as strong as some of Baker’s other entries, it’s still infinitely more entertaining than the aforementioned Seventh Doctor stories. This one has the Doctor, Romana II and K-9 arriving on a luxury space liner shortly after it has emerged from hyperspace at the same instant as another ship, causing the two to become fused together. Things are already tense with the suspicion that one of the passengers is smuggling a highly addictive drug called Vraxoin. But what’s worse, the dimensional instability has caused the appearance of a bunch of monsters called Mandrels who are killing the passengers. The answers lie with a traveling zoologist, who has a very unique holographic zoo with him on board. The episode has an almost Scooby-Doo like feel to it, which makes it a lot of fun to watch, IMO.
Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie- I’ll admit, I just don’t “get” Tim and Eric (although the Old Spice commercials they did featuring Terry Crews and their ads for Saints Row the Third were kind of funny). But in case anyone here is a fan, here you go.