Announcement — 2010: A SFF Film Odyssey begins in February!
What is it? The SFF Film Odyssey (2010 edition) is the result of a twitter conversation I had last year, in which I remarked that it would be super cool if I could figure out a way to review every SF/F movie released since 2000 in one year. Unfortunately, that’s nearly 1,000 films, and I have three jobs…so clearly that’s impossible. Instead, throughout 2014, I will watch and review every science fiction and fantasy film released in 2010! A more reasonable goal, and one that will give me a reason to go through the years of SF/F film one at a time! What will it entail? Reviews, discussions, and rants about SF/F movies from 2010. I’m keeping away from a single format for these posts in order to add some variation, which will hopefully keep readers interested…and me. A couple caveats: Films that do not have English subtitles or dubs (where relevant) will be removed (I don’t think this will matter, but just in case). Films released straight to DVD do not apply, nor do films which appeared on television, but not in theaters. Films which are sequels will be replaced by the first film in the series (there are only a handful in the list right now). If I have time, I’ll review an entire series. I am sure to miss some films, as my list currently consists of what can be found here and here. There are roughly 63 films there, but if you know of any others that should be considered, leave a comment here or send an email to arconna[at]yahoo[dot]com Films which are not American in origin will be discussed on The Skiffy and Fanty Show blog, which is currently on a World SF Tour. When exactly will it start? It’s possible I’ll get things started next week, but since my laptop will need to go in for repairs on Monday, it may be a little while before I’m able to really dig in deep. On a more realistic note, this thing will likely start around the first or second week of February. And that’s that. So…time to get to work! —————————- *Thanks to Justin Landon for helping me with the name for this feature. He gets three gold stars for his efforts.
Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Anime Movies
I’ve been sitting on this list for months because I didn’t think I’d seen enough anime movies to warrant the creation of a list. Turns out I was wrong. When I did a bit of searching, I discovered I’d seen quite a lot of anime films, many of them viewed at 1 AM on some random satellite station my grandma had a decade ago. I still don’t know which station played anime at 1 AM, nor do I remember all of the films I saw (Black Magic M-66, which does not appear on the list below because it’s not that great, is one for which I am particularly nostalgic). So here I am with a list of 10. Don’t hesitate to tell me what you think in the comments (or share your own lists). Here goes (in no particular order): Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (Yutaka Fujioka) Flying beds, nightmare kings, magic scepters, flying squirrels, and dreams! The Place Promised in Our Lonely Days (Makoto Shinkai) Alternate realities, Cold War analogues, rebellion, and homemade jets! And I’m presenting a paper on it at the 2014 International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando! *dances* Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki) Talking flames, animalistic transformations, mystical castles, and Miyazaki’s classic genius. Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki) Mythology, modernity vs. the old world, giant spirit animals, and muskets! The Cat Returns (Hayao Miyazaki) Talking cats in tophats, kitty kingdoms, and magic transformations! Oh, and the English-dubbed edition, which is surprisingly good, features Cary Elwes, Anne Hathaway, Kristen Bell, Rene Auberjonois (from DS9!), Peter Boyle, Elliot Gould, and many more. That’s one hell of a cast, no? Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo) Do I really need to explain this one? It’s a beautiful, mess-with-your-head kind of film. And it’s a classic. At this point, you should have seen it already… Ghost in the Shell (Mamoru Oshii) What happens if a human mind merges with an artificial one? And are cyborgs still human? A cyberpunk classic. Ghost in the Shell 2 (Mamoru Oshii) Can you really trust cyborgs when their ability to exert free will is always in question? Nothing like a little cyberpunk to tackle the tough questions! Macross Plus (Shoji Kawamori & Shinichiro Watanabe) Jet battles, artificial intelligence, mass hypnosis, and Robotech! Yeah! Patlabor (Mamoru Oshii) Mecha in everyday society + hackers + mecha police = greatness. —————————————————– P.S.: I really wanted to include the OVAs for Samurai X in this list, but they are technically episodic in format, rather than proper films like the ones listed above. That means I’m going to have to write a whole new list about my favorite SF/F anime series!