Every week there are tons of newly released films, Blu-rays, books, comics, and CDs, but the truth is, very few of them are worth your time. That’s where this feature comes in. Each posting attempts to highlight the best new media releases of the coming week. It’s far from exhaustive, and of course it will be mostly according to my taste, but I’ll try to do my best to include a wide variety, so hopefully you’ll see something that interests you too.
Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker
I’m a big fan of Bioware’s Dragon Age series, from the core games to the expanded universe in the novels and comics. This week marks the franchise’s entry into yet another medium: film. Their first foray was handled by Funimation Productions, creators of Dragon Ball Z, Afro Samurai, and Fullmetal Alchemist. Since Bioware is headquartered in my hometown of Edmonton, I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere of the film last week, before it hits shelves tomorrow. The CG anime stylization took me a while to get into, and the plot likely isn’t strong enough to win over anyone not already invested in the universe, but for Dragon Age fans, it is well worth picking up.
This is one recommendation that could easily come back to bite me, but I am looking forward to Snow White and the Huntsman. In general, I’m not a fan of reimagining classic literature for the soul purpose of making it “edgy”. I love the Fables comic series and American McGee’s Alice, and still have hope for Once Upon A Time, but use existing characters in more of a “further adventures” type of situation and attempt to make a very specific comment on our world. On the surface, SWatH appears to be the type of revision I dislike, where the creators attempt to make everything dark and “cool”. The difference here is that it actually does look cool. I don’t care at all that this is allegedly the Snow White story, it looks like it could just be a really interesting fantasy. That being said, this could also easily be a quick cash grab aimed at luring in Kristen Stewart’s existing Twilight fan base. With any luck, though, this will instead help introduce that fan base into a richer, more intelligent level of drama.
Sleep well,
DTE
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