With so many things going on and areas to talk about there’s quite frankly only so much time in the day to cover what I want to cover – and actually have a minor semblance of a life as well. So I’m going to try and work this somewhat regular attempt at looking at different things that doesn’t fit into our regular coverage.
With the Labor Day holiday upon us we’ve been dealing with a lot of things relating to family as it’s been back to school time and worrying about friends and colleagues down Hurricane Harvey way. But there’s also the importance of self care and doing things that one needs to do for oneself so as to not just utterly fall apart. And that’s where these kinds of leisurely pursuits fall into line. I’ve spent most of the weekend working with lots of things being shipped out for reviewers, catching up on comics that are coming out this week with new reviews, and just prepping a number of different things. The bulk of my anime/manga experience is pretty much fully out there on display but I had a few fun things while working to clear out the basement a bit more this week.
That’s resulted in pulling out a couple of tubs of anime that I haven’t looked at in some time that contained special and limited edition box set releases that are all I believe from the pre-Blu-ray days. Take a trip down memory lane!
I’ve been on a bit of a binge read as of late because I have a new book that came out last week that I want to get reading with the new Star Wars Princess Leia book. Before I can get to that I wanted to finish the first book of this series from Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett with The Long Earth. I’m a huge fan of quantum/parallel worlds stories going back to the comics side of things but also a deep love of The Coming of the Quantum Cats that I read ages ago. Which is why I also love things like Man in the High Castle and became such an utter Fringe junkie. This opening book in the series is definitely fun and intriguing but it’s like the first chapter of the larger narrative work.
I didn’t make it out to the movies this weekend as little is playing locally, particularly since my area didn’t get the 40th anniversary release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which really disappoints me as I wanted to take the kids to see it on the big screen. What I did get to savor was the final few installments of the Hinterland Welsh co-pro TV series and I introduced Hot Fuzz to my mother as her first entry in the Cornetto Flavour Trilogy. Suffice to say, I’m looking forward to getting more of those up on deck and enjoying them once again.
What was huge for me this weekend, however, was taking in the final two hours of Twin Peaks: The Return. I had thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the original two seasons and the film last year in preparation for it and as an introduction to my kids to it, which they surprisingly really got into for all its weird quirkiness. This series, or eighteen hour movie if you prefer, has definitely been a challenge for many but it left me really speechless many times as it played out and hints of what was intended started to unfold. This is a series that will tickle the fancy of a certain kind of viewer and will lead to decades of exploration, discussion, and controversy to come. And after spending most of my days watching shows that are enjoyable but utterly empty on calories, this is a big thing.
This month has a big feature film that I’m excited to see on the big screen again with Nausicaa landing at the end of it as part of GKIDS and Fathom Events Studio Ghibli film festival. I’ve seen it before on the big screen but it’s been since the late 90’s as part of a film series at the Brattle Theater in Boston so I’m excited to see more cleaned up materials presented on a larger screen at long last. It’s also a treat to see these with others that have never seen it in this form and only on home video, which is why I continue to recommend fans make the effort to see it and others in the theater. It’s a vastly different experience.
September has a lot going on as the month gets further underway and there’s so much to take in. I’m looking forward to more of it with everyone!
