Log Horizon
Directed by Shinji Ishihara
Written by Syouji Masuda
Character Design by Mariko Ito
Voice cast: Emiri Kato, Takuma Terashima, Tomoaki Maeno, Ayahi Takagaki, Daiki Yamashita, Eriko Matsui, Jouji Nakata, Kanami Takahashi, Misaki Kuno, Nao Tamura, Ryota Ohsaka, Shohei Kajikawa, Sora Amamiya, Taishi Murata, Takahiro Sakurai, Tetsuya Kaikihara, Yumi Hara.
NHK
Air Dates: Saturdays, 6:30 a.m. CDT.
Currently Simulcasting on Crunchyroll

At first glance, NHK’s production of Log Horizon is reminiscent of many anime series in the fantasy/RPG genre. Sword Art Online and .Hack both come to mind. Nevertheless, this series has its own strengths that allow it to stand on its own, including character development and story details that don’t distract from the plot and wonderful character designs and fight sequences.

Simulcasting on Saturday mornings on Crunchyroll, Log Horizon is based on a series of novels by author Mamare Touno. Besides the anime adaptation, there have been four manga adaptations of the original novel series as well. The anime centers around three main characters, Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki, who are among some 30,000 players in Japan – and several hundred thousand worldwide – trapped in the world of “Elder Tale,” a long-running MMORPG that, for some unexplained reason, has trapped everyone within it. At this point, I must mention that I love the setting for this series. The action all takes place on the actual islands of Japan and in real places like Akihabara and Susukino, but in “Elder Tale,” they are set in a kind of post-apocalyptic, sword-and-sorcery environment.

Immortals
Netflix | Amazon | Google Play | SEN | Vudu | Xbox | YouTube
DVD | DVD
Directed by Tarsem Singh
Starring Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Luke Evans, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt
Relativity Media
Originally Released: November 11, 2011

Coupled with delightful visuals and unreal effects, Immortals is a fantasy, with a reasonable cast and a good dash of battle gore. While it takes the lead from the likes of 300, Troy, and Clash Of The Titans; it also unfortunately butchers the original mythology upon which it is ostensibly based, taking the phrase "loosely based" to new levels of bullshittery.

Immortals follows the legend of Theseus (Henry Cavill), the founder-hero from Greek mythology, responsible for the formation and consolidation of Athens – and eventually Greece as a power in the ancient world. Centuries after the war of the Immortals, evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) seeks the Epirus Bow, the only weapon that could possibly free the evil Titans, antagonists of the Gods.

A Hero’s Journey, Immortals depicts Theseus’ rise to prominence, a reluctant mortal who would stand by the sides of Gods – and eventually fight in their names. In a blood-soaked battle that would determine the conceptualization of "souls" in Greek culture, the stakes are high – and may spell doom not only for the mortals, but for Immortal Gods as well.

Primer
Netflix | Amazon | Google Play | Hulu | iTunes | Vudu | Xbox | YouTube
DVD
Directed by Shane Carruth
Starring Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford
ThinkFilm
Originally Released: October 8, 2004

Some of the most revolutionary scientific and technological breakthroughs were never deliberately thought out, designed, and planned. In fact, many of the most innovative leaps forward were discovered by accident.

Humanity, forever stumbling in the dark, feeling their way for whatever momentous course changes arise into their lives for the benefit of those in the future… But what if time travel became one of those accidental discoveries? The indie sci-fi flick Primer answers and addresses this.

Four young entrepreneurs, scientists who play more like social media startups than anything else, are working towards solid scientific work and research while on the quest for sufficient funding. At this point in their journey, the two more business minded men, Aaron and Abe, find themselves at odds with their more free-thinking and discovery oriented partners, Robert and Phillip.

Kill la Kill, Episode 1
“If Only I Had Thorns Like A Thistle”¦”
Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi
Written by Kazuki Nakashima
Voice Cast: Ami Koshimizu, Ryōka Yuzuki, Toshihiko Seki, Shinichiro Miki, Aya Suzaki, Tetsu Inada, Nobuyuki Hiyama, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Mayumi Shintani
Studio Trigger
Release Date: October 4, 2013
Streaming Free on Crunchyroll

For those anime fans that have been sleeping under a rock all summer, the anime series Kill la Kill has begun streaming on Crunchyroll this month. The series was heavily hyped this summer by fledgling animation studio Trigger, who produced the brilliant one-shot animation Little Witch Academia, also available on Crunchyroll.

Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi of Gurren Lagann fame, Kill la Kill’s setting is Honnouji Academy, a post-apocalyptic neo-fascist school run by a militaristic student council under the command of its autocratic president, Satsuki Kiryuin. The school’s Disciplinary Committee Chair, Ira Gamagoori, enforces Kiryuin’s iron-fisted rule. “Fear is Freedom! Subjugation is Liberation!” Kiryuin declaims loudly from the parapets as the student body and faculty cower in abject terror below.

The Expendables 2
Netflix | Amazon | Epix | iTunes | SEN | Vudu | Xbox
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Simon West
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yu Nan
Lionsgate
Originally Released: August 17, 2012

Oh, the glory of the ridiculous action delivered in The Expendables 2. This is vibrant popcorn-movie wonder, a kick ass explosive injection of testosterone straight to the stones, and enjoyable. The cheese is thick and hearty – after all, who doesn’t like a little cheese with their nachos?

Picking up sometime after the first Expendables movie, Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) comes back to claim a mission in place of the lost revenue from the last mission. Barney (Sylvester Stallone) rallies his team, accompanied by Agent Maggie Chan (Yu Nan), to retrieve sensitive computer data lost in a downed plane in Albania.