Tai Chi 0

Whoa, did you have me at Tai Chi or did you have me at steampunk? The film's creators have an impressive pedigree in and of themselves, and as part of a planned trilogy we can only hope its ambitions won't outpace the potential of a cool hook on a seasoned genre.

Game of Thrones is gorgeous

Yes, it's been met with critical acclaim and a steadily growing audience. Yes, it's based on an incredibly popular series of novels and the adaptation has been as good as the source. But what really puts Game of Thrones over the top is its overall production value. The caps below are just from one episode ("Prince of Winterfell"), but believe me the entire series is full of fantastic production design, location shooting, and composition.

When they say it's not TV, it's HBO, they mean it. There's nothing on television in this format that even comes close to the sheer cinematic feel of an average episode of Game of Thrones. The lighting alone is a clue to the care and craft being put into each scene. At times an establishing location shot, on screen for mere seconds, looks as if it was plucked from the BBC's Planet Earth. Earth this is definitely not, but it could hardly be showcased any better.

 

New Lupin III!

Lupin the 3rd has traditionally been one of the hallmarks of anime, consistently great in all of its forms be it series or theatrical (and manga!). There is a lot of joy to be had in this teaser for the new series, The Woman Named Fujiko Mine, the least of which is the prospect of the series itself. For a teaser, this thing is absolutely gorgeous.

The design and execution is fantastic all around, an artful cross between content and after-effects majesty. The absence of fully animated footage is noticed, but not missed. It makes most teasers and trailers for any animated property in the US (and arguably elsewhere) stoically bland, the exact opposite of what such a piece should represent. Kudos, Lupin, for stepping out a bit in a genre that often fearfully treads on eating its own tail.