Debby Ryan stars as Blaire in Netflix’s new vampire thriller, Night Teeth. The actress did a majority of the stunts and fights herself, putting her real-life boxing skills to work in the fight sequences. The film, which is an 42 and Unique Features production, begins streaming on October 20.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Debby Ryan Talks Her New Film, ‘Night Teeth’”
I have spent most of my life playing Japanese role playing games. From the Final Fantasy series to the Shin Megami Tensei series, I have enjoyed several different JRPG titles from Japan. But one in particular was always hit or miss for me, and that was the Tales series. I bounced off of Abyss and Beseria, never owned a Gamecube to play Symphonia, finished Vesperia and liked it, but never felt the pull of replaying it. So to say that Tales of Arise is one of the best JRPGs to date is an understatement. Tales of Arise captures what makes JRPGs timeless while evolving and creating a new vocabulary of play through its storytelling and combat that I hope other studios take note of.
Continue reading “‘Tales of Arise’ Review: Rising to the Occasion Never Felt So Good”
Mike Flanagan’s name might sound too new to add to the list of legendary horror writers. He’s been developing some truly horrific ideas for over two decades now, finding success in suspenseful thrillers like Hush and Oculus, or in multi-layered horror dramas like The Haunting Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, or Midnight Mass. Yet there are undoubtedly some who would still hesitate to put his name next to the likes of Stephen King, Bram Stoker, or Mary Shelley.
Continue reading “Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ Could Be a Major Formula Shift”
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Game of Thrones did not end well. For every brilliant season the show had, there was an episode in the final season that disappointed fans. But whatever the case, the fact of the matter remains, before GoT there had never been anything like it on television ever, and still isn’t. We can throw a million and one fantasy clones at a streaming service (Shadow and Bone, Wheel of Time, Foundation, The Witcher, Cursed, etc.). And yet none of them ever matched the sheer scale or cinematic quality of fantasy storytelling that the original show achieved.
Continue reading “Enter the ‘House of the Dragon’ as New Teaser Trailer Debuts”
Jason Parks, CEO at ROTU Entertainment, wants his new game Rhythm of the Universe: Ionia to resonate on a level that most VR experiences have not. The game, coming September 23 to PS4, PS5, and PC, is an adventure series about preserving the environment that incorporates music from ROTU Entertainment. Parks is a musician first and a multitalented game designer second, but his passion for this project to reach a new audience is palpable.
Continue reading “DevTalks: Jason Parks of ‘Rhythm of the Universe: Ionia’ on Breathtaking New VR Experience”
Recently and on their own initiative, my 11-year old child became interested in Greek mythology. As a single co-parent father continually desperate for reasons to relate to and bond with my child, this delighted me, because by coincidence I became infatuated with Greek myths when I was young. As a broke Vietnamese refugee nerd kid, I’d go to the Franklin library and read up about the messed up Gods, the flawed heroes, the fantastic creatures.
Continue reading “Why Asian Americans Feel Compelled to Defend ‘Shang-Chi’”
The talented Idina Menzel plays the role of Vivian in the Amazon Original movie Cinderella. The new film is a musically-driven bold version of the traditional story you grew up with, following an ambitious young woman whose dreams are bigger than the world will allow. Cinderella is coming to Prime Video on September 3.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Idina Menzel Discusses Her New Film, ‘Cinderella’”
Our favorite web-slinger guy in the chair is making his way into the world of vampires! Jacob Batalon, a fellow Filipino brother from another mother, has nabbed the lead role in a SYFY Channel original series called Reginald the Vampire.
Continue reading “Jacob Batalon to Star in SYFY’s ‘Reginald the Vampire’”
More great news for you Witcher fans! The upcoming animated movie, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is coming on August 23. And yesterday, Netflix dropped the first teaser for the anticipated movie, which you can watch right here:
Continue reading “Teaser Trailer for ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’”
Colin O’Donoghue voices the character of Douxie in Netflix’s new Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. The animated film premieres on July 21 and will serve as the epic finale for the Tales of Arcadia saga. Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans will unite the heroes from Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards, making it a can’t miss summer event.
Continue reading “Colin O’Donoghue Discusses ‘Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans’”
Bestselling writer and producer Mark Millar (Jupiter’s Legacy, Kingsman: The Secret Service) makes a triumphant return with The Magic Order 2, expanding on the the magical world he created as a live-action Netflix series in this second volume of the comic book adaptation. Olivier Coipel (Amazing Spider-Man, Thor) was recruited to draw the first volume and delivered some of the best work of his career. This time around, legendary artist Stuart Immonen (Empress, Star Wars, New Avengers) will be in the chair of the highly-anticipated sequel. The Magic Order 2 #1 will launch this October from Image Comics.
Continue reading “Bestselling Writer and Producer Mark Millar to Release ‘The Magic Order’ Sequel”
Today was the first ever WitcherCon! And all of the hardcore fans of Netflix’s The Witcher along with the long running game series were treated to sneak peeks at the upcoming season and exclusive inside-looks from their favorite stars.
Continue reading “Highlights from the First Ever WitcherCon”
If you’re a huge fan of The Witcher then you’re about to have the best day ever! On July 9, Netflix and CD Projekt Red are teaming up to bring you WITCHERCON! Today, the two companies partnered up to release details and a full schedule for the upcoming virtual event.
Continue reading “WitcherCon is Coming in July”
The classic “Hero’s Journey” is probably one of the most common and cliche methods of storytelling in media. It’s everywhere, and pretty hard to avoid, as the foreword for Adora and the Distance demonstrates. From Star Wars to Back to the Future, the majority of tales out there feature the classic story of a (usually white male) protagonist going on an impossible journey in order to stop the forces of evil from ruining his life as he knows it.
Continue reading “‘Adora and the Distance’ is an Inspiration”
The new live-action musical comedy sequel to the beloved Enchanted, which will be directed by Adam Shankman and produced by Barry Josephson, Amy Adams, and Barry Sonnenfeld, is currently shooting in Ireland. The film features Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel all reprising their roles from the first film with Maya Rudolph and newcomer Gabriella Baldacchino joining the cast. Disenchanted will also include new songs from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
Continue reading “Production Begins on Disney’s Highly-Anticipated ‘Disenchanted’”
Cinderella wrapped last year and fans have been ready to see it ever since. Now, we can finally get ourselves officially ready for the royal ball because the film will hit Prime Video in September of this year. As if that announcement wasn’t exciting enough, some first look images were also released!
Continue reading “‘Cinderella’ is Arriving on Prime Video in September”
Every single time there is a “best of” list of comics and graphic novels, it’s almost inevitable that most of these lists are going to look a little similar. You’re going to see Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns on there, Moore and Gibbons Watchmen; (very deserving of a spot in the top 20) Grant Morrison and Dave McKean’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. In writing this, I reviewed fifteen lists and this plays out, with some new additions like Robert Kirkman’s Invincible and Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina; and the more seemingly odder choices like, say, Brian Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. And at some point, we’re going to have to talk about why there are so many damn men dominating these lists.
Continue reading “In Praise of ‘ElfQuest’”
Television adaptations of fantasy books tend to have a bad reputation. Many fans of such novels are so protective of their favorite characters and storylines that there is added pressure for studios to get the story right. So when Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling novel Shadow and Bone was first announced to be made into a television series for Netflix, all eyes were on showrunner and executive producer Eric Heisserer to bring this world to life in a way that would do it justice. Heisserer took on the difficult task to not only adapt Shadow and Bone into eight episodes, but to also include the characters from Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, which is set at a different point in time in the novels. With Bardugo consulting on the script and phenomenal casting, Shadow and Bone is absolutely remarkable.
Continue reading “Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ Satisfies in Every Way”
British Chinese director Wayne Che Yip has joined the creative team of its Amazon Original The Lord of the Rings television series as a director and co-executive producer, per Amazon studios.
Yip joins the international ensemble cast, currently filming in New Zealand, to direct four episodes. He continues the work of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona, who directed the first two episodes of the series.
Continue reading “Wayne Che Yip Joins ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to Direct Four Episodes”
In about a month on April 23, Netflix will premiere Shadow and Bone to the world. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s worldwide bestselling Grishaverse novels, Shadow and Bone have not released much information about the series, but for those who have not read the books, don’t fret. We have some information you should know before watching the series.
Continue reading “Things You Need to Know Before Watching Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’”
In the 25 years since Toy Story first hit theaters, the amount of unfavorable films to come out of Pixar versus the number of instant classics can probably be counted on a single hand. That is an insane and unprecedented track record for any studio, and frankly even their worst films are still infinitely better than the average piece of dreck to come out of, say, Illumination Entertainment. That being said, while Onward does not belong on the aforementioned single hand, it doesn’t quite hit the heights of Wall-E, Up, Inside Out, or Coco either. Don’t get me wrong, Onward is a perfectly fine movie — a good movie. It’s also just quite middle-of-the-road compared to Pixar’s usual quality for two-thirds of it.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Onward’ is Mid-Level Magic for Pixar”
Next month, Vault Comics will publish the first issue of Sera & The Royal Stars, a new high fantasy comic written by Jon Tsuei (RUNLOVEKILL) and featuring the goregeous artwork of Audrey Mok (Josie & The Pussycats). It tells the story of a warrior princess named Sera, who is tasked by a vision of the Indo-Iranian deity Mitra with locating the Royal Stars who have all fallen to Earth, while her country is embroiled in a civil war.
Continue reading “‘Sera & The Royal Stars’ Sets a New Bar for Fantasy Comics”
Not so long ago, my family and I went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, in Southern California. In a word, it was amazing. Despite my being too broad-shouldered (and totally crushed) that I couldn’t fit into the seat for “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” (my wife and daughter said it was the single best ride of their lives), the trip was worth the drive to get there. So was waiting in the horrendous lines. What rendered moot any complaints of inconvenience was the near-constant look of awe and wonder on my daughter’s face.
Continue reading “Harry Potter and the Magic Loving Black Girl”
