Is Virtuix’s New Omni One Virtual Reality Treadmill Ready for You?

Virtuix’s Omni One may help virtual reality feel more physical with its open-air treadmill design, harness support, and growing list of compatible VR games.

Omni One in UseOne of the greatest hurdles to making virtual reality mainstream is its interface. There needs to be more than just a headset and controllers to create a convincing sense of immersion. When tracking movement and tricking the human body into believing it’s in motion, what’s needed is more than an oversized hamster ball. That’s where the Omni One may fix all that. Instead of placing someone inside a confined space, its open-air design and harness may be exactly what’s needed to prevent falls while helping users feel like they’re truly part of the program.

Ready Player One had the right idea. The interface must be compact and portable enough that the hardware can be moved easily. Without that freedom, changing locations may feel awkward.

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When Wounds Run Deep. Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert Proves Danger is Everywhere!

When Yuen Woo-ping’s Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert is available to screen at Fantasia Film Festival, stream online and is ready for home video relaease in October, the big question should be this: which presentation is best to understand it all? We answer that.

Blades of the Guardians Wind Rises in the Desert poster
Playing at Fantasia on Sunday, July 19, 2026

Well Go USA
Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, and DVD on October 6, 2026

If you love intense, bloody action, Yuen Woo-ping’s Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert is the movie for you. When nearly every bounty hunter, ruffian, and vigilante wants a piece of Zhi Shi Lang (Yi-zhou Sun), the question of how well he can be protected needs to be asked. That’s because when we see  Dao Ma (Wu Jing) gets called in by his old friend (Tony Ka Fai Leung) who runs the the Mo Cla, to escort this highly valued target safely to the imperial capital of Chang’an is going to be challenging!

That’s because Zhi Shi Lang is a radical political revolutionary whose ideas about equality threaten the Emperor. When he is the most wanted man in the land, everyone is gonna want a piece of him, or just want to claim the prize for themselves.

But for Ma, he just wants this job done and over with. And once anyone sees that his destination is a place where dynasties can rise and fall, it’s going to be tough to not get involved. Whether that’s because of the allegiences made or whom he believes deserves to be on the throne, that isn’t the question. After watching other films like 1,000 Miles to Chang’an, it becomes clear that understanding the depth of this film requires more than passing knowledge of the period. The story is dense. And with all the wranglings going on, it’s easy to lose track of why certain people matter.

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From Night Flower to The Specials, Eiji Uchida Delivers Neo Punk Edgings To the Films He Makes

Eiji Uchida’s Night Flower follows two women trapped by poverty and the criminal world surrounding them. Their growing bond gives this bleak Japanese drama its emotional weight.

Night Flower screening Thursday, July 16, 2026, at Japan Cuts
Plays Thursday, July 16, 2026, at Japan Cuts. Purchase tickets here.

Eiji Uchida is a filmmaker who can’t be tied down. His film The Specials, which will soon play at Fantasia, is a movie that must be seen to be believed. In the meantime, I’m checking out Night Flower, which will soon screen at New York’s own film festival, Japan Cuts. It’s more of a social crime drama about poverty and desperation, following people on their last legs who are trying to escape their circumstances.

Keiko Kitagawa plays Natsuki, a woman desperate to escape the grip of a local drug boss who has her more tightly wrapped around his finger than she’d like to admit. The film is unflinching. It shows a side of society rarely seen in film, let alone in animation, through a protagonist hoping to find freedom.

Misato Morita plays another figure who needs to find her own way out. And I’m not alone in finding the chemistry between Kitagawa and Morita key to understanding this film. She plays Tamae, a boxer who wants to get back to the top. When they meet, it’s to sell narcotics for their bosses. These men don’t want to dirty themselves, so they leave it up to the women to do the job.

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Who’s Bleating now? King Arthur’s Night, The Documentary in Review

John Bolton’s King Arthur’s Night blends documentary filmmaking with a filmed theatrical production, creating an unusual take on the Arthurian legend. While the hybrid approach doesn’t always work, the performances and music make it a memorable tribute.

King Arthur's Night Poster ImageScreening at the VIFF Theatre (Vancouver, BC) July 14 and 18th. Please click here to purchase tickets in advance.

Set against the backdrop of Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, John Bolton’s King Arthur’s Night is a bold reimagining of the tale told by Thomas Malory. It offers a meta-look at the play through the lens of preproduction and filmmaking rather than focusing solely on the play itself. While that approach is not altogether bad, the presentation is misleading. When all I want is to see the two separate than apart, I can at least stay fixed to the fiction. The non-fiction can live in it own world.

Because we see bits of filming take place in-betweeen the edited cuts, I’m left begging for just the myth to be told. Perhaps that will change. Until there is an announcement that there is a story only cut, what we have is a work that feels like This Is Spinal Tap!

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AnimEigo Brings Home Five New Licenses (and Why I’m Excited for The AD Police Files) From Anime Expo 2026

AnimEigo is dusting off another shelf of anime history, bringing long-awaited classics, namely the The AD Police Files, and the underdogs into the spotlight for a new generation.

AnimEigo logoAt Anime Expo 2026, AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD announced a handful of titles set for release next year. And one of them has been desired for a long time. And for fans of the Bubblegum Crisis saga, it’s about time The AD Police Files is getting a Blu-ray release.

No, we are not talking about the television series. Instead, it’s the three original video animations that predate Bubblegum Crisis. So the story goes, it seems some of the original material was lost, and it was impossible to remaster back then. But now, with someone discovering what’s needed to finally get it done, it now is! And who knows, maybe afterward, there may be a Mega Tokyo Mega Set that packages them all. While that’s hard to say if that will happen, this fan wants to be hopeful.

But there’s more than just one announcement. The two companies also said they will be releasing the following series to North America.

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Gotta Watch Them All. Fantasia Film Festival 2026’s Pearl Jubilee Top Selections! (Part Two)

In part two of our Fantasia Film Festival 2026 pre-event coverage, we dive into the zany and also include a blast of the past where needed.

Fantasia Film Festival 2026 poster
Event runs from July 16 to August 2, 2026. Montreal, Quebec.

When certain must-see lists get way too large, it’s best to split things up or subsection. This fact is especially true when planning on what to see at Fantasia Film Festival 2026; when this year has a lot more short film programs added to the party, it’s safe to say some people won’t be sleeping. Some enthusiasts may well be running frantically to catch the next work on their itinerary.

No big intro is needed, and that’s because with this part, I’ve included two movies freely available on YouTube that are required viewing before part three is viewed on the big screen!

The Fox

The FoxSet in a parallel world where animals talk, hustle, swear, and scheme, The Fox opens with Nick (Jai Courtney, Dangerous Animals, The Suicide Squad) discovering that his fiancée, Kori (Emily Browning, American Gods, Sleeping Beauty), is cheating on him. Forced to accept that their relationship has run its course, he’s devastated.

Everything changes when Nick captures a fox (Olivia Colman, The Favourite, The Lobster), who offers him some unconventional marital advice in exchange for her freedom.

Her suggestion? Push Kori into a magical hole, where she’ll emerge transformed into a woman who adores him unconditionally and will never leave. Not exactly a man known for making wise decisions, Nick thinks it sounds like the perfect solution, completely unaware that a much bigger plan may already be unfolding. – Fantasia Film Festival

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