Month: April 2014

Two Weeks in Review at Gracepoint

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

fernwood post office

The last two weeks have been very busy for the cast and crew of Gracepoint. The production team reported that two episodes are “done,” and as for what that means next is probably showing it to producers for fine tuning the edit before the show gets broadcasted at the end of the year. And locals will no doubt have fun finding out that nearly most of the city Victoria and its outlying regions (Island View Park in Saanich, a church in North Saanich and bits from the town of Sidney) is going to make up the landscape of the North Californian town of Gracepoint. To see how Fernwood will get stitched in will be fascinating, as this community has its own unique charm of being rustic much like how Oak Bay is.

The middle of last week saw Kevin Zegers and Jack Irvine perform some daytime scenes near Fernwood Square, home to the Cornerstone Cafe, the Belfry Theatre and Stir It Up (my favourite place to hit for Caribbean food).

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Entertainment Industry Pay Respects to Mickey Rooney

By James Robrt Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

RooneyMickey Rooney, legendary actor, passed away today. To fans, he will always be remembered for lifting the hearts of millions of movigoers during the Second World War. To actors, Mickey Rooney will be the person that they have aspired to be.

For those in the industry and of the media, tonight there is no shortage of accolades being paid to a man who shined brightly in Hollywood.

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[Victoria, BC] Chasing After Vampires at Craigdarroch Castle

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Holmes Sussex Vampire Poster Note: This production continues until April 12, 2014 at Craigdarroch Castle (1050 Joan Crescent). Performances are on April 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12 at 8 pm. For more information, visit the Giggling Iguana Productions official website here.

Giggling Iguana’s theatrical production of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Sussex Vampire is one show that requires no garlic for audiences to keep in their pocket, should they be afraid of being bitten. In this adaptation of the short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, only those in the know will realize that perhaps no real occult science is afoot here. Instead, it is in seeing just how soon will Sherlock (David Radford) will solve this mystery. His authoritative and quick mind is skillfully played by Radford, and perhaps this casting was intentional to give long time theatre-goers of this company’s works a bit of a chuckle. He played Dracula in a previous production, Dracula: The Blood is the Life.

But the laughs in The Case of the Sussex Vampire is also well earned. A touch of light humour is written into the script when Holmes enters the scene dressed as a woman to fool Dr. Watson (Ian Case). The added yuk-yuks give these two crime-solving partners a different interpretation of the famous duo to act like the odd couple, getting into some fun, tossing rumpled up letters about until they eventually hit upon a letter from an old chum of Watson’s, Robert Ferguson (Michael Glover). These two are old schoolmates, and he invites the duo to come visit because there is a problem at the homestead.

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There’s a Cold War Brewing in Captain America Winter Soldier!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

captain_america__the_winter_soldier___movie_poster_by_justhunt-d5v6aua

The good thing about the three Captain America movies, Winter Soldier included, is that writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have a set theme in mind: stand up for liberty and freedom no matter what. Abe Lincoln said it best to Henry Pierce, “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.”

In this case, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has to learn just how that rhetoric has changed throughout time. He has to question who has the final authority in a mission or in whose agenda he has to serve. As the plot develops in this movie, he finds that he has to stand up to scrutiny amongst his peers. As to why Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) went to visit him in his apartment to hand off an important key — a hardware device — that can undermine everything that S.H.I.E.L.D. has built itself up for.

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Eren Yeager Cast for Attack on Titan Live Action Movie

HarumaJust announced — rising star Haruma Miura has been cast as the lead role of Eren Yeager for the Attack on Titan live action movie. Filming is to begin this summer on Gunkanjima.

Gunkanjima (also known as Hashishima) is a uninhabitated island 15 kilometers (9 miles) off the coast of Nagasaki. The island was known as a source for coal. It was originally opened in 1868 by Prince Nabeshima of the Hizen province, under the name of the Takashima Mines (one of the mines was located on Takashima).

Miura is a singer and actor who has appeared on television, film and stage. Previous works include Ren Kazama in the live action Gokusen (TV/2008), Kotaro Mochizuki in Samurai High School (TV/2009), Tatsuya Bito in Crows Zero II (film/2009) and in the Shinkansen produced stage production of Goemon Rock III: Zipang Punk.

Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) is originally a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It began serialization in Kodansha’s monthly publication Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in September, 2009.

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The story of Titan centers around Eren Yeager, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlert, whose lives are changed forever after the appearance of a Colossus Titan brings about the end of the safety within the high walls of their hometown and the end of many people’s lives, including Eren’s mother. Vowing to take revenge, Eren enlists with Mikasa and Armin in the Survey Corps., a militia specifically trained to take the offensive against the Titans.

Attack on Titan won the Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2011.

Source(s): Amiami Blog, Japan MSN, Rocket News 24 and Kntrty.