January 2015 | Otaku No Culture |

ECCC 2015 Guest Announcement: Steven Yeun!

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Photo courtesy of Paradigm Talent Agency

The bodies are piling up (or rather the guests are) and unlike zombies of television and film these bodies will be alive and well as they walk around (or sit comfortably) at the 2015 Emerald City Comicon (ECCC).

One of those bodies (guests) just announced by the ECCC is actor and voice artist Steven Yeun. Yeun is known better as Glenn Rhee on AMC’s television series The Walking Dead. He has also appeared in TV series Law and Order: LA, Warehouse 13, The Big Bang Theory and the film My Name Is Jerry starring Doug Jones.

Yeun has also used his talent to voice characters in the Crysis video game series as well as animated series The Legend of Korra (Wan), American Dad, and he will be voicing the lead character of Tony Chu in the upcoming adaptation of Image Comics’ Chew.

Steven Yeun will be appearing at the convention Saturday and Sunday only.

You can purchase passes for Emerald City Comicon by following the link here.

The Great (Geeky) Digital Film Festival Begins Jan 30th!

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hellboy_320x474-1 Cineplex Entertainment’s Great Digital Film Festival is no doubt going to delight geeks, nerds and cinema buffs starting January 30th all across Canada. This year has a lot of comic book properties being played out and that shows where the direction of pop culture cinema has been and will be headed. With movies ranging from Dick Tracy to the X-Men, the latter is going to be a mega-marathon that will start from the latest film, Days of Future Past, and go backwards to the original — all happening on Saturday. For Darkman and Dick Tracy, this year marks their films’ 25th anniversary!

“The best way to see any movie, no matter what hands-down, is to see it in the theatre,” said Canada AM film journalist, Reel to Real co-host and author Richard Crouse. “I like seeing movies on the big screen — the way the director intended it.”

The experience is all in the sound and vision, and to see it in any other way, 3D and IMAX screens included, really depends on what the filmmakers really wanted for the product. Thankfully, no funky glasses are required in this celebration but for folks wondering what to see, Cineplex theatres has 16 films to choose from and 5 days for people to see as many or as few as they want. Tickets start at $6.99 and drop to $6.50 when more films are added.

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Playing in Yakuza Hell is Dangerous, a DVD review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

why-dont-you-play-in-hell-poster Forget trying to get praise from Quentin Tarantino, filmmaker Takashi Miike might want to put his support into Shion Sono’s (Suicide Club, Love Exposure) action comedy Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (地獄でなぜ悪い) that will be arriving in video stores and video on demand January 28th.

This over-the-top gonzo madcap film features Hirata (Hiroki Hasegawa) as an aspiring guerilla style filmmaker intent on making a masterpiece ala Bruce Lee’s Game of Death with his film club. Sasaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is cast into the yellow jump-suit leading role, and Kill Bill this movie is not. To make a film within a film about two feuding Yakuza clans is a fun approach to see how Hirata’s movie crew stumble into a gang war. To see what transpires next is hilarious, like it was lifted from a Japanese cartoon, and the fallout is not without some classic moments taken from traditional theater.
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Criticisms Towards LEGO’s Incorporating Scooby Doo

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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LEGO’s mighty empire is going to get scarier with the inclusion of Scooby Doo into its line of licensed franchise properties. This deal will certainly reignite interest to some degree, but for fans who loved the darker take in Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated, the chances of that kind of continuation will be sorely missed.

With the next cartoon, Be Cool Scooby-Doo, scheduled for broadcast later this year, the back to basics approach will have a selective appeal by older fans. Younger viewers will most likely eat it up, but the worry is with Warner Bros. Animation producing a 22-minute animated LEGO special featuring the characters. If it’s going to follow in the same direction as the painful to watch LEGO Yoda Chronicles than the excellently written Ninjago or Legends of Chima, the characterizations of the beloved Scooby gang are going to suffer. The series might take on a familiar design tone like in Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map, where puppets were used.

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Justice League: Throne of Atlantis DVD Review

Justice_League_-_Throne_of_Atlantis The Justice League is quite literally a fish out of water in Throne of Atlantis. This animated product was released January 27 and it continues in the world of DC Comics’ New 52. A bit of knowledge from the previous film, Justice League: War, helps establish a story arc that will span several films and just what Wonder Woman means about the Justice League being gods might see the light of day by the end of the year.

With this story’s focus on introducing Arthur Curry (voiced by Matt Lanter) as Aquaman, the rest of the heroes appearance really feels unimportant. Cyborg (Shemar Moore), Batman (Jason O’Mara), Superman (Jerry O’Connell) and crew are more like bit characters on a tale about who shall rule the seven seas. When a power struggle threatens the peace, it’s only the sea dwellers who will be concerned with how it will spill into a complete civil war. When Black Manta (Harry Lennix) is seen in cahoots with Orm, also known as Ocean Master (Sam Witwer), just what’s going on means somebody is pulling the strings.

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Countdown to Tsukino-Con!

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

It’s only a mere two weeks away to this year’s kick off to Vancouver Island’s fan conventions for 2015. Tsukino-Con runs February 13-15 at the University of Victoria and with head-organizer Adam Park passing the torch. He’s leaving the duties to the capable hands of Matt Van Herwaarden.

Matt promises that this year is going to be big. This includes guests who are more internationally known when compared to names like Kelly Clark. This year will also mark Tsukino-Con’s first ever Japanese guest, a voice artist.

On the list this year (but not limited to) are:

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