February 2015 | Otaku No Culture

GottaCon Foodie Survival Guide 2015

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek) and Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

gottacon2015 In less than two weeks Victoria will be flooded with people from all over Vancouver Island and the Pacific Northwest with obsessive gaming habits. Cards will be dealt and dice will be rolled but if you think I’m speaking of a convention for those with gambling habits, think again. I speak of gamers, people who show up (sometimes in costume) with their card games (Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering), their table top books (Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragons), their customized PCs and their mini figurines (Warhammer). And to quote a Trooper song, they’re here for a good time, not a long time.

And when you convention hop on a budget it is important to maintain your energy levels with some nourishing food. Cheap is good too. Presented to you is James and Ed’s list of top eats.

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[VFF’15] Where do the Scares Belong in It Follows? A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

it_follows_xlg 9:15pm Feb 14
Odeon Theatre

Fans of minimalist horror will love what’s created in a simple tale of terror, It Follows and to find where it will screen next requires carefully paying attention to film festival or this movie’s own Facebook page for where it will play next.

Students of the occult will want to figure out what the entity is and to figure out what the monster represents can be studied in film analysis class but is any of the above really needed at all? Most likely not, but in a film that certainly delves into themes about sexual awakening, this tribute to 80’s sentimentality certainly delivers the thrills in an effective manner that even John Carpenter would approve of.

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[VFF’15] The Infinite Man Searches for Love, A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

177130-the-infinite-man-0-230-0-341-crop Big budgets are not always needed to make a mixed-genre film successful. When Infinite Man searches for love across time, just what results is hilarious! This movie offers the best in what science fiction can look like using outdated 70’s technology, how romance crafted Aussie-style can become universal and where comedy can go with only three performers carrying the film.

To keep track of which version of Dean (Josh McConville) is whom is not all that difficult because this actor manages to nuance every iteration of himself with subtle differences to show the wisdom gained as he tries to figure out how to escape the mother of all Groundhog Day. Phil Connor never had it that difficult.

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Date Due: The Librarians to Return by the End of Year

Good news, fellow adventure book lovers. TNT announced today that the series The Librarians is renewed for a second season! That means there will be ten new episodes featuring Rebecca Romijn, Christian Kane, Lindy Booth, John Kim and John Larroquette, and these episodes will broadcast sometime in the later part of this year.

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Tsukino-Con: Inside Peek at an Artist’s Table

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Stickers1

We are in the last stretch to Tsukino-Con 2015 (February 13 – 15) and one of my favourite things about the con is the arts and crafts from the dealers. Usually I stick to art prints but if a dealer can really wow me with something they created (like lasy year’s anime bead magnets) then I can’t help but open up my Sword Art Online wallet (also bought at Tsukino) and part with some hard earned money.

This year I’ll be visiting Table #15 to purchase some wonderfully expressive stickers by Nova K. Spade. Nova has created characters from such animated licences as Attack on Titan and DreamWork’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 but I love how she is current by creating Koro-Sensei from Assassination Classroom.

I think I’ll be buying one of her stickers. Nah, I’ll be buying several.

[VFF’15] Come Sail Away with Me with the Song of the Sea

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

When young Ben (David Rawle) gets charged with taking care of his young sister, Saoirse (Lucy O’Connell), and she finds a sea-shell ocarina that she wants to learn how to play, the “Song of the Sea” that gets discovered is nothing but pure magic. For this young girl attempting to play this musical instrument, she discovers the Selkie, mythical seals who have the ability to transform into humans. Their connection with the sea is important, but not everyone in the family agrees.

Granny (Fionnula Flanagan) wants to take them away from life by the ocean. They lost their mother and while Conor (Brendan Gleeson), their father, does his best to maintain the lighthouse out in Northern Ireland, located near glen Colm Cille, (Writer/director Tomm Moore reveals it’s a fictional place that’s actually based on two other lighthouses, Fastnet and Hook Head, located elsewhere in this country), his lament becomes nothing but pure misery on the anniversary of her death.

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