February 2015 | Otaku No Culture

[VFF’15] “Gone South” to Look at the Rise of Hollywood, A Review

Gone South Poster — **6:00pm Feb 6**
**The Vic Theatre**
**Special Guest in Attendance: Director Ian Ferguson**

The documentary Gone South: How Canada Invented Hollywood is a very informative and tongue in cheek look at a different kind of invasion that’s still infiltrating the entertainment industry today. It’s only fitting that this movie is part of the opening night of movies to start the 2015 Victoria Film Festival. This movie is part of the Canadian Wave program.

Film historians will enjoy the retrospective that begins by describing how Hollywood began. For example, Jack Warner (born in London, Toronto) formed Warner Bros and with his brothers Sam, Albert and Henry (all born in Poland). Jack was the studio head.

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Can Doctor Who Build a LEGOpolis?

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Fans should not get over-excited at the fact that LEGO Doctor Who is coming. The idea is great, but only one playset has won the attention of fans world-wide.

As long as more sets and mini-figures are being planned, then yes, it’s time to celebrate. And regeneration cannot be any easier in this universe where changing faces is as easy as popping a toy piece’s head off. That can lead to some amusing in-universe regenerations should more products and animated spin-offs get considered. The former is easy. Fans can build what they want. As for what will come from the LEGO company will depend on how much of a tight control BBC wants to hold over the property, but yes — the expansion of this particular franchise empire needs to happen.

No date is revealed as to when the Doctor Who playset will release. Andrew Clark from Firaxis Games pitched his idea of a TARDIS box, console and street-scene on the website, LEGO Ideas (formerly known as Cuusoo), and it received more than 10,000 votes required for the company to make the next step — to convince the British Broadcasting Corporation that fans want it.

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Thar Be Treasures Found in Pirate’s Passage! A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Available for streaming on CBC

Once when the word pirate is uttered, most people will think about the romance of sailing upon the high seas and catching sight of raging sunrises. These folks lived a scoundrel’s life and the only law they obeyed by was their own. Truth be told, life was not always rough; there’s more to how they endured for centuries than in how they are portrayed in cinema. In what one person values as property can become a ransom for high dollars under the right situation. In Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) animated film, Pirate’s Passage, that idea is played for high stakes.

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Have TARDIS will Travel; Emerald City Comicon Announces Jenna Coleman!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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March 12, 2015 Update: Sadly, her appearance was cancelled. No explanation was offered on the Emerald City Comiccon Facebook page.

Jenna Coleman is more than just the Impossible Girl in BBC’s Doctor Who. She’s the sweetheart of the series with her ability to challenge the Doctor much more than the previous companions in this modern version of the show.

On March 27 and 28th only, she will be gracing Emerald City Comicon to tell about tales beyond the TARDIS and interact with fans. This will be a busy time for this actress, but if she’s anything like her character of Clara Oswald, she will challenge it head on! It’s surprising that she didn’t charm Captain America: The First Avenger but her career was just beginning then. Oh how the times have treated her well!

But Doctor Who fans should take note: John Barrowman will also be gracing the halls of the Washington Convention Center. Whether as Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood) or Malcom Merlyn (Arrow). this performer will no doubt entertain the masses in hopefully a concert that many fans will wish the organizers of ECC will organize. No plans are set yet, but the clock is ticking near. Excitement is about as Seattle becomes a haven for pop culture at the end of Winter to cure the blues away.

March 20th Update: Sadly, ECCC announced that she is no longer able to attend. The reason looks obvious for those following Coleman’s Twitter feed: she’s doing a script reading for the next episode and that will no doubt go into production very soon. It should be noted that Fan Expo Vancouver has sometimes been able to invite celebs that have cancelled to appear at their show and vice-versa. At least fans from the Pacific Northwest can hope!

Marvel’s Agent Carter! A Mid-Season Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Agent Carter is proving to be the better of the two Marvel Entertainment products that’s on television. Not only does the show have a very strong and beautiful lead but also it is set in the 1940s, an era ripe for subterfuge and conspiracy. When World War II hit, just how any nations can survive meant being on top of technology. That is, whoever can invent the next modern marvel would hold the fate of the Earth in their hands. In Captain America, the First Avenger, that meant creating the super soldier.

In the television series, a secret group named Leviathan takes an interest in Howard Stark’s (Dominic Cooper) inventions. The U.S. Government fears that he may be selling out and is investigating him. But before he is scheduled to appear at another senate hearing, he disappears. British agent Peggy Carter is back at work with the Strategic Scientific Reserve following the events from the movie and before she knows it, Stark recruits her to help clear his name. He thinks that he’s being corralled and refuses to bow to pressure. Sadly that makes him a man on the run and any return appearances will be limited.

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The Minions, One Trailer, Two Trailers … An Analysis — Will There Be a Third?

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

despicable_me_2_minions-wide The Minions has an all-new trailer and the happy banana-loving trio of Stuart, Kevin, and Bob are headed to Villain Con! Unless they have a leader soon, they are going to wilt into less than the single-celled organisms that they are.

In what fans will see is them discovering that the human world needs bad guys in their lives. As strange as that sounds, it will have some viewers wondering just what kind of crazy mixed up world is this? Are there any saviours?

Whatever the reason, the Minions are no doubt going to be the unlikely heroes of this film and series. Their innocence will turn the tables on Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock), who takes the three on as her aides. In this trailer’s case, perhaps to adopt them and to teach them the ways of how to be evil. Shades of what made the Despicable Me films wonderful are noticeable, and the relationship dynamics are amped up. Some may wonder if Overkill is the mother of Gru. They both have a tell-tale long and pointy nose.

The humour is fantastic, and hopefully this two and a half-minute short does not give the best scene away. The first two trailers pretty much establish what the first two acts are going to be like. Minions is due in theatres July 10th, 2015.