Month: February 2022

Examining Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho

The glamour of the era and the music in Last Night in Soho s as delightful and sinister as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge.

Last Night In Soho Available On Digital & Blu-ray JanuaryUniversal Pictures
4K Edition available to purchase on Amazon USA

Edgar Wright‘s Last Night in Soho plays better after watching the bonus features in its home video release. This movie is more of a coming-of-age drama than a horror film and I can see this work easily fitting into the same universe as Disney’s live-action Cruella. This work’s emphasis on fashion is key to my theory. 

Even thoughts of Suspiria come to mind because of the colour palette and catapulting of Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) to an era not everyone knows. She somehow manifests, if not dreams, of 60s London. Instead of appearing in her own corporeal form, she’s in the body of her singer idol, Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy). The two experience the seedier side of Soho district, hence the title. The glamour of the era and the music is as delightful and sinister as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge–but minus Christian’s perspective of All You Need Is Love and saving the starlet from her demons.

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Moonfall and That Sinking Feeling….

Moonfall is hilarious to watch because we know the tropes Roland Emmerich loves using, and he regurgitates those ideas well.

Moonfall (2022) - IMDbMaster of Disaster Roland Emmerich certainly loves ancient alien theory, and I believe Stargate (1994) helped cement his status in this subgenre. He’s been to space and back with Moon 44,  but that wasn’t the movie which started it all. He’s better known for Independence Day and in that regard, Moonfall is familiar.

This movie is hilarious to watch because we know the tropes he loves using, and he regurgitates those ideas well. This filmmaker introduces Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), an astronaut who gets canned because he failed in one mission. His peers don’t believe he saw a swarm of cosmic mist that caused his crewmates to die. He’s somewhat similar to Steven Hiller–Will Smith’s character.

On Earth, K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) is a conspiracy geek who uncovers the truth and is much like David (Jeff Goldblum’s character). This actor is good in the role, but I suspect casting wanted Jack Black. He’d be great at injecting some craziness to why nobody buys into what he discovered. The sky is falling! The moon is coming out of orbit and will soon cause world-wide devastation. 

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Fireheart Trailer and When to Expect It

The trailer shows an ambitious work about a young girl aspiring to be the world’s first female firefighter

FirehearteOne Films UK

L’Atelier Animation’s upcoming movie, Fireheart didn’t make my lists because it’s uncertain it will hit theatres or festivals this year. It’ll make its debut in France and other territories are most likely soon to follow come Summer. This news is exciting as the trailer shows an ambitious work about a young girl aspiring to be the world’s first female firefighter, much like how Disney’s Mulan wants to join a certain boy’s club of elite warriors. 

The tale is set in New York during the roaring twenties, and this time was especially tough when women had little rights. Women’s Suffrage was getting started, and for Georgia, the teen heroine, she not only has to deal with her daddy’s opinion but also has to be in disguise if she’s being recruited. 

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On Nintendo’s Switch, You’re a PopSlinger than a Breakout Singer

Life can’t be any cooler than PopSlinger, but just how far this arcade style musical shooter by Funky Can Creative goes depends on how good you are with a gun powered by soda.

PopSlingerReleased January 26, 2022
Nintendo Switch

Life can’t be any cooler than PopSlinger, but just how far this arcade style musical shooter by Funky Can Creative goes depends on how good you are with a gun powered by soda. Part of the design is wickedly inspired by 90s anime and its design celebrates this era with amusing nods to Blockbuster, Tower Records and K.B. Toys. The soundtrack is funky enough to enjoy, and it reacts to your in-game performance. This concept helps players stay invested.

Here, you play Ria Carbon who is out to save the world. The intruders from another dimension turn their victims into Corazones and it’s up to you to wash them down. They look like sludge creatures rather than space invaders, and perhaps the idea is in line with how they can be defeated, with soda! The weapons powered by carbon are a strange piece of tech to deploy, and in-game, the theory is that you’re melting your enemy down so they can wash down the sewer. When you have shot down enough of them, your spirit guide(s) are able to manifest to help! One of them is a former pop slinger who goes by the name of Gin and she’s perhaps the most helpful.

PopSlinger

In another aspect, the 2D landscape is not as easy to travel around in. You can’t go backwards (which is a problem) or easily point the joystick in the direction you want to dodge enemy fire. They come at you straight or angled. Nailing the aliens isn’t easy as your weapon’s range is very short. You have to get close to nail the one or two nasties; after that, if there’s more, you better be quick to shoot, dodge and roll to one side. The latter isn’t available, but I wish I could!

Popslinger is better with an arcade fight stick rather than the Nintendo Switch’s joy con. Both are similar where neither offers an advantage. The goal is to nail targets in a specific coloured order for those heals, power-ups and conjuring of help. Both are required for the boss battles and advancing to the tougher levels. As I battled one, I saw no power bar to know how weakened it was. It felt like forever to defeat it.

Once you’re hurt, you lose one of three bars of health. Without a manual or in-game information about where to find first-aid kits, I was at a loss. This game is like Mario where tons of practice is required. I wanted to unlock the ‘Dream Time’ but to kill enough enemies in a specific order in a one-way world wasn’t achievable during my runs. Here, mastering dodging is required to progress in this game. Or, for casuals like me, perhaps having a level of difficulty switch is better.

Hopefully a patch is coming, so I can keep trying rather than give up.

Rock on FAKY! On the Release of the Music Video Futakoito.

Japanese girl-group FAKY has a Futakoito Music Video!

PopSlinger

Japanese girl group FAKY’s latest single, “Futakoito,” was released, and Vocaloid producer Aqu3ra couldn’t be happier. This visually gorgeous and poetic piece blends a few music styles together into a symphonic treat. Although no translation was made available at time of release, hopefully this can change in the coming weeks–or fans can wait for the release of Ox-Head Village, an upcoming horror movie by ‘Ju-On’ creator Takashi Shimizu. 

This filmmaker released a statement about the music video. “The lyrics in this song about ‘another me (myself)’ are indeed the hidden theme of this movie. In an era where social media allows any of us to become someone else, can the two sides of the ego coexist? Will you struggle and be sucked in? Can you hold on to the essence of yourself?”

“Thank you Aqu3ra for putting together the pieces of this movie. And thank you FAKY for collaborating with me once again!”

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Kevin Nash Don’t Want to Be “Lockdown”

This low-fi indie thriller Lockdown nails the lowdown on what can happen when fear gets the better of people.

First Look At WWE Hall of Famer KEVIN NASH in 'LOCKDOWN' — High-Octane Action Thriller Set For February Release! - Icon Vs. IconUncork’d Entertainment
Available Feb 1st, 2021 on YouTube

Not to be confused with the similarly titled Lock Down coming to HBO Max, there’s another work that deals with the pandemic. Lockdown (formerly COVID-19: Invasion) stars WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash (John Wick, The Punisher). This man of few words is out on the hunt!

This low-fi indie thriller nails the lowdown on what can happen when fear gets the better of people. The story written by Micah Lyons shows what if the world could not get a handle on the virus that’s decimating millions. Everyone has been segregated into groups and it’s by their choice to remain sick or not. In this tale, Rex (Nash) and his men plan on killing a bunch of squatters at a high school in the belief that will slow down the spread of covid. But another individual doesn’t want to see his little sister die. 

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