August 2023 | Otaku No Culture

Perhaps It’s Best Not to Book Passage on the Last Voyage of the Demeter

Sometimes, a new life can be breathed onto the The Last Voyage of the Demeter, had it been released on a different platform.

Although The Last Voyage of the Demeter has set sail, away from theatrical screenings, hopefully it’s eventual home video release will do better to help make Warner Bros. think this release isn’t doomed to failure. This expansion of the material presented in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, is an effective horror film. Plus, not only does this take offer a lot more story than the eight pages featured in the book but also expands on it!

Here, horror fans are treated to a two hour film (which equates to approximately 120 leaflets). Also, instead of seeing a group of five navigate the stormy seas, the crew has become eight! Although one individual was unnamed, the others include first mate Wojcheck (David Dastmalchian, a character created for this movie), Olgaren (Stefan Kapicic), Abrams/Abramoff (Chris Walley) and Petrofsky (Nikolai Nikolaeff).

I’d have to rewatch this film again to double check who was second in command and served the food. In charge of this brigade is Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham). In regards to who’s new are Doctor Clemens (Corey Hawkins) seeking passage to London, a stowaway going by the name of Anna (Aisling Franciosi), and the cabin boy Toby (Woody Norman) who also happens to be the captain’s grandson. Continue reading “Perhaps It’s Best Not to Book Passage on the Last Voyage of the Demeter”

Netflix’s Monkey King vs Well GO USA’s Monkey King Reborn. Who Will Win?

This film has more of a DreamWorks style quality to the humour and approach to introducing Monkey King to Western audiences (again).

The Monkey King 2023 Movie Poster (Netflix) Now Playing on Netflix

The latest release of The Monkey King is a movie redesigned for today’s generation, and as a result, loses its touch with what made this hero great. When compared to the previous take (review link), my money is on the former. Here, it feels like four studios were duking it out too for how to reinvent this character, and although some parts of the narrative is faithful, its execution wasn’t all that exciting to keep watching.

As for whom Monkey serves, it’s easy to tell. He’s independent and helps no one but himself! Surprisingly, much of his origin story is accurate. When Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport) discovers him, he’s quite the rascal and eventually gets known as Sun Wukong (Jimmy O. Yang). These two somehow become friends. The way these two play off each other to learn a few of life’s lessons is good, but ultimately, I couldn’t help but think this American-Asian made film misses the point on why he’s a legend. When considering Anthony Stacchi (Better known for The Boxtrolls and Rocketeer) is most likely out of his element, perhaps that’s why the love isn’t there.

Continue reading “Netflix’s Monkey King vs Well GO USA’s Monkey King Reborn. Who Will Win?”

Let’s Hope The Birth of the Blue Beetle is Not Shortlived

Just why this scarab known as the Blue Beetle exists isn’t fully explained in what is clearly the first film in a series, but will we see more movies made?

Blue Beetle Movie Poster Ángel Manuel Soto‘s take on DC Comics Mesoamerican hero, the Blue Beetle shows plenty of promise, but sadly the likelihood of more films is slim. What’s set up deserves a proper trilogy. But because of James Gunn and Peter Safran now handling the chores of managing the DC Cinematic Universe have other plans, if the Bluey’s adventures continues, this director will need the boss’s approval.

Unlike other origin stories, just how this director charts Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) transition to becoming a superhero is at least a bit different. Instead of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, he’s been given a gift. Just how he uses it depends on how much of a pure heart he has.

Continue reading “Let’s Hope The Birth of the Blue Beetle is Not Shortlived”

You Got Rhythm with Two Touhou Danmaku Expansions!

“It is an honour to introduce a pair of Touhou titles to the world,” says Unknown X. “We are very happy to show the results of Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost’s crowdfunding campaign, and we look forward to sharing more information on both games in the near future.”

Touhou Danmaku Phantasia Lost Developer Unknown X and publisher Alliance Arts bring the Touhou universe to life with two upcoming Touhou Project Officially Approved Derivative Games, as revealed at Touhou Matsuri.

Tap to the tunes of Touhou Project melodies in Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost, the fan-favourite mobile rhythm game coming to Steam for PC on Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, featuring a special collaboration with Toby Fox and currently in development for Nintendo Switch, and fight waves of phantoms in Touhou Dungeon Maker – The Labyrinth of Heart , a roguelike tower defence dungeon management RPG coming to Steam in 2024.

Continue reading “You Got Rhythm with Two Touhou Danmaku Expansions!”

On the Trail of Bigfoot: Land of the Missing and More Alaskan Mysteries

Some say Alaska is the Last Frontier, and in On the Trail of Bigfoot: Land of the Missing, perhaps that saying is taken for granted in the lastest look at Small Town Monsters.

1091 Pictures

Seth Breedlove is back with another episode of Small Town Monsters! This time, both he and his team of cameramen are ready to search the Great Alaskan frontier for people willing to talk about the Sasquatch. Like previous instalments, On the Trail of Bigfoot: Land of the Missing, the focus is on conversing with folks with firsthand experiences.

This latest is no different in style. This episode has this filmmaker right in the action, but this time he’s rented a cabin in the woods for his team to get an authentic experience. Afterwards, they have gone searching for the elusive creature, and found people we haven’t seen before to give their stories. As the title implies, Missing persons is the primary focus here. Continue reading “On the Trail of Bigfoot: Land of the Missing and More Alaskan Mysteries”

Don’t Fly Me to “The Moon” (더 문) in 2023, Because it’s Dangerous!

Ultimately, The Moon does a better job at recognizing the dangers of space flight given where our current technology is at. We don’t have fancy shields common in futuristic sci-fi yet.

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Yong-hwa Kim‘s The Moon blows Ridley Scott’s The Martian right out of the water because once I got invested in Hwang Sun-woo’s plight through the flashbacks, all I can hope for is that he’ll survive! After a solar storm strikes the spacecraft and kills the pilots, he’s alone! This astrophysicist will have to make moonfall somehow if he’s to survive and Doh Kyung-soo (from South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo) is actually quite good at looking scared, when he attempts the impossible. Not only are the odds are against him at being able to pilot a sophisticated craft, but also get to get rescued is another story altogether.

Continue reading “Don’t Fly Me to “The Moon” (더 문) in 2023, Because it’s Dangerous!”