Science Fiction Archives | Page 45 Of 121

Is Live Action Bubblegum Crisis Vapourware?

My guess is that we have too many similar movies where realizing Bubblegum Crisis is just not not viable

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The time is right for a Bubblegum Crisis live-action film. The digital special effects needed to pull off such a tale is at a state where people in power armour suits look believable and the robots they are supposed to fight–cyborgs (known as Boomers in the lore)–can look terrifyingly real. Alita: Battle Angel is the perfect example. But where is it?

Since the early part of this decade, nothing has materialized. IGN’s article stated, “Production houses from Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, China and the UK will work together on the $30m movie, with a 2012 release planned.” Many years have passed since then, and perhaps the reason nothing has happened is that either the technology is not quite there or they could not find the right performers to play the seminal characters of Sylia Stingray, Priss Asagiri, Linna Yamazaki, and Nene Romanova.

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Star Trek DS9: What We Left Behind Lands on Home Video! & Review

The regular home video release of the documentary Star Trek DS9: What We Left Behind includes what’s left on the cutting room floor to make this look back of this series perfect.

Release Date: August 6, 2019
Shout! Factory

Special Offer: The special edition contains a second Blu-Ray disc with additional material, and is limited to 1,500 copies. It is only available on ShoutFactory.com

The regular home video release of the documentary Star Trek DS9: What We Left Behind includes what’s left on the cutting room floor to make this look back of this series perfect. Usually the amount of clips offered may reach up to six, and sometimes a dozen. I was dumbfounded to find 17 in all! And one of them addressed my most favourite episode, “Take Me Out to the Holosuite.” The set up at the end credits explains it all. I highly recommend watching this work completely to the end.

Not everyone will have seen this work at its limited cinema and convention screenings. When I first heard of it, I did not have the spare funds to support the Indiegogo campaign. For those who did, a bevy of exclusive material can be found in the video vault on the official website.

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[Fantasia 2019] Making that Steampunk Connection with the Everyday

Steampunk may simply be characterized as Victorian age sensibilities with technology powered by steam, but there’s more to it than just that.

Steampunk Poster By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

To find upcoming showtimes, please visit the official website here.

Steampunk may simply be characterized as Victorian age sensibilities with technology powered by steam, but there’s more to it than just that. The literary worlds of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells are just one example of what this genre represents. Another is in how it invites the imagination to ponder alternate possibilities if western civilization went a different way.

The documentary, Steampunk Connection, made its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2019 on August 1st, 2019 and it describes this genre as a fictitious, futuristic trope that gives us the means to question today’s technological revolution by comparing it to an obsolete technology of a bygone era.

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Writing the Future with Astronaut, An Interview with Shelagh McLeod

The themes writer/director Shelagh McLeod explores in Astronaut are many, and to balance between the concept of sending an elder into outer space to the challenges he faced meant figuring out what the film must focus on.

In theatres July 26th
Please check local listings

Not everyone would have been able to attend the North American premiere of Astronaut last week at the 2019 Fantasia Film Festival. Fortunately, hot off the heels of this event are theatrical showings starting tomorrow in major cities of this very fine film. The themes writer/director Shelagh McLeod explores are many, and to balance between the concept of sending an elder into outer space to the challenges he faced meant figuring out what the film must focus on.

For readers not aware of your work, could you please introduce yourself and the work you feel you are best known for.

My name is Shelagh McLeod, I was born in Vancouver. My family left Canada when I was six years old and we moved to the UK. I have been an actor for nearly forty years and have worked all over the world. I guess my career really started with a TV Film called ‘Cream in my Coffee’ written by the great, late, legendary writer–Dennis Potter. I played the younger version of Dame Peggy Ashcroft’s character–Jean. I did theatre, film and many TV series. One of which was Peak Practice—a lovely heartwarming series that went on for many seasons.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Picks of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2019

Image result for fantasia film festival 2019 Runs: July 11 – August 1st
Montreal, Quebec

The Fantasia International Film Festival is in full swing, taking place in Montreal, Quebec with plenty of works to view and a wonderful look into all things fantastic. The genres also include horror, science-fiction and drama. In this show, the focus is on the extraordinary, hence the name. I encourage anyone who loves these genres to come to this show and see the world premieres that take place here.

Of particular note is a premiere screening of Shelagh McLeod’s Astronaut (review coming) starring Richard Dreyfuss. Arielle Dombasle’s Crystal Palace is a French production which only some can describe–a hallucinatory experience, a kitsch and camp kaleidoscope with surrealist dialogue and cardboard costumes (literally), all with a dash of meta-cinema. I’m particularly excited for the release of Takahiro Umehara’s The Moon in the Hidden Woods which blends steampunk, Korean folk styles and otherworldly fantasy into a tale of a world bereft of a lunar guardian. Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s Night God is said to be a waking nightmare, an unknowable maze of gigantic moving paintings, reminding one at times of the painter Carel Willink.

But it’s not the movies that defines a show. The huge list of shorts showcase the imagination of many a new filmmaker. Swiss animator Nils Hedinger’s Kuap looks like it may borrow from Hayao Miyazaki in narrative, Simon Beaupré’s Evil James Bond vs World War Z is a must for those who love crazy crossover ideas. Those who love Chinese folklore should look at Wan Jinyue and Du Jinzhi‘s The Girl and the Serpent.

The list does not end here. From the press release:

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Men in Black International. Just how Bad Are They?

* Spoiler Alert

The Men in Black movies are a far cry from the comic books it takes inspiration from, and even then, it was a limited series. The folklore about them was far more sinister, and perhaps unintentionally, Men in Black International is a return to form. Bounty Hunters are sent to Earth to retrieve an item a visiting royal delegate has, and all heck breaks loose when this alien dies. Plus, a conspiracy is afoot!

Like Roswell Conspiracies, the animated series, not everyone wants to be part of the MiB organization. For those that are, they take the job either rather too seriously or not enough. It seems this film has taken a few cues from this cartoon, and unlike the MiB animated series set in a different universe altogether, the humour offered is a mixed bag.

As the film begins, Molly (Tessa Thompson) befriends an alien and never got neuralized. That is, she did not get her memories erased whereas her parents did. Flash forward ten or so years, she’s all grown up and is a bright but underappreciated tech support worker while on the hunt for them. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know what she’s getting into and the focus is on her than the cast of charming male leads.

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