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Prepare for Max Reload and the Nether Blasters!

7 Aug

Order it on Amazon USA

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at select theatres & VOD
August 7

DVD/ Blu-Ray Release:
August 11

I never knew the retro Colecovision console could pump out 90’s RPG style games like the one featured in Max Reload and the Nether Blasters. This movie unloads a fair bit of nerd culture–especially in the history of video games–while Max Jenkins (Tom Plumley) attempts to save the world! The backstory is cool enough to hook me: every century or so, a pawn gets selected to play a very cosmic game with a mysterious figure only known as The Harbinger to determine the fate of the world. The first time this happened, destiny was determined at the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Just why the Sumerian culture was said later is beyond me; I know their ziggurats are shaped differently. I can dismiss this oops in a movie written and directed by Scott Conditt and Jeremy Tremp. The film they made together is a hilarious adventure, filled with easter eggs to keep me wanting to rewatch to find them all.

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2016’s Invasion Earth Finally Lands on Home Video Four Years Later…

5 Aug

Available on Amazon USA

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Release Date:
August 4, 2020

Midnight Releasing
VOD & DVD

Not to be confused with Blackout: Invasion Earth, the similarity made work, Invasion Earth, by writer/Director James Twyman originality came out 2016 and is more about the people and their lives than the fate of the planet being saved by freedom fighters. The juxtaposition is light. Perhaps the actual threat is about them as ne’er-do-wells. Trying to break free from their demons is just as difficult as getting ready to deal with an alien threat.

The official trailer suggests the space invaders are omnipresent throughout, but that’s far from the truth. What’s out there is visualized like The Colour Out of Space—in vivid blues and purples. It’s a good way to contrast between the slow parts (in regular colours) and the high action.

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Science Suru’s Ride Your Wave Splashes Onto Shore Aug 4th!

3 Aug

Available on Amazon USA

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Home Video
Release Date:
August 4, 2020

GKIDS & Shout! Factory

Hinako (Rina Kawaei) is a charming young lady in Ride Your Wave. After moving to a small beach-side town to attend a local college, she thinks life will be easy. However, to go surfin’ every day and be carefree will not cut it in this modern age. The Beach Boys song may have been an influence in the design of this anime, because she meets a charming and soft-spoken firefighter, Minato (Ryota Katayose), to whom she falls in love with.

However, to date individuals in a hazardous line of work is not without caveats. Every time he’s out on the job, it’s possible he may not come home. In the most cliche ridden moment, he dies rescuing a jet skier in a dark and stormy night.

This anime is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Its colour palette is important to note, and the art style is very Impressionistic. It’s a cute Shōjo tale for much of the first act. To see her experience joy is sweet; to see her heartbreak is painful. But to see the spirit of her beau in random bodies of water, she soon questions why he’s not ready to move on.

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Unboxing Shout! Factory’s Rerelease: Promare The Collector’s Edition

3 Aug

Promare [Collector's Edition] - - Blu-ray/CD | Shout! FactoryBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Release Date
August 4th, 2020

Shout! Factory

Just when fans of Studio Trigger’s Promare didn’t think they can get enough, Shout! Factory has three different versions to choose from when buying this title for the home video collection. The Limited Steelbook edition doesn’t offer a lot over the regular, but the Collector’s Edition comes with plenty of swag to enjoy.

I got my copy early enough and made this unboxing video to show you what to expect and go into the contents of the booklet which comes with:

 

The Complete List of Bonus Features included with the Collector’s Edition:

  • CD Soundtrack
  • 52-Page Booklet
  • English Souvenir Script
  • Mini-Poster
  • Decal Sticker
  • Interview with Director Hiroyuki Imaishi
  • Studio TRIGGER Roundtable
  • Side: Galo and Side: Lio Short Films with Original Versions and English Dub
  • English Dub Cast Featurette
  • Trailers

For a review of this movie, please click here.

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