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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’13] Looking Beyond Judgement Day and its Pop Culture Connections

Judgement Day Poster By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Over in the beautiful garden city if Victoria, B.C. Canada, the Victoria Fringe Festival returns for its 27th year with a few much-needed updates and, perhaps, an added regular venue. The voting system is changed so its more fair and the Maritime Museum provided the space for a unique play, “Judgement Day,” that kicked off the first week of the festivities. It will also be part of the last weekend too as the votes are being tallied for best of Fringe.

This gently philosophical and satirical look at how socially irreverent various world religions are gets center stage in the courtroom where real trials took place.

And the storm of controversy of which belief is right in granting a peaceful afterlife gets elegantly played up for laughs by New Blood Theatre, a group that may well be ‘new’ to the Victoria scene. They had done a previous production “Greg Phillips: Alleged Antichrist” in collaboration with the Student Alternative Theatre Company at the University of Victoria, and this new show marks their first production that will hopefully tour to other Fringe festivals around the world.

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IMAX’s Next FANFIX™ Poster Offering is Riddick!

Riddick Poster By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Fans of Vin Diesel’s Chronicles of Riddick series will no doubt flock to IMAX theaters Sept 5th to get the exclusive poster that’s next in line to be released in this company’s FANFIX™ offerings.

This limited edition print is done by Alex Fuentes (Los Fokos), an illustrator and graphic designer who has had his works featured in magazines and products by Scholastic, Oni Press, Popular Mechanics and Belio Magazine. If that portfolio is not enough, he has done work for companies like Nike, Reebok, Sony Music, Disney and many more.

While this artist has been keeping busy, so has the actor. Vin Diesel’s “absence” from playing Riddick has been nine years. He was involved in other projects like Fast and Furious and Babylon A.D.

Pitch Black released in 2000, and The Chronicles of Riddick was 2004. Hopefully this third chapter to this saga, simply titled Riddick, will be worth the wait. With the producers restoring the “R” in this film’s MPAA rating, viewers should be advised that this latest may well be going back to the darker and more violent roots that the first film expounded on.

Weighing in on Nintendo’s Latest Two Dimensional Offering

At least with the consoles that are out there, Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Zelda and Link show that they can be enjoyed on any gaming device Nintendo is selling.

Nintendo enthusiasts now have a menu of portable hardware options to choose from: they can go 2D, 3D or XL. Each unit has their pros and cons, but as for whether or not their newest unit, the 2DS, will fly hinges on the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

The unit is essentially a stripped down version of the 3DS. The third dimension is being tossed out the door since medical experts are saying that can hinder the development of young eyes. But the big question is if the MSRP of $129.99 the right price? Maybe, in a nearly tax-free shopping zone of Alberta (Oregon for American shoppers) or a weekend when sales tax isn’t applied to purchases. Within Canada, the electronics tax may well be a hindrance than a god-send in select regions that have implemented this measure to deal with electronic waste.

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James Spader is Ultron!

The two-year wait for the next film is going to be exciting as more casting news and plot hints come forth. All hail Ultron!

The morning wire is abuzz with news that James Spader is going to play Ultron in Avengers 2. But is that going to be the voice or be an incarnation of this robotic master villain or something more? Is the production going to be similar like in how Darth Vader was crafted, with a man in a motion-capture suit and the actor overlaying his voice on top?

No detail has been mentioned in this press release, and whatever the plans are for writer/director Joss Whedon, for this mechanical terror, the casting decision and story direction is going to be well in hand.

Spader is a excellent choice. When considering his past roles include Alan Shore of Boston Legal and Daniel Jackson from the movie Stargate, he has the chops to play a suave and even awkward artificial intelligence that can menace the world. Part of the film will no doubt be an origin of this terror. And Spader is no stranger to voice over work. He’s provided his voice for Discovery Channel as the narrator for the series Discovery Atlas for the first episode.

marvel-classic-ultron-on-throne-sideshow-collectibles-2001201

Despite past reports, Whedon has indicated that the story will not follow the recent Marvel comic book series of the same name, the Age of Ultron.

According to TheWrap, to make the story work, Whedon said, “a lot of stuff has to fall by the wayside … we sort of are crafting our own version of it, where his origin comes from the Avengers we already know about.”

The two-year wait for the next film is going to be exciting as more casting news and plot hints come forth. All hail Ultron!

September is Going To Be A Busy Dragons Month for How to Train Your Dragon Fans!

In the new season, DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk , Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless lead the way as the gang graduates from experienced riders to confident defenders.

Dragons Defenders of Berk on Cartoon Network Poster So just when is the next season going to begin for the How To Train Your Dragon television series? Dragons: Defenders of Berk, as its now called, will begin Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. (ET, PT) on Cartoon Network.

Toys have been trickling into the toy stores and the excitement for what’s coming will definitely build to the release of the second movie, due in theatres June 13th, 2014. With that in mind, Alvin the Treacherous and Mildew will no doubt pair up to cause problems for everyone living on Berk. Quite a bit of fuss has been built upon to show how useless Mildew seems to be, but when he turned trecherous, the tale is as exciting as the books originally penned by Cressida Cowell.

Even the next book in the fictional universe, How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero, is expected to be released in the UK the very same month. The North American release is expected to follow a month later.

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We Hunger for More Used Video Games!

In Victoria, BC, we have a new fixture to buy used video games and movies!

comingsoon Ed and I were on our way to see The World’s End when we spotted this “coming soon” sign for a movie and video game shop. I’m hoping for more indie video game outlets in this town. We have one such place up on Burnside by Harriet Rd. but it would be nice to have a shop closer to the downtown core. The last shop I can recall was Doug’s TV on Cook St. near Cook Street Village.

This shop is located in Millie’s Lane off of Yate Street just around the corner from the Cineplex Odeon and Sushi Plus.

I’ve been unable to find any information for this new business but I’ll keep trying and Victoria locals will be updated in future.

* * *

Update by Ed Sum (Sept 1st)

Thanks to an email from the owners, we have been informed that Fan Favourites Games & Movies is now open. They began operation September 1st and their official hours are: Mon – Sat: 10am – 6pm and Sun: 12pm – 5pm. According to their official Facebook page, they specialize in used video games, consoles and movies of all shapes and sizes. Unlike a the big box operations where they undervalue a product, this place offers fair trade-in or cash for your used goods.

I’m definitely going to stop by during their opening week to check them out! Victoria, B.C. needs more stores like in what this store offers. Who knows, but maybe I’ll find a used 1st gen PS3 so I can finally finish playing the Wild Arms series. My PS2 is showing signs of wear, and it’d be sad to see that system go.

Hopefully the owners of this business do not mind me using their Facebook image post so people can see what’s offered inside. Yes, I’m eyeing that Kirby for my collection!