Tag: 2022

Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy is More than a Charming Tribute to Spielberg

Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy is a fun Vietnamese movie that will be very familiar to anyone who knows Steven Spielberg’s work.

Maika The Girl From Another Galaxy

Played at the LAAPFF 2022 at the Directors Guild of America May 7, 2022 12:15 pm (buy tickets)

Update: It’s coming to VOD beginning Sept 6, 2022 courtesty of Well GO USA.

Maika: The Girl From Another Galaxy is a fun Vietnamese movie that will be very familiar to anyone who knows Steven Spielberg’s work. It’s not meant to be thoughtful, but instead has fun with the boy meets alien girl concept. It’s also considered this country’s first family friendly created content that’s playing at specific film festivals before getting a wider release.

The story focuses on how Hung (Phu Truong) is having a rough go at life. He’s lost his mom to cancer and although that was over a year ago, his father doesn’t understand his boy. He tries to make ends meet to support them both. But he’s hardly ever around for the boy. While out on his own, Hung meets Maika (Diep Anh Chu), an alien who needs help. His frenemy, Beo (Tin Tin) and his older brother serves as comedic relief. The former is a chubby tyke who almost steals the movie. He’s clearly having fun playing up that spoiled child role–a stark contrast to who Hung is.

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Celebrate Good Times, not Bad with Kodomobanpaku

Kodomobanpaku is a movie that offers a a genuine look at giving kids the space they need to learn, grow up, and be themselves.

KodomobanpakuWhen life in Japan gets too stressful, perhaps all anyone can do is the Kodomobanpaku (こどもばんく). This wonderful Japanese drama by Norikazu Oda shows what children can do when life gets them down, and they’re wanting to do something about it. Instead of grieving, they want to escape by being at a fun spring festival. In this film’s case, it marked the start of the online portion of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

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Good News for Fan Expo Vancouver 2022

Superman and Lois

Runs: Feb 19 – 21, 2022

Fan Expo Vancouver will soon be upon us, and although there’s been adjustment to the guest lineup, this BC Family Day long weekend ought to be good. We’re going to see the two generations of superheroics get together! Not only are the cast of Superman and Lois here–Tyler Hoechlin (Clark Kent), Bitsie Tulloch (Lois Lane) and Ian Bohen (Mitch Anderson) will be with Jordan Elsass (Jonathan Kent) and Alexander Garfin (Jordan Kent)–but also we have a Smallville reunion of sorts! Tom Welling and Erica Durance are together again!

The latest health guidelines announced earlier this week revealed great news for those concerned. This show can run at full capacity. All that’s required for attendees is to show their vaccine card and wear face covering. Con crud can still be passed along, and that’s not an enjoyable sickness to go through.

The following lists in how to make the most of this show and what Terminal City offers comes from past guides. This includes an updated list of dining options for those wondering what to do in the city.

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Something Old and Something New to Celebrate Chinese New Year!

Spring Festival movie guide 2022Three Chinese animated films are coming this Lunar New Year. Those taking part in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are in luck, but for the rest of the world, they’ll get international distribution soon. I can’t wait to see the very first one. It coincides with the animal this year is celebrating.

Run, Tiger Run is this year’s animated Chinese New Year wonder. Here, we meet Hu Don (meaning Tiger Cute), a young orphan who wants to be a guard of the palace. He’s no stranger in Chinese media though–he has a devoted following on the Douyin streaming platform.

Hu loves everything the tiger represents and goes to great lengths to wear garb to make him look like one. But he can’t be recruited unless he shows his genuine spirit, and part of his journey includes finding his parents. He gets the help of a former legendary swordsman, and along the way, they have to fight through a gang of highway robbers. 

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Horror Films to Look Forward to in 2022

There’s plenty of scary movies to enjoy in 2022. Some were made with the fears of the pandemic in mind, but other horrors are…

Horror Films 2022There’s just enough horror films to look forward to seeing not only at theatres, but also at home and streaming. I just don’t have any passion for Scream since it’s run its course. Instead, I prefer the true classics, especially concerning a certain Michael….

I’ve expanded out to consider other releases to extend this list beyond the traditional ten. This top thirteen choices is sure to be daemonic!

Halloween Kills DVDHalloween Kills
January 11

This latest work has enough kills and maims to satisfy the gorehound, but as for what it sets up is the fact that it’s time to retire the franchise. This home video release of last year’s film is more enjoyable because it’s the extended cut. There’s also a great selection of featurettes for fans to delve into. From “Haddonfield’s Open Wounds,” where this piece nicely examines why some characters from this world have returned to “Strode Family Values,” to understand why three generations of women (Laurie, Karen and Allyson) have been targeted by The Shape is discussed by the production team. The information is terrific.

There’s also material to show how that vintage 1978 look is achieved. If anything, everything boils down to what “The Power of Fear” reveals. Unless you’ve read the novelization of the original film, very few people are aware of how Michael Myers is connected to Samhain. Having this work in your library is sure to help remind all that’s transpired by the time the last movie is released.

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A Nerd’s & Safety Guide to the 2022 Victoria Film Festival

All anyone can do is stay informed to what the policies are should they want to attend a film festivals in-person.

Victoria Film FestivalFilm festivals are continuing to be half in-person and half online as the world enters into year three of the pandemic. Sundance cancelled their physical edition and will be fully digital. It’s tough to say if smaller events in cities like Victoria, British Columbia will follow suit. As long as there’s no huge spike in hospitalizations, all anyone can do is stay informed to what the policies are should they want to attend in-person.

People going to a Victoria Film Festival screening must present their vaccination card and id. The check-in process should be even more machine-operated/contactless. When patrons are not eating or drinking, a mask must be always on. Additionally, there’s no advanced booking of seats for distancing between groups. This organisation isn’t likely to have enough volunteer power to enforce by doing high temperature checks, so everyone has to do their part to keep others safe. 

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