Tag: Action

Escape From Victoria: An Unforgettable Fringe Festival Hit!

Fringe parody Escape from Victoria delivers big laughs with puppets, local references, and John Carpenter-inspired chaos in a wild, must-see show.


Escape from Victoria Fringe Theatre parody show posterOne reason I love Fringe theatre so much is because of how artists express big, ambitious ideas on a shoestring budget. That spirit is exactly what makes Escape from Victoria so hilarious. The name alone evokes memories of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York and Escape from LA. After a successful run in Ontario as Escape from Toronto, this show has been performed with a few tweaks tailored for each city. I suppose this show’s collective name is simply Escape from Canada. For my performance, there was plenty to marvel—and gawk—at!

Local references are a highlight. In Victoria, it’s the original Hudson’s Bay Building (now the Victoria Public Market). Instead of simply admiring these sites, the play brings their history vividly to life—sometimes with biting commentary, especially concerning this landmark of the city’s history. I haven’t seen the other versions, so I don’t know if this company was intentionally targeted.

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Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 Blasts Back onto Blu-ray

The cult 1987 mecha OVA Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 returns on Blu-ray with reauthored content, crisp 1080p visuals, and a trove of bonus features including director commentary and cast interviews. Fans can relive Tokyo-smashing action and discover behind-the-scenes insights from Shinji Aramaki’s iconic production.

Metal Skin Panic Madox-01 PosterThe 80s were a golden era for anime, and one title that earned a lot of love in club screenings was Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01, often mentioned alongside Bubblegum Crisis and Akira. What set it apart back then was the focus on manic, relentless action, and this anime—directed by Shinji Aramaki—delivered it in spades. As one of AnimEigo’s early Western releases, many of us, myself included, grabbed this original video animation. Now it’s making a comeback, thanks to MediaOCD!

Aramaki, the visionary behind Appleseed, Harlock: Space Pirate, and Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045, packs 41 minutes of turbo-charged mecha chaos into MADOX-01, blending comedy and Tokyo-wide property destruction into a surprisingly compact thrill ride.

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Baby Assassins Franchise – Friendship, Mayhem, and the Future of Japan’s Funniest Hitwomen

In what makes the Baby Assassins franchise unique is its blend of over-the-top action with sitcom absurdities, showing how Mahiro and Chisato juggle odd jobs, bills, and bullets. And we talk about its spin-off TV series too!

Baby Assassins Franchise - Third Film Bluray CaseWell GO USA
Check out the reviews for the second flick, Babies, and the third one, Nice Days.

Now that Yugo Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins 3 is available on home video in North America, watching all three films back-to-back shows just how uniquely fun this franchise has become. Better still, the story isn’t finished. It’s not over yet for the Baby Assassins franchise!; a 12-episode spin-off mini-series aired on TV Tokyo in September 2024. It is available for import through YesAsia, but without English subtitles, leaving fans to hope the North American distributor will secure international rights.

What makes the series stand out is its mix of action, deadpan and comedy. Imagine Laverne and Shirley—if they were professional killers. That’s the dynamic between Mahiro (Saori Izawa) and Chisato (Akari Takaishi). One is outgoing and impulsive, while the other is more laid back and prefers to avoid action unless persuaded. Their partnership feels like a live-action twist on the “girls with guns” formula, with classics such as Dirty Pair and Noir serving as touchstones. The franchise succeeds because these stories balance buddy-cop banter with constant clashes against the criminal underworld, keeping the familiar tropes fresh.

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Baby Assassins 3 Is Finally Coming to Home Video!

Baby Assassins 3 is headed to North America to satisfy fans of the girls with guns genre, and they got some biggums here!

Baby Assassins 3 Nice DaysWell GO USA
Release Date: August 26 

After Baby Assassins 3 successful run last year at Fantasia Film Festival, Well GO USA is finally releasing this killer action movie to home video! It’s a fun ride to chart what’s next in the relationship between Akari Takaishi (Chisato Sugimoto) and Saori Izawa (Mahiro Fukagawa), and our movie review can be read here. These girls may seem like today’s answers to the Dirty Pair from long ago, but they have other issues that go beyond being trained by professionals to be the best trouble consultants, often hired to take down targets for one reason or another!

Writer/Director Sakamoto Yugo (A Janitor) and action director Sonomura Kensuke (Ghost Killer) return to keep this franchise going, and in this latest chapter, what they have to deal with isn’t too hard to follow. Continue reading “Baby Assassins 3 Is Finally Coming to Home Video!”

Watch out! City Hunter Angel Dust is Coming to Home Video Next Month!

No, City Hunter Angel Dust is not the end, but the beginning of what may be new teams to reimagine this franchise.

City Hunter Angel Dust Bluray CoverPress Release

Ryo Saeba’s crime sweeping adventures continue in City Hunter Angel Dust as the action comedy arrives on Blu-Ray™ in select North American e-commerce stores from Anime Limited, with distribution by Shout! Studios. This latest high-octane installment based on Tsukasa Hojo’s wildly popular manga of the same name boasts the franchise’s signature blend of hard-boiled humor with gritty combat, in a stylish return to form that longtime fans and collectors won’t want to miss.

Produced by the acclaimed Sunrise studio and directed by Kayuyoshi Takeuchi—with general direction by franchise veteran Kenji Kodama, the original director of the City Hunter TV series—Angel Dust reunites voice legends Kamiya Akira (Ryo Saeba) and Ikura Kazue (Kaori Makimura) mark what is considered the beginning of the franchise’s epic final chapter.

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Ghostbusters Dead Man’s Chest Is A Yo Ho Ho of Drama Than A Battle At Sea

When the accidental summoning of Captain Kidd’s spirit disrupt the Spengler family’s continuing problems with a new life in NYC, Ghostbusters Dead Man’s Chest better not be opened too!

Ghostbusters Dead Man's Chest #1 CoverDark Horse Comics
Mild Spoiler Alert

Although Phoebe isn’t afraid of no ghost, she has a lot more to fear when being the odd girl out at school in the second series of the comic book continuation of who makes up the team. Two issues into Ghostbusters Dead Man’s Chest, readers like me get to determine what this key tale is about instead of seeing pirates take over Manhattan! As this continuation is more concerned about how well the Spengler family adjusts to having a father figure around, perhaps mom is worried about losing control. After all, this is New York!

To let them loose in a big city might seem dangerous, and as long as they don’t venture into certain neighbourhoods, they are safe. While the young girl has enough to deal with at school because everyone recognizes her, she’s at least able to make a friend–Sammy. Meanwhile, Trevor has trouble figuring out how to advance his relationship with Lucky. They are friends, but it’s easy to know he wants more!

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