Analysis Archives | Otaku No Culture

Dungeons and Dragons. Will There Be Honor Among Thieves in this Reboot?

Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves takes place across the Forgotten Realms, and that means cameos and set pieces galore!

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Amongst Thieves Welcome to Dungeons and Dragons, where every misstep takes you to unknown dangers, hidden mysteries, and perhaps even a plot to overthrow the world of Greyhawk. The first version of this game used this setting created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson when it was still being developed. But ownership changed over the decades since its inception.

Wizards of the Coast aka Hasbro now owns and manages the property once owned by TSR Games, and I hope the history will be acknowledged when Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves hits theatres early next year.

To not pay tribute to these roots will have fandom make a public outcry. Instead of Greyhawk, the realm is known as Forgotten Realms.

Dungeons & Dragons, at its core, are about adventuring and delving into worlds to which the storyteller, the Dungeon Master, reveals through improv, acting, and theatrics. Players will often respond in kind, and that’s why we enjoy watching twitch streams and YouTube broadcasts of celebrity talents playing the game. From Critical Role to Ready to Roll (our favourite and interview can be read here), the list doesn’t end there.

Continue reading “Dungeons and Dragons. Will There Be Honor Among Thieves in this Reboot?”

Thor: Love and Thunder and It’s Connection with The Eternals

Ever since Taika Waititi said he’d return to make Thor Love and Thunder, fans everywhere had high expectations, and he certainly delivered!

Thor: Love and Thunder Poster

Spoiler Alert

MCU’s Phase Four should’ve started with The Eternals and continued into Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness before the latest. No matter how hard I’ve tried to rewatch those Disney/Marvel films prior, I simply turn it off after ten minutes. Plus, ever since Taika Waititi said he’d return to make Thor: Love and Thunder, fans everywhere had high expectations, and he certainly delivered!

Not only did the story bring Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) back, but also, we get to see what has become of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) since joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. And when considering this director brings the same boisterousness from Ragnarök to this latest, I’m excited!

Continue reading “Thor: Love and Thunder and It’s Connection with The Eternals”

Lightyear, How Painful Can it Get When Time Stands Still?

PIXAR’s Lightyear is more than a fun filled tribute to the pulp age of space exploration.

Spoiler Alert

Buzz Lightyear is a hero for all ages, and the feature film that inspired the toy which Andy from PIXAR’s Toy Story owns is here! While rewatching Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, I couldn’t help but find a few ideas put into the CGI tale.

A few seeds were no doubt sowed concerning season two’s “Lost in Time,” but I’m fairly sure writers Angus MacLane, Matthew Aldrich and Jason Headley were drawing more on the movies of the 70s and 80s–namely Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Flash Gordon–while writing this tale. One detail not everyone will notice is the name of Buzz’s new spaceship, a spaceship named XR-1. It’s a soft nod to the robot from the animated series.

However, this movie introduces Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn), a robotic scene-stealing cat, to lighten up an otherwise dark tale. Chris Evans voices the titular hero, and I think the choice is perfect since he is Captain America after all!

Continue reading “Lightyear, How Painful Can it Get When Time Stands Still?”

Quick Takes on The Black Adam Trailer Release

Dwayne Johnson’s transition from The Scorpion King to Black Adam is perfect to show just how powerful this warlord has become.

Dwayne Johnson‘s transition from The Scorpion King to Black Adam is perfect to show just how powerful this warlord has become. Technically, they’re not the same character, but I can see the similarities. Both vagabonds were determined to destroy, if not rule the world by the sword.

I’ve been eager for this release for a super long time. It doesn’t matter anymore if all the Egyptian references are stripped. The costuming proposes a similar type of world and I suspect there’ll still be some references to this Ancient world set in another planet far, far away. And as for who Adam sold his soul to (after his son’s sacrifice) for immortality, there’s no clues in this trailer. It definitely isn’t Anubis!

Continue reading “Quick Takes on The Black Adam Trailer Release”

Deciphering what is Everything, Everywhere All at Once

The showdown is a trip through all the zany alternate realities that the filmmakers can only imagine. I’m surprised the kitchen sink wasn’t used!

When Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) tries to do Everything Everywhere All at Once, the one thing she can’t get done right are her businesses’ taxes. This sci-fi martial arts comedy is very unconventional. When we think we’re getting an Asian-style family drama taking place during Chinese New Year, it switches gears to represent other genres. Evie gets to examine the life of other versions of herself, and all it takes is to tap a bluetooth style earpiece so her spirit can hop from body to body.

Someone’s after her, and it seems this force plans to consolidate the growing chaos not only from universes about to explode, but also with this woman’s life.

Continue reading “Deciphering what is Everything, Everywhere All at Once”

Examining Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho

The glamour of the era and the music in Last Night in Soho s as delightful and sinister as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge.

Universal Pictures
4K Edition available to purchase on Amazon USA

Edgar Wright‘s Last Night in Soho plays better after watching the bonus features in its home video release. This movie is more of a coming-of-age drama than a horror film and I can see this work easily fitting into the same universe as Disney’s live-action Cruella. This work’s emphasis on fashion is key to my theory.

Even thoughts of Suspiria come to mind because of the colour palette and catapulting of Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) to an era not everyone knows. She somehow manifests, if not dreams, of 60s London. Instead of appearing in her own corporeal form, she’s in the body of her singer idol, Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy). The two experience the seedier side of Soho district, hence the title. The glamour of the era and the music is as delightful and sinister as Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge–but minus Christian’s perspective of All You Need Is Love and saving the starlet from her demons.