Tag: CGI

It’s Alive! Fullmetal Alchemist is Alive on Netflix

To see this live action version of Fullmetal Alchemist on Netflix is a must but the performances are a mixed bag.

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By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Watching a retread of a favourite anime as live action can be hit or miss. The earliest I have seen is Lone Wolf and Cub (1972) which introduced me to the genre. This series of films were awesome. The Guyver (1991) was cheesy and Space Battleship Yamato (2010) was one that barely worked. That piece was difficult to compress an epic story arc into one movie. Netflix’s version of Death Note (2017)  can not compare to the Japanese productions decades prior. It did not have enough meat. To see this live action version of Fullmetal Alchemist on Netflix is a must.

I have read the first few books, and the tightened narrative and visual design had me captivated. With thanks to current CGI rendering technologies, Al simply looks fantastic. Not every bit of the digital action is top-notch. In later parts, when audiences are staring at armies of the undead, the realism takes a dive and I could swear I’m watching The Mummy Returns all over again.

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One Little, Two Brave or Three ‘Stewart’ Minions, A Review

The world of Earth is still without heroes in Minions.

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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The world of Earth is still without heroes in Minions. Just where they are to defeat the bad guys does not need to be asked, and nor are they required when these funny yellow critters (all of them voiced by Pierre Coffin) finally get their own movie. After tiny appearances of their hijinks in the Despicable Me movies, the producers from Illumination Entertainment thankfully took five years to get a product out to feature them as bumbling heroes whereas DreamWork’s The Penguins of Madagascar, their rivals, took ten.

These cute little yellow, capsule shaped, creatures are on a quest to serve the most vile villain they can find. The only problem they have is their ineptitude to help them rise to power. Just what happens to these ruthless tyrants under their Igor like care is hilarious and the voice-over narrative Geoffrey Rush provides is touching. Sadly, the best moments are given away in the trailers.

In the history lesson that’s provided, it’s merely a sampling of the rulers they met over the millennia. To see how these Minions served other past dictators like Caligula, Genghis Kahn, Blackbeard or Stalin would have added more flavour instead of reiterating what the teasers have shown. At least one ruler is missed: in the Middle Ages, perhaps King Edward I of England got the brutal end of a blade and that was not included in the film. This exclusive moment in the trailer suggests a longer cut was animated but in what’s pared down for the film, nothing new is added.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Top Five CGI Films of 2014

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Plenty of computer animated films have graced 2014 around the world. From Asterix: The Land of the Gods to Postman Pat and even Tinkerbell & The Legend of the Never Beast, not everything will make the grade of being wildly successful. Some of these titles were direct-to-video releases and others saw a limited distribution. But when fans of this new cartoon animation medium are going to be picky, they will find certain animations will properly tug at the heart-strings and others will appeal to an all-ages crowd. There’s even a few that some will miss because it never made a North American Release until now. From an international perspective, presented are the top five films that are notable in no particular order:

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Girl of the Alps, Heidi Returns to TV!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Belgian production house Studio 100 are certainly busy bees these days. Not only have they licensed Maya the Bee Movie to Shout! Factory to fly into North America next year, but also they have the simply titled Heidi getting ready to bring her charm to the world in an all new animated television program that will be aimed for young girls when the series finally launches in 2015. Products from toy manufacturer Famosa will also be made available in most European markets.

The novels Heidi’s Years of Learning and Travel and Heidi Makes Use of What She has Learned are amongst the best known works of Swiss literature written by novelist Johanna Spyri. Over 50 million books were sold and translated into other languages. These stories have been adapted into other forms of media over the years and this CGI update will only further interest. Hopefully Shout! Factory and Studio 100 will continue their relationship and work together to bring this title to North America.

Amongst anime fans, she is known as the Girl of the Alps, Heidi (アルプスの少女ハイジ), which saw release back in 1974. This series is notable because of the work put into it by many notable anime pioneers, including Studio Ghibli founders Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. The updated version by Studio 100 pays homage to this fond favourite and it really shows in the trailer. The series has not started broadcasting yet, but it will most likely see release in Europe first, premiering on Austrian public broadcasting channel ORF, before showing up on other speciality channels.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGPJURYz2CM?list=PLOwVOWmNiC9_J-eDbdON8Tk_9QA2MVLzr&w=460&h=215%5D

Maya the Bee Movie Buzzes into North America 2015!

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Maya the Bee Movie will be buzzing into young North American hearts in 2015 thanks to Shout! Factory. This diminutive character perhaps became very popular due in part to the Japanese animation of the same name back in 1975. Since then it has been translated to many languages for airings in other countries. An updated CGI version returned to its fictional roots by animation production company Studio 100 in 2012. This series run lasted for 78 episodes and a film followed afterwards. Both are based on the book of the same name by German children’s author, Waldemar Bonsels.

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Thunder is arriving soon, in a House of Magic near you

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

THOM_gallery-3Arriving Sept 5th in select theatres across the States is Thunder and the House of Magic, a wonderful family film about a ginger cat just needing some love. But when he stumbles into a “haunted house” occupied by a misanthropic rabbit, a scrappy mouse and other talking animals (along with some strange robots that look like they can easily belong in a Tim Burton film), maybe what he needs more is a new family. The movie begins suggesting the feline is abandoned by his human owners. The reason why suggests that they have moved and at their new home, wherever that may be, there is no room for Thunder.

To rain on his parade includes meeting a human antagonist intent on selling the abode that this cat has found. But to find out more, perhaps the curious will have to head either to New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, San Francisco and Washington, DC to see it on the big screen, search this title out at Wal-Mart or hit VOD to watch this movie. Shout! Factory is handling the distribution of this product from Studiocanal. Brainstorm Media will be handling the online distribution.

In Canada, there will be some form of release planned for later in the year.

Thunder and the House of Magic is written by James Flynn, Domonic Paris and Ben Stassen, based on an original story idea from Ben Stassen. The film is produced by Caroline Van Iseghem and Ben Stassen, executive produced by Olivier Courson and Eric Dillens, and features original music by Ramin Djawadi. The 85-minute film is produced by nWave Pictures in association with Studiocanal and Anton Capital Entertainment. The voice cast includes Murray Blue, Doug Stone, George Babbit, Danielle Gray and Grant George.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VKG3lZEIg&w=560&h=315%5D