Comedy Archives | Otaku No Culture

The Mixed-Media Love Letter to Japanese Pop Culture, Iké Boys, is Coming to North America!

In Iké Boys, best friends Shawn Gunderson and Vikram ‘Vik’ Kapoor escape from the drudgery of high school life in Oklahoma through their obsession with all things Japanese.

Iké Boys

Shout! Factory

A charmingly offbeat fantasy adventure that mixes live action, original animation, and tokusatsu special effects, the new feature film Iké Boys will debut on Digital and On Demand on all major platforms October 11, 2022 from Shout! Studios.

Heart-warming yet comedic, Iké Boys is a coming-of-age story of adventure and friendship set amongst high school friends in late ’90s Oklahoma who escape the dull reality of daily life via a shared obsession with all things Japanese. A love letter to kaiju, anime and Japanese pop culture, this fan-favourite film has been enthralling audiences since its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2021 and its international premiere at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Directed by Eric McEver, written by McEver and Jeff Hammer, and produced by Hammer, Brion Hambel, and Paul Jensen, the film stars an ensemble cast of Quinn Lord (The Man in the High Castle), Ronak Gandhi (The Rookie), Christina Higa (Am I Ok?), Billy Zane (Titanic, The Boys), Yumiko Shaku (Kamen Rider Zi-O), and Ben Browder (Farscape).

Shout Factory also released a State-side Iké Boys Trailer:

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It’s No Secret. Who Will Dominate The Charts When The Rise of Gru is on Home Video?

With the Rise of Gru on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K, the stage is set for next year’s return to the Despicable franchise

Minions Rise of Gru Available to purchase on Amazon USA

After a brief stint direct to digital, Illumination Entertainment‘s latest Minions film is now on home video. And if their proliferation is any sign, they are everywhere! With the Rise of Gru on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K, the stage is set to hint at next year’s return to the Despicable franchise, where Gru has to contend with his nasty twin brother, Dru. When watching this movie again, I get the feeling Wild Knuckles will play some kind of role in this upcoming film.

Where this tale concerning the pill-shaped compatriots’ relationship with the Gru guy takes place is years after Marlena and Felonius have settled down. It seems to ignore a few details from the last Minions movie concerning how they found their new leader and when he accepted them.

My review back in July goes into greater detail, and what I’ll look at here is the bonus material offered in this home video release.

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The 2022 Vancouver Fringe Festival is Next! 12 Exciting and Nerdy Picks

The Vancouver Fringe Festival is back and takes place Sept 8 to 18th around Granviille Island.

The Vancouver Fringe Festival is right around the corner! This event will be taking place Sept 8 to the 18th at various venues around Granville Island, and for those who missed those travelling shows at Victoria Fringe have a chance at Terminal City.

Where possible, I’ve included my thoughts on why this particular show must be seen. The links will take you to their landing page on the Vancouver Fringe website and list the dates. As a bonus, ten performances will be live-streamed! Please visit the landing page here for a full list. I’ve mentioned a fond Victoria favourite and am still waiting for the return of One Man Avengers, once that act is fine tuned.

Tickets are $15 each (live and in person), and info concerning health / pandemic regulations can be read here.

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Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon Finds Its Way to North America!

A world of adventure awaits you in Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon, the tale of a young girl determined to save her home in the deepest jungle of the rainforest.

Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon Release Date: Nov 29, 2022 by Shout! Factory
Movie review can be read here.

At long last, this holiday season, families and world travellers can play with Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon! This film embarked on quite the world tour since initially releasing to the Ukraine back in 2021, but after that, its subsequent releases was country to country, including a stint in Canada back in February of 2022, before finally arriving in Shout! Factory’s hands for a proper multi-release in theatres, home-video and VOD.

Based on a story by award-winning filmmaker José Zelada (Kayara, Searching for Hearts), Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon is an inspiring fantasy movie adventure of a young heroine and her thrilling journey to save the endangered Amazon rainforest, with or without the princess. Directed by Zelada and Richard Claus (The Little Vampire and The Thief Lord) with a Peruvian-Dutch co-production among Tunche Films (Lima) and Cool Beans (Amsterdam), Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon is a strikingly visual and colourful animated movie bolstered by vibrant storytelling, a strong young female lead character, fascinating folklores, and the relevant theme of deforestation and environmental conservation.

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Summer Vacation Isn’t Over Yet with LEGO Star Wars’ Latest

If there’s more LEGO Star Wars specials to come, I’m all for it.

Available to view on Disney Plus

There are times where the LEGO Star Wars story offers more of a continuation of the new trilogy story than simply be a comical side story adventure. The Holiday Special and Summer Vacation “one-off’s” are a non-canonical look at Ray, Finn and Poe’s life after Rise of Skywalker. They look at how Finn is furthering his Jedi training. While the former deals with him actually honing his skills, the latter sees them taking a break–and affirming that he will one day be a fully pledged warrior of the resistance!

The latest released early this month, and honestly, even though Sept is near, we have about three weeks of this season left!

In the first in the series, Ray was having difficulty in mentoring the former stormtrooper and in the latter, Finn is struggling with understanding what togetherness means. He’s arranged a vacation for the gang–complete with itinerary–to enjoy on the cruise liner, the Halcyon. However, once on board, they split up to find activities to personally enjoy.

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The DC League of Super-Pets is All Bark, Little Bite

As for which team will save the day in The DC League of Super-Pets, that’s not too hard to guess.

DC League of Super-Pets

The DC League of Super-Pets isn’t anything spectacular when considering who is behind the attempt to deconstruct the Justice League. This movie is not as appealing for comic book fans, since its designed for kids to enjoy.

I didn’t feel the need to watch this movie right away. Not even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can convince his legions of fans to see this film since he’s in the starring role. He voices Krypto, Superman’s ever faithful canine. When his master (John Krasinski) is ready to propose to Lois (Olivia Wilde), the dog feels underappreciated and gets jealous.

The writing team of Jared Stern and John Whittington have crafted a better tale than LEGO Batman because it’s not pandering. I had to chuckle as his chunky physique, and that’s not because he’s overweight. All the superheroes are redesigned to look like caricatures of what they represent. Unlike Ninjago the Movie, the dialogue isn’t as juvenile. What’s developed here is more natural, and shows some understanding of the lore from the comics.

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