Drama Archives | Otaku No Culture

A Nerd’s Guide to the 2025 Victoria Film Festival

Runs Feb 7 to 17, 2025

After celebrating their thirtieth last year, the Victoria Film Festival is still going strong. Although this local event has changed somewhat over time, some choices are for the better, and others–it’s honestly hard to judge. Back when virtual reality was the hottest thing to change cinema, I noticed that after an attempt one year to showcase its potential, nothing has done ever since.

Although some trends are just that, I see a potential with this alternate movie telling format. And while it’s tough to create a choose-your-own-adventure style cinematic experience, that’s because the technology is not advanced enough, and storytellers have to get back to basics to learn what hyper-fiction is. I believe that until home entertainment fully adopts this medium, advancements will stall. But I digress.

This year, I offer my selection of the top ten films to check out. There’s three I’ve already looked at, and highly recommend. This includes movie review links and the interview with the filmmaker(s) where possible, as they made their debut earlier last year.

I offer this selection of films to check out if you are visiting the Garden City. Tickets can be purchased by clicking on the title and for those who just want to see this movie, please check with your local film festival or art house theatre to see if these works will play there too.

The Penguin Lessons

The Penguin Lessons Based on a true story, Steve Coogan plays Tom Michell, an English professor who arrives in Buenos Aires to teach at a private school on the eve of the coup d’état that plunged Argentina into turmoil in 1976. Tom is cynical, sarcastic and disillusioned, and the circumstances of his employment and the situation around him does nothing to improve his attitude. Jonathan Pryce, as the admonishing headmaster advising all to keep out of the chaos, is on point.

During a brief escape to Uruguay, Tom rescues a penguin from an oil slick to impress a woman he has just met. Tom tries to convince the penguin to return to the ocean, but the penguin has other ideas and insists on staying close to his rescuer. And so begins the relationship between Tom and the charmingly named Juan Salvador.

Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide to the 2025 Victoria Film Festival”

Missed Opportunities with Harold and the Purple Crayon. Can Replacing That With A 3D Pen Do The Job?

While one star can continue to charm in Harold and the Purple Crayon, is that enough to carry a film?

Available on VOD
Spoiler Alert

Zachary Levi may well be typecast, because the character he plays in Harold and the Purple Crayon is no different from Billy in Shazam. There’s a youthful exuberance that this actor loves to amp up, but I’d like to see him expand his range.

When I realised Alfred Molina is also involved in this film, I had to give this film a chance, and found myself enjoying this movie more because of his voice than Levi. He’s like that grandfather I want to spend my time with, but when his presence suddenly disappears, I’m like Harold and have to wonder why. After a few hours alone, he’s comes up with the idea to draw a portal to the real world with his magical crayon, where (like in Disney’s Enchanted) what he discovers is pure culture shock!

Everyone calls him a wacko, and even amusingly a Smurf. The only two people who are sympathetic are Mel (Benjamin Bottani) and Terry (Zooey Deschanel) to this child-like individual who needs to find “The Old Man,” the name he gave to the narrator.

Continue reading “Missed Opportunities with Harold and the Purple Crayon. Can Replacing That With A 3D Pen Do The Job?”

The Deets Are In for Time of Eve’s Home Video Release

Whether or not the themes explored in the anime Time of Eve is considered ahead of its time, fans can find out when this collection comes out!

Time of Eve Cover — **Also available to preorder on Amazon USA**

Release Date:
Dec 10, 2024

The challenge with artificial intelligence is that will the creators allow it to evolve and grow, and back when the anime Time of Eve first came out (2009), not everyone felt too concerned. Not everyone may have been aware about this web series; these days, the concern with what machines can do is cause for concern. There’s consequences, which many documentaries have explored, and the can of worms that various works of entertainment have opened up suggests many possible ways machines can go renegade!

Now, anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD are bringing this series for all to discuss and examine with the upcoming blu-ray release. That’s because there’s an all new featurette which may delve into the discourse too!

From the Press Release:

An auteur independent work from director Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Patema Inverted, Sing a Bit of Harmony), Time of Eve is a critical darling that won the 2010 Tokyo Anime Award for Original Video Animation. This new edition from AnimEigo contains the feature film version in English and Japanese, along with the original 6-episode web series from which it was assembled.

Time of Eve is set during a time when humanoid robots are everywhere, and every home has one as a servant. Some people treat them with contempt, while others become obsessed. One day, two high school boys stumble across a mysterious café that offers a third option: talk to them, free of prejudice, or even full knowledge of who’s a robot and who’s human. Shocked and rattled by the experience, the boys find themselves learning more about the world and themselves than they ever could have imagined.

Continue reading “The Deets Are In for Time of Eve’s Home Video Release”

How Many Hidden Levels of Existance Must There Be in This High Octane Sci-Fi Thriller?

Just how many “levels” exist in the cyberverse depends on who you ask, and who is your maker? Thankfully the theology doesn’t bog this sci fi whodunit down, and you’ll have to wonder too!

Playing nationwide at select theatres in Canada
Please check local listings

Adam Stern, in his debut as a filmmaker, knows just how many Levels of existence there are in this multiverse. Whether that hides in the code or is answered in plain sight, that will depend on how folks will want to interpret the material offered in his movie. He not only penned the screenplay but also directed this rather smart and selective sci-fi thriller about Joe (Peter Mooney) wanting to find out who murdered Ash (Cara Gee), the love of his life, in cold blood. That’s because nothing is truly real. There are faces he recognizes during his investigation, and he doesn’t know why.

In a tale that’s inspired from movies like TRON, Inception, Free Guy and The Matrix (the special effects mostly), what’s presented focuses on an element of spirituality that’s always fascinated me–what if it’s all a simulation? But there’s also another question: who would want to kill this woman? As our hero learns there’s a secret cabal who created a virtual reality that is really indistinguishable from our own, there’s a concern: how can we escape from it? Is what’s imagined in one simulation better than another? The answer is simple: don’t get too emotionally attached.

Continue reading “How Many Hidden Levels of Existance Must There Be in This High Octane Sci-Fi Thriller?”

Anyone Not Watching Angela’s Shadow at the Vancouver Film Festival Are Missing Out!

Angela’s Shadow is a mixed-genre piece that’ll satisfy not only people wondering what went on in Canada’s Colonial past, but also horror film enthusiasts.

Angela's Shadow Movie Poster — **Playing at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival**

Remaining Screenings:
Oct 05 International Village 8

By saying Angela’s Shadow is the perfect ghost story, I hope the expectations generated are not too much. That’s because this tale looking at aboriginal life effectively portrays spirits as only vengeful when they must. Although that was not Jules Koostachin’s intent when she wrote the screenplay with Steve Neufeld, the way her direction brought out the supernatural is just beautifully executed. These entities are not inherently evil but matter-of-fact entities who sometimes want to be noticed. But what this story is concerned about is the living, and how this character (Sera-Lys McArthur) wants to return to her roots. She was stolen by white men who believed indoctrinating indigenous youths to their society was important.

Continue reading “Anyone Not Watching Angela’s Shadow at the Vancouver Film Festival Are Missing Out!”

You May Look, But Will Want to Hide when “Door-to-Door Maniac” and “Right Hand of the Devil” Are Paired Together!

When The Film Masters is pairing up Door-to-Door Maniac and Right Hand of the Devil in this latest home video release, what’s offered is a great look at attempting to revitalise the neo-noir genre.

Door-to-Door Maniac & Right Hand of the Devil — Available to purchase on Amazon USA

The Film Masters next release is absolutely criminal! With Door-to-Door Maniac, (originally released in 1961 as “Five Minutes to Live.”), I was curious because of Johnny Cash, who plays Cabot, a hardened crook who thinks taking a hostage in her own home (Cay Forester) is easy. However, anyone who has seen Abigail knows that’s a bad idea!

No, there’s no scary twist ending. These tropes were not as established back then. Also, to see Ron Howard in the credits made me curious! This film was made back when he was better known as Opie from The Andy Griffiths Show.

Continue reading “You May Look, But Will Want to Hide when “Door-to-Door Maniac” and “Right Hand of the Devil” Are Paired Together!”