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Fate is Lie in Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans – It’s Agonizing!

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans follows the same style as Homer’s The Iliad.

Available to view on Netflix
Spoiler Alert

The finale to the Trollhunters, Tales of Arcadia has all the key players–Jim Lake, Tobias, Claire, Binky, AAARRRGGHH, Crown Princess Aja, Prince Krel, Douxie and Archie–not ready to take on the Arcane Order. They’re the next threat in a long line of villains who want to restore the world to its old ways, a time before gods walked the Earth, and magic was pure. However, to do so means convincing one of their own, Nari, that their ways are true. This tale picks up from where Wizards last left off (review and analysis can be read here).

This movie is very crowded and needs that prologue to explain everything that’s happened prior–including why Armageddon must happen. The concept is very much taken from Nordic design (Ragnorak); everything must be destroyed before the world can be remade and this theme plays out anyways, much to my chagrin. This introduction could’ve been trimmed out in favour of new material, but not everyone will know Trollhunters, 3Below and Wizards inside and out. It’s terrific to see all the supporting characters return for even a few minutes, but that finale–a good portion of the fans for this series are angry. Spoilers follow:

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10 Memorable Summer Blockbuster Movies to Revisit and Where to Find Them

Yes, some of us will be hiding in those well ventilated movie houses with the air conditioner jacked up and enjoying the summer blockbuster movies of the past 50 or so years.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The warm season is in full swing, and yes, some of us will be hiding in those well ventilated movie houses with the air conditioner jacked up and enjoying the summer blockbuster movies of yesteryears.

Assuming everyone is vaccinated, there’s no worry for an outbreak to happen but for the cautious, they’ll be wearing their face mask. As for what’s worth seeing again on the small screen (to rent) or we can expect with film festivals bringing that passion back, the following are my picks to beat the heat. Included are Amazon USA links to purchase these titles for home viewing, or one can wait for a local theatre to bring these favourites back again.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volumes 1 & 2
Released: August 1, 2014

If Starlord and his gang can’t destroy a sun, then I don’t think anyone else can–short of a Celestial. Although we don’t want that to happen (it’d cause the death of any nearby civilizations), we can dance along to this hilarious action packed adventure and origin story of the gang going up against Marvel Cinematic Universe’s baddie, Thanos. Well, not yet, but this work properly gives him that backstory to know why he is who he is. He can snuff out a star without a problem.

Music is going to be a bit of a theme on this list, as next up is…

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Selling Your Soul to Dark Deity!

I enjoyed the time I spent playing Dark Deity and I see a lot of potential in this game. It has a solid foundation and it’s clear that with a little more polish, this game can truly shine.

DarkDeity_Deluxe_Hero_01 (1) By Shawn Trommeshauser
(Dreaming in Digital)

Disclaimer: Review copy was supplied
Available on Steam for PC
See me play this game on Twitch (archived).

In the Kingdom of Delian, King Varic is waging a reckless war to avenge the death of his father. However, things are not going well for the demanding ruler. To bolster his forces, he forcibly conscripts every student in his military academy directly into the army. This is where Irving and his companions come into the story. These trainees are pulled into a war they aren’t fully prepared for, and along the way are drawn into an even greater conflict that could upend their entire world.

This is the setup for Dark Deity, a new Strategy Role Playing game developed by Sword & Axe LLC and published by Freedom Games. It’s now available after a successful campaign on Kickstarter in the Summer of 2020.

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Los (or is that Lost?) Luca

Luca Movie Poster By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Spoiler Alert

Not every PIXAR movie starts off with a bang. Sometimes the hook isn’t there, especially when viewers don’t really know that the world is fearful of legendary beasts in Luca. People should learn to love them and I wondered if this film may be this studio’s return to Monsters Inc.

Instead, we have another coming of age tale by Enrico Casarosa making his directorial debut. He drew upon his childhood and knowledge of local (Roman) folklore for his story. I believe he was struggling to decide in what kind of movie to make. It’s definitely inspired by A Little Mermaid. Plus, it has that The Good Dinosaur cum Finding Nemo vibe–especially when the parents go searching for their runaway son. Eventually, the perspective switches into something akin to Splash and Ponyo. This multi-tribute mix is okay, but when this film is loaded with the requisite Studio Ghibli references, I was tempted to turn this film off.

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Who’s the Star with Netflix’s Wish Dragon?

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Now playing on Netflix

Sadly, Wish Dragon is a very paint by numbers Disney-style product. It has elements of Aladdin, Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon all mixed in, and I’m fairly sure writer/director Chris Appelhans even drew upon the song When I Wish Upon a Star for inspiration. This blending delivers on the meaning behind the lyrics, “The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing…” but fails when considering other details. This work can’t decide if it wants to be a social commentary/comedy ala Crazy Rich Asians or a tween romance. The balancing act isn’t well done.

The introduction establishes Din (Jimmy Wong) and Li (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as kids promising to be best friends forever, a la Lilo & Stitch. Both are troublemakers and it’s cute to see them together. Unlike this franchise, they eventually get separated. The girl becomes a model and has forgotten about her past. Her dad’s motives are good, but it turns out he has an “evil” agenda. He’s searching for that magic lamp to grant him a better life for his family.

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Love Studio Laika? Details on the Studios Edition Rerelease for Fall/Winter 2021!

The Blu-ray™+DVD combos are loaded with exciting new special features, including “Inside LAIKA interviews with the studio’s animation team”, Never-Before-Seen Animation Test Footage, and Feature-Length Storyboards for each of the films. All four films were nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Animated Film.

Studio Laika – Molding Life into Stop-Motion Animation Fans of Studio Laika’s movies will be facing a tough decision, whether to upgrade their current sets for the latest, which includes some new material for the budding animator to view.

Four films will receive new high-definition releases this fall when Coraline (LAIKA Studios Edition) and The Boxtrolls (LAIKA Studios Edition) are released on August 31, and ParaNorman (LAIKA Studios Edition) and Kubo and the Two Strings (LAIKA Studios Edition) are released on September 14 by lauded animation studio LAIKA and multi-platform entertainment distributor Shout! Factory.

Along with digitally remastered editions of the films, new and existing bonus features, and new, collectible packaging, the LAIKA Studios Editions feature insightful, commemorative new essays by esteemed journalists Peter Debruge (Variety), Ramin Zahed (Animation Magazine), Bill Desowitz (Indiewire) and Charles Solomon (author and former Los Angeles Times critic).

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