Tag: Fantasy

A Nerd’s Guide to the 2025 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Although the number of genre films seems small in this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the number of drama are always high as the 2025 event is ready to rumble starting tomorrow!

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival LOGORuns: May 1st to 7th, 2025

When I have a fondness for films made in Asia, I’m always excited to see what the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival will screen. This event kicks off tomorrow, and I’m always curious about who may become the next Bong Joon Ho. Or rather, wonder if this event will premiere the next exciting genre flick! My coverage over the years always considers this side of the show before extending the list to other movies that pique my interest.

And while some years offer more fantastical works than others in the short film category, there’s still some good drama to find! This top picks in what to see also considers this category too.

Chinatown Cha-Cha
China, Directed by Luka Yuanyuan Yang

CHINATOWN CHA-CHAThe 92-year-old previous nightclub dancer Coby Yee decides to get back on stage again after joining the senior dance troupe Grant Avenue Follies. Together they go on a tour for the last time, bridging once isolated Chinese communities in the US, Cuba, and China.

From Okinawa With Love
Japan & USA, Directed by Hiroshi Sunairi

In the 1970s, Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa worked as a barmaid for African American GIs and published an impressive photography book.

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Finally Watching White Snake Afloat! A Touching Review and the Quest to Find This Lost Tale of Love

Although there’s still no proper North American release for Light Chaser Animation’s White Snake Afloat, thankfully eBay has come to the rescue! And I got info regarding the two types of Blu-ray releases available. Meanwhile Warner Brothers Malaysia is handling distro.

White Snake Afloat in this package releaseThe home video release of Light Chaser Animation’s White Snake Afloat is now available in China and select surrounding regions. When I saw a limited edition box set released back in December, I wanted to buy it—but I didn’t have the funds saved.

Fast forward to now: it’s still attainable through eBay, albeit at nearly double its original retail price. Unfortunately, it’s not listed on official English-language retailers like YesAsia or Amazon, and Light Chaser hasn’t made it available on international streaming platforms either. For those willing to pay a premium, the set is a visual treat. It features beautifully illustrated packaging and includes a bonus booklet. While I hoped for additional extras, it appears that beyond the artwork, there’s little else included. Still, I’m relieved the Blu-ray comes with English subtitles.

As for whether Bianca’s (White Snake’s) journey concludes in this final chapter, I’d say yes. Her arc comes full circle. However, I hope the Fox Demon’s story continues. Her subplot remains unresolved and full of potential. She’s a manipulator, often acting as a mysterious merchant of souls across all three films. But just who she’s serving—and why—remains unanswered.

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Shadowdark, The Western Reaches RPG Hot New Expansion is on Kickstarter!

Instead of asking for help from the corporate industry, Kelsey Dionne’s Shadowdark, The Western Reaches is asking fans of old school gaming to help reach publication.

Shadowdark, The Western Reaches RPG
Now on Kickstarter!

Kelsey Dionne ‘s Shadowdark is a sure to shake the TTRPG industry up. This role playing system gives game masters the power to make the call on how actions get resolved. And now this world has an expansion titled Shadowdark, The Western Reaches. After two years in the market, the amount of people moving over to a more back to basic fantasy environment is becoming large. From an official Discord channel to Reddit fan pages , what I am finding is even winning me over.

A welcome package at $199 USD provides newcomers with everything released to date. After getting a headache because of fellow players arguing about why certain game physics must operate this way or the fact there’s far too much data to break down an action, this remedy may well be worth it. Very few people use the Old School Renaissance (OSR) method these days, and upon discovering this game system, I know where to invest my dollars.

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In the Lost Lands, Home Will Feel Far Away!

Paul W. S. Anderson’s In The Lost Lands feels more like a set up for an upcoming role playing game that fans of of the post-apocalyptic genre can take part in!

In the Lost Lands Movie PosterDave Bautista is almost ready to replace William Shatner as host to The UnXplained should the opportunity arise. That’s because he’s getting the practice in with Paul W. S. Anderson’s In The Lost Lands.  In this lengthy adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s, I am left wondering if this star will ever find a woman he can stay with instead of staying a drifter. Technically, he did in The Killer’s Game (movie review), but in other films prior, I sense he’ll always be a loner.

This science-fiction post apocalyptic adventure opens with him explaining how the Earth destroyed itself, and unlike The Knight’s War where the protagonist is in search for a woman with power to change the tides of war, here this individual wants nothing to do with Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich). She’s been searching for someone like Boyce (Bautista) to guide her through the said world.

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Demon Slayer Movie: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle is Coming and Where To Find It!

The first chapter of the Demon Slayer Movie: Infinity Castle trilogy will be coming and it’s a global roll out!

Demon Slayer Movie
©Koyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA, Aniplex, ufotable

The Demon Slayer Movie titled Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle is wasting no time to spread the love at North American theatres this Fall! As the first film in the epic trilogy from the famed animation studio Ufotable, nobody wants to delay this work following its Japanese premiere on July 18, 2025. In what’s special is that this tale forms the first part of the Infinity Castle trilogy. It takes place after season four and that finished its American run almost exactly a year ago.

IMAX and other premium large formats will present this latest film. The film will be available in both Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English.

From the Press Release

International release dates include (with additional dates announced later):

  • August 14: Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan
  • August 15: Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam
  • August 20: Philippines
  • September 11: Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean (Jamaica, Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao), Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland (Italian-speaking), Syria, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates
  • September 12: India, Mongolia, Spain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Kenya, Latvia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Southern Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom
  • September 17: Belgium, France, French-speaking Africa, Luxembourg, Switzerland (French-speaking)
  • September 18: Moldova
  • September 25: Austria, Germany, Switzerland (German-speaking)

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The Alien (UFO) Cinematic Agenda at SXSW 2025 and Nerdy Picks For the Horror Enthusiast

SXSW is always worth paying attention to because of its various premieres in the cinematic front. This year looks exceptional if you love invasion themed material!

SXSW Logo Poster OrientaedSXSW is shaping up to be the year the aliens took over Austin, Texas. Now that this event is in full swing, I’ll be paying attention to how well certain films will do, and how fast they will get (pardoning the pun) picked up by distributors.

Usually, all I do is pay attention to the midnight madness movie screenings over other debuts. When this mega event celebrates music, tech, and film, it’s often the latter two that I have more interest in. That’s because the movies give me a good idea of what to expect when Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival announces their lineup. When there’s five films that share concerns over UFO visitations, I hope these films will land elsewhere later this year!

And while this enormous event has much more entertainment to consider, I have to round out the list to ten than the usual five. There are some fabulous documentaries that have my attention, and as for other buzz worthy films, what I offer is a list of works that definitely have my interest beyond the usual midnight madness picks. What I present works in alphabetical order that are “coming soon.”

Ash

Ash Movie Poster 2025A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.

The Age of Disclosure

An unprecedented film–featuring 34 senior members of the U.S. Senate, House, military and intelligence community–revealing a cover-up of the existence of non-human intelligent life and a secret war to reverse engineer technology of non-human origin. (World Premiere)

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