Magic Archives | Otaku No Culture

[Victoria Fringe 2023] Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry isn’t the Same ol’ Same Ol’

There’s more than just a parody going on in delivering what Potterheads love from the WB franchise in this Fringe wonder titled Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry.

Barry Potter Throws Confetti Australian Comedian-Magician Tim Motley has a new act called Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry, and thankfully his famous Dirk Darrow personality is not being retired! This new persona is related to the famous Harry of a certain J.K. Rowling fame (or should that be Warner Bros.?), and what’s presented is a look at everything that’s been made to date; even the stage play about the Cursed Child is along with Fantastic Beasts. And the way he brings this world together is simply marvellous.

Although the show is familiar, using the same repertoire of magical trickery to engage audiences and also the sealed envelope trick, the way this talent makes this show different is with his rapid-fire delivery of puns. They are moments that would even impress Tom McGrath (who voices Skipper in Penguins of Madagascar). Timing is everything and Motley is a master. The only reason I make this comparison is that I saw the DreamWorks movie two days prior. I noticed the word play with names was exactly the same!

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Rama Rau’s Coven Boldy Demystifies What Being a Witch is About!

This documentary seeks to demystify the occult side of what Witchcraft is truly about. And in Coven, Rama Rau takes a look from the perspective of three ladies living an independent life in Toronto.

Hot Docs Canadian International
Documentary Festival (Apr 28 & May 5)

In entertainment, witches often get a bad reputation, and it is up to filmmakers like Rama Rau to present the correct facts. Her excellent documentary, simply titled Coven, presents a side of the craft which is not altogether strange. It’s mostly about community and reverence to the old ways before the coming of organised religion. But even then, those new ways of worship isn’t always a factor. What we see here is what it means to not only be an individual, but also become part of a commune.

That alone makes this cinematic study worthy of an award. One detail that’s understated is the rule of three. In this work, the lives of three women are examined. It’s not a reference to the Wayward Sisters from Shakespeare’s play and nor are they representative of the norns of lore. All they are women seeking to understand their past life, present state of affairs and future with this craft without prejudice.

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fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE Switches Gears to Delight A New Generation!

fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE is a cinematic sci-fi-meets-fantasy visual novel series coming to the Switch!

fault - StP - LIGHTKRAVTE, fault – StP – LIGHTKRAVTE, the latest entry in the cinematic sci-fi-meets-fantasy visual novel series with more than 500,000 copies sold from developer ALICE IN DISSONANCE and publisher Phoenixx, brings its thrilling prologue to Nintendo Switch on Thursday, Sept. 15.

The latest promotional video introduces gamers to the huge cast and sets up who you’ll be playing. As Khaji, a “basic status boy,” you’ll be navigating his future. Thankfully, no knowledge of the franchise is required, and all the info you need to know is outlined:

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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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Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans Teaser Trailer & Thoughts

One expectation is certain: someone has to claim the sword Excalibur. None of the current heroes can pull it from the ground.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans will release July 21, 2021, and the three series which make up the Tales of Arcadia will truly come together. Princess Aja and Prince Krel Tarron barely had a presence in the third arc, Wizards. I hope they are more involved in the film. The teaser trailer which dropped this week suggests big things.

The title brings to mind the Greek giants of yore. Executive producer Guillmero del Toro loves playing with mythology, and we may see all twelve “titans” and the mother of them all–Gaea (Earth)–as this series antagonists. She represents more than just creation. Some see her moods shifting with the seasons, and I feel the life, death and rebirth cycle also factors in. One of the monsters they face looks like a giant-sized cross between a Heatran and Gigalith from Pokemon GO, and I doubt the combined team want to catch this mad beast.

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Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen is Ready for the UK! An Interview with Helen Mullane

It’s these incredible old TV movies like Robin Red Breast from the era that plays with the pastoral idyll of the British countryside which make the world seem freaky and threatening in Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen.

UK Release Date
August 20, 2020
Available to purchase on Amazon USA

For our readers who are unfamiliar with your work, could you please introduce yourself?

Sure. Hello! I’m Helen, a comic writer and dog musher from London who now lives in Swedish Lapland. I wrote the folk horror graphic novel Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen. I used to work in the film industry in London and produced the documentary Futureshock! The Story of 2000AD, and worked on the release of a lot of great anime and genre cinema before that.

When handling the releases of many works from Studio Canal and eOne, does film distribution also involve you becoming intimately knowledgeable in the movies you’re helping to promote? What were some of your favourite movies?

You don’t necessarily need to love every film you work on (it helps!) but a good release strategy depends on an intimate understanding of what someone else might love about it. You need to get into the headspace of the film’s potential fans, to understand how and where to reach them.

I worked on so many amazing films at both StudioCanal and EOne. I managed the release of Ponyo and a lot of home entertainment Ghibli releases. But my favourite projects were often the older movies I got to sink my teeth into and make new extras for–I made a pop up box set of Guillermo Del Toro’s Spanish language films, a special edition of Quatermass and The Pit with a cover by Ollie Moss and a Hardware special edition with a Kevin O’Neill Futureshock in that I am particularly proud of.

My favourite ‘new release’ campaign was for The Losers because it was through that I got to know Jock and Andy Diggle. Quite apart from the fact that they’re both cool dudes and awesome creators, that relationship eventually led to the dream of The Bloody Queen eventually becoming a reality!

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