Tag Archives: Martial Arts

The Entire Ninjago Crystalized Season Should’ve Been A Movie

28 Nov

Ninjago CrystalizedComing to Netflix Canada on December 1st
Spoiler Alert

Season 16 of Ninjago should simply be called Ninjago Crystalized The Movie. I refrained from continuing to post weekly looks back a few episodes after the mid-season cliffhanger when I realised that. Now that the run is finished on Teletoon, I can finally reflect upon all that’s been revealed, said and done. With no surprise, now that one contract is over, other services can stream it.

These days, the team led by Lloyd isn’t always hailed as heroes. Nearly everybody loves them, except for the new Mayor and certain bounty hunters like Hounddog McBrag. That made up the first half of the series. By the time the team figures out who’s the mastermind, chaos erupts, we learn a few emotional things about certain characters, namely P.I.X.E.L., and see the return of characters from previous seasons. With no surprise, when the populace sees the Overlord is back, everyone is running! Even that leader of the city is considering abandoning his post.

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How High Must Checkered Ninja 2 Jump to be Found in America?

8 Nov

Checkered Ninja 2Just when fans of Anders Matthesen‘s story concerning a tiny spirit of vengence was over, a sequel, simply titled Checkered Ninja 2, was released to some markets instead of hitting film festivals worldwide. This series is apparently very popular in Denmark. and it’s a spinoff of Terkel I Knibe (Terkel in Trouble), one of this filmmaker’s earlier works.

To learn that the villain from the first film is on the loose again is troubling. The crime Philip Eberfrø committed resulted in the spirit of Taiko Nakamura possessing a doll in part one, and thus, the Checkered Ninja was born! But he can’t do it alone. By happenstance, he becomes Alex’s toy and the relationship they have isn’t all that kosher. After the stuffed doll helps the young boy grow a spine (he was bullied), they finally buddy up.

I reviewed this movie a few years back and absolutely loved it. When Variety magazine reported about its sequel, I hoped some local animation festival would screen it. Sadly, that never happened. Despite having a home video release in 2021 in Denmark, there’s still no official North American release. As soon as I saw listings for the Blu-ray release on eBay, I immediately ordered the European release and I’m glad I have a multi-region player.

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Quick Thoughts on Ninjago Crystalized Part Two and Teletoon….

15 Oct

NinjagoSpoiler Alert

The staggered world-wide release of Ninjago Crystalized Part Two is very confusing. In some countries, it’s been released to Netflix all in one go on Oct 10th, and in others–due to where Wildbrain operates its own specialty network–started sooner. It began October 1st on Teletoon Canada, and thankfully I missed little with “A Sinister Shadow,” where the story is mostly a recap, with 10% new content. The narrative shifts to Harumi’s point of view. She was dead, but a force known as The Crystal King offers her a chance at a second life instead of living in the emptiness known as the Departed Realm.

It’s not altogether surprising that this former love interest of Lloyd has been manipulating things. She’s required to build an army rather than recruit, and therein lies an interesting tie-in to the comic, Garmadon. What’s suggested is that the other bad guys aren’t needed. Both narratives deal with what ifs after the gangs have lost their leaders. Those who got away aren’t doing well.

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The Best Genre Movies of 2022, A Look at the Past (Part One)

25 Sep

Best Movies of 2022

With the end of Summer now here, people have reason to go back to the movies to stay warm and also get ready for Thanksgiving. In Canada, that’s coming up quickly, but for our neighbours south of the border, more than a month away. While the latter is considered more important to draw audiences into the big screen by studios, I believe it’s time to look at the best genre movies of 2022 so far, before the final three months are considered.

Just a fun fact, although a vintage picture is used, that was how the Capital 6 used to look circa 1933) in Victoria, BC. Oh how the times have changed!

This recap is more of an expansion of my presentation for Capital City Comic Con 2022. Sometimes a 45-minute panel is not long enough to express everything that’s wonderful about each film. In the next article will be the top ten picks for Autumn. Afterwards, I’ll wrap up this set with my early picks of 2023 because they feature films that have been pushed further back into the schedule for one reason or another.

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Five Top and Hot End of Summer and Reads By A Dark Horse

30 Aug

Dark Horse Logo

The Summer isn’t truly over yet, and while I’ve been kept busy in other fronts, I’ll still stick to Dark Horse Comics to get my graphic novel fix. Technically, the changing of the seasons will not take place till Sept 22, so I knew I still had time.

In what I’ve found (and let pile up) are paperback collections of those titles I didn’t want to pick up on a monthly basis, and graphic novels which are truly fantastic. Some of which I’ve finished reading, am rereading–and others I’ll be spending my Labour Day weekend to catch up on!

Adventure is in the air when I want to dodge that heat. All these titles I recommend are available to purchase at your local comic book store or online (any sales made through the links I’ve provided help supports this site). I recommend the following:

Stranger Things Summer Special

This story considers the experiences that officer Powell and Callahan still have to face since appearing in season three. As they deal with the various threats in Hawkins, Indiana, what I find is they are in over their heads….

And there’s also good news. For readers who missed the past seasonal special releases, a Holiday Specials trade paperback can be pre-ordered on Amazon USA. And for everyone who has missed out on what other side-stories exist, I highly recommend catching up with Stranger Things Omnibus Vol 1.

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