* Playing from June 18 to 26. Tickets to an online screening can be purchased here. For information, please visit their faq.
The Doxa Documentary Film Festival continues to stream direct to your home, and in part two, I look beyond the Pacific Northwest. This time, I’m travelling East to get a taste of what living in Toronto was once like, when a person of my namesake helped change the scene long ago. But home is where the heart is, no matter where you live. This includes finding love in a digital age.
Takashi Miike is a filmmaker best known for his wry, dark humour. Some of his best films include the crime-exposition with Ichi the Killer and a live action adaptation of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure which I can only describe as gloriously over the top. When these movies have a manga (cartoon) grindhouse style approach, I’m usually hooked! In his exploration into the criminal underbelly of Tokyo in First Love has a lot going on, and plenty of craziness to pack in!
If processing the subtitles is too hard, this region one home video release comes with a dubbed version. I do wonder if the region 2 version comes with Miike’s Japanese commentary though…
Light Chaser Animation Studios
Warner Bros. Far East
Released by: Shout! Factory & GKIDS Feb 4, 2019
Arriving just in time to cap off the Lunar New Year is the home video release of the Chinese computer animated movie, White Snake. While the world is waiting for the release of Jiang Ziya, the intended release for 2020 to celebrate the Year of the Rat, thankfully, the romantic action comedy does something different to think of this year differently: we have a tale of romance, perseverance and true love.
This release also works with Valentine’s Day coming up next! Here, we have more than a simple tale about two star-crossed lovers. They come from two distinct worlds. One is a mortal and the other a spirit. It’s far different from but has connections to Chinese Ghost Story from decades ago. How can you control fate? Destiny is a key theme in this work. For a full review, please click here.
Fans of The Loud House will be glad to know the next new set of episodes will begin late January. This series is one of those guilty pleasures to enjoy watching late at night. The Casagrandes is a spin-off that’s showing a lot of promise and both will continue month and I can’t wait! Loud House has new episodes starting Jan 25th and Casagrandes on Jan 11th. As much as I hoped for Nickelodeon to offer a holiday special, it did not happen.
Both grew on me as I regularly have YTV playing in the background late at night and this two-hour block helped those long nights feel shorter. Both series offer better humour and is a better take on examining having a large family than the Cheaper by the Dozen. Here, Lincoln is a 10-year-old boy with a lot to figure out in a household with ten sisters. My favourite episodes are those where he has one of three people to turn to for “manly” advice. There’s his father, best friend Clyde (who is the adopted son of an interracial gay married couple) and “Pop Pop” (the grandfather).
Having John DiMaggio around as Bud, the grouchy neighbour is just perfect. He’s not really like a second grandparent, but the holiday episode explaining why he is always grouchy is the closest thing we can have to a How I saved the Grinch episode. Although typecast (he was Bender from Futurama), I’m loving it!
The 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival is a showcase many cinephiles living in the Lower Mainland will be at. True to the city with it’s huge share of Asians, having a worthwhile selection is a must. This event is in full swing and I offer my picks from this world (links go to ticket purchase):
A loner schoolgirl befriends two boys who were raised by dugongs (manatee-like creatures), and embarks on an aquatic journey to unlock the mysteries of the boys and the sea. Based on Igarashi Daisuke’s lauded manga, director Watanabe Ayumu and Studio4°C’s bold experimental and environmental statement dazzles the eyes with stupendously beautiful animation of the underwater world, and blows the mind with dense symbolism and disorienting imagery that have drawn comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Shout! Factory & GKIDS Release Date:
August 20, 2019
Spoiler Alert
Gorō Miyazaki has big shoes to fill. As the son of Hayao, to shift from the career of garden landscaper to animation director can be viewed as extreme but I feel his skills in one world is transferable to another. He’s had plenty of education before working on Tales from Earthsea (2006) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011). To work on a television series, Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter, shows his transition is complete. The attention to detail put in the background designs served his multi-purpose role well.
This series is based on Astrid Lindgren‘s book of the same name (Amazon link) (Ronia is the original spelling). The seminal character was born on a stormy night. Some may say great things are in store for her as she gets older. Almost like PIXAR’sBrave, this headstrong girl is looking to make her place in the world. Instead, what she finds is an innocent friendship with a young boy from a rival clan.
* Playing from June 18 to 26. Tickets to an online screening can be purchased here. For information, please visit their faq.
By Ed Sum 
(Ronia is the original spelling). The seminal character was born on a stormy night. Some may say great things are in store for her as she gets older. Almost like