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On How It’s Best Not to Get Lost In “The Tangle”

This film is more of a detective story than a hard boiled crime investigation

Available to rent/sell on www.nestofvampires.com.

Amazon Prime Watch party on Facebook
March 19, 2021 6pm PDT
(Not available on all countries)

Big Brother watches over everything, and records every action people do in The Tangle. Just how they manage to record everything is with nanotechnology and micro drones! This chilling world is a well crafted Orwellian style look at what could be in our reality, and thankfully the film by actor / filmmaker Christopher Soren Kelly in his directorial debut in a feature length work knows a few boundaries that should not be crossed… or does it?

That various technologies employed to keep track of people include S.O.L. (Secure OnTangle Line), a quantum encrypted hard drive implanted in the brain of many. The purpose for all this monitoring is to prevent people from committing murder. This is the future of Los Angeles after all. More people are able to live that life they want in a virtual world known as Xanadu.

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The Hardy Boys Hardly Excels in Captivating Interest

The early books were distinctive by being a product of its time, and for this new series–a modern setting takes fans out of the zone.

The Tangle

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

On YTV (Canada) and Hulu (USA)
Please check local listings for accurate showtimes

The television show, Hardy Boys, is finally broadcasting in Canada! Since making its debut in the States, I think interest has been minimal. Nancy Drew is better because it has a paranormal edge. Sadly, this series is being handled by another studio, so no crossover is expected. Had it, I would’ve been more invested in the ongoing narrative concerning a mysterious Tall Man and digging into the D. B. Cooper trope.

This version sees the duo differing in age by a wide margin. Anyone familiar with the books knows they are a year apart. In the live action, the five-year difference is also in their attitudes towards one another. The eldest is a teen. This detail makes for a different dynamic in their relationship. It’s reflected in how they feel when their mother dies under mysterious circumstances. She was killed while writing about something.

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When Infighting Causes Problems with a Nest of Vampires

The world is very familiar, and anyone not paying attention will miss the punch line early in the film. We’re led down a story that’s one part heist (seeing an innocent girl get kidnapped) and another part recovery (of said woman) and vampires are involved!

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Coming to Digital
March 15th
Amazon, Tubi, iTunes

Exclusive screening on Facebook March 13, 2021 at 1 PM PST

When human blood suckers gather, what are they called? Is it a coven or a cauldron like the bats they are? It’s hard to say, but Chris Sanders’ Nest of Vampires is an aptly named film about a cadre who is having trouble keeping quiet in a small town in England. Kit Valentine (Tom Fairfoot), a top MI5 agent, lost his wife to a group of them and the authorities are not investigating. His daughter, Anna (Daria Krauzo), is kidnapped and no self-respecting father will let this case go cold.

Had Dracula ever wanted to lay down an empire as detailed in Bram Stoker’s novel, this movie would be a perfect followup! There’s no relation to the Victorian work. Instead, this crowdfunded film project by Sanders is styled to fit in the world of The Lost Boys. Yes, the setup is cheesy, and this nest is in over their heads, but the concept nicely works.

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On What Raya and the Last Dragon Lacks…

Without the proper cultural milieu made front and center, Raya and the Last Dragon feels like another atypical Disney Princess origin story.

Disney‘s Raya and the Last Dragon is a very paint-by-numbers animated film which lacks originality. We are introduced to another princess with her pet, and we get to visit a distinct part of Asia! If I had to say which movie knows its mythology, Moana wins hands down!

The world of Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia is the spotlight and sadly, the missed opportunities I noticed are plentiful. The distinguishing features of each region aren’t really played up. The details don’t show how the people are unique. Each nation has lost their focus ever since a magical crystal that can keep the Druun–rejected shadowy entities from Studio Ghibli’s Mononoke Hime–shattered.

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It’s better to Fight, than Let the Monster Run

The idea to adapt the American book into a Chinese film, Monster Run, is odd. This country is better off taking concepts from their own vast catalogue of lore than to look across the Pacific. The plot outline of Monster by A. Lee Martinez is also very familiar.

Monster Run (2020) - IMDb By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available on Netflix

The idea to adapt the American book into a Chinese film, Monster Run, is odd. This country is better off taking concepts from their own vast catalogue of lore than to look across the Pacific. The plot outline of Monster by A. Lee Martinez is also very familiar.

Some ideas are good, like the comic relief from a smart-mouthed animated piece of paper and a heroine who is not fully aware of her psychic abilities. Ji Mo (Jessie Li) can see monsters. However, she is not in full control of her abilities and she thinks she’s an odd duck. She’s like Pai in the Japanese manga Sazan Eyes by Yuzo Takada, innocent and cute. However, she doesn’t have Sanjiyan’s confidence, another personality hiding within her, to control the beasts. That belongs to her rival, Lotus (Kara Hui).

Meng (Shawn Yue) is the only person who can help. One night, while Mo is handing out flyers for the grocery store she works at, he is hunting for a nearby sleeping beast. Their meeting wasn’t easy; he is a conceited fool, as annoying as Han Solo when Leia first met him, but in control of the situation with Paper, his partner (voiced by the scene stealing Qiao Shan) providing support. This possessed piece of stationery is hilarious and the many forms he can fold himself into give this film an air of originality!

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That Crazy Samurai is Headed to Home Video March 2nd!

Anyone who missed out in seeing Crazy Samurai Musashi at film festivals can now see it on streaming or on home video!

The Tangle Available on
Hi-YAH! Streaming Service.

WELL GO USA
Physical/VOD/Digital
Release Date: March 2, 2021

Please click on this link to read a review of this movie.

Anyone who missed out in seeing Crazy Samurai Musashi at film festivals can now see it on streaming or on home video! This film has been renamed though, and anyone feeling confused at why Crazy Samurai: 400 vs 1 is used for the Well GO USA release is best to ask this company.

Perhaps it’s to ideally identify what this movie is about. It’s a one take slug-fest of one man versus an entire village. Although this company doesn’t always offer extras in every Asian cinema release, this work is one I wished it had additional material from the Japanese physical media release.

I’d love to see what was needed to prepare for filming this movie in one long take. There’s hardly time to breathe given the amount of battles Musashi (Tak Sakaguchi) have to endure. Yuji Shimomura’s film is unique such that he has to coordinate everything through walkie-talkie and hidden headphones. The Japanese home video release offers more and can be purchased through YesAsia, This edition includes a bonus DVD of special features including making-of, audienceless event, first day press meet and trailer.