Top 5 Genre Picks Playing at the Vancouver International Film Festival

This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival is looking terrific with its variety of genre films that’s being offered!

Vancouver International Film Festival Logo 2019The Vancouver International Film Festival has started, and they’ve added more genre films to their programming! It’s terrific that there’s more representation, but to stay true to their mission, it’s not anything that looks good, but it’s visions that can show the best genre movies can represent from an artistic perspective.

There’s not enough to form a top ten picks out of the thirteen titles, so what I offer is my top five, beginning with:

The Boy and the Heron Japanese Poster

The Boy and the Heron

Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki returns from retirement with an enchanting swansong, the story of a young boy, Mahito, growing up in Japan during WWII, who must venture into a fantasy world in order to save his new stepmother.

For those unable to attend these film festival screenings, there’s no need to worry. This movie is making it’s theatrical debut December 8, 2023 and it’s sure to sell out!

  • 6:30 pm Fri Oct 06 Vancouver Playhouse
  • 12:00 pm Sat Oct 07 Vancouver Playhouse

Robot Dreams Picture StillRobot Dreams

Living a solitary existence in Manhattan, Dog is tired of being alone, and builds his own friend: Robot. Their friendship blooms while exploring 1980s New York. This enchanting 2D animation brims with love, loss, and friendship.

  • 6:00 pm Mon Oct 02 The Rio Theatre
  • 3:45 pm Sat Oct 07 International Village 9

The Animal Kingdom Picture StillThe Animal Kingdom

In a world where mysterious mutations are gradually evolving humans into animal hybrids in an unpredictable and frightening way, a father tries to protect his 16-year-old son who is starting to acquire beastly characteristics.

  • 9:00 pm Sun Oct 08 The Rio Theatre

No Poster Available ICON STANDARDBitten

Franรงoise wakes up from an ominous dream that seems to foreshadow her imminent death. Not wanting to waste a minute of her remaining time, she consults her crystal pendulum and convinces her best friend Delphine to attend a mysterious costume party.

  • 6:30 pm Fri Sep 29 The Cinematheque
  • 8:30 pm Wed Oct 04 Vancity Theatre

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Movie PosterHumanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Meet Sasha, the worldโ€™s most compassionate young vampire. Her family is at their wits’ end with her refusal to embrace their lethal traditions and threaten to cut her offโ€“until she meets a brooding boy hoping to end his life, and strikes a unique deal.

  • 9:00 pm, Sat Sep 30, The Rio Theatre
  • 8:15 pm, Mon Oct 02, International Village 9

Ranking The Five Best LEGO Ninjago Seasons and Bonus Videos from LEGO Group!

The Five Best LEGO Ninjago seasons to watch are listed here, and it’s sure to be debated on.

Five Best LEGO Ninjago Seasons Starting with the series that started it allAvailable to view on Netflix (worldwide) and YouTube

After two specials and sixteen story arcs, the two series that make up LEGO Ninjagoโ€“The Masters of Spinjitzu and Ninjagoโ€“is at an end. After doing many rewatches of this excellent series, I can finally say what are my Five Best LEGO Ninjago seasons to watch. The reason behind the separation is silly, since the naming convention is to distinguish which studio did what; but for a fan like me, it’s the same series and I prefer to acknowledge it as a whole unit.

I found my feelingx mixed when the end suggested the this team is retiring. Technically, the word is something else, but when considering all that’s being talked about within the fandom community on Reddit and other sources, this fact is certain. I’ve also expounded upon the last few seasons too when I realised I really love this series. As for what I feel may be coming next, I’ll explore in part two that will be published the following week. This list goes from least to best.

Season 1
Rise of the Snakes
(2011โ€“12)

Technically, the pilot and the first three seasons can easily be lumped together, since they follow one after another to a fitting finale. The reason behind including this set is because it establishes all the relationships going on between the Ninja and their allies. I’m glad the producers planned for a short series run, and when it became a mega success, they were then able to expand upon the world. This run offers a lot of hints at what would get developed in later seasons and they are easy to spot when rewatched.

Rise of the Snakes certainly sets the tone for everything that could come, and when they did after season four, oh boy, rewatching this arc is even all the better! Thankfully, newcomers don’t have to subscribe to Netflix to see this series. The LEGO Company has made the early seasons available to view free on YouTube (depending on country).

Continue reading “Ranking The Five Best LEGO Ninjago Seasons and Bonus Videos from LEGO Group!”

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

Summertime often means reading a good book at the beach, be it a graphic novel or otherwise. I have my Dark Horse to keep me cool in the shade.

Dark Horse Logo

The Summer isnโ€™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 Iโ€™ve finished reading, am rereadingโ€“and others Iโ€™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 headsโ€ฆ.

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.

Continue reading “Five Top and Hot End of Summer and Reads By A Dark Horse”

Putting all the Featurettes Together in The Lost City

The following are the best The Lost City featurettes released to date. Available to watch online are most of the mini-featurettes released to date. Check it out!

Over the weekend, some fans were offered an early access screening of The Lost City in select cities (and SXSW). The response is terrific, and the hype is real.

As we near a month where studios expect audiences to return to theatres in certain parts of the world, the competition of which film will rule the month of April will be fierce! Many featurettes have been released over the past few months to build anticipation for this teamup starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe. This powerhouse grouping has all the makings to challenge Netflix’s Red Notice (different story though).

The following are the best featurettes released to date. Available to watch online are most of the mini-featurettes released to date. Check it out!

Continue reading “Putting all the Featurettes Together in The Lost City”

Top Five Spooky Ghost Stories for the Winter Season (Part Two)

Kwaidan (1964) - Ghost StoriesBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

In part two, some ghost stories take advantage of the season more so than a specific day to deliver the chills. This list of ghostly tales considers how the land is ready to rebel against the wayfarer.ย 

Fighting the Wendigo isn’t tough, but rather is in why hasn’t it terrorized humanity sooner? There’s also the Yeti to consider, but those films involving a monster of the North or icy tundra are a dime a dozen. In keeping to the spirit, only shades are considered in this list:

Kwaidan โ€œThe Woman in the Snowโ€ (1965)

This anthology series has one stand out for the season. The Woman in the Snow is about a woodcutter who meets an icy spirit. He wouldโ€™ve been killed, but made a promise to not say a thing to anyone else about her. The chills are truly delivered when he forgets his promise ten years laterโ€ฆ

Continue reading “Top Five Spooky Ghost Stories for the Winter Season (Part Two)”

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