Tag: Top 5

A Halloween Guide to Ancient Aliens

This program is going on 15 seasons strong and it’s showing no signs of stopping. It may slow down as it’s running out of ideas, but for Halloween time, I thought it’d be fun to glance back at those episodes that truly have a paranormal theme.

Ancient AliensBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Usually Ancient Aliens and the supernatural (ghost busting) do not go hand in hand. When they do, it’s mostly about parallel universes, how entities can travel about interdimensionally (wormhole travel), or why certain classes of angels and demons are actually aliens in disguise. However far-fetched the hypotheses are, they are just that until proven by some grandiose revelation that convinces everyone to believe. That means that the entity is tired of hiding and has finally revealed him or herself to the world.

In this age of the Internet, the alternative is to find overwhelming testimonies from many witnesses of varying occupations to say, “oh my gosh, this (fill in the blank) is real.”

This program is going on 15 seasons strong and it’s showing no signs of stopping. It may slow down as it’s running out of ideas, but for Halloween time, I thought it’d be fun to glance back at those episodes that truly have a paranormal theme. This list is better than the generic marathon that’s offered every year.

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In Recognition of #starwarsday Revenge of the Fifth

Revenge of the 5th | Revenge, Star wars birthday, Star warsWhether you are recognizing May 5th as “Revenge of the Fifth” in honour of all the bad guys in Star Wars. or the day after for a better play on words with the Sith Lords, it’s safe to assume fans will watch either the prequel trilogy or end of the Skywalker saga on either day.

In recognition of today, Episodes One to Three will be considered and its influence on the franchise.

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The Best All Time Longest Running Cartoons to Binge With

Some cartoons are worth binging from start to end. Whether that’s through a streaming service or on home video, we got the definitive list!

Ed Sum loves his Ewok, and cartoons too!
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The Simpsons and South Park notwithstanding, it’s tough to top either as both have been on air for 30+ years now! With most parts of the world self-isolating, eventually just I want to do is wish next year is here already! But seriously, if I’m going to be a couch potato, I thankfully have a huge library of television shows–cartoons and classic 80’s era shows–to tide my time with.

As an animation enthusiast, I’ve seen a lot of cartoon franchises evolve. As new teams gets involved, something is bound to change. I’ll rage about Thundercats Roar later; I’m still trying to decide if I like it.  As new producers try to make something new for today’s viewing audiences, it’s hard to say if they are in touch with kids of today. Perhaps the better question is to ask, are they wanting to remind us of once was then reinvent the premise? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the best example of how these heroes in a half shell has changed. Well, that’s mostly in how April O’Neil looks than the turtles. These teens will never grow up!

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About those Crazy Moments in Rise of Skywalker

Image result for rise of skywalker wikiBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Love Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker or hate it, anyone who has seen this film by now are likely talking about the what the heck moments in this film. I’m sure J.J. Abrams had his back to the wall with higher-ups saying here’s what we need and you can fill in the blanks. Retconning the stuff fans did or did not like in the films prior were the least of his problems. Making a finale to a massive property this big is not easy.

Massive spoilers are ahead, as I have to bring up my top seven list of moments / leaps in narrative that made little sense (sometimes unless you happen to know the lore inside and out) from the final film of the Skywalker saga. I’m ignoring science as we know it, otherwise that crazy siege (spoiler tape) would not ever happen.

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How to Celebrate Hungry Ghost Festival Aug 15th

Superstitions aside, some fans of horror cinema may opt to get into the mood with a few films to celebrate Hungry Ghost Festival.

A Chinese Ghost Story (Animated)
Buy the Animated Movie on Amazon USA.

Ghost Month will reach its perigee on August 15th. At the Hungry Ghost Festival (盂兰盆节), these once human souls are permitted to visit the living world and some may visit their descendents to see how they are doing. On this day, we venerate them with happiness and acknowledge their existence. We save the first row in any performance venue for them to sit there. Anyone who tries may well feel a chill!

This time of the year is a different sort of Halloween. As for what believers can do in preparation is to beware of certain practices lest the spirit attaches itself. This can range from avoiding wearing clothing that is red or black to not killing insects crawling around–they may be someone’s grandparents reincarnated. The best thing to do with the latter is to catch and release the critter outside.

Superstitions aside, some fans of horror cinema may opt to get into the mood. Instead of scaring ourselves silly, we may opt to look at supernatural comedies. My choices have to fit the criteria of how the spirit world interacts with reality. Instead of a top five, I have six on my list. In my culture, we consider this number lucky. Amongst my favourites that are distinctly Asian and PG-13 in tone are:

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Happy Mother’s Day! Top Five Mums We Love in Pop Culture

Today, we celebrate motherhood all around the world. In pop culture, the list of television, literary, comic book or film mamas have done more to comfort, nurture and support in times of need. When you need a hug, they are there. When you need help, they have advice, and when you go on that first date… well, you know the rest.

In many tales, just how they help can be broken down to literary tropes. In no particular order:

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