Star Wars Adventures: Forces of Destiny #5: Rose and Paige Delilah Dawson (writer), Nicoletta Baldari (artist and colours), Tom B. Long (letters) IDW Publishing 31 January, 2018 In the final Forces of Destiny comic, sisters Rose and Paige Tico set out to explore a new planet, as the Resistance tries to stay alive and defend…
Five Atmospheric Reads for Halloween
I don’t know about you, but as soon as the calendar turns to September 1, I’m just about ready for sweaters, fuzzy socks, and a few spooky stories to pass the evening. With Halloween only a few short weeks away, your bookshelf might be in need of some creepy new additions as the days gets…
Reel Resistance: TIFF’s Newest Programme Explores Filipino Cinema
After 400 years of colonization, dictatorship, and rebellion, resistance has been written into every page of Filipino history. Spanish/American/Japanese occupations have had an impact in ways still being unpacked today, ways that have manifested in the Filipino people’s own governance of the country. This fall, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Bell Lightbox is bringing…
The Irresistible Promise of SBS’s New Supernatural Romance While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleeping Oh Choong-hwan (director and writer), Park Hye-ryun (writer) Lee Jong-suk, Bae Suzy, Lee Sang-yeob, Ko Sung-hee, Jung Hae-in (cast) Released September 27, 2017 (VIKI international premiere) It’s said that the faces of people we see in our dreams aren’t products of our imagination, but real faces we’ve passed. Maybe we don’t remember…
The Shape of Water Is a Fairy Tale That’s As Steadfast as It is Strange
The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro (director and writer), Vanessa Taylor (writer), Dan Laustsen (cinematographer), Sidney Wolinsky (editor) Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins (cast) September 1, 2017 (Toronto International Film Festival 2017), August 31, 2017 (Venice International Film Festival) An invitation lies at the heart of Guillermo del Toro’s newest…
Finding the Hidden Stories in New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei
New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei Edited by Jeff Yang and Keith Chow SI Universe Media, LLC August 2017 Growing up with only a very casual knowledge of Star Trek, I did not know who George Takei was until around a decade ago. Certainly, I had seen his face, passing TV sets, and had…
The Infinite Comfort of Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Eliza and Her Monsters Francesca Zappia HarperCollins May 30, 2017 I’ve not made a secret of my hesitation when it comes to books about fandom. More often than not, they’ve been hit or miss for me. When they’re a hit, they’re a real hit. And when they miss? I’d rather just avoid talking about them….
NYAFF 2017 Short Reviews: Southeast Asian Films
Town in a Lake (Matangtubig) Director: Jet Leyco Cast: Amante Pulido, Dylan Talon, Miles Kanapi North American premiere: July 6, 2017 We meet Matangtubig in the darkness, shadows swallowing up what little light peeks through the windows of a moving car. Inside the car, two schoolgirls cower beside each other, bookended by two imposing men in dark…
Yoshihiro Nakamura Draws Back the Curtain for Mumon – The Land of Stealth
As present (and misinterpreted) as ninjas are in global pop culture references, few of us probably consider the origin of these warriors. Yoshihiro Nakamura has found a way to share new perspectives to their tales, tying their existence to what has become modern Japan in his new film Shinobi no Kuni. Fresh off projects like The Magnificent…
Poetry Becomes Her in Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku
Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku (Part 1) Director: Norihiro Koizumi Original screenplay: Yuki Suetsugu (manga), Norihiro Koizumi (screenplay) Cast: Suzu Hirose, Shuhei Nomura, Mackenyu, Mone Kamishiraishi North American premiere: June 10, 2017 (Canada) 花さそふ (It entices the flowers—) あらしの庭の (the storm—but through the garden’s white) 雪ならで (it is not snow) ふりゆくものは (and what it is that’s scattering) わが身なりけり…
Two Great Minds: A Joint Review of Defy The Stars
Defy The Stars Claudia Gray Little, Brown Books for Young Readers April 4th 2017 There’s nothing quite like falling headlong into an author’s entire catalogue. I should know. I’m deep in a Claudia Gray haze these days, and I’m still not sure how that happened. Scratch that. I picked up Lost Stars, Gray’s Star Wars novel,…
Shinsuke Sato’s I Am A Hero Takes an Existential Stance on Zombification
I Am a Hero Director: Sato Shinsuke Original screenplay: Kengo Hanazawa (manga) and Akiko Nogi (screenplay) North American voice cast: Yo Oizumi, Masami Nagasawa, Kasumi Arimura North American premiere: March 13, 2016 (United States); June 16, 2017 (Canada) I feel pretty confident in saying that I probably wouldn’t last very long in the zombie apocalypse. For one, I…